Variety (Sep 1935)

12 VABJETT FILM REVIEWS Wednesday, September 25, 1939.; BVay Melody of 1936 (MUSICAL) Uetro-Goldwyn-Mayer release of a John W. Consldtn^e, Ji'., production: Features Jack Benny,' £leECnbr Powell, Robert Taylor. Directed by Roy Del Ruth. Screenplay, Jack McGowan r.nd Sid Sil- vers; from original by Moss Hart;- addl- tion(iL.dJalogr.:JInLrry...Conn; books, .Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed; music direction, Alfred :Newman; dances. Dare Gould; ballet, Albertina Rasch; ••earosra,. Chfirleq Rosher: .production asst., Alex Aarons. At Capitol, K. Y., week Sept. 16, '83. Running time, 102- iplns. Bert Keelcr .Jack Benny Irene Foster.... /...Eleanor Po\yell Bob' GordCn Hubert Taylor Kitty Corbett .Una Merkel Snoop. .-.,.Sid Slivers Ted ; Buddy Ebsen Lillian Brent ; June Knight Sally .'.Vilma Ebsen Basil ..Nick Long. Jr. 8nwr...^ :.„^^.... Robert ■'Wildhack Managing Editor. 7!t7. ...Paul Harvey By-H*rself .-.-i. .•.■.-.,,i> .i. Francos-Langfdrd. By Himself Harry Stockwell 'Broadway Melody of 1936' will have no difficulties at the box of- fice. Should do big bUisinesa and will please In almost every respect, save the story. That's thin and trite--a bit too jpattern even for backstage stuff. . Basically, plots wherein the hero has a pet brain- child to produce and the shero is starred therein, have become a bit dated. But apart from that, 'Broadway Melody' has enough socko, glamour, spec, songs and general atmosphere to cliich it for mojiey. It looks money and will get It. The glamour revolves principally about a hew jstar in the making— Eleanor Powell. The. spec is obvious; the' Naclo Herb Brown-Arthur Freed songs already are having their effect on the public. The gen- eral, atmosphere Is the lavishneiss of the production Investiture with, which Metro endowed this fUm; The entertainment .Ingredients are cer- tainly thiere; Basically it's th6 dancing. Coupled with it is com- edy. With both, departments better- than average, it 'can't miss. That more than ofifseta. the plot deflcienr cles. Eleanor Powell is two other girls under the Roy pel' Ruth' direc- torial aegis,. Fdniierly be-banged, she's now a .highly pulclirltudinbus charmer, .ppsfie'ssed of no small vocal (via microphone) and his- trionic : uUeiits. And of . course her basic'- profejasional. prbflciency- as a tapster Is more or less standard in show.business.. Trans- lated into camera values, it's Inevit- able! that she be termed a femme Astaire, for she's possessed of the same nimble tread, finished pre- cision and general adeptness in her stepology. The hoofing, probably new to the film fans in general, combined with an appealing .new personality cinches her for cinem- atic future. Actually, this not her film debut, but her taps chore in the second 'Scandals' (Geo. White-Fox) was relatively so negligible that she's probably new to most fans. Her' bit Ih the Fox film 'was undistinguished. Another clncher for. celluloid is Robert Taylor whom Metro has been groomlnjg. He arrives as a torthrlglit screen Juve with this pic ture. Jack Benny . (toplined) ii3 the Broadway columnist who takes it onr the button a couple of times from the Irate Taylor. His stooge Is Sid Silvers. But with the latter— who has also coUabed with Jack McGowan on the screenplay—^hav ing scripted himself a juicy part, it's a toss-up who's head man on comedy. Benny's usually decisive delivery is puiichy, but It mlgl^t be a good Idea to give him an assign- ment which won't let him wind up with an apple and the morning papers for the finale. He could stand a little romantic interest for future film values. Everything revolves about iss Powell, Taylor and June Knight, the menace. She's the Park avenue bankroll ($60,000) for the fotthcom ing musical comedy which results in routines that run true to screen form and look more like the b.r. had thrown Its conscience away and gdne berserk. But that's long since become accepted as Holly wood license. Columnist Benny had been build ing up a phoney French comedi- enne, and so. when Taylor fails to recognize his adolescent sweet- heart from Albany she (Miss Pow- ell) essays an. accent,' bizarre ma-ke up and goals everybody with her personality and her stepping as the pseudo-Fiench star. That's done so effectively that the illusion be comes acceptt^ble, even despite the, mental resefvations concerning the other plot incongruities. Story as presented is a curiouis hodge-podge ., of fantasy, reali.sm and just hokupr. musical comedy When the Ebsens (Vilma and Buddy) aire doing their 'Sirig Before Breakfast.' it's quite Rene Cialr-lsh In the .whimsical mating of the tempo with the attic timerstepping More of the Clair touch . In the whisking of the papers off the city room's desks as the irate Taylor broezei Into the editorial sanctum to c6rpor.illy .'cha«)tlfie Benny. Then in other spots It goes Busby Berke- ley with overhead ballet shots, or that sequence in what looks like the Rainbow Room at Radio City. On the other hand, there are many real- istic bits that ring the bell. Sid Silvers gives his top screen contribution as comedy foil to Benny. The Ebsens are definite screen personalties, particularly the deliberately ungainly Buddy, who makes his hay^eedishness an artis- tic chore. Nick Long, Jr., is an- other in the stepping department. Prominent in some effective hoof- ing, with the Misses Knight and Powell. " Frances Langford aijd Harry Stockwell from the Broadway nl- teries and radio are themselves, the latter- Introducing the old. 'Broad- way Melody' thematic into a WHN mike (WHN Is the Loew-Metro station in N.. Y,, hence the scrieen lireak). Miss ITangrofd is Yh'ove prominent vocally with 'Lucky Star' and 'Broadway Rhythm,' which, segties into an elaborate terp routine featuring: Ml<^s Powell. T.^-iw Ebsens ripglst^J? «.vJyth .^hj^,. 'Breakfast' number and 'Oh a Sun-^ "day Aiteriiooh,*' a musical comedy number within this filmusical. In 'Breakfast' Miss Powell again has her tap opportunities. Una Merkel is per usual' highly competent as the sympathetic sec to the producer (Taylor). Running through It all Is Robert Wildhack with his standard revue routine about the various styles of snoring, interpreted aca- demlcR,lly and audibly. It's funny at first, but a bit too much. Paul Harvey as the managing editor is also believable-and somtf .'of the- di; alog concerning the Broadway chatter type of columnist sounds like the scrlptlsts don't think' high- ly of the clan. Thlig Is physically, cemented 'by. the situations of socking the columnist and his stooge on the button twice in the same place. Cutting Vas patently a yeonian, : ob. The ragged "sequences give that away. Although the Coast preview time screening of llO min- utes doesn't differ much from the 102 at the Capitol on Broadway; there must have been considerable stuff chopped out Apart from throwing the budget sheet out of the window for 'Broad- way Melody,' Producer ' John W. Considine, Jr., evidences good taste In iMplministering the shekels. He is capably seconded by Roy Del Ruth oh the direction; cedrlc Gibbons' sets and Chas. Rpsher's cinematog- raphy. Alex Aarohs (ex-^Broadway producer) Is credited , as a produc- tion, assistant. Pop terps by Dave. Oould and the artistic ballet by Al- bertina Rasch both evidence Imagi- nation and freshness of style, and. the tiptop tapstering morel tha4>- bolsters the T$reatlve framework. Songs are all good and potential hit tinibi-e. 'Broadway Rhythm.' mng by Miss Langford and with dance specialties by Powell, Long, Knight and Ebsens, is the most pre- tentious terp routine. Gould, who staged 'The . Carioca' and 'Conti- nental,' . has .no such smash In this, but it's a-corking creation, 'Lucky Star's' Rasch ballet is vocally iU' troed by Langford. Harry Stock well, besides tiie WHN Intro scene, leads 'On a Sunday Afternoon,' which Is really the Ebsens' big terp opportunity in old-fashioned getup and terp style. 'I've Got a Feelln' You're Foolln,' by Knight and Tay lor is atop the Knight penthouse,, which gives Nick Long, Jr., oppor tunlties to essay a little architec tural legerdermain as as he abraca- dabras and whisks away columns, statutes and scenery, fantastically switching from one costume getup into another, all in line with the 'Foolln' idea. 'Sing Before Break- fast' is the Ebsens-Powell routine, The same camera aiid production imagination evidenced In 'Foolln' j9|^ Its charming vagaries in the s^Bhe 'where Miss Powell day- dreams in the. empty auditorium and imagines herself on the ros- trum, clicking big. Harry Conn, Benny's regular radio dialogician, credited for additional gab, evi- dences the mike skill of. punchy, pithy phrasing.' 'Broadway Melody,' in toto, i.s b.o Ahel Mimatnre Reviews 'Broadway Melody . of 1938'. (M-G). Smash muslcbl with Jack Benny top. hande. Strong .. dsmciPK. ..and.. cjomedy _ frame- work. 'Steamboat Round the Bend' (Fox)V, Late Will.Rogers'.final picture and next ito last re- lease; In the money^. despite a drfl,h, .tbenje-: ........ , 'Special Agent'(WB). Form- ula gangster picture^ Indif- ferent entertainment but Bette Davis may help. 'Public Menace' (Cbl). Fair newspaper .- gangster ture with jean-Artburi-- 'Here Comes the Band' (MG). . Musical that lacks plot iEind condensation. Best as second stringer. ' H o, o a I e r Sohbolmatter' (Mono). Feeble adaptation of novel fLnd lacks punch in cast names. 'Streamline Express' (Rep); 'Grand Hotel' theme aboard a fantastically conceived streani- !ine trjeiin. Moderately amus- ing farce good as supporting film. 'Old, an Rhythm' (Ra4io). Weak musical against a far- fetched., co-ed background. Comedy good in spots. Buddy Rogers heads cast; his sweetheart's, sake. Rogers, cer- tain of the boy's safety In a plea of self defense, makep him give liim- self up. The one. witness who can clear him, a half crazed evangelist, is missing. The bby is sentenced to be hanged. Rogers and the boy's wife go up the river in search of the witness and RAgers is forced- into a race "with a. boat, captained by Irvin Cobb, winner to take both boats. H^e is given no > time to re- fuel, and the last mile of the race is run through the sacrifice of a wax museum and a lot of rum which Rogers has been selling as a tonic He wins the race, picks up the evangelist, lassoing him oft a xiver dock, and gets a pardon. The waxworks gives a novelty twist to the famllliEir formula of chopping up the boat for fuel, and this is worked for all it Is worth. In the middle action the fun comes from the museum figures, set up on Rogers' showboat, so the wax works fill a more important'place than some of the players in determining the picture's fate.' The race Is han- dled unconvlncingly and Uie story will not stand analysis. Without Rogers Its success would have been problematicall. Production well made with the start of the race notably good. " Rogers is handicapped In not hav- ing an . intimate story, but makes the most of it Irvin Cobb is stilted and a bit too complacent He. Is no menace to other picture character actors and shows only now and then. John McGulre is convincing as the nephew and Anne Shirley reveals fiashes of real value. Stepln Fetchlt does his usual chore, with Francis Ford showing up Impor- tantly on the comedy end with effi- cient aid from Roger Imhof. Eugene Pallette, Hobart Bosworth and R4y mond Hatton have unimportant bits with Berton Churchill slightly more important as the missing wit hess. Chic. Steamboat Round Bend W. R Sheehari Di-oductlon and 20th-cen- tury-Fox release. Stars the late Will Rogcri. Features. Anne Shirley. Irvln S. Cobb, Eugene Pallette, Stepln Fetchlt. Dl- reeled by John Ford. Supervised by Sol Wurtzel; from novel by Ben' Luclen I)ur man; ncree.hplay, Dudley Nichols, Lnmar Trottl; camera. '■ Geo. Schneiderman. ' At Radio City Music HaII,.N. Y.. week Sept. lO.^ 'SS. Running; time,. 00 rplns.. Doctor John Peai'ly '. /Will Rogers Fieety Belle., i; ..\nne' Shirley Captain Eli..,., .i Irvln fl. Cobb Sheriff Rufe, Jetters. Eugene Pallette DuUe. .Tnhn McGulre New .....Ilerton Churchill Ete- Prnncifl Ford Pappy Itogpr Imhfif Matt Abel.. .Riymoml Hatton Chaplain Holinrt Dosworth Jonah .• Stepih Fetchlt Picture announced as 102 minutes, but as cloclied it's around 00, and in probably in better shape. This is the last picture made by the late star, but not the last to be released. One more to come. Thi.s i.s not only a serious story, but dr.ib and Rogers was not given much of a chance to pull it aionp:. All it has is flashes from his characteristic style and a pulmotor flnisli, but that flni.sh will do much to carry it along as a pic- ture. It got plenty of excitement here and should dp all right all around. Chief trouble seems to be that It Is primarily the story of a river boat »*ace, with ia nephew of Rogers for ^he love interest and a murder as a menace. The lad kills a man for SPECIAL AGENT Cosmopolitan production for Warner re- lease. Featares Bette. Davis and George Brent. Directed by William Kcifhley. Laird Boyle and Abeiii Flnkel, adaption of an 'Idea' by Uartln Mooney. Camera, Sid Hlckox. At Strand. N. Y., week Sept. 10. Running time, 74 mlna. Julie Gardner ........Bette Davis BUI Bradford ....George Brent Carston icardo Cortez -.Andrews Jack LaRue District Attorney .Henry O'Neill .\rmltage . Robert Strange Chief of Poll Joseph Cn-hah Purell ...J. Carroll Nalsh Head of Internal Rev. Dept^.Robert Barrat U. 3. District Attorney.......Irving Plchel Gangster, picture full of gunplay, murders and action. But pretty dull and routine despite the tempo. Ap- peal Is to the gangster story ele- ment, though done so often before and so much better 'Special Agent' cannot be rated higher than fair. Bette Davis has a role of no im- portance histrionically. It's just a series of . poses for her. George Brent is pretty unconvincing as an undercover investigator pretending to be a newspaperman. Rlcardo Cortez, as the boss thug, wears black gloves while playing solitaire or pushlnK buttons that open doors. At np time does he ring true. Lack of charactisrlzation plus stilted repetitious dialog rgbs the melodrama of any chance to grip. Miss Davis Is top valuable a per- former to bie doing stories suc)i as this one. Land. PUBLIC MENACE Columbia production, and release. Fea- tures Jean. Arthur, George Murphy and Douglass Dumbrllle. Directed by Erie C. Kenton. Screen play; £thel Hill and Lionel Houser; film editor. Gene Mllford; camera, Henry Freulich. ' At Oloh0, N. T.,' starting Sept. 23, '33, Running time, 72 mins. Casale.. .J.....^Jeah Arthur R^A-Totttr^,.^,-.^^...,. .... JlioTtie Miwabx.. Tonellt;...; .,.. Douglass Dumbrllle Dlldy .George MoKay Nlce 'wot-k by the csCdt plus some smart dialog and deft direction helps this gangster yarn. Lighter mo- ments 'haVe-i^-R<.«tres8ed.~tmi-^aami!i weakness, and being in the gangster groove will cut it down to the dual- bill category. George Murphy'and Jean Arthur are teamed to good results. Murphy ia- a' conceited' reptJttef ■WiiHo-- Miss Arthur. .ta-ft..rii8jatcMrj84.0.11 _m ocean liner. 'Doiiglass Dumbrllle is again a mob: leader. Instead of getting biggest crime story of year, the arrival of Tonelli aboard-the liner. Murphy.falls in love and weda the girL Their honeymoon lastl until the next morning when he aecldes marriage is not for him. After losing job for missing the big yarn. Murphy plans to save up for a divorce. Hie bick- ering with his wife continues Until she steers him onto, an .exclusive story,, identification of . the slain gangster as Toneli because she re- called'manicuring hiiri. When'this story blows up and Tonelli'Is found alive after a double killing. Murphy is again fired off the sheet and is convinced about his Wife being no help. Story moves rapidly to climax from this point Miss Arthur tipping her irate hubby where he can locate the gang; chieftain. Much of . this last minute thrill stuff tests credulity but combined efforts of cameraman and director take off part of curse. Rather phoney newspaper atmos- phere clutters up several scenes but it's amusing. Miss Arthur gives a particularly good performance and Murphy Is okay. Director Erie C. Kenton and Henry. Freulich, photographer, halve also turned in neat jobs. Wear. Short Subjects 'ROMANCE OT^THE WE«T,' With. Henry Armetta, Dorothy Dar^r Phil Regan In Color, 16 Mine., Vitaphohe N08. 6984-5 Technicolor and Henry Armetta give, this short , somie lmportance< Armetta is a favorite with aud- iences due to his work In features. Hence the short stands out above average. ■ ■ "' A passenger plane is laid up In the midst of a mesa. , A bunch of cowboys rescue the passengers and entertain them at the ranch house whl'jia.. thfti{)tene .VsAScpc.i'WMic.'v.^hAi'j) ^ the excuse for some guitar-strum- ming -tfnd 'Yoaiamie- yvmtttE- 'Thit Regan is the. cowboy, and the redr headed and tap-dancing Dorothy Dare Is the eastern miss who con- ceives a yen for him which cul- minates In her mlsslnj? the plane and visiting the parson instead. It's that fast. Annetta just stooges but cops enough laughs. Land. Here Comes the Band 'Metrb-Goldwyn-Mayer release- of Lucien Hubbard production. Features Ted Lewis and band, Virginia Bruce, -Ted Healy. Di- rected by Paul Sloane. Original screen play, Paul Sloane, Ralph Spence, Victor Mansfield; fniislcal score, Edward Ward; dance director, Chester'Hale;. camera, Chas. Schoenbaum. At the Zlegfeld',. N. Y., for four days, half of double bill, commencing Sept. 20, '35. Running time, 82 mins. Ted Lowry .Ted Lowis Margaret Virginia Bruce 'Happy' ; .Ted Healy 'Piccolo Pete' Nate Pendleton OUie Watts Harry Stockwell Don Trevor .....i.. ...Donald Cook Spanky .......Spanky McFarland Colonel Wallace Addison Richards Judge ...........Robert McWade Simmons Robert Gleckier DEAL 'ACES WHD' William Berke this week goes Into production with .first of new series of Harry Carey westerns, 'Aces Wild,' at Argosy studio. Not punchy enough for the de luxe trade, partly'due to a thin plot and in part to deficiency In support- ing material. Also it is too long drawn out. In the smaller stinds, where they have not yet tired of musicals this may hold its own and might evien support the main burden of some double bills. But even musicals heed some suspense and sustained, interest, and here the one plot factor does not appear until halfway through. " It could lose 20 minutes to decided profit. Plot is that Harry Stockwell has written a song which Is' stolen by Robert Gleckier, who denies his claims and In turn charges theft. Stockwell, aided by the sweetheart of the girl he has fallen In love with, proves his rights by bringing Into court some jubilee singers, hill bill- ies, cowboys and Indians to prove that he merely rearranged four folk songs. So the judge gives him $50,000 and costs Instead of follow- ing copyright procedure and calling for an accounting. But that's just one example of the poor writing which exists all through. It gets away from the backstage angle, but it Is all too .impossibly iniplaiisible. Up front Is a sort of Flagg and Quirt story, but without the girl angle. Ted Healy and Nat Pendleton, quarrelsome buddies, were in an army band. Now they're still buddies but in the taxi business. Usual give and take stuff, without partclular brightness and with a pale romance thread between Stock- well and Virginia. Bruce. Best bit Is a drag-in at a radio audition, a' singer with a sneezing fit. He could have helped greatly had he been kept in. Amjiteur broadcast scehe is too long, so is the sequence where the colonel of the old regiment gives a reunion, and also unnecessary is a long description of how the band saved the regiment, told in picture. This is good production stuff, but has no place in comedy and does not strengthen through contrast, •lust' a. bad guess. Finale is the most impossible courtroom scene In a long list of judicial caricatures. Four musical numbers, 'Headin' Home' (Herbert Stothard and Ned Washinjrton) arolind which the plot revolves;. 'Tender Is the Night' (Harold Adamson and Walter Don- aldson), a pretty love song, which has chances; 'Roll Along Prairie Moon' (Ted FloRlto, Albert Von Tllzer and Harry McPherson), just so-so. and 'You're My Thrill' Wed COUNTESS OLGA ALBANI 'The Lady in Black' 20 Mins. Pftlace, N. Y. Vitaphone 9115 Utilizing the same ciabaret idea as was tised for Baclanova in 'Singing Silhouettes' in that the lead falls in love with a' mysterious night club singer, but with a slightly different story. Sierves to introduce a couple of specialties and the girls as a; background for the gracious person- ality of the erstwhile radio singer. This time she has social connec- tions and meets an ardent suitor. Later he sees the singer, to be told She Is the other's twin. He tells each she is more beautiful than her twin and then flndis it's the same girl. That's supposed to be the comedy. Nicely staged' and the alleged sketch does not matter much since there is so little of it. Will enter- tiin.: Chic. SHEIVIP HOWARD 'Serves You Right' 20 Mins. Strand, N. Y. Vitaphone 1835-3S One of Ted Healy's original Three Stooges out for starring honors and missing the support of his former partners; At this stage he's not ready to carry the full burden. Hinges round, his efforts to seirve a legal. summons oh a tough guy after-the rest of the oflice has failed. Achieves 'his end after about 16 minutes of .meaningless slapstick. Some laughs, but not enough. Washington and Burton Lane), also Just in, sung by Healy. 'Headin* Home' idea is novel, but not novel enough to sweep the story to vic- tory. It's too much of a load. All - Qt the players work with a will, even Robert McWade, who must despise his Judge's assignment. Spanky McFarland Is for a buildup for He£^ly In a pappy song. In view of the fact that the kid Is chiefly associated with comedy aisslgnments (and can troupe them) the choice was not a fortunate one. Spahky's mug'does not . suggest pathos. Some production In the reunion sequence with Healy carrying the burden. It might be good were It half as long. Just a series of missouts all along the line. ' Chic. Hoosier Schoolmaster Trem. Carr production and Monogram release. Features Charlotte Henry and Nor- ipan Foster; Fi-om novel by Edward Eg- gleston. Directed by Lewis D. ColMns: screenplay, Charles Logue; camera, Harry Neuman. At Strand, Brool<lyn, week Sept. 10, '?5, as half bill. Running time, 71 mine. Ralph , Norman Poster .Hannah ; Charlotte Henry Martha ....Dorothy Libaire Sarah ....... i Surah Padden Hawkins .; otIs Harlan DOC Small ;. .....Russell Simpson Joke -wm. V. Mong g."^, Fred Kohler, Jr. Hank . ..... ;Wal|ac9 Held, Jr. F&ir entertainment but falls to live up to potentlaltles of story. Will have to be exploited on the well known' novel froni which picture is taken. No names that mean much for the marquee. Dramatic roniance shows Norman Foster, a Yankee, returning from Civil War and settling with bunch of other ex-Unlbn soldiers In an In- diana town. He wins job as school teacher for village and soon learns cause of unrest in town—night rid- ers and crooked juggling of federal land grants by pollttclans. Story Is complicated by fact the girl he's in love with is also the sweetheart of the husky lad In his ischool that he's attempting to befriend. Builds to climax when crooked town rulers, decide, to frame the sclioblmaster as soon as they learn lie s tipped off government of land irregularities. A spelling bee sequence ha.s been well done, and is important in that it leads to a mob scene. Norman Foster shows improve- ment.in performance here, probfibly being aided by Lewis"Colllns' .capa- (Contlnued on page 42)