Photoplay (Jul - Dec 1938)

The Shadow Stage MOTHER CAREY'S CHICKENSRKO-Radio WHEN you finish seeing this you think bleakly, "Why did they bother?" It's an innocuous film, rife with sentimentality. Fay Bainter is wasted as the mother of four children: Ruby Keeler, Anne Shirley, Jackie Moran and a delightful little boy named Donnie Dunagan, who steals the movie. Widowed, Bainter rents a big house and takes in boarders; two city people try to buy it from under her nose and the family play ghosts in the attic to drive them away. Both young girls love Jimmy Ellison; eventually one of them gets him. That's the extent of the actual plot, although it is supplemented by the dreary fall into poverty in which everybody is too loyal and too, too brave. If you catch this, stay in order to watch little Donnie hang wallpaper. • LOVE FINDS ANDY HARDY-M-G-M UNE of the most popular family series now supporting the studios' million-dollar flops is the "Hardy" group, with great actor Mickey Rooney as Andy, the son. This is his picture, his story, and it is his superb technique which makes it swell cinema. Mickey buys a car without his dad's knowledge, needs eight bucks to pay off, and agrees to take care of another boy's girl friend in order to earn the money. The girl is Lana Turner and Mickey's real heart, Ann Rutherford, gets jealous. Everything works out, after the girl-next-door, Judy Garland, saves the day. Cecilia Parker, Lewis Stone and Fay Holden comprise Mickey's family, as usual. • GIVE ME A SAILOR-Paramount MaRTHA RAYE, of the big mouth, decided not long ago that in order to save herself from becoming just a fad she must go Glamour Girl. Here's her first try at the new personality — and she's still slapstick. The picture is really very funny. In it, Martha is a homebody in love with Bob Hope's brother, Jack Whiting; but Jack's in love with Martha's sister, Betty Grable. Evidently the only thing to do is for Bob and Martha to put their heads together and straighten out the mess, which they do hilariously. You'll like the final twist, which is not entirely unexpected. High point of the film is Martha's horrifying experience with a face mud pack. Hope, as usual, is smooth, and the support is good. GATEWAY-20th Century-Fox GATEWAY" evidently started as a sincere portrait of the various types who pause at Ellis Island during immigration, got sidetracked into a "B" picture with a shipboard plot. Arleen Whelan is the Irish girl who is traveling second-class to meet fiance Lyle Talbot, a prissy dope of good family. On board is Don Ameche, bored war correspondent, who invites her into first class, where she gets into some trouble. This involves any number of persons, all of whom end up in Ellis Island along with radicals, phony Prince Gregory Ratoff, exiles and farmers. There's a riot at the end, with the police wiping the place up, but you really don't care any more. The biggest mistake of the piece is killing off Binnie Barnes, (Continued jrom page 57) much married grass widow, without any apparent reason. Miss Whelan does not fulfill Mr. Zanuck's publicity promises very well. • THE CROWD ROARS— M-G-M I HE turning point in Robert Taylor's career may well be marked from this lusty story of the prize ring. From boyhood, Bob has been trained for the ring. Through an unlucky blow, he kills his trainer, William Gargan. Bitterness grows when he learns his drunken father (Frank Morgan) has sold his contract to gambler Edward Arnold. Bob goes back to the ring, but, when he falls in love with Maureen O'Sullivan, sacrifices his career. Frank Morgan is excellent; Bob comes through — a champion. MR. MOTO'S LAST WARNING— 20th Century-Fox A SLIGHTLY dragging film and not the best of the Afoto series, this one has Peter Lorre in Port Said trying to prevent the destruction of Great Britain's and France's warships by Ricardo Cortez and his colleagues. John Carradine, a Scotland Yard man, wins Cortez's confidence until his identity is discovered and then more trouble starts. Virginia Field grabs off the picture with her grand delineation of the "moll" who squares herself at the end. Jot down the title for reference, because they all sound alike. MEET THE GIRLS— 20th Century-Fox T HE debut of another series idea takes place in this story of two pretty girls bent on adventure. Lynn Bari and June Lang, we are told, will romp through numerous screen pictures together, and this sample of what the romping consists of proves commendable indeed. As stowaways, the pair become involved in another one of those jewel robbery setups with comical results. Gene Lockhart, Ruth Donnelly and Erik Rhodes supply the laughs. I'M FROM THE CITY-RKO-Radio J OE PENNER is none too funny in this silly story about a fellow who, although afraid of horses, is a marvelous equestrian when hypnotized by the circus manager. He's taken to a Western ranch to ride in a race between rival ranches. Some of the complications are amusing, but the slow tempo makes the action drag. Richard Lane is Penner's manager and Lorraine Krueger is the love interest. A DESPERATE ADVENTURE-Republic T HERE'S a lot of fuss made when Marian Marsh turns up in Paris and is the image of an imaginary "ideal girl" as painted by artist Ramon Novarro. The picture is sold by mistake and everyone tries to get it back. Andrew Tombes is amusing as Marian's father; Tom Rutherford is her fiance; and Margaret Tallichet is lovely as her sister who loves Ramon. Novarro's charm is as pleasing as ever and he does nice work. SKY GIANT-RKO-Radio I HE many pseudo-hazards and thrills overshadow an anemic story in this runof-the-mill aviation "epic." Chester Morris and Richard Dix are a pair of pilots in love with Joan Fontaine, who really loves Morris but marries Dix when Chester refuses to give up flying. A thrilling smashup in which Morris drags Dix to safety, and a 20,000 foot spinning dive are the high lights of the film. (Shades of "Test Pilot," yet.) There's a slight tie-up to the Hughes flight, however, which makes for timeliness. Harry Carey and Paul Guilfoyle support. THE CHASER-M-G-M T HIS is a fast-moving minor comedy based on the ambulance-chasing racket and the crooked machinations of shyster lawyers. Although it's a pretty sordid plot, the situations are so funny that you'll get a lot of laughs. Dennis O'Keefe is the smooth-talking shyster with a sure-fire personality; Lewis Stone is his drunken doctor: John Qualen turns in a comedy high-spot; and Nat Pendleton and Ann Morriss both do some fine work. MR. CHUMP-Warners JOHNNIE DA VIS very ably carries practically the whole load of this amusing little picture about an unemployed trumpet player who has a system to beat the stock market. Unfortunately for him and Chester Clute and Donald Briggs, it only works on paper and they get in plenty of trouble when they borrow money from a bank to try it out. Johnnie is most capable. Lola Lane and Penny Singleton are the girls. SMASHING THE RACKETS-RKO-Radio NEW YORK Prosecutor Dewey said "No soap" when Hollywood indicated it would transform his achievements into a box-office gold mine. So what? So Hollywood did the usual thing called "thinly veiling" the character, and the result is Chester Morris gang-busting with the not too exceptional support of Frances Mercer, Bruce Cabot and Rita Johnson. Maybe the next in the cycle will seem more worthy of the effort. I'LL GIVE A MILLION— 20th Century-Fox WARNER BAXTER, a millionaire fed up with false friends, becomes a tramp who hopes to find someone who loves him for himself; and the result is a bewildering effort to be funny that doesn't quite come off. Marjorie Weaver, American member of a French circus, takes Baxter under her wing. Because she is kind to him without knowing he is a millionaire, she wins the million. And Baxter. Not so good for the audience. Swell for Marjorie. ARMY GIRL— Republic IF YOU'RE interested in life at an army post, you'll like this picture. It is highlighted by a mechanization test between an army tank operated by Preston Foster and the Cavalry. Foster succeeds H. B. Warner as Colonel of the post. There's a jealous conspiracy between Neil Hamilton and Guinn Williams, which leads to the death of Warner; and Foster is accused. Madge Evans supplies the love interest, and justifies the title. Don't work up too much enthusiasm in advance. •N BEHALF o 'GOOD FORM" ,^V REAL*0"!! The epitome of the streamlined silhouette. Softly boned for perfect control. . .will not twist or "hike-up". Guaranteed non ran. Mallanese crotch . . . definite two-way tretch assures comte ease at play or rest. At leading stores everywhere. Knitted of Lastex and Bemberg . . and fashioned to fit HEAL-FORM CIRB WAKE U P YOUR Without Calomel — And You'll Jump LIVER Out of Bed in the Morning R ar in ' to Go j The liver should pour out two pounds of liquid bile into your bowels daily. If this bile is not flowing freely, your food doesn't digest. It just decays in the bowels. Gas bloats up your stomach. You get constipated. Your whole system is poisoned and you feel sour, sunk and the world looks punk. A mere bowel movement doesn't get at the cause. It takes those good, old Carter's Little Liver Pills to get these two pounds of bile flowing freely and make you feel "up and up." Harmless, gentle, yet amazing in making bile flow freely. Ask for Carter's Little Liver Pills by name. 25c at all drug stores. Stubbornly refuse anything else. NO FRIENDS SINCE PIMPLES CAME? Get this help in guarding against skin-blotching intestinal poisons Are ugly skin eruptions spoiling your good times . . . making others shun you? Find out what the trouble may be — and take steps to help it. Between the ages of 13 and 25, or even longer, important gland changes often upset the system. The skin often becomes oversensitive. Waste poisons from the intestinal tract may get into the blood stream . . . and be carried to the skin to cause disfiguring pimples. Many have been helped by the regular use of Fleischmann's Yeast. Millions of tiny, lire plants in each cake of this fresh food act to help keep intestinal waste poisons from the blood . . . and so help your broken-out skin. Start eating Fleischmann's Yeast now — one cake *2 hour before meals. Buy some today! OCTOBER, 1938 97