Motion Picture News (Jul - Sep 1929)

468 M o t i 0 n Picture News Broadway Show Reviews By Fred Schader ^River Of Romance' Greeted With Glee By Paramount Audiences This Week A CHECK-UP at two performances at which "The River of Romance" was presented at the Paramount this week showed that the audience on both occasions found much to laugh at in the dialog of the Southern love tale of pre-Civil War days. When the picture was first seen it was believed that an extra wise Broadway crowd was present and so a second visit was made to the theatre only to discover that this latter audience found much more humor where it shouldn't be in the picture. They were ahead of the players on the screen as far as the lines went and on several occasions spoke the words before the players had a chance to. On the whole the show is not a very hot one, but still pleasing enough in entertainment to make it worth while to spend a couple of hours in the theatre if for no other reason than to get away from the heat. The stage show has a good laugh in it supplied by Senator Murphy, who incidentally would be a good bet on the talking screen in the old Sam Bernard roles. With his humorous discussion of political topics of the day in his broken German accent, Murphy had the audience roaring at times. The title of the Publix Unit which he is at the head of is "Vacation Days," which also has Zastro and White, Bernice Marshall, Sunny Schuck, the Wisner Sisters, and Frankie Hamilton. A set of Dave Gould girls are the chorus background. Paul Ash and his band keep the show moving at all times. Ash is finally coming into his own as far as Broadway is concerned. He is a good showman, has a lot of personality and manages to get his lines over in making the introductions or handling a straight bit. The chances are that when he was first brought to Broadway he was oversold and the public expected too much from him. Jesse Crawford at the organ contributed "The Long Wav Home," 'Evangeline" and "The Breakaway." A Paramount news reel completed the bill. Overture Stands Out As Hit At Capitol With The Smgle Standard' On The Bill THE unusual spectacle of an overture running away with the hit honors of a motion picture house program is afforded at the Capitol this week. "Echoes from France," played by the Capitol Grand Orchestra under the direction of Yasha Bunchuk, scored so successfully the previous w.eek that it was retained for the current one at every performance was so heavily api)hiuded to make an encore necessary. The Capitol is drawing strongly this week with Greta Garbo in "The Single Standaid" by Adela St. John as the attraction. The theme of the picture is "big city stulf" and rather too broad for the smaller towns or the younger element of picture house audiences. There is almost two hours and a half of show presented opening with the overture which without the encore runs about ten minutes. Nine minutes of shots from the Fox Movietone and M-G-M news reel follow. "Frozen Kapers" is the title of the stage revue. It is a good hot weather novelty. The orchestra on the stage and chorus open the offering, with Dave Schooler making his appearance on the piano platform from the pit at the conclusion of the opening number. He is followed by Jimmy Ray, and then another hot orchestra selection. "When the One That I Love, Lovos Me" being selected for the number. Rosemary slips over a neat little hit in the next spot and Ben Blue and his comedians are sure fire laugh producers. For a finish flash Mulroy, McNeece and Ridge with their ice skating offering on artificial ice proved a real smash. The chance that the girl in this act takes in adagio stuff on skates caught the fancy of the audience and they accorded her a heavy round of applause. The feature runs an hour ant] eleven minutes arid a Hal Roach "Our Gang" comedy entitled "Railroadin' " finished off the bill with a laugh. There are moments when the dialog in the two reeler was inaudible, but the antics of the kids scored. Ideal Films Ltd. Purchases Rights To "Mickey Mouse" Walt Disney's "Mickey Mouse" sound cartoons will be distributed in the United Kingdom of Great Britain by Ideal Films, Ltd., of London, England. Ideal Films, Ltd., recently having contracted for the distribution rights. Charles Giegerich, Eastern representative for Disney Cartoons, and Arthur Lee, representing Ideal Films, signed the papers. Little Playhouse Features Silents And Does Business The 55th Street Playhouse which seats about three hundred all on one floor and presents foreign films principally, is featuring the fact that it is showing all silent programs within a stone's throw of Broadway where all the other houses are showing sound and talking films. The surprise is that the house is doing a corking business, getting 50c admission for the matinees, 75c at night and $1 ove? the week-ends. And always crowded at the night performances. For the current week the bill at the house is headed by "Nana," a Moviegraph release made in France, directed by Jean Renoir, who has worked out a rather unusual technical treatment for the picture. The running time of the feature is an hour and thirty-three minutes and to smart audiences should be rather a good comedy because of the directorial manner in which it is handled. A freak on the program is the opening line of the order of the show, which reads: "Overture" (Silent). Maybe it was but it seems that one heard the organ, anyway. A Universal Pictorial Newspaper held the interest for the next ten minutes, and this was followed by an Oswald cartoon entitled "The Wicked West," which got a few laughs. "Beautiful Japan," a scenic, held the interest. Business on a hot evening during the week was almost capacity at a late hour. Sound-Films Corp. Handling Castle Color Novelty Series Sound-Films Distributing Corp. is handling the Castle Color Novelties synchronized with music and song. Among the first of the series set for immediate release are "Kids and Pets," and "Down Hawaii Way." These are to be followed by "Flaming Canyons," "Trailing the Western Sun," "60 Minutes from Broadway" and others. Sound-Films is also releasing the Walt Disney "Whoopee Sketches," starting about Mav 20. Handling Columbia Shorts Nat Colin and Irving Wormser, formerly heads of the Big Three Exchange, who recently joined the force of Columbia, will handle all sales of Columbia's 104 onereel shorts in the New York territory, comprising Greater New York and Northern New Jersev. h_