Harrison's Reports (1938)

Ortcber f, 1938 HARRISON'S REPORTS 159 "The Lady Objects" with Gloria Stuart and Lanny Ross (Columbia, Sept. 9; time, 65 min.) Good program entertainment. It is an interesting marital drama, lavishly produced and well acted ; although the story is not particularly novel, it holds one's attention. Lanny Ross sings a few good numbers ; the music has been so well interpolated in the plot that it does not interfere with the action ; on the contrary, it adds to the picture's entertainment value. Both the hero and the heroine, despite their mistakes, win and hold the spectator's sympathy : Ross, an architect, is discouraged because of his inability to progress rapidly in his field. His wife (Gloria Stuart), a lawyer, cheers him up; they go to their college reunion where they meet Joan Marsh, who had become a well-known night club singer. Miss Marsh is disappointed to find that Ross had married for she had not forgotten him. Miss Stuart's ability becomes known to the head of the law firm for which she worked, and he gives her an important position ; in a short time, she becomes a member of the firm. With the money she earns, she and Ross are able to live luxuriously ; but he dislikes it. Tired of everything, he decides to become a singer, in order to make more money ; he obtains an engagement at Miss Marsh's club. He and Miss Stuart quarrel and separate. Miss Marsh goes to Ross' apartment ; he asks her to leave, but she refuses and he goes out. She drinks too much, and gets caught in the cord necklace she was wearing; she is strangulated. Ross is arrested. Miss Stuart, despite Ross' objections, appears at his trial and makes so eloquent a plea to the jury about her own blindness in permitting a career to interfere with her marriage that she wins his freedom. They becomes reconciled ; Ross becomes a famous singer. Gladys Lehman and Charles Kenyon wrote the original screen play ; Erie Kenton directed it, and William Perlberg produced it. In the cast are Robert Paige, Arthur Loft, Pierre Watkin, Roy Benson, and others. Not suitable for children. Class B. "Touchdown Army" with John Howard, Mary Carlisle and Robert Cummings (Paramount [ 1938-39] , Oct. 7 ; time, 70 min. ) Just another football picture, with the familiar West Point background. At the beginning, quite a number of stock shots are used showing the cadets drilling and parading. The story is thin and is developed according to formula, with very few new angles. Football fans will find the game in the closing scenes not much to get excited about ; particularly unbelievable is the final play which shows a player, who suddenly realized he was running in the wrong direction, turn around and throw the ball to another player clear across the field. The routine romance is fairly pleasant : — Robert Cummings, a conceited football player, whose services were desired by several college teams, decides to enroll in West Point, for he felt that a uniform would dazzle the ladies. He falls in love with Mary Carlisle, the Commander's dauphter and, despite regulations to the contrary, tries to see her ; this annoys John Howard, an upper classman, who, too, loved Miss Carlisle. Cummings' conceit is knocked out of him a little by his classmates ; he becomes the team's best player, winning most of the games for them. Just before the big game of the year, he is told that, unless he passed his French test, he would not be permitted to play. Although Miss Carlisle was angry at him for 'a joke he had pulled, she agrees to coach him. At the examination he finds that the questions were the same ones she had coached him in. Thinking that she had cheated to help him, Cummings goes to the governing board and informs them that he knew the answers ; but he does not involve Miss Carlisle. He is taken out of the game. During the game, Miss Carlisle finds out what had happened ; she explains the matter satisfactorily by making the authorities understand that she had innocently used old test papers. Cummings is brought to the field by aeroplane, and in the last minute to play wins the game. He and Miss Carlisle are reconciled. Lloyd Corrigan and Erwin Gelsey wrote the story and screen play ; Kurt Neumann directed it. In the cast are Owen Davis, Jr., William Frawley, Minor Watson, Benny Baker, and others. Suitability, Class A. "Personal Secretary" with William Gargan and Joy Hodges (Universal [ 1938-39] , Sept. 9 ; time, 62 min.) A breezy program comedy-melodrama. It holds one's interest throughout, for the identity of the murderer is not disclosed until the end. Most of the comedy is brought about as a result of the conflict between the hero and the heroine, newspaper columnists, who disapproved of each other's work. There is plentiful excitement in the closing scenes, where the heroine traps the murderer, at the risk of her own life. The romance is routine, with misunderstandings and eventual reconciliation : — William Gargan, columnist and radio commentator, is enraged when a rival columnist (Joy Hodges), whom he had never met, makes disparaging remarks about his predictions as to the outcome of a certain murder trial. He felt certain that the woman who was being tried was guilty, while Miss Hodges felt otherwise. Since Gargan did not know her, Miss Hodges is able to obtain a position as his secretary, in order to scoop him. But eventually her scheming makes her ashamed of herself, for she had fallen in love with Gargan, as he had with her. When he finds out who she was, he orders her out of the office, and tells her he does not want to see her again. But Miss Hodges, eager to prove her sincerity, goes after the murderer, who had attempted to kill Gargan. Her life is endangered when the murderer realizes she suspected him ; but the timely arrival of Gargan, who had learned where she had gone, saves her life. The murderer is arrested. Gargan and Miss Hodges are reconciled, and all is forgiven. Robert Lively and Betty Laidlaw wrote the story, and they and Charles Grayson, the screen play ; Otis Garrett directed it, and Max H. Golden produced it. In the cast are Andy Devine, Ruth Donnelly, Samuel Hinds, Kay Linaker, and others. Suitability, because of the murder, Class B,