Photoplay (Jul - Dec 1931)

Brief Reviews of Current Pictures Photoplays not otherwise designated are All Talkie •^■Indicates that photoplay was named as one of the best upon its month of review AFFAIRS OF ANNABELLE, THE— Fox — Jeanette MacDonald and Victor McLaglen in a laughworthy farce. (July) ALMOST A HONEYMOON— British International.— A light bedroom farce. The gags would have been funny ten years ago. Very mild. (March) ' ALOHA— Rogell-Tiffanv Production.— The old "Bird of Paradise" plot made over for the talkies. Some quite-good comedy and a lot of surefire sob stuff. Ben Lyon and Raquel Torres work hard. (March) ALWAYS GOODBYE— Fox— Elissa Landi gives a charming performance in a rather ordinary piece. Lewis Stone and Paul Cavanagh support her. See la Landi. (July) BACHELOR APARTMENT— Radio Pictures.— The superb direction and acting of Lowell Sherman make this sophisticated story interesting from start to finish. Mae Murray returns as a modern vamp, a restless married woman. Splendid cast. (May) BACHELOR FATHER, THE— M-G-M.— Marion Davies at her best in a sprightly, sophisticated comedy .^Good for one million laughs. (Feb.) BAD SISTER— Universal.— Sidney Fox, talented little newcomer, plays the title role in this entirely natural story based on Booth Tarkington's "The Flirt." Conrad Nagel is the hero. (May) • BEAU IDEAL— Radio Pictures.— (Reviewed under the title "The Devil's Battalion") — A spectacular sequel to " Beau Geste," made with many of the same actors. A great picture in which Ralph Forbes, Loretta Young and Don Alvarado do great work. (Feb.) BEHIND OFFICE DOORS— Radio Pictures.— Mary Astor fine as the clever secretary who helps her boss (Robert Ames) to rise to importance in the industrial world. Interesting story. (April) BEYOND VICTORY— RKO-Pathe.— Poor war film, starring Bill Boyd. ZaSu Pitts, Lew Cody and Jimmy Gleason make the effort but can't do much for this one. (May) BIG BUSINESS GIRL— First National.— Lively comedy of 1931 styles in business and love. Plenty of laughs, some thrills, Ricardo Cortez, Frank Albertson and Loretta Young in pretty clothes. A good movie. (May) • BLUE ANGEL, THE— UFA-Paramount — Emil Jannings' first talkie in English. And it's a knockout. So is Marlene Dietrich as the woman who drives a man mad. (Feb.) BODY AND SOUL— Fox.— See this one. Great entertainment. Charlie Farrell and Elissa Landi (from the stage). You'll like her. Myrna Loy is the mean one. (April) BORN TO LOVE— RKO-Pathe.— Ancient plot of the war nurse. Two officers and whose-baby-is-it fails to be highly entertaining in spite of the efforts of Constance Bennett. (June) BROAD MINDED— First National.— Joe E. Brown tries hard to bring a lot of moribund jokes and gags back to life, but there's scarcely a giggle. (June) BY ROCKET TO THE MOON— UFA.— The Germans present an interesting lesson in astronomy, if you like astronomy. (April) CAPTAIN THUNDER— Warners.— A dull story about a Robin-Hoodish captain whose lawless deeds are all for a good end. Victor Varconi and Fay Wray. (July) CAUGHT CHEATING— Tiffany Productions.— George Sidney and Charlie Murray get tangled with a Chicago gangster's wife and are taken for a ride. Fast-moving and pretty good fun. (March) 8 CHANCES — First National. — Young Doug's first starring picture is a war thriller. The lad is good but the story is so-so. (July) CHARLIE CHAN CARRIES ON— Fox.— Grand mystery with lots of thrills and romance. Warner Oland marvelous as Chan. John Garrick and Marguerite Churchill are the love interest. (April) CHERI BIBI— M-G-M.— Jack Gilbert in an entertaining drama. Lots of tragedy, but a happy ending and Leila Hyams as the heroine. Well worth seeing. (June) CHILDREN OF DREAMS— Warners.— A musical which you can miss and think nothing of it. (April) CHISELERS OF HOLLYWOOD— Willis Kent Productions. — First-rate entertainment. Hokum, humor and heart. Phyllis Barrington, a newcomer, does great work. (Feb.) GLAMOUR Mr. Webster may have defined it long ago, but Hollywood is giving it new meaning that the erudite Noah never dreamed of. Gone is the ingenue type, with her sweetness and girlish charm. Here comes Gl amour personified in such actresses as Gar bo, Dietrich, Chatterton, Landi, Swanson and half a dozen others. The new "It" is here. Katherine Albert tells you all about it In the September issue of PHOTOPLAY • CIMARRON— Radio Pictures.— The thrilling story of the pioneer West, superbly transferred to the screen. Richard Dix re-establishes himself as a star, and heads a remarkable cast. (Feb.) • CITY LIGHTS— Chaplin-United Artists.— The one and only Chaplin makes another masterpiece. Magnificent comedy and heartbreaking pathos intermingled. You can see it again and again. (March) • CITY STREETS — Paramount. — Absorbing, fast-moving gang melodrama, well directed. Gary Cooper and Sylvia Sidney (from the New York stage) give grand performances. Don't miss it. (June) CLEARING THE RANGE— Allied— Hoot Gibson and the wife. Sally Eilers.in a fine Western with thrills, laughs and plenty of action. (June:) COMMAND PERFORMANCE, THE— CruzeTiffany Productions. — A bright and spicy comedy about one of those engaging mythical kingdoms. Neil Hamilton is simply grand. (Feb.) COMRADES OF 1918— Forenfilms — Gruesome, harrowing German talkie follows the fortunes of four young Teuton soldiers in the last year of the late war. Don't take the children. (May) • CONNECTICUT YANKEE, A— Fox— Its better than the silent version and you'll love Will Rogers. William Farnum and Myrna Loy are excellent. Maureen O'Sullivan and Frank Albertson supply the love interest. (April) CONQUERING HORDE, THE— Paramount — Dick Arlen makes this Western fine entertainment. Fay Wray adorable as the girl. (April) CRACKED NUTS— Radio Pictures.— Wheeler and Woolsey in a rush of dialogue to the screen, and not very good dialogue. Amusing in spots. (April) • CRIMINAL CODE, THE— Columbia.— Don't miss this powerful prison drama. You'll never forget it. Walter Huston and Phillips Holmes head a brilliant cast. (Feb.) • DADDY LONG LEGS— Fox.— The beloved classic with Janet Gaynor in a role just suited to her but just a little too saccharine. Warner Baxter as the bachelor. Take the family. (July) DAMAGED LOVE— Sono Art— World Wide.— Pretty mild. June Collyer's charm and dimples save it from being an entire waste of time. (March) DANCE FOOLS, DANCE— M-G-M.— Fast and thrilling entertainment. Joan Crawford again proves herself a great dramatic actress. Billy Bakewell fine as the weak young brother who falls in with gangsters. (March) DANCERS, THE— Fox.— A rambling, younger generation drama which isn't at its best on the screen. The players, including Lois Moran and Phillips Holmes, do their best. (Feb.) DAWN TRAIL, THE— Columbia.— A good Buck Jones Western with a rip-roarin' fight between the sheep and cattle men. (Feb.) DAYBREAK— M-G-M.— The charming performances of Helen Chandler and Ramon Novarro, as the student prince, make this romantic and wistful love story well worth seeing. (June) • DEVIL TO PAY, THE— United Artists-Samuel Goldwyn. — Ronnie Colman breezes through a tasty, spicy little comedy. Great cast, sparkling dialogue and finished production. (Feb.) • DIRIGIBLE— Columbia.— Thrilling melodrama of adventure at the South Pole. The Navy helped make it and the airplane and dirigible, shots leave you breathless. Ralph Graves, Jack Holt and Fay Wray take high honors. (May) • DISHONORED— Paramount.— Marlene Dietrich exciting as an Austrian spy in a tense story, splendidly directed. Victor McLaglen great as the Russian officer. (May) DOCTORS' WIVES— Fox.— Joan Bennett, Warner Baxter and Victor Varconi in a story of jealousy. Not very convincing. (April) DON'T BET ON WOMEN— Fox.— Husbands, wives and lovers mix-up. Good adult entertainment, with smart dialogue. Roland Young, Edmund Lowe, Jeanette MacDonald and Una Merkel make the most of their parts. (April) DRACULA— Universal.— A mystery story full of creeps and thrills. Helen Chandler grand as the terrified heroine. (March) DRUMS OF JEOPARDY, THE— Tiffany Prod. — Mysterv melodrama with enough murders to satisfy the bloodthirsty. Good cast headed by Warner Oland and June Collyer. (April) [ PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 14 ]