Central Park (Warner Bros.) (1932)

CURRENT PUBLICITY Review “Central Park” Is Exciting Punch-Packed Screen Fare Something different from the average spectacular motion picture is ‘‘Central Park,’’ the First National production with Joan Blondell and Wallace Ford in the leading roles, which opened yestorduy.ot the... Se Theatre for an extended run. It is a one location picture with all the action taking place within a single day within the confines of Central Park, one of New York’s most beautiful natural spots. The picture has a depth of heart appeal and a bigness in its panoramic sweep, that is comparable only to such pictures as tUSN 120-0 Depot’’ or ot Gat rie Hotel.” It is a big picture — one that only a man with the ability of Ward Morehouse, famous columnist, could have written and given it the wide scope it has. In newspaper parlance, it is a human interest story, treating with a boy and a girl, hungry and alone in a park — New York’s justly famous Central Park. They meet, possibly by chance, possibly by the guiding rein of that destiny which everyone likes to think controls them. And from that meeting grows a series of events as colorful and as exciting as you have seen upon the screen in a@ year. Events full of thrills, comedy, suspense, novelty and pathos, and with an edge of tragedy, too, run GUY KIBBEE in “CENTRAL PARK” Cut No. 7 Cut 1sc Mat 5c deep enough — in this bit of flotsam thrown off from the sweeping tide of a great city’s life to rest for a moment in the action of a few persons in a park. Vice is there, the fierce surging of the underworld against the world that lives and moves above it; but, as always, the very innocence of the two waifs protects them. One of the most interesting and amazing sequences in the picture is that showing a lion loose in the crowded park. That-sequence alone makes the picture worthy of special mention. Joan Blondell, who always gives a fine performance, and who has been getting better and better roles, again performs in fine style. As a stranded chorus girl, who innocently gets mixed up with some stickup artists, she gives a convincing portrayal. Wallace Ford, who handles the male lead opposite Joan Blondell, plays his part as the other homeless, friendless waif adrift in the city’s big park, with great eapability. Excellent support is loaned the leads by the work of Guy Kibbee as the nearly blind policeman whose tragedy and final vindication is movingly pathetic; by Patricia Ellis and Henry B. Walthall, Charles Sellon, Spencer Charters, Harold. Huber, John Wray pexd_ others. The direction is by John Adolfi from GUY KIBBEE as “Charley the Cop” in “Central Park,” the new First National drama starring Joan Blon dell, now on view at the Strand. Cut No.3 Cut31sc Mat 5c L. day of run “Bad Actor” Doubled For Too Tame Lion In “Central Park” Lions that work in motion pictures have their doubles, even as human actors. But it would take ‘a person familiar with lions, as well as a keen observer, to note when such doubling takes place in “Central Park,” a First National picture featuring Joan Blondell and Wallace Ford, which is now showIne Sats the! ss ee ee Theatre. Jackie, a Selig Zoo lion, does most of the skillful work. But Jackie is so tame he just couldn’t act fero like a skein through the warp and a screen play by Ward Morehouse cious for amnemnfztyhich a lion _woof of it. You’ll see Central Park and Earl Baldwin. pees =e The “as it is today —perhaps even New —By all means — §06—This latest hit aT York as it is today — perhaps some _ thing even of the nation, if you look from the Warner Bros.-First National studios. Opening Day Story “Central Park” Opens Al... Theatre Today Scenes and events with which you are the most familiar, often hold the greatest surprises, as will be seen in the First National picture, “Central Park,” by Ward Morehouse, featuring Joan Blondell and Wallace Ford, which comes to the ........ Theatre today. “Central Park” was conceived and executed as the story of what might oceur in any public park, but which happened-to take place in Central Park, New York. But Central Park has always been there. People have been walking and riding and trotting in it for generations. People have been buying hot dogs in it, taking their children to play in it, ever since any one can remember. It’s just a park set down in the middle of a teeming metropolis, but a park where wealthy society folk rub elbows with the poor and downand-out in an ever passing current. Ward Morehouse, the Broadway eolumnist and Dramatic Critic, and author of “Big City Blues,” has spent a lot of time in Central Park in the course of his newspaper duties. He has covered the police station, has learned the inside details on many tragedies and romances. He has seen boys and girls, strangers in New York, who have wandered to the edge of the lake in the park, ready to end it all. He has talked with the cops on duty—has known many of them by their first name, and he has found Central Park a veritable fountain of human interest stories. In preparing his story for the movies, he took two waifs, a boy and girl, hungry, alone in the big city, adrift in Central Park, and Page Four made them the central characters of “Central Park.” Around these two he has woven about as exciting and as touching a story as the screen has made in many a moon. It is a story that in the main is based upon actual experiences that Morehouse has known about. “Central Park” is what might be ealled in newspaper parlance a “human interest? story. It’s just what might happen to you or your neighbor or your friends in a big city’s park almost any day in the week — which probably is happening to people just like you in many a big city park every day when they have eyes to see it. It has a bigness in its panoramie sweep, in its cross section on life, in the variety of characters it portrays that is comparable to a “Union Depot” or a “Grand Hotel.” Earl Baldwin collaborated with Mr. Morehouse on the screen play. There is a strong cast which includes besides Miss Blondell and Mr. Ford, Patricia Ellis, Henry B. Walthall, Charles Sellon, Spencer Charters, Harold Huber, John Wray, Holmes Herbert, De Witt Jennings, Henry Armetta. It was directed by John Adolfi. New Vitaphone Shorts Suggested for Your Bill REL. TITLE 12/3/32 |No. 4 Old Time Sport Thrills (Vitaphone Sport Thrills Series) 12/10/32| Three’s A Crowd (Merrie Melodies Series) 12/3/32 | The Red Shadow (Broadway Brevities Series) the dancers 1 vve Tamar, a “bad” ac. tuted for this particular scene. Tamar could only be trusted to rush from one cage to another, but he does it in such a ferocious manner that a real panic occurred during the taking of the scene. “Central Park” is a dramatic thriller with its background the famous New York playground. It is spiced with delightful romance and many humorous incidents. There is a strong supporting cast which includes among others, Guy Kibbee, Patricia Ellis, Henry B. Walthall, Charles Sellon, Spencer Charters, John Wray and Holmes Herbert. The screen play was adapted by Ward Morehouse and Earl Baldwin from a story by Mr. Morehouse, the famous New York columnist. It was directed by John Adolfi. ye day of run Jaw Naecuvus™ A Lion Forgot His Act. Wally Ford Was Goat When a lion knocks a man down, it isn’t exactly an everyday occurrence, but when a man knocks down a lion—well, that’s news and that’s exactly what Wallace Ford did in a scene from “Central Park,” now showing at the ......... Theatre, in which he is co-featured with Joan Blondell. In the scene a lion leaps onto the ball room floor of the Central Park Casino and_ scatters the dancers in every direction. The lion used had been trained to rush from a cage at one end of the wired enclosure into another at the other end. The dancers fled through doors as the lion approached and then circled in behind him. In making a retake the lion elected to return to his original cage after having crossed the floor. The dancers fled in a panic; Wally, however, lost his balance and teetered on his toes just long enough for the lion to plunge into him. The lion also lost his footing on the slippery floor and both erashed. Fortunately the lion was as frightened as Wally and he escaped with a bump. But the eameraman got the scene. °Brd day of run Forest Scene Erected By Movie Studio For “Central Park” Motion picture requirements make some strange démands upon the studio “prop” man, as is evidenced in “Central Park,” a First National picture featuring Joan Blondell and Wallace Ford, which is now showing on the screen of the Theatre. While many of the scenes for this picture were taken in the famous New York playground, those in which a lion gets loose, had to be made at the studio, inasmuch as the police regulations of New York forbid the release of a lion. There are plenty of trees on the Warner Bros. Hollywood lot, but they had to be arranged to duplicate a section of the park. Dead trees could not be used as the leaves wither too soon. So the prop department got the order to build a forest. The prop men were equal to the occasion and a small forest sprang up over night. “Central Park” is a highly dramatic story filled with thrills, ineluding the escape of a lion. It was written by the New York columnist, Ward Morehouse, and adapted for the screen by Mr. Morehouse and Earl Baldwin. There is an exceptional cast of players which includes besides Miss Blondell and Mr. Ford, such players as Guy Kibbee, Patricia Ellis, Henry B. Walthall and Charles Sellon. It was directed by John Adolfi. JOAN BLONDELL Cut No.1 Cut31s5c Mat 5c ® Alen day of run “Gentral Park” Star Had Humble Start Movie stars are often believed to be “highbrow”, but Joan Blondell and Wallace Ford, featured in “Central Park,” the First National picture now showing at the ...... ia Theatre, both had humble beginnings and are proud of the fact. In the play Miss Blondell takes the part of a stranded actress. Many times she herself has been left flat by road shows going “busted,” she declares. Her parents were vaudeville troupers and she was practically born on the stage. She spent many years in touring the country with good and bad luck before she rose to important picture roles. Wally Ford began his career as an orphan in London. He was apprenticed to a Canadian wheat farmer but ran away to join a stock company. After jyears of barnstorming he finally won recognition as one of the finest sereen players. “Central Park” is a delightful romance of a boy and girl, both broke, who meet on a park bench. Their thrilling adventures in the big city form a glowing romance of modern times. The story was written by Ward Morehouse, the Broadway ecolumnist.