Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1938)

■ M FLYERS-RKO-Radio Veeler and Woolsey's farewell performance as tivie team is one of their gayest pictures. The Keyset off in a seaplane to capture jewel thieves ndieir mad antics in the air furnish the laughs. .uijVelez sings several peppy songs. It's fun for tiepole family. (Feb.) ■ ITTING A NEW HIGH-RKO-Radio ]}./ Pons lifts this none too brilliant comedy to a igllevel of entertainment. As a cabaret singer ■it'operatic ambitions she coaxes E. E. Horton it( linking she's a bird girl from Africa. This setup 55 Miss Pons to wear exotic costumes, sing both ivi! songs and classical arias with delicious >eJs. John Howard is her heart trouble. Jack lal is around for laughs. (Feb.) ■ OLLYWOOD HOTEL-Warners s is a potpourri of music and buffoonery put velvith abundant, but not too brilliant enthusi ■>y Dick Powell, the Lane Sisters, Lola and .osnary, Louella Parsons and her radio clan, inuiig Frances Langford. The happiest contribuii are Bennie Goodman's swing band, and .ajiond Paige's arrangement of "Black Eyes." lot fun. (March) URRICANE, THE -Sam Goldwyn-United Artists V.h a wind machine for a star and the Pacific i ?et, Director John Ford has concocted a stuninjpicture of adventure and love among the its of the South Seas. Newcomer Jon Hall m ability as well as most of his excellent Hmy; Dorothy Lamour is beautiful as his fil princess; the star-studded cast includes Kiond Massey, Mary Astor and C. Aubrey my. The hurricane is awe-inspiring. You ■n't miss it. (Jan.) I LL TAKE ROMANCE-Columbia lice Moore's new romantic film with opera B is her best since "One Night of Love." Ed by her domineering aunt, Helen Westley, M tries monkey business to get out of a confifalls in love instead with impresario Melvyn •[las. Miss Moore sings both popular and JUtic airs with vocal and physical appeal. .1 h) H OLD CHICAGO-20th Century-Fox tfe legend of Mrs. O'Leary's cow is God's gift to bi'l Zanuck who has here achieved a vivid ic|re of Chicago's early days before the famous ref 1871. The whole fighting clan of O'Learys, Ider Alice Brady, sons Don Ameche, Tyrone 'O'-r and Tom Brown, live, love and learn in the riY of many colorful figures. The holocaust itself ; lath-taking, and the huge cast, including Alice a;i and Andy Devine, superlative. Save your eres and go. (March) ONATIONAL SETTLEMENT 20th Centy-Fox Singhai, during the air raids, is the breathing backdrop for speedy action and sinister inip. George Sanders finds himself a pistol target jrjjies; Dolores Del Rio finally foils the villains. )i'i Baldwin and June Lang furnish the secondary ranee. (April) M BEHAVE-Republic Smewhere between the newsreel and the main rare you will watch Sally Eilers getting into wl trouble— and romance— because of her sister. rh one, already married to Joseph Schildkraut, slight, marries Neil Hamilton. Sally does a good oijdy job and Marcia Mae Jones is really very Mf. (March) .CK OUT FOR LOVE-GB .illio Carminati's many admirers will welcome lit back as the hero of this complicated tale »l>by Anna (Queen Victoria) Neagle rises from a ttit ^ singer to world-renowned dancer through fuo's sacrificial efforts. Robert Douglas is a ir.,:n and handsome villain. There are some wiish singable songs. (Feb.) fc.OVE AND HISSES— 20th Century-Fox alter Winchell and Ben Bernie return with fub to another battle of wits and half-wits and n|c and gags, built around a foreign star, Simone si in, whose abilities each takes credits for. Much li'ity goes on; the new Gordon and Revel tunes ira delight; and Simone Simon shoplifts the I ire with her exceptional singing. Elegant. ■ rch) A.OVE IS A HEADACHE-M-G-M a longer forced to be an artificially wrinkled £• a lovely Gladys George finally comes to light. I ing an actress bitten by the publicity bug, her w,ition of Mickey Rooney and Virginia Weidler Meg her best friend (Franchot Tone) to become Ik severest critic. The acting is superfine. (April) MANHATTAN MERRY-GO-ROUND Republic . ,'hen a gangster buys a recording company and js rn between his passion for jazz and his mother's ! for opera, amusing and exciting things should n 3en— and do. Leo Carrillo, Tamara Geva, Phil J* in, Ann Dvorak and four big-name bands go to ",i in rollicking rhythm. A-l sauce for your El ms. (Feb.) (Continued from page 6) • MANNEQUIN-M-G-M _ Again Joan Crawford is magnificently the shop girl, who by beauty and brains overcomes a hideous environment and an unfortunate marriage to blackmailer Alan Curtis, to emerge chin high to happiness with Spencer Tracy. Joan looks stunning, does some nice singing; Tracy is staunch support. (March) • MAN-PROOF-M-G-M Without the delicious humor of Myrna Loy this would be a dull conversation piece about a young emotionally uninvolved girl in love with a young rake (Walter Pidgeon). When he marries Rosalind Russell, Myrna sets out to get him back — with astonishing results. Franchot Tone lurks in the background. A lulu because of Loy. (March) MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME-Monogram The sole reason for seeing this setup south of the Mason Dixon is the Hall Johnson Choir of colored singers. There's a to-do over the centennial of the founding of a molasses factory and a domineering matriarch's attempts to run the love life of Evelyn Venable. Molasses from start to finish. (April) • NOTHING SACRED-Selznick-United Artists Aided by color, a Ben Hecht script and the deft direction of Bill Wyler, Carole Lombard and Freddie March have turned in a comedy drama that beats the best results of the nitwit schools, so far. The story revolves around a reporter who is in the doghouse with his editor, and his schemes to get out of same by developing the season's biggest front-page news out of a girl ostensibly at death's door. Satirical, sophisticated and screwy, it is among the ranking laugh films of all time. (Feb.) • OF HUMAN HEARTS-M-G-M Beautifully directed by Clarence Brown, this gentle, sincere'picture is serious cinema at its best. Against a Civil War background, it tells the story of the heroic sacrifices of a poverty-stricken pioneer minister's family to subsidize their son who becomes a famous surgeon. Beulah Bondi, Walter Huston, Jimmy Stewart, the whole cast deserve enormous credit. Don't fail to see this. (April) ■k PARADISE FOR THREE-M-G-M Frank Morgan, Mary Astor, Edna May Oliver, Florence Rice and Robert Young are the funmakers in this hilarious tale of a wealthy old duck with a roving eye who goes vacationing incognito in the Alps. You'd better see this picture to find out what happens then. The direction is as smart as the dialogue. (April) PENROD AND HIS TWIN BROTHER-Warners Again the classic American brat returns to delight the children and amuse their elders. This time, there are two of them, the Mauch Twins who organize as young G-men, tangle with real gangsters. Preposterous and sentimental, but peanuts for small-town audiences. (April) PRESCRIPTION FOR ROMANCE-Universal A slow-moving story of romance on the run. Henry Hunter, embezzler, deserts his sweetheart, flees to Wendy Barrie, a young doctor in Budapest, for protection from Detective Robert Kent, out to get his man. Guess who falls in love with whom? You're right. (March) QUICK MONEY-RKO-Radio For those who like homespun movies woven with sincere and familiar threads, this story wil be entertaining. Fred Stone and Berton Churchill battle for acting honors; the former defending small-town rights against a chiseling big-time promoter. A number of clever youngsters are in support. (Feb.) • ROSALIE-M-G-M Metro spent almost $2,000,000 on this and it ought to be pretty special. You get Nelson Eddy singing Cole Porter songs, Eleanor Powell's dancing and Frank Morgan's funny speech. If the garbled story of a West Pointer in love with a princess doesn't throw you for a loop, the colossal sets probably will. Better go anyway. (March) SH! THE OCTUPUSS-Wamers] Screwball detectives Allen Jenkins and Hugh Herbert escort you through rapid and chill adventure in their search for the mysterious head of a spy combine. Most of the action is in a deserted lightj house full of monsters, but the persistent comedy saves you from heart failure. Marsha Hunt and John Eldredge are around — just for instance. (Feb.) • SLIGHT CASE OF MURDER, A-Warners Belonging to the addlepated cycle of pictures started by "Nothing Sacred," a morbid humor is here squeezed from murder. The story concerns the plight of a gangster (Edward G. Robinson) and his low-brow wife (Ruth Donnelly) who try to go straight after Repeal. They fail in a mad, shocking, but outrageously funny way. (April) • SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS — Disney-RKO-Radio Walt Disney at long last brings his million-dollar fantasy to the screen, and his loving labor of three years is not lost. Mingling real characters (Snow White, The Prince and the Witch Queen) with delightful dwarfs and animals, he succeeds as mar velously in giving you great entertainment as he did with Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck. The color reproduction and the symphonic score are truly distinguished. We know you wouldn't miss it for worlds. (Feb.) SPY RING, THE-Universal William Hall is the army hero of this fast melodrama on how to catch an enemy spy with a polo mallet. Jane Wyman aids Hall and Leon Ames and Ben Alexander are tossed an occasional scene. There is a timely entente with current headlines in the subplot. (April) STORM IN A TEACUP-Korda-United Artists This is an extremely funny, oftentimes hilarious piece about the deflation in ego of a pompous Scotch politician brought about by a young newsman in love with the Scot's daughter. Rex Harrison, Vivien Leigh, Sara Algood, in fact, the entire cast is perfection. Do go and see it. (Feb.) • SUBMARINE D-1-Warners An accurate revelation of the dramatic thrills of the navy's undersea service, plus an elaborate production, plus the splendid acting of Pat O'Brien, Wayne Morris and George Brent and the whole Pacific fleet, add up to the best Navy picture on record. The masculine contingent will eat it up. (Feb.) SWING YOUR LADY-Warners ■ A picture with an idea, even if it disappoints as a musical. Nat Pendleton, as a moron wrestler matched with Amazonian Louise Fazenda, will keep you in stitches; there is some good hillbilly music and a dandy "Big Apple" sequence. Add it up — and you have fun. (April) THANK YOU, MR. MOTO-20th Century-Fox This twisted tale of intrigue in an Oriental locale fails to daunt the imperturbable Moto, who, aided by Thomas Beck, tracks down stolen Chinese scrolls, finishes off Sidney Blackmer in fine style. Pauline Frederick as a Chinese princess stands out. (Feb.) THOROUGHBREDS DON'T CRY-M-G-M Three youngsters with entirely different viewpoints meet in a jockey's boardinghouse and later find their experiences fit them for the years ahead. Mickey Rooney steals the show that was intended to introduce Ronald Sinclair, a newcomer. Judy Garland and Sophie Tucker take care of the feminine interest and the music. One of the better B's. (Feb.) • TOVARICH-Warners Brilliantly devised from the famous play, brilliantly played by Charles Boyer ami Claudette Colbert, this depicts an incident in the lives of two titled Russians living in Paris after the Revolution. They hire out as butler and cook to a wild family, each member of which proceeds to fall variously in love with the new domestics. The suavest sort of drama combined with the new padded-cell variety of comedy makes this the best laugh bet of the month. (Feb.) • WELLS FARGO-Paramount Magnificently staged against a panoramic background of American history — the growth of communications in the wild and early West — this is a human story of a young married couple's battle for happiness against the dangers of a growing nation. Joel McCrea and Frances Dee couldn't have been more superlatively cast. Bob Burns, Porter Hall and a large cast of superior actors support. For sheer adventure, definitely a hit. (Feb.) • WISE GIRL-RKO-Radio Crisp Miriam Hopkins gives an electric performance here — aided by a fine story, Leigh Jason's direction and a cast that immensely enjoys itself. Two orphaned children are adopted by struggling artist Ray Milland. Miriam resents his interference — and how. Milland was born for his role, and Henry Stephenson and the children are delicious. Catch this quick. (March) • YANK AT OXFORD, A-M-G-M In this picture made in England, Robert Taylor emerges less the dandy, more the male. As the son of a small-town editor (Lionel Barrymore — can he act!) Taylor wins a scholarship, wins and loses Maureen O'Sullivan, takes a beating from his classmates, generally does a fine job. Credits to the entire cast. (April) • YOU'RE A SWEETHEART-Universal A Broadway show in the making is the background of this story and fortunately provides the most important elements in the plot. George Murphy really comes into his awn as a dancer and singer, and Alice Faye also sings song hits as only she can. Ken Murray and Oswald of radio fame lend support. It's a nifty. (March) YOU'RE ONLY YOUNG ONCE-M-G-M There is something in these homely little dramas dealing with simple human emotions. Here you have father Lewis Stone, mother Fay Holden, son Mickey Rooney and daughter Cecilia Parker setting off for a vacation at Catalina. Laughs and tears abound. Mickey, as usual, walks off with acting honors. (Feb.) mmm LIGHT-PROOF FACE POWDER The make-up improvement that has proved a sensation w A JlRY Luxor Powder. It's lightproof. If you use it your face won't shine. Try it! We will send you a box for a DIME. • At parties, do you instinctively avoid certain lights that you can just feel are playing havoc with your complexion? All that trouble with fickle make-up will be overcome when you finish with powder whose particles do not glisten in every sttong light. . . . Many women think they have a shiny skin, when the shine is due entirely to their powder! Seeing is believing With a finishing touch of light-proof powder, your complexion will not constantly be lightstruck. In any light. Day or night. Nor will you have all that worry over shine when you use this kind of powder. 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