Variety (Apr 1938)

22 yARIETY mm REVIEWS Wedncfljaj, April 27, 1938 ROBIN HOOD (IN COLOR) HoHywoodt^April 26. kviKiui lion. Stars Krrol Flynn and Ollvlii 111. llnvlllind; reniuren ' Unall Hiithlwno finil Claude U-jInK. Directed by MU-h.iel Clin In iind ..Wllll.-im KelBhlcy; OrlBlnul wif oniil.iy. Nonnon Rellly Ralho nnd Scion 1 Mllli'i-; camera, Tony Gaufllo: muHir, Ki-U li Wolficiinft Korncold. At \V1I llolly- vind. April M„ "38. Running- time.. KM Jioliin Hood;, ....Errol' lynn M;ilil Muilun..Olivia I)c Huvllland Kir Ouy of Ulilbournc.... i. Hll Rathhono J'lime Joliri... Clniido Ilhlna VIII .Sourlet P.-ittIc; Knowl08 Kriiir Tuck Bugeno Palletlo I.ltile Jgha .Alan Hale JUxh Sherin of Nottingham.Melville Cooper KlnB Richard ....Ion Hunter jicyo .Una-O'Connor >lu< li-ihc-Mlller'a Son... .'.Herbert MunUjn UlKliop of DIuck Canon. Sir Ksaex Kir Rnir ,.. Sir Mortimer Kir Cleoffrey......... Kir Dnldwin... Sir Ivor Dickon MallMtte Ciipiiiln of Archera.. Innkeeper Montagu Love Leonard Wlllcy .Robert Noblo ,.... Kenneth Hunter ,.,. .Robert .War»(lck Colin Kenny .,..X<ester Matthews ...'...Harry Cordlnc Howard HIM Ivan' Simpson Robin Hood and his Sherwood For- est gangsters who saved England from royal treachery during the ab- sence of crusading Richard the Lion- Hearted live again in:films. Warners revives the legend with Errol Flynn in the role in which Douglas Fair- anks, Sr. scored his first big suc- cess 17 years ago. It is cinematic pageantry at its best- A highly imag,ihative tellihg of folklore in all the hues of Technicolori deserving handsome boxofCice returns. Film-is done'in the grand ihanner ©f silent day spectacles ■with, sweep and breadth of action, swordplay and hand-to-hand bottles between Nor- man and Saxon barons. Superlative cn the production side. The Adventures of Robin opd' makes a strong bid for family, trade and an appeal lo a public which takes its historical bedtime storied serious- ly. Robin Hood, with its naive, ro- mantic charm, has showmanship qualities in its tale of simple virtues, hard fighters for a righteous cause, and black'villainy. .Played with in- tensity by an excellent company of actors, an illusion of fairy story quality is retained throughout. Michael Curtlz and William Keighley arc credited as cOHdirect(ir3,.the for- mer having picked up the story soon after its filmmg started when 'Keigh- ley was incapiacitated by illness. There is skillful blending of their joint work from a screenscrlpt writ- ten by Norman Reilly/Raine and Seton I. Miller. Musical scoring is by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Out- elanding is the rainbow camera work of W. Howard'Greene, Tony Gaudio and Sol Polito, who have merged numerous compositions and effects .with colorful exteriors. Flynn makes, the heroic Robin a comewhat less agile savior of the pojt than Fairbanks'portrayed him, but the Warner version emphasizes the romance; Teamed again with Olivia de Havillahd as Marion, Flynn is an ardent suitor and a gallant courtier. There are some' convincing histrionics hy. Basil Rathbone, Claude Ilains, Patric Knowles, Eugene Pallette, Alaii Hale and Melville Cooper.. Lighter moments are fur-, nishcd by Una O'Connor and Her- bert Mundin. Montagu Love and Ian Hunter have less to ofo but do it with conviction: Some hundreds of' extra players are engaged in several of the scenes, notably the archery tour- nament, the scaffolding sequence and the coronation passage. Costuming and settings are uh- iisually brilliant and Carl Jules Wcyl's -art direction is- outstanding. Film has size,: an appeal for eye and enr, and a story familiar in every land. It shotild register substantially at theatres.. ' Flin. the standout, is oni the positive side of the ledger. Film runs 88 minutes, aiid: plenty is packed into it in the way of va- riety numbers', but the story is one o' those things. Blend-of the campus with the 'S2d street idiom makes for weird plot iresults. Particularly when Gracie Allen, as the No. 1 dunce, suddenly' inherits a college and turns it into a clambake. All this is background for ..the usit.il Burns and Alienisms. ' Bob Hope's skullduggery as the manager, Hortoh's typed timidity; with femmies, Ben Blue's knockabout 'comedy as; the pseudo-gym instructor, the stand- ard mayhem by the Slate Bros., Jerry Cplonna and Jerry Bergen in two hoke bits, and Martha Bayc's familiar 'b-boy* style of clowning, are intermittenly-eflective,. Florence George and John. Payne, evidence potentialities in the ingenue and juve assignments; Betty Grable does her usual soubrel; Jackie Cbogan's contribution is more, oir less a bit, and the rest are also-ran. Of the new faces, besides Florence George and Payne, E; O. (Skinnay); Ennis, alumnus of the Hal Kemp band where he was the vocalist, is to the fore with vocal interludes. Slates, likewise new to fllmusicals, although standard in vaude, will per-' force be likened to the.Ritzes, tlie Yachters and the Stooges, their stuff being a medley of all these type turns. Of the comedy, it's a pot pourri of everything irom the hokum mul-. tiplicntion and. subdivision business to. a reprise of the English-inflected ■Ihenk-ya!' type of running gag. In hetween, Gracie Allen rings in ah Irish reel, which about tops evcry- thiqfT. Ben Blue's comedy is prin- cipally along the lines of anemic calisthenics in the gym sequence.' The- titular 'College Swing*, con- stitutes the highlight staging by Le-' ■Roy Prinz, of which the peckin' motif is the basis. 'What a Rhumba Docs to Romance' is the finale num- ber, and a likely terp tune. Besides the above-mentioned—and of course 'How'.ia Like to Love Me?'j which, is already well in the air-^a ballad; 'I Fall in Love With You Every Day' has potentialities.. Film opens;in 1738,' around an old New' Eiigland' schoolroom setting, with one of the pupils going into a scat version of 'The Old School Bell,' which is the hyrhnal chant by the St. Bi-endans choir. Master asks the pupil his name, and he sayS, Benny Goodman. Whereupon Hortoh, as the: teacher, opines that' nothing good will .ever come of that type of sing- ing. ' Befoire the action segues from 1738' to the present, some 10 minutes elapse,- which-is'too much for'the primary objective. AbeL STOLEN HEAVEN . (WITH SONGS) Paiamourii prdOucUon and.felea!>e. Slarn- .Gnne Hiiymoiid nnU Oiympo Bradnn. r««- ture-') ir:i^n>la Karroll, Lewis-Slune. Ulre^tfd- l)v Arivlfcw L.. Stopo. S(nry, Andrew L. Sibno; ndiiMoilon. Eve. Gfcene wnd Fre<l- crti-k .lacknon: odlibr^ Tfoiine ' Hurrlson; phgtojjruphy, WJUIam Mellor; KOnjf. .Frnnli I.oPf!-or nnd Miinnlnj; Shorwin. Reviewed In ProJecllon Koom. N. Y., April 'J^. '38. Uunntnf; lime, 69 mlnii, Cnrl. .' Gone Tlaymbnd Sicfrt.. .■ , .Olynipf; Rradria nUii. Glonda Vnrr^U Lnn^uuer. >r.cwl!i Stone Vnn.; I'orter HjUI lOlnKinu DoUKliistt Dumbrlllc U;rko. ... JoP^'ph Sawyer I.lf'.'*tli(*n ...Kslher Djile Hiiboil Charles Judels r^ulXTt Iniind GoltMchalk I'^iloMle.., ■ Oharlo-M llaUon Wrn/cl , riert Roach Gntllleh "...Roire Sertan Uiir^'oiiiii Hoi-ace Murphy Miniatnre Reviews COLLEGE SWING Pnramo^nt rolean of Lewis B. Geiwlei- fiioiluctlon. Featnrea Georse Burns and (iinrle Allen, Marth'a Raye. Bob Hupc, K. K. Horton, Ben Bluo, Betty Oruble, J.nnkic Coognn. Directed, by llaoul WiiIhIi. Hi'iceiipluy by WaHer Dc Leon and FrUiiuls Kl.-rtln. baned on an.-adaptation by Krcd- rilcl: ira/.lllt Breiinan of an Idoa by Tert l.^xser; e<1ltor, LoRoy Stone; eongs. l-'Vank I.nf^.Hxcr, Uurton' Lane, Manning Stvornih, Il'.iisy Ca.nnlchacl: musical' director. llniU JlDirim; dnncee, LoRoy PrInz; aesNlant- f1ii,H;it)r, Itolnnd Asher; "Comero,- Victor Milnpr. Previewed N) Projection ,Koulii. K. Y„ April 21, '38. Running time.' -1 Jiiiu**, <!''nn;o JonnB.... <lr:^clu .VIden.... Jl.Thcl. .......... IM.I nriiily..^;.; li.ibort DilHh.... Clhit.i 'Anbburn. Volt ... H'.ity ..'.... J:i,'k:e ..; M.-iMii. Briicn... Ji'.ii) Sleet Itniiio Announcer... Different and refreshing,. 'Stolen Heaven' is pleasing entertainment all the way, the kind of a production that deserves to do considerably bet- ter' than average in the domestic mui'ket and abroad as well. It will boost the slock o£ both Olympc Bradna. Par's yoiing.star, and Gene Raymond, as well as the director, Andrew L. Stone. The original, on which Eve Oreene and Frederick Jackson's adaptation is based, was written by Stone; His story, while basically no gem as to plot or situations, obtains extra values in the writing, and the piloting of the yarn. -Plot is,actually iquitd thin, yet it.vfe competently holds the attention for a stretch of 88 niiiv utcs as performed by the capable cast that Was chosen. Everything is built around a gr?$up of clever jewel ....Georice Piirnn' thievc.<!, two. o£ whom (Bradn,! .and .....Oroi'ie AlkMi [ Raymond^ are innocently harbored ■■■■■ -iob li«i«'^'^ broken-down concert vei-ott Horiiin 'i Pianisl Until the .law finally' fci'rets lorcnce (3(iir-i;c ; them out. It i."! a queer story in many .-^^L, "I"'' I ways but n'iana;;cs very well- to avoid ■■■jackVe*'c'»"i:inidi.sconcciting except on . ..'.'...John Paj-'ii,' icouple minor occasions.,notably when Cecil'cunniti:.-iiMtii i Miss Bradna goes softie for Lewis Robert CuiomlnK." Slone, the pianist, ■swiinny K.iniH. .^he former Paderewsld, through •Robin (WB), pageantry at its best;- handsome.; b.o; returns. 'College Swing* (Par). i- ocre Almusical with Burns and Alien, Marthsi Raye; Horton, Blue, et al.. ^Stolen Heaven' (Par). En- tertaining an^: .well-made melp , that boosts'the stock-of Olympe Bradna and Gene' Raymond. 'Doctor Rhythm' (Par), tertaih'ing fllniusical starring. Bing' Crosby.' 'Four Men and a Prayer' (20th. Melodrama 'witli a bet- ter cast than story. Aver e boxoffice. .'BaUle of Broadway' (20th). Rowdy comedy .in a Legion convention background. 'Accidents Will Happen' (WB). Insurance fraud story, clipped from newspaper head- . lines. Unimpressive programer. ideout in the Alps' (GN). Okay supporting flim, offering something different, a skl- chasc between cops and crooks. a beer garden sequence. The pland- playihg by Stone-is probably dubbed; there is considerable of it. ' Miss Bradna, now 19, becomes a star with 'Stolen Heaven;' She' was previously .featured in 'Train From Madrid* and 'Souls at Sea'- by. Par, which found her at the French Casino, New York nitery, more .than a year iigo. She has loads of per- sonality; and her chances for front- line importance are excellent. Gene' Raymond also does a swell job as the brains of the .jewel mob figuring in this case. Miss radna has sonie dancing chbi-es;. including , an inci- dental toe dance, while a Viennese -waltz is being sung: -In one brief scene she .has a gardener singing a Moskowski number'with her,; .' Stone, proves a' nicie fit for the part of the 'old.jpianist, while Glenda Far- irell and PotteF Hall are excellent types as gein thieves. Others iii the supporting cast, all turning in -fine performances, include Dbiiglas Dum- brille. Esther Dale, Charles Judels, Joseph Sawyer and Ferdinand' Gott- schalk. The photography, by William Mellor; is excellent, a wild car chase being oiitstandipgly shot. Char. DR. RHYTHM Hollywood, April 26. Parnniounl release of ..Kmaiiutfl roliMi's production for ' Major Plct-ji. Stars ]il'nK. Trosby. Mary Carlisle and Beatrice TJIMe; featureH Andy^ Dcvlne. Rufo Davis. I.aur.a Ho)>e .Crew.s and l-^-cd- K(^lllInK. Pire'rtrd by-Kiiinlc'Tultlc. Sci-ccnplfiy by. Jo.Swerl- Ing nnd ntchurd Connel, ' ijopetl on 'The; litadg'c ot I^oUcenian O'Boon.'. by O. Henry; nddltlonal 'comedy , scenes by Dion Tithcr- adge; muKleal dh-c'ctor, George Stull; HonvK, 'John .burke and. Jainen V..-Monnco; ori-heK- trntlonii, John Scott Trotter;- dance", JacH Cro.sby; awoclatc producer, erbert PolojJle; c'nnic)-a. (*harles I.ting: ns.«i. director, KiiK' KCll Alatlhewfl. Previewed, at Paramount, L. A.. Aiirll 'JS,. running tifhe, HO nilnn. IJr. Reniveh .'.." HIng Crosby Judy • Miiry Gnrllste Mi-.o. I.nrelel DoilKe-lJludh-cll.liratrlce I.Mile Pati-ohnah O'Roon .•\ndy Devlne AJ.., Hufe Davl.i Mm. Twonibllng...' .tium Hope Crews Chrlfl T.e Hoy Fred Keating In^^ector UryC« JiVlin H.-tmlltun ......'sterling Hollowny Henry Wadpworlh ....Frahklln I'anglwrii Harold'Mlnjlr , . .Wllllanl AuMlIn O'Inp Corrado Harry Stiibbfl ...Fra«ik Elliott Charles Moore reunion, - Crosby,. a! successful phy- sician; Andy Devine,- a patrolman; Sterling Hollowny, ice cream sales- man, and Rufe Davis, :2ob keeper, do the celebrating. -In the more sober moments.of the. morning after, Cros- by takes Devine's assignmeint to act as bodyguard for a young sociiety woman. Thus the romantic, angle!- and introduction of Mary Carlisle's fragile blonde beauty. Story, winds up with a policeman's benefit show under Misis Lillie's spohsorship... This is the.setting'for a rowdy arid quite funny operetta buirlesque; entitled 'Only a Gypsy Knows,' which has its -moments of high hUarity. Supporting parts are taken' by Laura Hope Cjrews, Fred Keating, Harry Stubbs and Franklin Pang-^ born.' . 'Dr. Rhythm' will keep Cror>y at his present high box-office, rating. Flin. Four Mcin iiiid a Prayer . .Hollywood, April 26. StHhrFox release of Ketihcth MncGnwan production.- Featurea T..o'rctta Young.. Hlch- ard Qrecne, George .Sanders, David Nlv.cii, (J. Aubrey Sm.lth. .Screenplay by Ittclnrd Shemmn.'-Soiiya -I-evinn . anil Waller Fer- ris: from novel .by David.-Onrl^i:- cam*^ra. Ernest Palmer; rdltor, T.rfiulM • I.ooffler; miislc, Louis Slivers.' I'revlexved at Grati- man's Chinese, ' April ID,' ';18. Hunnlng tlnie, Ki nilns. .T.ynh T^oretta ')'oung' Oeoff. i' ',..,. Hit-hard. Gi-ecnc •Wyatt... GeoiBO S.iiiilerH Chris...., . Dm vid N i von I.K>Igh c.. Atibr'-y .'^mltli Torres....- lidwjti'd" Tlronibcrg nod....... ; William Homy Qoneral-'Sebastian .John Carrndlnc Furnoy..,.; -. Alan llalc lAivehihd.., Heglnald- DennV Gherrlnglon .Bcrtoh Churchill Mulcnliay. .Barry Fitzgerald General- ryce...-, Claude King Piper ; .Cccil_ Cunn'ingham Xulllns..... Drake...' ; ' Ah'-Ne«i Defense Attorney Proseetitlng Attorney....... CherH ton's'Becretavy Cockney....- Judge -......'....,.:..-... Coroner......'...". '.tury Foi man...' l<arrIsters..John .Spacey, C: .Frank Dawson ...'.John Sutton LIna. Basqueite . . .Frank, linker ..William Slack ...Har'ry JHayden . ..\VI11 Stanton ....Winter Hall. ... .T.lonel. T'apo. ',lIi:andon' Hurfli ■Montague Shaw I^ke.. Otis Eaton Mr. Planchlleld Mr' arllngale...; Mr. (Vtldwatcr...... Ca2}K)tta ;.'.... Police t^iptHin.'.,,. CrotVley Chauffeur , SUiiinov.. ....E. C.. 'Skliinny' KumIh late llrltthers..... '. .. .,Th,-mi*cIvci' . ^ , ^ l. ■ . ■ * ijou Mitc»|eii nnd the St. Brendan. i pn the concert .stage because he s lost .Chorlrtera T'lorcM r Yascha Koloskl,.Jerry C'oliin'h-i . .'.^hbiirn...... i... .Charles Truwlirlil-;,- J -fifCHKor Jasper Chlnn Jerry , Hcr::on •I'iio Pliybnys. ;.. .Thcins,-T\-rH Ci-iindpa Alden. ' Tally Marfliiill li"-. 'lorm.i Edward J. LoSnim Iji'.'ii .Barlowo lIurKiii'i 'College Swing* is a poor niusioai. Only the youthful'teihpp of tlie simv tot-I and the marquee value,'; nC ■<s and Allen, Martha Raye,. E. K; K v.'-n,'Jackie Coogani et al.. will get it attention,'- It's a medley- of vnlide specialties, bits and numbers ! elioscn r' -tmg together in not too happy.a i Mi.u.,; r •••-nov. A good set of songs, of nlhrrs ■'I'-.vja-Like to I^ve Mc?' his touch, sl;i.Qes a comeback throiigh the faith Miss Bradna and others fal.sely build for him. Note struck in this cotiiiection is little bit illogical but it. doesn't detiacl from the entcr- taipmciit A'aHics • obtained by Stone and. his players. DifTcncnt, al.so, with this picture, i.5 that it employs the music of .scv- •rral. ii-nmortals. including Wagner. I.ijil'.i. Mo.'^kow.iki, Chopin,- Grica and SliTiuss as. backiivoiind for scenes with Stone. Miss radna singing; the melodies of .some of the number.s Up ahead; on the opening, radna. Gene Raymond and do - a spc'(:i;ill.v-wrillcn ' sonii nys in. the Band,' atmosphere for After several previous tries in Hol- lywood filrtis, Beatrice Lillic finally cuts loose with' her exaggerated characterizations and satiric non- .scn-se, and. as a result 'Dr. Rhythm,' ill which she is co-starred with Bing Crii.sby and Mary Carlisle, will get heavy first run bookings this spring. There is good marquee display .in the title and top name's, aiid customers will spreiad favorable comment after leaving theatres. This film should do nice business. 'On. t^re Sentimental Si ,' .one of five songs by John Burke and James V. Monaco, looms the likeliest, along with' 'My Heart Is Taking Lessons.' Although the film lapses into con vcntional revue pattern before the finish, which weakens it consider ably, it carries' a farcical thread of plot suggested by O. Henry's short .story, 'The, Badge of. Policerpan O'Roon.' Jo Swerling and RicHard Cbnnell wrote the screenscrlpt, and apparently tried zealously to retain continuity. Once Miss Lillie starts lo cavort and opens up with her now standard 'Double Damask ^lapkin' skit, which is used as a running gag, the troubles, of Officer O'Rooh are likely to be forgotten. Filmusical was. made by Emanuel Cohen under his Paramount, releas- ing contract, recently terminated Frank, Tuttle. who directed .'Waikiki Wcddinp.' with Crosby starred, seems to have the right combination oh the croner's films. Gnslin" of Miss Lillic and then giving her the opportiihity to .show her .'iiifl. even if mut^h of it i.s familiar, material which she -has used on the .stage and over the air, is smnyi showmanship. Opcnint; s.cci>es are laid in the Cchfral.Tnrk zoo. where four liliimni rSf. Piibllc School .Ijlo, 4.'?. robkl.vn meet at midnight for their annual ith a; top director and an excelT lent cast ot players, 'Four Men and a Praiyer' starts out as-exciting melo- drama, ising interesting ro-^ mantle and. adventurous angles; It finishes as a piece of disappointing entertainment. ' Box office response probably will be below average, de- spite the name values of a strong Dlayer list; which includes' Lpretta Young, ichard Greene (personable juvenile recently ' imported from Londcn), George Sanders.. David Niven, C. Aubrey Smith. Reginald Denny, Alan Hale and others. Story is about munition manufac- turers, filibusters and international cbnpivers. , The action skips from continent to continent with the ease of short-wave...broadcasting. . India, London, South 'America, Egypt and Washington figure as backgrounds. Production values are good and the film bears the mark , of liberal ex- penditure: It seems to have every- thing Except .a convincing story.. Screenscrlpt was written by Richard Sherman, Sonya. Levien and Walter Ferris frorh a .novel by David Garth. Four sons of a Briti.sh army officer, who is dishonorably discharged from the service and subsequently mur- dered, set out to clear his name and record. 'Theil' chase to all corners of the world might have been tense and' thrilling if fhe audience knew more details of the cause for his un- just disgrace." With several story threads moving simultaneously, with characters using transatlantic phone connections to report clues, the film is geared tq episodic pace and is dis- concertingly jumpy. There are so many extraneous by-plots fsome of them introduced late in the fllm'i that the main issue of who killed General Leigh and why is fr uently lost sight of. As a mystery it be- comes mystityin.c. G. Aubrey-Smith ts the army of- ficer who IS betrayed by subordinates andmurdered by agents for a muni- tion firm. The .sons are played by Sanders, Niveni William Henry and the newcomer, Richard Greene. Last named is a good-appearing youth of the Robert Taylor-Tyrone Power type. He i.s capable in comedv. and his rorriantic scenes with Miss Young are well pilayed. He has bright pros- pects under his new Hollywood acfis. Ford handles individual scenes with .skill.'but the pace of the.fllin is ,s6 uneven, ranping from melodrama to farce., that the general effect at times is bewildering. Expert editing niight fiirthcr .straighten out some of the stor.y shortcoinings. Smalle>" .standouts are done bv J. Edward Bromberg. John Carradine. Alan Hale and Re.einald Dcnov. who plays a suave heavy. Barry Fitzger- ald would be fiinnier if he would .'ncAk. more distinctly. Bcrton Churchill gets .some bilmor from a villain role. Nevi is the best 'n the cast. ■ Fllji. Battlie of Broadway (WITH SONGS) . Ih-Fox i-eloase of Sol B. Wurlzel pro« duct Ion. Features Victor Mcl^len, Brian Duhlovy, T.oulse Hovlch.' Directed bv Ci'nrge .Mar.sholl. Story, Nornuin. Houston- ndapintlon, I.OU B^slotr and John I'at- rick; HungH, .S'Idney Clare and Harry Alisf- editor. Jack Murray; pliotography. Bamew McOlll. At RlvoJI. S.^ T.-weSk April ".\». Kunnlng time, M mlns.' ' . * Big Hen \Vheeler,.Victor McLoglen t-hc.Riy Webb................ rlan Donleyy bifida I.ce. . .'... ulse> Hovlcic Homer (,". Itundy,.. Raymond Walhurn .Mnrjoi-lo Clark ^fl^.s.. lto;;e|-Hi Jack .Uundy..'.'..... 'I'urkey... v......., fipal llpdykc....... .'ivenj'Oh ;....,,. .-\gatlin.....'......,. I'lDfessnr llalllgan.. IMnky McCann Judge Hutchlns...... ...'..T-ynn Ban ... .Jane Darwell ..Robert Kellard ..Sammy Cohen ' .....Esther Mulr .- . . Eddlo ITolden Hatlld .McDanlel .... .Paul Irving ...Frank Moran ; Andrew Tbmbe» Last fall's American Legion de- bacle in New York provides a fresh background for more of the-. Quirt« Flag .shenanigaiis in Sol Vfurtzel's aptly-titled prograrrier, 'Battle of Broadway,' a late spring release that ou.Tht to do lairly vvell .generally. It is rowdy, good-natured fun, stretched a little inore than it should have been, but withal enter ing enough, for satisfaction. ."The running time is inutes, with the second half slowing up somewhat-after a fine pace to about the middle. In the editing. Jack Murray could easily hav« scissored out 10 minutes or so in the second half for improvement. One of the disapppintments is the failijre of producer' Wurtzel or, hi director, George Marshall, to make more use of Sammy Cohen, wha sparkles- whenever, he is oh; He's almost forgotten after the hall-wajr, mark. Camera concentrates heavily, on Victor McLaglen and Brian Don- levy, the Quirt-Flagg combination of the story. Raymond Walbuirn is- the . Babbitt steel man from Penn- .sylvania.who, in trying to.break up his son's romance with a showgirl, falls, for Loiiise Hovick. nitery singei-; himself.. A somewhiat false note is: struck when the script takes this romance too seriously. Miss Ho- vick not beine the type to daffy over one such as Walbum plays; The sce- nario job otherwise is' very capable^ th,e dialog- especially above average. A good deal of socking and roughs house figures, the script in that con- nection authentically , reflecting this 'battle of Broadway* thait the Legion convention brought Shots of the actual parade are cut in for the.fin- ish.' ■ Two specially-written songs figiire, 'Legionnaires'and 'Daughter of Made- moiselle.'- cLaglen . and Donlevy lead a Legion bunch in singing.. 'Legionnaires,' Miss Hovick featuring the other number as oart of the night club -sequence, in which she ap-- pears. Both listen fairly. Char. CALL OF THE YUKON T^opiiMk rolenfl* of Armand Rchncfer in-uihu-Tlon. FPnlurti ItU-huM, Arleh,. Bev« criy (]liiT(5i, Lyle THlbok.. Directed by B, Jti'oVf's Knaon, ■■. Srrftcnplny, Gertrude OrT :ind AViiiiiim KHrlett from 'Swift T^lKbtnlhfr.'i iiy .Thmw'h Oliver' Curwood; cumerHrnHn.- KrnoMt Miller. Reviewed In Projectloa* Roojii. N, Y., April 1*1, '38. RuhnInK lline, 7U )iiinH. Giistnn.. Irhard Arleif •Iciin '. .Ueverly Rohertu HuKo.. Lyle Talbot Olce .l<i)in. MalA Cftiniiir Garry Owprt frMHilcy Topck S'wcik' Trapi'Cr... Wiiichiniin. ; Joe....! Hill. KnudhH ■ : Ivan Miller Jumen X^ono Kmory rnrnell ...)Jmy Dooley ... Al St. John Anfhoiiy Huphta ........ Nina Cnmpana. LTIISE SWUIHE IN PIX Hollywood, April 26. Progressive Pictures has Vigiicd Lui.se Squire for a scries of picture.";. Sh ihitials'hcr conti-acl in 'Scuiiditl House,' playing the role of Ihe gym iiistriictor. She is It from radi This combo animal and adventure epic is a little too much to jumble iiito one film. However, it does come out fairly clear if unconvinc- ing. Has added aid of mild draws Richard Arlen and Lyle Talbot, and exploitable angles in wild dogs (for the juves). Will have no trouble on the lower deck of dual depots. - Cast; namers do not seem very happy with what they are doing and film suffers a little from that. Things are stretched to' the breaking point, for all but kidis who won't mind seat- participation i the unbelievable happenings. Pui-siied by a pack, in- undated by snbwslides, nearly drowned, starved, embattlid against the elements- of rain, ice crushes, fall- ing timber plus fistic battles between men for a maid, and all come out in the clear. Love parallels-between the human leads aiM the two hounds, as part of the theme: Catch'/ Arlen finally pur.siiades girl writer lo exit a' deiserted Eskimo village- when all other signs of life have left and only wolves remain. Eh route to civilization they encounter every known and also unknown obstacle during which time she falls for Arlen who kills everything that walks.or crawls oh slightest'. provocation. After the rescue: by still another ad- mirer' (Talbot), Arlen nearly kills him in the primitive manner and temporarily loses gal. At same time a sti"a> collie, which has followed them from the wastes, deserts the hull-wolf she befriended for Talbot's martifr. but all go baick to their first love,s for finale. Collection Of animals and their tricks Will undoubtedly delight kidsi G;)'1 totcs two cub bears and a talk-- ing. raven besides the collie. Beiii'S ::i-e al'ways in trouble-and once in 'Ight froni hungry wolves.- Hiirl.