Picturegoer (Jan-Apr 1935)

January 26. 1935 PICTUREGOER Weekly Lion. Ben Travers tries his hand at Kuritanian comedy and Walls fashions it in the popular Aldwych mould. Last Days o( Pompeii. Radio. American. From Lord Lytton's story. Last Gentleman, The. Twentieth Century. Ameri:an. " A." Directed by Sidney Lanfield. Featuring George Arliss, Edna May Oliver, Charlotte Henry. Dehghtful, sentimental little comedy in best Arliss tradition of eccentric old gentleman and the methods he uses to determine who among his family are worthy of his money. Humour and pathos are blended into charming entertainment. Leave it to Blanche. F.N. British. " U." Directed by Harold M. Young. Featuring Olive Blakeney and Henry Kendall. Very slight domestic comedydrama dealing with the misunderstandings of a young married couple. Frequently dull and pedestrian. Lemon Drop Kid, The. Paramount. American. " A." Directed by Marshall Neilan. Featuring Lee Tracy, Helen Mack, William Frawley. Sentimental and ingenuous redemption drama. Very obvious plot and fairy tale ending. Les Mlserabies. A.P.D. French. " A." Directed by Raymond Bernard. Featuring Harry Baur, Charles Vanel, and Florelle. Brilliant picturisation of Victor Hugo's novel, with outstanding acting by the entire cast. Les Miserables. Twentieth Century. American. Featuring Fredric March. Hollywood tries its hand at Victor Hugo's classic with March as Jean Valjean. Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1935. Wardour. British. The famous allblack show of song and rhythm which was so successful on the stage in Lxindon. Life of the Party, The. F.N. British. " A." Directed by Ralph Dawson. Featuring Jerry Verno and Betty Astell. Very weak domestic comedy which relies on a prolonged drunken sequence by Jerry Verno for entertainment. Life of Vergie Winters, The. Radio. .American. " A." Directed by Alfred Santell. Featuring Ann Harding, John Boles, Helen Vinson. Miss Hairding gives a finely sympathetic portrayal in a variation of the old story of the woman who effaces herself so as not to interfere with the career of the man with whom she is living. Lightning Striites Twice (tentative title). Radio. American. Directed by Ben Holmes. Featuring Ben Lyon, Thelma Todd, Pert Kelton, and Skeets Gallagher. Drama. Limehouse Blues. Paramount. American. "A." Directed by Alexander Hall. Featuring George Raft, Jean Parker, Anna May Wong. Uninspiring Version of East is East and West is West theme with synthetic London setting. Little Han, What Now? Universal. •American. " A." Directed by Frank Borzage. Featuring Margaret SuUavan and Douglass Montgomery. Margaret SuUavan proves that she is not a onepicture star in this typical Borzage adaptation of Hans Fallada's bestseller. Treatment is sensitive and effective. Little Men. A.B.F.D. American. Directed by Phil Rosen. Featuring Ralph Morgan, O'Brien Moore, Frankie Darro, and Cora Sue Collins. The sequel to Louisa M. Alcott's " Little Women." Little Minister. Radio. American. Directed by Richard Wallace. Featuring Katharine Hepburn, John Beal, and Reginald Denny. J. M. Barrie's story. Lives of a Bengal Lancer. Paramount. American. Directed by Henry Hathaway. Featuring Gary Cooper, Henrv Wilcoxon, Richard Cromwell, Sir Guv Standing, and Katherine De Mille. Adaptation of Yates Brown's book. Living on Velvet. Warner Bros. American. Directed by Frank Borzage. Featuring Kay Francis, George Brent and Warren William. Drama. London Speaks. Greater Australasian. British. " U." Directed by Cecil Mason. Tcur of London, obviously primarily designed for overseas audience. Quite well done, but lacking in coordination. London-Melbourne. International. British. " U." Directed by Roy Tuckett. Very interesting picture of the route of the Mildenhall-Melbourne air race, with good commentary. Lone Cowboy. Paramount. American. " A." Directed by Paul Sloane. Featuring Jackie Cooper, Lila Lee and Addison Richards. Good performance by juvenile star in conventional and obvious story of a child's efforts to stop a man taking revenge on his faithless wife. Western settings are picturesque. Lord Edgeware Dies. Radio. British. " A." Directed by Henry Edwards. Featuring Austin Trevor and J^me Carr. Workmanlike talkie which introduces Agatha Christie's famous sleuth Hercule Poirot. Entertaining for fans who like mystery stuff. Lorna Doone. A.B.F.D. British. "A." Directed by Basil Dean. Featuring Victoria Hopper and John Loder. Fairly entertaining adaptation of the novel. Lost in the Legion. Wardour. British. " U." Directed by Fred Newmayer. Featuring Leslie Fuller, Hal Gordon, and Renee Houston. The star in the Foreign Legion. Robust, broad humour in spectacular setting. Lost in the Stratosphere. Patbe. American. Featuring William Cagney and Eddie Nugent. Lost Over London. Columbia. British. " A." Directed by Rex Graves. Featuring Wally Patch. An attempt to present Londop life in panorama fails in its effect rather badly. Lottery Lover. Fox. American Directed bv William Thiele. Featuring Lew Ayres, Pat Paterson, Peggy Fears. A musical romance of the sea. Love Test, The. Fox. British. Directed by Michael Powell. Featuring Judy Gunn, Louis Hayward. Love Time. Fox. American. " U." Directed by James Tinling. Featuring Pat Paterson, Nils Asther, Herbert Mundin. Another musical romance based on Schubert's life. Pictorially pretty and sentimental in an unsophisticated and conventional manner. Love While You May. M.-G.-M. American. Featuring Ramon Novarro and Evelyn Laye. A musical specially written by Edgar Selwyn. Madame Du Barry. F.N. American. " A." Directed by William Dieterle. Featuring Dolores Del Rio, Reginald Owen, and Victor Jory. Colourful spectacular sequences in a rather dramatically weak and synthetically historical story of Louis XV's famous mistress. Maid of the Mountains. Wardour. British. " U." Directed by Lupino Lane. Featuring Nancy Brown. Harry Welchman and Garry Marsh. Re-issue. Man From Utah, The. Pathe. American. "U." Directed by Robert Bradbury. Featuring John Wayne. A middle West rodeo is the highlight of this average horse opera. Man With Two Faees, The. F.N. American. " A." Directed by Archie Mayo. Featuring Edward (i. Robinson, Mary Astor, and Kicardo Cortez. Story of a famous character actor who employs his art in an unsuccessful attempt to perpetrate the perfect crime. Robinson in a very good portrayal makes the somewhat obvious role more or less convincing. Man Who Knew Too Much, The. G.B. British. " A." Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Featuring Leslie Banks. Edna Best, Nova Pilbeam. A successful British essay into the realms of the gangster school of kinema. Brilliant performance by Peter Lorre. Man Who Reclaimed His Head, The. Universal. American. Directed by Edward Ludwig. Featuring Claude Rains, Joan Bennett, Lionel Atwill. The Invisible Man himself in another thriller. Maria Marten, or The Murder in the Red Barn. M.-G.-M. British. Produced by George King. Directed by Milton Rosmer. Featuring Tod Slaughter. The most famous of all transpontine melodramas, based on a real-life murder in 1820, brought to the talkie screen by the company that has for years played it on the stage. Marie Galante. Fox. American. " A." Directed by Henry King. Featuring Spencer Tracy, Kitty Gallian, Ned Sparks, Helen Morgan. Neatly constructed espionage drama set in Panama Canal zone, drags rather at times, but is sufficiently well directed and acted to hold interest until effective climax. Marines Are Coming, The. A.B.F.D. American. Directed by David Howard. Featuring William Haines, Conrad Nagel, Esther Ralston, and Armida. Adventures of a : " play boy " who joins up. Marines Have Landed, The. M.-G.-M. American. A fastmoving story concerning the experiences of a young man who does not want to join the Marines, but when he does find himself in the service wins fame because of his heroism. Marriage Sym~ phony. The. Radio', American. " A ' Directed by Worthington Miner. Feat uring Diana Wyn yard, Clive Brook, Helen Vinson. The stars of Cavalcade make speeches to each other in a closely written marital drama which argues that married couples can never recapture the first fine raptures of their romance. Me and Marlborough. G.B. Directed by \'ictor SavUle. Featuring Cicely Courtneidge, Tom Walls. Cicely Courtneidge's contribution to the comedy cycle, with star disguised as soldier in famous general's campaigns. Mary, Queen of Scots. F.N. British. Dramatic historical drama. Maybe It's Love. F.N. American. Directed by William McGann. Featuring Gloria Stuart, Ross Alexander, and Frank McHugh. Romantic comedy. McGlusky, the Sea Rover. Wardour. British. Featuring Jack Doyle, Henry MoUison, and Tamara Desni. The famous boxer makes his Screen debut in a gripping adventure of the sea. Merry Widow, The. M.-G.-M. American. "A." Directed by Ernst Lubitsch. Featuring Jeanette MacDonald and Maurice Chevalier. Brilliant picturisation of the famous musical comedy. In genious, highly tuneful and excellent all-round entertainment for everyone. Menaee. Paramount. American. " A." Directed by Ralph Murphy, l-eaturing (iertrude .Michael, Paul Cavanaugh. " F"ind-the-killer " type of murder mystery melodrama, which opens in a Hollywcxxlian East Africa and ends in a Palm Beach mansion. Well acted, but lacking in necessary comedy relief. Men ol the Night. Columbia. American. Featuring Bruce Cabot and Judith Allen. Midnight Alibi. F.N. American. Directed by Alan Crosland. Featuring Richard Barthelmess and Ann Dvorak. Very mediocre story of a crook who is reformed by an old lady who lives in a mysteriously remote house. Barthelmess is fair, but dramatic moments are few and far between. Midsummer Night's Dream, A. Warner Bros. American. Directed by Max Reinhardt. Featuring James Cagney, Jean Muir, Dick Powell. Mighty Barnum, The. Twentieth Century. American. Directed by Walter Lang. Featuring Wallace Beery, Adolphe Menjou, Rochelle Hudson. Biographical drama of the world's greatest showman. Mitey Man, A. B. and D. Directed by Herbert Wilcox. Featuring Sydney Howard. Million-Dollar Ransom. Universal. American. " A." Directed by Murray Roth. Featuring Edward Arnold, Mary Carhsle. Dramatic expose of kidnapping racket. Mills of the Gods. Columbia. American. Directed by Roy William Neill. Featuring May Robson and Fay Wray. Miracle of Life, The. United Artists. American. " A." Directed by King Vidor. Featuring Tom Keene and Karen Morley. Social drama which depicts in an intelhgent and interesting manner the efforts of unemployed to work together as a community. Mississippi. Paramount. American. Directed by Edward Sutherland. Featuring Bing Crosby, W. C. Fields, Queenie Smith. Musical comedy. Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch. Paramount. American. " U." Directed by Norman Taurog. Featuring Pauline Lord, Zasu Pitts, W. C. Fields, Evah-n Venable. Sentimental but faithful picturisation of famous play. Pauline Lord scores in screen debut as Mrs. Wiggs. Mister Cinders. Wardour. British. " U." Directed by Frederick Zelnik. Featuring Clifford MoUison, Zelma O'Neal, and the Western Brothers. Simple story which revives the Cinderella tradition adapted from the Hippodrome stage success. Good humorous team work by cast and catchy numbers. Money Means Nothing. Pathe. American. " U." Directed by Christy Cabanne. Featuring Gloria Shea, Wallace Ford, Edgar Kennedy. Conventional romantic comedy-drama with good domestic atmosphere and simple sentiment and humour. Moonstone, The. Pathe. American. " A." Directed by Reginald Barker. Featuring David Manners, Phyllis Barry, Modernised version of Wilkie Collins' famous thriUer, quite weU presented and excellently acted. Morals of Marcus, The. G. B. British. Directed by MUes Mander. Featuring Ian Hunter and Lupe Velez. Picturisation of Locke's novel. Most Precious Thing in Life, The. Columbia. Americam. Featuring Jean Arthur and Richard CromwelL {Continued on page 52) RELIABLE REVIEWS i .4/1 the films catalogued here will, ■ • of course, be fully reviewed on their \ i release date in " On the Screens i • Now," " Picturegoer' s " famous [ i review feature, conducted by Lionel : : Collier. \ i In addition to the " On the \ : Screens Now" service, the latest ■ • pictures are reviewed for you as \ they come from the studios in the : " pre-view" section. j " Picturegoer," in fact, has the ■ most comprehensive and reliable ; review service in film iournalism. ; : We find the good films for you and ] : save you from the bad ones. \ 49