Variety (Mar 1936)

We&ne$&*frty**d* 2 S» 1936 THESE THREE wt it.ii Artists release of Samuel Oold- VS orodUct on. Stow Miriam Hopkins, J OtexBW. features Joel McCrea, -EtedbyWliltnm W.vler. OrlKlnal nnu vp JE&tlon by Lillian Hellman (fr6m her •SSSSStBroadway play, 'The Children'*. but the legit aource, 1» not to he' SSbited). Photography, Ore** Toland; IS -Alfred Newman; Wm editor. Danny WrtsW -Merle Oberon n?^Joaepn Cardln, . ;' Joel McCrea S™ Mortar... .......Catherine Doucet Mrs" Tllford. ....... ........i.Alma KrUser ' Mary TJKord,.,'-.......... ; Bonlta Gronvllle Rosalie .i./.V..Marcla Mae Jonea, rSelvn .....i...».....Garmenc4ta Johnson Amtha 77T.;i77;.v t ....iaarg«ret Hamlltrin wllen -Burton-....... <Marl« Louise Cooper $a«I Driver...;...,>.-....'.;..;/Walter Bienrioir A thoroughly fine cinematic trans- mutation of Lillian Hellnian's dra- matic smash, "the .Children's Hour' —still current on Broadway arid In. • Its irist week—Is her own scenarizar tlon,' reedited' and -retMed for Hayslan purposes as /These. Three.' Stripped of its ^unsavory original ' theme, qiiite patently Samuel Gold- w yh didn't need any of the play's Well of IjbnellneSs' background,for, • if anything, the film version is ,ain even 1 more • appealing presentation: for* popular constthiptibri. Fortified by v ft abeko* trio": for the marqufce; in '■Jtirl&tti HopkinB, Merle- Obero'ri and JoeI v -McCreaV- 'These ..ThYee'...' ^Gibraltar bVo. for a.boye average re ■>• 'turns; ' .. ' ; i ' '*!. sparring: the tungsten threjjso'nie,' however, ''are' two';, a'd'otescepts, 'Boriita Granville as the. hateful Mary -TUford, doing the original ' Florence 'McGee role, and Marcia ■'Ma$ jories. -as- the -subjected;' Ipr' hlblted child. Theirs are inspired •performances.' Whether the brilliant histrionics manifested "by both chil- dren stem from a", native' source, or 'is ' tribute' to ' some ' directorial ' alchemy ' via Wlllam Wyler, the megger, the coihbinatlon will rate a flock; of plaudits for,.their achieve- jnents, Wyler has paced 4 canny tempo in sturdily, firmly, , u.nreientijigly setting the hiotlf arid motivating the hlgh-tensioned dramatic action. He has been most capably abetted by Lillian Hellman in her own adapta- tion of the still current dramatic hit. Miss Hellman, if anything,, has improved upon . the* ' original in scripting: the triangle a dramatis personae of romantic frustration, •thveei.'' basically wholesome victims <jf an unwholesome combination of ■ ? circumstance.. The stellar trio are tops in them- selves. McCrea was never better in translating- a difficult assignment intelligently "a^d ' sympathetically. The' well, bred restraint of Miss Hopkins and Miss Oberon in thejr travail with the mixture of juvenile emotions at their boarding school is likewise inipressIVei Miss Oberon is the ..sympathetic Karen; Miss Hop- kins has .the assignment of 'un- requited love. - General casting Is. well nigh perfect. '.Catherine Doucet as the thespic.gjddy-diz; Aima Kruger as the aristocratic Grandma- Tllfordj oven. Margaret Hamilton as the housekeeper and Walter Brennan in. a punchy hit as the dour station Jehu, make every foot-of celluloid count.. When Miss Hamilton smacks the, hateful young brat (Bonlta Granville, who troupes her thank- less, role to the hilt) the audience approves with audible applause. .-Marcia Mae Jones as- the panicky ' child is neck-and-neck with the adolescent menace for top playing honors. "i-hese Three* is ultra in every department Danny Mandell's edlt- Jftgjob was corking; the 90 minutes . footage Is. just right. Alfred New- man's musical background is like- wise primed to effectively set the various moods. Withal 'These Three' .ias almost everything. And not the least of its assets should be the Press, comment oh the skillful .; halation of a supposedly taboo ]»iay ; it may be verboteh to bally- '400 the original source,_but there's nothing-to stop the reviewers' com- mentaries and analogies to the original. And that's not going to hurt the b.o. either. Abel. PETTICOAT FEVER Mctro-Gpldwyn-Mayer release ot Frank .V,,\L 3 'P ro £?ctlon;.::, SUfa Robert • "M6ni- -«r,' y a ™ M > >-na Loy ; features Bejrlnuld .»>,t\c». Directed by George FiUmaurlco. i ...in p.tty of some name by Mark Reed: P.p,ii au r n v " ar °W Goldman: Aim editor, i leilerick Y. Smith;, camera, Ernest frailer, f'^ft N. .y ; , wce i t March 20, '30. I .'":; m °i*, e -• Robert Montgomery X'im'n x ' el ton..... Reginald Owen (•■inifii.'.' • • • -Otto Yamaoka S'oiiv handly • George Jlaarfell (-.,,.) >■•'■•-".. Forrester Harvey Rl" Who i Irving Bacon l<htle Seal'.'. .Bo Ching cal • ; Iris Yamnoka ery, effort has been made to ?' Molf eCn h0Wl OUt ° C the let icoat I'pver'.play, which l-'rank 1) i. oduce d as his first for : ? ut the ■ I *a»U ish't much. the Zulu UP t0 lts ear3 ln hoke - the livJ* < 0ns ai '» often, silly and st^nl e n lnte , rest fcik to gamer I SuW- A n ■ .expert cast i 0 llfl %m l the niatevlal at hand there few lau ^ h « h{J re and «> » one, but the Robert Montgom- F I tM B E V I E W $ VARIETY 15 ery-Myrna Loy naanes may keep grosses from being bad news. The play had a moderate run in New York in 1935. Picture screens as though It was a play and most of the sets of Labrador country look pretty stagey. This could be for- gotten,, but the circumstances which throw people together up In the- wlde'rness are-quite ridiculous. Montgomery is -a wireless oper- ator in Labrador, miles from civilization. What the script and director has him do, which is acting more or less like a sap, doesn't start the proceedings ff •very well. To begin with, he doesn't live in just, a little wireless station. He has most of the comforts of home, and when guests arrive It isn't anything for Montgomery to step into tails. Myrha Loy and her fiance,, Regi- nald Owen, crash in a plane in Montgomery's back yard. . Morit- gomery is so excited over seeing a white woman, that he unnecessarily detains them .(In case there was any Way for 'em to get back'to. civiliza- tion), much to the annoyance of the Sir James Felton, who's Miss L0y ! s : amusingly British fiance. He goes on the make openly and often ridiculously, the- girl finally giving in.- Just about this-, time an old •fiancee*' , of;"Mohtgomery's : tt»rns up in the frozen wastes ! tp claim 'hiniu !She had learned he'inherited a title .and riches, her''purpose' being to' rush up to the' 'Icebound wireless station to marry-htm. He gets wise and cop's Miss Loy even after, latter was Teady to take the boat back.' ' The story is emajr^excuse' for .anything' but the ijokum treatment that has been .given it. Montgom- ery acts the. Clown throughout, and, with the aid of 03V'en, gets a few laughs. At times Montgomery over- plays the. srnart-aleck stuff. The laughs Owen gets are .more genu- inely .founded. The dialog, whether lifted'..from the pU\y or written by the adaptor, is. sometimes, fairly crisp, at. other times tiresome and almost as pointless as the plot it- self. Miss Loy gives a steady and pol- ished performance all the way, but has been favored by much better- assignments. Her presence in the picture as Montgomery's teammate, with the two going well, together, means more to 'Petticoat Fever' than anything else it can boast. Picture, is quite long. It could have been edited down to about 70 minutes or less in view of the fact the plot has nothing very substan- tial and" the laughs, none of them big, are not very close together. % Char. Charlie Chan at Circus 20th Cenlury-Fbx release of John Stone production. Stars Warner Oland. Directed bv. Hurry . Lachman./ Original by Robert Kills and Helen Logan;-camera. Daniel B. Clark. At Center, N. Y.. week March 18, '30. Running th 72. mine.. Charlie Chan ....Warner Oland Lee Chan.. Keye Luke Tim and Tiny,.;. nd Olive Brasho John Gaines Francla Ford Marie Norman.: .Maxlne Reiner Hal Blake .....John McGUlre Louise Norm .Shirley Deane Joe Kinney., .Paul Stanton Tom Holt. J. Carrol Nnlsh Dan Farrell .Boothe Howard Nellie .Fsfrrell.. ....V.Drue Leyfon Lieut. Macy Wade Boteler "Su Tov; .Shla Jung Taking Earl Derr lggers' Ori- ental detective arid his 14 children as the pivot an original yarn with a circus background has . been written by Robert Ellis and Helen Logan. There have been better 'Charlie Chan' whodunits. And worse. This one may qualify as satisfactory companionship for an- other feature in need of a melo- dramatic running mate. Story carries sortie charm in that Charlies Chan himself, as made real by Warner Oland,. is always attrac- tive and his over-size brood is good for some giggles along off-the- beaten-path humOr lines. Cute twist too is having the Vaudeville midgets, George and Olive Brasho, promin- ently participating in the story and also doing a hot rhumba. Girl gets considerable close-up footage and photographs as a pretty doll-baby. Folks Will respond to this. bit. An exceptional pair, the midgets are one of the. film's chief merits. Plot.while worked out logically is. not too gripping. It's the character- ization that carries it. Comedy, romance between Chan's son (Keye Luke) and' a Chinese performer irphla Jung) is developed for laughs. Lotta. Brides Are Like That Wnrncr Bros, production and release. Features' Ross Alexander,' Anita Louise, Directed bv V/lillam McUann. From play,.- 'Applesauce.' by Barry Connors: adapta- tion, Ben Markson; camera. Sid "IcwW/ At Strand. N. y;. week March 21, 30. Running time. 0<> Ins. Bill McAllister Boss Alexander Unset Robinson Anita Louise Fred Sc'hullz J<"> Cawlhorn John Robinson •. ...C.enc LoeUnort Mrs. F.llh Robinson Kathleen Loclilnirt Jennie iMnry T.ou Treen Mary Coleridge ..Alma Lloyd Carter .Craig Reynolds Dr. Randolph Jenkins Iflchnrd rurcell A family type, of picture, appeal and limited bo.r office possibilities'. Probably missing majority of the single, run houses-, with its enter- tainment strength not enough to carrv, the duals will be its market. 'Brides Are Like That' is from the Miniature Reviews 'These Three' (Goldwyn- UA), A sock boxoffice entry with Miriam "iHopkins, Merle Oberon and Joel McCrea. Film version of 'Children's Hour.' 'Petticoat rever' (MGM). Robert Montgomery -M y r n a Loy combination in a hokey adyeriture romance that fails to excite. Cast names arid title may protect the grosses". 'Charlie Chan at the Circus' (20th-Fox). Falr-to-niiddllhg addition to Chiriese sleuth series. 'Brides. re Like That' (WE). Lightweight comedy romance, largely for the dou- ble-blllers. ~ 'Preview Murder ystery' (Par). Trite story, but well played and directed. Should do all right. 'Song of the Saddle' (WB). Esclting western, lacking ;o»ly in strong marquee dr . Pick For.an tops good. cast. ... 'The Leathernecks • Have Landed' (Rep). Lew Ayres and Isabel Jewell featured in ari actionful • piq which should count in the.duals^ .'Lucky Terror' (FD). Tepid bats opera that won't .help Gibson's popularity;- Lean enr tertalninerit even as secondary dua?er. play, 4 ApplesaUce,' produced Iri New York in 1926,. a-fair hit at the time, but the years have dated it as screen material. In addition to being a simple and undr'amatic little piece about a boy who's, full of applesauce arid a girl who falls for it, 'Brides'; is loqtia T clous and tiresome at times de- spite its comparatively short run- ning time of 66 minutes. Stretched into feature length, it has to eat up reams of celluloid that's just gab and not much more. In' Ross Alexander the -caster has a good type as the mushy, flattering nephew of a rich apple merchant who has gained the rep of being a loafer. 'The way the script has Alexander dish it, the applesauce sometimes becomes a burden for the spectator. He's a likable character, but he goes a little beyond the polrit where he gathers complete audience sympathy, Anita Louise, opposite, is a srnall town girl who falls for the lad's blandishments and rnarrles him although knowing he hasn't a dime. Miss Louise is. sweet and cute in this one but no Bernhardt. Joe Cawthorn does his usual Dutch character who gets his English mixed up. He's more entertaining than any of the others. Gene Lock-, hart is also amusing. Richard Pur.-.' cell okay. • Char. Preview Murder Mystery Paramount release of Harold Hurley production. Features . Reginald , Danny.. Frances Drake, Gall -Patrick, Rod LaRoque. Directed by Robert Florey. Story. Garnett Weston; adaptation, Brian Marlow, Robt. Yost; editor. James Smith: camera, Karl Struss. At'RIalto. N. T„ week March 20, '30. Running time, «2 mlns. Johnny Morgan Reginald Denny Peggy Madleon Frances Drake Claire Woodward Gall Patrlok Neil DuBeck ..Rod LaRoque E. Gordon Smith ...Ian Keith Jerome Hewitt ....George Barbler Edwin Strange Conway Tearle Lt. McKane .Thomas Jackson Tyson , Jack Raymond Tub Wilson. Eddie Dunn Jennings ; ryant Washburn Chief of Police Lee Sr.umway Self Chester Conklln Screen 'Heavy'....... Jack MUlhall Screen 'Actor'. .Henry Klelntoach Apparently planned to meet the Indie competition on duals, but thanks to good direction, excellent acting and a good script, this pic- ture gets beyond its class in spite of a trite central Idea. It should be able to solo in the smaller , spots and front the lesser duals. Selling angle is the fact that it gives an excellent glimpse of film studio processes. Story is the oldie about the murderer who telegraphs his shots, with everybody trying to trick the audience, iritb the belief he is the guilty person. Turns 1 out to be a rnan supposed to be dead. The chief suspect, Ian Keith, gives out a good argument until he, too, is killed'.. That presumably leaves it any- body's murder. On story alone it would fail, but the Scenarists' have •handled the scenes for a maximum of action and have avoided over- stressed dialog in spite of the sinister angle of the story. They have kept it rnoving at a rapid pace. There is considerable sus- pense in spots and sufficient action to stir those who do no*, react to the general story. A novelty angle is a television bit in which a machine is able to tap any studio regardless of the lighting and not only that but make close- ups all over the place. Done so well that it convinces for the moment and adds much to the general effect of the mounting action. In retro- spect It's a laugh, considering the present stage of television. Keen direction by Robert Florey got the most out of a cast including many old timers. Reginald Denny TALKING SHORTS 'STUDY AND UNDERSTUDY' With Frazee Sisters and Virgi ia . Vorrill Musical 20 Mins. Strand, N. Y. Vitaphone No. 1029 Excellently produced, with sets and costumes adding much class, here's a little musical with good cast that deserves a place on all film programs. Frazee Sisters and "Virginia Verrill head the company, others including Alice Kavin arid •Danzi Goodell, latter of Dave Apol- loji's revue. Students' school show forms the basis for the short. Two of the girls are jealous of each other. One, understudy for. the other, frames her .. rival and gets the coveted chance. A^cout fiom.a picture com- pany in the audience .goes back- stage afterward and picks the girl who|d been framed after she's start- ing a row about it, ' this. providing a surprise finish. . In" between,, .specialties, .produp-. tlon numbers, with ..a Hrie of, girls,, carry, the ghptt. .Miss. yen-Ill,,,who has..a striking personality and a nice .voice, is, : much iriore at. home Singing.. 'Novy You've Got Me. 'Do* ihg IV. than. 'Slapping the Face- She screens' well' enough to.,suggest Hollywood possibilities. ... Frazee girls," harmonists plus, put over 'Where's That'Maii' very eri-. gaglngly, and also a Spanish num- ber, for the finah?. . They ,alsp photo well. Alice Kavin',. tap dancer, in. male attire for Her' number,, while Miss Goodell Is a sailor for another of her-fllouch darices. Char. 'DESERT DEATH' 'Crime Doesn't Pay' Series (No. 3) 22 Mins. Capitol, N. Y, "~ etro In this- Series ('"Grime Doesn't. Pay') the producers attempt to con- firm the theory the title suggests, selecting for each short some out- standing case which proves the point. Actual cases are ostensibly chosen. Fairly interesting material of convenient two-reer length and well done. .At the opening Burton James, in- surance Inspector, Is being Inter- viewed. He, begins to tell about a case that required skillful detection, film then cutting to Scenes which enact the story. In this instance it's about a man, eventually found guilty of murder, who had killed a cousin in isolated desert country in order .to collect heavy insurance he had taken on himself, with the cousin named as beneficiary. Stunt was to grow a beard and imperson-. ate the. cousin. Means by which an Investigator gets at the bottom of the plot are covered in detail and, While quite obvious, nevertheless prove interesting. Raymond Hattoh and Harvey Stephens are featured in the small cast. Char. 'STORY OF MONEL METAL' Commercial 7 Mine. Loew's State, N. Y. Int'l Nickel Co. This is a commercial short that's absolutely devoid of even false color or angles which might hold an au- dience. A straight sales talk, and poorly illustrated, It's Incongruous In a theatre before audiences who have paid to be entertained. Only portions of the film, which has an- off-screen commentator, to hold even slight interest .are the shots in the monel metal foundry. But here, as in the other portions, the photography is bad and the commentator's Vocal personality Is blah. Major portion of the short is given over to stationary shots of monel metal products,- such as boil- ers, cable, wire arid sinks, with the latter getting the- biggest play; Audience reaction to the interna- tional Nickel Co.'s contribution to the show at Loew's State, on Broad r way, could hardly be considered fa- vorable. Scho. DUKE ELLINGTON 'Symphony in Black' 9 Mins. Rialto, N. Y. Paramount Duke .Ellington and his band in excerpts from one of his eoiuoosl- tions in four parts; X.abor> a trio of the dativf, jealousy and blues, a Harlemanla and a song Of sorrow. Alternates between the band and action illustrating the theme, with some highly effective stuff in the first, with the laborers at their tasks in the rhythm of the music. The third section shows four girls In dance steps and a torrid male dancer. Double and triple exposure to get the. effect here. Last move- ment Is effectively lighted, but not so well planned. Should appeal both to the musical and jazjf elements. Chic. carries enough comedy to lighten the situations, and plays with less of the overstress which has hurt some of his recent appearances, but the topper is Thomas Jackson as the detective in charge (arid believe it or not, there's no bull-headed (Continued on page C3), FRENCH WAR REEL Propaganda 12 Mins. Pans-Soir, Paris (In French) Paris, March 13. Films step in as a propaganda agent for the French government in the form of this .12 minute reel,, Produced by Charles Fai'chy of Canavd Journal arid distributed by Pathe, reel departs, from usual sub- ject matter and, 'instead of filming actual events, shows • -pictures of treaties and maps while.a commen- tator tells what .it is all about. The Versailles Treaty and the Lo- carno Pact are treated, -and. so ef- fectively that the, man. in.: the street can understand 'Why all the diplo- matic noise is being made In Eu- rope. ' Articles 42, 43 and '44 of the .Treaty of ■'Versailles are 'first shown—the articles which-deal with the de'ihiL. lta'rlzatloh of the Rhirieland zone and' stipulate that it can't- be' re- fortlfled:"' . ; ' A map of the Rhinelbnd. JEastern. France,- Belgluriv arid Britain follow; Then," moving : arrows " show % hovr mechanized forces - .could advance through ' Belgium,'' cut - the line to Paris and menace England. ' During all ! this explanation -the French fortified zone remains still arid- undisturbed, marked as it Is by a! Strong black line: drawn all along the frontier. Ari explanation of : how the Allied troops Occupied the Rhineland zone for' 15 years, .follows; with state- ments of .how they were withdrawn before the fixed date. Lastly comes the signature of the Locarno, with explanations, of what all the fight Is about,. Although the commentator does an Impartial job, it '.is easy „to see that the'reel'was produced-not only as a means of informing the man in the street . what it is all about but'also of convincing him that the action his statesmen have taken are justified. BUSTER KEATON 'Grand Slam Opera' Comedy 20 mins. Globe, N. Y. Educational Buster Keaton was one of the co- authors ot this Satire on Major Bowes' radio amateur program and deserves plenty of credit from both the authoring and comedy stand- points. It's a good Job . both ways, with' the guy portraying Bowes turning;, in a straight, but expert imitation. This Is a wholly funny t\vo-:reeler, showing Keaton as a. small-town lad from Arizona who juggles and wants, to make good on the air. He finally gets, on Major' Crow's program, gets., the gong quickly but refuses to take It, arid winds up nearly wrecking the studio. There's a stock shot of the RCA Building in Radio City to cinch the resemblance Just in case audi- ences don't get the 'Major Crow* billing. It's pretty near good enough to be sold as a baby feature. Scho.' LEON ERROL 'Counselitis' Comedy' 1f. Mins. Rialto, N. Y. RKO-Radio A very funny Leon Errol comedy. A bit shorter than two reels.. Per- haps it was : cut down to that in- stead of the customary 18 or -20 by an editor who realizes the value of meat without gristle. Worthy of best dates. Errol is the likable husband again. This time he takes;- the ad- vice of a friend to bring a present home to his wife. His good inten- tions are mistaken and he ends up in jail after a court session that finds him accused of everything but murder. The courtroom sequence is very funny and punchy. Short is a credit to Al Bbasberg, who wrote , and directed it. Lee Marcus is the producer, and cast support, which is good, includes Landers Stevens and Edward Kane. Char 4 BERT LAHR 'Gold Bricks' With Roy Roberts, 15 Mlns. Center, N. Y.c Educational No. 6113 Well above average In comedy items. David Freedman, radio writer, fitted together a semblance of a 'plot' so that the unspoollng develops a story as well as gags. With Lahr to squeeze out the laughs the tout ensemble is amusing. It's college boy stuff. Strictly im- probable when not downright -im- possible but still mirthful. Bert Lahr is a college, boy. His Initia- tion Into a secret society occurs the same rilght that he is scheduled to ask his girl's dad for an okay. In- terview with the latter, a psychia- trist, Is on a special leave of absence from the initiation but With the conditions of the lodge requiring an eccentric style of behaviour. Land,