Picture-Play Magazine (Sep 1928 - Feb 1929)

The Screen in Review 73 Belle Bennett, Phyllis Haver, Don Alvarado, and Sally O'Neil. That is, until one sees them play the conventional sex story of the middle-aged husband and father, who strays from the path of rectitude until his daughter turns the tables on him, and is discovered in the same love nest where daddy is the king pin. After seeing the players in action, one charges them with overacting and finds it difficult to forgive them in spite of their restraint in other pictures. All except Belle Bennett, as the wife. Her restraint is no less marked in this than in any other picture. She seems to enjoy herself by running to meet the sufferings imposed upon her by the story, and being martyred by them. But, really, Miss Haver, who practices restraint when permitted, and is a splendid actress, is called upon to behave outrageously as the vamp, evidently with the notion that the picture had to be pepped up with suggestive scenes. Altogether, the picture is clumsy, undistinguished, and its sound effects are inept. This is especially noticeable in a scene where Miss Haver is supposed to warble "Rose in the Bud." But the soprano who supplies the words does not even glance at Miss Haver's lip movements. Mr. Meighan's Strange Story. Thomas Meighan's casual acting fits his role in "The Mating Call," that of Leslie Hatton, who secretly marries Rose Henderson, the village belle, and goes to war. On his return, he finds the marriage annulled and Rose the wife of a rich man. She pursues him openly — so openly, in fact, that Leslie literally throws her out of the house. Finally she compromises him and Leslie, disgusted, his ideal shattered, picks out Catherine, an immigrant, and offers her a home if she will marry him. The lowly, timid girl prefers the role of servant until circumstances bring them together. In addition to all this there are the activities of the Ku Klux Klan, and the unmasking of Rose's husband as the Klan's local head, and the tragic termination of his affair with a girl. "Tenth Avenue. The Battle of the Sexes. "Lonesome.' The picture has an interesting undercurrent which places it above the ordinary, though it is not exactly a satisfying film. Some of the characters are not understandable, and their actions are startlitigly abrupt, probably because in transferring the novel to the screen the psychology, and therefore the motivation, of the characters proved too complicated. However, it is far from routine and the acting is first class. Evelyn Brent, as Rose, is flamboyantly wicked, yet irresistibly fascinating, and Renee Adoree, as Catherine, is as elusive as a woodland fay. A Pat for Billy Haines. William Haines is at his best in "Excess Baggage," because in addition to a good 'The Fleet's In." picture, he has a role which enables him to be serious and to show what a convincing actor he is, but not at the expense of his tomfoolery. When administered homeopathically, this is most engaging. So it is in the new picture, a story of vaudeville, with Mr. Haines as a small-time juggler who marries a dancer and loses her when she goes into the movies. Disheartened, he decides that the best way out of it is to fall when he does his "slide for life," the climax of his act. But as he slides, he hears the voice of his wife who stands with outstretched arms in her old place on the stage, and Eddie Kane slides in triumph to a joyous reconciliation. This brings about a thrilling finish and atones for dull moments earlier in the picture. Besides the excellent characterization of Mr. Haines, there are capital performances by Josephine Dunn, as his wife, Ricardo Cortez, and Neely Edwards. The Heart of a Hobo. As a welcome change from the comic louts Wallace Beery has played for several years, he gives us something of more substance and significance as Oklahoma Red, in "Beggars of Life," a hobo picture. Sordid, grim and unpleasant, it is nevertheless interesting and is certainly a departure from the usual movie. Its salient features are excellent acting on the part of Mr. Beery, Richard Arlen, and Louise Brooks, distinguished direction and photography and undeniable sincerity of intention. One feels that Continued on page 96