Harrison's Reports (1932)

December 3, 1932 HARRISON’S REPORTS 195 “The Kid From Spain” with Eddie Cantor {United Artists, rel. date not set; time, gg min.) An amusing, colorful, and lavishly produced musical comedy, with Eddie Cantor predominating. The closing scenes are the most thrilling and the funniest ; they show a bull-fight in which Cantor is one of the toreadors. At first one is treated to real bull-fighting by Sidney Franklin, the American who has made quite a name for himself in Spain as a matador. After that Cantor is sent into the arena to fight a bull he thought was tame ; but the tame bull had been replaced by the villain with a ferocious one. This scene is screamingly funny, with Cantor and the bull jumping over the fence and back into the arena. But Cantor finally vanquishes the bull by chloroforming it. This part alone is worth the price of the admission. As for the story it runs true to the form of the usual musical comedies. When Cantor is on it is funny, when he is off it drags somewhat. In this picture the nearest aproach to nakedness is achieved in the scenes where the chorus girls appear, either singing or dancing. They are almost entirely exposed. The redeeming feature, however, is that the women are not used in connection with sex situations — they merely pose. The story revolves around Cantor and Robert Young who are both expelled from college. Young is going back to Mexico and Eddie is to drive him to the station. While waiting for him to take money out of the bank some gangsters go into the car and order him to drive them. Then, afraid that Eddie might testify against them, they send him to Mexico. A detective is down there watching him. He dresses in a Mexican outfit and meets his pal Young. In order to tool the detective Young introduces Eddie as a famous toreador. This makes it necessary for Eddie to fight in the contest on Sunday. He is frantic and practices with a tame bull. In the meantime one of the girls falls in love with him and this angers her Mexican sweetheart. They try to kill Eddie but he escapes from them. The day has arrived; Eddie vanquishes the bull by chloroforming him. He is a great hero, wins the girl, and sets things right for Young and his sweetheart. The plot was adapted from a story by William Anthony McGuire, Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. It was directed by Leo McCarey. In the cast are Lyda Robert!, Ruth Hall, John Miljan, Noah Beery, J. Carrol Naish, Robert Emmet O’Connor, and others. Because of the nudity and several suggestive remarks it is hardly suitable for children or for Sunday showing. “The Jungle Killer” {Century Productions ; running time, 72 min.) There is nothing unusual in this travel film, for the scenes that show wild animals and natives have been seen many times. As a matter of fact, parts of it are very distasteful, for Mr. Carveth Wells, w'hose talk is recorded with the picture, points out the brutality of most hunters. He contends that killing to live or for museum collections is justifiable but when these so-called big game hunters kill just for the sake of hanging trophies in their rooms it is brutality. There are scenes showing a hunter, who is a bad shot, wounding animals and then setting the dogs at it. Then close-ups are shown in which the hunter puts the finishing shot in the animal’s body. This picture is more suitable for men than for women, for certain parts of it may disgust w’omen, as for instance the scene that shows a six foot king snake swallowing a five foot rattler alive. Also the scenes in which the natives are shown cutting into the animals just after they kill them and eating the meat raw. This may turn the stomachs of many persons. The p'notography is very poor, and at times only part of a shot is shown. Mr. Wells explains this by the fact that during the hunt the photographer showed a native boy how to run the camera but that the boy became frightened when the animals charged and moved the camera so as to shade part of the shot ; he says also that since all the picture is authentic naturally they did not have the aid of Hollywood lights and photography. There is one fairly exciting fight between a hj’ena and a leopard. It may bore children ; not a Sunday picture. “The Half Naked Truth” with Lee Tracy and Lupe Velez {RKO, December 16; running time, 77 min.) An excellent comedy. The story is thin, but it moves at such a fast pace and is loaded with so many laughs that the interest is held throughout,^ In addition, Lee Tracy, as a high pressure publicity man, adds much zest to his role. making a believable and likeable person of the character. The methods he uses and the things he says to win publicity are what arouse the laughter. There is some human interest, too, and one sympathizes with him when the heroine turns him down after he makes her famous : — The hero, a barker in a carnival show, and the heroine, a hooch dancer in the same show, are lovers. He promises her that some day he will make her a great Broadway star. She calls him a fourflusher. He tries to pull off a publicity stunt in a small town but this only gets the show into trouble with the authorities. He, the heroine and his pal make their escape. Since the heroine was still in her dance costume the hero thinks of a great idea. He introduces her as a Princess. He forces her on a well known theatrical oroducer and she becomes a sensation after her identity is disclosed. Once successful she becomes friendly with the producer and parts with the hero. He promises to smash her, and to show' her he can do it he takes a chambermaid from the hotel, sets her up in a nudist colony, gets the reporters there, fills the papers with her pictures, and soon she is the favorite and the heroine is deposed. His pal buys out a carnival show', and soon the hero receives a telegram that things are not going well, asking him to come and help the pal out. He cannot resist the lure of carnival life and so he gives up his lucrative position and joins his pal. He is happy to find the heroine there for she had gone back to her old dancing act. They are reconciled. The plot was adapted from an original story by Ben Markson and H. N. Swanson, and suggested by the novel, “Phantom Fame,” which is supposed to relate the life of the late Harry Reichenback, publicity man de luxe; but it has no similarity to it. It was directed by Gregory La Cava. In the cast are Eugene Pallette, Frank Morgan, Bob McKenzie, James Donlon, Shirley Chambers, and others. Not suitable for children or for Sunday showing. “With Williamson Beneath the Sea” {Principal Pictures; running time, 56 min.) Mr. J. E. VVilliamson, a noted deep sea explorer, took this picture while on an expedition for the Field Museum of Chicago, collecting rare specimens. It is interesting because of its novelty, even though it occasionally drags. Mr. Williamson lectures throughout the picture explaining the various points of interest. The opening scenes show Mr. Williamson, his w'ife and baby, descending through a tube into their ocean home, a Photosphere, through which they take pictures of deep sea life and its unusual inhabitants. Mrs. Williamson takes notes and makes sketches. One sees the daring diving boys executing Mr. Williamson’s orders undersea, fearless and brave, doing their W'ork even though cannibal sharks are always near. One of the colored diving boys, called Cinderella, anoints himself w'ith an evil smelling oil in order to keep the sharks away. As Mr. Williamson explains, the odor of the oil w'Ould keep anybody away. An interesting scene is that in which a coral tree is raised from the bottom of the ocean. It weighs several tons and one is show'ii the entire process of raising it, getting it to shore, and crating it, to be sent to the museum. Then there are some scenes showing what is called a “graveyard,” the burial place of ships that had sunk. Some of these ships are buried with treasures of gold, but it is difficult to raise them. Another situation shows one of the divers sinking in quicksand and his rescue by a brother diver. The most exciting situation is that in which an octopus entwines itself around two of the divers w'ho cannot loosen themselves from its clutches until another diver spears the octopus, which weakens and releases its victims. The picture was produced and directed by Mr. Williamson. It is an interesting and educational picture for children, though it is hardly a Sunday picture. “Blame the Woman” with Adolphe Menjou {Principal Pictures; time, 67 min.) This picture has been produced in England and although the production end is not so finished, and the moral conveyed not so pleasing, yet it manages to hold one in pretty tense suspense. This is caused by the fear of the spectator lest the hero be caught, first, at the jewelry store, where he is planning the theft of a valuable jewel, and afterward while he is in possession of the jewel. The disappearance of the jewel and his efforts to recover it. being thwarted, keep one breathless. Fred Niblo directed it. It should prove suitable as a second feature. It is not good for showing on Sundays and somewhat demoralizing to children as well as to adolescents.