Paramount Around the World (1931)

“Touchdown!” Scores S. R. O. Hit! "RICH MAN’S FOLU I.)ETl."RNING to the screen after V a long absence, George Bancroft shows in "Rich Alan’s Folly” that he has lost none of the virile power that has made him one of the box office’s best bets. Here he plays an ambitious, money-mad shipbuilder, who sacrifices love, family and home life on the altar of power and business tradition. The stor} reaches a tremendous climax in the scene where he sinks the ship which he had labored to build. John Cromwell, the director, has succeeded in wringing every bit of drama out of the plot, and the result is a picture that will bring tears to the eyes of the most hardboiled fan. Supporting Bancroft, and playing with genuine skill and feeling arcsuch fine players as Frances Dee, Robert Ames, Juliette Compton and little David Durand. You can mark “Rich Alan’s Folly” down as a decidedly ab(.)ve the average entertainment. The picture will back up any promises you make for it. It’s sure-fire box office! "ONCE A LADY" BREAKS ATTENDANCE RECORD AT PARAMOUNT THEATRE— HELD OVER FOR SECOND WEEK Hailed by picturegoers, critics and sports writers as "the best football film that ever came out of a cinema studio,” "Touchilown!” scored a decisive hit at the Paramount Theatre, New York, l)roke all 1931 attendance records for the house and achieved the unusual distinction of being held over for a second week. This is the first production to be held over at the Paramount since early in April when "Ski])py” created a sensation. The unanimous praise lavished on "Touchdown!” is due to the fact that it’s a radical departure from the hackneyed type of football film. The hero, who, in this instance is the football coach, docs not zein the great game in the last half minute of play. He loses — and audiences are glad it turns out that way. "Touchdown!” shows the human interest side of college football, the heartaches behind the line as well as the drama on the line. No matter how little you understand about football, 3'ou’ll enjoy the picture enormously. It is loaded with comedy and has a strong thread of romance. The gridiron scenes are jam-full of action. Richard Arlen, Peggy Shannon, Jack Oakie, Regis Toomey, Charles Starrett, George Barbier and J. Farrell AIcDonald, plus two dozen or more ex-college footl.iall stars make up the knockout cast. "Touchdown!” is a sure goal at any bo.x office! “MONKEY BUSINESS” FINISHES RIVOLI RUN! I T H live big weeks to its credit, “Monkey Business” ended its Broadway run at the Rivoli Theatre on November 11. It was immediately hooked into the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre for another week’s engagement before being generally released in the metropoli "MONKE y BL fSINFSS" tan territory. It is pretty thoroughly agreed that the FourMarx Broth ers have turned in their best effort in this laugh opus, and in its box office career so far, “M o n k e y Business” has given every indication of outdistancing the records established by the Marxian predecessors. RUTH CHATTERTON SUPERB IN “ONCE A LADY” \RAIED with a fascinating Rus. sian accent, an intriguing Russian coiffure and a general Russian make-up, Ruth Chatterton gives another impressive example of her histrionic versatility in her latest starring \ chicle, “Once Lady,” It is a story that begins and ends in ga> Parce, with the in-between action in staid London. There is drama of the heart-throbiring sort in this talc of the temperamental and emotional clash between the Russian-born wife and her British husband’s family. Aliss Chatterton plays her role with the finesse of the experienced trouper, and manages to hold the sympathy of the audience right to the happy ending — at least, happy for her daughter, to whose aid she comes at a critical moment in the girl’s life. The star has some keen competition for acting honors, being surrounded by a capable group of players recruited mostly from the Broadway stage. Ivor Novcllo, Geoffrey Kerr and Jill Esmond, to mention the chief supporting players, are also well known to London playgoers, which is a break for our British organization. "TOUCHDOll'N!" I I IS WOAIAN” combines the 1 I talents of two stars — Gary Cooper and Claudette Colbert. But good as they are, it is a safe bet that if a vote were taken, the award for the best acting in the film would go to the nine-month-old baby, Richard Spiro, around whom the action revolves. The story is a down-to-earth melodrama, that starts in a Caribbean port, progresses at sea, and comes to a smashing finish in the New York harbor. Gary plays the two-fisted captain of a freighter, who, in a moment of impulse, adopts an abandoned baby. Aliss Colbert poses as a deceased missionary’s daughter for the chance to look after the baby and get back to New York. The complications that result when the first mate recognizes the nurse as a former dance hall girl, and the part the baby plays in reuniting the estranged pair make for stirring entertainment. This is the first time that Gary Cooper and Claudette Colbert have played together and they make an interesting team. It’s a point well worth stressing in the advertising and publicity. "HIS WOMAN”