Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1930)

SAVES YOUR PICTURE TIME AND MONEY The Best Pictures of the Month LUMMOX SONG O' MY HEART ONLY THE BRAVE SUCH MEN ARE DANGEROUS MONTANA MOON HELL HARBOR The Best Performances of the Month Winifred Westover in "Lummox" Edna Murphy in "Lummox" John McCormack in "Song O' My Heart" Tommy Clifford in "Song O' My Heart" Mary Brian in "Only the Brave" William LeMaire in "Only the Brave" Warner Baxter in "Such Men Are Dangerous" Joan Crawford in "Montana Moon" Lupe Velez in "Hell Harbor" Dixie Lee in "The Big Party" William Haines in "The Girl Said No" Constance Bennett in "Song of the Gods" Mitzi Green in "Honey" Edward G. Robertson in "A Lady to Love" Evelyn Brent in "Slightly Scarlet" Casts of all photoplays reviewed ivill be found on page lj4 * SONG O' MY HEART— Fox IN a contest conducted by Photoplay there were more requests for John McCormack to sing "Little Boy Blue" and "I Hear You Calling Me" than any other numbers. These are the hit pieces, and when he sings 'em you break down and tell your right name. Does that Irishman touch the old heart strings? The romance concerns one Sean O'Carolan who loves the girl who married another. And, although McCormack isn't expected to do any heavy acting, his is a pleasing personality. The settings are gorgeous. Most of it was filmed, you know, in the Land of the Shamrock. With much publicity ballyhoo, Maureen O'Sullivan was brought to this country from Dublin to carry the heart interest. She doesn't make the grade, but Tommy Clifford, the eleven-year-old kid, playing her brother, is a sensation. Maureen will undoubtedly go back to the old fireside, but Tommy can park his Irish brogue in Hollywood as long as he likes. John Garrick is again charming as a young lover, Joe Kerrigan and Farrell MacDonald bring in a lot of laughs, and Alice Joyce plays McCormack's sweetheart without much success. But who cares about the other actors or the story or anything when there stands McCormack right before your very eyes, singing with all the tenderness and beauty for which his voice is famed? You find yourself reaching for the dry handkerchief. See it by all means. •k MONTANA MOON—M-G-M JOAN CRAWFORD, still untamed but out of the jungle J and into the open spaces, fills this somewhat inconsistent tale with some of the most delightful comedy the screen has held in a long time. Even if you rebel in spots, you'll care for this picture in a big way, in spite of yourself, for it has great gusto and paprika. Joan is loose on a Montana ranch, this time, with Johnny Mack Brown doing yeoman service as an ignorant foreman of cow-gentlemen. And Joan does a tango with Ricardo Cortez that you'll like. In addition, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer turned loose its comic force in full, and Benny Rubin, Karl Dane and Cliff Edwards are funny. Bubbling Joan is back where she belongs, in a light and frolicsome picture, and her fans will welcome the change of style. ^ HELL HARBOR— United Artists THERE'S been a continual wail of " Give us something besides backstage singies and courtroom sobbies." Well, here's the answer. This is a rousing good melodrama, crammed full of suspense and color, mounted in a superb setting, and photographed and acted to the queen's taste. Hell Harbor, peopled by descendants of a band of pirates, is the locale. The renegade grandson of Sir Henry Morgan tries to force his motherless daughter to marry the local Shylock. Comes dawn in the form of a young American sailor. Lupe Velez, as the half-Spanish descendant of the bloodthirsty Sir Henry, has a role which fits her like a Sennett bathing suit. She's great. Jean Hersholt, as the greasy money lender, is a mighty mean menace. And John Holland is a likeable and convincing hero. 53