Variety (Jul 1932)

E V ■ E W S Tuesday, July 12, 1932 'SMART WORK' Comedy 9 Mins ' Fordham, N. Y* Educational A novel Idea forms the basis for this one, but Its only kick Is In the final sequence, when Billy Pooley, as a divorce detective, breaks up the car his wife has bought him In belief it belongrs to the muee who drives her home.. Passes as filler, despite the small-time sags and slapstick cf all but the final minute or two. . . Audieilce la led to believe at first • that a' prospective dlvoircee's hus- band Is chasing around with the wife of the detective . (Dooley), whose client she is. /Without the tlpoff in any way, the flnar scene is a near howl. DoWey connects his wife tip in an affair with the other mugg, actually an. auto, salesman • driving her home, while the Sales- man's wife figures her hiibby Is out .. with another woman. Addle Mc- . . phall jilays opposite Dooley; 'William Goodrich' (Roscoe Ar- buckje) directed. : Oftor. 'iSE|.l&VE IT Oft NOT* Robert i., Ri0ley Novelty :■. 9 Mins. V ■ _ V Winter Oapden, N. Yi Vita. No. 1362 A cctptest OD 'Believe It or Not.' ' nature.6£ ^Idth is notmadei clear to: ■ Screen audiences who may know nothing of pucli iEi content. Is men- tioned,"with tbe contest iedltpr doing - the explanation tor.number of th6. "^oddltrejarcDveredr-Not^Bs-Interesting as soniifi. in the Ripley, serleai, but will servie BA lfitiBisr flJLler. . Ripley .©tJens action, drawing ; Bketches o£ youngest Titarentfi (Cbir ' nese) known to vrofld-<tnd ot sa African ^gitmdniotherwho'8. only 17. The contest editor. tSLkine. up from here both he and Ripley before an ■ audience of their ovrn for production ■ Value, touches upon euch Bubjectfias ; largest book ev«t> made, blK . stean) . kettle. In: :&6ston, apartment houee on WsOl-etreet. liS-yeiar-pW men.ln same tbt^ .in 2CBsourI,-|>erforming dog,: etc. • iSeveral of th6se things • are easy >to. believe. ," ■ O/ior. «CRANE POISON CASE' 8^ 3. Vim Dine Det«fit)v»-Serieii 20 Mini. • Winter flainden, N;'Y. ^ Vita, Nog. 1406^7 Less: effective as ii -mystery' nov- ielty than others in the series pre- cedlner'thict 'dne and not as well done, falling 'to attain degree of BU'speiiae that's «b vital to me.terial of -thle kind. ' The doctor, found guilty of poisoning a wealthy old maii, all the While looks guilty. Action is laborious, With, the nui' chlnery of detection as to the c&ilse of the mysterious poisoning man^ aged, in an .amateurish way. Care Mess'neds t^ t^Vident throughout; No great stroke of master dfetec ' tion is- Invoked in revealing -who .killed • the' wealthy Crane, nor • by . what meanEf. Efforts to. direct bus . pl«y6n; tbward -the murdered man's son, a reptile hunter, prove weak. In a, production livay, generally shoddy, . • Ohar. TED MUSING ' Sports-Slants Sefiea No. 9 10 Mins^. Winter Garden, N. Y. _ Vita. No^ 5509 . Ted Huslng has about run the gamut of things novel on sports In this series, now on for some time, New one-reel release Is little more than a rehash Of newsreel material, with an effort by Husing to build It all up with his offscreen dialog. Underwater photography of swim- ming and other cavorting in Florida, often touched by newsreels in vari- ous ways, and an alligator hunter's wrestling match with one of the reptiles, also old to the public, make up the action. Huslng's, voice is always easy to listen to, but In a way the w, k sports announcer of the air over does the lyrical buUdup on the alii gator fight. . RUDY VALLEE MELODIES 'Screen Songs' Series 10 Mins. Rialto, N. Y. Paramount ; One of the 'Screen Songs' cartoon sieries, withi boiihblng ball but with new trimmings. Betty Boop Is giving a party. Calls on her guem'a to con- tribute, but all iare shy. ' She sits a.t the piaiho and the title page pf the sheet muislc is cjt.away to show the crooner, whe offers to entertain the guests. Goes to the ficreened words and the giiiding spot of light, but backed by a scenic or newsreel clip, a river for 1>ecp Night,' a football game for "the 'Stein Song* ■ and sketched heads fot^A I4ttle JOak.' Vsiilee doesl&e dinging throughout. Novel kink, Which: helps, this over nicely. . LILLIAN ROTH 'Puff Your Bluet Away* Singing Skit 10 Mint. CeliMum, N. Y^ * Paramount Swell little ; short, suiting filler purpose for any house in any lo- cality; • Ab a setting for tbe popular num- ber,, 'puff Tour; piuea 'Awa:y/ which Ltlliah Roth; does. Paramount has provided- iiight .cliib background and a story to siiiit'.the lyrical .plji- . losophy of the song. Atf a:cl^crette kirl Mies Roth s^ic- cessfnlly" cheers up a mugg who's taken for at ride In the market, lighting hliia^a big and efngtng the nun^ber.' Between that and the per- sonality, h$. goes on the make, girl hot .caring; ' . . Asi a! tou<:h-for .the finish. It s New Yew's eve, siiid the mugg, no .longer in the dumps, drag's a hew, girl friend Into the nitery. Thereupon, with tears In her niascaro, she goes through the song again. Ohar, Hiniatore Reviews «THE . WINGED HORSE' Oswald .Cartoon 8 Mins. ^- . New York, New York . . Universal • Okay filler for ithe Intermediate, spots or iesser programs, but does- ; n't rate witU^de luxer class, due to lack of an oiiglnaLpunch. The action ft of the^ cartoon follows along ex- \ pected lines as gained from the title. Plottage is a, pen and ink satire on the-.pld-Grecian .mytholdgy. All animal characters as usual with Oswald boarding Pegasus, the "Winged Steed,' wh^ft the villain carries, his girl friend, oil on the magic carpet. They all wind up in the ash heap at the finale. Fitting finish and a laugh. ' ■ SlMii. 'HAWKINS & WATKINS' Comedy 19 Mins. Rialto, N.Y. Paramount Fifteen years ago Mack Sennett and Fred Ihlace were teamed by Bio graph in a, series - of Sherlock. HQlnies skits. . This, may be the start of another cycle. Heilvy-hand ed comedy about two burlesque de- tectives who attempt to solve a ; ewel rbbbery. Headed by Daphne Pollard, who for once cuts out the falls, and plays society soiise. Not very., funny, but better than the two men. Some heavy trlckr. stuff 49.' introduced but .doesn.'t . help much'. - ■ Nothing can help much. It's-all to clumsy. 'HOLLYWOOD ON PARADE' Specialties ' / 10 Mine. Rialto, N. Y. Paramount Perhaps all that's left of what started out to be a big musical, but apparently more down to date Frederic T'arch acts as m. ci Intro duclng Mitzl Green, Jack Oakle and others, Ultzi is the standout, sing- ing 'HUthan Thing' In long skirts after Vnt^iiig her entrance as a kid Enough stu(f for the time allow ance, and better than the .usual Paramount specialty stuff. STRANGER IN TOWN Warner'BroB. . production .and release. t>l rected by Brio C. Kenton, Baaed, on etory, 'CompellUon,* by Carl .Erlckson, ,wlth screqn adaptation ° and dtalog by Erlckaon and Harvey Thew. Co-IeaturC3 Charles 'Chic' Sale. .Vnn Dvorak, David Mariners ond .Noah Uccry. Photography by. Dey Jennings. .At Winter Garden; N,-T., for week starting July' 0.. I^uhnlng ilmc,. 05 mins. Crlckle Harlan.,.. Jerry, .i , , Elmer Perklos Hlllikcr.,,...v...... Mra. Petrlck....... Brlce...... k.,....... Jed.....;.....^ Woman Customer.. 'Stranger in Town' (WB). Small towju Struggle of ajgro-. eery store proprietor against a chain's invasion gives Charles 'Ghlc* Sale a charactetizatlon, but that's about all. Not for the front line houses, "bUt in small towns where possibly re- fleotlng local conditions may be just the ti9ket. 'Misa Pinkerton' (FN). For- mula mystery story, with all the tricks and hoke of that genre, confusedly put, together and lacking In sustained inter- est. Joan Blondell and George Brent, accepta'ble romantio leads, but picture' is outdated and has nothing to draw. 'Freak*.' XJnusual iatory of the sideshow which is either too horrible or hot sufflciently. so. Remarkable coliectiop-of human curios but not much story.' . 'Million Dollar Legs' (Par). Weak comedy with strong title as its only recommendation. 'Saddle Buster' (RKO-Re^dio). Tom Keene in a, western that is chiefly laid on a training ranch for rodeo riders and at a rodeo. That pulls it out of the usual class. Up to'the best of its type. . 'Love Bound' (Herman-iPeer- lees). Just a sub-program In- die with ^ bunch of biir names . oh the program, most of whom appear briefly. Jack Mulhall and Na,talie. MbOrehead carry most of the work. Thin and irather , tires ome ::jiil9t'J:J?^Qjyt. phQtography. /C h f e f 1 y • for double biUlnjgr where there is a strong leader. ; ' . 'Riding Tornindo'. (Cot). Fair Tim V McCoy offering, but will bring no raves. Just another canter cantata.;, 'Palwher Feld Maraehall' (Ondra-Iiamac). Another In the German military farce series. Okay enough as thati but not b. o. for the: tl. S. 'Forbidden Comptiny* (Ches- terfield). An ordinary story done In an ordinary way. Its market is the subsequents/ prefertably as half of a double: bill. 'Riders of the Desert? Just a neW title for the olid 8tory« Boh Steele ..starred.;. Nice eceneiy^ some gunplay and plenty of Mdlng, bUt not as much story as is needed these days. 'Piirpur und Waschblau' (Capital); Hopeless- German inuddle in e, mtislct^l comedy vein.. especially since the struggling store proprietor has no dough himself, local bank has gone bust, etc Tet, of a sudden with supplies cut off, he has toe. cash to restock bis entire place. Were Sale of a type strong enough to ctirry <a picture alone, these Inconsistencies might go un- noticed.; Absence of laughs of tho rural variety in which Sale works best further brings Into bold relief the things that are atrangel^ than either truth cr fiction. Ann Dvorak and David Mariners weakly carry the romantic interest it's eecondary to Sale .and his hick characterization, when Sale himself should be secondary in a. picture, as for instance, in 'The Star "Witness' (WB). A slapstick wild ride provides the finish. Jt is-a gentle'reminder that the .story should have been a two- reel comedy novelty and satisfied with th$it footage. • Oftor. ^ MISS PINKERTON Flr«t National production and release; directed by Uoyd Bacon. Joaa Blondell and Qeorse Brent featured. Story from the novel by Mary BobertB.BInebert; adap- tation by Nevin Busioh and Lillian Hnyr ward. Cameraman, Barney MoOllt; Mm editor. Bay Curtis. At the Strand, New York, July 7. Bunnins Ume, 61 mine. Miss Adama....,.......;. ^.. .Joan Blondell Patten^.. i........ George Brent .The second nursed........•>..Hae 3Iadlson 'BuKO i....... John . Wray Paula Brent... .............Buth Hall Herbert Wynne.......... Alan Lane Dr. Stewart.. ...'^.C. Henry Obrdon Chalrles Elliott............Donald Dllloway Avnt Juliet. i.,.. ......Snizabeth X^tterson Vary...... ■.k,.....\. BUnehe Frederic! norence I.enz..... ,..r...<.]ilary Doran Arthur Olenn............. .HolniM Herbert ..'Ch!c' Sals ......Ann Dyor^k ...David. Manners .Raymond Ilalton ..... .Noah -Beery ... .Maiide. Eburne .......Lylei Talbot .John. Larkln ..... Jessie Arnold small-towners but of business in order to control the town. Their lowdown monopolistic aim in 'Stranger in Town' is unsuccessful, Sale's homey grocery store business finally triumphing, over the local chain's br«inch. Plcttire cannot but Incrc^ase chain store resentment In some territories. There may not have been So much stoiy and plot, with ad much cause for sympathetic. "Interest otherwise, but nothing much is'gained by the picture anyway. If'theatres could use the chain-golliath and its riith lessnesd fof . exploitation^ . picture would .^e a pushover in. tbie small commiihltlee. •Story even goes to the .point of bringing oUt how a chain jnariager succeeds in . .effecting a ' boycott against ' his opposition (Sale) by shutting off supplies of groceries by "the wholesaler. Ability to do that successfully,, even by the worst of chains, Is doubtful. As uncon vlncing is the locq.1 independent grocer's trick in taJtingifarjn pro duce , in return for groceries or credit therefor. . Story falls to -point out how the vet grocer who helped settle his little town can dispose of the farm prqducts when the farmers can't. FLIP THE FROG 'The Milkman' CartooAt 6 Mins. Loew's ■ hiew York. M«tro-Qoldwyn-Mayer An in^ld-ahd lazily penned car- toon,.- B»astest>ahd .most economical way Is to be repetitious so. the youngster In this Just keeps on droppinf? milk liottlea. Waly. Ver:' obviously tills etoiT of a small town grandpap and his gen- eral store was picked in a search for something for Charles 'Chic' Sale.. Jt suits the story needs of Sale, but as screen entertainment does not.measure up; to demahd.s of major first runs. . . ,'. At best picturo Is of secondary A buying .if)6wer. In. those first run.s which, take .second choice It will be a struggler. with doubt as to ability to ..maintain house aver^tge.. Tiie smaller towns shtiuld cam- paign It heavily in; the thought that its strictly rural. background may oa.se It through. Picture, is not big town entertainment. .. , An unusual plot .structure em- bodies 'Stranger in Town!' • Jt .sots out to picturize tlic villainy of big chains in the jvay they fiqueeze Routine mystery story involving all the tricks and hoke that haVe been old stuff these many years^ harking .back to that distant day Wben—Mrsi^Rlnehart- -penned ^he novel. There Isn't^jinythliig much the matter vrith the picture except that it wasn't well thought out: In script form and lias been poorly pieced together out of a muddled continuity. ,The.t and the fact that even If it had been flawlessly pro- duced and cut, It Kvould still have been outdated And Ineffectual. Aa it is, it win be lost In the welter of mediocre material that is Coming out this early summer. Pro ductiori hasn't anything particularly to bill except the growing popu larlty of Its young principals and the eminence of Mrs. RInehart as writer of distinctive novels, the latter element beiner highly de- batable for; minor houses. Plctiir^ probably will satisfy regular clien- teles, but It won't bring, a dollar to the boxo^lce^ that wasn't: coming ariyhowb Picture, as usuEtl In a, book adap- tation, tries to pack In too much and. doesn't - cover the ground-in telUgently. Viewing it calls for a good deal ot mental^alertness, and even then some of the sequences aren't clear. Reason for the con fusion, of course, is the desire of the adapter,to maintain something, of dramatic speed, and this story doesn't- lend itself well to that treatment, as for example,. 'The Bat' did, because It was originally made expertly for the stage. Here there Is a laborious plant ing. toilsome buUd-up to a. climax and a great multiplicity of charac- ters. Time-worn technique of working^ upon suspense by having the heroine . creepiner .thrc^ugh the gloomy .corridors and rooms of a spooky, old house, where, a niurder has been^ committed and having sinister cloaked figures slip through shadowy doorways becomes tire- some after many repetitions; Fact thflit; the settings are extremely .well done for Atmosphere and/the camera work is first7jatiB da jiQt compensate' for. the failure of the intrinsic stocy to isrlp the auditors', interest.. , • These mystery pictures are top.- heayy yriily trick treatment»-i»atently, makeibejleve, and they. .have, tp have some .compelling element to carry them* .Here Miss. Blondell and George Brent do everything. possible by wiay of persuasive play- ing, but -In. .vain.. The. coniedy is trlmjy managed by- the • feminine lead, wbo. has a epeclal- gift in that direction,! but it Is never .hilarious. . Aitogethj^r'the plcturia doesn't pay In entertainment what it costs in mental effort to follow it. Eush. FREAKS tfetm pradoetloB and Kleaae, based. oi( Ml Bobbins atorr 'Bpura.' Tod BrowiH r, dii'eotor. oimlog conUnutty, WllUa Vetm TodBol . , Ing, dii'eotor. Timlog conUnutty, WllUa Gotdbeck and l>oo Oordoni additional dla, h)C by JMfur JUIan WoUC imd Al Boaai berc. Camera, Herrltt B.'Oerstad. Editor.- Basil WniBgeU. At the Rialto theatre^ N. T., for a nui openlnK July 8. Bnnnlnir time, 02 mlaa. !. Phroso ........*«............Wal|ace Ford ' Vennp ..■•.••'••••<.... ....Leila Hyams nieopmtr^ •..••<«•••........Ols^ Baclanova Roscoe ..'..••.ia>....... iBosco Ate^. Hereulea ...■.•■••'•....•.»,..<^enTy vroton. Hans «< .'.^.Harry Barley F'rleda - ,.......>....<...Daisy Elarleq lladame Tetrolllni...............Bose Dlone . Siamese' Twln«....Da4By and Violet HlUoi^ . Rollo Brotliera, • Bdwaid Bropby and Uat McHugb Planned by Metro to be one of thei sensation pictures of the season'^ Freaks' failed to qualify In the. ,sure-fire category and has been[ ishown in niost parts of tbe coiiii>i try with astonishingly variable re^ sMlts. In sppts It has been a clean<(. jup. in other? It' was merely misery. In Keepliiik with ihe Melro policy of not bringing the weak or doubtful pictures Into New York iintil most, of the. high ispots had been played, out of towii, It arrives rather' be^ latedly, the bflaclal release date t)e« ing In . Feb. It probably will not stay very., iongf at the Rialto ■ In spite of Its distinct novelty. It hati been .sumptuously^ produced, ad«i mirably directed, and no cost wait spared, but Metro heads failed to realize that even with a different sort of offering the story still lei important.. Here the story is not ' sufflciently strong to get and hold the interest, partly because Interest cannot easily, be gained for a too < fantastic rpmance. —iChe- -plot'^outline^is-the -iovo-of-ai-! naldget In ia circus for the robVjst' giynlnast, 'her' marriage .with thie^ The Woman ^ Arigle 'Million Dollar Legs' (Par). Too many scattered picayune gags—in- stead of a few consistent, repeated ones tied to a clearly defined story— dissipate the potential comedy of this Olympic Games travesty and balk realization on its fiind of rich comic personalitiss. Theme Itself .has scant femmc ajppcal, which this treatment fails to Increase. 'Miss Pinkerton' <WB). .Routine murder-mystery hokum, confusingly assembled and weakly adapted to-the wisecracking talents of Joan Blon- dell. Fanettes disappointed by a, film that gives Geprge Brent no oppor- tunity to capitalize on his arresting appearance, 'voice and personality. 'Stranger in Tcwh' (WB).—Small-town shrewdness versus the chain- store operations of city slickers. Cheated of ;the interest due a likable cast by slow treatment and concentration on Clilc. Sale's excellent, but tiresomely pi'olongijdi a.ccoiint of a creaky old groqcr. 'Freaks' (MGM). Ladies Avlll not forgive thi.s jjlctufe's cruel and cVudc bad taste in exploiting human deformity for sensationalism. idea of getting hie fortune: iand put*^' 1 ting him out . of the Way through[. ' poisoning' and ' effecting a unloa with "the strong man of the 'Show^ Her duplicity Is discovered and the freaks convert her Into a, bird; woman, .making her one of. their despised dan. As a horror Btory» ivL the 'Dracula* cycle,. It Is either tool horrible or not horrible enough; aci ' cordltig to thei viewpoint . It Is ' gi^esome and uncanny rather' tbail'' tende, which Is where the' yartt went oft the track. Factors relied;-- upon for effect fail to register'prop<4" erly;. The result Is a story whlcli. does not thrill and at the same tihl0 -' does-not please, since It is imjiotf^*' slble for the normal man or-worilai^' to sympathize with the aspirlnir midget. And tinly in such a ^aaef ' will, the otoiy-appeal. The scene Is. laid in a Btiropeaik touring olrous, of a type madov^-^^ nnillar over ^ere through other plo^ tures. It is only a one-ring affair, . bUU It carries three times as-many; high class, vfreaks as the Rlngliner ' show evee^.trouped in one season^ - and;, the dressing tent is larger thas' the main-top, a-fault which proba^ - bly win be realized only by show- peopl.e, but.-which will seem unreal ' to the lay spectators: No .effort' Is made te_; show the ring performance, most of the. ac-. tlon occurring in the dressing tent and much of it while the show Is closed. The-midget leads are Harry and Daisy Sarles. Earles builds oi^ his .fine: performance in 'The TJn-.- holy Three,' but he falls in thei stronger scenes, when he seeks to gain sympathy through his deepalr. Nothlng-h« xwn do probably would be taken as a 'serious appeal, but he does not quite rise to such op^' portuhity aa-exists. The situation created is to6 un*^ real to carry itself, it would taJio superlative acting-to win the proper sympathy. •: Probably few • -would hav^ done as well. Daisy Earleis'^l^' less suobessful as the midget rl^l' to tDlga,' BaclanoVa. She Is a doll-, like little woman who ■ reads ' he'r" lines with extreme care, but seldom succeeds in acting. Baclanova slb the rather rowdy gymnast has .aev- eral flhe opportunities but at bthet; times is .haindicapped by action too obvlou^.-and her cheerful effort to poison her tin:" -eppuse Scurries iio ~ suggestion of menace. Harry Vic-; tor, as the strong man, is conven-^ tional and Wallaco Ford and Leila Hyams, :headln^ the cast; ha'i^e little' more than walk-throughf parts. Most of the dependence is placed on the freaks, and these form back-( ground, but not story. There Is no' sinister effect -created by their watchful eyes as thiey spy upon the woman who has- insulted them. There is never a suggestion of real danger, and even the author fails to explain the - marvel of plastio surgery which converts the faith-:, less wife into a legless bird-woman. .Sumined up 'Freaks' is an in- spiration too unlnspiredly carrleid out, and which falls short of the mark in spite of several flnie bits and; the finest collection'of humia,n curios' ever assembled. l^he one sincere human note is Rose Dlone, in an unfortunately brief bit. It Is. possible that she mlslit have been, used .tb ■ ce.rry over tiie pathbfl of the story;,in which case the result' might have been different, for. th,e real trouble with 'Freaks' i.s that 16 fails to get under the skin.