Hollywood Filmograph (Jan-Jul 1930)

HOLLYWOOD FILMOGRAPH 29 Preview "SAFETY IN NUMBERS" Paramount A 1 1 Talking Singing ProductionPreviewed at Paramount Studio. Victor Schertzinger, with characteristic good taste, has given us another fine picture with Charles ("Buddy") Rogers in the stellar role. It is one of those "rich young man goes east" affairs, with Buddy and three charming girls capering through a series of very interesting seqeunces staged under unusual circumstances. Richard Tucker, as the uncle of the youthful millionaire, gives the boy five thousand dollars and consigns him to the tender mercies of three Follies beauties — in the hope and belief that there is safety in numbers. He wants the three musketeers to show Buddy the white lights before the lad comes into full possession of his millions. But the boy from San Francisco is not only musicallly-inclined; he is decidedly impressionistic. He does virtually everything from the trick of writing song-hits to the innocent stunt of sleeping in the pent-house of the leading Follies charmer — with the charmer herself present. In the end, the uncle is disgusted and infuriated to find that Buddy has fallen for a showgirl, but the three musketeers of Broadway have played the game on the up-an-up. They keep Buddy out of trouble and the "girl in the heart" decides to flee to Paris with the heavy — in order to cut Buddy asunder. However, Buddy has no desire to be cut asunder — and in a smashing climax he fights his way to victory and claims his "heart." Whereupon, the uncle forgives— and all is slick. On the whole, a most captivating little offering — 'capably directed and beautifully photographed. Buddy sings and plays with his customary gusto, while Kathryn Crawford is altogether pleasing as the sensible brunette who wins the boy. The other members of the musketeer-trio are Josephine Dunn and Carole Lombard. These girls are excellent, doing understandable things in a sane manner, and Schertzinger has shown remarkable skill in his groupings and the individual delineations. The characters stand out. Schertzinger has exercised commendable restraint in handling the New York scenes. Where some directors might have "run wild" on song and revue balderdash, this artistic craftsman has resisted the temptation to smear on the lavish colors. Instead, he holds his story in leash at all times, thus strengthening his dramatic appeal and relieving us of the tedium of "just another revue." Schertzinger wisely keeps away from the theatre. He even stages one of the rehearsals in the pent-house where the dark beauty lives. This is a welcome relief. It gets us away from the everlasting monotony of the "stagey" productions which seem so much alike. Exceptional comedy situations are adroitly handled by Roscoe Karns and Louis Beaver. Roscoe's taxidriver is a classic. Watch this boy. He is a very clever actor, with a world of experience, and he will go far in restrained comedy. Others who acquitted themselves creditably were Richard Tucker, Jeneva Mitch Preview "DOGVILLE MURDER CASE" ML-.-G'. -M. All-barkie, featuring Jiggs and other canines. Previewed at Belmont Theatre. Those clever co-directors, Jules White and Zion Myers, have turned out the best dog picture ever released in this man's country. Kipling should see this one. Years ago he had animals and inanimate objects talking in his quaint way. But Kipling had to confine himself to cold type. Zion Myers and Jules White, thanks to sound equipment, labor under no such handicap. They have a flexible medium, for a most unique purpose, and they use it to excellent advantage. The dogs talk — ■ and how! The Belmont audience roared its approval of the comedy. The story, as broad burlesque, is an amazingly clever take-off on Philo Vance, the super detective of S. S. Van Dine fame. All roles are entrusted to dogs, from the heavy to the hero. Briefly, it is the sad, sad tale of a bridegroom who is murdered on his wedding night. The "wife" then goes to the district attorney. The D. A. calls in his friend, Philo, and the plot thickens. But Jiggs, as Vance, is equal to the case. He solves the mystery in a manner that would be a credit to Van Dine himself. This bright little offering, so very much out of the ordinary run that it stands in a class by itself, will be a treat for the kiddies and a joy to the grown-ups. The dogs are perfect in their difficult roles. Synchronization is adroit and convincing, for each dog simulates the action — and human voices seem to come from canine throats. This is odd but highly entertaining. It opens up a rich vein of comedy possibilities. Myers and White rate congratulations on this one. We have nothing for them but praise. And the same goes for M-G-M and the actors and sound experts who perfected this quaint masterpiece. As for the dogs, they are marvelous — and their owners and handlers deserve a vote of thanks. Costuming and settings are keen — and there is a lovely little wedding scene sweetly staged. The bride, a cunning little thing in tulle, has beautiful eyes — like Madge Bellamy's. The minister's tirade is a knockout. The wedding guests howl in unison. Rennie Renfro's dogs play the roles in the story like real troupers. If we were advising Louis Mayer and Irving Thalberg, which I shall now proceed to do, we would say: "Hop to it, my genial gentlemen ! Make a dozen more equally as good. Then play 'em up strong. You have an ace in the hole. You can't go wrong." ell and Francis McDonald. Needless to say, Buddy himself is aces up. He is wholesome and lovable and this picture will add to his growing poplarity. Story values, contributed by George Marion, Jr., and Percy Heat, are adequate, while the dialogue, by Marion Dix, is all that could he desired. Dances staged by David Bennett were excellent. Henry Gerrard's camera work merits special praise. Hector Trumbull was associate producer. TOM LEWIS. Preview "LET'S GO NATIVE" Paramount all talkie-singing comedy. Previewed at the Fox West Lake Theatre. "Let's Go Native" smacking much of Hal Roach and Mack Sennett effusions, boasts and comes into the dignity of a Paramount production. Leo McCarey, son of the famous Uncle Tom McCarey in the fistic promotional line, was at the directorial helm and swung the rudder with a deft hand. Leo, who is looked upon in the cinema world as the Young Napoleon of the megaphone wielders, is a pastmaster at celluloid quirks and curlicues in the comedy line and he sure let loose his choicest bag of tricks in "Let's Go Native." The sequences throughout are greeted with staccato barks of laughter from a machine gun loaded with side-splitting episodes. Moreover, Director McCarey is peculiarly blessed with the felicitous assistance of a coterie of funmakers that is difficult to match in Shadowland, comprising, Jack Oakie, "Skeets" Gallagher, Eugene Paulette, William Austin, Charles Sellon, Jeanette MacDonald, Kay Frances and James Hall. Now if you can beat this galaxy of risible generators you've got to go some. "Let's Go Native" is sort of goofey in its plot, shooting off at a tangent now and then from consistency. Buenos Ayres wants a whoopee extravaganza with a New York cast, so two Argentine theatrical envoys are sent to turn the trick. We wish to digress here for a moment, lads and lassies, to tell you that no two members of the cast pronounced Buenos Ayres alike. Well, the two •envoys, speaking masquerade English, swing everything O. K. but the whole shooting match, on its way to the Argentine, is wrecked, and is thrown upon the tropical shores of "The Virgin Islands." Then everything goes haywire, especially when the Broadway argonauts discover that the virgins are no other than a troupe of Brooklyn nereids with King Gallagher as the main squeeze. Then "Let's Go Native" breaks loose and the island is shocked from mountain peak to foundation stone with a bombardment of Uncle Sam's latest whoopee gadgets. The funny situations come so fast that one is kept in a continual spasm of laughter. Of course there is a little love huddle woven into the yarn, with Jeanette MacDonald and James Hall as the erotic offenders. All in the cast are called on to sing songs, the music of which in most cases is catchy. Miss MacDonald really steals the picture with her winsome personality, regal beauty and exquisite voice. She all but dominates the sequences throughout. Jack Oakie is capital as a wisecracking chauffeur, bent on crashing the thespic gate. Skeets Gallagher is a wow as King of the Virgin Islands. William Austin is there good and plenty as a -blundering English lackey. Eugene Pallette was a knockout as a furniture mover, and Kay Francis came through nicely as the jilted fiancee of James Hall. Charles Sellon and Hall round out a darling cast, Hall especially going over big when he sings with Miss Preview "THE CRISCO KID" Universal All-Talkie Comedy. Produced and Directed by Nat Ross. Starring George Sidney and Charley Murray. Previewed at the Belmont Theatre. "The Crisco Kid" one of O. Henry's best stories, furnishes a vehicle for that famous twain of funmakers, George Sidney and Charley Murray, to flash forth their best comedy wares. The plot while garbled just enough to give a comic to some of its salient points, it still conserves the original story, which is intensely gripping in its unlooked for denouement. It is a three-reel effusion, but if some of the footage were excised in spots, the tempo would be whipped up to a consistent and intriguing speed throughout. Director Nat Ross has treated the sequences wJth a de'ftly i ironical touch, displaying throughout, a keen insight for comic values. He sure has turned out a side-splitting gem. The moment George Sidney fades in on the scene in all his portly hravado as the "Crisco Kid," one is ready to die of laughter. He is especially funny in the barber-shop scene. Imagine a squatty 250-pound bandit hero of the wide-open spaces, dressed like a comic-opera star. Charley Murray is a knockout as Sergeant O'Hara, a swaggering, pinhearted, blundering and conceited 'soldier who adventures forth to grab $5000.00 when he nabs the "Crisco Kid." He manages to cut in on the Kid's love affair with a chiquita of the mesa, a dark-eyed charmer who scatters her favors to the four quarters of the globe. This charmer is extremely hit off by Mona Rica. The finale, where Murray pulls an awful boner, is ludicrous in the extreme and was acclaimed with cracking good comedy and is sure to go over big, especially with Sidney and Murray's vast army of cinema followers. George Robinson's photography was clever throughout and gives an added charm to the effusion. ED O'MALLEY. "THE PAINTED WOMAN" Fifi Dorsay, the volatile, blackhaired French mamselle who has risen at a record breaking clip as a FoxMovietone box office attraction, today was assigned to play the title role in "The Painted Woman," to be directed by Victor Fleming and based on a Larry Evans novel. The story deals with a hard-boiled captain, a hard-hoiled mate and a hard-boiled lady. Victor McLaglen,-it is easy to surmise, will play the hard-boiled mate and he and Mile. Dorsay proved quite a screen duo in "Hot For Paris." MacDonald. George Marion, Jr.'s, dialogue and Victor Miller's photography are excellent. After the film is whittled down a bit and furbished in certain spots, it should fare forth as a gem of a comedy. Don't miss it, brethren, for you will get the kick of your life if you like to laugh and grow fat. ED. O'MALLEY.