Picture Play Magazine (Jul - Dec 1929)

94 Continued from page 67 ordinary story of a likable young fellow, whose gullibility causes him to turn over his meager savings to a cheap villain. The latter 's side line is seducing the hero's wife on the pretext of placing her in the movies. The picture ends with a terrific fight between hero and villain and the reconciliation of husband and wife, just as we have seen the fight and reconciliation at least a thousand times before. Sensible direction and a fine performance by Josephine Dunn, as the wife, are items in favor of the picture, as well as Mr. Haines' own contribution to it, but all in all it is only second rate. Another. A sympathetic idea is discernible in "Father and Son," but it is developed strictly according to antique standards of acting, even though dialogue is employed to excuse it. The latter is quite as artificial as the former, so the picture falls into the category of might-have-beens. It seems that a father and son are devoted to one another in a casual, chummy way, the parent calling his offspring "Oldtimer," and the boy calling his father "Big Boy." But that doesn't save them from being maudlin at heart, and the father lamentably obtuse in falling for the wiles of an obvious yillainess, marrying her and presenting her to his darling boy as a new mother. Furthermore, he can't understand why the child isn't fooled as completely as he is. Then comes an erstwhile paramour of the lady who, in a scuffle, kills her. Whereupon father and son, each thinking the other guilty, take the blame until a recording phonograph speaks up at the critical moment and yields a complete record of the crime, with dialogue and sound effects. Jack Holt is the father, Micky McBan the son, Dorothy Revier the villainess, and Wheeler Oakman the murderer. The Screen Has Its "Follies." "Fox Movietone Follies of 1929" is, as might be suspected, a medley of song, dance, and pageantry, with a wisp of story fluttering bravely in the breeze. Its stronghold will be in the smaller towns, where revues are never seen and where the novelty of this will make it doubly welcome, particularly as it features a raft of wellknown faces such as Sue Carol, David Rollins, Stepin Fetchit, Sharon Lynn, and some others not so wellknown, including Lola Lane, John Breeden, David Percy, and Dixie Lee. Two big song numbers, which show evidence of achieving wide popularity, are "The Breakaway" and "Walkin' With Susie." Of course The Screen in ReViev? there are other songs and a great deal of dialogue, with movement, a sequence in color and all the ingredients found in this sort of entertainment on the stage. All but cleverness, inspiration, professional ease — call it what you will. The success of a big revue depends not only on spectacular beauty, but expert dancing and singing, little of which is found in this screen replica. All the music, bustle, and movement fail to conceal the dearth of talent, nor does it drown the thin, screeching, untrained voices. However, for a first effort, this attempt indicates what may be expected in later revues from the studios. Audible Hysterics. Billie Dove is the latest star to essay dialogue. She succeeds quite nicely in "Careers," even to the extent of a great, big case of hysterics, with all the emotional trimmings, and looks beautiful in spite of her convulsions. Transpiring in French Indo-China, the story relates the anguish of the wife of a government official when she refuses to yield to his superior, and thus blocks her husband's promotion to civil service in Paris. Following the wife's hysterical interview, the villain is murdered and the husband is ordered by the governor of the province to investigate the crime. In the minds of the audience evidence points to the wife, but if you know your melodrama as well as I do, you know that Billie Dove could not stain her hands, even to avenge her honor. Fate — and the scenario writer — always see to that, as well as an ending which finds M^s Dove in the arms of her uxorious screen husband. In this case he is Antonio Moreno. Noah Beery is the villain, and the cast is further embellished by Thelma Todd, Carmel Myers, Robert Frazer, and Holmes Herbert. Laughable Madness. The Four Marx Brothers, favorite comedians of vaudeville and musical comedy, bring their own, particular variety of clowning to "The Cocoanuts," a film version of their stage piece of the same name. It constitutes another attempt to screen musical comedy as it is played on the stage, but it is not among the successful things of its kind, though the brothers themselves are as funny as they are on the stage. But the limitation in the size of the screen is very apparent in transferring musical comedy to it, the photography is drab and the synchronization is not first class. However, the Marx Brothers, Harpo, Groucho, Chico, and Zeppo, do not lose their individuality in leaping from the stage to the screen, and all are evident almost all the time. The story is less than nothing in its lack of suspense or credibility, and it transpires at Palm Beach, where one of the Marxes runs the Hotel de Cocoanut. A necklace is stolen by Kay Francis and Cyril Ring, who fasten suspicion upon some one until one of the Marxes — it doesn't matter which — clears up the "mystery" and paves the way for Oscar Shaw and Mary Eaton to step forward into a musicalcomedy finish. Miasma. Called for no reason at all "The One Woman Idea," this deplorable exhibit is one to make the gods weep. Acted in deep silence, it at least does not add to the discomfort of the spectator by the inclusion of dialogue to match the ridiculous story. The latter has for its hero a Persian prince, who is attracted on shipboard to Lady Alicia Douglas, whose husband is a cad, and you are asked to believe that a wonderful love waxes beneath the property moon. The prince, in his palace, pines for the lady and a dancing girl is sent from the harem to console him, but he will have none of her. Finally Lady Alicia appears with her husband, whose philandering with the dancing girl causes the latter's mother to kill him, which unites the Persian and the Englishwoman in what is presumably an ideal match. Evidently there is some point in having Lady Alicia and the dancing girl resemble each other, as Marceline Day plays both roles, but it isn't explained. Rod La Rocque is the Persian, and numerous well-known players hie themselves hither and yon, but they are so murk-photographed that they mean little except possibly to their mothers, brothers, and lovers. Red-hot Mamma. If it could be taken literally, the most cheering thing about "Honky Tonk" is the label "The Last of the Red-hot Mammas." The creaky story, exhumed from a studio attic to star Sophie Tucker, portrays the terrific tragedy of a young girl who learns that her mother is — ugh ! — a singer in a night club. For fifteen long years mamma has led this life to keep her daughter in a swanky school. When the girl, played by Lila Lee, comes home, a young cad takes her to the "Honky Tonk" to expose her mother's shame. The girl spurns her mother, chirps "Call me Beth — Betty is too vulgar," and leaves home. The young man turns gentleman overnight and everybody struggles to bring the girl back home and make her happy. Continued on page 106