The Film Daily (1929)

THE •aunday, July 21, 1929 "Piccadilly" }ilda Gray, Anna May Wong (Synch ronized) . \\ Length : Synch., 8703 ft. Silent, 8703 ft. DIRECTOR DUPONT SUCCEEDS IN MAKING THIS A CALLY WORTHWHILE IMPORTED NUMBER. COLORFUL STORY WITH NOVELTY ANGLES. Drama. Produced by British International. Arnold Bennett wrote original screen story. And DiE. A. Dupont handling the angles in his usual clever extracted some fine characteriind atmospheric bits that make |ering worthwhile. Opens with It dialogue bit, with one man [the story. The story becomes ii proper, which is thenceforth KAd without interruption. Tells ^BJiccadilly night club and the ■ London types in themselves ^■easure to view, also the clever H which Dupont swings the I around in close-ups to give ■imate views of various types. ^Homes the novel conflict hereon the Oriental dancing girl and ^HBte prima donna, with the latKing off second best in everymg. Anna May Wong walks away im <3ilda Gray. Cast: Gilda Gray, Jameson Thomas, Anna ^^^Hng, King Ho-Chang, Cyril Ritchard, J nc's, Charles Laughton. Director, K. A. Dup.mt; Author, Arnold ■iiiu-tt ; Scenarist, the same; Editor, J. W. ^f^Eghv ; Titter. Not listed ; Dialoguer. Hi I ; Cameraman, Werner Brandes. Direction, very good. Photography, fine. Eddie Leonard in "Melody Lane" with Josephine Dunn (All-Talker Version) Universal Length: Sound, 6760 ft. Silent undetermined POORLY KNIT, INANE STORY INDIFFERENTLY DIRECTED AND ACTED. MAKES EDDIE LEONARD'S GOING TOUGH. NO CHEERS OVER THIS. The reputation which Eddie Leonard has built for himself through years of trouping all over America provides a talking point for the showmen, but unfortunately the picture doesn't do much to back him up. The camera is a new fangled affair for Leonard and his inexperience shows. The rest of the cast contributes nothing of distinction to a very skimpy story shoddily prepared, with the exception of Georgie Stone who plays a small role well. The yarn concerns a hoofer whose wife leaves him to later make a big hit on the dramatic stage. Comes injury to the child on the night of the opening and the pleadings of the husband with the wife to appear. This brings about a reconciliation and the finish. Cast: Kddie Leonard, Josephine Dunn, George E. Stone, Huntly Gordon, Jane La Verne. Diection, Robert F. Hill; Author, adapted from play, "The Understander" by Jo Swerl ing ; Scenarist, J. G. Hawks; Adaptors, J. G. Hawks, Robert F. Hill; Dialoguer, J. G. Hawks; Editor, Daniel Mandell ; Cameraman, Josepb Brotherton. Direction, indifferent ; Photography, satis factory. "The Constant Nymph" (Silent) Big Three Length: 7800 ft. RATES FAIR BRITISH FILM WHICH MISSES PIOGNANT BEAUTY OF FINE NOVEL BEAUTIFUL SCENIC SHOTS BUT DIRECTION IS OFF. Drama. Produced by Gainsborough in England. Adapted from the famous novel by Margaret Kennedy. Here was a tough theme to transfer to the screen. There was so much of fine beauty and intangible spiritual characterization in the characters as built up by the author in her word pictures, that it would have taken a superdirector to have transferred it to the screen. So it is probably not the fault of Basil Dean that he missed. But the entertainment values are there for the thoughtful. The story is so unusual and the treatment at least has been so sincere that the film will prove an hour well spent for the intelligent. But as popular fare, it hardly clicks. The shots of the Austrian Tyrol are gorgeous, and then some good bits of London and Brussels. The tragic finale is the best, with a marvelous piece of acting by Mabel Poulton as the constant nymph. At that, it ranks among the best pictures from England. . Cast: George Heinrich, Ivor Novello, Mabel Poulton, Dorothy Boyd, Frances Dable. Director, Adrian Brunei ; Author, Margaret Kennedy ; Adaptors, Basil Dean, Margaret Kennedy; Editor, Not listed; Titler, Not listed; Cameraman, Not listed. Direction, passable. Photography, uneven. 'The Oppressed" with Raquel Meller (Silent) Elliot Length: 6990 ft. ■ORTED COSTUME FILM H WRONG ON EVERY THING BUT TITLE, BUT "OPPRESSING" IS TOO MILD A RM FOR WHAT IT DOES TO YOU. Drama of the Spanish occupation (elgium; made in France. Tells all about these wicked Spaniards who : ran Belgium and put the natives through the inquisition tortures. A pleasSit theme to begin with, but the way the director handled it he added a fefV-upique and novel tortures to the audience that the old spaniolas never dreamed of. If you can sit through ■ne you must be a bear for guzjllifig punishment. It is without :>t one of the dreariest films that ever cluttered up a steamer coming 'Ss to these Rood natured shores. We would tell you the story, but it n*ne. The beautiful Spanish girl falls for the leader of the Belgians, and calls on the king himself, no less, save her sweetie from the tortures. And through it all gents in velvet and funny caps ride, walk and stagger about aimlessly. We did too when we left the theater. Cast: Raquel Meller. Audre Roanne, Marcel Vibart, M. Shultz, Albert Bias. Director. Henry Asselin ; Author, the same; Scenarist, Henri Asselin; Editor, Same; Titler,' Same ; Cameraman, Not listed. Direction, awful. Photography, hopeless. "Street Girl" with Betty Compson, Jack Oakie, Ned Sparks (All-Talker) RKO Length: 8,200 ft. VERY GOOD ENTERTAINMENT. SLIGHT STORY INTELLIGENTLY DIRECTED, WITH NICE PRODUCTION VALUES AND ADEPT DIALOGUE. Comedy-drama. One of the few pictures without a real "menace" interest. Which makes it different and the more enjoyable. A sketchy story concerning a chain of circumstances wherein the Four Seasons, an aggregation of jazz players, befriend Betty Ccmpson who then takes their affairs in hand and sees to it that they make the big money grade. Love interest centers around Betty and Johnny Harron with the near-menace provided by Ivan Lebedeff playing a visiting prince who publicly kisses the girl and skyrockets her and the boys into the category of big wage earners. Wesley Ruggles directed with intelligence; Jane Murfin wrote dialogue that was humorous and sensible. These factors, plus the acting of Joseph Cawthorn, Ned Sparks, Jack Oakie and others, result in diverting entertainment. Cast: Betty Compson, John Harron, Ned Sparks, Jack Oakie, Guy Bucco'a. Joseph Cawrthorn, Ivan Lebedeff, Eddie Kane. Director, Wesley Ruggles; Author, Based on "The Viennese Charmer" by W. Carey Wonderly; Scenarist, Jane Murfin; Dialoguer, Jane Murfin; Editor, Not listed; Cameraman, Lee Tover. Direction, showmanship ; Photography, very good. Karl Dane, George K. Arthur in "China Bound" (Silent) M-G-M Length: 6000 ft. GOOD COMEDY NUMBER CARRIES A LOT OF SLAPSTICK THAT GETS LAUGHS DANE AND ARTHUR AT THEIR BEST. Comedy. The two comedians again team up well, and succeed in delivering a laugh number that will satisfy the fans. The story moves along at a lively pace, and with the Chinese atmosphere succeeds in proving a colorful number with plenty of sparkle, action and comedy. George K. Arthur follows his girl to China where her father is taking her to get her away from the young man's attentions. On board ship Arthur meets the champ stoker, Karl Dane who is in love with the heroine's maid. So the two men join forces to capture the girls, but they are locked in the brig till the boat arrives in China. There they escape, and get themselves mixedi in the revolution with hilarious results. The climax arrives in a whirl of laughte after building through a lot of funr situations. This one will click easily with the crowds. Cast: Karl Dane, George K. Arthur, Josephine Dunn, Polly Moran, Carl Stockdale, Harry Woods. Director, Charles Reisner ; Authors, Sylvia Thalberg, Frank Butler; Scenarists, Peggy Ke'ly, Sylvia Thalberg; Editor, George Hively ; Titler, Robert Hopkins ; Cameraman, Reggie Fanning. Direction, very good. Photography, okay. SOUND "The Skeleton Dance" D isney Cinephone Classy Novelty Here is one of the most novel cartoon subjects ever shown on a screen. Here we have a bunch of skeletons knocking out the laughs on their own bones, and how. They do a xylophone number with one playing the tune on the others spine. All takes place in a graveyard, and it is a how! from start to finish, with an owl and a rooster brought in for atmosphere. Time, 11 mins. "A Perfect Day" M-G-M A Wow Again Stan Laurel and his comedy partner, Oliver Hardy ring the bell in a big way, and the laughs just roll right off your stomach, or wherever you happen to store them for emergencies like this when you need a big supply. The old familiar family picnic is the gag, but handled in only that delightful way that these two comedians can. Uncle is there with his gouty foot, and there is a fire to the flivver, and finally after all kinds of tire, engine and other trouble, Hardy steers the car down a closed street and the whole family disappear gradually in a sea of mud. A lear-riot you can't afford to miss. Time, 19 mins. "Jazz Mamas" Sennett-Educational Novelty Sends It In This is a slapstick comedy in color — a novelty and therefore, box-office. It is true the natural colors are not that at all. You see grass that looks suspiciously red and a sky possesed of a blue that no natural sky ever boasted of, but the idea behind this two-reeler is enough to send it in. You get in it a lot of girls in bath:ng suits, a German comedian, several others who make the proceedings pretty goofy and several not-,o-new but fairly diverting gags. Virginia Lee Corbin and Vernon Dent are co-featured. Directed by Mack Sennett. Time, 18 mins. Lupino Lane in "Buying a Gun" Educational Mild Amusement Action which made the Lupino Lane comedies what they were in the silent days is almost totally missing in this talking two-reeler. Lupino and his brother, Wallace, indulge in long-winded conversation some of which induces laughs, most of which does not. Lane, as an English dandy, visits a gunsmiths to prepare for a hunt. The word barrage that ensues is built around his unfamihanty with shooting irons. However, the {Continued on Page 14)