Hollywood Spectator (Apr-May 1939)

amusingly irascible old one i l onel Barrymore) . This story shows Ayres disregarding both the ethics of his profession and the provisions of criminal law by refusing to report to the police a gunshot wound he is called upon to treat. Without the slightest clue upon which to base his conviction. Ayres is satisfied that his patient is not the murderer the police are convinced he is. That is the reason for his failure to report the case. Hero Assumes Too Much <JJust why Ayres assumes the law will not give the wounded man a square deal is not made clear at any stage of the story. He shows his disrespect for the honesty and ability of law officers by his refusal to put the case in their hands and his decision to solve the crime himself. Thus we have the spectacle of a young doctor, fresh from a country town and guileless enough to become the easy victim of a designing golddigger in the person of an attractive girl, considering himself the only person who could stand between his chance patient and the latter's unjust execution for murder. If I had been in the patient s place, I would have preferred to have my case placed in the hands of officers trained in the art of solving crimes. A basically absurd story cannot be made into satisfactory screen entertainment, no matter how good the direction and capable the acting. The Kildare series offers Metro jan opportunity to contribute something worthwhile to the screen, something dignified, human and amusing, but the series will not live long if it is to drag in the cheap, smelly melodrama of which the public already is tired, and if it persists in having its inexperienced hero doing things we refuse to believe he could do. Points on Credit Side <11 On the credit side of Calling Dr. Kildare there are the already noted direction of Harold Bucquet and several excellent performances. The direction of dialogue is particularly noteworthy, there being none of the loud talking which has driven so many customers away from film box-offices. Speaking in natural tones permits the player to substitute expression for noise, which is another way of saying it permits him to give a natural performance. Lionel Barrymore, of course, is to be credited with another superb performance. Lew Ayres carries on in a manner which can keep the series going if the stories are better than this one. Nat Pendleton, Sam Hinds, Walter Kingsford and several others among the men do good work. Little Bobs Watson scores a decided hit. We are presented with a brace of beautiful and capable girls in the persons of Loraine Day and Lana Turner, each of whom responds to Bucquet’s direction with an engaging characterization. Emma Dunn and Alma Kruger prove again their dependability in character roles. Two cameras contributed the excellent photography, those of Alfred Gilks and Lester White. The highly important job of editing the film was in the capable hands of Bob Kern, and a good job he made of it. Worth the time of study groups as a demonstration of things which should not be done. Will be criticized for its moral tone as it justifies the action of a citizen in concealing a man wanted on a criminal charge. Not for children. Students should note the sensible direction of dialogue. Exhibitors had better soft-pedal on advance promises. One With Little to Recommend It • THE LADY'S FROM KENTUCKY; Paramount; producer, Jeff Lazarus; director, Alexander Hall; assistant director, Joseph Lefert; photography, Theodor Sparkuhl; art directors, Hans Dreier and John Goodman; film editor, Harvey Johnston; interior decorations, A. E. Freudeman. Cast: George Raft, Ellen Drew, Hugh Herbert, Zazu Pitts, Louise Beavers, Lew Payton, Forrester Harvey, Harry Tyler. Edward J. Pawley, Gilbert Emery, Eugene Jackson, Jimmy Bristow. Running time. 75 minutes. OUITE a collection of things not to do when making a motion picture. All things Jeff Lazarus, the picture’s producer, should have known in advance. The story is a cheap, tawdry recital of a romance, with a race horse background, shared by a gambler with a low conception of sporting ethics, and a girl so reared and refined it is impossible for the audience to believe she would love the kind of man the gambler is. Perhaps lurking in the back of Rowland Brown’s head there may have been some idea which would justify the story — or such an idea may have been in his original — but, if so, there is no evidence of it in Mike Boylan’s screen play. Merging the kind of character George Raft should play, with the kind apparently he wants to play, proves only that he is not a romantic actor. He has made a place for himself on the screen in parts which suited his personality and by sticking to them could extend even his already established popularity, but among the parts he should not play is the kind he plays in this picture. And the agreeable and promising Ellen Drew will have to make her next appearance in a better story if she is to make us forget this one. And Paramount will have to do something to appease Kentucky for the shock The Lady’s From Kentucky will give it. Having one of its fairest daughters in love with a tin-horn gambler with low sporting instincts, is a bit too much. Direction Does Not Help <1 The weakness of the story is accentuated by the direction given it by AI Hall. Granted he had pretty bad material to work with, he still might have given us a better picture if he had directed with greater appreciation of such values as the script contained. He surely could have induced Raft to put some expression in the reading of lines. And he could have given us a dining room scene not quite as absurd as the one we see. Three people are seated at a round table; all face the camera, seating which leaves two-thirds of the table without occupants. A fourth guest joins them, squeezes in with the three, and the four sit elbow-to-elbow in order to bring all their faces into the camera. One thing to the credit of the picture is its giving that capable comedian, Hugh Herbert, a chance to be different. His is the best performance, one free from the mannerisms he for a long time has been trying to get away from, but which his directors demanded. Hall allows him to be different, and an excellent characterization is the result. Another asset of the picture is the presence in the cast of the clever and popular Zazu Pitts, who for too long a period has been absent from the screen. Visually the picture is attractive, the production being of high standard. Technically, too, there is nothing lacking, photography, film editing and sound recording being thoroughly competent. Criminal's Mind Is Taken Apart • BLIND ALLEY; Columbia picture and release; director, Charles Vidor; associate producer, Fred Kohlmar; screen play by Philip MacDonald, Michael Blankfort and Albert Duffy; based on play by James Warwick; photography, Lucien Ballard; film editor, Otto Meyer; sound recording, J. A. Goodrich; musical director, M. W. Stoloff art director, Lionel Banks; montage effects, Donald W. Starling; gowns, Kalloch. Features Chester Morris, Ralph Bellamy. Ann Dvorak. Supporting cast: Joan Perry, Melville Cooper. Rose Stradner. John Eldridge, Ann Doran, Marc Lawrence, Stanley Brown, Scotty Beckett, Milburn Stone, Marie Blake. Running time, 68 minutes. Reviewed by Bert Harlen UITE different from any story I recall having seen in pictures before is that of Blind Alley. The whole affair is t ed up with psychoanalysis, being an account of how a psychology professor uses the one weapon at his command to protect his family and guests when his home is invaded by a notorious killer and his accomplices, hiding from the police — the professor “destroys" the fellow by taking apart his mind and PAGE TEN HOLLYWOOD SPECTATOR