Variety (Jan 1928)

12 VARIETY FILM REVIEWS Wednesday, January 25, 1928 CONFETTI (BRITISH MADE) ■ Tjbnclon, Jan. 4. Plrst. National British Produoiton. . Ptury by iJouKluff Fui'ljor, Jiii(f<.'l(>il liy Graham Cutis. Art direction, N. U. ArnoM. I'ho- tofrranhy, Hoy OvorbiiUKh. Censors' Cer- . tlllcnte, U.- Rminiiig ilnio, 72 .ml»uiPP Prevlcwoil ot lilppodtoriif, Txvndon. . .Count Amlrca iji-ll,a Zorro, ..Iixclt Uuohanan X>olorc.s \,, .Annette Bcn.'^on ■Carlo .-.IloUln Ir.vinc Hoxano . ;. Audree " Sayre Grand DuchesS Maxixe. .Sydnoy Falrbrotiier ■ This, the first British film, to be mado. as a quota contribution, by First National,: succeeds on .one iscore and falls on three. Technically It is alimost without blemi.<3h; continuity,. sets, light.'?,. 4ressin(?.. all there, Cast pretty good, too. But the total effjict is a.s If "Tot Of • tlinu some one .had fipent a putting, a diamond jpolish on a piece ,of bottle glass. For the story la . 'card-index stuiff and all the cars In the Nice carnival.3 have been seen so many time;?. ; Besides which, the picture never corties to life. Thcr<^'s no putich in the direction; the artists under-act Or Gvefact, according to their im- mediate moods. The ifllm glveis the Impresisiori of the director having little interest in it butside some of the rriob scenes. Count ZbiTQ (riot related to the Fairbanks family of Zorros) is 40 arid still looks youthful. t)olores Is to and looks even more so. He loves Jijer and. she loves him, and he is about to propose on the first night of the carnival when Grand Duchess . aunt. arrives with Roxane, a baby Happier, whom she designs for An- drea. He falls for her till he finds she .Is In the kindergarten class in, ideas and tastes. Then he swings .back to Dolores, and the baby girl hooks up with lit- tle boy Carlos, aunt having mean- time explained to Andrea her Idea was revenge for having been disap- pointed In a youthful love affair of her own. Ends with, confetti cutter, who hais run through the jplcture as a kind of Greek chorus> turning out to be the love of the Duchess' IIIt spent youth. Not so much of a story, but pos- «ibillties aplenty for character butidiiig and clashes, which are missing. Sydney Fairbrother mugs too niuch as the Duchess arid makes whjit should be an ironic figure al- most grotesque. Audree Sayre haa been canvassed as a findj but does hot show it in this film. She is self-conscious arid naive and occa sionaUy appears as If .she is a bit camera shy. Fair looker and may have possibilities when more forc- ibly directed. Annette Benson looks . good and troups Well, but .the two men, Buchanan and Irvine, liave'ltt"- tle to do. Both can act, but they . don't have to in thls. Just a program picture,-with a higher polish thari this class usually geta^ Littlo dramatic value and not a kick. . Frat. i.s no exception, oithpr .side. It's ex- ceptional for a regular program rc- lp.'i.si», <>von f(>r I'aramount, and a mcidC'l ■ for evt-ry ncw.sijapor writer anywhoro to nilvoofUc that . their roadors .<3cc it, if. giving no other roasori than it .should be sei'n to elevate tho common impression of the popular price, mn'cvn. . PerJiaps the. flaps .and their .«iaps will not rave, over this picture; There may be tod many whiskor.s in it for the glrl.s arid not enough mush for the simp."?, but a. picture such as this broalts In .neatly and nicely as against the background of the screen's vapory array of mostly nothirig at all in substance. A few inore similar program pic- tures iarid it's pos.'^ible, but . barely, that tho babes niight be partially educated. away from doll maps, and fiinrty Tniista.t 'hos. Yet there are A CHANGE OF HEART (FRENCH MADE) Paris, Jan. 15. The novel of Maurice Dekobra, now in the limelight, serves as the ■ scenario for this French picture re- . lea.sed by Paramount. The writer has a circle of readers and his.name should attract at present. The title ip fairly well known as a "best seller" of the moment..and the screen version of Marco de Gastyne closely follows the book. The ac- tion is laid in New York (with views of the city), and Venice, the ■ picture being creditably produced by Natan. • . Mi's. Turner, Vealthy widow, is coutted by ririany suitors. By the terms of her late husband's will she loses the fortune should she marry an,d then dlyqrae, the money going to a daughter by a.fornier marriage. Dextrler, haindsome aristocrat, on hla uppers In^ New York, is enli.sted by ^ a ycbrporaliOiir Headed " by" ayre-- jected .prince, to win Mrs. Turricr^s hand, and easily marries the widow. The couple spend their honeymoon in Italy. For some unexplaiiiablo ..reason Dextrier becomes tied up in en Intrlguo with his Wife's step- daughter, now a drug fiend. This .leads to a separation,, the' man re- turning alone to France. .. Annette Benson Impersonates the . rich widow, but does not seem at i^onie' in the part: Choura Milena makes good as the step-daughter; Philippe Heriat Is the villairi, show- . Ing hlnnself a true actor, while Olaf Fjord holds the part of the young' busband with distinction. . It Is doubtful for the Anglo r Saxon: market because of the poor storj'. • I'roductloriaily, It might surprise. . Kendnewi . enoi^gh American followers of this. Iriiported star, though here but a cbmpara.tlvely short time, to com- pose his own audiericcs and enough of others to appreciate what a really fine photoplay is "The Last. Com- mand:" Jannlngs is an e.logarit. and elo-. quent actor. That covers it all ori that end. But it must be surmised that he is no les.? a director, the latter in no disparagement of Josef Von Sternberg's . Av.ork here, but more because every time a Jannirigs picture coriies .out, all of the actors in it are actiug. Evelyn Brent you will like immCr diately, and Will lam Powell, giviijg a corking perforriiance in a double eided.role. Story .riaade quite interesting through its base and that base-^s a studio in Hollywood, To bring it o;ut more sharply and. push in the mellers, a cut back goes to Russia In the early dayis of the : war and the revolution. There Jannings Is the commander-in-chi<ef of the Czar's armies in the field; This pic- ture's working title was "The Gen- eral." Imperialistic in Russia: and the cousin of th6 Czar; whom he defied when Instructed to have a play of- fensive for that guy early one.morn- ing, the general, overthrown arid overwhelmed by the revelutioriists, drifts to Hollywood, tb become a $7,60 a day extra waitirig in a room- ing house for .a call, It. comes when a Russian picture director requiring a movie army recognizes a phbto of the general as the same who whipped him in .Russia In .1914, when the director then was a starving actor-revolu tionist. . They mak.e. him a general again, at $7.50 daily, with many studio scenes, to lead a movie army of Russians. This he does, shaiten and halting until the director calls tbr "music" and the Ru.ssiari Anthem Is played, mostly on the piano. Now the gweral Is himself once more, again employs his whip to strike dbwn' the foolhardy and goes to his death on the picture platform while, leading his suping forces.: You believe it all because Jan- nings is. doing if,;although the death finale forbids any applause at the finish. . Plenty of direction arid as much photography. There doesn't appear to be a miss or skip either. When considered that a picture of this magnitude was 90 percent made on the Paramount lot in Hollywood, one may marvel over what there is yet to arrive in picture m'SIting, say- ing that if nothing else and remem- bering the army before the Russian, headquarters in ttie field. Herman Mankievvicz's titles arc no small part of the interest, always perfectly placed and phrased. They hold a . couple of laughs?, although the subjects matter limits that. A most. gub.stantii\l high grade picture with the .I'ariamount's press sheet for "The Last Command" de-- scribing it accurately with its scrdamer front page head saying: "Another Great American-Made Jannings Hit." timiitcd without harm. All animal i>ii'ture,T haVG had that stuff, also the water-hole bits, thoiigh tho Johnsons picked up a couple of now ppecies to Anifrioan.s at large at one of th-e water holes. Crocodile.'-: in abundance, rhinos In numbers and also wild homs in lots arc more extensively pictured, and inoro. in. fact, in groups thaa hcre- tolnre seen. The boar bit is well clonri on the .lens erid, and there is much dangerous caimera work In this filln with as much more. pictured. aMr.<;. O.siv Johnson is jgriven the shots that seemingly first kill an elephant, then a boar, although no shots were aimed apparoritly at one of the lions, even yhcri he was about to.catch a native when dashing in ainbng the .cpt^ar carrier.s, the spears being their only defense. . \ Something hew In wild ianimal liimimk_is_t.he flashlight pictiireis THE LAST COMMAND ■ Paramount production and release. Emll Jannings slurred. Directed by Josef von ■^"BTerriBPTB^Supcrvlsed-by^ Joseph=Bachman.. Adapted by John P. Gooilrlch from original by Lajoa Biro. ■ Tltlce by Herman J. Mun- klowlcz. " Opened on run at nialto, New Tork,. January 21; 00c. top. Running time, . DO mlnutea. Present length, 8,164 feet. General Dolgbruckl..........Emll Jannings. Natascha. .Rvelyn Br^nt Leo..... i........r..........WUIlam Powell . Adjutant Nicholas .<?0UFiRanin .eerjse, vaJet Michael Vlsaroff Jannings mUst b^ fitted. He's an actor. M;iyhe that ia why Janning,«5 is iilv, .s the actor. He gets th(> •torlcs. And "The Last Command" taken of lioris drawn to a trap by a zebra a.s. bait. The.se become stills, sliowing the beasts . bewildered by the flash, ■ The picture in its running length has plenty of pastoral scenery, also .Some grazing a,rid much travelog, the latter prettily, effective at limes. Billed as "A Natural. History Pic- ture" and on a probable hook-up with ah historical society, the ©pen- ning night's audience drew many of what must have been students view-, ing the scenes from that angle. From that angle this is quite a pic- ture;. from the box office slant at $1.!65 it's not a heavyweight for the price as animal pictures go, and without submitting comparisbn.s. A descriptive caption told of the Johnsons remaining In their African location . for four years, during which these views,were taken. . Va- riety hap printed that the Johnsons went to; Africa on their last trip in behalf of an Institute or society,, with, the Johnsons reserving the comrhercial exhibition rights to the film, the title. remaining vested in the sponsoring society. The Johnsons, like the others, must be given all of the credit in the world for their nerve, not only in taking some desperate chances (which may be seen at times), but also for remaining in that jungle for four years. The opening program was riot in- spiring. It started with moving scenes of the Johnson* at home and on hunting trips. Mostly travelog again in the latter, but containing the usuail African native- dance shotSi Then a song of "Safari" to a liltirig Jjut quite familiar melody and sung by Frank Munn on a Bruns- wick disc, from which source Mr. Johnson's introducery talk emanat- ed, arid again a very brief talk by him ended the picture. In between the incidental music also was from canned discs, not so fancy for $1.65. A good advance sale wa.s i-eported for . this picture before it opened, extraordinary in itself, and assert- ing that the tie-up;^, whatever it is, is the picture's strohgeist draw. Tha;t was made evident Monday night, wheri the name of Daniel E. Pom- eroy was applauded as it appeared on a slide; Mr. Pomeroy i.s-Uhe president of the Johri.sons' business corporation. Terry Ramsaye did some nice cap- tions here,, making them breezy and light often^ and calling atten- tion to the danger to the camera operator just as often. A nice setting was given to the stalge in a. couple of animal oast figures, one on either side of the stage, and both said to have been borrowed from the Museum of Nat- ural Hi.story. heavy production outside of the ex- tras on horseback. It's nice enough on camera work,, plus a glass shot that gives the effect of a mirage of a city-in the diesert. This tale is far under tho horso- power of which '"Oeste" could boast, and all in all is amongst the weak- est features the Paramount has shown lately, It's hardly likely to receive favorable word-of-mouth exploitation. Sid. SHARP SHOOTERS Fox production and rclnase from story by Uandall 31. Fayo. Titles by Malcolm Stu- art Boylan. Featuring George O'Brien and LiOlB Moran. .tolreotod by J. G. BIystbne. At the Roxy, N. Y., weelc of Jan. 21. Running time, over (10 linins, George...... v... ^ . ,. George O' Brlen Lorette. i. ,.,.. .Lois Moran Tom- ; i,. ^ i..,.. I. ,> i\-t .Noah Yo.ung .Jerry , i , .Tom Dugan "HI Jack" Murdock. William Demarest Flo.ssy , Gwen Lee Graixjpere .................. Josef SwIokaiVl SIMBA ^WILD ANIMAL FILM) Martin Johnson African Expedition cbi-p-, Daniel E. Polneroy, pres., pcoducer. Billed as <"A Natural History Picture." Cam- crued by Mr, and Mre^ Martin Johnson, with native cameramen as aKSislants, In Africa." Titles an"a prolog by Terry Ram- saye. At IWri Carroll theatre, New York, first'public exhlMtion f'>r twice dally run Jaii. 23 at |1.«0 toit. Running time, around 105 minutes. ■ ■ There are four standout scenes In "Simba" (meaning "Lion"), the Johnsons' aninHal picture. Two are new to the screen and two .may have to go out to preserve what there is of feminine patronage for this chai-- actcr of film. An elephant herd in the wild, arid seemingly wild without ^ tralriers or of the ranch type, and a herd of lions. The lion herd is probably the largest ever viewed oh tho screen. A caption so arinpunoes arid claims 14. The questionable scenes for the fi».a4_QlJJie.J?lcture^,^ of two lions tearing a zebra apart, witiFi"Ihis view held overly long in any event, and the other of colored natives on a lion hunt who spear the animals to death, with two Instances of the latter. To men this spear hunting i.s interesting, but not to worn ori. It is deubtful, however, if tho picture can afford to lose the. spearing views. There isn't- enough to tho picture a.s a whole in its remainder Lb stand the lo.s.s of V( ry much, al- though the vultures could be BEAU SABREUR r.-ir.imonnt production arid rolfa.io. Gary ("ooix-r. Evelyn Brent. Noah Ueory and Wm, I'owtll featured. Adapted from Por- (Iv.-il \\ren's story. Dir(>ctcil Fy Jfrhn Waters. Camoram.ah, C, K. .Schocnibaum with titles by Julian Johr.!ion. At the Para- mount, New York, week Jan. 31. Runnlnir time, C7 nilns. , Major Henri do Beaujblai.s Gary Cooper May Vnnbrugh. Evelyn Brent Sheikih J51 Hamel ,.,.. Noah Beoi-y Becque .....William Powell Suleiman-1 he-Strongr-r,r.+r^rMl.tcheU--Lov?lB General do Beaujolals .Frank Relcher An ordinary Paramount program leader which has its best chance to get b. o. results through the story being called a "sequel" to ' iJcaU Geste." BiHing Is tagged th.at way. but there doesn't fieem to be any further connection. Both take place oh-an Algerian desert That's the closest relationship between the two fi.lrii.''. No. mystery in this one. Just a straightaway story that's none too strong. Young Beaujolais (Gary Cooper) must get the^French- treaty to 101 Hamel (Noah Beery) to stand off native uprising and save the ter- ritory for France. Evelyn Brent, is mixed up in it as ah American au- thoress seeking> atmosphere, and Williami Powell is the Insurgent For- eign. Legion member who leaves the service to steam up the disciples of Allah. A complication is that El Hamel holds up the treaty so he ..canJgfijauLejtllfilauthoii^ relents on this phase for the best subtitle in tho picture Cooper makes a pas,sable hero, Mis.s Brent leaves tjio, imprint of having been miscast .and Beery is under, heavy wraps histrionically and jihy.sioally, so that he doesn't help much on performance. His naJm^ however, will probably mean sdmothing on the "Geste" hookup. liattle stuff won't cause any ex- citement and it doesn't look like a This veirslon of gob life on land packs a hefty wallop. Story is familiar, but the , gagging In busi- ness arid titles is ^mart and fast. Laughs are numerou.s. As a whole. one of the best proeramers turaed out by Fox this season. . • It is difficult to aissoclate Lois Moran from her cute roles. Though she. is uricorivincing as the cheap cooqh dancer in the Morocco cafe, she retains her personality appeal and that counts more with the fans than realistic characterization, O'Birien plays straight, while Ybung and Dugan, a couple of comedians* get full value frbm the spotting tliey have, been given.. Story deals with the popular im- pression of the sailor with a girl in every town, the. sharp shooter who avoids permanent entangle- ments. In a Mediterrariean port a French dancer falls for George and believes his advances are real, der spite that he tries tbr make her understand he is through when his ship leaves port. Back in New York, George brings his local iglrl a pair, of garters. A scene follows where George bends down, with nothing shown of George.: The girl's face indicates that Clebrge is putting on the gar- ters. First she grimaces, finally be- coriiefi angry, and wirids up by play- fully socking George. ' Lorette follows George tb New York, where his two mates figure thei girl is on the level, and show Geoi-ge the iallacy bf attempting to evade the laws jf fate by punching ■him Into submission. The ceremony takes place at sea. The tinwllling husband snubs his wife at the beginning. When he later decides, to stick she has left home to go back to a river cafe where she had first worked, George leads a detachment bf: the navy to the joint. The mob fight scenes are well staged. A couple of hot .scenes stand little chance with out,-bf-t6wn censors. ■ ■" ■ Mori. A RENO DIVORCE Warner Bros. ' production. Written and directed by Ralph Graves. Screen adapta- tion by Robert Lord. Starring May McAvoy ■with cast including Ralph Graves, Hedda Hopper. Robel-t Ober and Anders Randolf. At Academy of Music,. N. Y, Running time, about 60 minutes. ARIZONA WILDCAT Fox production and r(»lea.">e, .starring Tom Mix.. DIrcfied by R, V/.. Neill. St<)ry by Adolo Roper.f. at. John. In the ORMt, Poro- thy KcWtitlah, Mickey Moore, lUtn Bard- and Cissy .Flt7.gcrnld. At Fox's Academy of Music, New York, flr.it half week ot Jail, 23. Running time, !50 mlns. Story has no connection with the title which seems to Indicate a spicy theme entirely lacking in the pic- .ture. What little opportunity the production has to be interesting is stilled by Ralph Graves, who scores a triple bust—a,s director, author and actor. Every conventlbnal piece of busi- ness known is u.sed. Footage could be cut 50 percent. With an excep- tionally strong bill at this house during the week, the picture was played only to fill in. That is about all the spotting It is worth, either •to fill-in or Jn-the split .w.eek.s. : May McAvoy, with an unproduc- tive role, manages nicely. Hedda Hopper registers for a. blank. Story begins with a ybuthfUl vicb'- presidebt bf a steel" jdaint who seems inclined to favor art over steel. His father orders hinri out becaiise . he refuses to settle down tb work. Tramping through the sti'eets, the painter is hit by an auto conveying the gal.' Sympathy overcomes reti- cence and she takes him. to her home to recover. .A couple of the girVs friends had been divorced. The male divorcee makes a vain play for the gal. She is willing to accept him a.s a friend, and when rejecting him with a kiss is spotted by the artist.. Minor complications follow with a scene where the drunken chauffeur enters the girl's ropm and tried to attack her in revenge for being dis- charged. The artist is accused and ordered to leave. The chauffeur is Imriiediately after discovered in the girl's room. =TJie:^div.Qjtc&d^vii^(Mifi4L^iI^ decides to wed again and pick.s the artist as the gent to be .so honored. He doesn't seem flattered but ac- cepts a steamship ticket to Europe as part payment for a picture he had painted of the woman. Gn the boat ho finds himself occupying tho same, suite with her and is getting ready to leave when found by the poor, little rich girl. ' They didn't stick through the picture here. . Jforl. A we.stprn to be sure; but some*, how one that nobody needis- to apbl* ogize for. The .story i.s full bf capl'-* tal angles.. It has an amusing com- edy start, with the hero as a kid (Mickey Mporo), organizing, an amateur rodeo which leads up to some interesting horse tricks by young.sters, ending in a runaway team with re.scue by the boy herO; on hor.seback. A twist to the western motif is the idea of hooking it up with a; high society atmosphere. This is contrived by :havirig the cowboy hero go in for breeding and training polo ponies, which he supplies tp the society polo fans. Heroine Is the childhood sweetheart, now grown up and moving in the haute monde of the Piacific coast. Her brother is a polo player, and buys his mounts from Tom. Thus,' when one of brother's teammates Is knocked out on the ever of an important polo match, ho sends for Tom to take his. place,. Here -we turn to the polite atmos- phere for the dramatic finale, which is a"*'polo game before a society crowrd, building up to an excellent effect with fast play and gbod shots at the flying horses. The heavy is the polo leader on the opposing tearii, a blackguard, who, of course. Is only after the- heroine's money. When his side is defeated arid the gbvernment secret service Is clof^ng In on him for mail frauds, he abducts the girl, and it is here that Tom dashes off the polo field for the usual pursuit. The climax is worked up with stunt riding effect rivalling the stuff . that made Fairbanks famous. The kidnapper takes the girl tb'one ot those Spanish mission palaces fa- miliar to followers of the California made movies, and riding his mount up outside staircases, the hero gal- lops into the room where'the villain is struggling with the girl. Tho stunt of riding back and forth about the house is elaborated while Tom puts the heavy's retainers to fight, finally throwing the girl across- his saddle and dashing off down the steep steps and away. It's a.11 veritable movie hokum, exaggerated and flamboyant, but it docs give a certain dime nova! dra- matic kick,. in the way that is fa- miliar to Mix fans. The point is that it gets away from the stereo- typed westerns, goes into a fresh, locale and takes interest from its .society atmosphere of luxury in- stead of the ev.erlasting dreary ranch house and corral. . Nicely played, with good comedy values in a hai-d-bbiled and serloxis minded cowboy who falls hard for heroine's short skirted French maid. Will pjease the Mix fans. Picture has ingenuity .and a certain elegance that raises it above the typica,! western to a punch melodramatic subject. Riisti.- THE DESERT PIRATE F. B. O.; release, featuring Tom Tyler. Directed by Janries Dugan. At tho Stanley, New York, on double-feature program, Jan>- 21. Rtinning time, 02 minutes. I'art of this picture thieatened to get away from the stereotyped westerns, but it Is swept into the. old mill stream and founders. Tyler puts a lot Into his filna characterization of the former gun- toting sheriff who eschews all the gats, yet walks into the den of kill- ers and licks them single-lianded with his fists, The picture is better than some of the other Tylers. With the kid and dog connection it can't miss in the neighborhoods with the youngsters. Nothing un- usual,, but it gives unmistakable cvidjsnce that any semblance of a real "&t75IT^.~^tir~go~-"'a ' 1 towardii giving Tyler a "better break. Some excellent photography and .some very well directed sub-? climaxes. A good sob scene be- tween the hero and the kid should help. Mark. Thanks for Biigg^ Ride . Universal production and release. Starring Laura I>a Blantb, with Glenn Try on feat* urtid. Diverted by William A. Sciter. Titles by Tom Reed. .Editorial supervision Of Joseph Fianklln Poland, Runs 00 minutes. At Colony, New York, week of Jan. Jenny ..; X*ura. Xa iPlanto .foe.., .......; Glenn Tryofi Mr. McBrlde...Richard Tucker Joe's Pal Lee - Moran iJanrlng Ma.<!ler. Jack - Raymond Harold. McBrlde r..David RoUlna Landlady. , K.iite Price. Trix'ie Friganza ;..,.Trlxle Frlganza All about a Would-be songwriter, dancing instructress and both their efforts to sell McBride, the hard- boiled and flirtatious music pub- lisher, u .song for $10,000 in order, to-b u y-:lhat=.b u ngalo w»..etc.^ JKltli.5L_li^ tho basic elements of any. film—the usual boy-girl-menace-succe!5s for- mula.—-thi.s is tricked up ;with a touch of tho theatrical, although all of that is atmospherically unfaith- ful.. Light stuff, but satisfactory for the young people aig a one-dayor. Miss La Plante as the dancing toacherand Glenn Tryoh, song plug- ging froni a truek, meet accidentally, l-'ollowH Tryon's efforts to sell his boss, McBride, a song rtfianuscript.