Sweet Adeline (Warner Bros.) (1934)

te A » W EET DELINE N) SD ON THIS PAGE: Production Briefs Personality Sketches AS SUGGESTED BY FILM DAILY’S POLL OF EDITORS CERSSD ON THE CAST rN Donald Woods and Irene Dunne Form Ideal Love Team At no time since the advent of talking pictures have there been enough romantic young leading juveniles in Hollywood. The last of the highly successful stage leading men to adopt the screen is Donald Woods, who plays opposite Irene Dunne in Warner Bros.’ big musical, ‘‘ Sweet Adeline,’’ now showing at the Tee Theatre. Young Woods, in addition to his New York experience, has played in resident stock companies all over the country, reaching that Mecca of all stock actors, Elitch’s Gardens in Denver. Although only twenty-eight years old, he has a repertoire of 112 plays. This is exactly four plays a year on an average. In ‘‘Sweet Adeline’’ he has the role of a young musician enamored of a singer. The course of true love runs true to form and provides many romantic complications for the young couple. Donald Woods and Irene Dunne make one of the most attractive couples ever to face the camera. The picture is a mammoth musical spectacle based on the Broadway hit by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, who also wrote the catchy music and lyrics. Others in the cast include Hugh Herbert, Ned Sparks, Joseph Cawthorn and Louis Calhern. Mervyn LeRoy directed. Happy Smiles The happiness belongs, in this case, to Irene Dunne and Donald Woods—and they’re happy about their new picture, “Sweet Adeline,” Warner Bros.’ glamorous picturization of the Broadway musical hit. Mat No. 83—10e Especially Sweet Here are three of the “Sweet Adeline” girls showing you how they would impersonate Helen Morgan. Cute, aren’t they? You'll see them—and plenty more like *em—in the Warner Bros. film version of the famous Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein musical comedy. Mat No. 17—20c REVIEW Irene Dunne Delights In ‘‘Sweet Adeline” at Strand N audience which was left whistling, with feet tapping and lips smiling, paid tribute to what is undoubtedly the greatest of all Warner Bros.’ musical spectacles, ‘‘Sweet Adeline,’’ which opened for the first time locally at the FAK sient on ninicat nes ee Theatre yesterday. There is no mystery as to how Warner Bros., already famous for their remarkable musicals, surpassed their previous efforts. They took a clever operetta with the reputation of a 63week run on Broadway and gave it the kind of production treatment possible only to the Warner Bros. organization, provided as its star the charming Irene Dunne, gave her a cast which included four of the funniest comedians in films, and added to it the directing genius of Mervyn LeRoy and Bobby Connolly, master of dance spectacles. The result was an evening of perfect entertainment. The screen version retains the best of the original to which has been added much that is new and better, including two songs written particularly for this production, by Jerome Kern who, with Oscar Hammerstein II, wrote the operetta. The story is laid in the gay nineties, and concerns the proprietor of a Hoboken beer garden and his daughters, who not only wait on tables but sing for the customers. Adeline, the role enacted by Miss Dunne, is in love with a poor song plugger and writer, and is in turn, courted, for purposes other than matrimony, by gay blades of various degrees. The girl lands both on Broadway and before the altar, but only after a series of thrilling adventures and romantic interludes that hold the audience breathless with suspense when it is not roaring itself weak with laughter. Irene Dunne has long been accepted as a great screen actress. It had almost been forgotten that she had a voice of Metropolitan Opera quality, and that she had once been under contract to that organization. In “Sweet Adeline” she sings seven songs, two of them duets with Phil Regan, the New York policeman who became a radio star. There are four comedians, Hugh Herbert, Ned Sparks, Joseph Cawthorn and Nydia Westman. If a funnier quartette exists, it has not been charted on the theatrical map. Donald Woods is leading man in the role of the song writer in love with Miss Dunne. Louis Calhern is the villain, and a fine one. He is a remarkable actor. Winifred Shaw and Dorothy Dare sing and act beautifully. The spectacular dance numbers, staged by Bobby Connolly, were a revelation in film possibilities. Mervyn LeRoy has never done a finer job of directing, and he has had many great successes, including “Happiness Ahead.” “Sweet Adeline” is recommended to everyone who likes good music, fine singing, romantic thrills, dramatic suspense, clever dancing, beautiful girls, stirring laughter and who responds to youth, beauty, love and humor. DAVEY PUBLICITY! + OPENING DAY STORY + Sweet Adeline,” New Musical Hit, At Strand Today “Sweet Adeline,” Warner Bros. new musical spectacle and said to be the most pretentious of all their gigantic specials, opens at thes: Steer wees. Theatre today, with Irene Dunne, famous stage and screen singing star in the title role. The picture is taken from the sensational Broadway hit by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II and is crammed with, hilarious comedy, delightful romance and stirring drama in addition to its gigantie specialty numbers. Unique dancing numbers are staged by Bobby Connolly on novel and mammoth sets with scores of Hollywood’s most beautiful girls taking part. The musie of this operetta, written by the authors of the musical comedy, contains some of the most popular songs of the day. In addition to the eight in the original show, two new songs were written specially for the screen version. Five of these songs are sung by Irene Dunne alone. She sings two others with Phil Regan, the Singing cop of radio fame who also sings one song solo. Dorothy Dare, Broadway musical comedy star, sings a popular ballad while Hugh Herbert and Nydia Westman will be heard in a comedy duet. The picture is laid in the glamorous period of the gay nineties with the Broadway theatrical world as its setting. Irene Dunne has the role of a singer in her father’s famous Hoboken beer garden which is the rendezvous of theatrical folk and New York’s young bloods and men about town. Donald Woods plays opposite her in the romantic role with Louis Calhern as his rival. Four of the film colony’s most talented comedians are said to give the picture a hilarious comedy touch that is unequaled. They include Hugh Herbert, Nydia Westman, Ned Sparks and Joseph Cawthorn. Winifred Shaw also has an important part. Phil Regan The singing cop from Brooklyn gets his first featured role in Warner Bros.’ “Sweet Adeline,” starring Irene Dunne and a large cast of comedy favorites. It’s from the Oscar Hammerstein musical comedy, you know, with tunes by Jerome Kern. Mat No. 4—10e Page Seven