Harrison's Reports (1934)

26 February 17, 1934 HARRISON’S REPORTS “Frontier Marshal” with George O’Brien {Fox, January 19; running time, 66 min.) A good western ; it has action and comedy. The audience is held in suspense throughout due to the villain’s tricks in which he tries to implicate the hero. Much of the comedy is brought about by George E. Stone, as a Jewish shopkeeper in a western town. The closing scenes are exciting because of the danger to the hero, whose actions were misunderstood by the townspeople who threatened to lynch him for they thought he had kidnapped the heroine. There are some wisecracks in the cafe scenes made by the owner of the cafe who does an “imitation” of Mae West, but it is doubtful if children will understand the double meaning. The romance between the hero and the heroine is pleasant : — The hero and the heroine, passengers on the same stage coach, become friends. He stops off at her town just for one night, but when he hears that her father had been murdered and sees the lawlessness of the town, he decides to stay. When he captures a notorious bandit, the Mayor, who is really the villain, is forced to appoint him a marshal. The hero is suspicious of the Mayor. Eventually he proves the Mayor’s guilt. The plot was adapted from a story by Stuart M. Lake. It was directed by Lew Seiler. In the cast are Irene Bentley, Alan Edwards, Ruth Gillette, Berton Churchill, Frank Conroy, and others. Because there are some remarks with double meanings the exhibitor will have to use his own judgment about showing it to children, adolescents or on Sundays. Substitution Facts : Read the editorial in this issue. “Devil Tiger” (Fox, February 16; running time, 59^2 min.) There are very few scenes of wide open spaces. Most of it is confined to pictures of different animals fighting in small enclosures. Many scenes show monkeys swinging from tree to tree. One amusing situation shows a monkey toying with a crab. He does not know what it is, but finally he gets a grip on it and tears claws off it. The first fight shown is between a leopard and a thirty foot python. This ends in a draw. The next is a fight between a tiger and a crocodile ; but this takes place under the water mostly, and the audience cannot see what is going on. There is a fight between a tiger and a leopard, and although both fight ferociously, they soon tire and leave off fighting. An interesting fight is one between a hyena and a bear. Then another fight between a lion and a tiger. One horrible scene is that of a fight between a buffalo and a python that twists itself around the buffalo’s body. But the buffalo finally shakes off the python. The closing scenes show a stampede of elephants. Although the picture is titled “Devil Tiger,” the only glimpse one gets of this tiger is in the closing scenes when he approaches a village and is shot. The story is incidental. It shows Marion Burns going on a trip with two men into the jungle to kill the tiger. She falls in love with the younger man; the other is killed in the stampede of the elephants. Kane Richmond and Harry Wood are in the cast. It was directed by Clyde Elliott, from a story by Jane O. Spearing. Note: The Fox organization could not keep sex even out of a jungle picture. The head of the expedition is shown in one scene attempting to force his attentions on Marion Burns, the only woman with the expedition. Later on his subordinate finds tiffs man peeping through the foliage and watching Marion, who was taking a swim in the nude. There is a fight between two men. Several closeups of Miss Burns in the nude are shown, although of short duration. These incidents make the picture unsuitable for children, adolescents, or for Sunday showing. “The Lost Patrol” with Victor McLaglen, Wallace Ford and Reginald Denny (RKO, Feb. 16; running time, 73 min.) An excellent drama worthy of attention, even though it may not prove a box-office success, for it is chiefly a man’s picture. There are no women in the cast. The production end is excellent ; this, coupled with fine performances by the entire cast, strikes a realistic note, making one fell intensely the men’s suffering. The breakdown of the men, who know they are doomed to die, is pitiful. The situations that show the death of some of them will stir the emotions. The theme is somewhat similar to that of “Beau Geste”; the action unfolds in a desert. The story is supposed to have been taken from an actual occurence during the World War. A platoon of British soldiers, sent out to patrol the Mesopotamia desert, are lost when the soldier, carrying instructions, is shot down by Arab snipers. They find an oasis and camp there. The next morning the guard is found murdered and the horses gone. The men are at the mercy of the Arabs, who are hidden so cleverly that they cannot be detected. One by one the men are killed by the snipers until only Victor MacLaglen, Wallace Ford, and Boris Karloff are left. Karloff goes mad and in a fit of religious frenzy sets out across the desert bearing a cross. He is killed by the snipers; and so is Wallace Ford, who rushes out to help him. The Arabs thinking no one was left, make an appearance and MacLaglen, happy to revenge the death of all his men, kills all of them with a machine gun. He is saved when another detachment of soldiers patroling the desert find him. The plot was adapted from a story by Philip MacDonald. It was directed by John Ford. In the cast are J. M. Kerrigan, Billy Bevan, Alan Hale and others. Suitable for children, adolescents and Sundays. “The Dark Hazard” with Edward G. Robinson ( First National, Feb. 3; running time, 71J4 min.) Just fair entertainment. The story is not particularly exciting and the talents of Edward G. Robinson are more or less wasted on a weak characterization — that of a man who cannot resist gambling. Genevieve Tobin at first wins one’s sympathy, but when she leaves Robinson stranded, taking all his money with her, one loses all kindly feeling for her. The scenes that show the dog races will amuse audiences that enjoy this sort of entertainment. There is nothing in the story to hold one in suspense; it shows the rise and fall, and the rise again of Robinson, as a gambler. In the development of the plot, Robinson leaves his position as a clerk in a hotel to become associated with a gambler. Robinson, together with his wife, Genevieve Tobin, leaves for California where he is to look after his employer’s interests in a dog track. He gambles on his own and loses all his money. In the company of Glenda Farrell, a former sweetheart, he goes to a gambling resort and wins $20,000. He brings this home and during the night Genevieve takes the money and leaves him a note that she had gone home to her mother. Two years later Robinson, broken, goes to his wife. She is not in love with him any longer, but consents to have him live with her in her mother's home. He works as cashier in a barber shop, and derives his only enjoyment from his love for a dog, a former famous racer. He finds out that his wife loves George Meeker, and so he leaves her, taking his dog with him. He brings the dog back to health, and enters it in races again. He wins much money with it and is happy in the company of Glenda, who was now living with him. The plot was adapted from the story by W. R. Burnett. It was directed by Alfred E. Green. In the cast are Robert Barrat, Gordon Westcott, Hobart Cavanaugh, Sidney Toler, Emma Dunn, and others. Not suitable for children, adolescents, or Sundays. “This Side of Heaven” with Lionel Barrymore ( MGM , Feb. 2; running time, 76 min.) A fairly good human interest story'. It takes two days in the life of a family, Barrymore, his wife Fay Bainter. their two daughters and one son, and shows what happens to them — it is almost tragic, but has its lighter side, too. It is a simple story, but it manages to hold one in suspense throughout due to the plight Barrymore finds himself in — he had innocently signed his name to a check for $40,000 drawn by the general manager, and had not entered it, thinking it would help his firm, and that the manager would return it in a few days. The accountants were due and when this omission would be found it would mean Barrymore's arrest on a charge of embezzlement. Taking each member of the family it shows how they are all brought together by their individual disappointments. In the development of the plot Barryrmore takes an overdose of a drug, hoping it would kill him. He is awakened by a policeman who takes him to the hospital to see his son, and when he collapses there the doctors work over him and revive him. Through the quick work of Eddie Nugent, the general manager is caught just as he was trying to leave the country with the money. He is arrested and Barrymore’s name is cleared. Mae Clarke decides to marry Nugent. The whole family' is reunited when Barrymore and Tom Brown return from the hospital. The plot was adapted from a novel, “It Happened One Day,” by Marjorie Bartholomew. It was directed byr William K. Howard well. Una Merkel is in the cast. Suitable for children, adolescents, and Sundays.