Life Begins (Warner Bros.) (1932)

LORETTA YOUNG Warner Bros.’ popular young star, now winning new admirers in “Life BODINE “A OETUILE ca ee ioe Rati eae ee R arely has a motion picture aroused such interest in (town) as has this drama and it is greatly to the credit OPEB eo en es Theatre that it can provide its patrons with so enjoyable an evening’s entertainment. Cut No.88 Out30c Mat10c ‘Life Begins’ Tremendous Hit, Sets New Standard in Pictures! (Review) All standards by which motion pictures are evaluated and criti eized become entirel ™=sdequate when cornfvontad with “ofl, 201 we vy Rete de of ‘‘Life Begins,’’ the First National offering which opened au Sfp er en Theatre ........ _@ new Peninrd in pictures by this powerful epic picture. Sooke eke Warner Bros. have set In the same measure, all the usual, cut-and-dried standards of 8 e@-e n= ‘fa movie;’’ they were people awed and speechless. They had seen stark whose performance op2 posite Loretta Young in realism — a “Life Begins’ at the . gee eee stamps glimpse at the im as wort a place with Wollgwocda source of all finest dramatic stars. human life and Cut No. 39 drama. Out 15e Mat sc ERIC LINDEN There was a spark of something in the film which, for want of a better word, one might eall sincerity, which made one feel that the picture was not being acted, but actually lived. This feeling seemed to have caught on with every person connected with the making of the picture, for the players were not merely actors and actresses — ‘‘ personalities’’—but men and women who lived and laughed and eried and suffered. There was no attempt at featuring some players over others, neither was there an attempt at a central plot for this purpose. Each player in the east was the protagonist of his own individual drama or comedy; with all these vital little bits of life woven together into a pattern that spelled Humanity. If the word ‘‘epic’’ had not been so over-used in describing films, it might serve as a good category in this instance. But in the case of ‘*Life Begins,’’ it would take an adjective as yet uninvented to adequately do it justice. It is a daring film, as far as its theme goes, but handled in such hon Page Twenty motion picture production were discarded by the producers.. Hokum and manufactured situations are conspicuously absent. The audience which came away from the theatre last night after seeing “‘Life Begins’’ was not an audience which had just est, beautiful taste as to make it one of the greatest vitally human pictures that the screen has yet given us. The action of the entire picture takes place in the maternity ward of a large hospital where several women are waiting to give birth to their babies. One of these women has been temporarily released from prison for this purpose. After her baby is born, she is supposed to go back to serve a term of twenty years to life for murder. Another woman is a play girl and whose twins are unwanted ‘faccidents.’’ A Greenwich Village unmarried ‘‘intellectual,’’?’ a poor Italian woman, and several other wives of varied walks and circumstances of life mingle in the ward, bound together by their one bond of common sympathy and_ interest— Motherhood. The husband’s side of this phase of life is also given a sympathetic treatment; and to make the picture grippingly real and complete, the work of the doctors and nurses in the maternity ward makes the picture one of unbounding interest to every man, woman and child. ‘And by child, we mean just that. Despite its intimate theme, it is not a ‘‘forbidden’’ picture. It offers entertainment in great measure, but at the same time, it is a lesson in life that one ean never forget. The splendid cast is made up of Loretta Young, Eric Linden, Aline MacMahon, Preston Foster, Glenda Farrell, Frank McHugh, Gloria Shea, Walter Walker, Vivienne Osborne and many more none the less prominent. A big note of praise is due the codirectors, James Flood and Elliott Nugent, who have turned out a real masterpiece. Opening Day Story Daring Drama of ChildBirth Opensat................. Theatre Motherhood comes in for its share of glory in the First National picture, ‘‘ Life Begins,’’ which opens today at thee rat eens Theatre. This play by Mary McDougall Axelson, which was adapted for the screen by Earl Baldwin, is an intimate study of life in a hospital’s maternity ward. In this respect, it is perhaps the most daring and original story that has ever been attempted on the screen. It carries its dramatic punch not in one story but in the stories of the several women who are confined to the ward. A condemned murderess, a pleasure loving girl, a member of the ‘‘intelligentsia,’’ a young Italian woman, @ psychopathic case and sey eral other varied characters each detail their life’s stories as they are reflected through the happenings in the maternity ward. Doctors and nurses, too, come in for their share of dramatic treatment, and the whole is one vital picture of a hitherto unexploited theme. Due to the importance attached to each character, a cast was carefully chosen which combines some of the finest performers of stage and screen. It contains Loretta Young, Eric Linden, Aline MacMahon, Preston Foster, Glenda Farrell, Dorothy Peterson, Frank McHugh, Gloria Shea, Elizabeth Patterson, Walter Walker, Reginald Mason, Gilbert Roland, Ruthelma Stevens, Mary Phillips, Hale Hamilton, Helena Phillips, Herbert Mundin, Dorothy Tree, Vivienne Osborne, Clara Blandick and Terrence Ray. Besides the many adult characters, this picture employed more new-born babies in several of the scenes than has ever before been used in any one filmy ine iis pati ELE MERIT ies Cee — Requiring the atmost in irectorial finesse, First National handed the assignment to James Flood and Elliott Nugent who teamed so effectively in the direction of ‘‘The Mouthpiece.’’ I st day of run Aline MacMahon Rapidly Winning Screen Honors Aline MacMahon’s endurance record of round-trips between Hollywood and New York has at last run into a snag, because her services are in such great demand in Hollywood. She played a prominent role in First National’s ‘‘Life Begins,’’ which cofeatures Loretta Young and Erie Linden atthe ae ze, Theatre, without her usual preliminary train ride. This makes her score still stand at four round trips between the Eastern metropolis and the film capital in five months. She first went West with the stage production of ‘‘Once In a Lifetime,’’ after which she went back to New York. She was immediately asked to return to the Coast to enter the production of ‘‘Five Star Final’’ for Warner Bros. Following this picture she made ‘‘ The Heart of New York,’’ ‘‘The Mouthpiece’? and ‘‘ Week-End Marriage,’’ all for the same company. After each picture, she thought she was through with movies, or vice versa, and returned home, only to be recalled after a few days’ stay. It almost happened again after ‘Week End Marriage,’’ but First National caught her in the process of making traveling arrangements. Aline gave in, foregoing the usual vacation trip before going into ‘‘ Life Begins, ’’ the beautiful and sensational epic of motherhood which has gripped women —and men—wherever shown. In this picture Aline MacMahon’s playing, is one of the finest pieces of acting the sereen has known. ‘‘Life Begins,’’ is based on a play by Mary McDougall Axelson, adapted to the screen by Earl Baldwin. The cast headed by Preston Foster, Glenda Farrell, Frank McHugh, Vivienne Osborne, Dorothy Tree, Reginald Mason, in addition to the featured players. CURRENT PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN aa day of run Fully Equipped Hospital Erected in “‘Life Begins” If a sudden calamity had struck Hollywood during the filming of ‘‘Life Begins,’’ currently ¢o-featuring Loretta Young and Erie Linden EN inh 0 ac eaeeeena ne Theatre, First National Studio could have done some fine pinch-hitting for the local hoppitals. The studio’s stage had as finely equipped a hospital floor as can be found in any bona fide medical institution. It is only a set in the picture which deals with the pathos, comedy drama and tragedy of the group of young mothers about to bring babies into the world. The main part of it is a large ward —a maternity ward for the purposes of this picture. There are eight regulation hospital beds in it. The door of the ward leads into a corridor. From this corridor open doors that lead into doctors’ offices, a fully . equipped laboratory and other rooms one may expect to find in a real hospital. At the end of the corridor are the double swinging doors that lead into an operating room that has everything from ether tanks to scalpels. A doctor could have strolled into this part of the set and not find it necessary to send out for anything should he have had to perform an operation of any kind. Im fact, he wouldn’t even have had to send out for a nurse, because there was one always on this set as technical adviser. As a matter of fact, one wouldn’t | even have to send out for a doctor, because the general technical supervision was being handled by Dr. Harry Martin. -epiadayorrul _ Loretta Young Helped in Role by Hospital Visit A lot of sympathy and understanding went into the making of the........ Brees i ae Theatre’s current First National picture, ‘‘Life Begins,’’ cofeaturing Loretta Young and Eric Linden. The entire action of the picture takes place in the maternity ward of a hospital, and the drama and comedy of the various situations are woven around the various mothers and the hospital attendants. It is rather a strange atmosphere for Loretta Young to find herself in, but the day before the picture commenced she made arrangements to spend the entire day in the maternity ward of the Los Angeles County Hospital. Under the guidance of Dr. Sidney Garfield, Loretta got a thorough outsider’s initiation into the mysteries, but by noon time she confessed that she had her fill. She found herself taking each case personally and suffering along with the patients, and if she kept it up all day she felt she would not be able to begin work the next day. ERIC LINDEN Out No.37 Outi5e Matic