Harrison's Reports (1928-1928)

110 HARRISON’S REPORTS “Jazz Mad” — with Jean Hersholt (Universal-Jewel, Sept. 30; 6,032 ft.; 70 to 86 min.) Everything about this picture is good except the title. While it is not a misnomer, yet it leads one to believe that the action would show young men and women drinking, smoking and dancing to the tunes of a jazz orchestra, when the facts are entirely different. The action really shows a famous German musician, leader of a band in Germany, coming to America expecting to be recognized because of his talent. But he could not find a position and was starving, until a friend of his, by his perseverance and determination, compelled the leader of a philharmonic orchestra to read the piece the hero had written and to undertake to produce it ; the hero had found that the people in this country were jazz mad and would not listen to classical music such as he had written. There is pathos all the way through. One cannot help feeling compassion for the hero, who, although he was a talented musician, could not gain recognition. The scenes that show him in the cabaret attempting to lead a jazz orchestra, and made fun of by the customers, who threw confetti bombs at him, hurting his feelings, arouse the spectator’s sympathy for him. There is a love affair, too, between Marion Nixon, who takes the part of the hero's daughter, and George Lewis, who takes the part of the son of a wealthy family. The mother wanted to recognize the hero, because she had always aspired to entertain celebrities, but the father, a more prosaic fellow, held him in contempt, because he thought that all European so-called celebrities were fakers. Mr. Hersholt does excellent work. George Lewis and Marian Nixon are a good pair of youthful lovers. Clarissa Selwynne is the mother of the young lover, and Charles Clary the father. The plot has been founded on a story by Sven Gade. It has been directed by F. Harmon Weight. “Lights of New York” — with Helen Costello, Cullen Landis, Gladys Brockwell and others ( W amer-V itaphoned , Fall Release; 5,267 ft.) The only thing that j ustifies the playing of this picture in first-run Key-City theatres is the fact that the characters are made to talk all the way through as if they were acting on the stage in the flesh. It is the first picture so fitted, and, if one is to judge by the fact that on last Sunday, the hottest day in this city this year, the Strand was packed to the doors when the other theatres, with the exception of the Paramount, where ‘‘The Racket’’ is playing, were actually “starving” for want of customers, they will prove fascinating to the picture-goers for the time being. The story itself is one of the most wildly melodramatic that has been seen in pictures for some time. In one scene, the villain is shown shot and the barber, partner of the hero, in order to hide the murder from the detective, who had called on them, puts the body on the chair and starts shaving him, talking to him while the detective is in the barber shop. This he did to allay suspicion. It is about the best part of the film, or the worst for intelligent people. The dialogue is carried on well all the way through. The players appear as if they know their lines, and speak them effectively. Cullen Landis is surprisingly good in dialogue. Helene Costello is good, too. In fact every player does well. The plot has been founded on the story by Hugh Herbert and Murray Roth. It deals with two country boys (the hero and his pal), who are induced by two crooks to go to New York to take over their supposed barber shop. They go. But the barber shop turns out to be also a bootlegging joint. The hero becomes acquainted with the heroine, a chorus girl, dancing in a cabaret conducted by the villain, a bootlegger. The villain murders a cop. The police authorities are bent upon finding the murderer. Through his tools the villain learns that a shipment of Century whisky, which the murdered cop was trying to intercept was sought of by the police as a clue. The villain, who had it in his secret safe, sends for the unsuspecting hero and asks him as a favor to store it in his barber shop for a few days, his purpose being to double-cross him. When the detectives call on him he makes an appointment with them at a certain hour in the hero’s barber shop, promising to give them the clue they wanted. The heroine overhears the conversation between the villain and the detective and apprises the hero of it over the telephone. The hero dumps the whisky into the river. When the villain calls on the hero a few minutes before the detectives were to arrive, the hero tells him that he knows of his efforts to double-cross him, and threatens to tell the police who the cop’s murderer is. The villain pulls outs his pistol to kill the hero, but July 14, 1928 some one from behind the curtain shoots him before he had a chance to shoot the hero. The hero and his partner put the dead body on the chair, and his partner starts shaving him as the detectives enter. The hero leaves by the back door and goes to the heroine with the object of leaving town with her before he is caught by the detectives. One of the detectives exacts a part confssion from the hero’s partner and rushes to the heroine’s apartment to arrest the hero. He reaches there in time. But just as he was about to handcuff them, a woman enters and tells the detectives that it was she who had killed the villain. She said that she had been his mistress and been abandoned by him. “Golf Widows” — with Vera Reynolds and Harrison Ford ( Columbia , May 1 ; 5,592 jt.; 65 to 80 min.) Just a fair program picture, if it is that. There is a lone laugh here and there, even though the picture is supposed to be a comedy-drama. A great deal of the action unfolds in Tia Juana, Mexico, just across the border from the United States. The idea of the story is the efforts of two wives to teach their husbands a lesson ; the husbands had been devoting most of their time to golfing at the expense of the time their wives were entitled to. The husbands seek their wives all over, and eventually reach Tia Juana. The wives had become acquainted with the hero and another person, a young wealthy man. All four had been having the time of their lives at the race track, when the two husbands arrive. Accidentally the two husbands meet the hero and ask particulars about their wives, giving a description of them. The hero pretends that he had not seen them and tries to avoid the irate husbands, until the hero’s sweetheart appears on the scene. Then the hero has to avoid not only the husbands but also his own sweetheart. In the end everything is cleared up. The husbands promise their wives never again to neglect them for golf. The story is by W. Scott Darling; it was directed by Erie C. Kenton. John Patrick, Sally Rand, Kathleen Key, Vernon Dent, and Will Stanton are in the supporting cast. Note: This is a substitution. Read facts in the June 16 issue of Harrison’s Reports. “Diamond Handcuffs” — with a Special Cast (Metro-Goldwyn, May 5 ; 6,057 ft.; 70 to 86 min.) This is not a feature in the real sense of the word, but three episodes with a central idea, combined into one "show.” The central idea is the misfortune brought upon the possessors of a certain large diamond, originally stolen from a South Africa diamond mine by a Kaffir (negro), who was afterwards shot and killed for his act ; he had stolen it to satisfy the cravings for diamonds of a woman he loved. This incident is told in the first of the three episodes. The second episode has the diamond in the show window of a Fifth Avenue jewelry store, intriguing many women. The heroine of this story begs her husband to buy it for her ; but he tells her he hasn’t the money. A friend of hers buys it for her. The husband eventually discovers it and turns his wife out of the house. The third episode again has the diamond on display in the show window of a big city jewelry store, but the action shifts to the underworld, where a young woman, mistress of a powerful underworld character, asks her "man” to buy the diamond for her. But her “man” is not in the habit of spending so much money for a woman’s whim, and he refuses. A young man who has a cigar store in a cabaret is secretly in love with her. Because she has tuberculosis, he draws from the bank every dollar he has, hands it to a doctor friend of his, and has him send for the heroine to give it to her so that she might go West for her health. She takes the money but instead of going West she buys the diamond from a pair of crooks who had held up the jewelry store and stolen it. This story winds up with the death of the heroine's “man” at the shooting fray that had ensued when the police raided the “joint” with the purpose of rounding up the crooks. The hero then takes the heroine and goes West, where they are married and live in the country happily. The picture is not for the best family circles, and certainly not for children. It was written by Carey Wilson and Henry C. Vance, and directed by John P. McCarthy. Each episode is acted by a different set of players: Eleanor Boardman, Conrad Nagel. Lawrence Gray, Sam Hardy, Lena Malena, Gwen Lee, John Roche and George Cooper are some of them. The last episode is the best ; it is somewhat thrilling. Note : This is a substitution. See facts in issue of June 23.