The Film Daily (1932)

—JXfr* DAILV Saturday, Dec. 31, 1932 Clark Gable in "NO MAN OF HER OWN" with Carole Lombard. Dorothy Mackaill Paramount 85 mins. AMUSING ROMANCE IN A CARD CROOK BACKGROUND. LIGHT STORY HELPED BY GOOD DIRECTION AND PERFORMANCES. Just a nice little piece of entertainment in which Clark Gable again is transformed by love from a tough guy into a tame one Starts out with Gable as the brains of a quartette, including Dorothy Mackaill, whose racket is to take suckers at cards. A hot situation causes Gable to hide away in the country for a while, at the same time giving Dorothy the air. In the suburbs Gable meets Carole Lombard, who is desperately lonely and tired of the quiet life, and in carefree abandon they romance and get married. Gable tries to keep his racket a secret from his wife, but she finds out and then cleverly proceeds to make a straight man out of him. Gable is in his element all the time and Miss Lombard gives a natural impersonation of the smart country girl. Grant Mitchell is good as one of Gable's card gang. Lots of laughs are produced by Director Wesley Ruggles' handling of situations. Cast: Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Dorothy Mackaill, Grant Mitchell, George Barbier, Elizabeth Patterson, J. Farrell MacDonald, Tommy Conlon, Walter Walker, Paul Ellis, Lillian Harmer, Frank McGlynn, Sr. Director, We.sley Ruggles; Authors, Edmund Goulding, Benjamin Glazer; Adap *t re N/1-irino \ A/;> ^U i >-,c Mil*--*,-, Ul Cr^nnor Cameraman, Leo Tover. Direction, Fine. Photography, Fine. "HALF NAKED TRUTH" with Lupe Velez, Lee Tracy Radio 67 mins. BRIGHT COMEDY WITH SNAPPY DIALOGUE GIVES LEE TRACY FAT PART AS HIGH PRESSURE PRESS AGENT. This one is practically all Lee Tracy, for he is in evidence most of the time as a flip press agent who makes and breaks Broadway stars, building them up from nothing to dazzling stardom. It is a neat travesty on the publicity racket, showing how gullible the public is and how they go for the high pressure stuff. The dialogue is very snappy and carries plenty of comedy, as do a big proportion of the scenes. It is light and frothy entertainment that should please generally. Tracy starts out as press agent for a carnival where he meets Lupe and Eugene Pallette, the "strong man." When they ride into a jam through one of Tracy's publicity stunts, they beat it to the big town, where Tracy transforms his heroine into a Persian Princess, and sells her in big with a Broadway producer (Frank Morgan). When Lupe becomes a big star through her agent's publicity, she gets the swell head, and Tracy in a huff builds up another dame and sends Lupe down the skids. They wind up back on the carnival lot, broke but happy. Clever material keeps this bright and sparkling. Cast: Lupe Velez, Lee Tracy, Eugene Pallette, Frank Morgan, Bob McKenzie, James Donlon, Shirley Chambers, Charles Dow Clark. Director, Gregory La Cava; Authors, Ben Markson, H. N. Swanson; Adaptors, Bart -^i 1 *_^/l II IdON, ^^.^/ 1^.,,,, buitwi, V^. <—. Kimball; Cameraman, Bert Glennon. Direction, Very good. Photography, Okay. Helen Hayes and Ramon Novarro in "THE SON-DAUGHTER M-G-M 79 mins. COLORFUL MELODRAMA OF SAN FRANCISCO CHINATOWN WITH HELEN HAYES IN IMPRESSIVE ROLE. Another production in the Oriental cycle, with the meller elements chiefly in the foreground throughout. The setting is in San Francisco's Chinatown, with Helen Hayes and Ramon Novarro in a very unusual and beautiful romance. The performance of Miss Hayes lifts the rather lurid story into one of the screens most pathetic and beautiful love stories. She is able supported by Novarro. Lewis Stone plays the father of the heroine who is forced to give his daughter in marriage to Warner Oland, the rich and villainous leader of the conspirators who are working against the Chinese revolutionists. The plotting results in the death of the father and also her sweetheart, Novarro, who plays the part of the Chinese prince. The love scenes are delicately handled and rather skillfully blended with the meller plot which keeps the suspense and action going right up to the tragic climax. In this climactic scene, the bride on her wedding night strangles her murderous and scheming husband. Has the pop elements with a wealth of fine acting from a very competent cast. Cast: Ramon Novarro, Helen Hayes, Lewis Stone, Warner Oland, Ralph Morgan, Louise Closser Hale, H. B. Warner. Director, Clarence Brown; Authors, George M. Scarborough, David Belasco; Adaptors, John Goodrich, Claudine West; Tiilcg-cr, Lepn Cordon; Editor, Margaret Booth; Cameraman, Oliver T. Marsh. Direction, Excellent Photography, Fine. Carole Lombard in "NO MORE ORCHIDS" with Walter Connolly, Lyle Talbot Columbia 7] mjns. FINE ROMANCE-DRAMA, WELL ACTED AND DIRECTED. PACE IS STEADY AND SITUATIONS CLEVERLY CARRIED OUT. There are no disappointments in this one. The story is sensible and filled with punch and suspense. Then, too, there is sufficient comedy, properly placed, to lighten up the heavy scenes. Carole Lombard is excellently cast as a spoiled rich girl who, although engaged to a foreign count, falls in love with a young lawyer of small means. The romance starts on shipboard and lasts until Carole learns that her father's bank is about to go on the rocks. She appeals to a rich relative who has previously arranged the royal marriage. At the same time Carole announces that she is really in love and will break her engagement to the count. This enrages the rich old man who refuses to save Carole's father from financial ruin. Of course, it all works out well and fortunately doesn't slop over. Cast: Carole Lombard, Lyle Talbot, Walter Connolly, Louise Closser Hale, Allen Vincent, Ruthelma Stevens, C. Aubrey Smith, Arthur Houseman, William V. Mong, Charles Hills Mails, Jameson Thomas, Ed Le Saint, William Worthington, Broderick O'Farrell, Belle Johnstone, Harold Minjur, Sidney Bracy. Director, Walter Lang; Author, Grace Perkins; Scenarist, Gertrude Purcell; Recording Engineer, Edward Bcrr.ds; Editor, not credited; Cameraman, Joe August. Direction, Fine. Photography, Excellent. 5 '< > '* £ *T i / \ / / "Technocracy" Mascot Pictures 10 Mins. Interesting Gilbert Brown, one of the originators of Technocracy, delivers an interesting lecture graphically depicting a new economic science which would benefit the government and the public. Timeliness of this subject makes it a good draw. To ascertain its drawing power any showman has but to ask any of his patrons the meaning of Technocracy and in their replies he will be guided as to its value for his house. "Primitive" (Zane Grey's Diary) Good Zane Grey gathered this material on one of his South Sea voyages. The present clip shows natives employing primitive methods to get food, make shelter, manufacture utensils, etc. Soothing string music ipanies the reel. Two Other Couples Though Lionel Atwiil, the noted stage actor who is now making his mark in the films, and Mrs. Atwiil are enjoying ideal domestic happiness, tomorrow's magazine rotogravure section of the "Mirror" will carry a story about their divorce. It all happened because an over-zealous reporter, spying the name of a Mrs. L. Atwiil in a Reno divorce action, jumped at the conclusion that it was the wife of the star. Atwiil has made four features on the coast since September and is lined up for more. Vincent Lopez and Orchestra in "Hawaiian Fantasy" Paramount 8 mins. Pleasing A soothing musical number in which the Vincent Lopez aggregation strums soft music against a background of palms, beaches and mountains. Some singing also included. New Importing Company Bringing Features, Shorts {Continued from Page 1) MacKee, all active in the industry. Thomas Hogan will edit the silent versions and also have charge of recording. Releases, on 16 and 35 mm., will start March 15. Hans Von Fraunhofer of Bei'lin is the company's European representative. He also is general manager of Photochrome Co., owning the WolfeHiede color process. DENT BUYS SHORTS Ten three-reel novelties from Beverly Hills Exchanges, represented in New York by Stanley Hatch, have been sold by Capt. Harold Autcn to Arthur Dent of B.I.P. and Wardour Films. "The Man Eater," "Flame of the Pacific," "Satan's Playground" and "The Phantom Sea" ai-e the first to be delivered. ENGLISH DIALOGUE IN CAIRO Cairo, Egypt — Growing popularity of films in English dialogue has resulted in the management of the Triomphe Cinema, a first-class 1,500seater, showing both English and French talkers. Broadway Business Good Despite Radio ^ity Draw (Continued from 1 gc 1) yesterday. A slight change in the Paramount scale will be effected Jan. G. Business along Broadway was above normal yesterday afternoon and night. At the Paramount, by noon there was a wait of an hour and twenty minutes for seats. Excellent dance was reported at the "Id Roxy, the RKO Mayfair. Loew's State and Warner's Strand and Winter Garden. Estimates of the first day's receipts at the RKO Roxy placed the business at capacity. At 8:45 a. m. a line of people, two abreast, reached the Sixth v entrance of the the ater to Fifth Ave. Early Return to Normal Is Seen by Jules Levy (Continued from Page 1) marked throughout the country. Full length musicals as well as shorts are being planned by many coast producers. Levy urged that exhibitors resume normal advertising and exploitation expenditures whenever pictures offered good opportunities for publicity and ballyhoo. NEW TORONTO HOUSE OPENS Toronto — The Circle, now $100,000 film house, held its gala opening this week. New Orleans— Mrs. A. S. Tucker is the new general state chairman of the Better Films Committee of the Louisiana Co-operative Educational Association, Inc., succeeding Mrs. J. M. White. Austin, Minn. — The Eagle has been sold by Ed Daniels to J. P. Broulx. St. Paul — Julius Hebron has acquired the Gem, formerly the Tuxedo, from the Perry corporation. Hazen, N. D.— R. H. Metcalf is the new owner of Mars, having purchased the title from F. W. Haas, New Incorporations NEW YORK CHARTER Perfection Broadcasting Corp., M. & S. Meyers, Times Bldg., New York. $20,000. NEW JERSEY CHARTER Sherbalt Corp., Ventnor, motion picture theaters; Edward J. McGrath, Atlantic City. 500 shares of common stock. CAPITAL REDUCTIONS Straham Theater Corp., Manhattan, $350,000 to $40,000. DESIGNATIONS Shea Theaters Corp., Delaware, motion pictures; 100 shares of no par value.