Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1930)

Brief Reviews of Current Pictures j CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13 ] LUCKY IN LOVE— Pathe.— Morton Downey Rets back to old Erin in time to pay off the mortgage on the ancestral halls — but who cares? The Downey tenor helps — but not enough. All Talkie. (Nov.) LUCKY LARKIN— Universal.— A typical Western and a movie that actually moves in the good old style. Ken Maynard and a trick horse. Silent. (Oct.) • LUCKY STAR— Fox.— That immortal duo. Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, in a gentle and charming story. Part Talkie. (Oct.) • MADAME X— M-G-M. — Fine performance by Ruth Chatterton in this reliable old sob producer. All Talkie. (July.) MADONNA OF AVENUE A— Warners.— Too grown-up for children and too childish for grown-ups. A trite yarn. All Talkie. (Nov.) MAN AND THE MOMENT, THE— First National.— An old-fashioned ripsnorting movie, all love and action. Billie Dove starred. Part Talkie. (Sept.) MAN I LOVE, THE— Paramount.— A slight story, but you'll like Richard Arlen's work. All Talkie. (July.) • MARIANNE— M-G-M. — Marion Davies proves there is no limit to her versatility. Delicious comedy and superb pathos. All Talkie. (Nov.) MARRIED IN HOLLYWOOD— Fox.— The first Viennese operetta to be phonoplayed. J. Harold {Rio Rita) Murray and Norma (Show Boat) Terris handle the leads, and Watter Catlett and Tom Patricola, the laughs. Good — but should have been better. All Talkie. (Dec.) MASKED EMOTIONS— Fox.— Good melodrama of adventure and brotherly love. Silent. (July.) MASQUERADE— Fox.— Remade from silent version of "The Brass Bowl." Old fashioned plot, but Leila H yams is nice. All Talkie. (Sept.) MELODY LANE— Universal.— The world seems full of clowns with breaking hearts. Eddie Leonard brings no vitality to a dead yarn. All Talkie. (Oct.) MEN ARE LIKE THAT— Paramount.— Glorifying the Boobus Americanus. You'll love Hal Skelly's characterization of a back-slapping braggart. All Talkie. (Dec.) MIGHTY, THE— Paramount.— Bancroft's greatest role to date and fine entertainment. If you don't think the hairy-chested one has sex appeal, see this. All Talkie. (Dec.) MISSISSIPPI GAMBLER, THE— UniversalPicture of the Old South by one who has never been there. Joseph Schildkraut in the same costumes he wore in " Show Boat." All Talkie. (Dec.) MISTER ANTONIO— Tiffany-Stahl.— Leo Carillo achieves a splendid characterization in his first talking feature. The Booth Tarkington plav is a wellchosen vehicle for him. All Talkie. (Dec.) MORGANNE THE ENCHANTRESS— Franco 1'ilin. — One of the very worst from France. Awful story, acting ham deluxe. Silent. (Sept.) MOST IMMORAL LADY, A^First National. — Leatrice Joy fine in her first phonoplay. About a blackmail beauty who finds regeneration in the love of one of her victims. All Talkie. MOTHER'S BOY— Pathe.— Just another Jolson plot, only this time the singer is an Irishman, Morton Downey. All Talkie. (July.) MYSTERIOUS DR. FU MANCHU, THE— Paramount.— Fantastic mystery yarn, with Oriental deviltry. All Talkie. (Aug.) NEW BANKROLL, THE— Mack Sennett.— Andy Clyde and Harry Gribbon and lots of very pretty girls. Old time comedy. All Talkie. (Sept.) NEW YORK NIGHTS— United Artists.— A hoke story, but Talmadge fans will be pleased with Norma's voice. All Talkie. (Nov.) NIGHT CLUB — Paramount. — Made some time ago, tins film is little but a series of face and voice tests for many Broadway celebrities. All Talkie. (Nov.) 16 2 NIGHT PARADE— Radio Pictures.— Trite yarn about a fight champion, redeemed by a good cast. The darklv seductive Aileen Pringle goes blonde. All Talkie. (Dec.) NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH— Paramount.— Richard Dix in an old, but good, stage farce. A pleasant evening's entertainment. All Talkie. (July.) NOT QUITE DECENT— Fox.— Louise Dresser also does an Al Jolson. Can you bear it? Part Talkie. (July.) OH, YEAH!— Pathe.— James Gleason and Robert Armstrong of "Is Zat So" fame team up again — and howl Hilarious dialogue which plays tag with the censors. ZaSu Pitts does one of her riotous monologues. All Talkie. (Nov.) ONE HYSTERICAL NIGHT— Universal.— Fie upon you. Universal, and double fie, Mr. Denny! Someone should have known enough to prevent this social error. All Talkie. (Dec.) 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 Page 128 Fox Film Page 80 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . . Page 12 Pathe Page 7 Paramount Page 4 Warner Bros Page 127 ONE WOMAN IDEA, THE— Fox.— Rod LaRocque is a Persian diplomat who falls in love, and that's about all. Sound. {Sept.) • ON WITH THE SHOW— Warners.— Singing, dancing, talking and Technicolor. Good on spectacle but weak on comedy. All Talkie. (Aug.) OPPRESSED, THE— William Elliott Production. — This ought to be renamed The Depressed — meaning the audience. Raquel Meller disappoints. Silent. (Oct.) • OUR MODERN MAIDENS — M-G-M. — Joan Crawford and Doug Fairbanks, Jr., in a sequel to "Our Dancing Daughters." Must you be told that it's a sure-fire hit? Sound. (July.) • PARIS BOUND— Pathe.— A smooth drama of domestic woes that introduces to the screen Ann Harding, stage beauty and good actress. All Talkie. (Sept.) PAWNS OF PASSION— World Wide.— Rather better than its title and also better than most foreign productions. Silent. (July.) PHANTOMS OF THE NORTH— All Star.— One of the old time Northwest epics, with nothing to distinguish it. Silent. (Sept.) PHYSICIAN, THE — Tiffany-Stahl. — Terrible story of the narcotic evil well acted by Miles Mander and Elsa Brink. Silent. (Sept.) PICCADILLY— World Wide.— Wonder of wonders— a truly fine British picture! Gilda Gray is starred but Anna May Wong brings home the bacon. Silent. (Oct.) PLEASURE CRAZED— Fox.— A good story, smothered in English accents, and played entirely by stage actors. All Talkie. (Oct.) PRINCE AND THE DANCER, THE— WorldWide. — This European film is sure to inspire patriotism in the bosoms of American movie-goers. It's awful. Silent. (Nov.) PRINCE OF HEARTS, THE— Imperial.— Weak carbon copy of "The Merry Widow." Silent. (July.) • PRISONERS— First National.— Effective entertainment. Just to be different, the locale in this one is a Hungarian night club. Part Talkie. (Aug.) PROTECTION— Fox.— More bootlegging drama. With some exciting moments. Sound. (Aug.) QUITTER, THE— Columbia.— Rather trite story redeemed by an effective climax. Silent. (July.) RACKETEER, THE— Pathe.— About a wealthy gangster with a heart of gold — just a rough diamond in a platinum setting. Swell work by Robert Armstrong and Carol Lombard. All Talkie. (Dec.) RAINBOW MAN, THE— Sono Art-Paramount.— In which Eddie Dowling does his version of the Jolson story. But he has an attractive personality. All Talkie. (July.) RED HOT RHYTHM— Pathe.— Alan Hale, Kathryn Crawford and Josephine Dunn in an uneven story about a philandering song-writer. Some good dance numbers and Technicolor sequences. All Talkie. (Dec.) RICH PEOPLE— Pathe.— Sophisticated comedydrama for an intelligent audience. Constance Bennett proves that monev isn't all and she ought to know. All Talkie. (Dec.) RICHTHOFEN: THE RED KNIGHT OF THE AIR — F.P.G. Production. — A Teutonic version of "Wings" lacking al! the virtues of the American epic of the air. Silent. (Nov.) • RIO RITA— Radio Pictures.— The finest of screen musicals to date. Comedy, singing, dancing and romance de luxe. Bebe Daniels wows 'em and John Boles sets hearts to fluttering anew. All Talkie. (Nov.) RIVER OF ROMANCE— Paramount.— Humorous romance of crinoline days in the South, with excellent work by Buddv Rogers, Mary Brian and Wallace Beery. All Talkie. (Oct.) ROARING FIRES— Ellbee.— Not only silent but positively dumb. (July.) SAILOR'S HOLIDAY— Pathe.— Riotously funny account of a sailor on shore leave. All Talkie. (Oct.) SALUTE — Fox. — A glorified newsreel about a West Point cadet with a kid brother at Annapolis. All Talkie. (Oct.) SAP, THE — Warners. — Good comedv with lots of laughs. All Talkie. (Aug.) SATURDAY NIGHT KID, THE— Paramount.— The old Bow punch has given way to poundage. Jean Arthur steals this picture. All Talkie. (Dec.) SATURDAY'S CHILDREN— First National.— It was a Pulitzer prize stage play, but the movie version is slow. And Corinne Griffith is miscast. Part Talkie. (July.) SCARLET DAREDEVIL, THE— World Wide.— A melodrama of the French Revolution from England, unusually well acted. Silent. (Sept.) SEA FURY — Supreme. — No sense taking this seriously. Regarded as a burlesque in the best Hoboken tradition it's a riot. All Talkie. (Dec.) SENOR AMERICANO— Universal.— See this, you fans who are crying for your Westerns. Ken Maynard rides, loves, fights — and sings. All Talkie. (Dec.) SHIP MATES— Educational.— In the Navy with Lupino Lane. Plenty of laughs as the pies and dishes go whizzing by. All Talkie. (July.) SIDE STREET— Radio Pictures.— No telling what this might have been if not botched by bad recording. As it is, just another underworld yarn. All three of the Moores are in it. All Talkie. (Dec.) SILVER KING, THE— British.— A good silent thriller starring our old friend Percy Marmont. Percy still suffers superbly. Silent. (Nov.) • SINGLE STANDARD, THE — M-G-M.— Garbo was never finer than in this story of a very modern woman. Nils Asther and Johnny Mack Brown, too. Silent. (Sept.)