Variety (Sep 1928)

14 VARIETY FILM REVIEWS Wednesday, September 5, 1928 MOVIETONE NEWSREEL 8ept. 1. 7 Clips; 6 Mins. Strand, N. Y. Series of astonishingly vivid and faithful sound reproductions. Quiet but nice mixture of topical Interest, comedy effect and novelty. No punch. '. . Starts mildly with scenes In a European al fresco cafe, with mu- •Ic of orchestra and gag (for U. S.) of popping wine corks. Topical ■hots of President Green of the A. F. of Ij. In a Labor Day address with expression of Labor's hopes for a five-day . week. Carried by news Interest, Group of Elks making up the Pottsville lodge's operatic choir leathered at Atlantic City for a hoU- . day and giving a concert on the board walk.' Sing number from one ©f the standard operas. Subject rather blah, but sound reproduction flawless. Steps up in punch with views of the West. Point cadets in isummef camp. Dandy laugh when one of the boys, unidentified and; little sus- pecting he was going on record, is heard to blurt out clearly, "What the hell do you think of that"! Clip froni miscellaneous collec- tion of. fillers shows baby about , four months old In whole gamut of * baby moods. Starts with sunny smile and gurgling chuckles. Face suddenly clouds and Chuckles turn lo catch in the throat. Then into black thunderstorin with tears and moans and ends with all stops out, mouth wide open like a capital "O" for a devastating roar of indigna- tion. Women in ecstacles at this. Billy Sunday In typical bit of gospel ^ patter, loud, fast, lurid in delivery and phrase, together with baseline coiaching gestures and characteristic professional revival- ist stage business. Camera switches . to big auditorium crowded with thousands with Homer Rodeheaver leading community singing of fa- miliar hymn. Fliie effect of mass singing of old chant. Corking me- cha:nlcal reproduction of complicated phonetic ensemble. Finish has the big kick, a detail of U. S, Army men destroying a couple carloads of seized booze. One official vandal, to the audible an- guish of the audience, wades into * small mountiain of champagne magnums and smashes the bottleis one by one with a long handled bammer, every blow and tinkling crash a painful plucking of Amer- I Jean heartstrings. Perfect for. com- edy results. Clip, ends with more legal Philistines hurling more cham- pagne bottles against a stone wall, each making a squashy "plop" and getting' a giggle or a groan from out front. Seven minutes 6f silent topical clips precede sound records, evenly divided between Pathe and Fox, No •political matter in subject. Rush. SALLY FIELDS VITAPHONE NO. 2147 Comedy Monolog and Song 7 Minutes Clinton, New York Formerly of legit, Sally FioidK displays a brand of Hebe dialect comedy which did not click in. this house, probably because it was not broad enough. Girl is there on de- livery, but in need of material to get over in a talker for the picture house trade. This effort, Is weak and unsuited for .jthe closing 9pot, as in this instance. Record can be used to open.! The skit is entitled "The Hos- tess." In a wordy introduction Miss Fields explains that her husband is responsible for her going to work in a night club. No laughs or In- terest in this recitation. Miss Fields next goes into a comedy monolog with an invisible silk buy- er, dialect registering mildly. , Closes singing "Hello, Bluebird," to good results, indicating the lines on which Miss Fields should build up in future. Mori. ADELE LE NARR VITAPHONE NO. 611 Song and Dancing 10 Minutes Clinton, New York About the best thing in this talk- ing short is Miss Le Narr's appear- ance. She looks young and nifty and the rest is about as good as the average. Opens with a few vo- cal numbers which are pleasing, but do not register fully on account of mechanical defects in the record. Acrobatic danping is okay but doesii't get a ripple. No kind of dancing seems tb feflstef from' the screen for applause. Her Imitation Of Eddie Leonard's "Roly Boly ryes" Is 111-advlsed. It's a number depending on' flawless delivery and Miss Le Narr doesn't quite get it. Not a. surefire record, though it can be used as a filler in the minor houses, but it should give the girl a letter of recommendation for an- other try in talkers with more suitable material. iforl. DOLLY CONNOLLY and Percy Wenrich. VITAPHONE NO. 2583. 8 Mins. Clinton, New York. Dolly Connolly photpgra,phs and records great and has the needed Bock In putting over songs. She was a little self-conscious but after getting a slant on herself, should -correct the^technique,,a-n(lsail_jlp^r^ to better advantage when next re- cording. Percy Wenrich, the composer, at the piano and soloing with a medley of his songs. In regulation vaudeville style. He has a strong clear-carrylnff voice and fine ap- pearance. • This twosome is worthy of a re- peat, a fact not pertaining thus far to the average talking short. Land, CHARLES HACKETT VITAPHONE No. 2379 iSongs.; 10 Mins. , Strand, Yonkers Chicago Opera tenor in two songs, "Where Is Sylvia" and Schubert's "Serenade." Special set of a pretty garden and house exterior spots first song nicely. A good looking blonde inspires-the vocalizing. Second number is sung* outside a balcony with the girl in silhouette. Closeups show her listening. Hackett has appearance and voice but the entertaining value of oper- atic stars in the average picture house is questionable. Con. "HAWAIIAN NIGHTS" VITAPHONE NO. 422 Instrumental, Dancing; 10 Mins. Strand, Yon4c>'s Native musicians^ playing steel guitars.; Set is a beach.scene. Two. dancing girls do their native dance, each contributing a solo. Men sing and play repertoire consisting of all the familiar Hawaiian tunes. Long shots of the girls dancing, which .Include • the. background of musicians, are unsatisfactory. Bad direction at this point. Girls should have had closeups all through the dance. Otherwise a good number. Con. . SUBMARINE Columbia production featuring Jack Jio\t. Directed by Frank R. Gapro. Stipervieed by Irvln WlUat. • Story by Nonnau Springer. Adapted by Winifred . Duiin. Continuity by Dorothy Howell, Film editor. Arthur Roberts.. Cameraman, .JOe VV'talker. Har- ri^n Wiley, art director. Buddy Coleman, assistant director. At .Smbassy, New .York, for run at |1.50, starting Aug. 30, Hunnlng time, one hovr .43 mins. Jack Dorgan Jack Holt Bob Mason,,.. .Ralph GraVcs Commander,.Clarence Burton The Boy .Arthur Rankin Si'iUggleo. .Dorothy Revler Columbia and the United States navy got together in a big way on this one, with the result that Co- lumbia obtained at small cost a good box-office picture and the navy got across some valuable propagan- da for itself. The picture refers specifically, to the ill-fated S-44, rammed and sunk by a cruiser during battle maneuv- ers a few years ago in California waters. Another submarine disas- ter occurred later on the Atlantic coast, a.nd between the east and west the navy was on the receiving end of much criticism. The news- papers, of the country devoted con- siderable editorial energy to lam- basting high naval officials. ... Without entering the controversial aspects of the Tragedie9^,~''Subma= rine" presents to the public the navy's side.' Use of the S-44 was not entirely good Judgment, either as story-telling or as propaganda. The S-44 did not end happily and heroically in real life, as in the film. The story could have used a mythi- cal submirlnjs, accomplished its dra- matic and other purposes, as well, and not left loopholes for cynical comment. That, however. Is noth- ing for showmen to worry about. "Submarine" is a strong arid, stir- ring picture. It Is playing at the JEmba,<?sy at $1.50 an(J not a bad entertainment buy at that figure. For general release it should be an outstandor.. It's Columbia's second, straight picture on Broadway, and* It will add lustre to the compiany's standing nationally. Man's fight with the. forces of nature is always dramatic and the frantic efforts of the navy to get an air line down to the slowly- asphyxiating crew of the S-44 makes natural drama. The under- sea »-photORraphy=-is=exGellent^wlth. no suggestion of laboratory faking to break the . thread of Illusion. "Subm?irlne" has novelty, suspense and, the Imprint, valid or not, of authenticity. It shows, sympathetically, the terrific odds against rescue work. The Intent is plainly to demon- strate that the navy quickly and intelligently does every thing that can possible be done In such ieiherg- encics. The film dramatizes the fight against nature, little homo pitting his brain, his daring and his will against the crushing weight and pressure of 400 feet of ocean depth; Down In the trapped submarine the argonlzing <Jrew Is commanded. by an oflfilcer of heroic moral measure ments. This part Is acted with a wealth of sincerity and. conviction by Clarence Burton. If the dread naught" boys have been peeved against the film Industry in the past fpr "Convoy" and other plc-r tures dealing with the njivy Biirtpn squares everything. He Is all an officer shonld be. . The hero of the proceedings Is a deep sea diver Impersonated by Ja:ck Holt (who has recently re- turned to Paramount to 4>lay gen- tleman cowboys). Holt's early cinematic career tended toward high hats, and drawing rooms and It seems )>Izarre to have him csheW- intr tobacco. However, he does make It plausible. Ralph Graves Is the diver's buddy and unwittingly the boy friend of the latter'* round-heeled wife. The diver has married In San Diego while his friend Is on- submarine duty; The fi^end, returning to port In the diver's absence, has a . hot week-end affair with the frail lady. In the blowrup the diver accepts his wife's alibi and the friends part bitterly. There is no love Interest, as such, in the picture but Dorothy Revler gives It sex appeal In the early se- quences. Miss Revler Is a fetchinj? damsel and seems top. classy to be a dance hall pick-up. But why be technlcair Columbia has a dra- matic and box office clicker. Land. State; Street Sadie (SOUND-DIALOG) Warner Bros, vBderworlA drama, .desig- nated' a Vlt«gr»pli apecial. Directed by Archie Hayo. Moslcal aoore by I«uls Sllr vers. Photography Barney McGlll, Conrad Nagel, Myma liOy and William Ruasell featored Ja caM. At the New York Strand Sept. 1.' Runalng time, 75 minutes. Aalph Blake...... .......Conrad. Nagel Slinkey Myrna Loy The Bat.... »k WHUam RuBsell iBobel Georgl6 Stone HawklBi Fat Hartigan Another mc»dlocre picture made into a good entertainment seller on the strength of Its dialog talking se- quences. . Audible passages are two in number, .both of them brief, per- haps four or five minutes long, but they put the fan clincher on the whole prodtictlon. This sound and dialog treatment is especially Interesting from the technical production angle. Aside from the story Incidents where the dlalogr Is employed, the story Is told with the aid of printed titles a;nd these screen explanatory flashes in the pre-Vita manner make up by far the larger footage. But it is the dialog bits that make the film. . Underworld theme Involves an. un- usually elaborate "planting" of cir- cumstance and antecedent story, and this Is covered In remarkably brief time with the audible talk. Tom Blake, employed in a bank, has somehow become Involved with a band of gunmen. They rob the bank, killing a policeman during the job, and fasten the murder upon Tom. The police are on Torii's heels at the opening, and the Introduction Is his suicide by gas, an especially good bit of suggestive filming. ^ Ac- tion is conveyed without actually showing the deed, through the me- dium of trick photography. At the moment of Tom's passing, his twin brother, Ralphs comes upon the scene, learns the situation froni a letter In the dead man^s effects, and resolves to avenge his framed brother. . He hides the t>ody Just as a mem- ber of the gansT arrives and mis- takes Ralph for Tom. Here is a fine dIa,log passage between the hero and the gangster In the persons of Conrad Nagel and George Stone, Step by step as hero and erunman exchange cautious chat, the under- lying situation grows up. Volc<e re- production is astonlsliiingly natural, ahdi both iBlsif have excellent voices and fine command of diction. Essence of the. whole situation is that the criminal band is supposed to be controlled by a mysterious mas- ter mind called "The Chief," while his orders are carried out by "The Bat" (played by William Russell), and it is against this hidden criminal that the hero directs his campaign. Ralph has to flee when the police are hot on his trail, and takes refuge in a strange apartment, which turns out (a hard to take coincidence) to be the home Of the daughter of the policeman slain In the bank robbery. They Join forces and therein comes the romantic side of the plot, the pair, pretending to be criminals themselves, go into the night club hang;out of the outlaw band. Even the gangsters do not knpw the idenUty of the "Chief." "The sec- ond straight dialog passage, which serves to build up the sinister at- mosphere, is between "The Rat" and one of his lieutenants, A tricky handling- of this Is that the KS-ng- stei^s-eflforts-to_=.flnd:^"5'!ie,^Jef!s:^ identity and "Bat' " maneuvering to outwit him. Is done entirely In a surface vein of comedy while un- derneath there Is a feeling of sinis- ter cruelty. Story from there builds up by titles and fast action—on the pur- suit Of hero after "Chief culmin- ating when "Bat" himself is re- vealed as the master mind and has the hero In his power. Just at the moment the motorcycle squad of police bandit chasers comes dashing up in battle formation, with much shrieking' of sirens and. popping of guns, and finale' Is a roof top battle, medley of thrilling noises as wicked spitting of machine guns, bark of .45 and crash of glass. Sound adds vastly to effect of this climax, glv ing it a riaelodramatic kick that would be absent in a silent screen ing, It is these details of sound ef feet that saves a story in spite of itself. For the story thread, ihe- chanical and unconvincing In itself, isia pret^ weak sister Nagel IS an asset for the talkers So is William RusselK This was to be expected. The "find" is in Georgle Stone, hitherto player of underworld bits, but here displaying, a capital knack Of nice delivery of a comedy talking- role, Myrna Loy, with her exotic style, doesn't suggest the dauighter of sL policeman, and cer talnly not the type that could, sue coasfuily vamp a tough gunman. Her audible contribution Is practically nil. Effective melodrama picture that will meet all needs of the talking program. At the Strand they were packed In. uncomfortably on the evening shows of the opening day. The "sound" billing apparently brought 'em to the "home of the talkers," and the picture obviously satisfied them. ^ Riish. THE AIR CIRCUS (SOUND-DIALOG) Fox production and release, with 16 mine, of Movietone, dialogue. . Louise Dresser, Ar- thur Lake, Sue Carroll and David Rollins featured. Story by Qraham Baker dnd An- drew BennlsoH;. Directed by Howard Hawks and Lew Seller,. Dialogue staged, by Charles Judels. Titles by Wllllttm Kernell. Film editor, Ralph Dlkon, Cameraman, - Dan Clark, At Gaiety. New York, opening Sept. 1 at $2 top. Running tim^, 88 mins., Mrs, Blake. ..Louise Dresser Buddy Blake..................David Rollins Spe6d Doollttle.,,Arthur tAke Sue Manning ,, Sue Carol Charles Manning. .Charles Delaney Jerry McSwlggln. I..........Heinle Conklln Lieut, Blake,................Karl Robinson With or without the talking se- quence this is Just a program pic- ture, about . two 16-year-old high ischool kids who take a course in aviation. Expert direction has. man- aged to make a fairly Interesting lightweight number out of a script thiEit holds nothing but background and a plot that doesn't exist. There is no love interest and the sole and only drama in the entire hour and a half Is when. One of the two kids, develops a case of fright .and has. to fight it out with'himself. The talking sequence runs a.bout 15 minutes. The. boy's mother ar- rives from Tpsllanti, .Michigan,'to visit the Pacific School of Aviation. The boy is in his room sobbing into a pillow. Downstairs the students of less nervous disposition are mak- ing whoopee with their girl friends. Mother and son have a sentimental session, with tears splashlnjg: every way. ; This scene probably will grip the women. It reduces the hero of the film to the status of a big baby. Comedy is worjced in prior to the mother's arrival between Arthur Lake and Sue Carroll. Lake is the comedian of the picturer and a^ very good one; He stands out also in the dialogue. Miss Carroll does nicely and is at all times an attractive fig- ure, despite her negative position in the story. Louise Dresser, veteran stage knd screen actress, had no trouble with the microphone, and the blah-blah of David Rollins was okay. However, interpolating a talking short in the midst of a programmer doesn't make It $2, "Air Circus" is a fill-in, booking for Fox. It plays one week at the Gaiety and moves over to the Globe, to finish Fox's lease there expiring - Oct. 8. For. Broadway with Movietone support that will probably be Just about right. One circumstance sticks out in "Air Circus," Throughout the film the name "Pacific School Of Avia- tion" appears. It's on the hangars, the planes, the overalls and the sta- tioniary. With the story glorifying professional aviation this film; Is a prospectus for the school and -will mean dough to them when the pic- ture, starts to circulate In the small towns. "Wings," which contained no plug of any sort and was sombre and tragic rather than a week-end picnic, increased the business In the aviation schools all over the coun- try. "Air Circus" ha^ advantages that offset its faults. The aviation stuff, some of It faintly technical. Is excel- lent, with special reference to Dan Clark's photography, / There Is some reliable comedy by Lake arid Helnie Conklin, It totaLs a moderate. . Land. CARDBOARD LOVER Metro-Goldwyn-Mftyer relcasQ of Marlon Davlf..<i' production, starring Mlsa Davle.s. Jetta, G'omlnl and Nils AHthcr underlined. Adaptod from the play of the same name by Carey Wilson. TMrected by R, Z. I.eonanl with T.uille Newmark titling and John Arnold rnmcr.xmnn. At the Capitol, New^Yoi:kv-w.cek^o£=.SQpt,_,l.,=jRunnln6.U0w;,_ 71 mlno. Sally,, .Marlon Davloa Slmono i , Jotta Uoudal Andro , ,.,Nlla Asther SIgnor IVirlno ....Andres do Segurola Alglney... Tenen. HoUz Poppy, pepl i^derer Evidently encouraged by her suc- cess as a comedienne, Marlon Davles has left farce for low corii- ody. And they yell. About the only thing she doesn't do in this One is to heave a pie. She's gone beyond her Imltutions. Now she muga, in and out of closeups, and the balcony bunch, iove It. The howl at tlio Capitol Saturday night was Mi.ss Davles placing a piping hot water bottle on Nils Asthor's tummle. For program purposes deliberation deems it a nice comedy of good background with no particular high spot. Its reception at the perform- ance viewed rates it close to a wow. Regardless of what the play did or was, as a picture "Cardboard Lover" unwinds in a series of sequences, each having its hoped for comedy climax' and running off much like short stories, almost blackouts, concerning the sanie peo- ple. Some of these passages are necessarily better than others with the le.ss interesting prone to be rather quiet. As a balance there are a couple of. spots where they screamed. It's splotty coriipositloh that possibly isn't as Important as. it might bejjecause of the transpar- ent story Which telegraphs its itin- erary in the first reel and which the pieces of business smother. Miss Davles, as Sally, is an auto- graph hound touring the continent with a group of schoolmates. One look at . Andre, France's tennis champ, and he's her supreme ob- jective. Ah edict permitting the students to be on their own for five hours nightly supposedly al- lows the time for . Sally to follow the athlete into his home to keep him from the vamping Simone. Sallly has Intentionally made herself the third party of the triangle after dis- covering Simone isn't on the level with her a,ll-believing lover. Andre strikes a bargain with Sally to keep him away from Simone and that's the basis of all following situations. Miss Davles romps, flirts, smirks and is happy as the good little devil. Intent on getting her man. She takes falls, uncorks an^ Excellent Inl- Itation. of Miss Goudal, does consid- erable . polite mugging and gives herself a buck tooth front during a scene after she. has changed clothes with a bellboy. And Leonard, tak- ing no chances, first shows the bell- hop sneaking out in long under- wear and then fleelrig in the girl's clothes: They howled, at this, too, which makes the director right as far as this house is concerned.. Nothing subtle iabout this release. Just broad hoke within rich inte- riors and s61d on Miss Davies' ap'^ pearance, willingness and ability to forget her dignity. Miss Goudal does her undulating and scheming siren, continuously annoyed by the antics of the American girl. In eccentric clothes, whilo Asther makes a good looking, and personable chap of the; boy torn by his infatuation for the sophisticated coquette and regret- ting his bargain with . the naivie Silly, whom he eventually elects to take as wife. Other cast consid- erations are strictly secondary. Censors In ~ certain sections are apt to play with these reels In that spot where Sally dons pajamas to convince the visiting Sinrlone that she's moved in and flaunts, a bit of crepe de chine as the convincei*. But it's of harmless intent with Mlas Davles clowning the bit. Picture seems strong enough to give. Miss Davles some additional r.p.m. for her comedy career, but how long they'll accept her in such broad technique is open to discus- sion. Possibly Leonard saw the script as hopeless without dippingr into: the old hokum bucket, and thereby saved a chestnut. But the Idea remains that Miss Davles' droll efficiency deserves more script con- sideration where it Isn't necessary for her to straddle and sprawl. Sid.' THE WATER HOLE Paramount release of P. Richard Jonea production co-/eaturing Jack Holt and Nancy Carroll In JSane Grey's story. Runs CO minutes at Paramount, New York, week of Sept. 1. Philip Randolph. ,,,.Jack Holt Judith Endlcott, Nancy Carroll Bert Durland.; John Boles Mr. £ndlcott Montague Shaw Dolores ...Ann 'Christy 'Ma" Bennett..,..,..Lydla Teamans Titus Ray , ; .Jack Ferrln Mojave, .-.Jack Mower Diego Paul Ralll Shorty Tex Young Joe.......;,. Bob Miles Indian ..,Greg Whltespear They have Jack .Holt back in Westerns, doing a glorified he-man of Arizona role, in contrast to the effete east wherefrom the spoiled and capricious Nancy Carroll as the heroine hails. The action switches from the hietropolis to an Arizonian reclamation tract when Holt, in partnership with the heroine's father, goes west for the project. Miss Carroll who had successfully wagered she would make Holt pro- pose to her within a week back east follows him to Arizona in ire- tallation for a fancied slight. The story is one of those present- day tamlng-of-the-shrcw affairs with the flapper heroine quite con- scious of the leading man's plans and^Into-ntiohs,^c.ven-^unto^being -^a.. willing captor in a "kidnapping" S(7cne, until the climatic lost-in-the- desert sequences. There is U\e menace also in the form of an evil cowpuncher who* for. some unexplained reason, is re- tained in Holt's employ despite his avowedly frank threat to "get" the hero. The nnt-to-he-analyzod sorvnes and (Continued on page 2S)