The Film Daily (1931)

Sunday. March IS, 1931 DAILY n REVIEWS OF SOUND SHORTS "The Devil's Cabaret" M-G-M Time, 17 mins. Classy Extravaganza Swell comedy extravaganza done entirely in Technicolor, with Eddie Buzzell as the Devil's personal representative promoting a bunch of girls and boys from the Earth to visit his cabaret in Hades. Here he puts on a pip show, acting as m. c. There is a futuristic background, with fine color effects, depicting Hades in a most attractive manner. Good gags and patter by Buzzell, with the rest a tuneful, jazzy eyeful, and a bevy of girlies who would do credit to a Ziegfeld "Follies". Ballet staged by Afbertina Rasch. Directed by Nick Grinde. "Legend of the Skies" Ideal Pictures Time, 7 mins. Nice Scenic Nice scenic, with the atmosphere built up with an artist painting at his canvas, and then going into a series of scenics of cloud effects under various conditions and with a variety of landscapes of sea, mountain and countryside. Done in a blue tone, with good camera work. A speaker paints word-pictures of the various shots that heighten the effect of the beautiful scenes. "The Farmer" Universal Time, 7 mins. Good Animated An Oswald cartoon, with the funny rabbit down on the farm doing chores for Peg-leg, his rival for the affections of the dairy maid. At a barn dance, Oswald and the maid get too chummy to suit Peg-leg. The harmonious accompaniment of the orchestra, "Listening to the Mocking Bird," furnishes funny atmosphere for a bout between Oswald and his rival, finishing with the big stiff taking the count and listening to the mocking bird. "A Shotgun Wedding" Educational Time, 20 mins. Lively Comic A Vanity comedy featuring Buster West and John West in a fast and snappy two-reeler. Buster is in love with John's daughter, and tries to rescue her from what he thinks is a rough party being given by a gangster. The gags are mainly built around a trick flivver, with Buster doing some fast stepping and some good comedy antics. It is a good burlesque on the hero stuff and the fair heroine in danger. "The Pip from Pittsburgh" M-G-M Time, 21 mins. Laugh Panic One of the wow laugh fests of the season. Charlie Chase will panic 'em in this one. It's gagged to the muzzle, snappy, fast and fizzing with sputters of hilarity. Charlie's friend ropes him in on a party to escort a gal from Pittsburgh. Charlie gets the idea she is a freak trying to make him, so he puts on his friend's old clothes and looks like a bum, while the friend wears Charlie's classy clothes. And when Charlie meets the girl, Thelma Todd, the Pip, he spends the rest of the evening trying to square himself. One of the best comedy concoctions that ever came from Hollywood. Charlie pulls a succession of laughs with a great gag. He has eaten garlic to frighten the supposed freak partner, and all evening at the party talks out of the corners of his mouth to the girl who proves a knockout. You can shout about this one as if it were a feature. It is. Laugh feature. "Divorce A La Carte" Universal Time, 21 mins Rough-and-Tumble This one reverts to the roughhouse and slapstick variety of comedy, with Charlie Murray and George Sidney as partners in a divorce business. Lena Malena takes the part of an Oriental dancer, who calls at the office to secure a divorce from her hubby who is a sword and fencing expert. The two partners both date her up at her home, and hubby arrives as the two make for cover. The main gag comes with Murray appearing disguised as a woman, and Sidney showing up as her irate husband and accusing the dancer's husband of stealing his wife. It has a lot of rough-andtumble comedy done without any finesse. "Chickens Come Home" M-G-M Time, 31 mins. Riot of Mirth This is a Laurel-Hardy screamario that will rock 'em in their seats. This ace comedy team may have touched this one for all-round hilarity, but they've never topped it. And they probably never will. The comedy situation is a natural, and these boys play it for all the laughs that are in it. Hardy is running for mayor, when an old flame turns up and starts to blackmail. He sends Laurel to the girl's apartment to keep her from visiting his home vyhere he is giving a dinner to prominent people to boom his campaign. And when both their wives start to smell the dirt and mix in, with Hardy franticallv trying to cover up, this comedv Keeps hitting the Laughometer so steady and heavy that you couldn't clock the laughter. Mr. and Mrs. Jack Norworth in "Naggers Go Camping" Vitaphone 1170 Time, 8 mins. Up to Standard Mr. and Mrs. Jack Norworth follow their familiar pattern in this latest of "The Naggers" series. Entrance is a wow with Mr. dressed like a boy scout while Mrs. affects the girl scout garb. Follows usual patter with wife beefing about leaving a comfortable home for the questionable pleasure of camping out. Not much action in this with laughs depending on lines, some of which are a trifle reminiscent. Should go over, however, in view of strong following built up by this pair. "Spring Is Here" Tdeal Pictures Time, 8 mins. Timely Reel A timely subject, showing springlime in its changing and varied moods, in mountain, field and marshland. A speaker describes the various scenes and makes the reel an interesting journey through the highways and byways of nature. Shots of interesting animals in their haunts are interspersed, showing how they react to the call of spring. "Crashing Hollywood" Educational Time, 20 mins. Pip Number A bright and snappy comedy with Hollywood as the locale, and the story of three girls endeavoring to crash the studios. It gives the lowdown on how girls exist while trying to make the screen, all done from a highly humorous angle. There i$' a swell sequence where they frame a "rough" party to kid a girl from Iowa. She thinks it is the real thing, with doubles of a lot of famous stars present. These doubles include Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo, and many others, and they do their stuff in a manner that will tickle all the fans. The tag bit is a pip, with the gal from Iowa leaving the film producer at the altar to join her sweetie, an Iowa rube, who arrives in his flivver in the nick of time. Modern, nicely paced, and with some snappy comedy dialogue unusual in shorts. M-G-M Crazy House" Time, 16 mins. Pip Spectacle A comedy novelty in Technicolor, featuring Benny Rubin in a sanitarium!. Benny finds out that he's really in a nut house, and even the doctor is balmy. He meets different patients in turn, and by the time they get through with him, Benny is nutty, too. Strong cast with Vernon Dent, Polly Moran, Karl Dane, Cliff Edwards and an Albertina Rasch ballet. There is a spectacular feature with the Albertina Rasch ballet, "The Dance of the Devil," with the girlies dressed as fetching and alluring "devilettes," that is a pip. The sort of thing you expect in a feature spectacle. Nothing of its type has ever topped this sequence. This alone makes the offering a standout. "Sacred Elephants of India" Ideal Pictures Time, 8 mins. Novelty Spectacle A very interesting pictorial description of the great Durbar, the annual event in India when the sacred elephants are paraded in a gorgeous ceremonial procession. The mahouts, or trainers, are seen preparing the great beasts for the affair with a bath in a pond, risking their lives in the process. Then artists go to work and paint beautiful designs on the elephants' beads and trunks, after which '.hey are decorated in splendid embroidered silk and gold trappings worth a king's ransom. Finally the ceremonial parade itself, a very stirring spectacle. "Laughing Gas" M-G-M Time, 7 mins. Smart Cartoon A snappy cartoon created by Ub Iwcrks with Flip the Frog doing his stuff as a dentist at work on a hippopotamus. The doc has to use rlvnamite to blast the tooth eventualIv, but before that happens he gives the patient gas, and the cartoons show the jazz dream the hipp goes on. A clever animated with plenty of laughs. "The Black Widow" Educational Time, 17 mins. Fair Mystery, A William J. Burns Detective Mystery, opening with an introduction by the famous sleuth, and then going into a pictorial reproduction of the highlights of a noted mvstery of the police annals. A prominent financier was apparently murdered and his nephew is sentenced to death for the crime. The detective agency still keeps working, however, ftnd discloses that the victim died from the poison of a venomous spider The plot is unique, and will app to mystery-lovers. "Clowning" Educational Time, 7 mins. Neat Cartoon A Paul Terry-Toon in which the hero, as a clown, enters into some romantic adventures and eventually traps the villain in the dungeon ot castle and rescues the fair heroine. The cartoon work is picturesque and imaginative, and the accompanying harmonies are in the usual high-grade manner of Philip Scheib's orchestra. "Little Daddy" M-G-M Time, 19 mins. Wow Kid Comedy An Our Gang featuring Farina as the little daddy who has adopted Stymie, the cute pickaninnv. These two make a great kid team, and put over a comedy with a heart-punch that is a darb. One sequence is a riot, with Farina trying to tell Stymie the story of Noah's Ark, and Stymie getting him all balled up with funny questions. The usual mechanical contrivances are in evidence, also a kid's pee wee golf course that the youngsters will go for. The rest of the Gang are all here. This kid komic ,.aj I will click strong anywhere. {Continued on Next Page)