Hollywood Spectator (1938)

Page Eight April 30, 1938 punctuated throughout with just the right number of musical and spectacle interpolations to maintain the high level of the entertainment quality. Nothing is overdone, even Bing Crosby’s vocal contributions being more infrequent than we have been taught to expect when we see his name at the head of a pic¬ ture’s cast. Bing Crosby As An Actor . . . ING’S singing, of course, is a big feature of Doctor Rhythm, but, as is the case with each of his screen appearances, his acting also is a big feature. To me he always has been one of the easiest, smooth¬ est actors on the screen, one with a true sense of comedy values and appreciation of the possibilities of romantic scenes. He is at his best in pictures di¬ rected by Frank Tuttle. Just as Doctor Rhythm wisely leaves us with the feeling that we could have stood a lot more of Bing’s singing, so does it make us feel we could have stood a lot more of Bee Lillie's comedy. This Canadian girl, who reached the American stage via London, is a delight in this Para¬ mount offering. A really brilliant bit of comedy is a scene in which she endeavors to purchase two dozen double damask napkins in a department store, the sketch, written by Dion Titheradge, being one of the highspots of the production. In it Bee is as¬ sisted by Franklin Pangborn, Harold Minjir and William Austin, each of whom helps greatly in keeping the fun at a high level. Cohen's Auspicious Exit . . . THERS who make valuable contributions to the picture are the clever and attractive Mary Carlisle; Andy Devine, Laura Hope Crews, Fred Keating and Frank Elliott. The smaller parts are handled as ac¬ ceptably. Doctor Rhythm is the last picture Emanuel Cohen made for Paramount before his contract with it exploded and he was paid a huge sum to resist the temptation to make any more for the same release. It is an impressive exit from the Paramount reservation, a musical picture not cut from the same pattern that has been used so often by all producers. The screen play by Jo Swerling and Richard Connell is well written, but I think the story would have been im¬ proved if it had not opened with a drunken spree. My view is that a funny thing a man does when he Boarding Training HOLLYWOOD DOG TRAINING SCHOOL CARL SPITZ, Owner Fritz Bache, Manager Phone 1 2350 Riverside Drive North Holly. 1 262 North Hollywood, Calif. is sober is funnier than a funny thing he does when he is drunk. Drunkenness is not as good box-office as sobriety. The opening scene in Doctor Rhythm will offend a lot of people, and I cannot see the wis¬ dom of gratuitously incorporating in a picture any¬ thing that will offend even a few people. Of course, it takes more thinking to invent sober fun, but it can be done. HITS THE BULL'S-EYE . . . © WIDE OPEN FACES; David L. Loew picture for RKO re¬ lease; stars Joe E. Brown; associate producer. Edward Gross; director, Kurt Neumann; original story by Richard Flournoy; screen play by Earle Snell, Clarence Marks and Joe Bigelow, with additional dialogue by Pat C. Flick; photography, Paul C. Vogel; art director, John Ducasse Schulze; film editor. Jack Ogilvie; musical director. Dr. Hugo Reisenfeld, with Jay Chernis as associate; recording director, Tom Carman: Cast: Jane Wyman, Alison Skipworth, Lyda Roberti, Alan Baxter, Lucien Littlefield, Sidney Toler, Berton Churchill, Barbara Pepper, Joseph Downing, Stanley Fields, Horace Murphy, Garry Owen, Dick Rich, Walter Wills, Joe E. Marks. Reviewed by Bert Harlen OE E. BROWN does it again. Here is another racy comedy, a pot-pourri of gags held together by a story which, if only a variation on a formula, is given freshness by the zest with which it is told. The whole thing is plainly “sure-fire” stuff, but consid¬ ering the market for which it was aimed, it must be admitted that the picture hits the bull’s-eye. Chil¬ dren will scream and writhe with excitement from its thrills and with hilarity engendered by its humor. Joe’s large and constant following of adults will also be mightily entertained. Those who take their cinema seriously have learned long ago what to expect from these comedies, and will not misspend any of their nickels. So I guess everybody will be happy. From a business standpoint one cannot but admire the sys¬ tem to which the production and distribution of Joe E. Brown comedies have been reduced. This is one of the few production enterprises in Hollywood that is a business. It is known beforehand how much is going into a picture and how much is coming out. One Gag a Gem . . . OME of the gags are imaginative; others are oldtimers. Almost all of them are well pointed. One is certainly a gem, the funniest I have seen in a pic¬ ture for ages. During the racy climax, Jane Wyman, anxious to get a “put-put” motorboat started, gives the cord around the wheel at the top of the motor a hefty yank, such a one that the cord sings through the air and snaps Joe on a bent posterior. It's really capitally done. I snicker yet. Comedian Brown is in good acting fettle, playing his scenes with much esprit. Jane Wyman is very capable at the comedy stuff. Alison Skipworth, the late Lyda Roberti, Stanley Fields and a sizable cast of well-known players contribute competently to the goings on. Alan Baxter, evidently having been caught in the maelstrom of type-casting, again appears as a sinister bad man. Director Kurt Neumann, as I have inti¬ mated, has given his material vitality and freshness. The traditional chase at the close of the piece is