Harrison's Reports (1930)

September 27, 1930 155 HARRISON’S REPORTS "Shadov/ Ranch” — with Buck Jones (Columbia, August 29; running time, 63 min.) An excellent western melodrama of program grade. There is much human appeal almost in every situation. This fact makes the spectator follow the acts of the hero and of the heroine with great interest. There are also some thrills, usual in this sort of picture ; they are caused by the hero’s endangering his life to best the villain, for the benefit of the heroine. The biggest thrill is caused by a hand-to-hand fight between the hero and the villain. This time the hero (Buck Jones) is a roving cowboy. He receives a letter from a pal of his informing him of the schemes of a villain to rob the ranch of a young woman (heroine) and quits his job to go to his pal so as to help save the ranch. When he reaches town he learns that his pal had been shot by unknown persons and killed. He calls on the heroine and makes his identity known. He obtains employment at her ranch as a foreman and sets out to find the murderer of his pal. In the end he succeeds, 'ihe plot has been founded on the Munsey Magazine story by George M. Johnson. Louis King directed it. Buck Jones does very good work. Marguerite De la Motte is the heroine and 1' rank Rice the hero s pal. Kate Price, Ben W ilson and others are m the cast. The talk is extremely clear. (Silent values, excellent.) “Outward Bound” (IVarner Bros., no release date set yet ; 83 min.) An unusual picture ! During ttie showing to uie press, one could hear a pin drop. And this intense interest seemed to grip people up to the very closing scenes. Ihe unusualness of the story comes from the fact that the actors are supposed to be either dean or nan-way between life and death. The fact that the actors are supposed to be dead does not make the picture either gruesome or repulsive. Un the contrary, it makes it fascinating. 1 his is perhaps due to the fact that every human being, no matter what religion he prolesses, has a desire to know what is after death. Of course, every one knows that what is shown is imaginary , yet this curiosity is somewhat satisfied. The most pathetic parts are where the Examiner lets a mother take care of her son without revealing her identity to him, and where the “Half-way,” played by Douglas Fairbanks, drags his sweetheart, Helen Chandler, another “Half-way,” back to life. The two had been desperately in love with each other, but because he was married and there was no way for them to find happiness in their union they decide to commit suicide by turning on the gas. It is while they are unconscious that the strange action unfolds. His dragging of the girl back to life happens when his dog ^ddie had given the alarm and the neighbors broke the w-indow, letting fresh air into the apartment. But the picture does not lack comedy. Most of it is contributed by Alison Skipworth, who takes the part of Mrs. Cliveden-Banks. She is haughty, and while before the Examiner, brought before him to be told what would be her fate, she behaves in the same snobbish way she is supposed to have been behaving in life. The story opens with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Helen Chandler boarding a strange ship, and meeting a few other persons. They have a strange feeling and when they try to think about where they are and whither they are bound their memory fails them. The same thing happens to other characters. One of the characters (Leslie Howard) comes to the realization that they are all dead but when he tries to tell the others about it he is hushed. He insists, however, that he is right, and dares them to prove the contraray. They soon discover that the ship has no portlights, no captain and no other officers except a steward (played by Alec B. Francis). They interrogate him and he tells them the truth about their fate. He informs them that the Examiner (played by Dudley Diggs) is soon to board the ship. The Examiner soon appears and each person is brought before him except the two “half-ways” (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Helen Chandler) ; the Examiner did not want to see them because, as he said, their time had not yet come. Leslie Howard begs to be given his punishment forthwith, as he could not stand the suspense ; but at the entreaties of Beryl Mercer he puts him under her care (when she thanks him for it, it is revealed that he was her son, having drunk himself to death). The bark of a dog is heard and young Fairbanks disappears. He soon reappears and drags Helen (Thandler into the dark, admonishing her to hasten, for there was hardly time left, as he said, for her to follow him. At this point the picture fades back into life, showing an ambulance rushing to the hou.se and giving them first aid. The picture has been founded on the SuttonVane stage play of the same name, which created a sensation when it was first presented in London. Some of the players that appear in the picture appeared also in the play. Leslie Howard, Beryl Mercer, Alec B. Francis, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Helen Chandler, Alison Skipworth, Montagu Love, Dudley Diggs, Lionel Watts — all give excellent performances. The direction by Robert Milton, who directed also the stage play, is excellent. The talk is clear. It is the sort of picture that will be remembered for a long time. “The Lady Surrenders” — with Conrad Nagel and Genevieve Tobin (Universial, October 6; running time, 94 min.) One of the best society dramas produced by Universal for some time. The strength of it comes from the fact that not only is the story strong but it has been acted well. The heroine’s part is taken by young Genevieve Tobin, a stage actress, w'ho is beautiful and acts well. In her part she is supported by Rose Hobart, also a stage actress, who takes the part of the hero’s wife. Her work is excellent, but her part lacks sympathy. Conrad Nagel takes the hero’s part. The picture has been produced lavishly, and the atmosphere of a wealthy home is realistic. The most dramatic situation is that which shows the wife of tiie hero returning from abroad, not a divorced woman, but bent upon taking her place in her home : The hero, having taken it for granted that his wife would have gone through with the divorce proceedings, as she had stated she w'ould do, marries the heroine. Miss Tobin acts wonderfully the part of a young woman, mortified as a result of her having discovered that she was married to a man who had not been divorced. The title is derived from the words, “The lady surrenders,” uttered by Miss Hobart, when she, realizing how' much Miss Tobin and Conrad Nagel loved each other, decides to go to Reno to obtain a divorce, so as to make the legal marriage of the two lovers possible. Miss Tobin had proved to her that she was sincere in her love of Nagel when she stepped in front of an automobile to take her life away when she had found out that Miss Hobart would not give up Nagel. The cause of the first estrangement was the fact that Miss Hobart devoted her time to writing novels and to having grand parties with her society friends, neglecting her husband. The hero felt great pleasure at the company of Miss Tobin, a friend of his wife, who had visited them. The sympathetic attitude of Miss Tobin made life pleasanter for him, until he fell in love with her ; and as she, too, had fallen in love with him, both felt they would find happiness in their marriage. The plot has been founded on John Erskine’s novel, “.Sincerity.” It was directed by John M, Stahl with intelligence. Basil Rathbone, Edgar Norton, Carmel Myers, Franklin Pagborn and others are in the cast. The talk is clear. “Africa Speaks” (Columbia. Sept. 14; running time, 75 minutes) This is not a drama but the record of an expedition into the interior of Equatorial Africa, made by Paul L. Hoefler, a Colorado explorer, for the purpose of photographing wild animals in their native haunts; While there have been many a wild animal hunt picture shown in America since motion pictures came into being, “Africa Speaks” pos-. sesses extraordinary interest owing to the fact it is the first picture of this kind in which the sound was recorded while the animals were photographed, and contains a scene in which a lion is shown pouncing upon a native and tearing him to pieces. The actual tearing is not shown, for the reason that the lion, which stands in line with the camera, hides the actual tearing ; but there is no mistake as to what the fate of the black man was, for the lion is shown pouncing on him, and he is heard screaming. Another scene of extraordinary interest is where the natives are shown on a hunt of the offending lion, meeting him and killing him with spears. Pictures of lions are not the only ones shown ; gnus, which growl like lions, rhinoceroses, giraffes, impallas, which leap, covering as much as thirty feet at a jump, chattering monkeys, and other animals, as well as flamingoes. In one part of the film, clouds of locusts are shown such as have never been seen in pictures of any kind before. It is stated in the picture that these swarms are as much as fiftv miles wide and one hundred miles long. Other interesting pictures are those of the savage natives, some of whom are pygmies. There is no doubt that “.Africa Speaks” will please almost every one of those who will see it.