Harrison's Reports (1931)

HARRISON’S REPORTS “The Man Wjjio Came Back” with Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor (Fox, Jan. n ; running time, 86 min.) Were it not for the popularity of Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor, this would be just a fair drama, as the story is not very pleasant. It is too bad to find two such distinctly young and wholesome types like Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor depicting roles in which one is addicted to drink and the other to a drug. In the end they both cure themselves of their respective habits, but it does not leave a very pleasant feeling. And one loses patience with the hero, who displays a weak character throughout, and who, when given sound words of advice by his father, makes light of it and behaves in the worst possible manner, to spite his father. There is human interest in the love affair between the hero and the heroine : — The hero, son of a very wealthy business man, lives a wild and reckless life. His father orders him to go to California, there to work and to try and make good. But instead he wastes his money and is drunk most of the time. He meets and falls in love with the heroine, a young entertainer, and she loves him also. His father’s secretary advises him to go to China to try and work there. He refuses, but he is shanghaied and taken there. While in China, he goes to a den for liquor and there finds the heroine a slave to opium smoking. She confesses to him that when he left she thought he had deserted her and did not care what became of her. He explains what happened and they get married, determined to clean themselves of their vices. After a year they are successful and the hero goes back to his father for six months. At the end of the six month period he is determined to go back to the heroine. His father speaks of the heroine in a derogatory manner, which the hero resents. But he finds that his father was jesting and had brought the heroine to his home, and the hero and the heroine are reunited. The plot was based on the stage play by Jules Eckert Goodman. It was directed by Raoul Walsh. Others in the cast are Kenneth MacKenna, William Holden, Mary Forbes, Ulrich Haupt, William Worthington, Peter Hawthorne and Lestie Fenton. The talk is clear. “The Right to Love” with Ruth Chatterton (Paramount, December 27; running time, 80 min.) A morbid drama, not suitable for children. The effective acting of Miss Chatterton in a dual role, that of mother and daughter, holds one’s interest, but there are times when the picture drags and becomes boresome. There is no comedy relief and a tragic note is sustained throughout. And one scene is particularly gruesome. It is where a young man, feeding a thrashing machine, loses his balance and falls into the machine and is killed. There is deep emotion in the scene where his grave is visited by his mother and by the woman who loved him. One feels sympathy for the heroine, who, when she confesses to her daughter her past life, loses the respect and love of her child, as her daughter does not understand her, but turns against her The heroine and the hero are in love with each other. Her father resents the hero’s mother’s attitude about the affair and forbids her to see her lover again. She disobeys him. He leaves their home in a fury to seek out the hero and to ask him his intentions. When the hero, who was standing on a thrashing machine, sees him coming he becomes nervous, loses his balance, falls into the machine, and is killed. The heroine’s father is mortified when he hears that his daughter is going to have a child and forces her into a marriage with a farmer, for whom she had no love. The heroine’s daughter grows up believing that the farmer is her rightful father. When the fanner forbids her to go out to dances, her mother insists that she go, confessing to her that he is not her rightful father. This turns the girl against her ; the girl feels sympathy for the farmer, who had never hurt her feelings. The heroine plans to have her daughter meet a young man with whom she (the daughter) is presumably in love. But when the daughter finds out that her mother planned this meeting she leaves for China with a group of missionaries without seeing her mother. During her work in the mission she meets a man with whom she falls in love. She surrenders to him. Not until then does she realize how she had wronged her mother. She leaves the mission and goes with the man she loved. The plot was adapted from the book “Brook Evans” by Susan Glaspell. It was directed by Richard Wallace. In the cast are Paul Lukas, David Manners, George Baxter, January 10, 1931 Irving Pichel, Veda Buckland and Oscar Apfel. The talk is clear. i.uitor’s note; The moral of this story is bad, it advocates subtly free love. “The Criminal Code” (Columbia, Jan. 15; running time, min.) An excellent prison drama, filled with human interest, and holding one in suspense. There is one deeply emotional scene ; it is where one of the prisoners, a young hoy receives a telegram that his mother had died. All his pentup feelings give way and he becomes hysterical. There are many tensely dramatic scenes. One is where the new warden of the prison, who was formerly a District Attorney, and who is hated by the prisoners, finds the prisoners in the yard booing him. He calmly walks down, alone and unarmed, and just by his coolness manages to quell a near riot. Another dramatic scene is towards the end, where one of the prisoners, determined to have his revenge, kills the head keeper, while the warden stands by helpless: — The hero, while intoxicated, loses his head during a quarrel and kills a man. He is sent to prison for ten years, although the murder was not premeditated. By the end of six years his spirit is completely broken and he is on the verge of insanity. The former district attorney, who had been instrumental in sending him to prison, becomes the warden. The hero’s case is brought to his attention by the doctor of the prison, who recommends a change of prison work. The hero is made the warden’s chauffeur. He falls in love with the warden’s daughter (heroine) and becomesa man again. Just on the eve of his parole, a squealer is murdered, and although he knows who is the murderer he refuses to squeal and is thrown into a dungeon for punishment. The prisoner who had committed the murder finally confesses, at the same time killing the head keeper, against whom he had a grudge, after which he is killed by the guards. The heroine tells her father that she loves the hero ; her father consents to their marriage. The plot was adapted from the stage play by Martin Flavin. It was competently directed by Howard Hawks. Excellent performances are given by Walter Huston as the warden, and by Phillips Holmes, as the hero. They are ably supported by Constance Cummings, DeWitt Jennings, Boris Karloff, Clark Marshall, Ethel Wales and others. The talk is clear. “Reaching for the Moon” with Douglas Fairbanks (United Artists, no release date set ; running lime 89 min.) An entertaining comedy! Douglas Fairbanks does not appear in costumes this time, but in regular modern clothes. This fact, however, does not stop him from leaping around ; as usual, he scales walls, jumps and hops with the same agility as he has always displayed. There is one particularly humorous scene : it is where Fairbank’s valet prepares a cocktail known as “Angel’s Breath.” This cocktail, when taken, made the tamest person wild. So that everyone who took one drink became ferocious and did incredible things until the drink wore down. There is human interest in the love affair between the hero and the heroine : — The heroine, on a dare, enters the hero’s office and makes his acquaintance. The hero, a wealthy broker, has never had time for women. The day he meets the heroine he forgets all about business and makes a dinner appointment for the evening. He waits for her, but she never shows up. Instead, she calls him from a ship, which is about to start for Europe. He is furious, and has the ship held up until his arrival. The heroine is amazed to find him on board. He woos her during the whole trip. In the meantime there had been a crash in Wall Street and the hero is ruined. The night before the ship is to dock he confesses his love to the heroine and to his dismay finds that all her friends had been listening. Thinking that the heroine knew about this, he leaves her, and she is heart-broken. When the ship docks the heroine learns that the hero had lost his entire fortune. She finds him and tells him that she loves him also and that with her money he can win back his fortune. They are married and the hero regains his fortune. The plot was based on a story by Irving Rerlin. It was directed by Edmund Goulding. In the cast are Bebe Daniels, Jack Mulhall, Edward Everett Horton, Claud Allister. June MacClov. Walter Walker and Helen Jerome Eddy. The talk is clear.