Big Hearted Herbert (Warner Bros.) (1934)

All-Comedy Cast Of Strand Farce Novel And Unusual Plot In Hilarious New Screen Comedy “Big Hearted Herbert,” the Warner Bros. comedy romance which is scheduled as the feature attraction at thes .cneeenite ic. se HOLST Rie) 203 | pean Reve etc perenne s5A8 heralded as a novel and most unusual fun film concerning a discordant family in which the wife and mother tames_ the erabbed head of the household by a bitter dose of his own medicine. Aline MacMahon heads the all star cast as a wif~ doomed to drudgery by a husband who, although he has attained affluence, believes that a woman should do her own housework just as it was done in his family when he ‘was a child. Guy Kibbee, as the crab husband, attempts to force his son into a disagreeable job in his plumbing supply factory and flies into a terriffic rage when he learns his daughter is engaged to a college man. The wife decides to thrust the husband’s own medicine down his throat in front of one of his best customers and his wife who have come to dinner, in some of the most hilarious and unusual situations imaginable. The crab is changed into “Big Hearted Herbert” in a. highly amusing climax. The picture carries a heart throbbing romance as well as comedy with Patricia Ellis and Phillip Reed as the lovers. Helen Lowell, who made such a hit as the “Old Doll” in “Midnight Alibi,’ has a hilarious comedy role as “once-a-week” maid, who is the only person with the temerity to “sass” the boss. UDC ) Marjorie Gateson, Nella Walker, Hale Hamilton and Claudia Coleman, all famous on both stage and screen, have other important roles, while the two sons of “Big Hearted Herbert” are pertrayed by Trent Durkin and Jay Ward. The screen play by Lillie Hayward and Ben Markson is based on the uproarious story by Sophie Kerr, which Miss Kerr and Anna Steese Richardson also dramatized. William Keighley directed th Tall, Dark and... poneeonveneunencesesnvvevurevernvnrrvrsnvenn tree tite Handsome! Hollywood’s latest “find,” Phillip Reed, appearing in Warner Bros.’ “Big Hearted Herbert,” now at the Strand. Mat No. 24—10e. parrat, fenry O'Neil, Grease up your funnybone and check your troubles at the door of the Strand Theatre this week, ’cause Warner Bros.’ latest laugh film is coming to town, namely, “Big Hearted Herbert.” Aline MacMahon, Phillip Reed, Guy Kibbee and Patricia Ellis are the leading lights of the cast, which also includes Helen Lowell and Robert Barrat. The film was adapted from the play that kept Broadway howling for a solid year, and promises to be even funnier than the stage version. Mat No. 26—30c. Film Success Due he silliest notion in the baking of the idea that luck influence play an imporant in Hollywood success. have seen girls with luck girls with influence,” she ut... these..things... could. q 6th never do more than get a girl on the screen; only ability can keep her there.” Miss MacMahon got her first part on the stage simply by being good enough to be noticed by the management. She got a chance and made good. There was no influence and certainly no luck about it. While waiting for bigger opportunities, she studied and worked. A bigger chance came along and she made good again. After her success in “Once In a Lifetime” on the stage, the movies made her flattering offers. Since her first picture she has been climbing. In “Big Hearted Herbert,” in which she co-stars with Guy Kibbee, her rolé combines comedy and pathos in just the proportions that suit her style of characterization. She is at her best when beneath her fun there is an undercurrent of seriousness. The picture is a_ rollicking comedy romance based on a play adapted by Sophie Kerr and Anna Steese Richardson from Miss Kerr’s story. There is an all star cast including Aline MacMahon, Guy Kibbee, Patricia Ellis, Helen Lowell and Phillip Reed. William Keighley directed the film. To Hard Work, Not Pat Ellis Amazes There’s a ment for new requireactresses in ys—versatili yqung ty. Not so ma salient deman Later it was is for well balance ty. Patricia Ellis, the youthful Warner Bros. } featured player, and the youngest léading lady on ars ago, the for beauty. es. Now it acting abili ENS SCPESH, “HAS NA MAN AMAZIN Germ range of roles for a young actress. In “The Narrow Cornor,” she played a native island girl, then in “Harold Teen” she was a society girl As Joe E. Brown’s leading lady in “Circus Clown,” she had the role of a trapeze performer. Her present part in “Big Hearted Herbert,’ which COMOR 10. <0UG «1.2 oases tees vol vias co Fenestsasens TRO RGR G OU Bas cies sesssigesivnss , is that of a debutante and combines straight romantic acting with comedy. Miss Ellis, in spite of her youth, had considerable New York stage experience before coming to pictures. This, in addition to the new training and wide range of picture roles, is a much better reason for stardom than mere beauty. Incidentally, Patricia Ellis is one of the loveliest blondes in pictures. “Big Hearted Herbert” is a hilarious comedy based on the play adapted by Sophie Keer and Anna Steese Richardson from Miss Kerr’s story. There is an all star cast which includes besides Patricia Ellis, Aline MaeMahon, Guy Kibbee, Helen Lowell, Phillip Reed, Robert Barrat and Henry O’Neill. William Keighley directed the picture from the screen play by Lillie Hayward and Ben Markson. Screen Executives Stage Work Makes Barrat Versatile A vocational expert told him he would be a great executive; a fortune teller told him he would be a wonderful aviator; his mother wanted him to be a minister; his father thought he should be a.business man; he wanted to be a doctor; so he became an actor. Now, everybody, including Robert Barrat, himself, is satisfied. Barrat, whose latest picture is “Big Hearted Herbert,” now showing: at. the. <s2.s cir-..seoresessee Theatre, was born in New York long enough ago to remember when theatrical agents actually got jobs for good actors. His first experience on the stage was not in New York, however, but in a stock company at Springfield. After that, there were many busy seasons with other companies and finally his big chance in New York. He stayed on Broadway a long time and then was brought to the coast by Warner Bros. to play his orginal role in “Lilly Turner,” in which he had made a hit on the stage. Now under contract with Warner Bros., his unusual value to his studio lies in his ability to play an unlimited range of parts and play them all well. He works hard, rests little and takes every new part as seriously as an opening night. 2 He has an important role in “Big Hearted Herbert,’ which is a hilarious comedy romance based on the story by Sophie Kerr. Others in the cast include Aline MacMahon, Guy Kibbee, Patricia Ellis, Helen Lowell, Phillip Reed and Henry O’Neill. William Keighley directed the picture from the screen play by Lillie Hayward and Ben Markson, popular Hollywood writers. Screen More Real Than Stage Says Aline MacMahon On returning from a _ playviewing trip to New York, Aline MaeMahon, the Warner Bros. star who comes to the ................ scene Theatre On fis... in “Big Hearted Herbert,” said she was more convinced than ever that the screen has much more reality than the stage. “Because the stage offers flesh and blood actors is not enough to make it real,’ she stated. “From the moment the curtain rises, the audience is compelled to make believe. One must for get the flimsy canvas, the papier mache trees and the painted background. The illusion is entirely in the mind of the spectator. Often a stage setting is beautiful—but not real. “While in the East, I saw the stage production of ‘Big Hearted Herbert.’ On the stage, the home was a typical opera house setting. It was not a real home in any sense—just a stage set. “In the screen production, this same home is real. It has exactly the atmosphere to suit the character of the people who live in it. “In a theatre, the characters are only a voice and a posture except to those in the very first rows. The people on the screen are seen intimately—the raising of an eyebrow, the slightest change of facial expression. Sereen players are much more real to an audience for this reason.” “Big Hearted Herbert” Ree ss In —PlayerOn Screen ac.) sacstanon has the role of a long suffering Wit @ WHOM tIMAl re... ly tames an insufferable husband.The picture is hilarious comedy based on the play adapted by Sophie Kerr and Anna Steese Richardson from Miss Kerr’s story. There is an all star cast which ineludes besides Miss MacMahon, Guy Kibbee, Patricia Ellis, Helen Lowell, Phillip Reed, Robert Barrat and Henry O'Neill. William Keighley directed the picture from the screen play by Lillie Hayward and Ben Mark MIO, “POPU ar LOL y WOOK WIC Serr Aline MacMahon from behind the shrubbery, Aline! She does in “Big Hearted Herbert,” the War ner Bros. comedy coming to the Strand. Guy Kibbee plays the title role. Come_ out Mat No. 23—10ce. Page Nine