The Film Spectator (Mar-Dec 1928)

June 23, 1928 THE FILM SPECTATOR Page Nineteen Time after time he does that, so naturally he has no weird, distorted groupings. Norma Shearer is starred in The Actress, and she gives quite a satisfactory performance. Ralph Forbes is adequate. 0. P. Heggie does splendid work, and so does Owen Moore. Cyril Chadwick is fine, as usual. The rest of the cast, Lee Moran and Gwen Lee, is quite good. WHILE Dressed to Kill was very entertaining, well directed, and well acted, I wasn't impressed a great deal by it. There is no doubt but that it is the best crime picture since Underworld, the first and still the best of the whole string of films glorifying the great American gunman. However, the drama didn't reach any great intensity at any time. The picture owes most of its credit to the fact that none of the characters did anything which seemed unreal. They acted as though they were human. Irving Cummings, who directed, deserves plenty of credit for that one thing, even if he did use too many close-ups and did group his characters unnaturally so the camera could see clearly. When two people are in a dramatic scene, the effect of each statement on both of them should be seen. The natural way of doing that is to arrange them so they will both be in the shot. The unnatural, clumsy way of doing it is to cut up the scene into close-ups. The interesting thing about Dressed to Kill is the amazing performance of Mary Astor. Her work before, while satisfactory, has never even hinted at the power and dramatic ability which she displays in this picture. With this bit of work she has earned the right to bigger acting parts. Edmund Lowe does splendid work, of course. Ben Bard makes a satisfactory heavy. The rest of the cast is entirely adequate. FOR a long time I have been trying to make up my mind to report Edward Everett Horton to the S. P. C. A. He has been guilty of an atrocious piece of cruelty to animals. Our adjoining back yards on Sunset Boulevard are inhabited by many large and famished flies. The flies in our back yard are quite plump and happy, since Dad and 1 do most of our writing out in back. Mr. Horton never sits in his yard, so his flies are always nearly starved. I'm telling this so that when you go to see his play. The Queen's Husband, your heart will be hardened against him. If it isn't, he is bound to win your sympathy, for he gives one of his finest performances in this comedy-drama. Incidentally, The Queen's Husband is the best play he has put on yet, and everyone should see it. Reviewed In This Number BRIGHT LIGHTS— A Warner Bros, picture. Directed by Bryan Foy; written by Murray Roth and Hugh Herbert; photographed by Ed Du Par. The cast: Helene Costello, Cullen Landis, Mary Carr, Wheeler Oakman, Gladys Brockwell, Robert Elliott, Eugene Pallette, Tom Dugan, Tom McGuire, Walter Percival, Guy D'Ennery, Jere Delaney. THE PATRIOT A LUBITSCH PRODUCTION ADAPTATION AND SCENARIO by HANS KRALY John Waters Director "BEAU SABREUR" Just Completed "THE VANISHING PIONEER" The Eighth Zane Grey for Paramount FILMARTE THEATRE 1228 Vine Street, South of Sunset Miss Reffge Dorao, Director HOLLYWOOD'S 'Little ^eatre' of "^e ^ilms One C-raning Performance 8:15 Matinees-Wed., Sat., Sun. 2:30 ' Telephone -J 1 A A Gliadatone ■^•'•'T'T' Sponsored By West Coast-Hollywood Theatres {•jiiiiimiiiiuiiiimiiiiiQiiiiiiMiiiiDiniiiiniiiamiiiMiiiiQiiiiiiniiiiEiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiimiiiciiiiiiimiiiaio I THE OTHER SIDE OF I I THE PICTURE j I Films are entertainment. They are, also, | I and inevitably, culture and education. | I Theatres are one thing — the non-theat = I rical field is another. | I TKe Educational Screen | K (the only magazine of its kind) i I treats the whole field from this broader | I standpoint. On the theatrical side, a not | I able service for the intelligent public is | I our regular department of the | I Film Estimates | I giving thoughtful judgments by a national | I committee on about 50 films each month, | i as to which are worth while, and which | 1 are not, for "Intelligent Adults", for | I "Youth", and for "Children". | I The Educational Screen | g $2.00, One Year $3.00, Two Years g I 5 South Wabash, Chicago 1 ?iniiiiiiiiiiiic]iiiiiuiiiiiaimiiniiii[]iiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiDiiiiiiiiiiiit]iiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiincC>