Harrison's Reports (1931)

January 24, 1931 HARRISON’S REPORTS IS — with Clara Bow ( Paramount, Jan. 24; running lime ,“73" min. ) There is no question that “No Limit” entertains — Stuart Erwin and Harry Green are there to see that picture-goers laugh ; but there is no question that it makes crime attractive, either, for there is introduced a gambling establishment such as only Aladdin’s Lamp could have put together, and a gang of crooks so slick that during one of the sessions they enter and strip every player of everything he possesses — money, jewels, watches, and even collar buttons. No guns are, of course, shown, but no one can mistake as to what the hold up men hold in their hands, concealed under their coats. The story deals with an usherette (heroine), who accidentally finds herself the proprietor of a most attractive gambling hall, in New York City. One of the players is a young attractive man, who later proves to be a crook. The heroine had seen him once and had fallen in love with him. When he sees her in the gambling place, he becomes fascinated by her beauty. On the first evening, the young crook's confederates hold up the place, but he saves the heroine’s earnings. They marry. From a diamond ring, which her husband had given her as a present, and which she had seen that night on the finger of a famous actress, to whom she had been introduced, the heroine realizes that her husband was one of the men that had held up the theatre and had robbed the actress of her jewels, and it dawns on her that he is a crook. By this time the crook had fallen head over heels in love with her, and while she is at the District Attorney’s to be interrogated as to the whereabouts of her husband, he shows up and gives himself up. The heroine promises to wait for him. The story was written by George Marion, Jr., and was directed by Frank Tuttle. Norman Foster is the young crook. “How He Lied To Her Husband” ( British hit., Jan. 16; running time, 35 min.) This is a playlet by George Bernard Shaw, the famous author, and although the dialogue is amusing and clever the picture becomes tiresome for the reason that the whole thing takes place in one room, with no action, — it is just dialogue. A poet had written soulful poetry to the wife, who had inspired him with her beauty. She discovers that the poems are missing and realizes that they must have been taken from her room by her sister-in-law. She is frantic and pleads with the poet to deny having written them to her, if lie should be confronted by her husband. The husband does confront the poet, and is infuriated when the poet declares that he was not inspired by the wife, and that he had just let her have the poems to read because her name was similar to that of the name used in the poems. The husband feels that the poet had insulted his wife ; other men had found her charming and why not the poet? They come to blows. The poet confesses that it was the wife who had inspired him and all is forgiven. The husband asks the poet for permission to publish the poems, to which the poet consents. It was directed by Cecil Lewis. Robert Harris, Vera Lennox and Edmund Gwenn comprise the cast. “Illicit” ( Warner Pros., Feb. 14; running time, 76 min.) A fairly entertaining picture, revolving around the modern form of marriage. It is well acted and directed. But it is a picture for sophisticated audiences, for the reason that it shows a young girl and her sweetheart defying conventions and living together, although they were not married ; it was the heroine’s theory that marriage was not successful and would kill romance. Of course, in the end the girl views the matter differently, but one loses patience with her and does not feel sympathetically towards her because of her desire for freedom above everything else: — The hero and the heroine had lived together, although they were not married, because the heroine had modern ideas and did not believe in marriage. Due to insistence on the part of the hero’s father, they marry and for a year they are happy. Things begin to get on the heroine’s nerves after that, and she is unhappy when she discovers that the hero had been out with his former “flame” and had lied to her about it. They agree to live apart and visit each other occasionally. The hero is unhappy when he discovers a former suitor of the heroine’s visiting her at her apartment and tells her that he is through with the arrangement. The heroine is heartbroken when she learns that he is going away with his former sweetheart. The hero, however, calls on her and tells her that he could not leave her. She begs him to take her back to their home. They are reconciled. The story was written by Edith Fitzgerald and Robert Riskin. It was directed by Archie Mayo. There are excellent performances by Barbara Stanwyck, James Rennie, and Charles Butterworth, who are ably assisted by Joan Blondell, Natalie Moorhead, Ricardo Cortez and Claude Gillingwater. (Not a road-show) ; it is showing in a “grind” house. “The Painted Desert” ( Pathe , released Jan. 15; running time, 80 min.) Those who seek virile melodrama, with thrills and suspense, should find “The Painted Desert” an excellent entertainment. There are scenes of an explosion in a mine, and a wreck of wagons carrying ore, that have not been equaled in magnitude and in thrill for some time. |The Dinosaur Canyon on the Indian reservation in Arizona forms the background of the wreck scenes ; the camera has been placed in such an advantageous position that the scenes impress one with their bigness. The story is not so pleasant in that most of it deals with the hatred two former pals feel for each other until they are brought together by the hero, their adopted son. There is a charming love affair interwoven in the plot : — Two pioneers, Bill Farnum and J. Farrell Macdonald, while headed West, find an abandoned wagon and a baby. Each wants the baby but Farnum gets it, and goes away with him. This brings bad blood between them, and the feeling gets so bad as the years roll by that even Wm. Boyd, who had been reared by Farnum, is unable to bring about a reconciliation. Farnum had had Boyd educated at a mining school. Boyd discovers tungsten ore on Macdonald’s property and, after trying to induce his dad, Farnum, to make up with Macdonald and failing, he is ordered to leave the house. He induces Macdonald to accept his plans and in a short time they have the mine going strong and producing ore. Clark Gable (villain), loves Macdonald’s daughter, and as he feels he is going to lose her to Boyd, secretly steals dynamite and blows up the mine and stampedes the mules hauling the ore wagons. This threatens to ruin Boyd and Macdonald. Suspicion falls upon Farnum but things are cleared up in the end and the guilt of Gable becomes known. Farnum and Macdonald seek to shoot each other: they meet, and their shots strike Boyd, but not mortally. This brings them to their senses and they are reconciled. Macdonald gives his consent to his daughter, Helen T welvetrees, to marry Boyd. Tom Buckingham and Howard Higgin wrote the story; Howard Higgin directed it, under the supervision of E. B. Derr. Charles Sellon, Will Walling, Guy Edward Hearn, Wade Boeteler and others are in the cast. “The Command Performance” (Tiffany, released January 12; running time, 73 min.) A very good romance, well directed and equally well acted, unfolding in a fictitious European Kingdom. The love interest is strong ; so strong, in fact, that in one of the scenes one’s emotions are stirred deeply. It is where the Princess-heroine demands guarantees that the hero, who had impersonated the prince so as to make love to her by proxy, and with whom she had fallen deeply in love, shall not be harmed. The feeling Miss Una Merkel, who takes the part of the Princess, shows moves one deeply. Neil Hamilton, too, arouses the spectator’s sympathetic interest by his manly attitude ; he had fallen in love with the princess and, feeling guilty about the deception, confesses to her that he is not a Prince, but only a “prince” by proxy ; because of his likeness to the real prince, who under no circumstances would consent to marry the Princess, even to save his kingdom, he had been engaged to impersonate him so that, by “consenting” to a marriage with her, he might be able to have a treaty of alliance signed and thus save the kingdom from a formidable foe. After his confession he tells her he is ready to take whatever punishment he deserved. In the development of the plot it is shown that the real prince, unwilling to marry the princess, renounces his title and leaves the Kingdom for America, promising never to return, and that the hero, with the consent of the Queen, continues the impersonation in the eyes of the world and marries the heroine, much to the joy of both. The plot has been founded on the play by C. Stafford Dickens ; it was directed for Mr. James Cruze by Walter Lang. Helen Ware, Albert Gran, Lawrence Grant, Vera Lewis and others are in the cast.