Hollywood Spectator (Apr-May 1939)

Character Study Lacking in Study I STOLE A MILLION. Universal Producer ... Burt Kelly Director Frank Tuttle Screen play Nathanael West Photography Milton Krasner Film editor Ed Curtiss Music director Charles Previn Cast: George Raft. Claire Trevor, Dick Foran, Henry Armetta, Victor Jory, Joe Sawyer, Robert Elliot, Tom Fadden, John Hamilton, Stanley Ridges, George Chandler. Mary Forbes, Phil Tead, Wallis Clark, Irving Bacon, Hobart Cavanaugh, John Butler. Mira McKinney, Jerry Marlowe, Jason Robards. Claire Whitney, Sarah Padden, Harold Minjir, Ed Chandler, Frances Morris. Mary Foy, Edmund MacDonald. Constance Romanoff, Lee Murray, Ernie Adams, A1 Hill, Hal K. Dawson, Henry Roquemore, Mike Lally, Jim O'Gatty. Reviewed by Bert Harlen OW is a desperado born? Well, it’s like dis, kids — a fellow tries to be an all right guy, see? But them coppers jist won’t leave him alone, keep followin’ him up, even when he has married a swell skoit and settled down in a little joint where he goes to choich ever Sunday and has built a garage into a dandy business. Dey jist won’t forgit t’ings. Well, maybe de guy was a little hot-headed and stubborn and tried too much to do t’ings his own way instead of de law’s way, but inside he has a heart of gold, see? He ain’t really like most criminals. Well, de foist t’ing you know, bein’ treaded like dis, de guy is holdin’ up post offices and mail trains. Dat’s de way it goes. See? Generous With Excitements Having hinted at the spirit and developments of I Stole a Million, allow me to dispense with the jargon — it is too much trouble to write. Purporting to be a character study of an individual during his degeneration from taxi driver to desperado, the film in reality is just another gangster tale, with the usual generous emphasis on gun play, automobile chases and sundry excitements. Universal has published an attractive little booklet, in which characters of the story, opposite their photographs, express divergent interpretations of Joe’s character, and from these analyses it would seem that somebody at one time or another had some ideas which might have been the basis for a film of considerable significance. But the place for interpretation is on the screen, not in a booklet. Should Thrill the Goils Perhaps the script gave George Raft little to start with in the way of a character, but evidently he has not placed himself under any strain in trying to work out a dimensional characteriza tion. T he player’s sensuous-eyed episodes will doubtless thrill his Eighth Avenue feminine contingent and their counterparts elsewhere, however, and that was probably the primary purpose behind the production at the beginning. Claire Trevor does good trouping. Her diction and demeanor seem a trifle elegant in view of the background this character was supposed to have, but perhaps I am being hypercritical, since such details are considered trivial in contemporary film production. Encore For Jory •J Dick Foran gives a thoughtful performance, and Victor Jory does well also, cast as a criminal. We should see more of him. Tom Fadden and one or two others are capable. Art direction, supervised by Jack Otterson, is an attribute, and Milton Krasner’s photography is standard. Frank Tuttle directed. Another gangster story. Sandy Engenders Halves of “ Cutes UNEXPECTED FATHER. Universal Producer Ken Goldsmith Director Charles Lamont Screen play:: Leonard Spigelgass, Charles Grayson. Photography George Robinson Film editor Ted Kent Musical direction Charles Previn Cast: Sandy Lee, Shirley Ross, Dennis O'Keefe, Mischa Auer, Joy Hodges, Dorothy Arnold, Anne Gwynne, Anne Nagel, Donald Briggs, Richard Lane, Paul Guilfoyle, Mayo Methot, Jane Darwell, Spencer Charter, Ygor and Tanya. Running time, 73 minutes. Reviewed by Bert Harlen HOSE with maternal or paternal feelings— and who hasn’t one or the other, more or less? — will find much gratification in Unexpected Father, in which the blond and cooing Baby Sandy disports. The baby is a captivating tot. A wave of “cutes” from the preview audience attended each of his grimaces. Moreover, Sandy is a craftsman who could teach many of his elder colleagues a thing or two about screen acting. He feels everything intensely, never overplays, resorts to no artifices of make-up, is the most subtle and natural of actors. I do hope Miss Sandy will forgive my misapplication of gender: he is — that is, she is — that good an impersonator. Involves Back-Stage Life tj Several incidents of the story seem just a bit forced, but the tailor-made screen play for starring Sandy is not a bad concoction. Centering about theatre life, it provides back-stage glamour and opportunity for a couple of dance numbers to bolster up sagging moments. Movement as a whole, however, is pretty good. Feonard Spigelgass and Charles Grayson did it. An entertainer and his girl friend, of the chorus, take the infant under their wing, following the death of its parents in an automobile accident, the child’s mother having been a former dancing partner of the young man. Before the close of the story nearly everybody in the cast is willing to marry someone, when it is believed the authorities intend to place the baby in an orphanage, in view of the absence of a domestic establishment among the devoted denizens of the theatre world. The entertainer and his girl friend have become estranged. Climax Is Exciting •I A breathless climax reminiscent of the old Harold Floyd stunting comes about when the baby crawls out on the ledge of a high building. There were actual shrieks in the audience when Mischa Auer, in pursuit, falls off. Players in support of the youthful star are in good fettle, and include Shirley Ross, individual and charming: Dennis O'Keefe, gingery: and the afore’’ mentioned Mischa Auer, broad but funny. Paul Guilfoyle and Mayo Methot characterize effectively a pair' of rough-necks. A dance team, Ygor and Tanya, are in the sensational class in the acrobatic dance field. Posies are due Charles Famont, director, for his coaxing or scheming or both to get the reactions from Baby Sandy. Jack Otterson's art direction, George Robinson’s photography, Charles Previn’s musical supervision, and the gowns of Vera West are assets. Centers about the captivating Baby Sandy, with back-stage life and some dance specialties thrown in. Acceptable entertainment of the popular sort. It Introduces a Clever Comic MILLION DOLLAR LEGS, Paramount Associate producer William C. Thomas Director Nick Grinde Assistant director Joseph Leiert Screen play Lewis R. Foster, Richard English Original Lewis R. Foster Photography Harry Fischbeck Film editor Arthur Schmidt Cast: Betty Grable, John Hartley, Donald O'Connor, Jackie Coogan, Dorothea Kent, Joyce Mathews, Peter Hayes, Larry Crabbe, Richard Denning, Phillip Warren, Edward Arnold, Jr„ Thurston Hall, Roy Gordon, Matty Kemp, William Tracy. Running time, 63 minutes. Reviewed by Bert Harlen HERE is really but one reason for reviewing Million Dollar Legs, since you have already seen the picture many, many, many times before. Better add another “many.” It is a college picture PAGE EIGHT HOLLYWOOD SPECTATOR