Motion Picture Reviews (1934)

Eight Motion Picture Reviews nal in the annals of cinema, and the picture is therefore singularly dangerous in its influence on modern youth. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Pernicious. Bad. •v MOON OVER MOROCCO > » Rene Lefebvre, Rosine Dorean, Harry Bauer, Robert Le Vican. Direction by Julien Duvivier. French Production. Well developed mystery story, photographed in actual locale, with authentic scenes of native ceremonials and sports which are more interesting to us than the actual plot. The pantomime easily explains the action, but the dialogue is French. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Probably tiresome unless Tiresome, a French student •w NOW I’LL TELL » * Helen Twelvetrees, Spencer Tracy, Alice Faye. From a novel by Mrs. Arnold Rothstein. Direction by Edwin Burke. Fox. A horrid portrayal of trickery, deceit and vice. Spencer Tracy convincingly portrays the gambler who marches steadily to his inevitable doom. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 By no means No •w RIP TIDE » » Norma Shearer, Robert Montgomery, Herbert Marshall, Mrs. Patrick Campbell. Written and directed by Edmund Coulding. MCM. Norma Shearer’s glamorous sophistication, her personal charm, and her skill as an actress are disarming in this ultra-modern social drama. She completely wins audience approval in spite of the character she portrays. As a most attractive woman with a checkered past, we resent the suspicion her husband is justified in feeling toward her, and we countenance her reaction to his behavior. The play is directed with subtlety and distinction, but is nevertheless completely unethical in import. It requires adult discount to be acceptable. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 By no means. No. SUCCESS AT ANY PRICE » » Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Colleen Moore, Frank Morgan, Cenevieve Tobin. Direction by J. Walter Rubin. RKO. This picture has the qualities which should make an excellent production. It is well cast, sincerely acted, has clever and suitable dialogue and is finished in settings and tech nique. But it is distinctly disappointing. It is the story of a man who craves wealth and power at any cost, and when he has achieved his objective finds that he has paid too highly for his sordid materialism. The story is depressing; but aside from this, the character development is uncertain and illogical and the ending is unconvincing. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 No value. Unsuitable. ■sr SCARLET EMPRESS » » Marlene Dietrich, Gavin Cordon, C. Aubrey Smith, Louise Dresser. Original by M. Komroff. Direction by Joseph Von Sternberg. Photography by Bert Glennon. Paramount. (Seen at a studio preview.) It is inevitable that the two films written about Catherine II of Russia will be compared, and yet it is beside the mark to compare them from the same point of view, for Miss Bergner’s “Catherine the Great” is a realistic portrayal of a flesh and blood woman and her environment; the “Scarlet Empress” is an impressionistic pattern of the mood of Russia of that period and a suggestion of the character of a woman as it is moulded by circumstance. Miss Dietrich does not attempt realism. Her portrayal is magnificent in her painting of the changing nature of the unsophisticated German girl, a soul which is brought in contact with cruelty and intrigue and necessarily forced into the form which can exist in its surroundings. Those who decry the passing of the silent films will find Joseph Von Sternberg’s production more nearly a return to this form of art than anything in recent years. It is a gorgeous spectacle which uses dialogue sparingly and which could have omitted even that without loss. The settings and use of crowds and pageantry are pictured with stunning effect by director and photographer, and the remarkable musical accompaniment sets the perfect emotional tempo. The musical setting is most important to the film. Withal it is a very unusual production to which we call your attention as an artistic achievement of real worth. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 No — too sophisticated Unsuitable "ST SISTERS UNDER THE SKIN » » Elissa Landi, Joseph Schildkraut, Frank Morgan, Doris Lloyd. Story by S. K. Lauren. Direction by David Burton. Columbia. When a retired business man decides to have his fling in Europe, his wife should doff her social engagements and middle-aged viewpoint and accompany him, or else he will discover a young, captivating actress to share