Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1934)

14 MOTION PICTURE DAILY Friday, May 25, 1934 Hollywood Previews "Return of the Terror" ( Warners) Hollywood, May 24. — Murder mystery hokum again that succeeded in keeping the audience on the edge of its seats throughout the preview, extracting some spontaneous screams here and there. From the boxoffice viewpoint, the film is a well-produced screen version of the Edgar Wallace yarn. John Halliday, head of a sanitarium, is tried and charged with the murder of several inmates and is subsequently placed in an insane asylum. He escapes and returns to the hospital, where Lyle Talbot, his associate, has been carrying on. During the time he is in hiding on the hospital grounds more murders are committed and in each case are accompanied with a note signed by "The Terror." Mary Astor furnishes a romantic note as Halliday's fiancee. An electric storm aids in achieving an eerie effect as people run in and out of doors and about the grounds. Frank McHugh, as a reporter, gets most of the laughs. The final coup is saved until last, when Halliday is cleared and Talbot is arrested for the murder. Eugene Solow and Peter Milne retained all of the Wallace suspense in the screen play, aided by the capable direction of Howard Bretherton. "Murder on the Blackboard" (Radio) Hollywood, May 24. — Another good murder mystery which sparkles throughout with Edna May Oliver's brand of comedy 'and fills the bill for any program. It is a schoolroom murder, with a teacher the victim. Miss Oliver works with Inspector James Gleason toward a solution but winds up doing most of the solving herself. She accuses everyone, from janitor to various school aides, with certain elements of the story pointing to the possible guilt of each and sundry. Following an attack on Edgar Kennedy, a flatfoot, Miss Oliver hits on a plan. Inasmuch as Kennedy has temporarily lost his memory due to a blow on the head, she publishes a story in the papers that his memory is coming back and he can identify his assailant. She parks in the hospital ward until the culprit arrives to knock off Kennedy and so avoid being identified. The murderer turns out to be Bruce Cabot, the murdered woman's husband, who killed her to wed his current flame, Gertrude Michael. The screen play, by Willis Goldbeck, and the direction, by George Archainbaud, are handled adequately. Nicholas Musuraca merits credit for the photography, adding tremendously to the suspense. Once to Every Bachelor" (Liberty) Hollywood, May 24.— An interesting story, presented with Neil Hamilton, Marion Nixon and Raymond Hatton particularly effective, results in well-rounded, general audience entertainment. Direction, adeptly capitalizing on elements that appeal to regular run-of-the-millfilm fans, gives novel color to a formula dramatic-romance yarn and establishes the production as a strong program attraction. Modernly timed, localed in New York and Paris, the picture presents Hamilton as a wastrel playboy in danger of losing his income. Accidentally meeting Miss Nixon, fleeing from the cops because of a gangster killing, the pair, in order to get themselves out of impending personal disaster, enter into a marriage as a business agreement. As Hamilton is ardently pursued by Aileen Pringle, dissatisfied wife of George Irving, the marriage is consummated and the locale shifts to Paris. There, as real romance dawns for Hamilton, Miss Pringle, in the role of a menacing love mate, first attempts to poison Miss Nixon against Hamilton. Failing, she tries to convince Kathleen Howard, Hamilton's aunt and source of income, that her nephew married the girl only that he might be assured of a steady flow of money. As the aunt fails to respond to Miss Pringle's disclosures, real love comes to Hamilton, but, as far as Miss Nixon is concerned, it's still a marriage of convenience. Returning to New York, with comedy relief via Hatton assuming an unusual importance, Miss Nixon is menaced by blackmailing Don Alvarado, who sends his henchman, Ralf Harolde, to take Hamilton in a poker game. Miss Nixon's ability to read marked cards results in cleaning Hamilton and awakening romantic love for the girl who protected her commercially married husband. "Vergie Winters" (Radio) Hollywood, May 24. — Charged with emotional appeal, "Vergie Winters" is a powerful picturization of a tragic love story. It's tailored Ann Harding material with maximum heart throbs and sympathy. The story revolves around the love affair between Miss Harding, a small town milliner, and John Boles, a political power. For mercenary reasons, her father ruins her possible marriage and Boles becomes wedded to Helen Vinson. There is a subsequent reunion of the two and the discovery of the frame-up. While the town gossips, Boles goes to Washington as congressman, and Miss Harding leaves town to become the mother of Boles' child, which he adopts into his family. The romance blooms for 20 years, during which time the child matures into womanhood, portrayed by Betty Furness, and is engaged to Frank Albertson, still believing Miss Vinson to be her mother. Dramatic events climax in the murder of Boles by Miss Vinson, a crime for which Miss Harding is imprisoned but later released when Miss Vinson confesses and dies. Jane Murfin's adaptation from Louis Bromfield's story is handled with feeling and tenderness, with Al Santell's direction getting the most out of every situation. The production is excellent in all departments, with appeal directed to women yet appealing to all classes. 'Cockeyed Cavaliers" 'Radio) Hollywood, May 24. — Wheeler and Woolsey go through some nonsensical variations of their comedy routine from puns to slapstick with diverting results. Sprung from the unusual burlesque idea of spotting the team as two grifters in a Robin Hood setting, when "gadzooks" means the same as "nerts," the boys, masquerading as the king's physicians, descend on the castle to attend the duke (Robert Grieg). Farcical situations follow with the baron (Noah Beery), his wife (Thelma Todd) and Dorothy Lee disguised as a boy and a great Dane dog all winding up in a whirlwind of thrills and laughter as the boys chase a wild boar. Songs interspersed are: "The Big, Bad Wolf Is Dead," featuring Beery's basso profundo, and "I'd Like to Dilly Dally With You," both sounding like sure-fire hits. Lou Brock's hand is evident in the lavish production values as the distinctive central idea harmonizes with the period costumes. Mark Sandrich's direction plays for physical laughs, concentrating on blackouts and gags, with rhythm and tempo secondary. While not as spontaneous as "Cuckoos" or "Half Shot at Sunrise," the film should please Wheeler and Woolsey fans. Looking 'Em Over "The Thundering Herd" (Continued from page 12) Among them are Noah Beery, Monte Blue, Randolph Scott, Buster Crabbe, Harry Carey and Raymond Hatton. The epitome of villainy and virtue is represented among them. Paramount, too, has thrown into one pot every ingredient that ever went into the making of a western, Indians included. An added allure is the name of Zane Grey, who is responsible for the story. The plot is no more original than that of other westerns. Laid in 1874, the film relates a tale of villainy and heroics of the days when covered wagons tracked the plains in search of the wealth that lay in buffalo hides. The slaughter of the herds forces the Indian to turn to war in an effort to protect his food supply. The climax of the picture is a fight between whites and Indians. The villain of the plot is Beery, a buffalo hide hijacker. Mixed in with the rest of it is a romance between Scott and Judith Allen, whom Beery would have for himself despite the fact that he has a wife (Blanche Frederici). Henry Hathaway directed. Depinet, Sisk Return Ned Depinet and Robert Sisk returned from the coast yesterday. They flew back. 'Born to Be Bad' Is Set "Born to Be Bad," 20th Century, opens at the Rivoli on Decoration Day.