Variety (Nov 1928)

Wednesday, November 28, 1928 FILM REVIEWS VARIETY 15 Talking Shorts CLARK and McCULLOUGH, "THE BATH BETWEEN" (Comedy) FOX MOyiETONE 22 Mins. Roxy, New York Bobby .. .... ....••i- Paul 1..... 1...» Wife • Strcingrman Husband. Bobby ClarK Paul McCulloueli ....Carniel Myers ... .'.Maclt ■Pluker ,Uen Holfnes FLORENCE BRADY, VITAPHONE NO. 2699, Songs; 9 Mins., Sherman, New Haven. Fit) Brady, formerly und Wells In vaude, is alone in this talking short, singing three jpop; .son^s, -ail of which have, seen their of Brady |SeMnw*'!*v*Elwo^^^^ best selling days,- short Miss Brady. Is a hot .blues singer who delivers her material with plenty of pep and personality. She is handicapped; here by. over-em- vocai and too much By far tlie best talking •those comics have made for. Fox. This one . was produced on the Coast. It's strong enough to feature lihy 'program of shorts. SJhow business In general Is fa,- miUar with "The Bath Between." If it' s hot, it sho uld b e; but _that doesn't, go for OTe'Ttuclior'-aifjd "exrl receptions. „ bibitors. : It's reported surprising ^.j can't Get Him Off My *Ii"<J„ the number of stage names and ^nd "Here Comes, the Showboat . bits the picture fared about equally as Well. Even phaslzing muggin, . "Sunshine." h.er opening . num ber, popular about a year ago, has been since snowed under by a del uge of screen theme songs, and as a result it received the mildest of FOX MOVIETONE NEWS Double issue for week Nov. 24 In Projection, Room Vol. 2, No. 7 Hcich of th> Fojc Movietone .-•ouncl news reel for this Week con- ta-ins .action and liveliness with some comedy, bearing on timely news events in the' main. No. 7 holds five subjects and No,. 8 six. Some important foreiign scenes are In both. . . ■ . No. 7 starts With the . Mitv Etna efui5tion.' Cameramen took some dpsijerate^ chances near this molten lava. Kuns interestingly on a grave subject .with the punch the crum- bling of . a marble mansion on a precipice, through: the foundation eaten, away by the stream. It's an cameira itself MASKS OF THE DEVIL (SOUND) M-Ot-M produitian MtiiTlnc John Ullbort. liin <.ti>a by Vlotor Sea.-<ti um. .' Uftscd on stoiv Uy Jacob Wast»ormiiu. A^lapied uy .svoiid C,:uic and Francw Marion. Camera- m!in Olivor M:ir»li. ..Alma Uuluuis fea- uirod. At Cai.Uol. .S.'w Yorlt. wi'-oU Nov. •il. Kuiining time, OS mln.o..- Hin.n lloinur .v...Jv'.hn (.illbert .. . ,TliPOdi>rc Uoboiris ... i.-. .rianlc }l.>ifhor ,.:KvA Von lioino ........... >.ll«ll>l» .'»'>'lu\i V:r^inia^s. Molhor. . , v.... • • •-Klhol. Wiiles l>;in.-or ■ • •■• • • • ^.'ounU'ss Zellner.. Count I'aloaier... Coum Zcllner..... VirKfiiia Miiitiml. Standard comedy •nd doesn't know about as revealed ty the influx o£ the talkers and de- spite the gajg: men. • Clark and :McCullough- first did this .one In a"Music Box Revue" at the Music Box, New York, at $5.50 top, ami later repeated It In yaude ▼ille. They may also have done it in burlesque. . Regardless, it's still good. . Here the sketch ig augmented by itarting the team as a bad twv -act who do off -to-Buffalo from, the *tage right into the street as the stage ma-nager opens the door for them. : Overhearing an argument in a hotel room: takes the team into, the hostelry, where they, climb Into bed with their clothes, on .as the two men argue as to" Whose r-odm it Is From- there on it's just as.it always has been with a couple of new gags inserted. ■ AS an outline, Clark relegates McCullough to . sleep in the. tul> When he hears a feminine voice ih the bath, his problem is to ex- change places with his bal. Fol- lowing the switch, the girl's hus- band returns. McCullough has locked the. door and Clark is: in a jam. Plenty of laughs in the re • Bultant situation, and this two reeler had no troulJlo amusing a ' Sunday matinee capacity audience lit the Roxy. Peculiar part of this one is that there'isn't a yell at any point; There fehould be.'^and possibly the theatre ft.nd studio can share the blame for that! - As regards the theatre on •Sunday afternoon, the fault was in the amplification, not strong enough to catch air sections , of the houso. Result was that many a gag line was .lost, especially with standees TOWS deep in the back, plus the con- istant Shuffling and movement in the seat's a iront Miss Brady's ;"hotchacha" interpo- lations seemed ancient to the New Haven natives and transients, This one i9 principally suited for ttie wired houses off the beaten path effect" the picture could never stage. Bob Benchley pulled in for a couple of moments to carve a tur- key at a Thanksgiving dinner. Comedy, With Benchl&y finally makr ing a false mov e and throwing "everything off of the ta'Sle have been taken out of a .\un M'oung h;is tlu" front of the audible tiimis in its billing, but the .synchroniza- tion -la di.stir)Otly disuppoiiuinj?. Minor effects have been aiMo'l to the conVplete negative ;vnd often tU-y iUm"t. -beU'Uj,'. If live efteol.-* h.ui !)cen woven in di.iniiK'. the ni;J<:ni; lliey mik'ht have eni-i.-lied ili- I'lC- mre a .u:reat diwl. f-vr oppnrtiitU'-.eV .ue many. , ' ■ .Vs It uurcels th.-ro nn* oii.y a r.'W .snund ai'i'"ss.M-ies. lio.-si.les ih*-' nwisieal aoi-'MivpaninU'iU:' ■ TU''se I'Djhe in. the eh»ir >i.nHing >Uirlng [lie .elaboviue \\ed<lmfir . ^<-e.iie ;m<l i-tTlain- wiuiopee :. effeets .from the Hat upstairs when •Miriani, lieroine of tliivtitle, fioes back ti^ her hutnbie. sphere after tastini? of. the joys \ variation of the IVn-lan Oray theme of the sinner whose inpoeont _ race was a niusk for .ii turplludinous j-uiNury-. and .romfinee s'ouli- It is composed oi psuedo-- ,^.,^i:ils niotaphysics, dcep-breathmg pas- sion and a. lot of everyday nonsense. The result, is a fairly warm John (.-.iliiert. attraction. ' : , I'ioturo boars the scars of. produc- Ma?;- Benchley 01 .Sound in 'l- alsb.^ure worked in nv a couple of comedy. , bits ', neatly I Miriam's solitary Nwv. Year's .Kye Mariv Is one).. .!in<i..ivatiiraUy. the. 'vhiminti ot midnijilit. al. tjie Now ' Year's F.Ve oabaret party. All these. " ■ trap . s. WESTON and LYONS VITAPHONE No- 2318 Comedy Talk 9 Mins.. Clinton, New York this short has. i Bowery saloon as its locale, with Miss Lyons doing short on same subject, H.igli I'b'ht of No. t two survivors describing their, experience, on the "Vestris" sinking. Officer Frederick Sorenson speaks briefly, but Mrs. Calvin Battel, adrift twenty-two. hours, speaks most Interestingly and naturally. Remarkable how this woman was. so swiftly coached for what might be called a perfect lay monolog. Her timing and pauses, with short sentences in descnption, bespoke an expert behind king George of Englahd~la7TnK a wreath on Armistice Day fell in handily, with; daily reports of his ,. .illness. Excellent picture of the a dizzy dumb dora from the West U^j^^; Fox has a talking short ^of Side, and Weston .playing a tough |King <3eorge that^may_be^ lion and editorial uneerlalnty and i luive beeh achieved A)y a indecision. It leaves audience in a .jH^vell. . . st-ite of unenlightened suspense, as But even as a .silent, subject it is to' whether C.ilbert ha.s been shot, and if so. how seriously.. . Up until the final passages of the. "mckcM^"IKlb-oia-rb'"a-^lTarming-a unscrupulous libertine on the make for an innocent school girl engagei to his best pal. To win the gal. he nnaiiees a scieiUil'ic- expedition to , Borneo thereby getting rid of her tianoe.. " . •.' , ..„. Uis .campa-lijii also .meludes .sub- sidizing the girl's uunl, all m Holly-, wood's most prodigious .manner, , Sub plot includes a countess (.Vlma Hubens) madly in love with , ihe haiidaome. but sinister .barpn She throws herself in front of an automobile, is reported seriously ^in- jured Cin a _capt^i). and ther^^^ Bowery joint bouncer in a Chuck Cohriors- getup. . The nvan .tosses the dame and a. lot of • fly chatter a;round and finally sets her to park at a table to'take a dnnk. Giris talk IS incoherent at times when she gets IhgenUlsh and lisps-the baby Flock of released gags got laffs at the Clinton, as did also a stew dance by the . pair after a single '^'^Windup has man carrying the boozy dame off on his shoulder as wagon is heard pulling up, with_he saying "Don't give your name" and she replying "Hurry, I had to stand up the last time-" Not over 10 years old. ■ Suitable for the neighborhood wired houses where they like their comedy rough and gags improve with age a headliner When released. First one ever made of him. - . , - ■■ football pictures on the^ becoming renov/ned This one hus- Fo'x.'a sound news are for action and clarity, the Dartmouth-Cornell game. in aisles. That "every neat" doesn't go. The studio erred in passing up oloseups of Chirk on punch lines. ParticUlarlv during the fast dialog while the comics are in bed. Medium shots were employed in this ver- sion, which long distanced Clark s facial expi'e-«isions. although .it's re- ported the original print had these clo^e views. But "The Bath Between" is free from slow spots and Is always en tertalning. They should have howled In a couple of spots, but they didn't l5ome of it may h ave been too fast for.thV picture puHTc. On a'sHTaller stage Clark used to plant this stuff 80 it couldn't miss. Now. he's got amplification to contend with, , be sides groping in the dark as far as laughs are concerned. Insertion of the missing oloseups might remedy . everything. . ■. • . Support oast meets, all needs, al . -though. .ho. meinher... has . .anythl.tlg. rating importance other than the featured pair. Carmel. Myers looks sufficiently delectable as the. woman In the case. Ail houses will like it. "These low comedy comics, are too well versed In hoke to permit their intentions to become fogged. It's simply a mat- ter of to wh-it degree the. various audiences will go for It. Odds are that they'll fall, and heavy. ■Ren Ptnloff directed. TEXMcLEOD VITAPHONE No. 2694 Roping and Ta'^^ 9 Mins. Sherman, New Haven Tex McLedd, at the Palace, New York, recently, dQiner his rope spin ning turn and light cbmedy chatter, does not shape up as suitable ma terial for talking shorts. . This one is called "A Rope, and a Story." McLeod is In a parlor set, billed as the premier rope spinner of the world. . . The talk dished out is mainly about "my trip abroad" and current . -p g^^^ news topics of slim comedy value. McLeod works very much like I» ""f""' Will Rogers and admits it. Turn &ot very little from a capac- ity crowd at this house following the Yale-Harvard game. Opener on a talking short pro p^m in--the.-hideaway wired spots where, talkers are still a novelty. McLeod's camera shyness is no ticeable at all times because of downcast eyes. Vol. 2, No. 8 Lord Mayor's annual parade London. IPicturesque features. An east side. New York, German restaurant in these days of prohibi- tion, with patrons drinking big seidels while they sing German songs. Blamed upon the Bavarians in the caption. King Alfonso's cousin, Spanish ambassador at Washington, speaks to the King of Spa.In. ^ The ambassador Is, of strong facial features, and the entire shot, inclur 3ive of the ambassadr .•..c-.ddress to Americans at the flnish, superb AmencAiia ^ pox also has propaganda for bpain. r „ a talking short of the King of tpaln. no! yet released. It's a peach for the King and Spain ■ A brief bit of a hockey game, and another, somewhat Protracted, . and not lively enough, of three Atlanta drops from the story. Her husband is~sEbC^ when wrcstlmtr with- the baron for a. pistol. . . ; • As the baron progresses m wicK- edness hb keeps looking i"to a mir- ror and seeing himself as the deviL Of course, in the end true love trickles through his ylclous habUs and achieves What the. movies gen- erally call redemption. ^ , Victor Seastroiu has injectcdbym- bolism rather freely. i»^^"n"^^""> tho "Strange Interlude' aside, s^ln- troduced. Gilbert, is seen. register- Ing one sentiment and thinking un n dissolve) something ciuitc different. Oast holds names and • possesbes publicity value, beyond G»^.*^,^/» pulling powers. lOva Von Berne Ms tr^ Amoi-iivL as the in- introduced to America as the genue. Eva's haircut Is her weak- and her sponsors must She Is photo ness now, ana her solve that problem pronto in tolo an appealing figure, photo- cniphLng well and showing .some ability and intelligence as an ac- tress- fehe has a form that strike^ masculine eyes as extremelj, nifty, " though dames, with i-^,^?i>i'^^^^,^ for boyish lines have bden heard suggesting lamb chops tjnd plne- '^^Theodore Roberts returns to films a role of limited opportunities. The veteran character actor man- aged to sneak In a. couple, of his old lime sure-fire tricks. ' , "Alma Rubens, although . featured in billing, has a role of no lengtu or na •I d'aintv piece of work. Settinf ;ire beautiful with.oi't spil'.lhi? over, m the side of studio .M)Vurse. and ■aTF~aTmosinil'i't>"-t!r-rrafttly-^^ :md maintained. Miss (M'iilUh as x\\6 .streetwalker whp weleonie.s a. better-life and strives with■ all .her, native courage and honesty to hold It, doe.s'a good show. . . I'iayers and diret-tor have gone . !<o far in restraint that some fans may call ihe ■ action slow, sonie- iirnes the price of avoiding cheap einenva tricks. Di.seiiminating fans will find, nuieh in the picture to :ad- mire tind enjoy and it certainly adds to the prestige of.'.this producer for:. . a capitJil class, output. . ;. Two elaborate, .scenes arc handled . , ill a broad gauged way. The church., wedding Is splendidly carrlvd -out. - (ieiieral effects have .spectacular. propbrtions, but the. director never once lets mere display take charge. Always he -has concentrated upon tho human story element and the environment is still a background- Again in the New Year's Kve cab- aret scene the same holds true. Ordinarily this passage would serve vs an excuse for lialf dres.«ed flpor .show, girls enough to overshadow tho whole drama. But not here, :Viter gets everything he wants of ripeetacle and hilarious revel, and turns It all to the account .of tho pure story Interest. Picture has high- promise as a .silent box ofilco feature, for it ha« the premier reauisite, sentimental pull for women. It gets its hardest test at the Strand where the ch- ontclo has been educated to. the real thing in sound -land dialog pic- iur'>s, -But as. a generarr'-i-.'.ase ..It- looks like a winner, first on'Its car.t niitues and its acting exeellencc and llien oil Its basic story appeal. li'usli. young girls paying an election ,bet by washing animals m the local mob of co-eds. is -een for the conclusion, watching * ««° game at the U of South Carolina. No; 7 supoiior to No. 8 this wees. ImporUnce and entirely subord - ...ae to . Miss Von Berne, w-ho obvi- ously had the cards stacked for her. Ralph Forbes is also an on-anu- offer. represented in the early .so quchces as a dull and negative^ pei- sonallty. This mUy have been delib- erate so as to obviate creation of too much sympathy wlien Gilbert systematically sets about to snatch ^""Etliel^Wales hoklng up the sub- sidized aunt provided occasional .comedy. Only other part that got enough footage to be recognized was Frank . Reicher ably Imper.sonating the hapless count. , ' It is perh.aps unfair to judge the synchronization on a basis of tne performance covered. During the -- ... lirst Quarter of the picture a series This early Vita short is a musical \,^^ things went wrong, with the sound saSre on the stage play '"Rain''] v,,ooe.y.. Finality ^ adjvu^^^^^^^ (Jeanne Eagels) NEVILLE FLEESON, GLADYS BAXTER .VITAPHONE No. 434 and Loew's Avenue B, Nev» York Manhattan Cocktail (SOUND) - I'.arimciunt. produotion and .ruloaae. T\wo iOciil numberH,. . dJalot^■, I>l.''cclo<r by Poi-oihy .\rzner. Scenario by Blhcl I>'.>nort^ from original by Erneut Vajaa. O*oree .Marion's titles. At the Punirfiou.pt, New Yorlt. woolc of ^ov. 2i. Itunnlng Umo,, i- inlna. l-'ntU Hob. Honov Mrs. Ilenov-., ..Nancy .Carroll. ...Itk'har-il .\rlBii ,. .Danny t)'Shea ;.., .I'liul I.uVaf .L-llyan -ru.Hhmiin Neville Fleeson, song wrote the skit a.nd^ accompanies Gladys Baxter, doing /the Thompson role, at the piano The story of the .play is told in composer, »anies Sadie Mitchell Ijei.sen. chief a.sst. dl^ rector toji-ecil^B. De Mille on "•'Dynamite'' ~fbT" -G i^frr^^elseh formerlv art director for De Mille. Lillian Ducey is titUne "The Devil's. Plum T-ree." (TS). Herbert Prior for ."Duke Steps Out" (M-O-M). Charle.s Olden. JOvelyn Preer, Ed- . ward Thomiiscin, Spenoor Williams, Roberta flyson and John Williams, all colwr.-d. for ".Melaneholy -Dame, lii'st of the Oft.-ivTis Roy Cohen Bor.ies f»r ('lii-ist ie. BURNS and KISSEN VITAPHONE No. 2679 Comedy and Songs . : 2--Min«: ■■■■■ ■ : • Loew's Avenue B, New York ■ These boys. . impersonating a couple of Greek.s, step out of a sa- loon back drop, wearing trick njus- tachos and comedy hats, do- a par- ody on "America I Love You." Tell about all the Immigrants they have met since their arrival.. After bows for this and the fol- lowing comedy .song,.. "Stromberry Pic." they use the phrase "Dank You" for laughs. ^ Dl.s.qol ve and_fade-in allow for 7>-mo val'^oYl^iMiok 'maTceup"and ffftcr some, light comedy intcrpola.tions the boys double parodies on "M.ary r.ini" and "It All D"perid.s on. You" for good returns. C'rood short, -i.'uulard. il)P"ar:iiice ai-id A<-t I.S a vaude ■Puvs 11-inkc a ii'm' ],i ls^''-•sS ciitll'-il.V line - f values. ;in:l a sen?,? of song by .Mlss Wter, with r^son ■ changing hats to represent Hand some." the marine, and Rev. Davidson." original roles.^ . Telling the story of ths play in UiuW stylo, this short, ^ ^Ure- lTnv -rn- :fht.3T sections ^^^^^ .songs are popular. Miss Baxter does the Jeanne Eagels l^np^sona- tion, well enough, has a Ple^^Ing T- Ice and puts over several dra- matic passages neatly. Fleeson s comedy interpolations help it alon^^ Skit has a couple of songs about "Pago Pago" and "Rain, Rain, Rain," which help to set the locale despite the draped set. ■ _ As a finale Miss Baiter, singing her "Rain" song, raises her right ann above , hfvr head as a finl.sh.i -esture. On the screen her Appears =eut.oft.a1^hA.ldb^v«r,^ i-ng in laughs not Intended, Reas for the rut-off arm 13 that came is «et so that thf».-.mlke -will ,not " near on the frame and Miss lr.r'.s upraised arm had to be amp t.'xted on the lUm or the. mike ■ fluded in the picture. - ; t;j,r,rt ri'.f«. ''f^rly ."pottinc wi'r^d - neighborhood ' hO'iflPS. okay' thereafter but seemed rathei so-.so as a score with the music not sufnciently subordinated to the pic- ^""^Masks of theT5ovil" wliriiardlY. be a wow but It .should have enough feminine appeal to hold, up gener- ,'illy It brings Gilbert back m the tvpe of romantic hoke the dames OUTCAST Kiiat Nitlbnal adaplullon of th9 .staKo iiT.iy of -iiJlrno- namc,---.llr.-.-l«;<l- _by- -Wllllain >vitpr. Starring Corlnnfi Orltlll.h as a, "wiund picture, HI I ["(J although haw nothing but*pynf'-hVonUed" music an'l rnlnor._effn('ts, I'lioloKfaphy by John Sc-u-/.. Titles by Kor- Uit\»ey and Oor.n Towne. nunnlng, tlmV w minutes. At Strand, .Sew York, v,pck Nov. 24. Reliable program feature with an expensive symbolical prolbg mean- ing nothing but looking good and two vocal selections by Nancy Car- roll. Songs are placed at about the ' quarter and three-quarter poles Synchronized score and effects, but no dialog. , ,, It's the first time Miss. Ca.-roll has been known as a' vocalist, al- though she's a former chorister.,Not bad .'ringing, either, though not suf- ficient to cause NanCy to quit the scrofn for light opera. However, U esLB-bllshes Nancy as more than just A siUmt puppet if she really did the 1 singing. If she didn't, this picture, contains tho most perfect bit oi .sound andiiight...syneliroriization. yet, produced. . . The short prolog, set in ancient Greece, looks like more coin tlian the picture proper, it spins the an- cient, fable of Ariadne and Theseus, but follows the tale only as far.a.s coiivtrnh nce allows. Thesr-us, beloved of Ariadne, the daughter of the King of Crcte.-erili.stS as one pf the 14 Greek nialdehs and youths perl- -odirsrlly deniandcd by. the Mhiot.'i.Mi:, in order to slay the monster.- Ho proceeds with a .sword, and a ball oi silken thread with which to mark his trail back to Arl.adne. He .slays .Mil lam To'.iy. ........ (ipoffrey... ■. Kugh. VulPntlne. ... M;ibP:....... Miii-!-!!in'l. . ■ ■ ytr*. O'llrlen I-;-H(jt. .1 •ji;......... . .Torlnno Grinith Jamea Kor<l ,,.>;ilrnund Ijowii ..Huntley' Gordon , .KaUiryn Carvcr ,. Loufse Fazondo. ,. .daude KInK ...I'alfty O'ltyrnfc Pam Hardy :Lie<! Moran the beast and returns to his beloved. The second.half of tl < fable, wherein ThcKeus de.sert^ Arhnlne on the Lsle of Naxo.s wh.-ie later weds another. Is not in- in "Manhattan p^kt-alls ber-au.SP when Fred and Babs Now York, Uie modern it's exi.eeted they, will .she e.luded prolog. Met' from Minotaur, ever after. bi.-kst.'i:,'e Iif". .it.'.^ J"--f anof-..i-r -..<- ,r>tin-ii"i "ti-p iti"