Variety (Jul 1926)

Wednesday. July 28. 192G 19 popular. But Neil Is an awful ♦titew," also quite a "chuaer," caus- inif hla film work and wife to be neBrlecced. Harrison Halllday attempts pet- tirif? a Job as an extra. His \iko- nesa to Keeley strike-a O'Malley and he is eRguKed. When Keeley lapses into a jag. as he frequently does, Harrison substitutes for Ioiik shots. Some studio work is shown with explanatory sub-titles. Kealism is inserted with the num- bered slate and the directcr halting a scene to have the star powder her face. Keeley is killed in an ftutoniobiie accident. Halliday l.s persuaded by the producers to assume his name and place. The .'•tory flops and flounders thereafter until the end. Halliday falls in love with Miss Kane with blackmail stuff by a for- mer sweetheart of Keeley's and a lawyer, who know of the replace- ment by Halliday. Without a laugh Miss Kennedy is at a disad van luge. She is a come- dienne and her eyes twinkle even in a crying scene. With a gag or two she would have made her role a toot-sweet. But as is she is just a brooding film str.:*. Louise Carter and Coit Albertson play Qxcellently. Whitman Bennett's direction is good at times, very good at othor>^, sometimes faiiltv. MISMATES Fir.st National release (Karl Hul.son pro- <luctioru of Myron I'. FaRun n Htage play. <<j blarririK Doris Kenyon and Warner tcr. Chaile.s Urabin directed. Charlf.s .Mur- ray. May Alll.son and Philo McCullough prominent in east. 70 Minut«>.s at I#oew's JStale, New York, week July I'G. their house, a scheme to which the older crook readily assented because ho figured she would help divert suspicion from them. The old woman duly became their 'mother," with great interest in af- fairs, until the time arrives whir she di.scovered they were crooks. Realizing that the older fellow was too deep in to reform, she cen- tered her interest on the youngster. One night, as he was to rob a safe, confronting him at the scene of the crime and by a twist of events, she was captured by the police, while the real robbers got away. Under the third degree she refused to re- veal the identity of the crooks but the Kid attempted to confess. At this time the old woman was found to be the sister of the wealthy wom- an who had been robbed, so the whole thing was squared. Lucy Beaumont gives a good sym- pathetic performance as the old woman, while Herbert Rawlinson and Gareth Hughes do well as the contrasting crooks. Wanda Haw- ley, the sweetheart, isn't before the camera very much, but her few scenej fall rather flat. "Men of the Night" is a good melodrama. While not first run material for big houses, it is suit- able and satisfactory for vaudeville houses playing pictures. One and about the only drawback Is that its featured names probably have little draught on their own account. Sisk. THE WOLF HUNTERS Uen tVil^on production. Ra>ttrt picture, .fdapled from the »tor> by Jamea Dliver <'urwood. Directed by Stuart Paton. At I/.H*w a Now York, one day (July -S). Uun- nit>B time, ti,1 nnnutet. S»TKt Ste\e Drew Alan Ho.moo .Minnitaki Virginia Urown Faire Hrliii Ain.vwortti Mildred llarria Ain.swortli Robert McKim Uixl»-rick Drrw Carrol Nye I>e Cr.jnKe David Torr»ncc t'l«'a\e Al FerKUson Wooml»a Joe l>e l.a «.'rui One of the numerous Canadian Mounted tales with plenty of "get your man' stuff but a good and in- telligently entertaining picture. Most of the enjoyment is pro- vided by \'irginia lirown Falre as a half-breed Indian girl. She runs away with the picture. Dark, young, large eyes, fine features and sassy action. Alan Roscoe has the male lead, that of Sergt. Steve Drew, the "lone rider." He always rides alone and always "gets his man." Villainous action by Hob McKlm. that old standby and perfect cinema evil-doer. Mildred Harris has a comparatively small role, done poor- ly. She merely looks sorrowful in several closeups. She can play more advantageously. The picture should make money In its roimds, for the Royal North- west Mounted Policeman Is always an attraction to the galleries. SHORT FILMS AESOP'S FABLES ("PIRATES BOLD") These Aesop's FabK's ha\c born so regularly and loni; shown in all Keith - Al lu't' or K - .A booked Naiulc- ville theatres th.at the surjiiis*' is Kelth-Albee or someone in lh»Mi- offices holds "a piece." That .s;iiiu» riMsoning g«)es f»>r "Topics ol the Day. ' a maudlin ri - written ga^Kint: screen alleged funny bit th:it iMobalily l;as vlrlven n;any a person away from strai^;ht vatnle- vUle. but It ^oes with the rest of straight v--^i^ville when there's side mone> for .somebody, all tending to the drlveaway that duly arrived. It's not an unlikely haz;ird. now that K-A has hooked up with 1*. D. C, a picture (listrll)ut«»r. and In view of the ease with which K-A forced these two nu-ntioned shorts upon vaudeville houses, that K-A will go In for more .shctrts, osp«»ri;>lly sinre they have lost the Hal lloaeii short stuff. Which with what ebse K-A will try to force upon their booketl vaudeville theatres, that also tak- ing In the Orpheum Circuit, the vaudeville house with a manager who knows pictures can safely lay in a plentiful sui>ply of headache powders for next season. This ' rirates liold " of the Aesops' F.il.les Is much like all of the others tlit'v never did wear, and have Immmi discounted a hundred-fold by regular picture n».ti<.»'ts with l>ettor com«>li<'.<i holding Innnans. ' Faltb's ' are ina«l»' on the iMrtoon piint-iple ;tnd th'Tt'fore made !nt>n» I'heaply. tS'ime. MATRIMONY BLUES Iini>o: '..>l <\.;i,i'.|y. W ill'.un l*"«)k |>i i«1 U'" • ti.iii l>it>vti».| j)\ l.cx Nf.il At ''>Ilim\- tui-, N'.A Vork. Jul\ K'.nnin({ tiinf. l.'t iniitijt(>.> Program comedy with familiar stuff. lA^c ConIt> it; K-sid. Funny bit with husband .md wife arguing at tlmner table. To be f.arther aw.iy from oii»* ;moth»'r, they add boanls to the t.ible until hub- by's seat is out on the lawn and wife's in the hall. Dot FArley. Marlon Dale. Krnest Wood and G. Howe Rhuk in the rast with Conley. Mermaids of the South Seat N.itur.il Color Fllma. Inc. »>no .subject. .\t C.hnnbu.M. New York. July 34. Uunnlng time. aiK nunuteH. Fisher girls wade into the water with large, balloon-shaped baskets and use team-work, but don't seem to c.iteh many fish. All In color. Inteiostlng. of scci^lc beauty and short. A mother theme Incongruously developed from a mlsmated mar- riage. It affords Doris Kenyon some excellent histrionic oppwrtunltles, of ■which this capable screen actress fully availed herself, but the entire proceedings become so Inconsistent with the screening's progress that one wonders why It is all taken so seriously. Phil McCullough Is cast as a jlch mother's darling. She refuses to acknowledge his wife of five years into the exclusive household. The author and director would then have us believe that in order for the socially wealthy WInslows to gain possession of the adorable kiddie, they "frame" the wife into the penitentiary. Even up to that point much could be forgiven, but thereafter the mother, who has been summoned to manicure the warden's wife, effects her escape through the warden's household. Whether prison Inmates are invited by public offi- cials' wives to administer facial ma.ssages and manicures la besides the point. Rut that escape! Reaching the household where her baby boy Is physically failing and crying for his "mumsy," one encoun- ters an "exclusive social festival" that looks like a reel out of "Ben- Hur • Why Mr. Brabin. the director, could not have made this a sane occasion in honor of the prodigal son and not try to out-CecU DeMille with a Bacchanalian orgy, puzzles the intelligence. What matters the acting after that story and direction? If there's an amusement demand for this sort of thing. "Buster Brown" should make a great sex scenario. Abel. Men of the Night Mclodrnnna produced by AI Ronell and distributed by Henry Ginsburg under the Sterling Plcture.1 i'orporation trade-mark. Story by Florence Warner. At Ix>ew'a State. New York, week July 19, aa the fllm feature In conjunction with vaudeville Itunninf; time, 71 minutes. DIok Fester Gareth Hughe..* J. Rupert Dodds Herlvert Rawlin?«on Trixie Moran W.nn.li H.TwIey Mrs Abbott T.ucy Heaumonl One of the few Independent films to bo shown in Loew's State. Now York (tied up between M-C:-M and F. P. output). Although "Men of the Night" hasn't any star names to lend it a potent box office pull. It is a splendidly made picture and holds interest as a melodrama. Al Rogell's direction Is varied from the stereotyi>ed stuff. Though nothing new was done. It was a dif- ferent brand from the abvlous, #»eavy direction usually given seri- ous stories made by the state rigbt- ers. Introducing a crook story, Ho- gell uses shadow silhouettes to ox- press certain bit.s of action. His lighting and technical arrangement is so well worked out that the sil- houettes register as well as if it had been done in the regular way. The plot concerns an experienced crook and a young fellow over whom he held so much power that the boy was forced to be his accomplice. The crook operated an antique shop ns a blind to other activities, and here a stenoqrapher, sweetheart of the youiiLc.ster, worked. Orie ni;^'lit, after a Job. the cops got on thf'ir trail. To throw them off the l;id left their loot in the li.uids of an old woman sitting on a I>itk Itcri'h. Slnick by h'T kind face, he In- vil<'fl h< t lo ( itiie and Like c.iro of There may be stars in Heaven and stars on Earth but — GREATER F. B. 0. HAS THE STARS AT THE BOX OFFICE! JOSEPH P. KENNEDY Presents DANA In SIX special melodramas lit with comedy FILM BCX)KING OITICES >OF AMERICA. D4C 1560 Broadway New York, N. Y. A star of purest ray serene—at the peak of her career—joins the ever- growing ranks of F.B.O/s unfailing box-office personalities. And the showmanship of F^.O.'s brilliant new production organization guarantees for her still greater tri- umphs at the box-office.