Variety (Jan 1932)

Tuesdaf, January 19, 1932 FILM REVIEWS VARIETY 29 UNION DEPOT (Continued from pag« 26) all the same elements sufficiently polished in the making and In ad- dlUoD some novel slants on the eez eubject, handled with a great deal .of skill to ouggeat much without stepping over the, line. And to whichever class of fllm followers ivou belong) you are l>ound to sur- render'to the suspense that devel- ops early In. the footage and never lets go until the end. Opening is a capital bit of tech- Alque, being a series of brief shots establishing the bustling serio- comic atmosphere that Is character- istic of a big railway terminal—a series of thumbnail sketches of hu* man types. The harrassed, but gen- erous head of a middle , class fam- ily, getting his wife and brood oS to a' dearly bought 'vacation In the country; a ritzy mama bon voyag- ing her pal, off to Reno; couple of tipsy sailors. on the make and couple of round-heeled flaps wait- ing to be made. Into this bustling scene strides rbhick.' careless and carefree knight Of the road and'the rods, and his older Irebo pal. The windfall of a forgotten handbag In the washroom gives Chick good clothes and a heaven sent bankroll, and he starts out to roll 'em high and handsome. The too-easy flaps he throws aside with cynical brusqueness, but. for Buth; the stranded chorus girl, on her uppers and desperate, he falls with the complete sangfroid of a Sophisticated drifter. He takes her hard luck story with a wise tongue In his cheek and they adjourn promptly to a private niche In a nearby Informal hostelry, where the afCair Is proceeding to Its 'logical Climax, when the boy suddenly dis- covers that the girl Is ■ on the level. His amassed fury at his discovery Is one of the gems of recent cinema high lights, but anyhow he takes It in good part when he gets used to' the unwelcome fact that he has duped himself, and agrees to help the grlrl to her friends. Meanwhile the . police have been iilosing in on a counterfeiter gang who have a vloUn case In the check room and are waiting for a gang rendezvous. A few turns of fate and the spurious fortune Is in Chick's hands, Just as the police begin to close In from all sides on (Everybody concerned In the story. Events happen swiftly. A secret service man is shot In the scramble by one of the real counterfeiters and Chick goes Into wild pursuit of the would-be IclUer tor. a thrilling «ihase sequence that has breath tak- ing shots of fleeing men and flying Engines In the sWltch yard. A mys- terious menace gets into the pic- ture here for a momient, serves bis purpose and is disposed of; the real counterfeiters are on the .verge of a getaway, leaving the future black for the heroine and hero, and It's all rounded up with a few neat and satisfying twists. , Several bits near the finish have been crudely done to build the ro- mantic finale, but the final fadeout eaves the picture's ending; with the heroine disappearing Into the dis- tance on a moving train waving good-bye to her rescuer and the last shot has Chick and his vagraHt bum pal, hltUng the ties through the switch yard, continuing their vague Journey, Interrupted only by the thrilling episodes of the evening. The limpid-eyed Joan Blondell does an interesting piece of work in a role a little dUIerent from her wont. She's a knowing young thing, but not the hard-boiled type and It is Just that degree of feminine help lessness that makes her. here ro' mantically possible. Film besides tlie principals named, has a dozen trimly handled minor characters and bite, all of which go Into mak ing this one of the most absorbing bits of good theatre of the last few weeks. Rush. always. The public sees Anny Ondra- about twice a year and she Is al- ways the same. This screen ' star has stopped where she was and has not realized her early promise. Betty Werner as -Rosalinde Is a mis- cast, although she Is the only one in the group with adequate vocal training. Ivan Petrovlch makes a poor showing. Georg Alexander, Oscar Sima, Hans Junkermann and Karl BttUnger are all good actors, making all tiiey can out. of little material. Sound reproduction on R.C.A. and also Otto Hellers pho- tography is excellent work. The close-up of the kissing scene In the big ballroom, probably taken from Max Reinhardt's unforgettable 'Fledermaue' performance, was a high spot. Uagnus. NIGHT BEAT Ralph H. Uke production and Action PIcturea. release. Directed by George 'B. Slelz. Features Jack Mulhall, Patsy Ruth Miller. Walter McQrall. Supervised by' Cliff Broughton. Story and adaptation. W. Scott Darling; photography. Jules Cron- Jager; ' edited, Byron Robinson; sound, James Stanley, At Loew's . New York, N. Y., as tialC double, Jon. 12. Running time, 67 mins. Johnny ....Jack MuIhaU Eleanor Patsy Ruth tfliter UarUn Walter McGtall Chill Scarpelll Harry Cording Welssenkom Emie Adams Featheratone Richard Cramer Italian , Hairy Bemels DIE FLEDERMAUS (THE BAT) (FRENCH MACE) Berlin, Jan, 7. Vendor fllm-Parls and Ondrar-Lamac. fllm Berlin production and Bmelka re' lease. Sound picture after the operetta by Johann Strauss. Manuscript written by Hans H. Zerlett. Direction Carl Lamac. Musical adaptation by Profeesor Michael Lowln. Architecture, Heinz Fenchel. Pho- tography. Otto Heller. Recorded on R.C.A. CaaiB, Ahny Ondra, Betty Werner, Georg Alexander. Dakar SInia. Hens Junkermann, .Ivan Petrovlch, Franz FelU, Karl Ett- linger, Eugen Jensen, Jaro Furth, Rnnning time, 98 minutes. At Capitol, Berlin. Better than expected. Producers and directors one day film stupid slapstick comedies and the next high-class pieces of art, Tlie director, Carl Lamac, has here taken over the operetta from the stage without any substantial changes. He has done little new In mnaposlng the work Into pictures. He has committed one fundamental error. In casting players who do not sing Well. The musical audience could only be astonished at pro ducer Indifference toward Johann Strauss' fine music, Anhy Ondra'appeals to the fans npre. Her petite fase, her engaging simile and her pretty eyes and her ••'>.Tinilne llRiire please the audience' Independent. production which ought to attract fllm buyers. Includ- ing possibly of some of the chains for their minor double feature ope- rations. Okay as first feature on such shows where It's the policy, rather than the product that does, the drawing. Seldom is 'Night Beat' a very be- lievable story, A little, different In some' respects from. slmUco* pictures, but, basically. It is weak talker fare. Jack Mulhall is,not well cast. First, as a powerful gang leader, he's plenty out of meter, and later, as a detective, he's further away than before. Same is true of Walter Mc- Grail, who doesn't look like a dis- trict attorney. Film opens with a brief sketch in which two pals are wounded on the battlefield, shlfUng to a big city where racketeering has gained a foothold. When Mulhall comes Into town to muscle In he discovers the pal of war days Is none other than the d. a., who's combatting a gang engaged In shaking do'wn email merchants. The d. a. Invokes the aid of his buddy of 1818 with thq Idea Of shooting up the gang, Mul- hall laying aslda bis own racketeer- ing Ideas tor that purpose and get- ting the bug to go straight by fall- ing In love with the d. a.'B glrL In the end Mulhall goes the way of all bullet ridden humans, leav- ing tlie way clear for the love In- terest to l^lte again between the d. a. and his fiancee (Patsy Ruth Miller). It's the only surprise the picture contains. Char. THE OLD MAN (BRITISH MADE) Iiohdon, Deo. 81. British liion—GaJDsboroogh production, released through Gaomont Brltlib. DlMcted by Manning Hoynes from the stage play by Bdgar'Wallace, Bton Halste Ooy. lit DERANDERE (The Other) (GERMAN MADE) Terra production. Tobls release on this side. Stars Fritz Kortner. Dlreotlon Robert Wlcno; adaptation Johannes Brandt fnni a play by Paul Undau.- At the Europa, New York, on grind, week Jan, 14. Run- ning time 95 mIns. The Prosecutor Haller Fritz KortneH His slater Heimlne Sterler Marion .Ursula von Dlemen Dr. Koebler Eduard von Wlntersteln Amalle Frloben Keethe von Nagy DIckcrt ^.......•.;.Uelnrloh Oeorge Gnienspecht .................:.;Oaear Slma Secretary Bremar -.;>..Jollua Falkenstein Prot. Weitmann Paul Bltdt Dr. RIenhoter'. ......M..Otto Stoessel Police Commissioner............Bmll Heyse An Interesting variation of the Jekyll-Hyde theme, and. expertly played, this'plcture ought to be fair box office In Gennan nabes. Fpr Americans the edge . is probably taken oft by "Dt: Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' Just released by Paramount here and a better picture. Just acci- dent that the two come along on this side at the same time, since tlw German film 'wia.s flnistied quite some time ago. Kortner plays the role of a bril- liant district attorney. He's facing the end of a new case fn which the defense is tliat of a: split personal- ity and laughs It oS,' telling. the court such a thing Is Impossible. That night his nerves crack and, not knowing ivtiat he Is doing, he changes clothes and goes out into the dives of Berlin to mthgie with crooks. He commits a couple of thefts and mixes with a gang, also falling for a girl. She sends him off to murder the prosecuting attorney and he goes, not realizing It Is him- self. Back In his home he returns to sanity, not remembering. It's brought back to him and psychologists get to work, finally curing falm through letting him fight with his 'Inner self.' Although stretched but a bit. It's well done with Kortner's perform- ance outstanding. He uses no make- up or disfigurement for the change from the district attorney to the crook and back, merely lifting fea. tures of his face well enough to effect the required change. Good 'frork is also done in an act. ing way by Kathe von Nagy and Helnrlch George. Dlrectorlally the piece Is surpris Ingly effective, in spite of fact It Is too long. Wlene is 4tie man who made himself famous by megglng 'The Cabinet of Dr. Callgarl' and here again gets most of his effects by manipulation of light and shadow. Kmf. Cecil Humphreys, D, A Mattliews,^ Gerald east: Anne Orey, ClaAe Smith, Lester , RawUnson. length, e,We feet. Running time, 7B mina. Censor's Oertlflcata not stated. Recorded RCA Photophone, Re- viewed Oaumont British theatre, Deo. BL A good booking for the home market Picture not a rave, and does not compare with some of the latest British talkers turned out by this establishment, but It sets out to do what It wants to do and gets away with It smoothly. In approved Edgar Wallace fash Ion, a mystery man Is fiung among the temporary guests at a country hotel. He might be anybody. There Is an attempted murder, a little blackmaU, a lot of love making, any amount of recriminations, and a spice of naughtiness. The problem Is to find the 'old man,' and decide which of the guests is adopting the disguise. Svery one of them has a first class reason for killing some- body. It ends up as smoothly, but the director did not qUlte get the better of hIS' struggle for clarity and at times the hands-in-the-dark stuff lost Its effect through repetition. The real story goes on below stairs, where Malste Gay has the star role as a servant. With Malsie's pay check In mind, suitable In- tervals were found for giving the star her wise-cracking opportu- nities, of which she took full ad- vantage. Some of her gags were Inclined to be purple, and got a cackle as- a result. Taking It all around, the talker makes the grade as acceptable comedy-melodrama, with plenty of weight on the names of Wallace and Gay to drive It home to'good grosses this side. Next to the star, Anne Grey makes a good leading girl, with Lester Matthews, Cecil Humphreys, and D, A, Clarke Smith okay in support. Acting isn't needed in this sort of film, but Smith succeeds In Injecting some. Settings end photography gen- erally are good. The picture is well krilt along the approved lines. Chap. maimer's mistake, wife gets hep to the mistress, sends her husband to the country, temporarily under threat of divorcing him, and starts jazzing up her own life, then sends for her husand, who gets there in time to save her from being killed by the pace she has sot, and they patcli up, due to their kid walking In. Direction and. sound fair. Photo poor. Acting by Alice Cocea as the wife Is very good. She .films well, is a looker, and her foreign .origin Is hardly discemable in her accent, whilst her voice registers clearly, Andre Roanne Is fair, male support 1:. an insipid .part. Paulette Duver- net as the mistress is not so good, and Enrique de Rtvero actually sur- prises in the part of the gigolo. Robert Goupll, iiopular entertainer, acts very amusingly the part of a writer of lyrics, friend of tlie com- poser. The kid Is good. Two play- ers not featured appear bets for character parts-^ne the middle- aged maid of Alice Cocea. the other being the sales woman of the dress- making'establishment. Dialog comparatively compressed for a photographed play. Also the English word ^lyrics' la used plenti- fully referring to words In a song, thus openly Introducing It in .the French language, whereas the cor- rect French for it is 'paroles.' Con- tinuity' well below par, though an unsuccessful attempt has been made to sl.ow some out. of doors. Maxi. ZWEI KRAVATEN ('Two Ties') (GERMAN MADE) (With Sengs) Terra production and Capital release for IT. S. Stars Michael Bohnen. Dlmtlon, Felix Baach; scenario, lAdlHlaus Vajda; from novel by. Oeorg Kniser; mualc, Mleh» Spollonaky; camera, NIkolaus Farkaa; sound. Otto Betarens. At Coslello. N. Y.« for tour dnya, starting Jan. .13, Running time. TO inlna. ' , ' Je.in -. Michael. Bohnea Mabel Olga Tschekova Bannermann Ralph Arthur Itoberta Mrs. Robinson.............-Erklo Glassner Trude .Trude Glleake Muckerton JuUiis Falkenstein STRICTLY BUSINESS (BRITliSH MADE) 'Iiondon, Jan, 2. British InteriiatloDal prodoctlon and re- lease. Directed by Jacqueline Logan and Mary Fields trom an original story by Jacqueline Logan. In eaat: Holly lament; Carl Harbord; Betty Amann. Recorded RCA Photophone. Running tIme-GS mlna. Censor's Certincate U.' Reviewed London Pavilion, London, Dec 2B. THE GAY BUCKAROO It H. Hoffman, Jr., prodactlon and AV lied PIcturea release. Stars Hoot Olbson, Directed by Phil Rosen. Btoiy by Lee R. Brown; adaptation, F, O. Wutte;- edited, Mildred Johnston.t Dhotogropliy, Harry Neumann; aonnd, !>, B, Tope. At Loew'a, New York, N. T,. am half double bill Jan. 12. Running time, 60 mlno. Clint Hale Hoot Gibson Mltdrad Field Hema Kennedy Davs Domont •....< Roy D'Arcy HI Low Jaok Edward Pell "Faro" Parker *.......<»..•,.Charles'King "Sporty Bill" Field Lafe HcKee "Vncle Aboer" Sidney de'Orey Horse opera wbloh. Judging firom its running time, was shooting for the single blUers.. Will ha've a hard time making that typo of booking except in the so-oalled %1M towns. As a first feature In double-biUers of the shotgun type, and as second In those that are more particular seems Its destiny. Iiength, 66 minutes, stalls the story badly. Considering action and plot it contains, It the cutting had trimmed It down to around 60, re- sults would have been tar more satisfactory. Hoot Olbson, with this one of a series he's making for M. H, Hoff- man, Jr., does a ranchman who sud-: denly finds himself up against a tough rival for a customer's daugh- ter in a gambler-crook, who tosses plenty of stones In his path. Boiled down, efforts of the hea'vy and final frustration of everything up to mur- der, would have made lively western material,, but as stretched out here It's as water spoiling millc. Background is too strictly Caly In atmosphere to lend effectiveness scenically. Roy D'Arcy, hea'vy, and Merha Kennedy, very agreeable love inter- est, are In support of Gibson and both excellent. The former Uni- versal cowboy star, who probably still has a good following, failed to get the breaks on story in 'Gay Buckaroo.' Char, NICOLE ET SA VERTU ('Nicole and Her Virtue') (FRENCH MADE) Jacques Halk production and release. Di- rected by Rene Hervll. From the play by Felix Candera. Music by Albert Chantrler. Recordod RCA. Running time 05 minutes. Olympla, Paris., January 8, Nicole , Alice Cocea Mme. Buzet Andree Mery Little Claude Claude Barghon Luclen Andre Roanne Chlchette ..Pdulctte Duvernot Loulalto .■>..,•, Bnrlque de RIvero Laflllctte .Robert GouKll Just a programmer, made possible for the neighborhoods by the draw of Alice Cocea's and Andre Roanne's names. Tempo is usually dragging, and the only thing that saves the production at the end is a sob fln Ish, Story of the play shows a rich musical composer, who has a lovely, but very quiet wife and a show girl ml.stfcss. Through a dreas- Essentlally a small picture. Mainly interesting on account of the fact It was made by. two ■women, one well known over here tor her document- ary film work, and the other known both here and In America for her acting, . Picture is well done, with plenty of London atmosphere of the kind the audiences like this sld^ Its story values, however, are of the two reel tyi)e, with the result it drags badly. Perhaps the best thing in Its favor is the work of Molly Lament as .the Juvenile lead. 'This girl has been nursed by B.I. for about 15 months, and now emerges as the best thing to look at on the English screen. She'd make good In Hollywood with a quarter of a chance. Looks fairly camera-proof, too. Story Just tells how a youngster has to cart a girl round London tor the sake of his father's business. His own girl doesn't like It and raises squawks. After some time he. saves ^his companlor. from blackmailer, but gets compromised in the process. Result Is friction all round, cleared up by the fiancee, who turns out to take It all like a Britisher, etc, Betty Amann, as the girl from the other side. Is not too good. Jacque- line Logan, who directed, must have made this girl up to look something like Logan, for the style Is striking. Molly Lament easily heads the cast. Carl Harbord Is ais placid as ever. Just a small comedy for the small halls; it would have been better l( they , had spent twice as much money on it. It would equally have been worse had they spent less. Chap. NIE WIEDER LIEBE (Never Love Again) (QERMAN-MADE) (With Songs) Ufa production and releaio. Stats Lilian Harvey. Features Harry Lledtke and Felix Dresssrt. Direction Anatol Lltwak; scen- ario I. von Kube and A. Lltwax, from the stage play 'Dover-Calais'; camera, Fratiz Planer and Robert Baberako; sound Dr. Erich Leiatner; seta, Werner Schllchllhg,' Robert Mcrllh and W. Roehrig; mualc, MIscha Spollansky; lyrics. Robert Gilbert. At the UfaTCoBmopolltan. N. Y., on grind,, run Jan, IG. Running time 80 ralna. Gladys Lilian Harvey Sandarcroft Harry Lledtke Jean Felix Bressart Dr. Baakett Julius Falkenstein From a boxofflce standpoint this film can be put aside Immediately. But,from a film trade standpoint it deserves some thought and discus- sion. It's-an-almost successful at- tempt to do something completely different and new in pictures. Un- fortunately, It's a case Of a misa being as good as a mile. ■ Attempt is made here to create a film opera In the modern musio sense of opera. Something, musi- cally, along the lines of 'Johnny Splelt Auf,' but strictly Intended for filming. Maybe It's the fact that It comes down to earth several times, which 6ix>ils everything. Michael Bohnen, formerly with the Metropolitan Opera in New: York, is starred and turns In a grand performance. Instead of, as is usual with singers In pictures, the play being written around Him, he Is just one of the cast. He slnga all.the songs, however, which may be a mistake despite his fine voice. ' It's a sort of satire on modern American life as seen b?- Euro- peans.. Bohnen .is cast as a loafer who takes a waiter's Job for a night Gentleman raook offers him 1,000 marks for a change of ties, white for black, thus changing places with him and escaping. Bohnen immediately becomes in- volved in an adventure with a rich American woman, ably played by Olga Tschekova, who. takes him to Florida, He finally saves himself by running away and getting back to his poolroom sweetheart. It is written and played In a fan-. tastic and satirical manner and. with a fine musical background, also a choir in a couple of spots tor effect. 'Some of It is very funny and other parts are quite fine, but the total is not enough. Production evidently expensive with a big cast. Film seemingly proves, however, that It may be possible to have opera on the Screen, if written for the screen and handled in a well temi>oed manner. BUt It will have to be done a bit more thoroughly than here. Two of . the songs, 'Heimweh' CHomeslckness') and Toh Hab tur die Iiiebe die Groeste Sympathle' ('I Havci the Greatest Sympathy tor Love') ought to build for popularity. Kauf. An amusing idea back of this latest German musical, plus Lilian Harvey means that It is pretty safe' box office wherever Germans can be found. For non-Germans it's liable to prove a bit too slow. Story is the best part of the pic- ture, unusual in musical comedies, even though It Is a bit far fetched. Harry Lledtke is the handsome young fellow '^o falls for the badger trick a couple of times in succession then swears off women forever. A friend bets him $500,000 that he can't keep away from women five years. (Being Amerl cans, the figure is not too much for German purposes). He hires a yacht, swears his crew to petticoat abstinence and off they sail. Between Dover and Calais they rescue a girl from the ocean who claims to be a Channel swim mer. Actually she's been hired to lure Lledtke and he almost falls. Then she makes him chase her just long chough.for the five year period to be over, because she's fallen in love with him while doing her work. It plays better than It sounds, especially with the sprightly cast With; 20' minutes cut out and the action speeded that much it would prove- a first rate musical ooinpdy fancy. Ka;iJ, RCA Leaving N. Y. For Camden—Welds With Radio-Victor Within a month toe RCA Photo- phone headquarters oh Fifth avenue will be abandoned, offices moving to the Camden, N, J., plant of Radio- Victor, with which it has been con- solidated. Although the Photophone organization will be skeletonized at the time of moving practically all departmental heads will be retained. M. Beoch will continue in charge of Photophonia activities, but. the sales force will be minimized, with those remaining concentrating on the non-theatrical end. Abandoning tlie New York ad- dress means vacating five floors, on one of which is a miniature theatre. Production and recording will in future be confined to New Jersey. It Is planned to keep a small Photo- phone office In Manhattan and' also to keep up servicing crews for Us theatre and non-theatrical accounts. Move Is descrlt>ed as one to solidi- fy companion subsidiaries rather than strictly economy. Over a year .ago, and especially at the time of the Victor deal, it was predicted that this consolidation would come about. . LOOKING OVEB SOUin) Alec Reoch, executive vice-presi- dent of RCA Photophone, has left for the Coast. He will spend six' weeks looking over Radio's sound equipment In his. absence Judge Laurence- Morris, general Counsel, assumea the reins. Readying for Aots Moundsvllle, Yf, Va., Jan. 18. The Grand Is having its stage re- ' built to play stage attractions. . Space formerly given over to acta was taken by sound equipment Nattefopd at Univ. Hollynrood, Jan. 18. After a year writing tor M, H^ Hoffman's Allied Pictures, Jack Nfittcford goes Universal, He will work on 'King's Up' fof Tom. Jlix.