Hollywood Spectator (Apr-May 1939)

has played, and the same holds true here. Even its casual reading has made the adult population acquainted with the achievements of Edison, the man, but few of us have knowledge of the birth pains his genius suffered. In that regard Young Tom Edison is a revealing document. a poignant recital of trials and disappointments, illuminated with flashes of humor, bits of comedy, which sugarcoat its taking. Mickey does no mugging here, does no straining for effects, never suggests the actor. As his younger sister — really older in the Edison family — we have that superlatively clever little Virginia Weidler, a child who would be a great box-office star if only one among our many overstuffed-salaried producers had brains enough to realize it. The parents of the Edison children are played by Fay Bainter and George Bancroft, and each gives a really fine performance. Others who distinguish themselves are Eugene Pallette, Victor Kilian, J. M. Kerrigan, Lloyd Corrigan and Eily Malyon. Norman Taurog gave the picture understanding direction, and Sidney Wagner (photography) and Elmo Veron (film editing) ably acquitted themselves of their technical chores. Cedric Gibbons’s recreation of the Port Huron. Michigan, of the young Tom Edison days, is a notable feature of the production. Interesting to students as a further demonstration of the screen's strength as a medium for the presentation of biographical material, to make the past live again before our eyes. Enough youthful appeal to entertain the children and to create their interest in Edison, the Man. when the second picture is shown, the two thus becoming, from an educational standpoint , the greatest biographical lesson the screen has made available. Exhibitors should find it profitable booking. Fields1 Fest Film Rather A Poor One MY LITTLE CHICKADEE, Universal Pictures Director Edward F. Cline Producer Lester Cowan Original screen play Mae West, W. C. Fields Director of photography Joseph Valentine, ASC Art director Jack Otterson Associate art director Martin Obzina Film editor Edward Curtiss Musical director Charles Previn Musical score Frank Skinner Cast: Mae West, W. C. Fields, Joseph Calleia, Dick Foran, Ruth Donnelly, Margaret Hamilton, Donald Meek, Fuzzy Knight, Willard Robertson, George Moran, Jackie Searl, Fay Adler. LTI TLE to recommend it. I like the brand of comedy Bill Fields dishes out, but the weak story background we have here is too great a burden for him to carry alone. He gets no help from Mae West who still relies upon her hips to carry the burden of her performance. I have no quarrel with hips as necessary adjuncts to human locomotion, but I do object to them as a media of expression. I have seen all the pictures in which Mae West has appeared, and have grown weary of the succession of duplications of the characterization she contributed to the first, which, if memory serves me correctly, entertained me mainly by virtue of the strength of the story it told. Here we have a story devoid of cleverness to keep continuous the interest of the audience. It has clever people in it and no fault can be found with the direction Edward Cline gave it, but on the whole it proves more boring than entertaining. That is my individual opinion. The story obviously was designed solely to string together the appearances of the two stars — the only kind of story we might have expected when the credits revealed it was written by the two stars. If Universal had employed trained screen writers to provide an intelligent screen play, the stars would have appeared to better advantage than they do in one created by themselves solely to exploit themselves. Universal has given My Little Chickadee a worthwhile production and a good cast, but the whole thing sums up to rather dull entertainment. Not for children, and nothing in it to engage the attention of students of the screen. Ardent fans of W. C. Fields and Mae West may be satisfied with it. For exhibitors it Will depend upon the box-office value of the star names. If allace Beery Is A Scalawag Again THE MAN FROM DAKOTA, MGM Producer Director Screen play Musical score: eatrof. Art director Associate art director Make-Up created by Director of photography Film editor Edward Chodorov Leslie Fenton Laurence Stallings David Snell, Daniele Amfith Cedric Gibbons Malcolm Brown Jack Dawn Ray June, ASC Conrad A. Nervig Cast: Wallace Beery, John Howard, Dolores Del Rio, Donald Meek, Robert Barrat, Addison Richards. Frederick Burton, William Haade, John Wray. II/HA I merit this picture has is due to rr the direction given it. It is the third production of feature length which Leslie Fenton has directed. In the other two he was fortunate in having stories which were worth while, and out of them he made pictures which stamped him as one of the most promising — if not the most promising — young directors in Hollywood. In The Man From Dakota he has a story which no director could make into completely satisfying screen entertainment, but Fenton’s di rection gives it values which save it from becoming a complete loss. The story takes us back to Civil War days and deals with the frustration of a plan of the Southern army to lead General Grant into a trap. Which genius on the Metro lot had the idea that while the soil of foreign countries is being drenched with soldiers’ blood, is a good time to revive a bloody episode in our own history, I do not know, but I cannot commend the idea as one which will be accepted with favor by American audiences. War is one thing we would like to forget, and Metro goes to considerable expense to remind us of it. to sell us more of it in the guise of entertainment. Story Is Mechanical •I The story is a spotty one, consisting of pieces which even good direction could not stick together closely enough to keep the uneven splices from showing. But it provides opportunities for three excellent main performances and quite a number of secondary ones. Wally Beery is again the roughneck scallawag, a characterization which has typed him so fixedly as to suggest the wisdom of permitting him to play something radically different to surprise and delight audiences everywhere. Dolores Del Rio comes back to us in this picture, ornaments it and contributes a performance which is one of the big features of the production. It takes forceful acting to justify her appearance, as a hole had to be cut in the story to make room for her, but the intrusion is justified by the strength of her contribution and is valuable as a reminder to producers that in her they have been overlooking an accomplished and beautiful actress. John Howard is coming along rapidly, each of his performances being a little better than the one which preceded it. In I he Man From Dakota he is really excellent, thanks to direction which permitted him to develope his characterization intelligently. All the others in the cast struggled gamely against the story odds which confronted them. The picture is given the complete production which characterizes every film Metro turns out. Ray June’s camera had a wide range of light and shade If You Enjoy Good Southern Home Cooked Food Try the CANTERBURY COFFEE SHOP 1746 North Cherokee . . . NOW OPEN TO THE PUBLIC . . . Breakfast . . Luncheon . . Dinner AT POPULAR PRICES PAGE SIX HOLLYWOOD SPECTATOR