Motion Picture Reviews (1934)

Six Motion Picture Reviews him at the same time. The adaptation has been very well done, cutting out many unessentials but leaving a consistent story with interest remarkably sustained. It is a long picture but Stuart Walker never allows it to become morbid or to drag. The cast is excellent. The children are good and seem logically to develop into the older young people, Pip, Estella and Herbert. Henry Hull is terrifying as Magnvitch in the graveyard; he is a sinister character when he comes to visit the young man Pip; and then completely wins the audience, with Pip and Herbert, when the story of his struggle against too great a handicap in life is unfolded. Florence Reed, too, is exceptionally fine as Miss Havishman, half mad, half wise, realizing almost too late what she has done to the young people. We think you will like this interpretation of a Dickens classic. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Good, though Too mature emotional THE CAY DIVORCEE » » Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton. Direction by Mark Sandrich. R-K-O. It is the fashion to hurl brickbats at the rigid divorce system current in England, and here it is done in a light and merry style for the sole purpose of diversion. Graceful, dance-skilled Fred Astaire is cast as an unwitting co-respondent in the case against an attractive young woman he has met at the customs. Done in musical comedy manner and embellished by rhythmic tunes, the beautiful exhibition dancing of Astaire and Ginger Rogers and the antics of Alice Brady and Horton, the film offers relaxation and amusement. Since a few questionable lines can scarcely be avoided with such a theme, the picture is preferably for mature audiences. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Doubtful; not Unsuitable recommended KENTUCKY KERNELS » » Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Spanky McFarland. Story and screen play by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. Direction by George Stevens. R-K-O. A typical vehicle for the two comedians in which they are impecunious vaudeville actors who adopt a baby. It is so absurdly impossible and obvious that enjoyment is largely a matter of taste. But the destructive naughtiness of Spanky and the apparent bloodshed growing out of a Kentucky feud, unfit it for children. Children, 8 to 12 No KANSAS CITY PRINCESS » » loan Blondell, Glenda Farrell, Hugh Herbert, Robert Armstrong. Direction by William Keighley. Warner Bros. Two manicurists, whose slogan is that the three things in the world which count are “money, jack and dough,” practice gold-digging and “framing” from Kansas City to Paris. The romantic interest is supplied by their gangster friends. The theme was worn out long ago and the humor, though farcical, is more vulgar than clever. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Certainly not No Adolescents, 12 to 16 Poor, especially if sensitive KID MILLIONS » » Eddie Cantor, Ann Southern, George Murphy. Story and dialogue by Arthur Sheekman, Nat Perrin and Nunnally Johnson. Songs by Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn, Burton Lane, Harold Adamson and Irving Berlin. Dances by Seymour Felix. Color by Willy Pogany. Direction by Roy Del Ruth. Sam GoldwynUnited Artists. A gay fantastic musical farce in which Eddie inherits a fortune in Egypt and has startling adventures before he proves his claim. The ballet work is excellent and the effects are musically and rhythmically produced without the interpolation of cinematic tricks. The last sequence in color is exquisite and on the order of a Silly Symphony in its charming details. A light vehicle for Eddie Cantor. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Probably good; a Little interest matter of taste except last sequence LEMON DROP KID » » Lee Tracy, Helen Mack, Baby LeRoy. Direction by Marshall Neilan. From the story by Damon Runyon. Paramount. Lee Tracy is given as much importance and almost as much sympathy in the role of the quick-witted, dishonest “bookie” (which is after all a rather low calling) as he is when he becomes an honest citizen under the influence of a lovely young wife and later, when he is reformed by the smiles of his baby son. The earlier part of the picture is full of race track jargon, sometimes funny and sometimes difficult to distinguish. The story is interesting to follow, but in spite of