Motion Picture Reviews (1935)

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Ten Motion Picture Reviews by the husband’s lack of faith. To compensate for this, he commits a crime in order to follow his young wife to prison where he finds forgiveness. The picture is slightly reminiscent of “Anna Christie” in setting and theme and because George Marion again plays the role of an old sea captain whose faith and sympathy help to bring reformation to the girl. But there the similarity ends, for instead of holding interest through superb character building this film tells a feeble and unconvincing story which only adequate acting and realistic settings save from complete mediocrity. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 No No ■v THE PRESIDENT VANISHES * » Arthur Byron, Edward Arnold, Osgood Perkins, Paul Kelly, Peggy Conklin. Direction by William A. Wellman. Walter Wanger Production. Paramount. Perhaps producer Walter Wanger had some theories he wanted to release in this picture but “The President Vanishes” leads one to believe that he was more concerned with making a stirring melodrama than with inveighing against capitalist-made wars. Some footage is given to peace propaganda but the arguments are not carried to any real conclusion. The plot is concerned with a national crisis arising from a difference of opinion between the President and Congress anent the United States’ entrance into a foreign war. The mysterious army of “Grey Shirts” led by a madman and financed by an unscrupulous, industrial magnate, is the force fomenting war, and the President is the obstacle in its path. When he disappears suspicion points in its direction. The picture is neither more nor less significant than other mystery melodramas but more daring in that it chooses to use an imaginary President of the United States as its leading character. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Not recommended; No; too violent Possibly misleading and too mature Further analysis of “The President Vanishes” leads us to believe that possibly the above review (first published in the midmonth Advance Supplement) overlooked a significant suggestion in the film, i. e. that munition makers, lobbyists, bankers and newspaper interests may be the cooperating and underlying forces carrying countries toward war. This fact has been brought out in such recent books as “Merchants of Death,” “Iron, Blood and Steel” and “Secret International” and it is interesting and important that films are becoming conscious of a situation arousing public attention today. (Editors.) PRIVATE LIFE OF DON JUAN » » Douglas Fairbanks, Merle Oberon. Authors, Frederick Lonsdale and Lajos Bero. Direction by Alexander Korda. London Films. Magnificent settings and superb photography are the outstanding assets of this sophisticated satire although the lines are witty also. The story of Don Juan, now an aging Lothario, will not appeal to the same audiences which followed earlier films of Douglas Fairbanks. It is not sufficiently clever to attract much attention otherwise. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 No No TT RENDEZVOUS AT MIDNIGHT » * Ralph Bellamy, Valerie Hobson, Katherine Doucet, Irene Ware. From the play “The Silver Fox” by Caeteno Fazio. Direction by Christy Cabanne. Universal. This is a moderately entertaining program picture. Three women become involved in the murder of an ex-policeman through the perfidy of a modiste who has sold the same “exclusive” model to each. The story never reaches a high pitch of excitement, since there are numerous loopholes provided for the safety of the main characters, notably the heroine, and the insincerity displayed by them makes their welfare of no great consequence to the audience. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 No value No yr STRANGE WIVES » » Roger Pryor, June Clayworth, Esther Ralston, Hugh O’Connell, Ralph Forbes. From the story “Bread Upon the Waters,” by Edith Wharton. Adaptation by Cladys Unger. Direction by Richard Thorpe. Universal. Difficult to appreciate as a farce because some of the parts are played “straight,” and impossible to accept as a comedy because it is constructed on exaggerated circumstances, this picture is a hodge-podge of dramatic elements, not confusing but not completely satisfying. A young husband deftly handles the problem of parasitical in-laws. His method is unique and might have created audience sympathy by bright, witty dialogue and by situations not so patently planned. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 No No •w STRAICHT FROM THE HEART » » Baby Jane, Roger Pryor, Mary Astor, Robert McWade. Direction by Kurt Neumann. Universal. This is a long and involved picture depicting the efforts of dishonest politicians to dis