Hollywood Spectator (Apr-May 1939)

scene, while Miss Leeds is still embracing her father. For the musician to have come in and made preparations to play would have taken at least four or five minutes, and a father-daughter embrace would not have lasted that long. A retake, if necessary, would be a good investment. A praiseworthy contribution to the raising of artistic values in motion pictures, and a musical feast such as seldom is to be seen in film houses. The thousands of music students throughout the country will find valuable instruction in being able to study the technique of the master violinist. Jascha Heifetz, at close range. Performances by younger musicians in the picture, including a children's symphony orchestra, should inspire other talented youngsters. Students of cinematography can observe a clever admixture of musical and fictional elements, especially as related to the need of providing sufficient dramatic values for that portion of the public with uncultivated musical tastes. The extensive possibilities for library book and film cooperation are patent. Adopts Technique of Stong 's Novel CAREER. RKO Producer Production executive Director Screen play Adaptation From the novel by Musical director Photographer Special effects Recording Editor Robert Sisk Lee Marcus Leigh Jason Dalton Trumbo Bert Granet Phil Stong Russell Bennett Frank Redman, ASC Vernon L. Walker, ASC John L. Cass Arthur E. Roberts Cast: Anne Shirley, Edward Ellis, Samuel S. Hinds, Janet Beecher, Leon Errol, Alice Eden, John Archer, Raymond Hatton, Maurice Murphy, Harrison Greene, Charles Drake, Hobart Cavanaugh. Running time, 62 minutes. Reviewed by Bert Harlen 1 THERE is some good stuff in Career. I There was good stuff in the Phil Stong novel, which pictured a cross section of Iowan small town life, centering about a young man who comes to know, as had his father, that "there are two women in every man’s life, the one he lost and the one he thanks God he got." Structurally the picture adheres closely to the plotting of the book, adaptation being by Bert Granet, the screen play itself by Dalton Trumbo. Why the middle man, is a matter in which your guess is as good as mine. Be that as it may, the film embodies the technique of the novel to a greater extent than is commonly to be seen in motion pictures. Greater Selection Required Most of the picture’s shortcomings, as I see it, come from this treatment of the story material. Hergesheimer has dubbed the novel the "grab bag” of literature. Certainly there are no exacting principles of structure or content behind the form: some of the best have been part essay or what have you. Now, though one is getting on thin ice when he says dogmatically what may or may not go into either a stage play or a screen play, I think it can safely be affirmed, as a principle, that the better screen plays favor tbe structure characteristic of stage plays, with respect to emphasis, proportion and the like. The most irrelevant item in the picture is the carrying on of two habitual drunkards. Their prolonged horseplay at a Fourth of July picnic, during which one falls off a high bridge, advanced the story in no way. The drunken episodes, however, will cause many persons, especially parents, to view the film with disfavor, when they might otherwise have commended it. Denouement Is High Spot C] On the other hand, the thread of the story which gives the film most of its significance and emotional appeal could stand a good deal more elaboration — the conflict the young man experiences between his love for the girl and his desire to fulfill his ambition to be a great scientist, the fellow having an unusual ability. The semi-tragic denouement is the high spot of the picture. There is a memorable quality to the scene where the young man, choked with emotion, sits on the banister of the front porch and looks off into the night, as he hears the train whistle which means the girl be loves is being taken out of his life, to become the bride of another. The father comes out just long enough to tell the boy about the two women in a man’s life, speaking from his own expetience, and then goes back in. Anne Shirley Impresses Other stretches of mature dialogue constitute the best feature of Trumbo’s screen play. A speech the boy’s father delivers before an irrate mob, come to his house bent on trouble, has eloquence and meaning, and Edward Ellis gives it impressively. Already having established herself as one of the screen’s outstanding emotional actresses, Anne Shirley should find further favor with audiences in her performance of the girl who comes to realize there is an insurmountable barrier between herself and the young man of her fancy — his living in a different mental world — a performance of delicacy and thoughtfulness. I would chide her gently for succumbing to the lure of the standardized long eyelashes, though they were evident, from what I could observe, only in the opening scene. As the young man John Archer has some scenes of considerable sincerity and depth. For an initial screen assignment, and a big one, it can be said that he does very well, albeit signs of inexperience peep out here and there. His voice has uncommon resonance, but needs greater tonal variation. Supporting Players Competent t| Another contest winner, Alice Eden, had too brief a part to get a just estimate of her capability, though evidently she can stand considerable coaching. Janet Beecher, Samuel S. Hinds, Leon Errol and Raymond Hatton are well cast. Leigh Jason has given sensitive direction to numerous scenes, is inclined to be heavy of touch at other times. Scenic and photographic elements enhance the picture. The documentary shots, with vocal commentary, of the corn and sheep and other characteristics of Iowa, however, adds nothing to the story, which establishes its own background satisfactorily. One with some ideas and moments of outstanding emotional poignancy, though the film is not in all respects top-notch fare. Family audiences especially should like it, except for some prolonged and unnecessary episodes of drunkenness. Tamiroff Displays Technical Skill THE MAGNIFICENT FRAUD. Paramount Producer Harlan Thompson Director Robert Florey Screen play Gilbert Gabriel, Walter Ferris Original Charles G. Booth Photography William Mellor Film editor James Smith Music director Philip Boutelje Cast: Akim Tamiroff, Lloyd Nolan, Mary Boland, Patricia Morison, Ralph Forbes, Steffi Duna, Ernest Cossart, George Zucco, Robert Warwick, Frank Reicher, Robert Middlemass, Abner Biberman, Donald Gallaher. Running time, 75 minutes. Reviewed by Bert Harlen £NDEAVORING to disentangle the intricate entwining of good and bad elements of a production like The Magnificent Fraud, weigh them in the balance, and arrive at a fair estimate of the picture’s total worth, is one of the things that occasions the critic silver threads among the gold. The personal equation will play a good part in the spectator’s reception of this film. If very romantic in outlook, he may be intrigued by the unusual turn of events: if dominantly a realist, he will find considerable to criticize. About an extremely gifted actor who, with crape hair, paint, and putty, replaces the president of a mythical South American republic when the man is assassinated by a bomb explosion, the deceit being engineered by other political PAGE SIX HOLLYWOOD SPECTATOR