Motion Picture Reviews (1933)

Eight Motion Picture Reviews MALAY NIGHTS » » Johnny Mack Brown, Dorothy Burgess. Direction by E. Mason Hopper. Mafair Pictures. Johnny Mack Brown imbues with a measure of reality the part of a romantic pearl trader who marries a wayward girl to help her and her nameless “che-i-l-d.” Then follow melodramatic tragedies and incredible misunderstanding to separate them until the final reel. Water-front dives of Singapore and Penang are a suitable locale for the action and provide Miss Burgess with an excuse to show her most tropical dances. Raymond Hatton is a relief in the dreary array of characters, but he is killed. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 No No •v THE MASQUERADER » » Ronald Colman, Elissa Landi, Juliette Compton. From the novel by Katharine Cecil Thurston. Direction by Richard Wallace. United Artists. The well loved favorite “The Masquerader” is here again and because of the excellence of its presentation will appeal alike to those to whom its story unfolds without suspense and to those of the younger generation to whom it is new. Ronald Colman gives a carefully drawn interpretation of the two characters, the unfortunate nerve-wracked Lord Ch'ilcote, and his brilliant cousin, John Loder. The plot may seem a bit unbelievable, but is is pleasant fiction in a lovely setting. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Good Mature yr MEN MUST FIGHT » » Diana Wynward, Robert Young, Lewis Stone, Phillips Holmes, May Robson. From a play by Reginald Lawrence and S .V. Lauren. Direction by Edgar Selwyn. M-C-M. The picture is distinguished by sincere acting, able direction and an unusual theme. After twenty years of constructive building toward international understanding, the whole structure collapses in a tide of war hysteria. Women with their innate hatred of war, particularly personal, lose in the effort to keep the peace ideal. It is an unusual presentation of an absorbing subject and attempts to balance both viewpoints, but the questions introduced are so pertinent and so dynamic in their application to present conditions that no two spectators will be affected in the same way. Some will see in it a great peace lecture. Others will be bitterly discouraged by the fact that realization of the peace ideal seems very elusive as long as human nature is what it is. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Provokes war spirit Too mature MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM » » Glenda Farrell, Fay Wray, Lionel Atwill. Direction by Michael Curtiz. Photographed in color. Warner Bros. A newspaper reporter discovers that some of the figures in a wax museum are dead bodies cunningly covered with wax. In trying to prove a scientist guilty of this atrocity she surprises him in the act of preparing to use a live girl as a model. It is gruesome entertainment with little to relieve the horror scenes. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 No Shocking •w OBEY THE LAW » » Leo Carrillo, Lois Wilson, Dickie Moore. Direction by Benjamin Stoloff. Columbia. The story of an Italian barber who takes out citizenship papers and idolizes his adopted country. In his ignorance and credulity he is used as a tool by crooked politicians, and upon discovering the truth he risks his life to warn the public by means of the radio. The picture is obviously a vehicle to allow Mr. Carrillo to portray a rather lovable and bombastic character. As Tony he is given picturesque and spectacular opportunities to display his patriotism and loyalty. But while the gangster element is too far fetched to have great reality for critical audiences, it still leaves an unpleasant impression. On the whole it is sentimental and tiresome. It is not recommended for children because the belated moral fails to erase the impression that all the real excitement in life belongs with the transgressors of the law. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Not recommended No •w OLIVER TWIST » » Dicky Moore, Irving Pichel, William Boyd, Doris Lloyd, Alec B. Francis, George K. Arthur. Direction by William J. Cowen. Adapted from novel by Charles Dickens. Monogram Pictures. (Seen at theatre preview.) That it could be possible for Dicken’s characters to come to life and entertain modern