Motion Picture Reviews (1934)

Motion Picture Reviews Five the changes made possible by the new medium are intelligently purposeful and contribute contrasts of mood and scene without which the picture might have been monotonous. The members of the cast are fittingly chosen, and if their performances are judged on their own merits without insistence upon their adherence to the interpretations of the original cast of legitimate actors, they will be found both artistic and satisfying. The picture is an achievement in every phase of motion picture production, and the one scene which might have been questioned is handled with the greatest subtlety and restraint. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Mature No interest -ssr BEYOND THE LAW » » Tim McCoy, Shirley Crey. Direction by D. Ross Lederman. Columbia. A modernized Western, stereotyped in plot and treatment. Tim McCoy as special investigator for a railroad, with the help of a girl, unearths evidence which frees a convicted man and indicts another. The usual wild ride climaxes the action. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 No interest Poor ■v BLIND DATE » » Ann Sothern, Neil Hamilton, Paul Kelly, Mickey Rooney. Story by Ethel Hill. Direction by Roy William Neill. Columbia. Though not quite vicious in its delineation of family life, this picture accents the wrong values since it glorifies an idle existence with extravagant material accessories far above a useful and industrious scheme of living. The story revolves about the choice a girl makes between two men, one of whom is poor but honest, the other, rich but questionable. It is sufficiently romantic to be of interest to the less discriminating and is thus an insidious influence. Some sequences create high emotional tensions, others are conspicuously objectionable and sordid. All of these might have been moderated by more skilful direction. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Unsuited No v DOWN TO THEIR LAST YACHT » » Mary Boland, Polly Moran, Ned Sparks, Sidney Fox, Sidney Blackmer. Story by Herbert Fields and Lou Brock. Direction by Paul Sloane. R-K-O. A fairly entertaining idea is developed to hyperbole in this absurd musical farce. A family of financially depleted Social Registerites are persuaded to use their yacht, their last and only possesion, to recoup their fortunes. The plan is to rent the yacht to the new rich and conduct a cruise to the South Seas. With a passenger list of gangsters and riff raff of various kinds and with the owners in the capacity of servants, the yacht sets sail. From this point the picture becomes more and more extravagantly ridiculous. Since there is not enough humorous material to last throughout the picture, it becomes very tedious. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Undesirable No ■ST THE CAT’S PAW » » Harold Lloyd, Una Merkel, Nat Pendleton, Grant Mitchell. Adapted from the story by Clarence Budington Kelland. Direction by Sam Taylor. Fox. Harold Lloyd deserves a medal for his succesful venture in adapting his technique to meet the requirements of a changed medium and proving his ability to act without the help of gags and camera tricks. Perhaps the children will be disappointed but no one else should be. “The Cat’s Paw” is “great” entertainment. It is straight comedy about the son of a Chinese missionary who comes to America to find a wife. He unwittingly becomes the tool of crooked politicians, but recognizing the fact at last, cleans up in an hilarious fashion. The story, which ran in the Saturday Evening Post in serial form, was great fun. The screen adaptation is excellent. Mr. Lloyd seems perfect as the naive, unsuspecting Ezekiel Cobb whose life has been patterned by Chinese philosophy, and Una Merkel is equally well cast in the role of the sophisticated, attractive girl at the cigarette counter. It’s an hour and a half of splendid entertainment. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Childten, 8 to 12 Good Mature 'V CIRCUS CLOWN » » Joe E. Brown, Patricia Ellis, Donald Dilloway, Dorothy Burgess. Direction by Ray Enright. Warner-First National. Joe E. Brown goes through his struggle to be a circus clown with a fascination for his work that gives utmost fascination to the audience also. The life behind the scenes give an intimacy that all ages love, and the story which the movie unfolds is excellent. It concerns a father who, having been long associated with the circus, had the idea that he would keep his son away. But “Joe E.” moves on with the big tent which had come to town and from then on his struggle to express himself makes the story. His one good