Hollywood Spectator (Apr-May 1939)

showing him how it works. The process is grim but exciting. Chester Morris gives a vital portrayal of the killer. It is a finely thought out, excellently accented and shaded performance, one of the best I have seen this season. Hard on his heels for honors is Ralph Bellamy, as the shrewd professor, calmly but alertly watching his chances to throw a noose of science about the killer. Ann Dvorak depicts a devoted gangster's moll with spirit, and Joan Perry, Melville Cooper, Rose Stradner, the youthful John Eldridge and others are able. Director Charles Vidor has brought an experienced hand to bear on the proceedings, carrying along the drama with intensity and pace. New Science Explained <1 The psychoanalysis tenets have been set forth with admirable clarity by the script. In fact, the picture constitutes a good exposition of the basic principles of the science. The psychoanalysts maintain, it may be recalled, that much of abnormal behavior is caused by memories which the individual would escape and has pushed down into the subconscious mind, and that once these memories are coaxed into the open and the individual made aware of the causes of his behavior, he is cured of the proclivities. In this story the criminal is not only cured of a nightmare which has haunted him from childhood, or so the professor assures him, but is also freed from his impulse to kill, though this metamorphosis, ironically, brings about his doom. I am not qualified to express an opinion on the merits of this branch of psychiatry. The important thing is that the theories are wholly acceptable durmg the unfoldment of the drama, which is doubtless due in large part to the craftsmanship in the screen play and to Bellamy’s sincere playing. Those who are indifferent to a sprinkling of ideas in their film fare will find plenty of melodrama to absorb them. Montage Sequences Weird <1 Good dramaturgy can be seen in the structure of the screen play by Philip MacDonald, Michael Blankfort ancT Albert Duffy, though I judged the text of James Warwick’s play was adhered to closely in important scenes of the drama. The convincing way in which the killer is brought around to subjecting himself to the psychiatrist’s probing, is an instance of exceptionally good writing. Entrances and exits are deftly managed, too, and the tension is lightened by comedy touches at strategic places. The only place where pace and interest lag are in an early portion when two principle characters start talking about two other characters which have not yet entered the story and in whom we have no interest, something which should practically never be done in screen writing. Though the script, for the most part, is wholly in the talkie genre, and most of the action is confined to a single set, good pace is maintained through the vitality of the performances and the animate use Vidor has made of the camera. Evidently the discerning editing of Otto Meyer had a hand in the movement, too. Touches of sheer cinema, however, are provided by Donald W. Starling in his montage sequences. The recital of the killer’s recurring dream is evidently effected through the use of the negative film. At any rate, it is an eerie effect. Depictions of the exhumed memories of the fellow are artfully realized also, what with distorted perspectives and the like. The general photography of Lucien Ballard contributes importantly to the film, as does the art direction of Lionel Banks and the musical score by Stoloff. A study in psychoanalysis, with a counterpoint of melodrama, which should catch the fancy of all adult picture-goers. Libraries might find a tieup between the film and their books in the psychology field. Students will observe instances of good dramaturgy . some excellent playing, and some imaginative montage sequences. Not recommended for children, however. Playing in This One Best Feature • SORORITY HOUSE; RKO production and release; director, John Farrow; producer, Robert Sisk; production executive, Lee Marcus; screen play by Dalton Trumbo; based on story, "Chi House," by Mary Coyle Chase; photography, Nicholas Musuraca; art director, Van Nest Polglase; associate art director, Carroll Clark; musical score, Roy Webb; gowns, Edward Stevenson; sound recording, Earl A. Wolcott; film editor, Harry Marker. Features Anne Shirley and James Ellison. Supporting cast: Barbara Read, Adele Pearce, J. M. Kerrigan, Helen Wood, Doris Jordan, June Storey, Elisabeth Risdon, Margaret Armstrong, Selmer Jackson, Chill Wills. Running time, 60 minutes. Reviewed by Bert Harlen SOME high caliber playing reflecting sensitive direction, is the one attribute of Sorority House. Anne Shirley, Adele Pearce and Barbara Read give very well interpreted and emotionally keyed depictions of three college students sharing a room at a boarding house, the former two, freshmen, eagerly awaiting the prized bids which will invite them to become pledges of a sorority. Miss Read, a sophomore, is whimsically philosophical— most of the time — about not having been pledged as yet. J. M. Kerrigan backs them up with a human portrayal of the former girl’s father. There are numerous scenes which are handled with excellent delicacy or dramatic verve by John Farrow — Miss Shirley’s overflow ing -a,?ture upon finally being at college, quiet but fervent, as she talks to James Ellison in the moonlit garden in front of the boarding house; the hysterical attempt at suicide by one girl who fails to receive an expected bid. The story itself, however, is not at all times convincing. In fact, it misses the spirit of campus life about as far as most films dealing with our universities. There is a good material for a yarn in the undue emphasis given sororities at most educational institutions. Granted, such cliques beget a certain amount of snobbishness, a somewhat distorted sense of values, and keen disappointment for some excluded students. Only, Sorority House pounces on the problem in the manner of Man Mountain Dean. Some Decline to Join <1 From the picture it would appear the average girl goes to a university principally to join an exclusive and expensive sorority and to find a good matrimonial prospect. Perhaps some do, but with the larger portion I am sure such things are secondary. There is a growing class of students, of both sexes, who remain ’’non-org” by choice, and some are prominent in campus activities. That a girl is damned to a dreary, empty existence during her college years because she is not pledged by a sorority, is hardly a fact. Moreover, that such a level-headed girl as Anne Shirley portrays would consider being pledged by an expensive organization when she knows her father is straining the purse strings to send her to school, is an unconvincing facet. At any rate, as we have said, the performances are of such merit as to place the picture in an upper bracket as a dualer. Anne Shirley has fine emotional depth in her work. She is one of the best dramatic actresses in pictures. James Ellison has not a great deal to do, but is agreeable. For Dalton Trumbo’s screen play it can be said that the dialogue is fluent. Perhaps the original story by Mary Coyle Chase caught campus psychology no better. Nicholas Musuraca has done HOLLYWOOD DOG TRAINING SCHOOL Carl Spitz, Owner Fritz Bache, Manager Phone 12350 Riverside Drive North Holly. 1262 No. Hollywood, Calif. APRIL 29, 1939 PAGE ELEVEN