Harrison's Reports (1930)

HARRISON’S REPORTS January 4, 1930 “Dynamite” (100% T-D) — with Charles Bickford, Kay Johnson and Conrad Nagel {MGM, Dec. 13; synchronized time, 2 hours) This is an excellent entertainment, despite its defects. These consist of offenses to logic. At the opening, for example, the heroine is shown marrying a person (hero) tiiat had been condemned to death for murder. The object of the heroine in marrying a supposed-criminal is to comply with a will, which stipulated that, in order for her to inJierit the fortune she had to be a married woman on her 23rd birthday, and living with her husband. She loved another man (Conrad Nagel, married to another woman, and waiting for the day she would make up her mind to grant him a divorce), and felt that, since the criminal was about to be hanged in a few days, she was safe in marrying him. To begin with, it is inconceivable that a .society woman, or any woman, for that matter, would have married a man that was about to die for a crime when no love affair was involved.. The liero's release from prison at the last minute is effected by tile confession of the real murderer, a (w'hat appears to be) society young man. Two young men are shown in a cabaret, drinking. One of them taunts the other, the real munleicr, reminding him that an innocent person is about to be hanged for the crime he had committed, painting a vivid picture of the prisoner mounting the thirteen sicps to the scaffold, the noose, and all the details that are connected with hangings, but it is not shown how' this young man was guilty of the crime, or under what circiiinstances the murder had been committed, and how it happened that the hero had been accused of the crime. Ihis makes the hero’s guilt seem artificial. The fliflictilty to believe that the hero w'as guilty is accentuated by the fact that he was, as is later shown, a coal miner, the kind of person that would not, in all likehiiood, come in contact with society people. But the excellent direction, and the e.xtraordinary acting of Charles Bickford, make one forget the story’s shortcomings. Mr. Bickford is a fine actor; he possesses a voice that comes out like a thunderbolt. The scenes in the hero’s home in the mining town, where the heroine, having failed to persuade the hero to go to live with her for a short time so that she might comply with the terms of the will, induces him to let her live at his home, are done interestingly. There is plentiful comedy in those scenes, the result of the heroine’s awkwardness at cooking. The scenes that show the hero, the heroine and the married man she hoped to marry entombed in the mine when the tunnel gave way in one part and tons of earth had blocked the exit, are thrilling in the extreme. The rave-in of the tunnel was done so well that one feels as if being before a real-life occurrence. There is considerable drinking and “husband buying,’’ in a supposedly high society set. Jeanie McPherson wrote the story; Cecil' R. DeMille directed it. Julia P'aye, Joe AIcCrea, Muriel McCormac, Robert Kdeson, William Holden, Leslie Fenton, Henry Stockbridge, Banton Hepburn, Ernest Hilliard and others are in the cast. The sound reproduction, which is on disc, is fair; there are times when one experiences difficulty in understanding the actors. ( Silent values, excellent. Silent length, 10,771 ft. ; from 125 to 144 min. “Hell’s Heroes” (100% T-F&D) {Vuiv., Jan. 5; syn. time. 65 min.; sil. not detenu.) It seems as if “Hell’s Heroes’’ is the best talking picture Universal has produced to this day. From the point of production, in fact, it could make any company proud. I he characters appear to the spectator as being real human beings ; one feels as if blood would come out if one would prick one of the three principal characters. The action unfolds smoothly, and what the characters do is sincere and true to life. The plot, which has been founded on Peter B. Kyne’s story, deals with three hold-up men, who, after holding up and robbing the bank in a Western town, are headed for the desert to escape the pursuing posse. A sand storm arises and their horses run away. They are thus compelled to trek it through the desert. Miles from the nearest water hole they come upon a wagon. The moaning of a person attracts them and they find in the covered wagon a woman in agony as a result of her being about ready to become a mother. The three take pity on her, and elect one of them to help bring the child into the world. The mother dies. Before her death, however, she makes them promise that they will become the godfathers of her baby and that they will take him back to his father (cashier in the bank they had held up). After consultation among themselves, they decide to take the child to his father. One of them (Raymond Hatton) dies on the way as a result of a bullet wound he had received during the hold-up. But he died bravely, unwilling to drink part of the little water that was left, because the baby needed it. The second pal (Fred Kohler), too, decides to drop out of sight because the water was getting too low for them all. The water gives out and the remaining one of the three (Charles Bickford) gives up hope of ever reaching town. He comes upon a water hole, the water of which was poisonous, because it contained arsenic. Feeling that the poisoned water would keep him alive for an hour, during which time he could reach the town, he drinks of it. He reaches town and enters the church with the baby alive, but he dies. The moral of the story is that there is good even in the worst fellow. The sacrifices the three hold-ups made to save the baby cannot help arousing one’s sympathy for them. The picture on the whole is heavy ; it is not pleasurable to everybody to watch the principal characters die of thirst ; but the acting is so good that most picture-goers will overlook its heaviness. William Wyler certainly deserves credit for his excellent directorial work. Fritizi Ridgeway and Maria Alba are in the cast. The sound recording seems to be the best Universal has so far done. (Silent values, good. Silent length not yet (letei mined. ) “Sally” (100% T-D) — with Marilyn Miller {First Nat., syn. Jan. 12; time 100 minutes) Good light musical-comedy entertainment. The story is fair, but the direction and the acting are good. These are helped by the color in some of the scenes. Miss Miller is almost the whole attraction. She does unusually good acting, and is an excellent singer. While some of the technicolor scenes are beautiful, others are poor. In s(jme, the grain of the emulsion is too noticeable. The color of the flesh is too coppery. In some scenes the colors are not pure ; the white is spotted with blue, and the red color is “wavy.” Another defect, a more serious one, is the shortness of the scenes in almost half of the picture from the beginning. They are so short that they are annoying; no chance is given to the eye to adjust itself to what is shown. The plot, which has been founded on the Guy Bolton and Jerome Kern stage production, deals with a waitress, who has the soul of a dancer, and who meets and falls in love with a millionaire, whom she eventually marries. In tlic development, it is shown that she becomes a famous dancer. At one time she is induced by her pressagent to pose as a recently imported French article. She is successful for a while but she is eventually exposed. The hero, however, marries her, just the same, despite his mother’s objections. John Francis Dillon directed it. Alexander Gray is good as the hero. Joe Brown appears as the Duke of Checkagovinia, who had been compelled to come to America, where he Ijecame a waiter for a living. T. Roy Barnes, Ford .Sterling, Pert Kelton, Maude Turner Gordon, E. J. Ratcliffe, Jack Duffy, Norah Lane and others are in the cast. The sound is pretty good, the lines being clear almost at all times, even though it lacks the right kind of sharpness. (Silent values, poor. Silent length, not yet determined.) “Pointed Heels” (100% T-F&DN)— with William Powell (Param.; Dec. 21; syn, time, 54 min.) A fairly interesting program picture. It is another comedy-drama of back-stage life. Helen Kane and “Skeets” Gallagher as husband and wife, a comedy team, provoke most of the laughs, particularly when they take part in the play while drunk. There is a scene done in color, a stage ensemble, which is pleasing to the eye. There is an interesting love story between the hero and the young composer of the music which he writes for the show. And this time the villain gives up his desire to win the heroine when he finds that she is really in love with her husband. Mr. Powell is good as usual ; this time as the angel producer of the show. Miss Fay Wray is a pleasing heroine. Miss Kane is good, as is Mr. Gallagher. Phillip Holmes is adequate as the hero. Ed. Sutherland directed it from the story by Charles Hackett.