The Film Daily (1931)

"That's My Line" RKO Pathe Time, 20 mins. Snappy A very snappy comedy, featuring Louis John Bartels as the self ifident salesman, selling a line of lingerie. He arrives in a Mexican border town, and gets jn a mixup with the bad man, played by Paul Hurst, when he falls for the bad man's gal. The gags are well handled, and Bartels gets over the laughs with plenty to spare. It has been handled with good directorial touches by William Goodrich. "Blues" Educational Time, 7 mins. Novelty A Terry -Toon cartoon, with darkies as the animated figures, doing a typical Alabama Blues. The boy friend hotfoots it back to his mammy in the sunny south, with all the typical darky atmosphere and the syncopated jazz as musical accompaniment. A variation on the animal routine that should be somewhat of a novelty in the cartoon field. Ned Sparks in "The Way of All Fish" RKO Time, 19 mins. Humorous Ned Sparks does a pretty good job in this Lou Brock production directed by Mark Sandrich. It's on the subject of fishing. Sparks is a henpecked law clerk, whose wife wants him to take her and her sister to New York on his vacation. But he's a fishing bug, the same as his boss, and he follows his superior's instructions to take his family to the country for two weeks. There is a lot of humorous hoke about the cruelty of using worms for bait, winding up with a court scene in which Sparks is tried and jailed in the burlesque manner because he got rough with a worm-bait fisherman. The courtroom sequence, with Harry Holman of vaudeville fame as the country judge, is specially funny. DeWolf Hopper in "For two Cents" with Stanley Ridges Vitaphone 1078 Time, 9 mins. Fair Skit A fairly amusing comedy sketch has been built around the veteran musical comedy star, De Wolf Hopper, supported by Stanley Ridges, also a popular stage player, and several other capable performers. Action revolves around Hopper, on the verge of death, with a couple of newspapers bidding for exclusive rights on the story. One of the sheets wants to pay a good price if Hopper will croak in time for its la^-t edition. Hopper plays his role entirely in bed. Lack of punch is the chief weakness of the short. "Monkey Business In Africa" Educational Time, 21 mins. Good Kidding A Mack Sennett comedy, featuring Andy Clyde and Marjorie Beebe. It is a good kidding number on the wild animal picture. They land in Africa to take a picture, and there are three good laugh sequences that will collect the merriment in any howman's house. One has Marjorie and the hero in a canoe surrounded by crocodiles, with the hero paralyzed with fright and doing nothing to help. Andy crawls out on a rope and tries to get a closeup. but falls in among the crocodiles. The best gag is one where Andy and Luis Alberni are dressed up as gorillas, and a real gorilla enters the hut with Andy, Marjorie and the hero, and they think it is Alberni. Andy starts to read the script to the gorilla, and as he gradually awakens to the truth that it is a real gorilla, the laughs come fast and plenty. "Play Ball" RKO Pathe Time, 7 mins. Lively Cartoon An Aesop Fable, is in the current spirit of the baseball season, and therefore a very timely number. The elephants play the ostriches, and pull all the well known baseball tricks in trying to defeat each other. Finally Oscar Ostrich, the outfielder, swallows the ball on a high fly, and while his teammates are trying to recover it, the elephants score a few dozen runs and win the game. Good lively cartoon. "The Death House" Educational Time, 10 mins. Routine A William J. Burns detective mystery. This one follows the usual routine of this series, going through the various steps of re-enacting a crime that is part of the police annals. Two murders are committed, and after a process of elimination, it finally simmers down to the criminal. The reel lacks dramatic highlights, and is too stereotyped to furnish much of a kick. Jack Pearl in "The Meal Ticket" Vitaphone Time, 18 mins. Laughable Jack Pearl's German dialet and misuse of the English language feature this sketch which has a few funny gags and a wealth of snappy dialogue. Pearl is continually arguing with his spouse who has completely "over browed" him. All the sympathy he receives is from his pet German dashound, a dumb looking animal that is the cause of many laughs. Pearl is a clever performer and is well supported by Claire Trevor and Peggy Shannon. "That's News To Me" RKO Pathe Time, 21 mins. A Wow This is the first of a comedy series of newspaper reporters, and it looks like a cleanup. Frank McHugh as the star reporter is a wow, and has a very able cast in support, with such names as Helen Jerome Eddy, Walter Percival, Addie McPhail, Charles Judels and Lee Moran. They threw overboard all the old gags in this one, and develop an original line that is a pleasure to watch. McHugh goes after a sensational story, and the method he adopts to get in the house starts a line of gagging that builds a barrel of laughs. It is a surefire comedy anywhere, and done with class, and without a single dull or dumb moment. "Adventures in Africa" No. 1 "Into the Unknown" Vitaphone 4681-82 Time, 15 mins. Very Good As the initial number in the new series of two-reelers made under the supervision of Wynant D. Hubbard, author and authority on African wild life, this short is very promising. It reflects authenticity in its presentation of wild life and native tribal customs in Africa, and the accompanying lecture is both interesting and instructive. In addition there is a strong climax, consisting of a fight between a lion and a hyena, that furnishes a good thrill finish. The picture is sound synchronized. W. Earle Frank handled the camera work. "The Lure of Hollywood" Educational Time, 20 mins. Pop Number A good pop number that will please the flappers, reflecting what is the secret ambition of so many of them — to crash Hollywood and the pix. Three girls are shown trying to make the grade in the studios, but with tough breaks. When they finally get a part, one of the boy friends spoils everything with a dumb play. As they are about to make their exit for good, another lucky break gives them a start again. Carries a heavy slapstick pie sequence that will get the mob. "Up and Down New York" Central Films Time, 10 mins. Very Interesting Snappy and well-made bird's-eye and panoramic views of Manhattan Island and a cleverly written and well-delivered talk stamp this as a short fit for any program. New York is approached by airplane, with longshot and close-up views of its most prominent buildings and thoroughfares. The reel ends with some excellent shots of Broadway at night. The subject matter and general tone of the film will interest native New Yorkers as well as those who have never seen the metropolis. 'Splash M-G-M Time, 10 mins. Exquisite Employing a troupe of swimming stars, who hold amateur titles and do their stuff without salary, the producers of this subject have turned out one of the niftiest little shorts that has come along in some time. It contains exhibitions of swimming and diving, mostly the latter, performed in a most engrossing manner. Slow motion and trick photography are cleverly used to inject an amusing touch, which is also enhanced by an intelligently humorous synchronized talk accompanying the various stunts. The finale, showing a group of five divers taking off simultaneously, is a beautiful sight. Fine photography also helps materially "Lemon Meringue" RKO Pathe Time, 19 mins. Good Comedy A Mr. Average Man comedy, feauring Edgar Kennedy. His mothern-law and brother-in-law with the lid of his wife, get him to open a estaurant and quit his regular salary ob. The action takes place just becore the opening of the hash house. Kennedy does about his best work so far in this one. The timing of the ?ags is pretty close to perfect, and t works up to a good old slapstick Inish, with pies being thrown regard'ess. There is nothing new in the material, but a whole lot is new in the clever way in which the business has been handled and directed. Harry Sweet gets credit for the latter. Florence Lake as the helpful wife is very good. Joe Penner in "Moving In" Vitaphone Time, 16 mins. Fair Comedy All about a gang of relatives fixing up the house for a pair of newlyweds. Instead of putting things in order, they wreck the place. Not much more than a spectacle of smashing this and that, with little genuine humor in the story itself. Okay as a filler. Directed by Al Ray. "Straight and Narrow" with Ed Robbins and Allen Jenkins Vitaphone Time, 9 mins. Interesting A group of ex-convicts, now respectably established in life, get together and reminisce about old times. One of them tells about the job that landed him behind the bars. Flashback shows the accidental incidents that led to his capture. Handled differently from the usual underworld picture, and holds interest in a satisfactory manner.