Motion Picture Reviews (1934)

Eight Motion Picture Reviews breath-taking and melodramatic climax. It is a return to the old-fashioned action thriller, but the exceedingly deft comedy of Una Merkel and Charlie Ruggles subordinate the realism to the humor and make it very hilarious entertainment. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Very exciting Too exciting OPERATOR 13 » » Marion Davies, Cary Cooper, Stuart Erwin, Jean Parker. Direction by Walsh Boleslavsky. Author Robert W. Chambers. M-C-M. Here is a romantically stirring tale of espionage during the Civil War, with heroine and hero allied with opposite sides. The plot is interesting, and the atmosphere well depicted. The unhappiness of war is stressed in the suffering of the women, and great care is taken to show both sides of the struggle fairly. Costumes, settings and cast add charm, and the whole is an entertaining picture. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Good Mature ■V STRICTLY DYNAMITE » » Jimmy Durante, Lupe Velez, Norman Foster. Direction by Elliott Nugent. RKO. A banal farce of radio entertainers and their ghost writers. It is a vulgar, dull frame for Jimmy Durante and Lupe Velez and is generally lacking in entertainment qualities. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 No No SHOOT THE WORKS » » Jack Oakie, Ben Bernie, Dorothy Dell, Arline Judge, Alison Skipworth, Roscoe Karns. From a play by Ben Hecht and Cene Fowler. Direction by Wesley Ruggles. Paramount. Good-natured, comical Jack Oakie is the promoter who swaggers constantly and gets nowhere, while the entertainers of his company leave him, work hard and succeed. A number of incidents are grouped about this central idea, giving Roscoe Karns a chance to perform antics, Dorothy Dell to render the theme song, Arline Judge to ogle the antiquated spenders and Ben Bernie to furnish the audience with many lively tunes by his famed orchestra. It is not an unusual picture of its type and has its dull moments, but on the whole offers a fair amount of amusement. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Harmless Little interest SHE LEARNED ABOUT SAILORS » » Lew Ayres, Alice Faye, Frank Mitchell. Based on a story by Randall H. Faye. Direction by Ceorge Marshall. Fox. In spite of its title this is an innocuous comedy. A sailor who has resolved to give up his fiancee because he believes that he is not good enough for her, is prevented from carrying out his decision by a series of amusing and rather violent contretemps brought about by the pranks of his two absurd friends. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Harmless slapstick Yes VIRGIE WINTERS » » Ann Harding, John Boles. From the story by Lewis Broomfield. Direction Al Santell. RKO. Not recommended because of unethical and immoral character of the plot. Further comment will appear in the next issue. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Absolutely not No VIRGIE WINTERS » » Ann Harding, John Boles, Helen Vinson, Betty Furness. From the novel by Louis Bromfield. Direction by Al Santell. R-K-O. Fundamentally tragic but superficially sentimental, this is a triangle story in which the mistress is the innocent victim of circumstances, the wife the villainness of the piece. The picture is interesting in its attempt to reproduce authentic backgrounds and dress. It is crowded with incidents characteristic of another day and these help to turn back the clock. The progress of the plot is fairly engrossing though unnecessarily unwholesome and improbable, and the character Miss Harding portrays is so unbelievably “noble” that it loses dramatic force. Conventional morality is offended by the illicit love story, and for discriminating audiences, skilful direction does nothing towards ameliorating this feeling, though it goes gloss the unethical situations for the general public. This is the type of picture that gives the Legion of Decency its brief. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Unsuited No ▼ WE RE RICH AGAIN » » Marion Nixon, Edna Mae Oliver, Billie Burke, Reginald Denny, Buster Crabbe. Original story by Alden Nash. Direction by William Seiter. RKO. A gay nonsensical farce without a serious moment, in which a country cousin, visiting a family hard hit by depression, talks them in