Variety (Dec 1934)

12 rARIBTT Fl L N R E ViC W$ Tuesday, December 16, 1934 BABES IN TOYLAND . (With SONGS) ■ niil Hoach production' and Metro Nlease, Stura Laurel; nnrt: Hardy. Plroctod by Gue Veins and Charles Rogers. - Adapted from operetta of same name by FranTt Butler, and Nick Grlnde: At Aator. N. Y., Dec, 12, on grind riin. Running time, 77 mlns, Stanley Dum.v.V.i.......Stan I>aurel Oliver Dee...............;,.,;OUver Hardy. Bo-Pcep .Charlotte Henry T6m-Tbm ...;..,. . ...........Felix Kjilght Bamaby: ...... Henry Klelnbach Widow Peep., i...... i.., ITloronce RoITerts . Banta Glaus............. .Ferdinand Munler Toymaker .......,......... William Burresa. ; Mother' Gooie.i..... .... .Virginia Karns enter, jq, If Hal R<>ach alined itt the pro- duction fit a purely juvenile plc- : ture to ■whlch^ chlldrien; mlgM^^^ ^ celyably drag thelr^.elderB, he has ' succeeded' In a irieaiure rbeyond others^ who have sought to this realm. He has made a iaim par excellence for children. -It's packed with laughs and: thrills :and is en- ' .dowed wltii that glamour of imystl- cism which marks Juvenile Iltera- ■. ture.:;.. v ■ 'B^bes in Toyiajid' is as fairi away from the Victor, Herbert original operetta as Admiral JSyrd from, his home port. The arithmetic song and "'March of, the Toys' are the ;Oniy; outstanding survivore of , Herbert's sbore, and these are merely background. Tytb Vither : liesser humhere used. Of the original book there, Is lio trace at all. This ifl not a musical brought to the screen. It is a fairy story in technique and treatment; but a gorgeous fairy; tale which gives everything to liaurel ' and. Hardy and to which, in reiiirn, they give their happiest best. It will be a superior iSaturday attraction and a Bcooper holiday week, Midweek night business Is: apt to be some- thing else iRgalni: But 'Babes' prob- ably will get special holiday/book- ing for", four or five years; to come. Plciture has .a book and sticks closely/ to it. There Is a tenuous, but deflhlte' plot, simple., enotigh to be. understandable to ^very small Ghildren and: :a.ppeallng to older youngsters. Evierythlng done hajs a direct bearing on the stOry,: and . Jill .of the . comedy, gags are written about this thread of narrative. In this regard the film, shows' reniark- .able work. It has all the needed comedy without having to'biiild up with Interpolated slapstick/. Arid it is amusing . enough ..to entertain older .persons 'Who remember when, they were young. It, will not bore those who have to acconipany their children. It possiesses .a' pictorial quality that will 'appeal.' . At the Astor there wats a large- sprinkling of .meh . trickling into the -house, iriiat may have, been due to their belief; they were going ; in ■ to see something like the original, but oiice they gbt.ih they appeared to enjoy it. Children laughed freely when they, were not thrilled by Bbgeyland. L,atter sequence Is not .80 rough as to induce nightmares. . The story is simple. ■ Tom-'Tbm ^loveS-^ffo-Peeip^ who Is :'o*re- of the; numerous ; progeny of thei: Old Woman who lived In a shoe. Barn- aby. a miser, holds the mortgage. . Bo-Peep must marry him Or: else. Hardy ptphilses to redeem'the mortv gage; but he and Laurel get flred, from the toy. shop when they make 100 soldiers six feet tall instead of 600 each a foot high. For this they . are punished, but Bo-Peep ^ b^gs them oft, promising Bamaby; she will niarry hini. Barnaby really is married to Laurel in bride'is' dress. He frames Tom, who is «xlled to Bbiseylandr whithere. Bo-Peep fol- : lows- him. The comedians follow and -help tliem to effect ;their escape.. Barnaby" leads the inhabitants of Bpgeyiand against the town, but t l n j y are ba)Vtid by th e o versize d sf o i -^ diers. This brings a smashing cllmaji with the soldiers .marching tQ the stra.ihs of. 'March of the Toys.' It gives full flve minutes of smash- ing:; action that will lift; children jiinder ; 12 completely ; oiit of their seats, and' yet it is :not; so .terrify- ing as to alarm. ; Most of thfe action occurs in Toy4 land, chiefly. In one. big set which .'Bupplies the details for the close- lipa of . more intimate developments. There is also one large and: sevei^I smaller isets InVBogeyland, which la: inhabited by ape-;like nonde- ecrlpts. -It provides the . riecessa,ry contras\ to th6 Toyland, scenes. . Ail Mother Goose characters are Woven Into tha nlbt: not to men- DON JUAN / ^ > (BRitlSH MADE) • liiilted Artists release.;of 'London Films (Alexander Korda). production. Stare Douglas Fairbanks; features Merle'Oboron; .Directed, by. Korda. Story by Frederick I.ionsdale and Lajos Biro: camera, Georges Forlnal; music, Michael Spblianskl, Arthur Wlmperls and Arthur Benjamin. Ai'BivoU, N; T:, on grind ruii, starting Dec. 7. Bun. nlng time,. 02 mlns. Don Judn..'.............Douglas Fairbanks Pepllla.,................Merle Oberon' Roslta...^^^^Blnnle Barnes Cannen...;;....;;.;.;..,...Joan Qardnd;'. Dolores.;.......... ;> , '.Benitb Hume Pedro....-.;..,..Clifford .Hedtherley Rodrlgo..Barry Mackay Leporello;............;MeIvllIe: Cooper Cafe' Manager...... • : ...... .Bruce WinsiOn Theresa.; ..; :.i .....Athlene' Seyler A Husband...V................. .Hlndle-Jidgar Dolores' servant.';..;v. .Qlbseh'- Gowlah'd' A .Guardian.,........Lawrence.Grossmlth Tohlta...i.....^.Mrirgnretta Scott An Author,, ..Edmund :Breon' Dolores'' DuennaAnnie E^smond One of Don Juan's Loves. .Patrlclii Hllllard Also Diana Napier, ..Natalie .I/elong (Prin- cess Faley). Betty. Hamilton, . TOto Koop- man, . Spencer Trevor;.. JJancy . Jones and Florence Wood.; • Douglas Fairbanks In The Pri- vate Lifei of I>oriJuanV seems a mis- taken Idea. Technically it .has so much in its. faVor that It's too bad it doesn't 'prbnilse solid box .dfflce attention. Thia.t advance mlsimpres- slph'. that Fairbanks has possibly undertaken a role, beyond his years is the :film's primary economic shbftobming: But all who see ; it can't help but recognize the many niceties that have gon^ into Its pro- ductlon. in actuality, Falrbank's prime portrayal is as . ' the antiquated knight . (a.k. to you) who Is Anally dlsillusiohed . as the arch-heart- breaker when he must'bow to his years and r^cpgriiz^/that his amor-, pus pprch-climbing careeir. Is .finis. But the ifllm holds raore ihaiii that. There are many line'; lights and shading^ iinder the combined aegis of scriptists Frederick lionsdale and Lajos Biro and director . Korda to get over the fact that the poipular feminine; conception of a great lover. lives, most vividly.- in the mind's, eye rather than In actuality. The susceptible Seville^femmes, who were not loath; to two-tlmlrig their senors, throwing :rope; ladders down from their: balconies to. faclll'tate. the ingreiss and exit' of the trbjiida- tious; Don Juan, had . glorified. Juan into an almost mythical figure. To mpst iie was;a Dgment pf the Iraagl- natlPni for. more spoke of .him be- cause of their dreams than : from experience; ; But .the introductory iihreelirig proves tod much of a handicap to Fairbanks. He is first introduced as ;a bit weary and . slightly ill ca- valier. All the faithful illusion is jiriaintalned to Impress upon the aticiitor; that he. is still the potent Don Juan of history (for .Migual de Manara, yclept Don Juan, was a real person; to whom all of Seville pays periodic homage to this day), excepting that he happens to have become a bit fatigued. His faithful retainer, hils; cook., his .m.as-_ ieuVj all his aides, are- shown jealr ously Watching over him. The chief chamberlain; of the Juan household is actually; in thb midst of sacking th? cpok for; haying ;Buccujn(ibed to Juan's wiles and given him the starchy foods he is being denied in order to retain: his form and his figure. The masseur Is shown Jeal- ously ministering to the Juan mus- cles and embonpoint. In an of this Introductory footage the generail efr f6ct is to build up an illusion which, even If Fairbanks does not create It. isuperflcially, attV least has; been theatrically bolstered. There's even planted the premise of Fairbanks being Irked- with- the wife (Benlta Hume) whom, h^ coinplains, has been too possessive of late; so niuch Hmatore Reviews 'Babes in Toyland'; (M-Q). i3est; Juvenile picture to date, : and' figures to repisat at Xmaa ;iioIlday8: for next tour or. five years. : Will square Laurel and Hardy with a. lot of parents. 'Private Life .ef .Don . Juan* (UA). - British -made produc- ;tlon -with Fairbanks, :rSr.; anid which is doubtful; of appealing ~ t6 the fans at;large. ; 'Dealer* iri Deatli' (Topical).; ' Strbnig 'editoirlailzlng: ' fi^ bh .munitions ii]|SLker8. W^ and entertaining;^ ; v ;: vV^ Wicked Woman' (Metro); MadyjChristlans*;American film -^ebut . and an , unfbrtuna.te ; event. ; 'Mueic In the Aiif (Pox); Mild operetta of : class; appea) which; iimits its b.b.' sturdi- ness. 'i^wanson aiiid Boles in the marquee will ha.ve;to carry . •.Iti-,:;•,;■■:■;;.;■.■ •/■ - ' 'LimehbiiM . B lues' (Par). Weak and slow moving film, ;; with Geoirge Raiti"'.;.;:^■v;;.;■.■■^ 'Wedhesciay'B «iiild' (Badio). Finis perfonhahce but no cast ' names. Stacks up as ah in-; betweencr. ' 'Babbitt (Fisr). i6tUI sales; value in the titlei but not big .;ilme. [ ;•■... :■:/;. - i'Heiil in ;the Heaven*^ (Poix). .in^anier Baxter ih ah unlnipor- tant air istoriy of the war. ^ 'Klnai Kelly of U.8.A.' (Mono). A miisiCai and fair: support picture. 'Gay Bride'; (Metro). Qang'^ stier 8tory» burlesqued Slightly, but weak entertainment.. Lbm- bturd and liprris tpp names; this UA (made In England by Lon-. don FUmis); produotion should be ballyhobed'the way It . ls. ResUlt Is that Fairbanks, staPked beside those nifty lookers'T-^thja Mldses Oberbh, BlnniiB Barnes^ Gmrdher. Hume, Pa,^ tricia HllUaird, Diana Napier, Na- talie Leiong ^Princess Taley). Betty Hamilton, Toto Koopman, Spencer Trevor, Nancy Jones arid. Florence Wood—makes for ari incongruous Impression. - This' , Sssortnient . of English ingenues Is.about; the nrftl-- est-'set of talented lookers in ' any one filni and .probably has (and has had) the Hollywood talent scouts dolniT: sdihe hefty .scouting. A few are not new to Hollywood, of course, and a few more are.'due over or have just come over. General production technique is ultra, as is Georges Perlnal's clne- jnatbgraphy.^Latter-i8-Xtene-Clair-s- ace camera-grinder arid in this, his first away from French productlonsi has fashioned some: fine stuft. There Is Some Very worthy inci- dental ' miisic also' by the expa- triate German, Michael SpoIIahskl^ whose 'Don Jiiana Serenade' Is Sturdy, and other airs by; Arthtir Wlmperls; and Arthur Benjamin. But. the film; in toto; is doubtful for the masses. ' .. Abeh . DEALEItS IN DEATH Topical FlIinA production and -release. Directed bj'Monroe Bhaff. Dialog, Burnet Hersbey; narraUon, Basil Bnysdael; edi- torial; advisor. Prof. Walter B. Fltkln.. At Criterion, N. T., week Dec; 18. Bunning time. 63 mlns.. ■ .. many of mining material needed In'; laitter for gUn manufacture and Germany's retaliation in.'wartlme by smuge^Ung: material ihto France which that country needed,' The kaiser, and the famed KrUpi) works, the DeWendel arms dynasty, tiie .'Vlckers world arms empire, war scares by inunltlons makers and the supposed financing; to power of Hit- ler bjr French ammunition kings, in the; supposed hope that he would repay that favor by starting a war, are other episodes.:: : WelL, written narration . pfli^ra many-facts the average,; person does hot have'at hl>3 finger tips, : lt .it all, including progress made in design- ing; of vlcibus; gaSes tbgethei: With ihelr effects.-; ;■■ . ■ . Many of the pfflclal war stuff seen in other pictures is Used over again. ;; Included are . shots of the Japanese-Chinese conflict, ; som,e pretty gruesome. . 'While foreign ammunitlbn kiners are both pictured and mentioned, none of the bigwigs^ ;iamong the American niuhltiohs- group are hanied, although ; the; picture goes into the Colt, DuPont; Remington plants, etc. - Camera also invades all the large fbrelgii. arms; plarits/ negative; looking' as if the phbtor> graphing were done during the war.' Drariiatic fllni material of its kind; free of Slopplness in construction and mbves at a fast rate, ; avoiding, the repetition that has ; heen the fault of most: oiC the screen comr-; pilations. - Char, A \VaGKEp WOMAN -Metro-rproducUbn and- release; Harry Rapf producer. . . Stars Mady Christians.' Directed by Charles. Brabln. Screen play, -Florence RyerSoh 'tuid Zelda" Sears, - from' novel of Biame name, by Anne Austin; xamera, Lester White. At. Loew's'Metro- politan, Brooklyn, week; -Dee. 14, ; 103' ' Running tlme.71 mlns. ';' Naomi. .Trloe...'....;.^,...Mady. Christians Rosanne i..Jean Parker Naylor '.....;......>......Charles Btckford Yancey '.;»....;.,;...Betty Furiiess Curtis ........ a..;;..;.;..... William Henry Curtis ......;.....;...;..^...^Jackle Searle .Tancey. ;;..;;.....;.....Betty ;.Jane' Graham Rosanne''.Marilyn Horrls Ed Trice.... .V.............. .Paiil Harvey Gram .Teague-......;.ZeIda S^ra Bin .Renton.;^ ...;..;;..Robert Taylor Peter ....,,............ ...Sterling Hblloway. Neddie '..;..',\.'George Billings Sheriff .....v........;.i.DeWUt Jennings This picture staris Mady ChriS-^; tians, perhaps the. finest dramatic actress to come out of Ufa's Berlin, studios. Tet, for her Ariierican film- debut, Metro couldn't find a film for her to start In except one in which she is asked lb play the part of "a 'white trash? Southerner. Hard, enough for Miss Christians to speak English without a Teutonic accent (which, incidentally, she does re- markably well), but tb expect her to adopt a Dixie draWl is jiist too inuch, ■; It's that, kind of ciastinig . that makes 'A; Wicked Woman'; so weak; It would have had to struggle, any- way, because of stbry weakness, but with that added ;glarlrig faulty . It's behind the'elghtThttll air the'wayTv' It's. a shanie several ways. In the first place it's unfair to Miss Chris- tians who, if she gets any kind of a break, ought to go places In the U. S. ' And the film;; cast and writ- ten differently; cPuld have gone places on Its own. : There is' the essence-of a Strong femme appeal yam In the original,' ■ but the adaptors and the director let them- selves get swariiped by details,: ; Starts in a backwobds country somewhere and Miss Christians is Naomi Price, mother of three chil- dren and wife of a rum-runner. He beats her; riiistreats the kids, geits into a shooting scrape and finally she has to kill him to protect her children. ; Next morning her fourth MUSIC IN THE AIR Fox produ(:tlon (Brloh PommvV) mad re* loase. .Features Gloria Swanaon and John Boles. Directed. by Joe May. From stage operetta of same name by Jerome Kern and; Oscor'Hammerstein, 2d, CohtJnutty, Robert' Llebmann; screen play, Howard I. Youns and Blllle Wilder: musical adaptation, Frani Waxman; camera,'.Ernest Palmer; dances,. Jack Donahue; musics,] dlreotlon, l«ula: De Francesco. At'Badlo .CIty 'Muslo . Hall, N. Y., week Deo, 19, 1»34.. Running 'time,'80 mlns, Frieda;>.;.;..;. ..Gloria Swansoa Bruno. .;...;«.*•<.••..;.....'«.. ...John Bolefl; 'Karl. .Douglass Montgomery . -Slegltn'de -....••..•..:............June Lane Dr; Lesslng...V.,v.,..,; ;...;.Al Sheaa Weber- .<. ....Reginald Owen ; 'Uppmanh '.Joseph Ciiwthom' Cotneltus .;;4;,..;;>;.;;H'obart ;Bo8wortb' Martha ....>.'.;,•.'..«.....;.;..Sara: Haden Bu'r^braanter. ;'...;'.';;':';'.Roger. imhof'.- Kirschner' ;.;.'«;;.;.;V...^,;;..;;^Jed Pronty Nick ....;.,.,............ .Fuzsy Knight ; bab y la buiii. Shu runs, away ; changes her name,; 'works hard, saves pennies and brings up. the kiddies properly. One daughter (Jean Parker) gets in trouble with the wrong man, mamma gets that straightened, out. , Then slie goes back to the small town and sur- renders to the' Sheriff. She won't tell' the. jury anything abdut her kids, who they are or where they are. They're about to sentence her to death for murder when the kids come in; rhaving trailed her and everything is straightened out. That takes tWb generations of; kids and many weary details In hop-sklp-^and-jump fashion to tell. Fortunately It gets gopd acting In a: few spots and that helps a bit, but it's i3o ; sketchy, lohg-wlnded and fliill ng th iannny Joe May's first Hollywood direct torial chore for Fox and Erich Pbm- mer's second Fbz production misses Piit twice. •'Music in the Air,'; from ; the stage operet!^ .success of that liame of : several seasons agp ;1S; a' ' poor.flicker. 'Whatever b.o. strength : It shows will have to be on the marquee appeal of Gloria ;Swahspn ; and John Bbles as the top featured -i namfes, with Douglass Montgomery and June Lahg (latter totally neyru: but prominent; and promlsiner^ albeit : devoid of any tungstien draught) as the: sub-billed ca^t, members.; ■'Musie in the Air' again proves the fallaciouSnei3s ; of faithfully transmuting stage romantic oper- . etta; to the screen, patterned along ; the same lines as. the original. ; If it; Isn't pne thing that; creates dlf- ; flcult film; fan! hurdles; It's another; In- this case, the fanciful and basi-. ;. cally familiar Kern-Hammersteln ' operetta had the great advantage; ~ in the stage original, of ah expert Broadway cast^ which successfully carried the production.. /The audi- . ence becomes charmed by the hls- trionicsr and blase Broadway, even - at |4 ahd $6, win accept saccharine romance where the mugg 35-cent . audiences . demand their plots raw '■ ,: and realistlo, '> -, ' • ; -; • , Paradoxibal as this may seem, thei .. history of screen-versions of Broad- : way operettas proves the premisb; Warners' . 'Desert.; Song*' .was bne such instance ^n the early talker . era. Where It was decidedly okay ; for Alexander Gray and Vivian • Segal, to warble 'One Alone' in a . stage scene where both are sup- iiosedly anxious to :6amouflage their identity from the marauding Biffs,." Broidway loved it aus fanciful play- ' acting, but -the film fans: couldn't : reconcile themselves to the situa-" tioh. - And sP; here in 'Music in the Air,' whiere the hinterland burgher ' composes a "terrific tune (thanks to Jerome Kern) the mugg . audi- ences wpri't go fbr that situation, whereas it; Is historv thiat for many months the allegedly more sophlstl- ■ cated Broadway legit patrons paid handsomely and long for the same ' situation. Apart from tlie basic shortcoming • of a; story thiat Is never real there ' arb ttlso.the caST~deTR:iencIWW~tTie ' featured, pair. . Superficially, Gloria' Swansori as the petulant prim& . sbuhds like a natural, and John Boles might even be acceptable as an equally temperamental librettist." But It doesn't wPrk. out that way. Most impressive is Douglass Mont- gomery as the Bavarian bumpkin with the- big blcbps for whom the prima develops a ; yen. Al Sheaii in his original stage role is likewise distinguished. But fPr the rest, the fanciful. librettp and the Joe May direction are too much against theni. it's never believable. At no time does one accept .with, any .degree.of. realism the: idea of this Tyrolean hillbilly: ever comi}bslng such a siiiaah. tune that t hB--M tinich itn- presarlp falls ; fbr It to, the degree that, eiren his daughter is' iaimost glorified ds the prima when Swan- spn has .one of her temperamental , tantrums.: The tbo faithful adherence to the original includes the retention; of most of the old familiars,, and while Kern music is such that its long- evity ofttimes; tends to enhance its charm, rather than tire, its appeal- ing beauty is almost totally; lost; ^ Boles, who can; sing,' dbesn't. Mlso^ Swansbn,; who can-sing biit mildly, is wisely not permitted to"^ strain her lajynx. Result IS that its; class ap- peal and charm as: an operetta Is further minimized In direct ratio to-the extent that the book has been permitted to run overboard- for re- nHfim. SO that it's been cramping his style Herein Korda has erected so sturdy a celluloid keystone : that, paradoxically; it's the undoing of the entire ■ structure. ; It's top strong to shatter, and yet never strong enough to cement the conception that Fairbanks; is so deadly a Lo- thario. For while Fairbanks , has a waist line that would make many a callow Juvenile green with enyy, and while he's as agile and athletic as he 'was 16' years "ago, the .ma- tured and stocky Fairbanks person- ality at no; tirii6 . Jibes ' with , the grandibse niariner, the ' boudoir at- tack and visible technique that la popularly assPdated with Don Juan. Thus,; after: having been too well built up to aSsumS all these amal- tory qiiallfliftatlnTia, thft ;Bt.6rv Rets An able compilation of official war, and news foptage blended together for a forceful .editbrlal on arma- ment : makers. Title won't hurt, either. , ■;. ■ Plctiire effectively emitloys maps and animated backgrounds to . pre-, sent a picture of the munitions bctbpui?^ how it branches through T but the . world, etc. One; of the startling facts is -an idea of what the cost of the: world wjw" Would have prPvlded in the way of new hPmes, universities, hospitals and the like. These arid other facts, riot forgetting the' bills paid for shells, guns, ships, etc., tojgrether with the iprofltS to the makers, are Included. It Is, perhaps, the strong-- ftnt and m o st d a ring: ;fllm' prppa - tlpn the Three Little Pigs, but It's Laurel and Hardy's picture. ; While they; are on the iatory zips ailong, but the mistake has not been rinade of asking theni to fill the; stage con-' tlniuously. It is their absences' which make their reappearances so effective. The same laurel and Hardy pf; shorts, but in fancy dress _ajid__ai>t to. endear: themselves to parents beca'iise of this effort. Charlotte Henry, as Bo-iPeep, is not always in . the picture. Sbme- tiriies she Ipbks; and plays the adult, Fellz'Knight is. the Tom,; but not much in evidence until the close as th0 actual love making is descreetly soft pedaled. Others do not matter Importantly enough to call for men- 'tlon,;.;' This i>lctt;i>e; may not be consist- ently big boxofflce, but It IS: the best juvenile product; to^ date : aind de fiSrvies the long life it will have. , Chto. about shattering an Illusion; to; the ultimate confusion and! confounding of all the issues. It is only towards the tag bnd cf: the footage tha;t Korda's.objectivp penetrates, so .far as. popular cognizance is concerned. Juan Is. sho'wn Stripped. of all the illusions which a highly impresslpn-; able feminine portiPn of the Sevli- llan populace: has .magnified Into aU most supernatural .proportions.' - Like all historical or pseudo-dpc- umehtary film prbductlons, the. na- ture pf the subject seemingly; makes it permissible, to extend the romari- tic equation where; it might nor- mally be curbed; For thiis reason,' as In 'Affairs of Cellini' and kindred semi - historical cellulbldlana; ;'Don Juan' is not : particularly under wraps. The. central character alope compels free rein to his bbudolr penchants. •That being .what It is, It's - but natural that: the sales campaign; on ganda against war to: date. ; There have recently been many cpmpiled pictures, with nihnlng harrafives, which inveigh ajgalinst conflict between nations. But this Is one: of the rare Intelligent preach- ments^ It; calls to task- the arms niaklng mogulS; ■ Among other things, the picture deals With Such touchy rbveiatlbhs as the Brley and bombasle scandals, relatirig to the wartime understand- ing between Frerich and German ritunitipns men with the government War machines on each side avoiding interference. This sequence relates to the hands-ofi attitude of both natlpns so far as ; bbmblrfg. these towns were concerned because one was imi>ortant;for supply of muni- tions material to. Germany; the other to Frartce. Wiping out both would haVe endangered contlriuance of the war. Film also deals with the: Shipment from Fnuace to Cler- Miss Christians tries hard and,; after; she's allowed to dress up and drop,: her drawl, she looks good. She got ; to Berlin; via Brooklyn, which explains her gbod- Eng- lish, although there Is still a tiny TeutPnlC accient left. Jean Parker is cast in an. unsympathetic role and isn't allowed to;get her point over. Charlieg Blcktprd stands out; as a sympathetic ;newspapermah In love with Miss Christians^; marry- ing her towards the end, although he Ibok^ much; younger tha;h she is supposed to bb; what with; grown-: VP and mature children. William Henry is .Curtis, the. Sbn, pivotal- part.of the yarn from several stand- piolnts; arid lost in the rble; He's only been in two or thriee pictures arid dbesn't take tb this assignment/ Other, cast members are Just fill- ins. Zelda Scars, ■who was bne of the :adaptorR,;. gets herself in for a mpment or: two of. character work. ■ ■:;■■-/':.:;;, ..;; XOiut. The flighty flair of a stage musical is treated in celluloid as stark re- alism. As such, It dbesn't hold up, : Here and there ;are soriie bright mornents, of course. That first act rehearsal Is a bright Idea". Miss Swanson s theatrical mbments of temperahierit are Just that, but those trick chapeaux aren't fiatter- Ing. . ■ The Other details make for- verbc^ity, ranging; from the ca,ttle show to: the schoolroom; classes, where. Montgpniery .tutors In be- tween fashioning song; lyrics. .June Lang, blonde : newcomer,- shows promise, but that's all. Hobart Bosworth, Reginald Owen, Joe' Caw- thorn : (milking his : chore); Rdger Imhof and . Fuzzy: Knight also as- sert themselves, some in even greater ratio for their meagre llneig , tlian dp .the more: prominent cast members. ;, . ■■;;. ■ . Photography is truly beautiful., but that's not enough, AlA