The Film Daily (1930)

THE 10 -JZfr*h DAILV Sunday, June 8, 193 William Powell in "Shadow of the Law" Paramount Time, 70 mins. GRIPPING ALTHOUGH SOMEWHAT FAMILIAR STORY OF PRISON LIFE AND UNDERWORLD. POWELL GIVES HIS USUAL BELIEVABLE PERFORMANCE. Baaed on story, "The Quarry," by John A. Morosco. The tale, which at times slips away from logic, is that of a man who meets up with a lady of uncertain reputation who happens to be living in his hotel. In saving her from a beating administered by her lover he accidentally knocks him out of the window to his death. The woman disappears and Powell is left to face a charge of murder. Given a life sentence he breaks jail and becomes a mill executive in the South, incidentally falling in love with his boss' daughter. He sends his ex-prison buddy to get a confession out of the woman who caused his grief and she visits him with the idea of blackmail. The longtrailing sleuth also arrives. Powell, cornered, sticks his hands into machine to destroy, temporarily, at least, his tell-tale fingerprints. The players unanimously turn in good performances. Cast: William Powell, Marion Shilling, Natalie Moorhead, Regis Toomey, Paul Hurst* George Irving, Frederick Burt, James Durkin and Richard Tucker. Directors, Louis Gasnier and Max Marcin ; Author, John A. Morosco and Max Marcin ; Adaptor, John Farrow ; Dialoguer, John Farrow ; Editor, Robert Nassler ; Cameraman, Charles Lang. Direction, fine. Photography, Grade A. Charles (Buddy) Rogers in "Safety in Numbers" Paramount Time, 1 hr., 11 mins. BRIGHT AND SUMMERY SHOW FEATURING PRETTY GIRLS, GORGEOUS GOWNS AND CLEVER LINES. THE FEMMES WILL LIKE IT. Charles ("Buddy") Rogers does his matinee idol stuff in a way to delight his army of femme fans, and they have designed a good show for him teurrounded by three very attractive girls all making love to him at the same time. It is good summer fare, and quite evidently delighted the young flappers at the Paramount Broadway showing. The plot is inconsequential, but is brightened with some clever lines by George Marion, Jr., and it scores a sizable quantity of laughs. The plot recounts the adventures of "Buddy" whose rich uncle has surrounded him with three attractive girls, on the theory that there is safety in numbers. But they find a lot of competition in the Big Town, for the hero has a habit of falling in love with all the pretty girls he meets. Strictly a feminine show, with the three girls featuring some gorgeous costumes of very latest mode. Cast: Charles ("Buddy") Rogers, Josephine Dunn, Kathryn Crawford, Virginia Bruce, Roscoe Karns, Carol Lombard, Geneva Mitchell, Francis MacDonald, Raoul Poli, Lawrence Grant, Louise Beavers. Director, Victor Schertzinger ; Authors, George Marion, Jr., Percy Heath ; Scenarist, Marion Dix; Editor, Robert Bassler ; Dialoguer, George Marion, Jr., Cameraman, Henry Gerrard. Direction, very good. Photography, excellent. "The Midnight Mystery" with Betty Compson, Lowell Sherman RKO Time, 1 hr., 9 mins. CLEVER MURDER DRAMA THAT SHOULD SATISFY. UNUSUAL PLOT, INTELLIGENT DIRECTION AND FINE ACTING BY PRINCIPALS. A plot somewhat off the beaten track is chiefly responsible for this murder drama being above the ordinary level. It is based on the stage play, "Hawk Island." A lovesick youth, in order to cure his fiancee of her mania for writing curdling melodramas based on actual events, pretends to murder one of his house guests. Another member of the party, discovering the ruse just after he has learned that his wife has been having an affair with the supposed victim, sees a chance to bump the fellow off and forcing the blame on the innocent host, whose fiancee is desired by the murderer. Dialogue has plenty of clever touches, the action has been directed by George B. Seitz so as to extract a generous amount of comedy from the situations, and the acting is excellent all around. Betty Compson, Lowell Sherman and Raymond Hatton do particularly good work. Cast: Hetty Compson, Lowell Sherman, Hugh Trevor, Raymond Hatton, Rita La Roy, Ivan Lebedeff, Marcelle Corday, June Clyde, Sidney d'Albrook, William Presley Burt. Director, George B. Seitz ; Author, Howard Irving Young; Adaptor, Beulah Marie Dix; Dialoguer, Beulah Marie Dix ; Editor, Not listed; Cameraman, Joe Walker; Monitor Man, Not listed. Direction, very good. Photography, good. Lil Dayover in "Hungarian Nights" (Silent) American General Film Time, 1 hr., 25 mint DRAGGY FILM WITH SO| PHISTICATED THEME THAT HAS LITTLE APPEAL FOI AMERICAN AUDIENCES. ONLi GOOD FOR ART HOUSES Production of the Aafa Films o Berlin, featuring Lil Dagover. Th( locale is Hungary, and center: around the social life of the officers of an Hungarian regiment. It is the old hash which the Continental directors love — a married dame in love with her former sweetheart. She marries the Colonel, and the lieutenant keeps hanging and mooning around. For most of the length ofl the film the love couple are heaving and sighing, and it gets pretty tiresome. The Colonel's man servant gets something on the lady, and uses it in a way that no censor will stand for in this country, so the film fails right here. Runs too long, is draggy, and is just another subject for the arty houses. Cast: Lil Dagover, Hans Stuewe, Wilhelm Diegelman, Daisy D'Ora, Harry Hardt Alexander Murski, Veit Harlan, Margot Zirow. Paul Henckels. Director, Victor Janson ; Author, Guido Kreutzer; Scenarist, Franz Rauch ; Editor, Not listed; Cameramen, Guido Seeber, Fdouardo Lamberti. Direction, heavy. Photography, very good. Lois Moron in "Not Damaged" Fox Time, 1 hr., 12 mins. SOPHISTICATED TOUCH, AIDED BY HUMOR, HELP MAKE THIS FAIR ENTERTAINMENT. ACTING IS ACCEPTABLE. An ordinary program attraction that is forced to depend upon its box office title to draw the customers in. A touch of sophistication and a few snatches of humor are what chiefly lend the production interest. It tells the story of a salesgirl in a department store who strikes up a friendship with a wealthy customer. This makes her sweetheart, a fellow worker, thoroughly jealous. The rest of the plot has to do with her struggle to make a choice between the two. After gravitating from the one to the other, she finally decides to accept the rich lad's love. Lois Moran as the girl and Walter Byron and Robert Ames as the rivals act acceptably, and Inez Courtney does well in a comic role. The first half of the film is marred by bad lighting. Cast: Lois Moran, Walter Byron, Robert Ames, Inez Courtney, George Corcoran, Rhoda Gross, Ernest Wood. Director, Chandler Sprague; Author, Richard Connell ; Adaptor, Frank Gay: Dialoguer, Harold Attridge ; Editor, Alexander Troffey ; (Cameraman, Chet Lyons; Monitor Man, Pat Costello. Direction, all right. Photography, fair. "Cain and Artem" (Synchronized) Amkino Time, 1 hr., 15 mins. POWERFUL RUSSIAN DRAMA WITH A MORAL PRESENTED SIMPLY AND REALISTICALLY. EFFECTIVE PHOTOGRAPHY. "Cain and Artem" is typically Russian from first to last. Made by Sovkino from a Maxim Gorki tale, it possesses all the naked realism characteristic of the great author's style, and bears every earmark of honesty of purpose. It is a powerful film preaching the gospel of tolerance and justice simply and directly, containing moments of gripping drama. In its passion lies the picture's chief weakness. For it makes no attempt at subtleness in the development of its theme. In "Cain and Artem" is reflected the brutalness that has become identified with Russian existence. The story tells of a young market woman's attachment for a Volga boatman. Her husband, old and unattractive, tries unsuccessfully to have the man killed. The woman, believing her lover dead, sees the last hope of escaping from her lot cut off and drowns herself. The cast is good. Cast: Amil Gall, Nikolai Fimonov, Elena Egorova, Georgy Uvarov. Director, P. P. Petrov-Bytov ; Author, Maxim Gorki ; Adaptor, P. P. Petrov-Bytov ; Titler, Shelley Hamilton ; Cameraman, Nikolai Ushakov. Direction, good. Photography, fine. Hoot Gibson in "Trigger Tricks" Universal Time, 1 hr., 5 mins. TYPICAL HOOT GIBSON WESTERN WITH HERO OUTSMARTING BAD MEN IN STORY WITH NOVEL ANGLES. DIALOGUE RETARDS ACTION. The sound film has had its effects on the westerns, and this one is loaded with a lot of dialogue and runs rather shy on action and the fast riding that the fans want. Otherwise it is the usual brand of heroics that Hoot dishes out, and the fans will no doubt like it. Here he is seen uncovering the man who shot his brother with a unique twist to the trapped formula. Through a mechanical device he overcomes a horde of bad men and has them securely hogtied while he goes after the arch villain and extracts a confession from his of his guilt. Sally Eilers is the girl, and one of the most attractive ever seen supporting the hero in a western. With the heavy present demand for western talkies, this will please 'em in the small stands and the neighborhood houses. Its chief fault is too much dialogue which slows up the action in many spots. Cast : Hoot Gibson, Sally Eilers, Bob Homans, Jack Richardson, Monty Montague, Neal Hart, Max Ascher, Walter Perry. Director, Reaves Eason ; Author, the same ; Adaptor, the same; Dialoguer, not listed; Editor, Gilmore Walker ; Cameraman. Harry Neuman. Direction, satisfactory. Photography, very good. "The Wonderful Lies of Nina Petrova" (Silent) Ufa Time, 1 hr., 12 mins. SLOW AND LIFELESS GERMAN FILM WITH MORBID ENDING. LACKS AMERICAN AUDIENCE APPEAL BECAUSE OF ITS THEME AND GENERAL TREATMENT. This is an Erich Pommer production made in Berlin, and it gives little evidence of any Hollywood technique that he might have acquired in his work over here. The film is slow-moving and some scenes drawn out to the point where it makes you positively restless to watch the screen. The theme is typically Teutonic, and of the variety that exerts little ap 3 peal for American audiences. The locale is Russia, and the heroine is the mistress of the colonel. She falls in I love with a lieutenant, so the colonel frames him in a card game to make it appear that he cheated, then gets the girl to come back to live with him on promise of overlooking the lieutenant's "dishonorable" act. This sophisticated theme also lets it out for the average American audience. Brigitte Helm as the girl is a clever actress but can only succeed in making the weak offering passable. A silent importation with limited appeal to art houses. Cast: Brigitte Helm, Warwick Ward, Franz Lederer. Director, Hans Schwarz ; Author, listed ; Editor, Not listed ; Scenarist, listed ; Cameraman, Carl Hoffmann. Direction, heavy. Photography, good. Not Not