Photoplay (Jul - Dec 1931)

Brief Reviews of Current Pictures [ CONTINUED FXOII PAGE 10 I KEPT HUSBANDS— Radio Pictures. Lively entertainment. Dorothy Mackaill and Joel McCrea an attractive pair and the still beautiful Clara Kimball Young returns to us. (April) • KIKI — United Artists. — Presenting a new Mary Pickford. saucy and sophisticated in a grand comedy. Vou can safely take the kids. Reginald Denny is the lead. (.April) LADIES' MAN— Paramount.— William Powell as a sympathetic and attractive gigolo, charms Olive Teli. Carole Lombard and Kay Francis. Entertaining picture. (June) LADY REFUSES, THE— Radio Pictures.— If you want a good cry, here's your chance. Rather an old story, but Betty Compson, Gilbert Emery and John Darrow make it realistic. (April) LAND OF MISSING MEN, THE— Tiffany Productions. — A Bob Steele Western. Hard ridin', and that's all there is to it. (Jan.) LAST OF THE LONE WOLF— Columbia.— The perennial Lone Wolf in the person of ageless Bert Lytell. After much rushing about, Bert preserves the queen's fair name! It all happens in mythical Saxonia. (Jan.) LAST PARADE, THE— Columbia.— Another gangster picture and good too, with thrills, suspense, romance and laughs. Jack Holt and Tom Moore are rivals for Cbnstance Cummings' favor. Jack wins. (May) LAUGH AND GET RICH— Radio PicturesMisadventures of a boarding house mistress, played by Edna May Oliver, and her chronically tired hubby, Hugh Herbert. Good for plenty of laughs. (May) LIFE OF THE PARTY, THE— WarnersWinnie Lightner roughhouses in high class Technicolor and Havana's fast set. What laughs! (Jan.) • LIGHTNIN'— Fox.— Don't miss this, for it's Will Rogers at his best. A real story about the Nevada divorce mill, a fine cast, brilliant direction. And the choicest Rogers observations. What more could you ask? (Jan.) LIGHTNING FLYER, THE— Columbia— Jimmy Hall as the wild young son, who makes good and wins the love of a good woman — Dorothy Sebastian. Not so good; then again, not so bad. (May) LION AND THE LAMB, THE— Columbia.— A gangster story supposed to be good clean fun. It's clean, anyway. Miriam Seegar, Carmel Myers and Walter Byron are the principals. (Jan.) LITTLE CAFE, THE (Le Petit Cafe)— Paramount.— Chevalier's French version of "Playboy of Paris" and simply great. Gay and charming with more songs added and his wife, Yvonne Vallee. (April) • LONELY WIVES— Pathe — Edward Everett Horton great, in a side-splitting farce. Patsy Ruth Miller, Esther Ralston and Laura La Plante are the girls involved. (April) LOOSE ENDS— British Internationa!. — The Britisli have a go at a problem drama. Weak and wordy. (Jan.) LOVE HABIT, THE— British International. — British conception of a French bedroom farce. Very heavy. (A pril) LOVE KISS, THE— Celebrity Productions.— A nice little college comedy with plenty of romance and laughter. (March) MADONNA OF THE STREETS— Columbia.— Evelyn Brent triumphs over the old yarn about the regeneration of a lady crook. (Feb.) • MALTESE FALCON, THE — Warners. — Gripping mystery story from the novel by the same name. The sleek Ricardo Cortez plays the demon detective superbly and Bebe Daniels does excellent work. Don't miss it. (June) MAN FROM CHICAGO, THE— Elstree Productions.— The British go hay-wire on this story of Chicago gangsters and their ladies. Skip this one. (March) MAN OF THE WORLD— Paramount.— Good picture; not much action but plenty of drama and a great performance by William Powell. Carole Lombard is the lovely heroine. (May) MAN WHO CAME BACK, THE— Fox.— Farrell and Gaynor sink to the depths, but love reforms them. Not a "7th Heaven" but worth seeing. (March) MANY A SLIP — Universal. — Joan Bennett and Lew Ayres in a wise-cracking dialogue comedy. You may, but you probably won't, like it. (March) MEET THE WIFE— Columbia.— Lew Cody and Laura La Plante excellent in a hilarious farce taken from the old stage play. Plenty of laughs. (June) MEN CALL IT LOVE— M-G-M.— (Reviewed under the title "Among the Married.") Sophisticated story of married life in the country club set. Adolphe Menjou excellent. Norman Foster and Leila Hyams good as the young lovers. Not for the children. (A pril) MEN ON CALL— Fox.— Edmund Lowe wastes his time and talents in a bad story. (March) MEN WITHOUT LAW— Columbia.— Buck Jones performs his Western heroics in an interesting Spanish locale and wins the beautiful Carmelita Geraghty. (Feb.) MIDNIGHT SPECIAL, THE— C hesterfield Prod. — Nothing new, but plenty of excitement. Good for the kids. (April) MILLIE — Radio Pictures. — Helen Twelvetrees splendid in this tense drama. Enough tears and chuckles to make it well worth seeing. (March) Producer Announcements ofj\ew Pictures and Stars While all good advertising is news, we consider producer advertising of particular interest to our read' ers. With this directory you easily can locate each announcement: First National Pictures . . Page 1 1 Fox Films Page 9 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer..Page 90 Paramount Pictures . . . Page 4 Radio Pictures Page 101 United Artists Page 99 Warner Bros Page 7 • MILLIONAIRE, THE— Warners.— George Arliss — need we say more? This time he plays a wealthy American automobile manufacturer. Evalyn Knapp is the attractive daughter and David Manners, the business partner. See it. (May) • MOTHER'S MILLIONS— Liberty Prod.— Humor, pathos, bright dialogue and splendid acting make this a delightfully entertaining story. May Robson is the mother. (April) MR. LEMON OF ORANGE— Fox— El Brendel, starring, in some mistaken identity stuff. Riotously funny in spots, and Fifi Dorsay helps a lot. (May) MURDER — British International. — Smart and entertaining mystery drama with a travelling stock company as the background and a first-rate amateur detective. (Jan.) MY PAST — Warners. — (Reviewed under the title "Ex-Mistress.") Mr. and Mrs. Bebe Daniels — pardon! The Ben Lyonses in an ultra-modern love story which is highly entertaining. (Feb.) NEVER THE TWAIN SHALL MEET— M-G-M. — Lavishly produced remake of the old silent, but not nearly so good. Leslie Howard great in some scenes. (Ju;;e) • NEW MOON— M-G-M.— Music of the drama first rate, with the greatest singing combination on the screen. Metropolitan Opera's Lawrence Tibbett and Grace Moore. Color, drama, beauty, melody combine in a real musical smash. (Jan.) NIGHT BIRDS — British International. — Mystery melodrama, with much a-do over a killing. Not so bad. (March) NO LIMIT — Paramount. — Clara Bow as a flapper, an usherette and a gangster's moll, and wearing some amazing clothes. You may be amused. (March) NOT EXACTLY GENTLEMEN— Fox.— Three men's battles for a map, a girl (Fay Wray) and riches. Top-notch entertainment. Victor McLaglen, Lew Cody and Eddie Gribbon share acting honors. (April) OH, FOR A MAN!— Fox.— A bright and merry farce about a grand opera star who loves a burglar. Reginald Denny's the burglar, and Jeanette MacDonald is the song-bird who falls for him. (Jan.) ONCE A SINNER— Fox.— The oldest type of triangle story. The really fine performances of Dorothy Mackaill, Joel McCrea and John Halliday make it well worth seeing. (March) ONLY SAPS WORK— Paramount.— Mr. Leon Errol and his trick legs stagger away with this comedy about lovers and thieves. (Feb.) PAGLIACCI— Audio Cinema Prod.— Bad grand opera poorly transferred to the screen. (May) • PAID— M-G-M. — (Reviewed under the title "Within the Law.") — Just wait until you see Joan Crawford in this powerful dramatic rdle ! The story is absorbing and Joan is simply grand. (Jan.) PAINTED DESERT, THE— Pathe— A Western which you'll like. Bill Boyd is the virile hero and Helen Twelvetrees the girl. (March) • PARLOR, BEDROOM AND BATH— M-G-M. — It's a howl, this farce. Buster Keaton and Charlotte Greenwood race'for honors. As a heavy lover, Buster is amazing. (April) PART TIME WIFE— Fox.— Hokum, but entertaining. Eddie Lowe makes grand work of a funny role and little Tommy "Song o' My Heart" Clifford isa natural. (Jan.) PARTY HUSBAND— First National.— Dorothy Mackaill and James Rennie work hard as the newlyweds, but the story is weak. (June) PASSION FLOWER— M-G-M.— Charles Bickford, Kay Johnson and Kay Francis form the good old eternal triangle. Interesting people in a good film. (Jan.) PHANTOM OF THE DESERT, THE— Syndicate.— Jack Perrin in a true-to-type Western. Plenty of hard ridin' and fast shootin'. (Feb.) PINCHOT'S SOUTH SEA CRUISE— TravelEpics. — The ex-governor of Pennsylvania took some interesting pictures of a South Seas cruise. No studio faking in this one. (Jan.) PRINCESS AND THE PLUMBER, THE— Fox. — A young American millionaire (Charles Farrell) and a beautiful princess (Maureen O'Sullivan). You know what happens — a harmless little light comedy. (Feb.) PUBLIC ENEMY, THE— Warners.— A gangster picture that is lining the thrill-seekers up at the boxoffice. (June) • QUICK MILLIONS — Fox. — Another excellent gangster picture if you go for them. Spencer Tracy is the leader of the racketeers, and you'll like Sally Eilers. (June) RANGO — Paramount. — A stirring jungle picture with a real story. Magnificent. Different. Don't mistake it for "just another wild animal picture." (Feb.) REACHING FOR THE MOON— United Artists.— Doug Fairbanks bounds through a dizzy comedy as a go-getting stock broker. Different for Doug and very merry. Bebe Daniels is the big romance. (Feb.) [ PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 128 ] 16