Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1930)

Brief Reviews of Current Pictures [ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14 ] LAUGHING AT DEATH— FBO— Bob Steele. the Western actor, in curls and ribbons as one of these mythical princes. Whoops! Silent. (Sept.) LIGHT FINGERS — Columbia.— Nice balance between action and dialogue in this melodrama about a gang of jewel thieves. All Talkie. (Nov.) • LILIES OF THE FIELD— First National.— Corinne (Orchid) Griffith in tights and doing a tap dance! Her sprightliest film since " Classified. " Comedy, pathos and some good modern music. All Talkie. (Feb.) LOCKED DOOR, THE— United Artists.— An exciting melodrama ruined by weak dialogue. Noteworthy only because it brings Barbara Stanwyck to the talking screen. All Talkie. (Feb.) LONE STAR RANGER, THE— Fox.— A Zane Grey epic garnished with theme songs. George O'Brien as the picturesque ranger hero and Sue Carol the pretty heroine. All Talkie. (Jan.) LONG, LONG TRAIL, THE— Universal.— Fast moving Western drama. Hoot Gibson goes over big in his first all-dialogue. All Talkie. (Jan.) LOST ZEPPELIN, THE— Tiffany-Stahl.— This has lots of good points, but plot isn't one of them. Some fascinating scenic effects. Conway Tearle, Ricardo Cortez and Virginia Valli line up in the old triangle formation. All Talkie. (Feb.) LOVE COMES ALONG — Radio Pictures.— Too bad to hand Bebe this after "Rio Rita." Life on the Mexican water front, made more endurable by that Daniels girl's thrilling voice. All Talkie. (Feb.) LOVE DOCTOR, THE— Paramount.— Richard Dix's last picture for Paramount. Dix and June Collyer are pleasing. All Talkie. (Nov.) LOVE, LIVE AND LAUGH— Fox.— From New York to the battlefields with a tear every step of the way. George Jessel scores as the little Italian hero. All' Talkie. (Jan.) • LOVE PARADE, THE— Paramount.— Sparkling as Burgundy. Director Lubitsch conquers light opera, and Maurice Chevalier conquers all. Jeanette MacDonald is a treat to the eyes and ears. All Talkie. (Dec.) LOVE TRAP, THE— Universal.— Laura LaPlante. with little help from Neil Hamilton, proves that chorus girls are good girls. Part Talkie. (Sept.) LUCKY IN LOVE— Pathe — Morton Downey gets 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.) 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.) • MARIANNE— M-G-M. — Marion Davies proves there is no limit to her versatility. Delicious comedy and superb pathos. All Talkie. (Nov.) • MARRIAGE PLAYGROUND, THE— Paramount.— A fine, wholesome picture in spite of its sophisticated theme. Mary Brian and Frederic March are admirably cast. All Talkie. (Jan.) 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 Walter Catlett and Tom Patricola. the laughs. Good — but should have been better. All Talkie. (Dec.) MASQUERADE— Fox.— Remade from silent version of "The Brass Bowl." Old fashioned plot, but Leila Hyams is nice. All Talkie. (Sept.) MELODY LANE— Universal.— The world seems full of clowns witli 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 r61e to date and fine entertainment. If you don't think the hairy-chested one has sex appeal, see this. All Talkie. (Dec.) 16 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 play is a wellchosen vehicle for him. All Talkie. (Dec.) MORGANNE THE ENCHANTRESS— FrancoFilm. — 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. NAVY BLUES— M-G-M.— Bill Haines is a scream as a fresh gob who steals Anita Pa^e from her happy home. AH Talkie. (Jan.) NEW BANKROLL, THE— Mack Sennett.— Andy Clyde and Harry Gribbon and lots of very pretty girls. Old time comedy. All Talkie. (Sept.) Producer Announcements of 7\[eu> 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 148 Fox Film Page 7 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.Page 12 Paramount Pictures ♦ . Page 4 Technicolor Page 2 Warner Bros Page 147 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, this film is little but a series of face and voice tests for many Broadway celebrities. All Talkie. (Nov.) 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.) NIX ON DAMES— Fox.— Cross-section of life in a theatrical boarding house. See 'em eat, sleep, shave and love. Most of the players are from the stage and they're real troupers. All Talkie. (Jan.) • NOT SO DUMB— M-G-M.— (reviewed under the title "Dulcy.") This was a swell play, a swell silent picture — and now it's a swell talkie. Marion Davies is at her sparkling best. And you oughtn't to miss Donald Ogden Stewart's talkie debut. All Talkie. (Jan.) OFFICER O'BRIEN— Pathe.— Glorifying the American cop as impersonated by William Boyd. Mildly exciting entertainment. All Talkie. (Feb.) OH, YEAH!— Pathe.— James Gleason and Robert Armstrong of "Is Zat So" fame team up again— and how! 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.) ONE WOMAN IDEA, THE— Fox.— Rod La Rocque is a Persian diplomat who falls in love, and that's about all. Sound. (Sept.) OPPRESSED, THE— William Elliott Production. — This ought to be renamed The Depressed — meaning* the audience. Raquel Meller disappoints. Silent. (Oct.) PAINTED FACES— Tiffany-Stahl.— Good news for the fans who've been crying for something different. A tense, refreshingly original story with a juryroom locale, and that grand comic, Joe E. Brown. All Talkie, (feb.) PANDORA'S BOX— Nero.— In case you've been wondering what happened to Louise Brooks, here she is, big as life and twice as naughty, in what was probably a good German picture before the censors operated on it. Silent. (Feb.) • PARIS— First National.— Ooh— zat Irene Bordoni! You'll love her. And you'll love Jack Buchanan and Louise Closser Hale — and the Technicolor effects — in fact the whole picture. All Talkie. (Jan.) • PARIS BOUND— Pathe.— A smooth drama of domestic woes that introduces to the screen Ann Harding, stage beauty and good actress. All Talkie. (Sept.) 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 truli" 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.) POINTED HEELS— Paramount.— With Helen Kane, William Powell, Fay Wray, Phillips Holmes, Skeets'Gallagher and Eugene Pallette in the cast, this backstage story is sure-fire. All Talkie. (Feb.) 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.) 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.) 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.) RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE— Paramount. — The greatest sleuth of them all wouldn't recognize himself in this faint reincarnation. Clive Brook has done bigger and better things. All Talkie. (Jan.) RICH PEOPLE— Pathe.— Sophisticated comedydrama for an intelligent audience. Constance Bennett proves that money 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 all 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, Marv Brian and Wallace Beery. All Talkie. (Oct.) • ROMANCE OF RIO GRANDE— FoxRich and roaring melodrama. Romantic Warner Baxter in his Mexican suit again. Tony Moreno. Mary Duncan, and a new cause for heartburn named Mona Maris. Two swell songs. What more do you want? All Talkie. (Jan.) SACRED FLAME, THE— Warners.— On the stage this was strong and intensely tragic drama, but it has been pretty well watered for the screen. A brilliant cast, headed by Conrad Nagel, Lila Lee, and Pauline Frederick. All Talkie. (Feb.) 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.) SATURDAY NIGHT KID, THE— Paramount — The old Bow punch has given way to poundage. Jean Arthur steals this picture. All Talkie. (Dec.) 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