Harrison's Reports (1928-1928)

June 23, 1928 HARRISON’S REPORTS 99 “Heliship Bronson” — with Noah Beery, Mrs. Wallace Reid, and Reed Howes ( Gotham-Regional , May 1; 6,432 ft.; 74 to 91 min.) The theme of this picture is not of the kind that can be related in polite society, even though the entire picture has been handled well. For instance, a father, because of the hate he felt for his wife, who he thought had disgraced him, urges his growing son to be a “terror” with the women and not to trust any of them. He is captain of his own ship and his son is his mate. One of the situations shows the young hero and his father, who had just returned to San Francisco after fifteen years of sailing, mainly in Chinese waters, in a saloon ; the father urges his son to make friends of the women of the underworld. In the same saloon, the father is shown implying to his son that, the woman he was in the room with was a common woman ; he had taught the boy to hate his mother and did not want to tell him that it was his mother. Later, when the little heroine, whom the young hero had saved from the hands of the saloon keeper, a white slaver, meets the hero in his ship, the latter acts towards her as if she ought to “capitulate” to him. Still later, when the young hero’s mother is found in the ship, he takes her to be his father’s “girl.” All these sights are not the kind that can be told in the family circle, particularly not to children. Yet the picture is not without merit ; it is of the virile sort, and suitable for adults that do not dislike this type of picture. The storm scenes do not produce the effect intended, for the reason that storm scenes cannot be created at the order of man. Where the storm is supposed to be raging, the ship is shown as stationary, and only the titles as well as the artificial rain try to make one believe that there is a storm on. The story has been written by Norton S. Parker ; it has been put into a picture by Joseph Hennabery. Mr. Hennabery did the bits he could with the material he had. Mrs. Wallace Reid cannot act ; and the sooner she realizes it the better it will be for her as well as for the exhibitors. Noah Beery is good, so is Reed Howes, as well as the little girl that takes the part of the heroine. “Ladies of the Mob” — with Clara Bow ( Paramount , June 30; 5,834 ft.; 67 to 83 min.) It was a mistake to put Clara Bow in a picture of this type. It is a crook melodrama, in which she, a member of a gang crooks, tries desperately to make the hero, whom she loves desperately, quit that sort of life and settle down to a peaceful way of living, a thing she does not succeed doing until towards the closing scenes, where she shoots and wounds him to save him from committing another crime and "burning" in the electric chair. The suggestion is that, after the shooting, both are caught by the police and are sent up the river to serve time, each promising to the other that he would wait until the end of their sentence. Despite the good acting on the part of Miss Bow and of the thrilling action, it is a gloomy affair at its best, and one that neither edifies nor pleases. On the contrary, it leaves one in the frame of mind one finds himself after returning from a funeral or after surviving from a great calamity. It is true that the theme shows vividly how hard a woman will fight to save the man she loves, but the development of it is such that it does nobody any good ; it is better that picture-producers keep away from such stories. There is considerable “shooting,” particularly in the closing scenes, where hero and heroine are corailed in an old shack, where they had been living, and from which shack they succeed escaping by a ruse until the heroine, realizing that the hero would again go back to the “racket,” shoots and wounds him with the hope that she, by drawing the attention of the police and having him as well as herself arrested, would prevent him from committing another crime and perhaps paying the death penalty for it. The plot has been founded on the story by Ernest Booth ; it has been directed by Mr. William Wellman well. Richard Arlen takes the part of the crook-hero. Helen Lynch, Mary Alden, Gerard, Bodil Rosing and others are in the supporting cast. NOTE: Inasmuch as the Clara Bow pictures were sold as a star series one cannot tell whether it is a substitution or not. “Gow” ( Regional ; about 7,000 ft.; 81 to 100 min.) “Gow” is a thrilling picturization of events among the head hunters and cannibals of the South Seas Islands, notably of the Fiji, Solomon and New Hebrides groups. It was made by Captain Edward A. Salisbury, and photographed by the Messrs. Cooper and Schoedsack, who made “Chang.” They accompanied Captain Salisbury on a long voyage into the little known and seldom visited parts of the South Seas ; and what they brought back is a fine instructive film of life, habits, civilization and the general goings-on of the dark, unclothed people of those regions. The most interesting and thrilling thing the cameramen have recorded is a battle between the great Chief Gow and some enemies, who made off with his married daughter. This battle is fought after Gow had rallied his several minor chieftains and their fleets of great war canoes. Paddling like mad-men, they went over the ocean to reach the stone walls, which the marauders had erected for defense. Gow landed on one side of the island, the minor chieftains on the other, and when their joint attack was made their spears began flying through the air and men began to fall. This battle was recorded in the film because Salisbury’s men, in speed boats, outdistanced the war canoes and were on the scene when the scrapping began. Of outstanding interest are also many shots of the native dances, particularly those of the cannibals, who dance for hours until they bring themselves into a state of frenzy and begin slugging their friends over the head with pigs. The skull-houses of the head hunters where they keep their trophies are also shown, as are many other fascinating details of their life. “Gow” has been shown in several cities to the accompaniment of a lecture by Captain Salisbury in person. The business is reported as having been good. It is the sort of a picture upon which college and school tieups can be obtained, and the exhibitor working hard on this one can do well, for it is all it is represented to be. Captain Salisbury’s lecture tells many things not in the titles, and even without him, it holds up well for the tribal dances and the battle scenes are enough to insure its success. “Gow” is one of the best South Sea Island pictures filmed to date. It is a real novelty, with an appeal to all types of picture-goers “How to Handle Women” — with Glenn Tryon {UniversalJewel, Sept. 3; 5,592 ft.; 65 to 80 min.) Pretty good. It is a comedy, with a farcical twist in it. Mr. Tryon this time is a country boy cartoonist, who goes to New York to set the world afire with his cartoons. Nobody will believe him when he insists that he is a genius until he finds out that the Crown Prince of Volgaria came to the United States to get a loan and nobody would give him one, because the bankers thought his country was too poor to risk lending money to ; he then climbs through the window, reaches the Prince, and tells him of the scheme he had in mind to help him raise the money. The Prince’s attendants were about to evict him but the Prince, having had an opportunity to hear partly his plan and liked it, orders, his attendants not to molest him. By agreement with the Prince, the hero impersonates the Prince and carries on negotiations with the bankers. He was able to convince the bankers that a loan to Volgaria was safe in that the country produced millions of peanuts annually; and peanuts were popular in the United States. Just as the bankers signed the papers and handed them to the “Prince” for his signature, the villain, one of the Prince’s retinue, informs the bankers that the “Prince” is a hoax. They chase to arrest him. But the hero, aided by the heroine, a newspaper woman with whom he had fallen in love, reaches the Prince in time to get his signature on the papers and to make them legal. Hero and heroine marry. There is a great deal of light comedy all the way through, and, in the scenes of the chase, thrills. The interest is held pretty well. The plot has been founded on the story by William Craft and Jack Foley; it has been directed by Mr. Craft. Marian Nixon is the heroine, Raymond Kean, Bull Montana, Cesare Cravina, Robert T. Haines and others are in the cast.