Hollywood Spectator (1938)

Page Six June 1 1, 1938 Dorothy Spencer for a notable example of expert film editing. I leave to Bruno Ussher the evaluation of the musical score of Werner Janssen (see page 12) , saying no more about it myself than to express the hope that the growth of real screen-art understand¬ ing in Hollywood will be rapid enough to speed the day when all screen productions will have continu¬ ous scores. The present method of handling music in pictures shows that those responsible for it still are in the cinematic kindergarten class. ONE OF SEASON'S BEST . . . • THREE BLIND MICE; 20th Century-Fox; associate producer, Raymond Griffith; director. William A. Seiter; screen play. Brown Holmes and Lynn Starling; based on a play by Ste¬ phen Powys; photography. Ernest Palmer; theme song, music and lyrics. Lew Pollack and Sidney D. Mitchell; art direc¬ tion, Bernard Herzbrun and Hans Peters; film editor, James B. Morley; costumes, Gwen Wakeling; musical director, Arthur Lange. Cast: Loretta Young, Joel McCrea, David Niven, Stuart Erwin, Marjorie Weaver, Pauline Moore, Binnie Barnes, Jane Darwell, Leonid Kinsky, Spencer Charters. Franklin Pangborn, Herb Heywood. SPARKLING comedy. A story about nice people exclusively and without even the suggestion of a villain. With no heavy to chide them, the characters get into and out of muddles of their own creation, have a jolly time all the way through — a nice, quiet, refined time — and bring to the screen just about the neatest bit of comedy we have had in a year or so. The picture has a smart society atmosphere and dis¬ plays throughout the best of taste. Of course, the lead¬ ing characters discuss their most intimate, private af¬ fairs so that all the other couples on dance floors can overhear what is said, but that is a conception of re¬ fined society conduct which most Hollywood directors have, so when we see it in Three Blind Mice we accept it as a matter of course. But it seems strange to me that Bill Seiter, who, on the whole, has done a most brilliant job of direction, should so abruptly take his players out of character by having them air their pri¬ vate affairs in public. The fault, I suppose, lies pri¬ marily in the script, and had its birth when pictures were silent and we imagined the players were whisper¬ ing their confidences into one another’s ears. It Is Well Cast . . . O BILL’S credit is a collection of outstanding per¬ formances by a group of most agreeable players. Loretta Young, Marjorie Weaver and Pauline Moore play sisters, all nice girls any parents would be glad to have about the house. Loretta, always one of my prime favorites, never was better and creates the im¬ pression that she is having a fine time in the part. Both the others display rare charm. Opposite the three is a trio of the screen’s most pleasing young men, Joel McCrea, David Niven and Stu Erwin, each of whom long since has established his rating as an ac¬ complished actor. Here they have roles tailored to their individual measures and each acquits himself admirably. A surprise performance is that of Binnie Barnes. It generally has fallen to Binnie’s part to be a rather catty person, but here we have her as a joyous scatterbrain who is a delight in every scene she plays. Witty, vibrant, she romps through her part to the continual accompaniment of audience laughter. Ap¬ parently in her we have at hand another accomplished comedienne. Santa Barbara, the locale of the story, has reason to be grateful for the manner in which the production reveals its charms. The picture is a visual treat, both indoor and outdoor shots being artistically composed and beautifully photographed. By all means see Three Blind Mice. It will not disappoint you. WILL HOLD YOUR ATTENTION . . . • WIVES UNDER SUSPICION; Universal; producer. Edmund Grainger; director. James Whale; screen play, Myles Con¬ nolly; based on play by Ladislaus Fodor; photography, George Robinson; art direction. Jack Otterson and Chas. H. Clarke; film editor, Charles Maynard; musical direction, Charles Previn. Cast: Warren William, Gail Patrick, Con¬ stance Moore, William Lundigan, Ralph Morgan, Cecil Cun¬ ningham, Samuel S. Hinds, Milbum Stone, Lillian Yarbo, Jonathan Hale. HE cheap title drew a snicker from the preview audience, but the picture turned out to be better than its title. It is a well directed domestic drama with murder and murder-trial trimmings. It is all old stuff and it telegraphs ahead what is going to happen, but it will manage to hold your close atten¬ tion by reason of the impressiveness of Jim Whale’s direction, even though he goes a little too far in drawing the character of Warren William and mak¬ ing him unreasonably vicious in his official capacity of district attorney. William is the leading man, the hero, yet I doubt if even at the end, after his refor¬ mation and promises to his wife, he will have the degree of audience respect he should have to make the ending convincing. But the whole thing smacks mpre of the theatre than of the screen. In straining to achieve effect, the picture presents a third degree scene in which an officer of the law screams into a prison¬ er's ear a demand that he should talk, while a lot of police lean over the helpless victim and beetle their brows at him. As the prisoner (Frank Morgan) al¬ ready has confessed that he had killed his wife, I could not figure out what the screamer wanted him to talk about. Nor could I understand why later the district attorney, after his sympathy is aroused for Morgan, destroys the wax record of the confession which would have proven the mental stress he was under when he committed the murder. Performances Uniformly Good . . . UT, as I have said, Wives Under Suspicion will hold your interest, and that is the chief considera¬ tion when you visit a picture house. Morgan’s in¬ quisition scene is a brilliant bit of dramatic acting which drew loud applause from the audience. All the performances are satisfactory. Even though his char¬ acterization is unnecessarily harsh, William’s work appealed to me as the best he has done on the screen. The always attractive and intelligent Gail Patrick scores in a role which her personality relieves of some of its inherent drabness. She makes a wife whose