The Film Daily (1934)

fuesday, Oct. 16,1934 DAILY « « « REVIEWS of the NEW FILMS » » » "LITTLE FRIEND" with Nova Pilbeam, Matheson Lang, Lydia Sherwood SaumontBritish 85 mins. FINELY WROUGHT DOMESTIC DRAMA DISTINGUISHED BY CLEVER CHILD [CHARACTERIZATION OF NOVA PILBEAM. The spiritual conflict between a husband ind wife which leads eventually to the nrink of a divorce is dramatically presented hrough the eyes of their 14-year-old child. [Played by Nova Pilbeam with a naturalness and sincerity that is refreshing and really amazing, here is a production that should find a warm welcome from American women of all ages and degrees. It is a remarkably sympathetic and understanding study of a child's heart, mind and amotions. Done with delicacy and charm, For which the director rates unstinted praise. With Matheson Lang as her father, and Lydia Sherwood as her mother, the child sees them gradually drifting further [apart. The husband is absorbed in his business, while the wife craves companionship and finds it with a popular actor. The story climaxes in a divorce proceeding with [the father attempting to take the child. Then comes a dramatic final scene that clears the atmosphere. ! Cast: Matheson Lang, Lydia Sherwood, Nova Pilbeam, Arthur Margetson Jean Cadell, Jimmy Hanley, Gibb McLaughlin, Diana Cotton, Cecil Parker, Marcell Rogez, Clare Greet, Jack Raine, Finlay Currie, Allan Aynesworth, Robert Kay, Jean Davis, Robert Nainby. Director, Berthold Viertel; Author, Ernst Lothar; Screen Play, Margaret Kennedy, [Christopher Isherwocd; Editor, Ian Dalrymple; Cameraman, G. Krampf. Direction, Good. Photography, Very Gccd. "SCHOOL FOR GIRLS" with Paul Kelly and Sidney Fox Liberty 66 mins. FAIR DRAMA AND WELL ACTED DEVELOPS WITH SLIGHT REGARD FOR PLAUSIBILITY. Maintaining interest because it is well acted and has numerous dramatic situations, this one trips on the hurdle of plausibility. Starting with a three-year reform school sentence for Sidney Fox when she is found in all innocence in the company of a jewel thief, the picture is from then on concerned with the girl's life in the school. Lucille LaVerne, the superintendent, is a brutal disciplinarian, pocketing the proceeds of the illegal truck gardening to which she subjects her charges for long hours. The girls, all of whom are apparently wrongly confined are in revolt. Into this situation steps Paul Kelly, son of a wealthy campaign contributor, whom the governor repays by putting on the prison board. Visiting the school, Paul is smitten by Sidney Fox, and with this incentive proceeds to right matters. Cast: Sidney Fox, Paul Kelly, Lois Wilson, Lucille LaVerne, Dorothy Lee, Toby Wing, Dorothy Appleby, Lena Andre, Russell Hopton, Barbara Weeks, Kathleen Burke, Anna Q. Nilsson, Purnell Pratt, Rcbt. Warwick, Wm. Farnum, Chas. Ray, Mary Foy, Dawn O'Day, Myrtle Steadman, Edward Kane, Gretta Gould, George Cleveland, Helen Chadwick, Helen Foster, Fred Kelsey, Edward LeSaint, Harry Woods and Jack Kennedy. Director, William Nigh; Author, Reginald Wright Kauffman; Screen Play, Albert De Mond; Cameraman, Harry Neumann; Recording Engineer, R. E. Tyler; Film Editor, Mildred Johnston. Direction, Good Photography, First-rate. "NAME THE WOMAN" "'< with Richard Cromwell and Arline Judge : Columbia 62 mins. I FAST-MOVING AND EXCITING NEWSPAPER YARN SUFFERS FROM IMPLAUSIfeBILITY. I Excellent in all other departments, this Istory is handicapped by its implausibility. JHowever, it maintains a lively, actionful I pace and has a sock windup. Richard Cromwell is a cub reporter sent to cover J the murder of the town's district attor jjjney. Prowling around the murder house, he is knocked over by a girl climbing out of a basement window. She leaves behind a purse with cards bearing the name of the ^mayoralty candidate's daughter. Papers play up the mystery woman angle. The "mystery woman is the mayor's daughter '•and she had gone to the district attorney's „home to obtain some papers incriminating m the mayor. Teaming up with Arline Judge, mayor's daughter, Cromwell systematically ■ ferrets out the criminal band and in the windup brings the murderer to his news V paper's office after an exciting auto chase. II Cast: Richard Cromwell, Arline Judge, liita LaRoy, Charles Wilson, Thomas Jackjson, Bradley Page, Henry Kclker, Purnell llratt, Stanley Fields, Crane Wilbur, Eddie Chandler, Wallis Clark, George Humbert, Al Hill. Albert Rogell; Screen Play, Jr., Herbert Asbury; Camera Stumar; Film Editor, John Director, Fred Niblo, man, John Rawlins. Direction, Good. Photography, Fine. Lyn Harding and Betty Stockfield in "THE MAN WHO CHANGED HIS NAME" DuWorld (Twickenham) 71 mins. FAIRLY INTRIGUING MYSTERY DRAMA SOMEWHAT SLOWED UP BY TOO MUCH TALK BUT GENERALLY SUSPENSEFUL. Acted throughout at a rather high tension, with dialogue far overshadowing action, this Edgar Wallace story makes a moderately satisfying mystery of its kind. Central character is a man whose wife is dallying with a lover whose objective is to wheedle her out of some valuable mineral land in Canada. To show up the Lothario, the husband works out a cunning wave of terrorism, causing the lovers to suspect the husband of being a murderer who changed his name after doing away with his faithless wife and her sweetie. After scaring the young man into betraying his weakness and crookedness, the husband reveals that he changed his name because it was similar to that of the criminal whom he is suspected of being. There is not a great deal of punch to the development of the story, and the acting is a little too methodical for American audiences. Cast: Lyn Harding, Betty Stockfield, Leslie Perrins, Ben Weldon, Aubrey Mather, Richard Dolman, Stanley Vine. Director, Henry Edwards; Author, Edgar Wallace; Screen Play, H Fcwler Mer; Cameraman, Sydney Blythe; Recording Engineer, Baynham Honri. Direction, Sluggish. Photography, Fair. FOREIGN "ROMANCE TROPICAL," in Spanish; produced and directed in Porto Rico by Juan E. Viguie; with Raquel Canino, Sexto Chevrement, Candida de Lorenzo, et al. Distributed by Latin Artists Pictures. At the Teatro Campoamor. Generally entertaining romantic drama about a Porto Rican hero who wins the love of a native Pocahontas along with a fortune in jewels. Picture is labeled the first 100 per cent Porto Rican production, and one of its highlights is the colorful native background. SHORTS Charles Laughton and Elsa Lancaster in "Frankie and Johnnie" Du World 10 mins. Amateurish Nobody would ever suspect, from seeing him in this short, that Charles Laughton is the consummate artist who rocketed to fame in his feature roles. The subject is just ten minutes of warbling of the barroom ditty, "Frankie and Johnnie," by Laughton and his wife. Whether it's intended to be a burlesque or a straight character rendition does not appear very clear but the production in general is clumsily handled and holds interest only because of Laughton's current popularity. "Miro-Unga" Graphix Films 8 mins. Fair Novelty Title of this short applies to a supposedly prehistoric animal, on the order of giant seals, found off the Galapagos Islands and supposedly nearing extinction. The pictures, according to the commentator who describes the scenes, were taken some 20 years ago and show these sea elephants disporting themselves on the beach, with members of the expedition doing a capture. Employes' Fund Before Court St. Louis — Circuit Judge Green has under advisement a suit to determine the present status and beneficiaries of a $20,962 fund established in 1927 by St. Louis Amusement Co. and the Skouras Brothers Enterprises for the benefit of their employes who were not affiliated with any union organization. The fund was built up by collecting a small service charge on all passes issued to the theaters controlled bv Charles P., George and Spyros P. Skouras. The service charges were collected between August, 1927, and April 1, 1932, when the management of the theaters was changed. Suit was brought by a former employe who contends the fund should be distributed. Clark Rader Leases House Newark, O. — The new Arcade, owned by Ralph Dean Spencer and dark for almost four years, has been leased by Clark Rader, formerly with Publix in Marion. The house is undergoing extensive remodeling for reopening. > »#4te Filmdom's Standard Book of Reference