Variety (May 1930)

Wednesday, May 21, 1930 FILM REVIEWS VARIETY 19 Talking Shorts "AT HOME" "The Potters" Comedy Strand, New York Vitaphone Nos. 3827-3828. . J. P. McBvoy's "typical" Amer- ican family is as interesting in a talking short as In the past, in Btory and play form. "At Home" might be one of a series about the Potter clan, - or If not, should be. This Is a foundation- to base con- tinuity upon and make the Potter name a seller among shorts. This is a good enough leader. The Potters At home are ma, pa, son. daughter and the kid brother. Kid Is a tough little sonofagun, the s6rt who asks a guest to please pass the spoon Ttnd then whacks him over the head with it. Pa Potter is due for - a raise and the ' boss and the missus are coming to dinner. Pa's big promotion carries no coin, but makes him president of the Employees' Benevolent So- ciety—big hearted guy, his boss. At the nnlsh "the tale appears to have been only partly told, which suggests serial possibility, although In it there is sufficient entertain- ment. Luclen Littlefleld is a first rate Pa Potter, in appearance and per- formance. Others in cast are Lu- cille Ward, Mary Hutchinson, Billy Taft, Dell Henderson, Junior Bailey and Dot Farley. Bige. NICK and TONY "Who's Got the Body?" 10 Mins. Globe Pathe-RCA Photophone Cpuple of Italian, dialect come- dians spotted in a comedy sketch centered around the pair running a garage. Strictly custard pie and mallet fun and very badly done at that. Only thing that's funny Is the dialect. "Fun in a Garage" idea. Fnr fetched situations are strong armed along for weak attempts at laughs. Plant that gangsters have killed a victim and left his body in a garage. Wop proprietors are made nervous. Just then a drunk drives In and goes to sleep in his runabout. Partners think he's dead and try to prevent a visiting cop from see- ing him by stuffing supposed "body" into a barrel which moves as the stew gets restless. Very badly done from first to last. Humor that would click with nothing above Saturday afternoon school boy au- diences. Rush. "DANGER" Drama 7 Mins. Strand, New York Vitaphone No. 3529 Dramatic short in -wiilcli the hero, army deserter and near-assassinator of a fellow soldier, escaped at the finish too easily to make up for the slight sympathy that is his due from the audience. His one good trait, and even that depends on the way you look at it, is that he dearly loves a blonde. There is some sus- pense, but not a big enough amount to give "Danger" a better than mod- erate stamp. Blonde Is there for the opening balcony scene and at the finish In the flight with her lover on horse- back. He's deserting for her sake, and when recaptured poses as an Innocent. His looks arouse the commander's suspicions, however, and he is.at the shooting wall when he bursts into a Spanish song. They think that maybe he's the wrong guy after all, because the soldier who deserted didn't know a word of Spanish, and they let him go with apologies. But a note he left be- hind thanks a cellmate for teaching him the song, and then the chase. Players are John B. Litel, Frank Campeau, Charlotte Merrlam and Eddie Hearn. Bige. "BAREFOOT BOY" with Mr. and Mrs. Norman Phil- lips and Norman, Jr. Sketch 17 Mins. Greeley Sq., New York Audio-Cinema Edgar Allan Woolf wrote this sentimental sketch, crediting the idea to Whlttler's poem, "Barefoot Boy." Contains plenty human in- terest and pathos and goes over strong. The kid, Norman Phillips, Jr.% works wonders. This is the first short made by-this standard vaude act. From the manner in which the youngster acts for the camera it would appear he had .previous audible picture experience. ' Most of the short Is carried by him and he delivers with natural ease. It's about a barefoot Jcld who roams into a swanky couple's gar- den to get a branch from the tree which his sick aqnt admired. Both kids and dogs are barred from the property by the c&uple. supposed to be terribly cranky. It turns out that the kid was a secret buddy of their own dead son. The kid's way and manners -win the couple over and he and the dog and the couple part the best of fi^ends. Boy's parents give oke support. Western Electric recorded. "CHINATOWN FANTASY" Song, Dane* Revue 10 Mir;s. Rivoli, N. Y. Paramount Frank Cambria produced this miniature singing and dancing pro- duction, packing an astonishing amount of specialty material Into so short a time as 10 minutes. Opens with 'a Chinatown back- .?I?^nd and a "hop head" singing What's the Use of Dreaming?" as he drops to sleep on a door step. Scene shifts to an acrobat doipg comedy balancing feats on top of a nexible lamp post which fades nto a Buddhist temple for a brief "Jt of djince by 8 girls who in the (Jim light look like Chinese. Chinese man and woman do song number in English with the same RJrls coming on at the finish for Jl'ie finale, revealing that they really are Orientals. Close "with J,"*:, Slrls, stripped to rehearsal Clothes, doing fast routine of taps, Knsk .«(pccialty revue dohe In wnor;ima fashion that makes for speed and a good novelty subject. Rush, Miniatare Reviews LOUISE FAZENDA "The Bearded Lady" Comedy 18 Mins. Arena, New York Paramount-Christie Love In a freak show, with the sword sw'allower -nuts about prre of the Siamese twins (one on the left), fire-eater burning with passion for the bearded lady and plenty of Vil- lainy by the former when the lady with the whiskers switches affec- tions to a lad In the audience. Basic situation replete witli chances for comedy, but not always treated to advantage. Got just enough out of it for pretty good comedy rating, with enough in these 18 minutes for most neighborhoods. , One of . the sword swallower's dirty tricks, because he wrongfuUly believed the bearded lady (Louise Fazenda) responsible for his spat with one of the connected twins, was to eat the bearded lady's razor after she took her first shave to make herself presentable to the boy she loved. The jealous fire-eater pulled the veil off her face the sec- ond day after the shave,' when', at loss for a ra:zor, the bearded lady had to meet her lover under cover. The beard was oke with the lover, he said, because he was a barber, and after they'd been married five years he's shown giving his loving wife her morning shave. After that lie also shaved their small daughter, who apparently took after her mother. Dialog at times not as smart as the gag situation behind it. George Stone is opposite Miss Fazenda, starred, with feature billing. Bige. Felix FERDINANDO Orch. ^ Music, Dancing 10 Mins. Globe, N. Y. William H. Bristol—Educational Only fair straight orchestra dis- play with dancing specialties pre- sented before the musicians in the stage band manner. Orchestra Is Spanish in name but jazzy Ameri- can in nature. Three Spanish -wom- en offer song and dance specialties, together with a tangoing senorlta.. Songs are all in Spanish, per- haps with a view to profits to be had in the Latin-American and Spanish markets. Subject is all right for that purpose, but for a short in the states has little to recommend it. Backgrounds are dull salon effects, neutral tones and dull lighting that the orchestra and specialty people melt Into, giving an Indefinite effect. Comedy efforts of the band<?men are futile. ' Much is made of an eccen- tric musical combination of oboe and fife jazzing in duet idea of no "roat force. Itiish. "Silent E n e m y" (Par). Spl^did plctorlally, but Indian silent film commercially doubt- ful. "The Texan" (Par). W^ell made, highly entertaining western. "Runaway Bride" (Radio). Nice programmer. "Sunny Skies" (Tiffany). Okay and probably pleasing for neighborhoods, but doubt- ful for de luxes. "The Arizona Kid" (Fox). Can't touch "In Old Arizona," of which It is a follow-up, but passable entertainment and certain on the draw. T-ltle a push-over and explotatlon a set-up. "The Big Pond" (Par). Well- cast • and directed Chevalier com^edy. Lots ol^ laughs and sure to please aihy typical American audience. "The Chess Player" (Film Historlque—Paris production) (silent). Okay for Europe.' Nix for the States—even arty. Art production but not commercial. Bad titling and incongruous continuity. "The Texan" (Par). Rates high as a western with special emphasis on entertainment and production value. Laid mostly iij South America with Gary Cooper'In outstanding role. "Mountain Justice" (Univer- sal). Western, starring Ken Maynard. Katherine Craw- ford sings hilly billy tunes. Good kid?' film. Worth dally grinds and where Maynard Is popular. Film has plenty of action but weak story and -characterizations. "Roarijpo Ranch" (U). Milk fed western. Won't do where punch is desired as holds no action. Fair for double fea- ture bills. "Sagebrush Politics" (Art Mix). Western. Btui record- ing. Hardly -worth consider- ing. Phono Kinema recorded. LE SPECTRE VERT ("The Green Spook") French Made in Hollywood) (All Dialog) Paris, Doc. 9. Metro pro()vic!lon aiiJ r(>leas>-. MiiJo in Hollywool. Siarrlng Anilre J.uguift, Ui- rectod by Jncquos Koydor. Worli) preniu^re ;it Madeleine, I'arls, Mny 7. Huiiniiig tinio, !tO mlnuteii. Lord MonlaRUe ,.\ndre I.usuot I.miy Kfra..'.... Jetta ^.Jnudui l.ndy VI I'uuUne tJurnii Dr. Ballou .Georijes llennveni s:r Jamcii Huinsay Jules Kiiucourt "VOICE OF HOLLYWOOD" With John Mack Brown. Radio Comedy 8 Mins. - Loew's New York Tiffany Usual fault, stuff presented with too little preparation. Spoiling what otherwise might be developed into good short stirff. This one goes a bit newsreel, too, closing with the visit of Mr. and Mr.s. Calvin Cool- idge to Hollywood. That's over two months ago. Inland nelghbs and country places only. Not a sweet piece for big shots in this .«;cene. Shows thorn crowding and jostling for position before mike. And when speaking they say noth- ing. Duncan Sisters do the best, singing welcome to the notfd couple. John Mack Brown at the mllce. George Lewis appear j for n small bit.. Lillian Rirh sings but shouldn't, and' another girl (rots on before TjCwIs, for thf s!\n\r: advire. "MATCH PLAY" with Walter Hagen, Leo Diegel, Marjorie Beebe and Andy Clyde Golf Comedy 22 Mins. Rialto.'New York Educational Wlien Mack Sennett discovers a- good formula he never hesitates to use It several times. "Match Play" Is the same routine ^1 the way that Sennett used last Bummer in "The Golfers." It Is less funny than the original, but still funny enough to find favor In the better houses. Andy Clyde and Marjorie Beebe were In both stories,' In each case a two-ball foursome for enormous stakes with Clyde in a fever of nerves as the game proceeds from hole to hole and always close. Walter Hagen and Leo Diegel,' famous pros, are the partners of the two dubs and it is their trick shooting that keeps the score tied. For golfers their presence will mean .somethlnjr. Hagen is a rotten actor. Diesel is a little less wpoden. They perform miracles with those irons, though. Lartd. "DIXIE DAYS" ^sop's Fables Cartoon 7 Mins. Loew's New York, New York Pathe Amusing little cartoon and better than those usually turned out. In- corporated the tale of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," to be pau:T)dIed by the car- toon characters. It Is worked out entertainingly. There's Liza, Topsy, Little Eva and Simon Lepree and Uncle Tom, all done by the cartoon figures. Syn- chronization good. A number of Southern airs, some given a novel freak arrangement, help. BURNS and ALLEN Comedy Sketch 9 Mrns. Rivoli, N. Y.. Paramount George Bums and Grace Allen, standard In vaudeville, here use a first rate comedy Idea for nut talk- ing exchanges. Burns appearing as a sap trying to buy a tie In a de- partment store and Miss Allen the "nut" salesgirl. .She is doing crossword puzzles and can't be interrupted. They go into a dizzy line of chatter about such things as "four letter word beginning with W" that at length turns out to be "sugar." Girl later turns up at the sheet music counter and gets a chance to sins? one number. Subject has a trick finish when Burns suddenly drops his characterization to say, "There, only nine minutes and we've made a short movie." Cilrl ".shushes" him and points out they're stlU before the audlencf. Tlipy Wonder how they'll make a gruf-pful exit and decide' best thing No mistake about this one: it has the . Hollywood stamp from start to finish. No detail is left out, as is usually the case with local product. A hit here, due for a long run and sure to please locally owing to the native lovo tor detective stories. Only two faults. From beginning to end, tlie plot is more and more ghastly without a single redeeming bit to relieve the audience's nervous condition, ptlier la that though the talker is in French and presented in France by an American firm, English patrons may object to the picturization, in places unfavorable, of English officers. Story begins when Lord Mon- tague, officer of the Fourth Rutland, is nearly strangled to death In a London fog. He is told -when brought to Scotland Yard that some unknown criminals have killed some of his brother ofllccrs, apparently intent on exterminating those of- ficers of his regiment who have sur- vived the world war. At the x-equest of the police, Lord Montague .arranges for his brother officers to meet hlih in his London mansion, where his sister. Lady "Vi, and her fiance, Dr. Ballou, are found-engaged In a weird spiritual- istic seance, staged by a Chinese mystic. One of the officers, who still feels the effects of war wounds, Is found on the floor in another part of the house and pronounced dead by Dr. Ballou, Enters Lady Efra, who In- troduces herself as a daughter of Lord Cavendish, former officer of the regiment, cashiered for cheating at cards and later turning traitor, fighting against his old regiment In Gallipoll. A Persian lawyer Is with her, explaining that Caveildish has left $5,000,000, to be divided by his former comrades, entrusting them with the custody of his daugh- ter, hoping to disrupt their friend- ship through greed and Jealousy. His posthumous revenge Is appar- ently successful. A painful scene takes place In which those present behave neither as. officers nor as gentlemen'. And so to bed, when the next morning' all officers save Lord Montague are found to have been strangled. Sir James Rumsay, head of "The Yard," Insists on a mystic seance to be staged, at which Lady Efra, horrified by the appearance of the murdered officers' ghosts, confesses her guilt to carrying on her own father's revenge against the remain- ing officer of the regiment and planning to n\urdor them ^11, The wholesale night strangling and mystic seance had been faked by the Sherlock Holmes to, obtain a confession. The picture Is well cast and acted. The plot, rather Involved at times, never ceased to sound convincing. Its one drawback. If that. Is that those more sensitive In the audi- ence get the creeps. The Jacques Feyder-Andre Luguet director-actor combination is perfect. Jetta Gou- dal and Pauline Garon, both of Can- adian origin, talic French quite well, and whatever slight accent they have does not mar the effect. Brltl.sh atmo.sphere Is only too well rendered, as liable to raise British objections on varlou.s grounds such as heavy drinking. But Luguefs genial way will appeal to the. French on the screen as well as on the stage. Direction, photography and sound all Al. Maxi. and the North Country, but the groat Indian historic film Is yet to be mado. "The Silent Enemy" is Interesting, educational and a fine study anywhere, but it has not the coniinerclal draw exhibitors look for. Ii lins, though, the advantage of raninioiuit distribution, though In- dependently made. While the pro- duction, considering tho year in the Hudson Bay region of Canada re- quired to make it,, looks expensive, tho investniont most probably will be returned to Its producers, if the amount does not exceed $'_'00,OtM). "The Silent Knemv" o£ the Obizlb- wny Indians was hunger. It's .still the silent enemy of a lot of whites. And the Indiana of th.e long a,?o, this story going back 400 years be- fore Isabel staked Columbus, traveled far to get some animal meat. On their way they met the wolverine or mountain lion, wolves, sickness and death, with a frail story carry- ing the audience along with them. But they got their meat, in the. form of the caribou,- reaching the Far North just as an immense herd of caribou was going somewliere. It's no Jocular picture, however, but a seriously concelvfed and exe- cuted picture, silent except as to sounds and effects, with Chief Tel- low Robe giving an Introductory on the picture and'the Indians In it, the talk probably added, as was the re- mainder of the sound. With the cast wholly Indian and, as Chief Yellow Robe stated, only four' -of them ever having seen a moving picture, no acting could have been looked for. The charac- ters, however, acted naturally, and iii so doing carried most faithfully the goal of the producers for a re- production. In action, besides other than the caribou, Is an animal here or there, bear and deer, with one of the most striking scenes Chief Long Lance's encounter with a bear, he later catching Its two cubs. While Long Lance's encounter with a moose was pretty realistic, so much so that, although he killed the animal with a speor, It looks as though the side watchers might have been in a fright for a moment or so. Stretches of barren country as the march proceeded north, from sum- mer to winter, with nothing faked In the outdoors, was somewhat absorb- ing at the first glance. Later It be- came better known, although the first-night Invited audience from the east side for this socially backed film Just doted upon everything. They laughed Immoderately at the start of the show over a Flelsch- mann cartoon, "Flies," while almost everyone from Park in the house appeared to know those from Fifth, also there^ One of the big scenes is how a tribal chief passes out when he fiops on a mission. This Chief Long Lance did after he had received his heritage from. his elderly chieftain father, who died on the northern march. His finish was to be a fire, and he had to walk into It, setting the blaze himself. Tho caribou thing was his savior, but It meant the works for the Medicine Man, apparently another noisy enemy of the Indian. Spotted Elk was the ingenue, a nice-looking little squaw, who held In on her love Instincts, so much^o the romantic side never got too prominent. While Cheeka, a little Indian girl, was the center of a fine canoeing the rapids scene, with she and the two cubs going overboard. Chief Long Lance Is an ideal pic- ture Indian, because he ig a full- blooded one, chief of his own tribe In these modern times, but modern himself now; an author of note In Indian lore, and now an actor In 'act. tsimc. THE SILENT ENEMY (SILENT). (Synchronized, with Sound) Indian epic, produced by "William Doug- las Kurden and "VVllllnm C. Chnnler, with orlKlnnl Hcenarlo by Richard rnrver. Ile- iROHed by Paramount. Cblet I^onsr I.nnce f'-.-»turfd. Director, IT. V. Carver; ftflnt., Kurl M. Welch. Chief clnematograplier, ^larcel I.*Plckard; id. Krank "M. Broda: OHHt., Otto Durkoltz. Cameramen on «pe- clol expedltluna: KIrst, Horace D. Ahlon; aSHt., William Ca«el. Jn charge of comp ond Bupply, Bob Henn<"<i»ty. local to locale. Some KnKllHh named oC Indian (culdeR known to -whites In the North Country given In Souvenir Progrom as Paul Itenolt, John Turner, Antonle lOdagwan, Andy Lnngdon. Alee Ilntl.ite nnd Jean I}a4hjte. At Criterion, S"W York. May 1ft. twice dally at lop. Hunninc time, 83 mlnuten. V'h ef Chotoga <"hlef Yellow Robe Haluk Chief Ivong Lance Dagwan. , Chief Akawaniih ..Wewa..: .Spotted KIk Cheelia (clilidj Cheeka A si)ifndld picture of the Indian to rlo is just to wave the^audlenre good-bye, whinh they do. Finish i.M novfl. but doe.in't do the short any good. Quick cut would have loft them going good and that, of course, is what tlie finish should .'.nromplish. T;illc Ih jjafkr-d with good laughs and as aniusirig a brief as any of the ref-ent prodiift. Dlr'-fted by U.ny Cfizens. Rrish. ' MON GOSSE DE PERE ("My Childish Father") (FRENCH MADE) (All Dialog) „ . Paris, May 3. Palhn-Xatan production and releuHe. .StiirrlnK Adolphe Mcnjou. From French pluy by Leopold Leniarchund. Directed by Jean de IJmur; cumcranicn, ICanturck, (•oins and Awielln. French ond RngllMh versions made on HCA Photophone In -Naiun's studios, Jolnvllle, Prance. French version opened Marlvaux-Patbe, Paris, .May J>. llunning time, 00 jnlnures. iTPiifh version: Adolphe Mehjou, Alice Cocea. riog*r Trevllle,. Spada; English ver- sion: Menjou, Mag Lemomler, Trevllle, ypada. Best French talker to date. Eng- lish version should be fair proeram picture In the States. ' Sure hit In France. Sufficient pathos and plenty of good gags drawing laughs. Story Is that of a lazy man about town who makes a love match. Pets himself up as'an architect but has no clients. A son about 20, result- ing from a youthful Indiscretion with an English girl who has since married a wealthy American soap manufacturer, turns up. He tries to Instil business into- his lazy father, turning the Paris home Into a soap agency In the hope of mak- ing his father a. rich man. Father (Mcnjou) object.'*, Tlirf)W- ing up business he. "goes to a ni:;Iit dull, closing a deal with a f'lr- irierly distrustful flient. While at the club he sees hi.s young wife who Is there with 111.-; son taking a (lipg for nn evening. Suddenly joal'iii.'.. he returns home where, finding lii"-- wife returning In the Hrrmll lioiirs and thinking ' liitnsf>lf too old for bf.-r, he iritike.-- ('■•inlin'ied on p-f.rc 2r,i