Motion Picture Reviews (1933)

Motion Picture Reviews Three MOTION • PICTURE • REVIEWS Published monthly by THE WOMEN’S UNIVERSITY CLUB LOS ANGELES BRANCH AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN Mrs. Chester Ommanet, Preview Chairman Mrs. Madison J. Keeney, Bus. Manager Mrs. Thomas B. Williamson Mrs. Bruce A. Findlay, Asst. Business Manager Mrs. John Vruwink Co-Chairmen Mrs. Palmer Cook EDITORS Mrs. Margaret Argo Mrs. Palmer Cook Mrs. J. Allen Davis Mrs. Arthur Jones Mrs. George Ryall Mrs. Walter Van Dyke Mrs. John Vruwink Address all communications to The Women’s University Club, 943 South Hoover St., Los Angeles, Calif. 1 Oe Per Copy $1.00 Per Year Vol. IV APRIL, 1933 No. 4 FEATURE FILMS ♦ BONDAGE » » Dorothy Jordan, Alexander Kirkland. Direction by Alfred Santell. From the novel “The House of Bondage,” by Crace Leake. Fox. This play aims to be an indictment of society’s cruel attitude towards unmarried mothers. Though it is painstakingly done, truth has been sacrificed in order to create a dramatic situation. Had the producers been really interested in the problem or had they possessed the delicacy of perception necessary for a more subtle handling of human relationships, they could have found a wealth of material in a like situation which would have had wide human (as well as box office) appeal and which, properly handled, would not have presented such an hysterical and distorted picture of present day conditions. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Unsuited No -sr BROADWAY BAD » » Joan Blondell, Ricardo Cortez, Ginger Rogers, Adrienne Ames. Direction by Sidney Landfield. Fox. This is another story of the chorus girl with the “name but not the game” of a courtesan. Joan Blondell is the orphan country girl who has her troubles in the big city. The picture has some entertainment value because of the smoothly flowing continuity of every scene, its excellent photography and its finished and intelligent acting. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 No — unsuitable No THE CALIFORNIA TRAIL » » George Humbert, Luis Albern, Emil Chautard, Buck Jones. Direction by Lambert Hillyer. Columbia. The formula is Western, the location of the story California in the days of Spanish rule, the hero a frontier Robin Hood who comes to succor the starving peons and put to rout the exceedingly wicked Commandante and his brother, the Mayor. The picture contains some of the crudities and improbabilities of the usual melodrama, but there is photographic artistry in the groupings of fine peon types and in the mellow lighting effects which create an atmosphere of long-ago. A good choice for junior matinees because the story is simple and direct and the ethical values are clearly defined. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Entertaining Good •w THE COHENS AND KELLEYS IN TROUBLE » » George Sidney, Charles Murray, Maureen O’Sullivan. Direction by George Stevens. Universal. George Sidney and Charles Murray try