The Film Daily (1929)

10 DAILY Sunday, April 7, 1929 Short Subject Reviews—Sound and Silent SOUND "Climbing the Golden Stairs" Metro Movietone Great Stuff Type of production. . .Musical revue Metro bills this as a "dazzling miniature Follies." The description is no exaggeration. Charley King, one of the leads of "The Broadway Melody" is featured, assisted by a number of acts from vaudeville. Once again, Gus Edwards staged and directed while the entire production is in Technicolor. The setting is beautiful and the groupings well nigh breath-taking. There are dancing and singing moments, jazzy moments and a dash of the classical all blended into what should be a knockout short for wired houses. An eye smash and real quality, all the way. Time, 18 mins. Fox Movietone Magazine Vastly Entertaining Type of production Travel stuff Fifteen minutes of the most engrossing sound film this reviewer has seen. The charm of Fox Movietone Magazine is to be found in the fact that it is different. The journey takes the audience to Gibraltar, then Italy, then the Near East, finally India and Shanghai and in each spot, incidents highly descriptive of the land and its people are show-n photographed in sound and out-of-doors. Among the interesting shots is one wherein an East Indian charms a hooded cobra; you can almost hear the hiss of the snake as it darts toward the native. The Chinese sequences are extremely interesting showing as they do a local Punch and Judy show, traffic in the city and ending with an instrumental and vocal rendition of an old Chinese love song. Recommended without reservations. Frank Bowie and Kay La Valle in "Don't Handle the Goods" Vitaphone No. 2589 Fair Type of production Comedy musical team This vaudeville skit rates average, with the man playing straight to the girl's gagging and kidding of the popular songs of tin pan alley. She is supposed to be selling music sheets in a department store, and hands out her line of comedy patter as the customer looks them over. A xylophone is featured, with both actors putting over a couple of average numbers. Voices register clear. Time, 9 mins. "The Man Higher Up" Metro Movietone Effective Drama Type of i^roduction .. Dramatic sketch .'\ two character sketch, highly effective and containing considerable drama. This is a story wherein revenge took 30 years to accomplish its ends. Hobart Bosworth is the German doctor whose sweetheart, decades before, became a victim of white slave traffic and finally drowned her shame in the river. Robert Edeson, as the former trafficker in vice and retired politician, comes to Bosworth professionally and only after doors are barred, discovers who the doctor really is. The situation is tense. Bosworth tells Edeson that at nine o'clock retribution will come in the form of an exploded bomb which will wipe them both out. Edeson, his nerves frazzled from 30 years of hounding from the unknown source which he now discovers to be Bosworth, draws a gun, threatens to shoot and, as the hour strikes, falls dead, a victim of heart disease. Directed with appreciation by William de Mille. Time, 20 mins. Van and Schenck Metro Movietone Entertaining Type of production Songs Big timers of vaudeville. Van and Schenck are, of course, well known throughout the land. Their particular style of song delivery provides entertainment of the better sort, although in some of the higher note ranges, this number didn't get over so well. That, in fairness, may have been the fault of the records used in the projection room where this was caught. "That's How You Can Tell They're Irish," "Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder," "Ramona" and "The Dixie Troubadours" are their song numbers. Clicks. Time, 9 mins. "Hot Shots" Fox Movietone Risque Type of production. . Pictorial jokes Watch your step on this one. A series of jokes, most of them falling w'ell within the realms of the risque are presented in pictorial and sound form. One will illustrate the type of subject this is. A boy and a girl hesitatingly approach the marriage license bureau. They enter and the clerk asks how old they are. Then a few lines about the necessity of parental consent. Whereupon the boy turns and says: "Who do you think that guy is over there with the shotgun?" Time, S mins. "The Revellers" Metro Movietone A Bell Ringer Type of production. . Song quartette These boys have it. "The Revellers" are well known over the radio. After this subject makes the rounds, it would prove no surprise to learn that exhiijitors are asking for more. The four songliirds group themselves around a piano and warble. That's all there is to it, except their voices, agreeable personalities and fine harmonizing. Three numbers comprise their offering: "I'm in Love Again," "De Gospel Train" and "Nola." It isn't what they do nearly so much as how they do it. Book it and smile. Time, 8 mips. Tim McCoy in "A Night on the Range" Fox Movietone Far From Exciting Type of production Sketch The drawing power of Tim McCoy. Metro's western star, should prove a factor in determining the advisability of booking this subject, since in point of entertainment pull it can be handed a fair rating only. McCoy does his cowpuncher stuff around a campfire, exchanging banter with the boys in his outfit and going into an occasional song. Tim has a pleasing personality and an engaging voice, but the material selected here doesn't show him off so well. Time, Gus Edwards' International Revue Metro Movietone Box Office Whoopee Type of production. .Revue in color In one reel are included Russian dancers, a balailaka orchestra. Dutch clog dancers, a Scottish chorus, Japanese Geisha girls, a Spanish tango dancer known as Armida — and gorgeous colorings in a beautiful set. Gus Edwards, whose specialty is tabloid revues, staged and directed. The music is good, the action snappy and it's all confined to 11 minutes. For wired theaters in smaller towns this will prove riotous. For big cities, sure-fire as well. Time, 11 mins. The Biltmore Trio in "Taking the Air" Metro Movietone Plea, sa n t Harmonizing Type of production Songs The Biltmore Trio, it seems, is a group of West Coast entertainers. When this gets dates in the East and Middle West, the popularity of the boys will grow. They deserve it. This is a simple little offering which gets over with plenty to spare. The voices are pleasing, the song numbers judiciously selected and the music good. Time, 9 mins. 8 Victor Artists in "Rube Minstrels" Metro Movietone Average Type of production Song skit This aggregation is well known via the record route. Here they do their stuff dressed as rube performers planted on the opery house stage. Each number is interspersed with a running fire of wisecracks, most of which are antiquated and register as such. The opening number delves into the secret of where the mosciuitoes go in the winter time. Then comes "The Farmer Took .Another Load Away" as it would be sung in various countries. Will get by as an average sound short subject but has nothing distinctive to recommend it. The group, however, may have appeal where their records are popular. This is a decision to be made by the individual exhiliitor. Time, 10 mins. Mutt and Jeff in "Ghosts" Fox Movietone Very Amusing Type of production Cartoon The famous cartoon characters take animated form, aided by clever sound effects and a smattering of dialogue to help along. This is w'hat is found here. To begin with a wellexecuted cartoon with amusing gags. Secondly, music and sound effects applied with a discerning hand. The result is a sound short that never causes outbursts of laughter but induces chuckles in more than sufficient numl)er to slide it over. Harry Horlic and His A. and P. Gypsies Vitaphone No. 763 Average Band Num,ber Type of Production Musical Mostly string instruments in this group of musicians who find themselves in what is supposed to be a gypsy camp setting. The title conveys the idea. They open with a semi-classical number, switch to an effort a la Russe and end up with a popular tune. A little higher class than the average band number in the Vitaphone catalogue, but at that nothing more than an average subject. This is the most that can be said for it. Time 9 mins. The Happiness Boys Metro Movietone Entertainers De Luxe Type of Production Song team Ernie Hare and Billy Jones, two of the best known and best liked of ether entertainers, have made a sound short for Metro that is a corker, no | less. The Happiness Boys appear on ' the scene in a. seagoing hack. Billy is the cabby and Ernie, the fare. They sing a warble about a pretty I girl "I Love to Dunk a Hunk of Sponge Cake," and "I'm Wild About] Horns on Automobiles," interspersing each number with clever vvisecracks. Their personalities register] with a bang. Most certainly do they] know how to put over a number; their songs constitute a fine selection. What else would you have? This is a pip. Go to it. Time, 9 mins. Frank Crumit Vitaphone No. 727 Pleasing Type of Production Songsj A vaudeville headliner of some re-l nown, Frank Crumit, more than holds! his own in this Vitaphone short. He I has poise, an easy delivery and a] voice which, while not outstanding, is pleasing for the type of song he delivers. This subject is titled "The One Man Glee Club." We're for the description. Crumit puts over his lively songs in very good style.^ This will entertain 'em. Time, 9 mins.