Harrison's Reports (1933)

194 HARRISON’S REPORTS December 9, 1933 “Hoopla” with Clara Bow {Fox, November 30; running thne, 79^ min.) This is another version of “The Barker’’ which was produced by First National in December, 1928. The old version was good entertainment, but the present version is just a' moderately entertaining program picture. The trouble with it is that there is little life in it, moving along slowly. Clara Bow does not appear at her best here either in acting or in appearance, and except for one or two dramatic scenes, the picture falls flat. There is some human interest in the father’s affection for his son — one sympathizes with him when he loses his boy who marries Clara ; the father felt that she was not the type of woman for his son. But this is not enough to hold the interest. In the development of the plot Foster, a circus barker, gives up his sweetheart, Minna Gombell, when his young son, Richard Cromwell, joins the carnival show. Minna promises Clara one hundred dollars if she would vamp Richard and so leave the field clear for her with Foster. Clara starts out to interest the boy and ends up by falling in love with him. She marries him and Foster, who knew her to be a loose woman, is so angry that he throws them both out of the show. They go to Chicago where Clara works in a side show at the fair and Richard studies law. They are happy. Foster, through Clara’s influence, is engaged as her “barker,” and when he meets her he refuses to have anything to do with her. She convinces him, however, that she had been honest with Richard and is helping him with his education. Foster finally realizes that what she says is the truth and so there is a happy reconciliation. The plot was adapted from the play by John K. Nicholson. It was directed by Frank Lloyd. Others in the cast are Herbert Mundin and James Gleason. Unsuitable for children, adolescents, or for Sundays. “Son Of A Sailor” with Joe E. Brown {First Nat’l, December 23 ; running time, 72 min.) A good comedy. Some of the situations are so funny that the audience will laugh uproariously, as, for instance, the one in which Joe E. Brown finds himself on a ship that was to be used by bombing planes as a target ; he makes frantic efforts to warn the aviators to stop bombing it. There are spots in between that are a little draggy, and the story is thin, but there is enough comedy throughout to hold the interest fairly well. Most of it is brought about by the trouble Brown gets himself into because of his bragging ways — he boasts that he is a great fighter, bragging which prompts the commander of his ship to match him again.st a strong fighter in a championship bout; he wins by a stroke of luck. Another time he boasts about his intimacy with navy officers and then is brought face to face with them. In the development of the plot Brown is given shore leave from his ship for one day. He is unsuccessful in his attempts to make appointments with several girls, until finally he is hit by an automobile driven by Jean Muir. She takes him to her country home and is amused when he boasts about his intimacy with naval officers. He is flabbergasted when she introduces him to the very men he had been talking about, for her grandfather was none other than the admiral. Brown is due back on his ship the following morning but he is prevented by the butler from leaving. He finally lands on an aeroplane that had been piloted by one of the guests. He does not know that the man was a spy, and that he had stolen important navy plans. When this man attempts to throw him out of the plane Brown hits the spy on the head, and the plane, guided by a robot control, is piloted back to the ship safely. But Brown did not trust this control and before the plane landed on the ship he jumped by means of a parachute and landed on a target ship which was later bombed by navy planes. He is rescued, and later receives a promotion for having captured the spy and recovered the plans. The plot was adapted from a story by A1 Cohn and Paul G. Smith. It was directed by Lloyd Bacon. In the cast are Frank McHugh, Thelma Todd, Johnny Mack Brown, Sheila Terry, Kenneth Thomson, and others. Suitable for children, adolescents, and for Sundays. “Dancing Lady” with Joan Crawford, Clark Gable and Franchot Tone {MCM, November 24 ; running time, 92 min.) Good entertainment. It is an elaborately staged musical, with all the elements tlrat endow it with mass appeal. For one thing, there is the combination of three popular stars — Joan Crawford, Clark Gable and Franchot Tone. Although there are no novel twists to the story, it moves fast, has human interest, and some excellent musical numbers, particularly the ones in the closing scenes, which are handsomely mounted. The comedy, too, is good. Joan Crawford appears at her best here ; she sings and dances, wears the sort of clothes that appeal to women, and in general gives an effective performance. She wins sympathy because of her earnest efforts to become a star, by hard work; also because she stands by the man who had given her the first chance to attain success. In the development of the plot Joan, with the help of Franchot Tone, a wealthy society man in love with her, is able to graduate from the ranks of burlesque to the chorus of a Broadway musical comedy. Clark Gable, the stage director, notices that she has talent and decides to star her in the show. She is tearfully grateful. However, he keeps taunting her about her rich friends and she does not know that he does this because he had fallen in love with her himself. Tone pleads with her to marry him. She tells him that if she should be successful her career will come first, but if she should fail, she will marry him. Tone buys off the producer to shut down the show. Left without work, Joan accepts Tone’s invitation to cruise to Havana with him and with some of his friends. When she returns to New York she meets Gable and learns from him of the dirty trick Tone had played on them. She leaves Tone and goes back to the play which Gable had decided to put on with his own money. She is a hit. But her greatest joy comes when Gable proposes marriage to her. The plot was adapted from a story by James Warner Beilah. It was directed by Robert Z. Leonard. Others in the cast are May Robson. Ted Healy, Winnie Lightner, Fred Astaire, Robert Benchley, Gloria Foy, Art Jarrett, Grant Mitchell and Maynard Holmes. Suitable for children, adolescents, and for Sundays. “Sitting Pretty” with Jack Oakie, Ginger Rogers and Jack Haley {Paramount, Nov. 24; rtmning time, 74 min.) fairly entertaining corned}', with music. .Although it is not as elaborate as some other musical pictures that have l)ern shown recently, it holds the interest throughout because of the good performances, the comedy, and also the tuneful melodies that are sung during the unfolding of the story. There is just one elaborate dance number and this comes in the closing scenes when a motion picture is being shot, and Ginger Rogers sings a song while the girls dance. There are several funny situations, one of the funniest being that in which Oakie and Haley try to seil their talents to Gregory Ratoff. an agent. Also entertaining is the situation in which Oakie and Haley, both drunk, burst into a fashionable drawing room where classical music is being played. Human interest is aroused by the friendship Haley shows for Oakie, even to the point of giving up a position so as not to embarrass Oakie, who had been discharged. The story revolves around Oakie and Haley, two songwriters who hitch-hike their way to Hollywood from New York. At one of their stops they try to cash a check with Ginger Rogers, owner of a lunch room ; they do not know that the check is no good or that the man who had given it to them was a lunatic whose passion was to hand out checks. They arrive in Hollywood, and soon Ginger arrives with her little brother. Since they are all broke they live together and try to make the best of things. Through a clever ruse Oakie and Haley are able to see a motion picture producer and prove to him that they have talent. They are making good money now but Oakie becomes enamored of Thelma Todd, an actress, and neglects his work for her. He is discharged and Haley refuses to work without him so he, too, is discharged. Oakie and Haley are pals again for Oakie had given up Thelma at Haley’s insistence. They meet a director at a speakeasy and become chums. Throug'n him they meet another producer and are engaged by him to write songs. Ginger is engaged as a star in the picture for which the boys are writing the music. Ginger and Haley are married. The plot was adapted from a story suggested by Nina Wilco.x Putnam. It was directed by Harry Joe Brown. In the cast are Gregory Ratoff, Lew Cody, Harry Revel, Jerry Tucker, and others. There is a dance showing bare legs. For this reason you will have to use your own judgment whether it is suitable for children, adolescents, and Sundays or not.