Picturegoer (Jan-Jun 1938)

PICTUREGOER Weekly PREVIEWS-contmued and Russell Gleason is pleasingly ingenuous as Herbert Thompson. The small town atmospheie is very well maintained and the characters are all human and recognisable types. ••CAFE METROPOLE Twentieth Century-Fox. American. "A'' certificate. Romantic farce. Runs 82 minutes. Loretta Yovnc Laura Ridgeway Tyrone Power Alexis Adolphe Menjov Monsieur Victor Gregory Ratoff Paul Charles Winmgar Joseph Ridgeway Helen Westley Margaret Ridgeway Ferdinand Gottschalk Monsieur Leon Monnet Christian Rub Maxl Schinner Georges Renavent Maitre d'Hotel Fredrik Vogeding Attendant Leonid Kinskey Artist Hal K. Dawson Arthur Cleveland Thorndyke Albert Conti Gendarme Themselves Jan Rubini & Orchestra Leonid Snegoff Porter \rmand Kaliz Hotel Manager PailPorcasi Police Official Andre Cheron .Croupier Marclle Corday Secretary Louse Clark Native Girl Louis Mercier Coat Room Attendant Rolfe Sedan Flower Clerk Andre Beranger.. Hat Clerk Michael Visaroff 1st Cashier Directed by Edward H. Griffith from a story by Gregory Ratoff. Previewed October 2, 1937. The acting of a very strong cast makes this frivolous romantic comedy really good entertainment; as is so often the case the acting is far stronger than the material. Adolphe Menjou who made one reputation as a romantic lover, and has now made another as a polished comedy character actor, is at the top of his form as Victor. Victor, a maitre d'hdtel, is in monetary difficulties, but after recouping his losses at the Casino he learns that his victim. Alexander, an American youth, cannot pay. Alexander foolishly puts his signature to a phoney cheque and Victor, taking advantage of the lapse, forces him to pose as Alexis, a Russian Prince. The stage is then set to trim Joseph Ridgeway, an American millionaire, and his daughter, Laura. Later, however, the inevitable happens, and Alexander and Laura fall in love, but before they can make a match of it the real Alexis turns up and has to be compensated, and more fast stuff is pulled by the artful Victor. Loretta Young is pleasingly provocati ve as the millionaire' s daughter, and Charles Winniger is excellently cast as her father. The PICTUREGOER'S quick reference index ***THE GOOD EARTH c**OH, MR. PORTER **BIG BUSINESS **CAFE METROPOLE **WILD MONEY c**BIG FELLA *LET'S GET MARRIED *WHY PICK ON ME? FIRST NIGHT What the asterisks mean — «*** ^n outstanding feature. »«* yery g00d. ** Good. * Average entertainment. c Also suitable for children. Tyrone Power shows to good advantage as the bogus prince, as does Gregory Ratoff as the real article. ••WILD MONEY Paramount. American. " V " certificate. News paper comedy-drama. Runs (»8 minutes. Edward Everett Horton P. E. Dodd Louise Campbell Judy McGowan Lynne Overman Perry Brown 1 ucien Littlefield Bill Hawkins Esther Dale Jenny Hawkins Porter Hall Bill Court Benny Baker AlVogel Ri th Coleman Mrs. West Billy Lee Malcolm West Colin Tapley Cole Nick Li'kas Jackson Wesley Barry Orvil Howard Mitchell Sheriff Jones William Birress... Spreckett Gertrude Short Miss Green Lee Shumway Captain Bemis Don Mc Kinney Mitchell Toe North Butler Walter Soderling Sour Faced Man Gloria Williams Woman Elsa Connor Girl Galen Galt Trooper Joyce Pop Byron Gardner Lew Kelly Dear Old Man Tames T. Mack Quinn Lons Natheaux Mr. West Rita Owin Josie Harry Williams Burly Man Clark Morgan Transportation Manager Leonard Sues Copy Boy Directed by Louis King. Based on a story by Paul Gallico. There is some originality of plot in this mixture of straightforward melodrama which is taken advantage of by Edward Everett Horton who turns in an amusing characterisation of a newspaper accountant who turns news hound and wins the love of a lady. The opening is slow and there is rather too much dialogue but once the scene shifts to the great outdoors where Horton is holidaying and where he gets his call to spare no expense in finding the whereabouts of a kidnapped millionaire, action gets the upper hand and is kept at a fast pace. Horton not only finds the kidnapped man but captures the kidnappers and wins the love and admiration of the heroine who hitherto had eyes only for a sarcastic reporter. This latter role is played by Lynne Overman so it just can't help being good. Louise Campbell makes an effective heroine and good supporting performances are given by Esther Dale and Lucien Littlefield. The gags are well timed and the direction generally slick and polished. c**BIG FELLA British Lion. British. " U " certificate. Comedy drama. Runs 73 minutes. Pai l Robeson Joe Elizabeth Welch Manda Roy Emerton Spike James Hayter Chuck Lawrence Brown Comey Eldon Grant Gerald Marcelle Rogez r....Lorietta Eric Cowley Mr. Oliphant Joyce Kennedy Mrs. Oliphant Directed by J. Elder Willis. Here is a very slight story but it is strengthened into good entertainment by the singing of Paul Robeson and Elizabeth Welch and by the effectiveness of the staging. The plot deals with Joe, a lazy negro vagabond, who, known to all on the Marseilles waterfront because of his superb voice, is instructed by the police to look out for Gerald Oliphant, a small boy of wealthy English parents, believed to have been kidnapped. He combs the town with the help of his friends Chuck and Corney, and eventually Gerald is found, but the boy, having run off on his own accord, is having a good time, and threatens to tell the police that he has been kidnapped by Joe if attempts are made to return him to his parents. Joe is in a dilemma, and seeks the advice of his girl friend, Manda, a singer in a local cafe, but before she can do anything Spike, a sly tough, kidnaps Gerald, takes him to the police station and gets the reward. Gerald then rebels by going on a hunger strike, and his parents urge Joe to act as his companion to England. He is forced to accept but later gets his own back on Spike by tricking him into taking his place. Neither Paul Robeson nor Elizabeth Welch are called upon to exert their acting ability but they do bring character into their roles. As Chuck and Corney, James Hayter and Lawrence Brown are amusing and Roy Emerton is sound as Spike. Eldon Grant tends to be stilted as Gerald. •LET'S GET MARRIED Columbia. American. " U " certificate. Socia farce. Runs 68 minutes. Ida Lupino Paula Quinn Walter Connolly Joe Quinn Ralph Bellamy Kirk Duncan Reginald Denny George Willoughby Raymond Walburn Harrington Robert Allen Charles Nana Bryant Mrs. Willoughby Edward McWade .Tom Emmett Vogan Dick Will Morgan Harry Granville Bates Hank Keith Directed by Alfred E. Green. Robust farce which owes nothing to subtlety but is played in a good team spirit by a competent cast. Continuity is somewhat ragged owing to the excessive by -play but on the whole it provides quite sound entertainment of a popular order. Walter Connolly is not called upon to over-exert himself histrionically as an Irish-American politician who hopes to break into society by marrying his daughter to a fatuous society youth whom he also hopes to get into Congress. The girl is quite well interpreted by Ida Lupino and the young man by Reginald Denny. The romantic element is supplied by Ralph Bellamy as a meteorologist who falls in love with the heroine. He is asked to help the politician by forecasting the weather since the former is certain that the only real chance of his prospective son-in-law getting elected is if the rain keeps people away from the poll. It is the broad comedy that counts in this picture much more than the acting or characterisation. •WHY PICK ON ME ? Radio. British. "A" certificate. Domestic farce. Runs 04 minutes. Wylie Watson Sam Tippet Sybil Grove Mrs. Tippe t Jack Hobbs Stratton Max Adrian Jack Mills Isobel Scaife Daisy Mog Elizabeth Kent Bubbles Directed by Maclean Rogers. Conventional farce in which a much married bank clerk runs loose and finds himself in the midst of a series of domestic upheavals. Wylie Watson is good in the part of Sam Tippet and plays it with the broadness that it merits, while Sybil Grove is amusing as his austere spouse. The plot shows how Sam Tippet is just about to celebrate the fourteenth anniversary of his wedding when his wife is called away to visit a sick aunt. Stratton and Jack Mills, two fellow-clerks, inveigle Sam into joining a party at a night club, and during the revelry the place is raided. Sam escapes, but prior to his January I, 1938 I escapade he had reported the lossf of his dog to the police. Mrs. Tippet, » meantime, had engaged a new maid,! Daisy Mog. Daisy is robbed of her bag con-1 taining the key to Sam's house, and C when Sam later calls at the police 1 station about his dog, she picks him I out from an identity parade as the man who had robbed her. In order to establish an alibi, Sam I has to confess he was at a night club, I but while he is establishing his I innocence, the real burglar, who I resembles him, is busy robbing his 1 house. In the midst of the muddle I Mrs. Tippet returns, but a lucky twist enables Sam to extricate him i self from the complications without I loss of domestic prestige. FIRST NIGHT Paramount. British. " V " certificate. Psychological drama. Runs 69 minute. Jack Livesey Richard Garnet Rani Waller Judith Armstrong Ernest Mainwaring Her Father Margaret Damer Her Mother Sunday Wii.shin Rosalind Faber Monica Disney Sally Armstrong Christopher Quest Jeremy Armstrong Ann Wilton Ivy Art Gibson and his Havana Band. Directed by Donovan Pedelty, from the play by G. Sheila Denisthorpe. The psychology of a young woman who is misunderstood by her family, writes a successful play, and is then helped to overcome her inferiority complex, is very much of the theatre — it is, in fact, a photographed stage play and inclined to be dull. The heroine, played by Rani Waller, who is continually psychoanalysing herself does not enlist much sympathy and there are times when her introspectiveness leads to misplaced laughter. The trouble is that the sophisticated theme has been handled in an unsophisticated manner and it is not helped by an excess of verbiage. Jack Livessy contributes a good piece of acting as the producer, and the heroine's mother and father, the one a bridge fiend and the other a dentist, are well portrayed bv Margaret Damer and Ernest Mainwaring. As her cheeky mannequin sister Monica Disney is very goorl. RELEASES FOR THE PAST TWO MONTHS Number of stars awarded in brackets : — Behind the Headlines (2) ... Nov. 13 Blazing Sixes (2)c Dec. 25 Call It a Day (4) Nov. 13 Captains Courageous (4)c ... Dec. 25 Charlie Chan at the Olympics (2) Nov. 20 Devil is Driving, The (2) ... Nov. 20 Emperor's Candlesticks, The (2) Nov. 27 Farewell Again (4) Nov. 6 Fatal Hour, The (2) Nov. 20 Fifty Roads to Town (2) ... Oct. 30 His Affair (2) Oct. 30 Hollywood Cowboy (2) ... Dec. 18 Hotel Haywire (2) Dec. 11 / Met Him In Paris (3) ... Nov. 6 Jericho (2) Nov. 13 Jump For Glory (2) Oct. 30 King of Gamblers (2) Nov. 13 Love is News (3) Dec. 4 Make Way For T omorrow (3) Oct. 30 Marked Woman (2) Nov. fl Married Before Breakfast (2)... Dec. 11 Meet the Missus (2) Nov. 27 Mountain Justice (2) ... Nov. 27 Night Must Fall (2) Oct. 30 Outcasts of Poker Flat, The (2) Nov. 6 Parnell (2) Not;. 13 Road Back, The (2) Nov. 20 Said O'Reilly to McNab (2) ... Dec. 18 San Quentin (2) Nov. 20 Slim (2) Dec. 18 Storm In a Teacup (3) ... Nov. 20 Street Singer, The (2) Nov. 13 There Goes Mv Girl (2) ... Dec. i Think Fast Mr. Moto (2) ... Nov. 27 Top of the Town (2) Dec. 11 Topper (3) Dec. 4 Turn Off the Moon (2) ... Wot. 20 Victoria the Great (4) Dec. 25 Wake Up and Live (2) ... Nov. 13 Who's Your Lady Friend (2) Dec. 25 Wee Willie Winkie (2)c ... Dec. 25 Wings Over Honolulu (2) ... Nov. IS Woman Chases Man (2) ... Not. 27 28