Variety (Apr 1929)

FJ LM R E V 1 E W S VARIETY 85 CHINATOWN^NIGHTS (Contlpued from pag» 20) , , tta tonff War. M the ^*uy of ^« Trleli-AHiertowi-leadei? ot..» wUd SncSof OrtentaUi; ulttaately. attor i^Swlea of trlbulattons, flho Anally fCtoS^ and away -from thA «iolo"uane«a of <31Unatown. ■ ' Afl a wnetal tWng. Urt »lctur© to a cSlulold Ubol on a IxarinlMS grojip StteUndrymen and teatottnmt walt- nr^ AB a contemporary pfoture of nny Cblnatowi^ on the Nortk Amw- icajB conUnent^-and there's none ac- ?SSly° toulh'er tbfinv that in Hon- tMal—thle la somewhat antiquated. From i.the --playeni' viewpoint Seery. unfortunately, has not been Sven a choice aaalgnment. He has a odwerful screen personality, akin to that of Bancroft's, "trlth the same no-and-manly' stentorian keynote In his address and deserves special script attention; • .»'s" the first time in a long apoU that Beery has.been Klveh a 4j^pathetto dramatic as- BlKnnieiit; -although as the : kindly tramp ln"BegKai«8 4>t Life," he was Bot the menace of yorei. Miss Vldor's dialog Impressions are puzzling. It is patent that in -some sequences sinother yvolce is doubling lor,her slrtce Ut^le subter- tuge is necessary in .these portions. There are othelr shpts ^ere BUss Vldor Is unquestionably '. sinking.- - Thesei however, ate'either brief or minor addregaes. . . Of the most consistent perform ' ances,' that seasoned menace of pioneer days In the .deaf-and-dumb racket, Walter Oland, does exceed- ingly well... 'His screenraccomplleh- ' ments are fortified anew.'with a de- cisive speaking. volo9. For the rest,' It matters little-^ther way. . On .blanket bot>l(1pgs> Plus the'key . cit;y exhibitions in tne.Publb^ houses, ' Par will excee4 in economic bene- ...fits' the artlstio'and entertainment values that . "Chinatown Nights" . possesses,' But as a picture It's nothing to br%g about. Abel. Children of the Rita; (SOUND) FliKt'National Vltapfaone producUon, dU raotad tr John Francis Dillon. Dorotby Hwkalll and Jack Mulball featured. Vtim Cornall Woolrtcb's aerial that appeared In College Humor. Titles bjr Paul Peres. At the Strand, N, T., week ot March 30, RupnlDs time, Tt minutes. Ansela Pennington Dorothy Uackalll DeWey Haines.....,..,. .Jack Mulball Oil Penqlngton... James Ford Hr> Poonlngton ...Rlohnrd Carlyle Mm. Pennington Evelyn' Hall Idrle . Pennington Kathryn McQuIre Ttie Butler,.'. ;.c.,Frank Crayne Oenld Wilder..i ...Bddle Bums Hatgle Haines..' ......Doris Dawson Krs: Haines. '. ...Aggie Herrljig QaSney ...Lee Moran Florence! Everett added to Ing School," U sound short. 'Dane- 's Gtb'Ava. Theatre,. Sealitte^ ^ Wash. HKBHIB KING HtiSIoiil. ftAMEA of ^BBBMONUe DIteeHM f ANOHOM *:MA«o6 ' OaUnna niestt^, Oal^aikl; <Wif.' An«rela Pennlilgton (Dorothy Mac- kaltt) explains that she Is extrava- gant because her father is rich. She falls in love with the Penning- tons' young chauReur (Jack Mul- ball), doing most of the advancing herself. Angela Pennington's pa goes 'broke. The young chauffeur wins' 160,000 on a horse' race. MackalU and Mulhall wed. Girl continues extrava'Bant, wading through the boy's 60 g's in a couple of wieeks. He reverts to former form and drives a cab. She repents, finds him and states^ she will will- ingly go to work to help him, even "make my own dresses." That's the end. Miss Hackaill looks nice and wears, a-lot-of pretty clothes. Mul- hal), the screen's ' recognized best dressed lead, gets by 'fairly well .in chauffeur's uniforms until the last, quarter, and then slides home with a double breasjted tux ajid some more : swell mufti: Co-featured, their performances are equally good. No dialog. Bftective syn'chronlza- tion ai^d .sound eftedts. ' , ■ ' John FratVols Dillon wpriced un- eventfully .'but capably V^Wlth this scenario, .which is a French farce photographed mostly 'outdoors and often on the driver's seat of an automobile. "Children of the Bltz" should see moderate returns. Alternative wlU be less. Absence of talk at this moment dispels chance for anything; better, . Bige. THIS IS HEAVEN (SOUND) Bamoel Goldwyn production. Starring 'Vllma Banky. United Artlats release. Directed by Alfred Santell. Story by Ar- thur Uantell, adapted by Hope. Liorlng. Titles byT'Oeorge Marlon, Jr. ' Caniiraaan, Oeorge' Barnes. Musical score, by Hugo ReUenfeld. At "trade ehowlng," New Tork'.-Root, March 28.^, Running tImeL 96 minacea.' ' : . Evai..'....i ......Tllma Banky Jimmy James Hall Mamie Frltzl Rldgeway Dnsle Frank.. I^iclen LIttleBeld Rounder, rRlohard Tucker ' . VUma Baitky^ as the flapjack queen of Chllds' Fifth avenue, Oold- wyn's Hungarian star brought up to. datb and to America,, without period fripperies or sword-toting lovers. . Ahd liMllne with/the note «if( modernity, occasionally' bursting Into dialog rather cutely tinged BiBtt Sn the West . ... Coming ^<ut-—Soont FANCHOU & MARCO present IMDIAN IVIURIEL 8TRY^6R.-H,ARDrTRIO ^ CHIEF EAQkE FEATHER OAVE HACKER 1^-8unki«t Beauties—16 with foreign accent. Always a dainty, appealing, feminine creature and adding, with each -picture, something to her effectiveness as a trouper. "This Is Hjsaven" is not a great picture nor, perhaps, by the United Artists' standards of a few years ago, a picture up to the ex- pectations of the releasing name; t)Ut'It Is a good programmer. Of the type Paramount makes. Story minus novelty or sock, but carried by the romantic element. It's the love altalr of an Immigrant girl 'Who thinks her sweetie is a chauffeur, whereas he is really a millionaire. This to the sort of fable that will give the dames a big kick. It's the stuff continued stories in the tabs are made of. liove's young sweet dream as ex- pressed In plans for the financial future, furniture, home-building, etc., will find a resi>onsive chord among the lads and lasses who hold hands in the dark. There may also be a sentimental tug for many nat- uralized citizens in the scenes at Ellto Island. In shoH. "This Is Heaven," while generating no great amount 9t tension, does concern Itself with things which will Inter- est the great body of fans. That the yarn Is both trite and reminis- cent does not matter Importantly frpm the showmanly angle. Small cast and nothing elaborate on the production end. As with all the GoldWyn productions, photogra'- phy to splendid. Alfred Santell tells the story simply and humanly, ao- oompUshlng with quiet competence the transition of Miss Banky frofn a lady of royalty to a batter-mixer of Chllds. James Hall Is attractive- ly Breezy In the male leads Picture was exhibited at a "trade showing'^ for exhibs, trade press and relatives. Not due in New Tork for couple' months. About 16 per cent dialog out of .90 minutes' run- ning time. Oiie bi'g.iconversatlonal laugh for 'Vilma suggests possibility ot Goldwyn doing an all-talket with her' garbled English as the source of. , drollery. Thls' could be accom pllshed without loss of dlgnltjr. and With probable Increase of-popuiarl' ty. Grooming MIss- Bonky for t>er' manency as a star to going to tax' Goldwyn's smaHness. "This Is Heaven" Is much better stuff toWard that end than "The- Awakening,' with, which Mtos Banky 'was launched, without the pEtrthershtp of Ronald Colman. - But lack of beautiful gownlif^ to a detriment. Fans exp^t their goddesses -to' be attired as such. hand. crooks aboard the ship working with a member of the ship's crew are also Worried about Armltage's real iderttlty. They are planning to cop a necklace belonging to the girl, who unknowingly is the object of hero's affection. , Despite handicaps, Armltage gives the slip on several occasions and Anally manages to make the- acquaintance of the girl. But Just as he', la medcing some romantic progress, he to I'e-oaptured by the nurse and several husky members of the crew and the girl is made to believe that he is more or less goofy, hto explanations of his actual identity carrying no weight with anyone. Blow off has the man making his. escape from the cabin and unwit- tingly assisting in the capture of the Jewel thieves and setting himself right with the girl, the male nurse and everyone else, aboard. Denny and Luclen Llttlefleld pro- vide most of the laugh situations, the latter as the male nurse,' with a dash of lavender in his make-up, getting the most out of their parts. Otto Harlan and Collette Merton, playing the crook parts, also stand out, especially in the convelrsatlonal sections of the . picture. ' Joseph Henaberry did a good directing Job with this one and those who like Denny's comedy will not be dis- appointed. Star Is okay In the talk- ing sequences. Filming of Golden Eagle (BRITISH MADE).' : Group of motion pictures and stills as- sembled by '^ptaln C. ' W. R.' Knight Special engagement at 'Fifth Ave. Play- house. N. Y., beginning March 30. Rl^r nine time, about 83 minutes. < > dwelt upon. There the brother and' sister, already dark feathered When identified, are shown peacefutiyigob- bllng food, with Intermissions dS'- voted to wing practicing, until they are able to-fly.; A tamed owl, wild rabbits, Insects and falcons are used as fillers. Just after tlie picture terminates with the restoring to';freedom of a tamed eagle. Knight produces, a live bird of the Species and carries it through. the aisles. ' The- formal presentation of the bird creates quite a stir among the sure-seat audiences, espectolly for those dev- otees who are not frequenters to the local zoo. Woly. —I LINDA (SOUND) Gotham release of Mrs. Wallace Retd production. Directed by Hra. Reld from story by Margaret Prescott Montague. Screen play by Wilfred Ney. Byncbranlsed score and sound effects by Yltaphone. In cast. Warner Baxter, Helen Foster, Noah - Beery, Mitchell Lewis, Kate Price. Theme song "Linda," At Lincoln Square, N. T., first halt week April 1. Running time, 70 minutes. CLEAR THE DECKS . (DIALOG) Universal production and release, starring Reginald Denny. Directed by JosepE Hennaberry from' B. J, Rstb's story,- "When the Devil Was eick." Western Electrto Movietone :syoh(ontxed scored and dialog; At ttte OMony, New Tork; March 80;; Running', tim*-TO Blmites. Jack Armltage......' Reginald Denny HIas Bronson OUve' Hasbroock Pussyfoot..! Otis Harlan. Plll>ge..v...; ....lAolen Llttlefleld^ Blondle, .>w.... Collette Marten' Mate, BoMrt Anderson: Aunt ..VIener Leslie Trumbull Brooks Benedict Romantic comedy with the action mpstly-aboard' ship. Dash of i^laji- stlck added-to. (^series of incidents' dealing 'with nklstaken identity makes this an amusing flicker that should, get'moderate money, in; the- better neighborhood houses;' Three dialog sequences, of.eight minutes' each, are a welcome relief from a fiock of subtitles that aire ot' the old school aiid the weakest thing In the picture. ^ Story centers around Jack Arml'- tage, (Denny), who gets a yen 'for a passing female and follows her on an 'ocean Voyage, having first ob- tained the! pfissage ticket and as- suming the name ot a friend, who has been ordered to take the trip for his health by a wealthy aunt on penalty of being disinherited. On the liner he is taken in charge by a male nurse who mistakes him for the sick man and Insists that he remain in bed and subsist on a diet of goat's milk. A couple of Strictly for non-theatricea book- ings. A Jerky .nature study of bl^ds, the. eagle figures only incidentally^ Unless accompanied by ' a lecturer the screen .presentation In its^pres'- ent state is meaningless. Captain Knight Is personeJly ap-^. vearing at this house.- Decided cockney accen^ mak«iB him diffloult to follow at.flttit.;/As he warms up to the subject arty audiences, char- acteristically imagltia'Mve, are able to conjure up a lot of actloa_anct continuity . that are/- hot oii the screen. Colored ^Uj^es ard numer- ous, composing no 'nnall part o^^'tbe running 'time. A'lot of footage-'.'Is wasted 'In badly .pliotographed di^p scenes and- waving trees, 'H^re, however. Knight Is able to dwell'pn the const^nt-'vlgllanc^ neceSsajiy to catch the eagle on the roo'stl > ' After a lot of slides in cpior shoW' ing the eagle'c nest, 'moving pictures ot 'the same art! introduced. The mother feeding Its yoiing to cas- ually interesting. A pecking match between a-baby male and teqiale, who photograph like a couple of light chicks, is graphically ampli- fled by the lecturer who 'tells of the aggressiveness and strength of temmes in eaglevlUe. A happier family, however. Is . Nicely put together backwoods story that should get money In the split week and dally changes despite the fact that the .flicker has all the evidences of being a quickie. About 12 choruses of the theme song are sungJ>y an off-screen voice. Story concerns Unda -Stillwater (Helen Foster), a' dreamy sort-of gh-1 who is hungry for-.'iMtter things but Is foribed ;by.'a ^r\i^ii..'''father to marry an lelderly luinbeVmjtLn, Decker' (Npah Beery).' Though he 'treats her with kindness, Linda's hewt is. Dr. Pajil Randall's Cramer Bax- ter);..' \\ ' Faithful to: her husband, Unda Is In the,early stages of mother- hood when a sobemlng-,woman steps Inland breaks .tip her home. 'With her baby In good. bEinds, XInda sets out for. the oity wb^^ her former school teacher,' now' In the money,' befriends her. ''She cllolu 'with her - benefa<itOr'B friends and4B seen steP''' ping in the best circles. Brother' of the girl', also goes. for.Xtinda^ inn big way . but is given -the chill. ((Sontlnued on page 27) -. HOSE F^atoied la FANOHOM aaA IUpOOV "COTTAdE SMALLr lp|$A •^HE bANOINQ HAlNlX^Tl Featoied'ia Wnthm wmt'mmtf* ■■ «na>IAN.8I)llldBtf*:ipaA: JESSE CRAWFORD * Organ CONCERT PARAMOUNT THEATRE ;>rEW YORK WEEK OF MArtCH 3(>T^ "IN OLD TIA JUANA" (Arthur Behim Muslo Co.), ' (Agar, VeMeh' & 'Bornbtein) ' ''' ''WHERE'S THE SONQ OF SONCiS FOlt ME" (Irving Berlin, Ine.) FIRST JEASTERN APPEARANCE AFTER 7 Montlis WARNER BROS. THEATRE, HOLLYWOOD 7 Weeks ORIENTAL, fUCA^ AND NELL Q'DAY FEATURED DAl«fCERS in John Murray Anderson's Publix Revue, "LACES AND GRACES** / PJUtmiiT, NEW YORK (Week Mar. 31) PARAMODIfr. BROOKLYN (Wed V-S) i