The Film Daily (1931)

THE 12 ■c^k DAILV Sunday, February 8, 193 REVIEWS OF SOUND SHORTS i Charley Chase in "Thundering Tenors" M-G-M Time, 21 mins. Plenty of Laughs In the role of a radio singer who is mistaken for the butler when he calls at a swell home to fill a formal dinner engagement, Charley (base knocks out a batch of good laughs. He does crazy stunts with the dinner table layout and then swallows a fish bone, which sticks in his throat, whereupon a female chiropractor is called in and some funny tu-sling develops. The guests accept the massaging exhibition as entertainment and Chase winds up by winning the hostess' daughter. Plenty of action, and enough broad comedy to please fans generally. Karl Dane and George K. Arthur in "Dizzy Dates" RKO Time, 19 mins. Good Comedy With Karl Dane as a fighter and George K. Arthur as his manager, the action of this comedy takes place on the farm. The neighbor's pigs invade the Dane vegetable patch, with the result that the Danes have roast pig for dinner that night and the neighbor is invited. To repay the neighbor for the hog, Dane aims to win his prize fight. He does so, but on a foul, whereupon the manager makes him fight all over again, and this time Dane is knocked out. Has a generous amount of action and the comedy is fairly consistent. "Razzberries" Educational Time, 7 mins. Lively Cartoon A lively Paul Terry-Toon with the animated animals in a mad scramble of comical escapades in a thoroughly up-to-date manner. The scoring of the music and funny sound effects by Philip Scheib pep it up and make it an entertaining number throughout. "The Lone Star Stranger" Columbia Time, 12 mins. Pretty Crude This purports to be a comedy, and they try to get laughs out of a situation where Eddie Buzzell, sworn in as sheriff to get a tough hombre. sees nil his witnesses murdered in cold blood as he is examining the bandit. That may be funny if you have a perverted sense of humor, but the effect on a normally humorous person is distinctly shocking. Eddie is made a sheriff in a tough Texas mining town, and the bandit comes into the saloon and kills a man in cold blood. Later when Eddie, the sheriff, arrives, the bandit comes back and kills all the witnesses one after another as Eddie questions them. Just about as funny as getting a bullet in your anatomy. Strange As It Seems, No. 6 Universal Time, 10 mins. Unique A nice diversity of shots of odd items, starting with a walnut tree in California through which an underground spring flows and furnishes a perpetual fountain for passersby. The oldest monkey in the world, 35 vears, with one of his youngsters walking on stilts. California exhibits Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the country, and also the lowest altitude, to be found in Death Valley, below ocean level. Three Hollywood screen celebs, Merna Kennedy, Jeanette Loff and Lupita Tovar exhibit their respective red, blonde and black tresses, with John Hix, the statistical expert, proving Miss Loff's contention that blondes have the most hairs in their heads. The smallest park in the world is shown in Southern California. A restaging of a football game in the early '90s winds' up the reel. uncle's country home to spend the affair quietly. But they run into a mess of excitement, for uncle has a strange marauder in the house who is trying to get his hands on $10,000 that uncle has set aside as their wedding gift. Jack Duffy plays the part of the uncle, and the thrills and excitement are mixed with some good comedy situations, keeping the offering pepped up all the way. Pathe Audio Review, No. 3 A photographic study of the waves on the sunkist shores of the Pacific, which is followed by an intimate and nteresting study of a lady in her bathtub, showing some of the novel and intimate things that milady wears nowadays. Then Professor Sachs, i German authority on musical instruments of ye olden days, exhibits and explains such musical devices as the spinnet, a vest pocket organ, a musical mousetrap and a harmonica made of wineglasses. The finale are odd shots from the Pathe News files of daredevil stunts in which the various performers flirt with death. Pathe Audio Review, No. 4 Opens with a silent domestic drama involving a man and wife and a Pekinese dog that ruins hubby's newspaper, which doesn't seem to have much point or purpose, neither funny nor tragic, but just one of those things. Then the Glee Club of the University of Michigan, sing their college song, "The Victors" to the bitter end, and it is a flat college anthem, to say the least. The final presentation is well conceived, being a study of a gentleman smoking in his library, and his smoke dreams bring the little -eulpture of a girl on his table to life, a la Galatea awakening,. The ?irl dances and otherwise entertains the bachelor in his reverie. Then she resolves herself into the bronze statuette again. "College" Universal Time, 6 mins. Good Cartoon An Oswald cartoon, with the rabbit at college as a freshman, where he engages in a cross-country race, his rival for the gal's hand being his principal opponent. But Oswald manages to come in ahead and win the race and the sweetie. Up to the usual standard of the scries. "The Animal Fair" pathe Time, 9 mins. Average An exhibition of the usual county nir from the viewpoint of the Aesop Table cartoon. There is a street pa -ade, a sheriff being "taken" by a -on artist, and the usual exhibitions, ill done in good animated style. The musical accompaniment enters in to make up most of the fun in the reel. "A Happy Little Honeymoon" Educational Time, 21 mins. Peppy Comedy A Vanity comedy, with Glenn Tryon and Vera Marsh as the honey mooners who go to the bridegroom's Tom Howard in "Go Ahead and Sing" Paramount Time, 10 mins. Good Comedy Skit This skit, the title of which is probably familiar to many because it has been done so often on the stage, makes a satisfactory, comedy in its talker form. Lew Hearn and Joe Lyons assist Tom Howard. Hearn, as a violinist, and Howard, as a singer, park outside of a hospital entrance and start doing their stuff. Lyons, a hospital attache, comes out and gently asks them to stop it. The minute he disappears inside, the boys break into their act again, and the operation is repeated with Lyons getting tougher each time until the punch finish. "A Tale of Tutuila" Pathe . Time, 9 mins. Fine Offering A Vagabond Adventure, with the director conducting a tour through picturesque American Samoa. Opens with gorgeous shots of the breaker's rolling m on the palm fringed beach then into the midst of a native tribe to observe all the novel and interesting custom? These South Sea Islanders are seen at a banquet of native fruits and barbecue chicken i hen for contrast a funeral rite, with a chief being buried by his mourning tribe, who never shed a tear according to their custom. Finishes with a o-cturization on the beautiful beach of a Samoan legend. Tom lernss puts this over dramatically with his fine speaking voice and poetic expression. "The College Vamp" Educational Time, 22 mins. A Wow This Mack Sennett rings the bell with a smart college yarn classify produced, and with Andy Clyde as the college dean giving one of his best characterizations that spear the laughs right through the footage. Patsy O'Leary and Yola D'Avril are the femme appeal, and Yola is | marvelous eyeful. As the new dramatic teacher, she practices a love scene on the dean which is a wow. Later he gets himself in a compromising situation with her in her apartment, and the students use the info to make him toe the line. One of the best college comics seen in this or any other season. "Rough and Tumble" Pathe Time, 9 mins. Pip Reel A Sportlight which covers various rough sports calling for speed, stamina and nerve. Opens with wrestling among the student body at the University of Pennsylvania. Then some football, with Benny Friedman showing how rough and tumble tactics score on the gridiron. Then a hockey match between Williams college and West Point, with some fast action. Finishes with the roughest game of all, water polo. Shows a contest in1 the tank of the N. Y. Athletic Club, with the contestants trying to drown each other as they struggle for the ball. A pip reel, with plenty of exi citement. "Strange Birds" Educational Time, 11 mint Not Much This is a Mack Sennett Brevity showing a unique assortment of al kinds of tropical birds which Mai jorie Beebe visits with her escoi and as the owner shows his collection she wisecracks a,bout the difl fcrent species and their actions. Asj the wisecracking covers a lot of] worn-out puns, it is questionable that this reel can classify as a straight comedy. It's only interest, is as a novelty in the presentation of the odd birds. ' "Seven in One" with Miss Juliet Paramount Time, 10 m'ns. Quick-Change Novelty Good novelty in which Miss Jul-J iet portrays seven roles. She acJ complishes this through the use ol make-up costumes, trick photography and double exposure. For the finale all of impersonations appear at oncB and join in a vocal chorus. Not ven| entertaining, but will interest from M novelty angle.