Moving Picture World (Nov-Dec 1927)

November 5, 1927 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 17 Timely Reviews of Short Subjects “ Buster What’s* Next” Universal — Two Reels This Buster Brown subject, with Buster, Mary Jane and Tige, registers as fairly amusing though not up to the standard of its companions. The story revolves around the entertainment of a fat, obstreperous girl. They try to get rid of her, locking her in closets and dropping her down coal holes, but she always bobs up again. Buster proposes a boxing match, encounters a stiff left and is thankful when relatives return to take the girl away. The dog is good in this but Buster and Mary Jane haven’t much chance to shine with the gags assigned them. “The Second Honeymoon ” Pathe — Two Reels This is the second of the new series of Polly and Henry comedies featuring Leah Baird and Taylor Holmes, Taylor appears as a none too affectionate husband who is satisfied when something happens to prevent him from' kissing his wife. She gives a party, invites some sheiks and after telling her he was too busy, Taylor gets so jealous that he rushes to the party, ruthlessly grabs his wife and they start off on a second honeymoon. As in the first one, situations are depended on for the laughs and this comedy lacks pep and speed and only proves mildly amusing. “A Brave Heart” Pathe — One Reel THIS Fables cartoon supplies an original tip for the hopeless lover in real life seeking to corral an unwilling girl. “Chisel” Simpson, cat villain etxraordinary, finds that Milton Mouse has the inside track with pretty little Rita Mouse. Being resourceful, Chisel marries Rita’s grandma by strategem and obtains guardianship over Rita, as she is a minor. However, Chisel errs in placing grandma on log in a swift stream leading to a waterfall. Milton saves her and has no compunction at all about shooting Chisel. This is a clever and amusing cartoon. “The Little Rube” Educational — Two Reels Fast action, a wealth of gags and exceptionally good work by Dorothy Devore feature this Jack White comedy whose cast also boasts A 1 Thompson, Babe London, Glen Cavender, Eva Thatcher and Robert Ramsey. It opens with rube slapstick “down on the farm” and moves to the home of a city relative, where the rubes upset a social event. Miss Devore in a countrified costume is working hard all the time and getting her stuff over in great shape. She is particularly funny in a rube dance on a slippery floor. The subject ought to go well with patrons who like their comedy broad. “Up the Ladder” Pathe — One Reel Under this title, Grantland Rice in a Sportlight presents interesting glimpses of champions in the various fields of sport and brings out the steps by which they arrived at their goals at the top of the ladder by diligence, perserverence and hard work, pointing out that only one in each sport can reach the championship rung He also shows the value of starting early and pictures several of the youngsters who are on the upward climb. “Pathe Review 42” Pathe — One Reel Four interesting subjects make up this Pathe Review. A native dance of the dusky warriers of Zulu, a Pathecolor subject showing some of the rare and beautiful flowers of Hawaii, a chain of coal barges in England known as the Snake, used in fueling ships ; and an especially exciting number showing tarpon fishing in Florida. The last is especially good. “Lindy’s Cat” Pathe — One Reel The hero of the first non-stop New York to Paris air flight of course furnished the inspiration for this Aesop’s Fable Cartoon, which shows Thomas Cat performing the same stunt. The difficulties of the trip through snow, fog and other troubles is amusingly and cleverly burlesqued and this is an amusing cartoon. “The Newlyweds Christmas Party” Universal — Two Reels This Universal Junior Jewel, produced by Stern Brothers and directed by Gus Meins, should delight all children all children around Christmas-time. In it Snookums again charms as the mischievous child who gets into the goldfish equarium to do a little fishing, follows the family to the toy shop and impersonates a Jack-in-thebox, starts a riot in the crowded trolley car on the way home and invites a score of poor children to enjoy his Christmas tree with him. Then Santa Claus comes down the chimney with a full pack, and ironing boards are distributed to little Orientals and chickens to little darkies. This subject has snap and sparkle and can be highly recommended for children. “For Men Only” Educational — One Reel Under this catchy title is offered the newest of Walter Futter’s Curiosities series which differs from the other by offering only one subject. This is a monastery in the mountains of Greece where, of course, no woman is allowed. The daily life of the monks, the rugged picturesque location of the monastery and the difficult means of getting up to it are shown. The titles treat this subject in a facetious manner that may prove displeasing in some quarters, although they add to its general entertainment value. “Football Sense” Pathe — One Reel Each Grantland Rice has a new series in which he explains the fine points and plays of modern football so that the novice may understand this complicated game. Through a clever device of Coach Meehan, those who make the plays illustrated are dressed in white so they may be easily followed. The issues shown explain the variation of the lateral and forward pass. Should interest all football fans. “ Alien Antics ” Pathe — One Reel This Grantland Rice Sportlight shows the “Feather game” of China, the Italian game of cheese rolling, the “stick game” of native red Indians and the stick fencing of Japan. It is hugely interesting. “Smith’s Cousin” For a high degree of absurdity this subject takes the cake. Cousin Egbert visits the Smiths, bringing a flock of dogs and a bag of country tricks. These he tries on guests of his city cousin until the house is in an uproar. Little Mary Ann is the only one to enjoy his antics, which range from putting the dogs through clever tricks to squirting water into people’s eyes and ears. The players are Mary Ann Jackson, Raymond McKee, Ruth Hiatt and Irving Bacon. They put over the laughs adroitly. The subject has pep and go and should please any audience. “Rest Day” Educational — One Reel Monty Collins, Ford West, Jack Miller and Robert Burns are the players in this Cameo Comedy. The action revolves around a lunatic looking for “the papers to the Bay Shore Cut.” He succeeds further in mixing up a home already rendered muddled by the absence of wifie, and unwashed crockery flies about like swallows. A kid also stirs up things with fireworks. It is fairly amusing. “ Saved by a Keyhole ” Pathe — One Reel This Aesop’s Fable shows how Thomas Cat intrudes on the love affair of Stella Mouse, his stenog., and Milton Mouse, the porter. Stella is stolen and rescued by Milton, while Thomas goes to his death over the falls. It is an amusing, well drawn satire on a stock melodrama and hasn’t a dull a moment. “Pathe Review 41 ” Pathe — One Reel A haven for gulls in Japan, interesting details about the giant clock in the Metropolitan Building, New York, a study of giraffs in a zoo and a glacier known as the father of icebergs, make up this Pathe Review, which is not quite up to the average of this usually interesting series.