Variety (Sep 1928)

Wednesday, September 26, 1928 FILM REVIEWS VARIETY 27 CHICK (Continued from page 15) before The director meana nothing to the public. Yet, again, it is a lilm -which will do a lot belter-after it is released than many of the strongly plugged ones _ ^ And let's say here tlio Bramwell Fletcher boy is a sure bet for any- one who grabs hiiri quick. He is very young, good looking, twists the ferns' heart strings good and plenty and can act like ho had been born In front of a camera. Ho is not un- like Charles Ray, but has more charm, better looks and much more a a. He'll be passed up hero, be- cause they go for names, and haven't yet learned to find them un- known and boost them. But if an American producer wants a real find here's one that's okay. Only American angle on this one the House of Lords, scenes. Here Mr. Exhibitor: Now that fall is here do not forget to play the real box office attraction pro- duced for the new season by ALFRED E. GREEN the process of a lord taking his seat in the upper house for the first time is. shown in full, but wurked well into the aloi-y and made full of drama and laughs. The .st'ts are as near as anyone c-.ould t,'t>l without .shooting in' the Hoiisc, and must have cost real tnoney. This stuff siioulrt he interesting to Amoi'ioan auilii'nco.s, Imt. the film itself Is just a one-day program picturo otherwl.'^e.* . Chii'k is a cUn-k, lives in back street lodgings, Is shy. He wallops a fellow lodger for annoying a young widow, and minds her baby while she is? out. Then his uncle proves his claim to a pcera.TC and dies at the same time. Chick is heir to the title, and takes his seat. He is kidded to go on the ))oard of a bogus oil company, the daughter of the' promoter (Chili Boucher) vamping him. At a board meeting he spills liie beans and blows the company up. At his first visit to the House of Lords ho loses his nerve and makes a sudden speech which .saves the government; At his rooming house he gets rid of a brother-in-iaw who is blackmailing the yoiing widow, and finds ho loves her. The story sounds thin, but it Is full of incident. A scene in which Chick is interviewed by a dozen re- porters is quite funny, and one in which he exposes a frame-up at the card table In a swell party and saves his friend Lord: Mansar $100,- .000 is well handled fox- suspense. . . AUogethcr. it is one of those just a picture which is unexpectedly en- tertaining. Frat. . JEALOUSY (GERMAN MADE) UPA production, rclerispd ovrr here Ijy BrlU DlstributlnC -Co. Dlrecte'V Ijy Karl Grune. Ijya Ue Puttl, Wonicr Knxuys and GeorKc Alexander .featured. No other credit. At TJvoll, " New yoHc,. one day. Sept. lit. a.s half double bill. Running time, CO nil.iiutea. ■ AL LYONS AND NEAL CASTAGNOLl Feutured In . FANCHON and MARCO IDEAS JAimV'B STATE THKATBB liOS ANtiEL£.S INDEFINITELY CEORGU LANE DANCERS Complete Cnlt« Appearinir In Fanrhon .and Blurco VIdoa»" STUDIOS: DENVER, COLO. DANGER STREET VBO prinhK-ilon and reloa.te, llnipii Ini-o. prodiuor -.iiid dfrci'lor. Kruni .-i -ry by Ilarnlil 51:i<(;i:nh entitKnl •'Th.' l;>;iutl- fiil l.'.alloi." .\dapted ll^ Knl'.l Jtil'l'ar.l. Cist in.lu.U's Waincir r.axi.r. _M.>rilia KlciMiT, Diiko MiUlin. ll.iiiU Mii» '•.siei'"O'nonnell .^t Kiitlis .N.-W Ilippoanmie, week t^fpl. . 2 1. liunn'iitc timL-, over 00 m.i\s. For the amount of nioiu-y sprul on this Ince production th.> rosull is slightly above the pas.^ing nuirk It's a picture that can be. played on the tail end of a vaude bill, luit not strong enough for the do luxe pic- ture houses.- Field mriinly ui the nel£;hborhoods and grinds. The title implies another orooK melodrama, which it- is. Molded olong lines figured to mee.t.wiiii tlie popular demand of tlie nvomont, tl>e production weakm-ssos are in cast ing and In dovolopnu'iii (if love m terest. • The story is of the type wliu'li depends quite a lot on characteriza- tion. None of the players delivers decisivelv in this respt.-ct, perhaps on account of direction or continu- ity, despite the abundant oppor tunities. offered. ' , •, Warner Baxter moves too heaviij for the kind of a young miui who goes slightly cuckoo when his gu-1 marries another guy, apd fii.Us too easily for a cash girl in a gang district. , • The picture opena v/cu: .showing the start of a gang-war. The in- troduction of the leading charactei is also done nicely. The attempt to introduce the love interest find the eccentricities of tho leading player is a flop and the picture .sags on that account almost to the end. .when another shooting tak> s place, with the exception of t\vo or three sequences, . t^^^t. Story lias a man seeking death getting two gangs on his trail pur- posely. Falling for another girl he changes, his mind about-dying. Support weak. JUori. along oustom-biillt lines, liolstered by good names, furnishes a produc- tion .-^lightly ahnve par, for fair sec- ond runs. AInn twirls tho big boss ;.in>und livr iifclc with loo much vase to make aition wholly convincing. AVliile hot. stuff is hot, movements are t'sscntlally sui;gi'sti\o hut not toti liti'iMlly. ' . For a gum vlii'win.i; .xH'iing, Almii disiilaj's unreal sopiiistli'atioii, l)ul g<Hs male payees to pt)int they lose foj-itimiity. in. awaiting hor camera activities. No parliciilar, sosiumiso, . tlicnu convoiitioiiallv liandhnl -mixture of biisiiU'.'^s n-ian. i];ime .'ind liquor. Bad tioy broke gets hack r(>giilar girl friciul, .-slightly more .than Mt part played capahly by Clairo Wind sor. .Variety's 'files list two other pic tures with titles similar, and Al Woods is bringing a stage play Into New York shortly with the same moniker. Story gets going with one of those 'abriipt scenes showing a Jealous husband choking his wife to death in a stage play when discovering her cheating. This melodramatlo se- quence brought • cheers from the males at the Tivoli. A happily married couple, friends of the playwright, witnessing the show, invite him to their home fol- lowing the premiere. They argue with him that In this day an intel- ligent man would not give his wife the works In such a fashion for a breach of her marriage vows. The playwright sets out to prpve his theories regarding. Jealousy. By framing a letter he makes the here- tofore happy wife bellev^j her hus- band Is a bigamist, while the hus- band gets the. impression that his wife has been deceiving him. As the husband Is giving his wife thei choking business, the playwright- friend walks In and says it's a gag. Okay screen mellow, with comedy touches supplied by Krauss as the fiendishly jealous husband. SMASHING THROUGH (BRITISH MADE) London, Sept. IT). Produced bv Oaumont-nrltl,«h rornp.-iiif Directed by Wiir P. Kelllno. Slory 1. .. U liam Lean and John Hunter. Photopraiiliy Baron G. dl VentlmiKUa. Oensoi-«' coi-till- catc "U." Pre-vlcwcd nt the .London Hip- podrome, Sept. 12. Running tlnio, tto niin Ut6H ■ Richard Bristol. '.... .John v=:tu!vrt Kitty Masters................ '-'V'^'^yr^^' James Masters.,,.. ...Hayford HobbH Miss Duprcz Julie Suedo DANCE FEVER (GERMAN MADE) l^fa prcilucHon, dlstilbuted tliroiiKh eaiit liy Diiviil Urill. ■ Dlrci-lcd by Alt<\- Korda; (oatm-injf .Mario i."clrda ar.d \Vally )''rltH;-li. N'O other .iM-L>'liIS >rlvon. . .Vl 'I'lvoli, New- York, cm'- da>; Sept, V2r Ilunnlnu lime, r><l minute."),' When L-hc.V razz "ein on 8th ayenue, they must he i)retty terrible.. Th is one started getting tlu.v bird shortly after the fourlli reel. It's tlio kind of a flicker that kei'ps the audience anxiously waiting for the wind-iip and wins some scattering applause because as one lady .ex- pressed it '•everybody's glad it':3 over." Ciiu'h chaser , for the daily changers. Silly story about.a di*uce niad dame who tossfes oyer her husband and takes up -with a gigolo and also plays around with her husband's best friend. Finally with the as- sistance of the two ^cabaret hounds she Is rei-oui;iled with her mate When he decides to be her dftncing parlner tlieroafter. Not a redeeming feature in the film; the photography is of the shimmerinc: oye-Strainihg variety and Miss Corda mugs, squints, makes faces and acts foolishly. coy before the camera. The. film,, evi- dently: edited, over hero with a box office title slapped on, is badly handled. A fiock of innocuous titles explains every bit of action, but doesn't help otherwise. ADAM'S APPLE (BRITISH MADE) London. S<>pt 7. Produeed by Hriti.sh 1;U"M1,>| .-...il i- - lun.'.s. Kclo.iMvl 111 ibo l". S. b\ NVi: p Kilni.s Co., i" Aiuorle.L by 'W.'v.d \* : .•• rieluri^.s (.ippart i\tly ur.iUr t.i.t< I'l ••.s..e. .\nii'rii..i ]"it--1">. Diieeti'.l \> 'I mi AVhelan. .-^lurv !>s .M'Hilv l'...inl^-> :in.i 'I'.m \Vlu>l..ii. l'!i.'i.ii::-.r b'd by K. ni' t ilii-A-.irt and i!eor>^i' riK>.\na ;. I'l'n-ir-'' c'im'i t'!''.tt>' ■T " Uuniiiiis; i\mo'. .s."> tninu(-.-i. !';>< vteweJ at the l>.>nd-in Hl|ii>i>iii'"ni", SoiU. :i .MfiM'y . 5'-"'l<"" klMy ',*.'.■. ^ OlV.Un i van Mother r><'"-'' '"V."'n^- Vami> ... .. • - ■l"'l>' ■\ampN Hiisb.Kvl.. . i\iI::p. Konny Thi.1 l^ritlsh picture is 100 pci cent. American. ,Tiisl Mko llollywootl made them for and with Monty Banks. All the same stuff: auto chases, stvints on. skyscrapers, slip- ping pant-s and all the hoke there i> to this type.- It is fast and fuhny. (OVMiliu'uod on page S.sr. JESSE CRAWFORD ORGAN CONCERT PARAMOUNT THEATRE NEW YORK WEEK OF SEPT. 22 •TEN LITTLE MILES FROM TOWN" (Irving Berlin, Inc.) "IF YOU DONT LOVE ME" (Ager, Yellen & Bernstein) •♦KING FOR A DAY" (Remick Corporation) Just an average local program pic ture. Story of the ancient and ven erable vintage. Pretty good pro- gramer here, okay for Continent, but U. S.—out. It works up for a thrill towards the end with an auto-racing smash, but this has been done bet ter scores of times in American pro gram pictures. Neither the tech nlque nor the editing get as much out of the race and the smash as could have been done, and the long- shot of a racing car running off the road to crash is not very convincing. Acting and direction call for no particular comment. Comedy bits, played by Gladys Hamer, Alf God- dard (retired pug), and Mike John- son, brighten it up a bit, but as a whole it is tame and rather slow. One high spot is a skid on a hill to avoid a child during a trial. Well done and a good thrill. As a whole the story is thin and the direction inclined to wobble. No outstanding acting, though the cast is, good. Eve Grey was starred in "Moulin Rouge" and John Stuart is supposed to be fancied by Mary Pickford for a fu- ture juvenile opposite her. Neither has a part In this iilm giving any chance. I''^'"'^- BITTER SWEET PeerlrtMM (film) production, rolenaed ihrouBh Capitol (atales riBht). Dlrectod by Charles Hutchison .from ord- inal .«tory credited John C. Bro.wncll. 'Titles by C. JJauKherty. CR!»t: Barbara lledford, Uali.h Graves, Crawford Kent, At l.oew s New York, ono day, SepU 13. half double bin. RunnlnB tlnie about 00 mlnutea. While story, implauslbilltles are numerous, good direction and casjt save "Bitter Sweet" and make it okay for a states Tighter. Entrusting th© mission of getting back love notes from a blackmailer to a strange darte who quahned, only by answering an ad, is the flrst snag in construction. When, the girl shoots the letter-holder during a wild part and then Ignores the thing sho is after. It. becomes ap- parent that tho oversight is the ex- cuse for the remaining five reels. The action thereafter Is fa.st and suspenseful. A good meller finish Is provided. DYNAMIC AL A nivino to l»o conjiirt'd wilU when roCtrriiii; to <'UnrBO d'Aff:Ur(» HE'S THE LAST WORD ALTERNATING STANLEY jKBSKr cmr BRANFORD, NEWARK if NOW IN SECOND YBAR Bi B« B- More Than a Masivt of Ceremonies At COFFEE DAN'S, Ix» Angeles, Cal. GRAIN OF DUST Tlffany-.'^tahl . production and release. Directed by Ceorgo Archalnbaud from screen. 8tory based on novel of same title by David Graham I'hllltps. ISrnest Miller cameraman. Wlnd.sor, Alma Bennett. Ulch- ard Tucker, .lohn St. I'ouls. At Ix)ew s New York one day, Sept. 13. Uunnlng time about C!> mlnuicfl. For pxire sensuality; Alma Ilen- nett flashes In a couple of spots in "Grain of Dust" enough to set tho two Gretas back in the shade. Ricorda Cortez flops for her . and ruins tho business, so that tho story, INCHON 2l. MARCO IDEAS The Original of Their Type, the Most Consistent of Their Kind. And Sure-Fire at the Box Office RICK and SNYDER NOW FEATURED IN Fanchon and Marco^s "RIVER IDEA" EN TOUR WEST COAST THEATRES FOR 16 WEEKS Thanks to ABE LYMAN IT WAS A WILD NITE