Picturegoer (1934)

PICTUREGOER Weekly Miriam Hopkins is very good as the heroine in " The Story of Temple Drake." ✓"^XCEPT for a very bright \ British farce, Orders is [ ^ Orders, and a novel and V^>^ entertaining romance set in the Malay States, Samarang, the week is again an uninspiring one. ♦♦•ORDERS IS ORDERS Gaumont. British. "U" certificate. Farce. Runs 88 minutes. Charlotte Greenwood Wanda James Glkason Waggermeyer Cyril Maude The Colonel Fi nla y Currie Da ve Percy Parsons Zingbaum Cedric Hardwicke Brigadier Donald Calthrop Pavey Ian Hunter Captain Harper Jane Carr Patricia Raymond Mii.land Dashwood Edwin Lawrence Quartermaster Eliot Makeham Slee Hay Plumb Gofiin Glennis Lorrimer Miss Marigold Wally Patch R. S. M. Sidney Keith Rosenblatt Directed by Walter Forde. Adapted from Ian Hay's and Anthony Armstrong's stage play. This is one of the funniest farces made in this country and proves that Walter Forde is as versatile a director as he is a clever one. The plot deals with an American film director who brazens his way into some barracks and gets permission to "shoot" the troops for his production. It is not long before the barracks are turned into a film studio and the soldiers into extras, and, since the director cannot make up his mind what sort of location he desires, the parade ground becomes in turn a square in India, the vaults of the Houses of Parliament in Guy Fawkes' time, and an Arab city. The Colonel, at times, gets annoyed and, at others, interested and interfering, and the end comes with the arrival of the Brigadier, who pays an unexpected visit and finds the Colonel in the midst of a wild mob of "Arabs," "Legionnaires," and dancing girls. This ending is not a very satisfactory one, as it lacks a really logical conclusion. Another weakness is the length to which some situations are spun out. Sharpened up to run for seventy minutes instead of eighty-eight, it would be even better entertainment than it is now. There is a strong novelty value in the idea of a producing unit invading the sacred domain of a peppery colonel and the incongruous happenings that transpire are farce at its best James Gleason makes a brilliant debut in British production as the 26 On the Screens Now by Lionel Collier January 6, 1934 The PICTUREGOER'S quick reference index to films just released ♦♦♦ORDERS IS ORDERS (^♦SAMARANG ♦CAPTURED ♦MEET MY SISTER ♦MIDNIGHT MARY ♦THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE ♦SHANGHAI MADNESS ♦THE BIG CHANCE c^DRUM TAPS VETERAN OF WATERLOO What the asterisks mean — **** An outstanding feature. *** Very good. ** Good. * Average entertainment. c Also suitable for children. hundred per cent. American director. He makes the character an outstandingly funny one, yet avoids too much exaggeration of type. He carries a great deal of the weight of the picture on his capable shoulders. Charlotte Greenwood as his assistant is also very good and makes the most of all the opportunities she has; they are not, however, quite as frequent as they might have been. Cyril Maude is admirably fitted to the role of the Colonel who falls for the blandishments of Charlotte Greenwood. Excellent support comes from Donald Calthrop as a harassed author whose plot is changed every few hours, Cedric Hardwicke as a Brigadier, and a whole host of competent artistes. c * • SAMARANG V. A. American. " U " certificate. Romantic Drama. Runs 60 minutes. Featuring all native cast. Directed by Ward Wing. Novel and fascinating story which deals with the pearl fishers of the Malay States. It is all very simple in plot, but very sincere and artistic in detail. The theme concerns the love of a pearl fisher, Ahmang, for a chieftain's daughter. The risks he runs in order to dive for pearls in prohibited and dangerous waters, so as to earn the right to win her love, are shown in a thrilling manner. The under-water sequences are exceptionally good, especially those which depict a fight to the death between Ahmang and a shark. Details of the life of the Dyaks, the natives of the Malay States, are varied and illuminatingly dovetailed into the romance, and the native players act without a trace of camera consciousness. The whole thing is very well directed and one hardly notices the absence of dialogue in the picturesqueness of the production. ♦CAPTURED Warner. American. "A" certificate. Triangle Drama. Runs 71 minutes. Leslie Howard Allison Douglas Fairbanks, jun Digby Margaret Lindsay Monica Philip Faversham Haversham Paul Lukas Ehrlich Robert Barrat Commandant William Le Maire Martin Frank Reicher The Adjutant Arthur Hohl Cocky Joyce Coad Elsa Reginald Pasch Elsa's Lover John Bleiper Strogin J. Carroll Naish Guarand Bert Sprotte Sgt.-Major Harry Cording and Hans Joby Orderlies Directed by Roy del Ruth. Adapted by Edward Chodorov from Sir Philip Gibb's novel "Fellow Prisoners." The weakness of this picture lies in its incredibility. It is very hard to believe in the singularly inefficiently guarded German prison camp which is — -once again singularly enough — nice and handy to an aeroplane base, equally poorly guarded. In the prison camp we find Allison and Digby, old friends and prisoners of war. Strange to relate, the camp is in charge of one Ehrlich, who has been at the same university. One night Digby, who has had a clandestine affair with Allison's wife, walks out, helps himself to an aeroplane, and flies back to his own lines. Spencer Tracy, Fay Wray, and Eugene Pallet te in a scene from " Shanghai Madness." Una Merkel is her usual amusing self in " Midnight Mary." Unfortunately, on the night of his flight, a peasant woman was outraged and murdered, and after representations from the German commandant, supported by Allison's statement of his guilt, Digby is sent back to face a murder charge. You see, Allison has found out about his friend's affair with his wife and his uppermost thought is revenge. Digby is saved from the firing squad by someone confessing, and after that all the prisoners, following Digby's original example, seize aeroplanes and fly across to their own lines, leaving Allison — who repented of his action — to hold off the prison campguardwiththeonlymachinegun. And that, believe it or not, is the story. Technically, it is good, with sound camera work and well-designed sets. Leslie Howard is good as Allison, restrained and natural, but Doug. Fairbanks, jun. tends at times to over-act, and this is emphasised by the contrast between his methods and those of Howard. •MEET MY SISTER Pathe. British. "A" certificate. Marita farce. Runs 69 minutes. Clifford Mollison Lord Victor Wilby Constance Shotter Joan I.ynton Enid Stamp-Taylor -Lulu Marsac Fred Duprez . ..Hiram Sowerby Frances Dean Helen Sowerby Jimmy Godden Pogson, Butler Helen Ferrers.... The Hon. Christine Wilby Syd Crossley .Second Butler Patrick Barr. Bob Seymour and Frou-Frou. Directed by John Daumerv. An unpretentious picture which is well acted and has several amusing, well-handled situations. Clifford Mollison is very good as the somewnat asinine Lord Wilby, who has trouble in discarding his mistress. Lulu, before he marries Helen, an American heiress, a role adequately played by Frances Dean. His troubles are complicated by the fact that one night he finds a girl in his bed, whom his butler informs he has put there because she was drenched with rain when she came to serve him with a bill. Victor has to lie to his father-inlaw to be, that the girl is his sister. He acquires another when his mistress also poses in that relationship. Complications ensue when his real sister, an elderly straight-laced spinster appears on the scene. After many complications, things are smoothed out and Victor falls in love with the strange visitor, Helen marries the man of her choice, and her father finds his affinity in Lulu. The treatment is lively and things keep going at a brisk pace without any annoying hold-ups.