The Film Daily (1932)

Friday, Sept. 23, 1932 THE PHANTOM PRESIDENT" with George M. Cohan, Jimmy Durante, Claudette Colbert Paramount 80 mins. ACE ENTERTAINMENT WITH COHAN, DURANTE AND TIMELY ANGLE MAKING IT A BOX-OFFICE NATURAL. This is an in-the-bag affair on three counts in particular: (1) it is all-around swell entertainment plus a timely story which will not be any the less enjoyable even after election, (2) the admirable dual performance of George M. Cohan and ihe knockout comedy by Jimmy Durante, < 3 * the clever conception and effective directorial handling of the semi-musical --medy background. Story is about a P.esidential candidate who lacks "popular appeal." His backers stumble upon a medicine show doctor who has the necessary personality and showmanship, and who is a dead ringer for the candidate, so they hire the doc to pose as the candidate and f.o out to win the people, which he does, including the candidate's girl. After his jcb is done, the incoming president plots to have the doc shanghaied, but the tables are turned and the doc lands in the White Hmc instead. Cohan plays the dual role of candidate and doc, with Durante as the doc's med show pal. Cast: George M. Cohan, Claudette Colbert, Jimmy Durante, George Barbier, Sidney Toler, Louise Mackintosh, Jameson Thomas, Julius McVicker. Director, Norman Taurog; Author, George Worts; Adaptors, Walter DeLeon, Harlan Thompson; Cameraman, David Abel; Music and Lyrics, Rodgers and Hart. Direction, Distinctive. Photography, A-l. Douglas Fairbanks in "MR. ROBINSON CRUSOE" United Artists 70 mins. GAY, NOVEL AND INTERESTING ADVENTURE OF A MODERN CRUSOE ON AN ISLAND IN THE SOUTH SEAS. It is a very modern, very resourceful and amazingly hard working Robinson Crusoe that Doug Fairbanks depicts in this South Sea jaunt. Diving off a pleasure yacht, on a $1,000 bet, to forage for himself on an uninhabited isle, it is no time before he has the place all cluttered with handiworks of his artisanship, from a big bungalow and a suspended trolley system to cocktail sets and a flock of Rube Goldberg inventions. With his faithful dog and some native animals, Doug has a great time in the charming tropical setting. Then a native beauty, running away from a forced marriage, falls in his lap, and he accepts her Platonically as his Girl Saturday. But the tropical tribesmen eventually arrive and would burn Doug at the stake were it not for the usual lucky break which enables him to outwit the islanders and win his bet. By getting into the spirit of Doug's fun, which is not hard to do, the picture can be enjoyed as a refreshing relaxation from the cares and bustle of a busy world. Cast: Douglas Fairbanks, Maria Alba, William Farnum, Earle Browne. Director, Edward Sutherland; Author, Tom J. Geraghty; Adaptor, same; Dialoguer, same; Editor, Robert Kern; Cameraman, Max Dupont; Recording Engineer, Walter Pahlman. Direction, okay. Photography, fine. "MAEDCHEN IN UNIFORM" ("Girls in Uniform") (In German) Playchoice, Inc. 90 mins. A FILM THAT WILL CREATE WIDE COMMENT BECAUSE OF UNUSUAL THEME AND ORIGINAL TREATMENT. A great deal of advance publicity was built up for this German production because of its showings in Berlin, Paris and London, with newspapers talking of it as something new and different in the motion picture. It deals with life in a government boarding school in Potsdam whose pupils are daughters of army officers. Discipline is strict, with the head mistress a regular martinet whom the young girls fear. The principal character is an orphan girl of 14, a new pupil, unusually sensitive and yearning for love and sympathetic understanding she has never known. She develops almost a worship for one of the young teachers who provides this sympathy and kindness. The old crab of a head mistress puts an evil interpretation on their beautiful and innocent companionship, forbids them to speak to each other, and the oversensitive child tries to commit suicide over loss of her friend. Plot is developed with teutonic thoroughness so that in spots it drags. But it is a beautifully conceived drama, masterfully directed and acted by the principals. It's a thought-provoking film, handled with a strange charm and sensitive touch. Superimposed English titles. Cast: Emilia Unda, Dorothea Wieck, Hedwig Schlichter, Hertha Thiele, Ellen Schwannecke. Director, Leontine Sagan; Author, Christa Winsloe; Adaptor, same; Dialoguer, Christa Winsloe. Direction, excellent. Photography, fine. "VIRGINS OF BALI" Principal Distributing 46 mins. VERY INTERESTING, PICTURESQUE AND INTIMATE SCREEN-JOURNEY TO BALI, WITH LIGHT NATIVE ROMANCE. This is a refreshing and enchanting glimpse into the much discussed small island in the Dutch East Indies. The heralded beauty of the native women is revealed in excellent shots of girls at the market place, spectacular dances and attending to domestic duties. One scene shows two typical specimens of feminine pulchritude bathing in a mountain stream. Native customs, habits, industry, pleasures and ceremonies are shown in proper sequence and disclose many interesting details regarding these people of the tropics. A light romance is whipped into the feature which adds to the interest. It terminates with preparations for the marriage and the customary "elopement." The scenery is magnificent and the narrative, delivered by Deane H. Dickason, is thorough and well compiled. The musical score is excellent Cast: Ni Wayan Tagel, Ni Wayan Ugembon, T. Kaler, I. Maria. Director, Deane H. Dickason; Editor, Nathan Cy Braunstein; Musical score, Louis Betancourt's Marimba Orchestra; Recording Engineer, Lyman J. Wiggin; Cameraman, S. Crawford Rovey. Direction, Good. Photography, Fine. Rex Bell in "FROM BROADWAY TO CHEYENNE" with Marceline Day Monogram 60 mins. COMBINATION OF EASTERN UNDERWORLD AND WESTERN ACTION MAKES PLEASING ENTERTAINMENT. Western fans who would like to see a little different touch in their favorite fare will find it in this story, which starts with hostilities in the eastern underworld between Robert Ellis, as a racketeer, and Rex Bell, representing the law. Because Rex makes it too hot for him in the big town, Ellis transfers his crooked activities to the cowboy country, where Rex also migrates in due course and again gets on the trail of the villain, whom he once more brings to justice. The latter sequences, in the outdoor country, will probably be found the most satisfying, as they have lots of typical western action in a very attractive natural background. For romantic interest there is a nice love affair between Rex and Marceline Day. Others in the cast also do their assignrents very well. Cast: Rex Bell, Marceline Day, Robert Ellis, Mathew Betz, Huntley Gordon, Roy D'Arcy, Glenn Lee, George Hayes, Harry Semels, John Elliott. Director, Harry Fraser; Author, Wellyn Totman; Adaptor, same; Editor, Carl Pierson; Cameraman, Archie Stout. Direction, Fine. Photography, Fine. "A SCARLET WEEK-END" Irving Exchange 63 mins. GOOD MURDER MYSTERY FILLED WITH BAFFLING. SITUATIONS .AND WELL SUSTAINED ACTION. Adapted from the book, "The Woman in Purple Pajamas," this Willis Kent production gradually works up action, carrying with it considerable interest. The story starts with Theodore Von Eltz and Dorothy Revier as hosts to a large weekend party at their country estate. Several of the women guests, in love with Von Eltz, become jealous of each other because of his attentions to other women. Niles Welch who was bethrothed to Miss Sevier before her marriage, knows of the husband's affairs and tries to induce her to go away with him. During the night the host is murdered. From here on the story details the efforts of Douglas Cos°:ove, as police inspector, to run down the murder. Cast: Dorothy Revier, Theodore Von Eltz, Phyllis Barrington, Niles Welch, Douglas Cosgrove, Virginia Bruce, William Desmond, Eddie Phillips, Charles K. French, Sheila Manm Nora Hayden, Vance Farroll, Chubby Colman. Director, George Melford; Author, Willis Cameraman, William Noble'.; Editor, Ruth Wright. Direction, good Photography, fair. "THE CROOKED CIRCLE" with Ben Lyon, ZaSu Pitts, James Gleason World Wide 70 mins. SWELL COMEDY MYSTERY THRILLER MIXES CHILLS AND GALES OF LAUGHS. SHOULD GO BIG. With this setup of thrills and uproarious comedy hitting on high from the first flash to the finale, every exhib who plays it can go out and shout about it without fear of any comeback. It is easily one of the best laugh numbers of the year. Cunningly designed by Ralph Spence along the order of "The Gorilla," it gives you spooky thrills and suspense with a constant play of comedy that makes it a genuine treat. It is hard to say which is the best — the mystery chills or the comedy. But the combination is so skillful that it stands out from any other picture of its class. With ZaSu Pitts as the scared servant and James Gleason as the hard-boiled dumb cop, here is a comedy team that will wow 'em anywhere. Great number for the kids also, for there isn't a murder in it. It all place in a mysterious old house, with something happening every minute, either thrilling or screamingly funny. Get in back of it, for it can stand all the publicity you give it. Cast: Ben Lyon, ZaSu Pitts, James Gleason, Irene Purcell, C. Henry Gordon, Raymond Hatton, Roscoe Karns, Berton Churchill, Spencer Charters, Robert Frazer, Ethel Clayton, Frank Reicher, Christian Rub. Director, H. Bruce Humberstone; Author, Ralph Spence; Adaptor, same; Dialoguers, Ralph Spence, Tim Whelan; Cameraman, Robert B. Kurrle; Recording Engineer, William Fox. Direction, excellent. Photography, good. Sally Eilers and Ben Lyon in "HAT CHECK GIRL" Fox 65 mins. ENTERTAINING BROADWAY COMEDY DRAMA WITH GOOD BOX-OFFICE POSSIBILITIES. Another yarn with a night club and party background and a hat check girl as its central character. The story is conventional and inclined to wander aimlessly and its dialogue alternates between the coy and the bright. It's too sophisticated fare for children. Sally Eilers plays the hat checker who meets Ben Lyon, wealthy rounder, when he finds her sleeping in his apartment after a party. Ben tries to get intimate with the girl and presumably fails but after a few disjointed sequences becomes engaged to her. At their announcement party a blackmailing scandal sheet publisher who knows something of Sally's past is murdered and Ben gets the blame. However, justice prevails when the real murderer, who is another blackmail victim, is arrested and Ben is free to wed the gal. The players are all competent. Cast: Sally Eilers, Ben Lyon, Ginger Rogers, Monroe Owsley, Arthur Pierson, Noel Madison, Dewey Robinson, Harold Goodwin, Eulalie Jensen and Purnell Pratt Director, Sidney Lanfield; Author, Rian James; Adaptors, Philip Klein and Barry Conners; Cameraman, Glen MacWilliams; Recording Engineer, W. D. Flick. Direction, okay Photography, good