Variety (April 1926)

VARIETY FILM REVIEWS W««lliMtdaf, April 7, 1M8 THE NIGHT CRY (Continued from page 3€) pearances. This, with the fact that the police do^ utili hn.sa tremendous voKue, will be rcspondible for good business at Warnor'H this week. The scene of* the story la laid In the western sheep country. "Rlnty" la owned by John Martin, a sheep rancher, who toKether witli hla wife and child simply adore the dog. All of the sheepmen have been losing lambs from their flocks, and because Martin hasn't they believe his dog guilty of the raiding; it being an accepted fuct-that a sheep dog never raids his own flock. Murtln is waited on but defends his dog and offers to loud the accusers to the flock to show them that the dog Is on his job. But when they get to the herd the dog is missing. They ■earcj) for him and And him near a •lain lamb on a neighbor's ranch. The dog has been chaslnf? the con- dor and just frightened him^off into the nif^ht when the searchers come upon him. Immediately his death is decreed. Martin takes the dog home to idioot him, but when the flnal mo- ment comes cannot And it in his heart to go through. He hides the dog in his homo and later balks a search of the housr. This4eads into a pretty comedy sequence. The next day the sheep ranchers And addi- tional slain lambs and one of them decides to search Martin's home when only the wife and child are there. The flnal scenes are taken up with the man trying to kill the dog when he finds him in the house, the little child running forth and being picked up by the condor and carried oft to its mountain top lair, the dog making its escape and, with the mother, climbing to the nest of ^h© scavenger in time to rescue the babe. For thrills the picture is better than the majority of dog star pro- ductions that have been shown, al- though Rin-Tln-Tln docs not seem to get across on the screen with the appeal that the flrst of these dogs had. John Harron and June Marlowe, featured with the dog, handle their roles nicely, but little Mary Louise, tits baby, Is about the best little actress in the picture. Fred, THE CROWN OF LIES > Dlnltrl Buchowetalcl productios atarrins Pola N«srl, prtttrolAd by PauMus Playan. Biorj by IDmest Vajda, Adapted by Hope L<nrtnK and Lonla D. Llfbtoa. Shewn at the Rlvplt. New York, week March TJ. 102S. Ranninc time. 00 minutea. Olffa Kriga PoU Nesri Count Mlrko Noah It^^ery John Knlfbt Robert Amea Karl Charles Post Frita Arthur lloyt VoraU Mikball Varltch LieadlHR LaJ> Claay Fitzvprkld landlady Foster Actreaa ,... Prankie^ Bailey George Sidney and Charles Mur- ray have been signed for •'Sinners in Paradise," which Sylvano Bal- boni will direct for First National. It is evident from»the program billing for this picture that the original story that was shot for the screen was considerably edited be- fore it was Anally released. When all is said and done there 1% nothing to the Ernest Vajda tale but a little rewrite on "Such a Little Queen. There Is a little thrill to the picture bat It is so little that one really overlooks it. It does, however, give Pola a chance to act regally, and after all maybe that's what Pola wanted to do. Buchowetski who di- rected failed to show anything out of the ordinary in his handling .of the story, taking it through se- quence in a matter of fact manner, which naturally resulted in a mat- ter of fact picture and that Is all that thi.s is. The story Is that of an emigrant girl from one of the Balkan states who has come to this country and found employmervt as a slavey in a theatrical boarding house. There she mimics the stalking legits who are the paying guests and is the object of the affections of a young flivver salesman who is also stop- ping there., He takes the slavey out to treat her to a cup of coffee and at the same time try and convince her that she should marry him nnd accompany him to Sylvania in the Balkans where he Is to open an agency. Just at that minute in walks the man servant of Count Mlrko who believes that she is the dead Queen of Sylvania, who was lost after the palace guards revolted and forced her to flee for her life. The girl resembles the late Queen so much ^that when she is brought to the Count he immediately decides that heNwill take her back to the country it'om which the nobles have been exiled and utilize the resem- blance to compel the present ruler to restore their fortunes. When the girl arrives in Sylvauia, her strutting and mimicking of the queens of tragedy stand her in good stead for she really assumes a regal ^roadway Ablaze with excitement CROWDS STORM BOX OFFICE to get in to Colony Theatre ^''FLAING FRONTIER Univertal'ft Migthy Epic of the Weftt A Univeraal Production—Directed by Edward Sedgwick pose and the peasants believe truly she's the Queen, ris4> against the ruler, Vorski, and again place her on the thron«h Through ail this the flivver salesman is with hsr and when he wants to leave to return to theTunltcd States she begs him to again take her to that. country, wtllinKly giving up her throne and all the planior and splendor of the palace for a flat In New York. Pola Negri does fairly well in the earlier comedy moments and then during the tragedy that leads up to her coming on the throne is queenly enough, but she does all of the latter with a certain matter of factness that isn't at all imposing. Noah Beery as Count Mirko is by far the most accomplished player of the cast, while the mighty Charles Post certainly does flt the rolo as- signed him. Robert Amea played the load as though It were a boob character bit and in the later scenes managed to score although in the earlier portion of the picture he was unconvincing. "The Crown of Lies" Isn't one of those pictures that anyone Is going to rave about and Is claasifled as any ordinary program picture. Fred, CriticB Loud in Their Praise "Gigantic production." Rose Pelswiek KVENING JOURNAL "A thunderous movie.*• N. Y. MORNING WORLD Great spectacle—full of frills." Roscos Mcdowan DAILY VTEWS "Thrilling scenes mAgnlflcent— settings imiS^eflsive.'' Harriett* Underbill N. Y. HKKALD TRIBUNE "The Flaming Frontier is of the best—wonderfully staged—mar- velously photographed." Palmer Smith EVENING WORLD "Parents as well as children will relish It" Eileen Creslman N. Y. AMERICAN •Tou'll enjoy it and got a real thrill out of it." Dorothy He^zog DAILY MIRROR Now riAf AII17 Twice Daily I III 11 nl Y 2:45 A 8:45 P. M B. S, Moms' Vl/tiUll I SOt. to $1.50 Theatre, Broadway at 63d Street BRIDE OF THE STORM I. Stuart BlacktoB pr«>d'Jctlon. ^Trrlns nolorea Co^tello. Presentftd by Warner Ilros. From the •tory, "Maryland. My Marylfind." by Jamea Francis Dwyer. .\(]Hpfert by Marian Constance. Shown at the Rlalto, New York, week of March 27. li»2rt. Ruimimr time, 70 minutes. Faith Vltzhuph Dolores Coatello Dick Wayne John Murron Hani Kroom Otto Mattlcaon Plet Kroom Sheldon I^iewls .Takob Kmom Tyrone Power Mri*. Fttzhuirh Julia Swayne Ooidon Faith (ase 8) Bvon Felletipr Dolores Co.stelia and three charac- ter lniper.<ionatiun8 given by Otto Mattieson. Sheldon Lewis and Ty- rone Power are the outstanding 'eatures of this picture, which on the whole Is Juat one of those pro- gram pictures of the type that Vita- erraph turned out in the past that ^ere desii^ned for the neighborhood [louses. That is all that this one is, and it has no place in the first-run houses. It is the last of the Vita- graph pictures that will play the Rlalto, New York, under the agree- ment nfkade some time ago under which a Federal Trade Commission iction on the part of Vltagraph against Famous was discontinued, ^or last week there was a special Charleston contest staged at the theatre, which pulled the money. The story of the picture Itself is one of those "wave-th^-American- flag" ideas. A mother and daughter start for the Far East on a steamer which Is wrecked, and they are cast up on a lonely island where the light is in chargi^ of the three gen- erations of Krooms. The mother dies, the girl grows up without knowledge of her mother tongue, but there lingers in her mind the words and melody Of **Maryland, My Maryland." Grandfather Kroom de- cides that the girl Is Godsent, for no erirl in her right mind would marry his idiot grandson. So he plans that when the girl grows up she and the boy will marry, and then the two elders of the family will claim the girl's fortune in America and divide It" bBtweem -them. At that time the U. S. N. cable repair ship looms up, and the Amer- ican boys come ashore. A yotmg ensign hears the song of'his native State being sung with a foreign ac- cent, and his curiosity Is aroused, but when he asks the Krooms as to the whereabouts of the singer they deny there is anyone else on the Island. In the days that follow he meets the girl, the two fall In love, and flhally ho rescues her from the hands of the Kroom trio, all three of the latter losing their lives In the flghl and the burning of the Jight that follows. For out-and-out meller the pic- ture isn't badly handled, but it is a cheap picture, lacking In class that would warrant it playing the prfe- rolease theatres. In the neighbor- hood houses It should more than please, and the cast loolu like good advertising value . * Dolores Costello looks like a mill ton-dollar bet here, and even without "The Sea Beast** record be- hlnd'lf^r. she is the outstanding fig- ure In'thls picture. Then comes the character trio, and-Anally Johnnie Harron. who plays the lead. Harron and Lewis put up about as corking a flcfht as ba.q been seen in a long while, and they make it appear realistic enough for the average audience to want the hero really to win. Mattleson's work as the half- wit Is as fine a piece of nctlnt? as has been screened In some time, while Tyrone Power as a typical "Capt. Hook" makes that role st.ind out tremnndonsly. Fred. Called the Film Associates. Inc., they have presented two ttlms, this being the second, on Sundays at the Klaw to slim audlencaa, a' string quartet furnishing the musical ac- companiment. Their advisory board consists of Christian Brinton, occupation un- known; Sheldon Cl»eney, prominent In local art theatre movements; Jane Heap, who, with Frledrich Kicsler, helped organise the recent Interna- tional Theatre Exposition; Law- rence Langner, a director of the Theatre Guild; Kenneth MacUowan, a director of the Greenwich Village Theatre, and Gilbert Seldes, the eminent "discoverer." "Cinderella" is badly acted by actors who grlmaee and th«n act for dear life and no other reason. Instead of being treated as a sweet little fantasy the German version of "Cinderella" is concemsd with many kinds of magic other than that introduced into the orig- inal legend. Here the prince ia a stolid Teu- tonic looking fellow surrounded by stolid and funny looking courtiers, all of whom live in a funny looking palace which looks more like a prop set than those they used to build in the days when pictures were young. The big scene of the film is where the prince picks up the pretty girl's shoe and then sends him mob hunting for her through the royal gardens, roman candles spurting In every direction to sup- ply the light. Of the cast Helga Thomas Is the heroine, and she looks like a blonde who might be corlting in some other fllm. Here it's all a dead loss. Attendance at the Klaw was slim for this one. Those In, people Inter- ested in the newer developments In pictures maybe, haw-hawed all the way through. This one from UFA, called "Cin- derella," Is certainly the one In- stance where that old theme does a mile-deep flop for the simple rea- son It Is a poor picture—artistically and commercially. Bisk. THE FAR CRY First National production starring Blanche Sweet. Adapted by I-Tatherine Kavanaugh from Arthur Rlchman's staee play. DU rected by Sylrano Balbonl. under editorial supervision of June Ma this. Reviewed at Proctor's B8th St. theatre, April 5. Shown In conjunction with a vnude. bill. No Broadway first run. Run^ilns tini6, about 70 minutes. Claire Marsh Blanche Sweet Dick Clayton Jack MuUmll I^oulse Marsh Myrtle Stedmon Julian Marsh Hobart Bosworth Max Franler L«eo White Helen Clayton Julia Swayne Gordon Count Sturanl John Salnpolis This picture cost a barrel of some- body's money. In the flrst place, the fllm rights cost $30,000. Secondly, the produc- tion is needle.stily elaborate, a grand example of careless spending. The riot of big scenes, costumes and end- less expensive interiors, capped by more than a reel of color stuff, makes $2S0,000 look like a moderate estimate. It is the flrst directorial efTort of Sylvano Balboni, the hus- band of June Mathls, who until re- cently occupied a powerful and In- fluential position with First Na- tional. Balboni was formerly a cam era, man, - With all its handicap of expense, "The Far Cry" is a good picture, but whether Its rental value will be too high to let it mean profit to an exhibitor is an entirely different question. That It I.i a good picture doewn't mean that it is an excep- tional draw, for the story is more or jess prosaic as developed K^e. Utterly unlike the play, the picture Is almost a spectacle at times, and where the play tried to portray the life of a decadent set of Americans in p]urope, the picture goes to no such subtle lengths and merely lays out a storj' of a wealthy American heiress who marries a fortune hunter, divorces him after it is made clear that she left him before sundown on the dixx of their wed- ding (for purity's bake), and then engaged in a romance with a bav- hood sweetheart whose opponentlls a lecherous count. Thus the count and the young sweetheart contend for the girl's hand, and two guesses as to the winner. Blanche Sweet, handling the lead in fine fashion, becomes more beau- tiful with every picture and in the color sequence she was somcthinK to grow enthusiastic over. Jark Mulhall did well opposite, while John Salnpolis, with his name changed to John St. Tolls In the titles ,is good as the Count Ho- CINDERELLA I'KA pr:vluctl(>n. made In r.ermany. with llfljca Thoma?" fcntureJ. PIrcctod by I.ud- UtTuer, tItliHl by Robert A. SHnborn an.l cflited by Joseph R. Flclnb^r of the lo- rn I I'KA office. Presentrrl hrre by thn Film ;\.ssoc1ateB, Inc., at the Klaw, April I, nt $1.(U top. With the International Film Arts Oiilld already in operation to the extent of occupying ths Camoo for a month with revivals of the brpt pictures made in the past, a n ^ »?roiip devoted to the "artistic" i- the iiov -fllms comes to ih% torn. ' bart Bosworth, Myrtle Stedman. Eric Mayne, Mathilda Comont Dor othy Revier and Julia Swayne CJorl don fill the minor parts. conipktiM» an excellent and an expensive casL **The Far Cry" will paas muHter as a flrst run feature, but it is im- possible to neglect the unuKual sum It must have cost. Hiak, The Lawful Cheater Produced by BenJ. P. BchulborK V» rltf«« and directed by Frunk O Conm.r. AjamS by AdeU Bufflnston. Clar» U«v/. featurS Slayer. LHatrl^uted by Commonwealth r« bown At the Stanley. New York. sintU feature. April B, 193A. Ranning time 5? minutes. Molly Bums oiara Bow J<omiey.»»David Klrbr Richard Steele Raymond Mr.Ke« Roy Burns t-MwaP'] tleai-a Johnny Bums cieurf^u (\>oi>fl|. Tom Horaa Pied Krlaew Mrs. Perry Steele Gertrude Pedlar "Oraveyarc" I^sardl jHck Wl^ "Silent" Sam Riley John T. Prlnoe Some years ago Bennle Schul}>erg was In the press department for Fa- mous Players. He shifted Jobs until the day came when he launched forth as an independent producer. Then came other days and Bennle la back with Famous, this time having a lot to say about future F-P sub- jects. Whether Bennle knows more letters than are In the "ABC's" of fllm economy, there are flashes in "The Lawful Cheater" that Indi- cate Bennle Schulberg knows the ii^ and outs of feature production. "The Lawful Cheater" didn't cost a lot of money, but on the whole flashes a pretty good expenditure It's a modern story, deals with crooks and shows the Inside of a prison with a girl prisoner gabbing from behind the screen to her sweetie. It seemed a coincld-ence, but thoTo was that picture which has a run- ning fight between gunmen while the New York pai>era have been chockful of Kang raids, murders and robberies. And there sat this girl behind the screen a\ a time, too, when the audience had Just read in its evening papers that Gerald Chapman was to swing at midnight (Monday) for having failed to walk the straight and narrow. In the hanging of Chapman thers is supposed to be a moral. Bennis Schulberg's picture has a moraL There is no hanging to be sure, but a girl, caught Innocently in a round up hy the police goes to prison while every male member of the two gangs that caused the raid got away. I.e., from the cop.s, as several were bowled over in .the exchange of bullets. The girl, realizing that her two brothers are going f^-om Legit Managers Keep Your Theatre Open Send Us Your Open Tims Now BOOKED to PLAY Erlanger^s Tulane NEW ORLEANS Kept Open Ail Last Summer Shubert's La Salle CHICAGO PEBCENTAOK DATE8 A Road Show Picture that will pack them in. S NAKED Tm State RiffhtH for Sule Public Welfare Pictures Corp. 723 Seventh Ave, New York City 806 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago Al CHRISTIES Surprise