Picturegoer (1934)

January 27, 1934 sented by Marie Dressler's solicitude for her son's future welfare. ••PRIVATE DETECTIVE 62 Warner. American. " A " certificate. Crime drama. Runs 67 minutes. William Powell Donald Margaret Lindsay Janet Ruth Donnelly Amy Gordon Westcott Bandor James Bell Whitley Arthur Byron Tracey Natalie Moorhead Mrs. Burns Sheila Terry The Girl Theresa Harris Maid Renee Whitney Alice Ann Hovey Rose Irving Bacon Cab Driver Arthur Hohl Rogan Hobart Cavanagh Burns Directed by Michael Curtiz from the story by Raoul Whitefield; screen play by Rian James. There is a good deal of ingenuity in the way an unscrupulous private detective first turns the tables on a racketeer and is, in turn, outwitted by the hero, an exDiplomatic Corps detective who has been dismissed when he fails in a delicate mission through no fault of his own. The heroine is a society woman whom the private detective plans to swindle out of her gambling winnings. The part is most attractively played by Margaret Lindsay, while William Powell has a role that suits him as the suave and diplomatic detective lover. Arthur Hohl does well as the private detective and generally the characters are quite interesting. Treatment is brisk and not lacking in humour. •GAMBLING SHIP Paramount. American. "A" certificate. Romantic drama. Runs 69 minutes. Cary Grant Ace Corbin Benita Hume Eleanor La Velle Jack La Rue Pete Manning Roscoe Karns Blooey Glenda Farrell Jeanne Sands Arthur Vinton Joe Burke Charles Williams Baby Face Edwin Maxwell District Attorney Spencer Charters A Detective Sid Saylor The Sailor Directed by Louis Gasnier and Max Marcin from a story by Peter Ruric. Good average entertainment is provided by this vigorous gangster picture, which introduces you to still another racket — that of the gambling ship. The moral pointed by the story is a dubious one and the development obvious, but the rough stuff is well put over and the characterisations are well drawn and vital. Cary Grant is good as a gangster on holiday who falls in love with a girl from whom he conceals his PICTUREGOER. Weekly identity and later finds that she, too, is connected with racketeers. As the girl, Benita Hume is sound, while Jack La Rue is suitably ruthless as another gangster, whom Cary Grant helps to put out of the way in order to aid a friend whose gambling ship's activities are being ruined by him. The friend is well rendered by Arthur Vinton. Glenda Farrell and Roscoe Karns do well in support. There is a spectacular note to the ending when the gambling ship goes up in flames. •DOCTOR BULL Fox. American. " U " certificate. Small-town comedy. Runs 79 minutes. Will Rogers Doctor Bull Vera Allen Janet Cardmaker Marian Nixon May Tupping Howard Lally Joe Tupping Berton Churchill Herbert Banning Louise Dresser Mrs. Banning Rochelle Hudson Virginia Banning Tempe Pigott Grandma Elizabeth Patterson Aunt Patricia Nora Cecil Aunt Emily Ralph Morgan Dr. Verney Andy Devine Lary Ward Patsy O'Bryne Susan Veda Buckland Mary Effie Ellsler Aunt Myra Helen Freeman Helen Upjohn Directed by John Ford from the novel, "The Last Adam," by James Gould Cozzens. Although very slow and slight in texture, there is a good deal of entertainment to be obtained from Will Roger's whimsical study of a small country-town doctor who is the subject of malicious gossip concerning his innocent friendship with a widow, Janet Cardmaker. The crisis comes with a typhoid epidemic, when his enemies accuse him of negligence. However, his miraculous cure of a man restores him to public favour and he ends by marrying Janet. The life and atmosphere of a small town and gossip is quite well mirrored and the settings, homely humour, and camera work all quite good. Several sound studies are drawn by the supporting cast. •THE BERMONDSEY KID F.N. British. "A" certificate. Boxing melodrama. Runs 75 minutes. Esmond Knight Eddie Martin Pat Paterson Mary Ellis Irving Joe Dougherty Ernest Sefton Lou Rodman Clifford McLaglen Bates Syd Crossley Porky Eve Gray Toots Winifred Oughton Mrs. Bodge Directed by Ralph Dawson. British boxing is not shown in a very good light in this picture, in which a pulled fight is planned; but the tricks of some sections of Gene Gerrard finds it difficult to get rid of a rather embarrassing intruder in the person of Camilla Horn in " The Love Nest." Minnie Raynor, Ivor Novello, Isabel Jeans and Eliot Makeham in a scene from the screen adaptation of Novello's play, " J Lived with You." the trade afford entertaining byplay, as do the details of a boxer's training. The atmosphere is fairly convincing and the fights are realistically put over. Esmond Knight does quite well histrionically and fistically as the hero. Pat Paterson is good as the heroine. The sporting atmosphere is heightened by the introduction of such well-known personalities as Len Harvey and George Cook. •A STUDY IN SCARLET Gaumont Ideal. American. " A" certificate. Murder-mystery drama. Runs 77 minutes. Reginald Owen Sherlock Holmes Anna May Wong Mrs. Pyke Jude Clyde Eileen Forrester Allan Dinehart Merrydew John Wakburton John Stanford Warburton Gamble Dr. Watson J. M. Kerrigan Jabez Wilson Alan Mowbray Lestrade Doris Lloyd Mrs. Murphy Leila Bennett Dolly Cecil Reynolds Baker Wyndham Standing Captain Pyke Halliwell Hobbes Dealing Tetsu Komai Ah Yet Tempe Pigott Mrs. Hudson Directed by Edwin L. Marin from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's story of the same name. Free adaptation of the famous Sherlock Holmes story, which makes an unpretentious thriller rather than a dramatisation of Conan Doyle's story. Reginald Owen seems to have been cast for the chief role because he has an English accent rather than because he resembles the favourite detective of fiction. The rest of the cast is efficient without being in any way noteworthy. •PURSE STRINGS Paramount. British. " A " certificate. Domestic drama. Runs 69 minutes. Dorothy Bouchier Mary Willmore Gyles Isham James Willmore G. H. Mulcaster Edward Ashby Allan Jeayes Walford Joan Henley Ida Bentley Evelyn Roberts Mr. Beauchamp Directed by Henry Edwards from the play by Bernard Parry. If the idea behind the story had been better utilised, it would have made a very entertaining picture, but as it stands it is only mediocre. The theme deals with a wife who, kept short of money by her husband, takes to shop-lifting, hoping to send the money on afterwards. How she gets into difficulties and is blackmailed is ingenious in conception but very pedestrian in treatment. The acting is not on a high level. Dorothy Bouchier is colourless as the wife and Gyles Isham artificial and theatrical as the husband. G. H. Mulcaster is adequate as a barrister who extricates the woman from her trouble and Allen Jeayes is a melodramatic villain. •THE LOVE NEST W ardour. British. " A " certificate. Matrimonial farce. Runs 69 minutes. Gene Gerrard Gene Camilla Horn Fin Nancy Burne Angela Charles Paton Pa Amy Veness Ma Garry Marsh Hugo Marion Dawson Mrs. Drinkwater Gus McNaughton Fox Directed by Thomas Bentley from the story and scenario by H. D. Maltby, Gene Gerrard, and Frank Miller. Typical Gene Gerrard picture, which allows the star opportunities to exploit his own brand of humour, but neglects story values in concentrating on him. The slight plot concerns a young man who, having bought and furnished a house, is staying in it on the eve of his wedding. A pretty married woman from the house opposite, accidentally locked out, comes to him for shelter. It is pouring with rain and, since she is wet through, she takes a bath — -and also a flirtatious fancy to her saviour. The inevitable happens. The fiancee arrives, the mother-in-law to be also, and the usual complications follow. Camilla Horn is attractive as the unwanted visitor and Nancy Burne sound as the fiancee. c*THE FIDDLIN' BUCKAROO Universal. American. " U" certificate. Western drama. Runs 57 minutes. Ken Maynard Fiddlin' Gloria Shea Patricia Fred Kohler Wolf. Frank Rise Banty Jack Rockwell Sheriff Jack Mover Buck Robert McKenzie Deputy Jailer Joseph W. Girard Kerriman Tarzan „ Tarzan Directed by Ken Maynard from the story and screen play by Nate Gatzert. Conventional Western with all the usual attributes of riding and fighting. Ken Maynard puts plenty of virility into his role of a secret service agent who is tracking bandits and Fred Kohler makes a good tough villain. 21