Picture-Play Magazine (Sep 1926 - Feb 1927)

A Confidential Guide to Current Releases 93 Continued from page 66 Dix, showing him as a gay young man who gets in trouble with the police and has a hard time getting married. Lois Wilson the girl. "Lovey Mary" — Metro-Goldwyn. Delightful human-interest tale, sequel to the "Cabbage Patch." Bessie Love, in character role, proves herself a gifted player. Second honors to William Haines. "Mantrap" — Paramount. Entertaining and unusual. Clara Bow, a flirtatious manicurist, and Ernest Torrence, from the wilds of Canada, become man and wife. Then along comes Percy Marmont. "Meet the Prince" — Producers Distributing. Gay, inconsequential film of a Russian prince who flees to America and masquerades as a butler. Joseph Schildkraut and Maguerite de la Motte. "Men of Steel"— First National. Milton Sills and Doris Kenyon in a melodramatic "epic" of the steel industry. Inclined to be showy, but has moments of grim and beautiful reality. "Midnight Sun, The"— Universal. An elaborate film picturing prewar Russian tyranny. Laura La Plante, as a ballet girl, captures the attentions of a grand duke, Pat O'Malley, but gives her heart to his aid-de-camp. "Miss Brewster's Millions" — Paramount. Very funny comedy of a young lady compelled to spend a million dollars within a certain time. Well p'ayed by Bebe Daniels, Ford Sterling, and Warner Baxter. "Money Talks" — Metro-Goldwyn. Broad farce, with Owen Moore emerging as a female impersonator. Claire Windsor, as the pretty wife, increases the tangles in the already-confused plot. "My Own Pal"— Fox. Tom Mix and the wonder horse, Tony, save a baby, jump onto moving trains, and otherwise distinguish themselves. "New Klondike, The"— Paramount. Thomas Meighan and Lila Lee in an amusing satire on Florida real estate, with a few baseball players thrown in. "Oh! What a Nurse!"— Warner. Syd Chaplin in skirts again. Good story, with funny gags, but too much repetition. "Old Loves and New"— First National. One lord steals another lord's lady, and several years later they all find themselves in Algiers together. Barbara Bedford, Lewis Stone, and Walter Pidgeon. "Palm Beach Girl, The" — Paramount. Bebe Daniels in a fast and furious comedy, laid in Florida and crowded with complications and thrills. Lawrence Gray plays leading man. "Puppets"— First National. Love and treachery in New York's Bowery. Milton Sills, as the Italian master of a puppet show, foils all enemies and wins the girl, Gertrude Olmsted. "Raggedy Rose"— Pathe. Successful return of Mabel Normand in a corking good slapstick comedy, dealing with the adventures of a waif who breaks into high society. "Rainmaker, The"— Paramount. Interesting chiefly for the sympathetic performance of William Collier, Jr., n an unusually good role as a jockey. Georgia Hale effective as the girl. "Ranson's Folly"— First National. Richard Barthelmess as an excitementloving young army lieutenant of the '80s, who gets himself into real trouble as the result of an idle prank. Dorothy Mackaill the girl. "Red Dice" — Producers Distributing. Story of the bootlegging underworld. Rod La Rocque in role of young man who has only a year to live. Marguerite de la Motte is the girl. "Rolling Home" — Universal. One of Reginald Denny's best. Rapid, amusing comedy of two young men who return home pretending to be millionaires and actually become such. Marian Nixon is the girl. "Runaway, The" — Paramount. Showing the successful transformation of a city girl into a country lass. Good cast, featuring Clara Bow and Warner Baxter. "Say It Again" — Paramount. Richard Dix in another genuinely pleasant comedy. Satire on the mythical-kingdom type of film. Chester Conklin amusing in regal robes, and Alyce Mills makes a ladylike heroine. "Senor Daredevil" — First National. A Western with Mexican trimmings. Ken Maynard, in silks and sashes, does all that is expected of a Western daredevil. Dorothy Devore is the girl in ginghams. "Silence" — Producers Distributing. Strong, moving performance by H. B. Warner in interesting film version of this well-known crook melodrama. Vera Reynolds is the girl — both mother and daughter. "Silken Shackles" — Warner. Weil directed. The flirtatious wife of an American in Budapest pursues a cafe violinist, but eventually comes to her senses. Irene Rich, Huntly Gordon, and Victor Varconi. "Social Celebrity, A" — Paramount. Adolphe Menjou in another amusing light comedy, revealing the adventures of a small-town barber and his manicurist, who break into New York night life. "Speeding Venus, The" — Producers Distributing. Priscilla Dean, in a newly invented gearless automobile, races a train across the continent in order to foil the villain. Robert Frazer is the hero. "That's My Baby" — Paramount. Douglas MacLean funny in a comedy that is otherwise something' of a bore. "Up in Mabel's Room" — Producers Distributing. Vigorous domestic farce, good for many laughs. Marie Prevost, Phyllis Haver, and Harrison Ford are the entangled trio. "Volcano" — Paramount. Bebe Daniels in the emotional role of a girl in the West Indies who doesn't know whether she is white or not. Lovely settings and picturesque costumes. Also Ricardo Cortez. "Volga Boatman, The" — Producers Distributing. A slow-moving De Mille film, built around the early events of the Russian Revolution, and featuring the love affair between a boatman and a princess. William Boyd and Elinor Fair in the leads. "Wet Paint" — Paramount. Raymond Griffith turns into a slapstick comedian in a film which you enjoy in spite of yourself. Helene Costello is the heroine. "Whispering Smith"— Producers Distributing. Exciting crook melodrama, with H. B. Warner in the role of a secret-service agent who falls in love with an outlaw's wife. Lilyan Tashman, Lillian Rich, and John Bowers. "Why Qirfs Go Back Home"— Warner. Patsy Ruth Miller and Clive Brook in film of a small-town girl who becomes a Broadway star and brings her husband home to meet the folks. "Wilderness Woman, The"— First National. Aileen Pringle bursts into comedy, with highly entertaining results. Chester Conklin adds to the fun, and Lowell Sherman makes the film complete. RECOMMENDED— WITH RESERVATIONS. "Amateur Gentleman, The" — First National. Richard Barthelmess in a dull and unbelievable story of the young son of a prize fighter who goes to London and becomes a gentleman. Dorothy Dunbar, a newcomer, is the heroine. "Bride of the Storm"— Warner. Dull and dreary. Girl, stranded on an island with three bad men, is rescued just in time by United States warship. Dolores Costello and John Harron. "Clinging Vine, The" — Producers Distributing. Another poor story for Leatrice Joy. Silly film, that might have been amusing, of mannish business girl who blossoms into cooing dove. Tom Moore also wasted. "Dancer of Paris, The" — First National. Mediocre film based on Michael Arlen story. Dorothy Mackaill very lovely in role of dancer. Conway Tearle opposite her. "Devil's Circus, The"— Metro-Goldwyn. Neither very good nor very bad. Norma Shearer in role of circus girl. Charles Emmett Mack is the crook hero, and Carmel Myers a jealous woman. "Ella Cinders" — First National. Adapted from the newspaper comic strip. Superficial but not unpleasant. Colleen Moore amusing in role of domestic drudge who rises to movie fame. Lloyd Hughes wins her. "Fascinating Youth" — Paramount. Featuring the graduates of the Paramount School, none of whom make much impression. Tale of a rollicking group of young artists. "Fig Leaves" — Fox. Mildly amusing tale, with ancient and modern sequences, of what happens to a wife who cares too much for clothes. George O'Brien and Olive Borden. "Her Big Night" — Universal. A shopgirl is persuaded to take the place of a film star for a personal appearance at a theater, and becomes mixed up in a lot of farcical situations. A case of much ado about nothing. Laura La Plante in a dual role adds nothing to her reputation as an actress. "It's the Old Army Game"— Paramount. Starring W. C. Fields. Amusing only up to a point. Louise Brooks is the pert and provocative girl in the case. "Little Irish Girl, The" — Warner. Muddled film, with intervals of good entertainment. Dolores Costello is an Continued on page 95