Variety (Jun 1930)

24 VARIETY TALKING SHORTS Wednesday, June 4, 1930 LAUREL AND HARDY "Hay Wire" (Comedy) 19 Mins. Capitol, New York Metro A scream and a certain hit for any theatre, big or small. Well made and laughs ideally limed. The Metro comedy team of Laurel and Hardy wring the laughs from their effort.s at putting up an aerial for Mrs. Hardy, who has somewhat up.set a date the two had that par- ticuliir Sunday afternoon. They nearly wreck the house In trying to get the aerial up and end in a wild auto ride down one of Los Angeles' streets with Hardy hanging on the top of the ladder stuck up from the car where It had been stanchioned. Hardy docs most of the talking, Laurel confining most of his work to pantomime. It works out very satis- factorily. Hardy now and then has a habit of looking at the audience as much as to express his disgust with Laurel. Purely intentional and ef- fective as such, that stupid look in itself getting a laugh. Both recording and photography Impresses. Char. HARRY J. CONLEY "Slick as Ever" Comedy 17 Mins. Winter Garden, New York . Vjtaphone Nos. 1015-1016 "Slick as Ever" Is the comedy routine used for years in vaude by Hairy Conley and played for this short by the comic and his vaudo company of three. Though a bit shorter than the original stage script, it drags at times on film and must be perked up every so often by Conley's comic sap characteriza- tion. The lifts through Conley, per- sonally, fortunately arrive often enough to slide this over the line. It should grab A fair quota of laughs. CJonley, In the opening doctor's office scene, dampe»*ed the original blue stuff, or somebody did, for this scene here is passably nice. And. later in the parlor sequence with the woirien the wrestling Isn't as rough, though in two spots In the film It looked as though the scissors had been used. ITor boob slicker parts there seems no better bet around that Conley. Something written more directly for the talkers, but adher- ing to Conley's customary char- acter might show him oft better. Biae. BROADWAY LIMITED Advertising (Semi-scenic) 11 Mins. State-Lake, Chicago Visugraphic Pictures (Synchronized) Nothing but an advertising trailer for the Pennsylvania Rail road. Frank and open advertising matter, and plenty dull. Has been shown in many spots in the east and midwest, both for the circuits and indies, and goes shortly to the west coast. This Is a pictorial ad; talks of travel with speed, comfort and se- curity. Takes the trip west, show- ing every step from buying the ticket to boarding the train, tip- ping the porter, phoning, writing, eating dinner, having hair cut, manicure, and of course, going to bed, with this classy subtitle, "Lull- ed to sleep by the chattering wheels." Mostly interior stuff, with every- body trying to look terrifically happy, but managing only to look offensive. Only a few scenic shots. Idea copied from the Illinois Central short called "Southland," but not nearly so good, since the I. C. short had plenty of scenic beauty, excel- lent color photography and only a mere hint by propaganda advertis- ing billing. Exhibitor gets this reel for noth- ing, and some ad tie-upj from the railroad. As a tie-up it is a great break for the railroad, but worth- less to the exhlb, since the short is so openly an ad. "NOM D'UN CHIENI" (Name of a DogI) Novelty Canine Short French-Dialog Cinema Madeleine, Paris Metro This is Jack White and, ZIon Meyers' clever dog sketch, utilizing an all-canlne cast In a little drama- let with ghost-voices speaking In French for the dog characters. Some of the shots are corking and the synchronization startling In some spots such as where the dog looks crossly at the waiter and seeming exclaims: "Garcon!" (or "waiter" probably in English, where the same two-syllable mouth-move- ment would coincide well). It's Metro's "Hot Dog" short In Eng li'sh, dubbed Into French. The cabaret scene opening, the canine jealousy triangle, and the stern old dog-Judge as he sits In judgment all combine into a great novelty. Must have been a headache to pace the various assortment of durgs. Thoy are also cleverly attired to suggest, by costume, their various characters: flirt, lady-killer, 'lick- •whoopeeist, stooge, rounder, roue, coquette, etc. In France where they're nuts about dogs, this short will clean up. A dog can go almost any- where in France; on trains, Into hotels, picture hou.ses, etc., and It's a known fact that the French Line gets trade because of feminine- passengers' attachment for their pets where other liners would con- fine the pups to the hold en voyage. With the novelty of th" dogs and the dialog in French telling the trite triangle dramalet which de- velops from the cabaret .shooting to a courtroom trial, it's a set-up for French territory. At the Madeleine It copped the honors from "Le Spectre Vert," the Hollywood-made all-French tiUkor. Abel. "THE STILL ALARM" with Fred Allen and Clifton Webb Comedy 9 Mins. Winter Garden, New York Vitaphone No. 1025 Comedy scene from last year's "Little Show" with the leads from the show the leads here also. Sim- ilar idea in a previous short by name of "Hot Bridge," but this one strong enough to follow. Well played by Fred Allen and Clifton Webb, featured, and three support- ers, all men. Nonchalance of guests, bell hop and firemen during a fire In the hotel, the situation. Allen, as one of the fire fighters, asks his as- sistant, an amateur Nero, to "play the song you heard when the Equitable building burned down." For finish, with all showing utter contempt of blaze roaring under- neath, the fiddler plays "Keep the Home Fires Burning." Smooth playing showed the right sort of direction. Bige. HELEN BRODERICK With Lester Crawford "Nile Green" Come.Iy 8 Mins. Winter Garden, New York Vitaphone No. 987 Helen Broderlck's style is given full play by the sarcastic questions and an.swers in this script. It's .Mi.ss Broderick at her best and with -Miss Broderick, a finst grade comedy short. Miss Broderick's husband and stage partner, Lester Crawford, straights for her here also, as cap- ably as usual. In the role of,a guide on an Egyptian tour. Finish Is the gag of the guide saying; "Look how beautiful it is down there" after a strenuous climb to the top of the tower, with the reply: "If it's so beautiful down there, what the heck did we come up here for." In this case Miss Broderick pushes the guide over the rail and looks down, saying: "I'll be seeiri' yuh." Couple of dubbed shots of the .Sphinx and obelisks, and obvious, but quick ones only and not there long enough to hurt. Bige. "CO.NTRARY MARY" With Bobby Watson Musical 9 Mins.; (Technicolor) Winter Garden, .New York Vitaphone No. 3753 But for the color and a surprise twist at the finish, nothing about "Contrary Mary" to dlstingulsh.it from the other musical and produc- tion stuff In talkers, with this short repeating on cafe and stage numbers seen so often In features and other shorts. Two songs here, one by a tenor • accompanying a glrly tableau, and ' both cut pretty short, which Is okay in view of the songs. The ten- or's voice Is a lot better than Bobby Watson's, which is okay, too, bfe- caiise Watson sings first. He's the veteran juve of many Broadway musicals and juvlng it acceptably In "Contrary Mary." The two principal girls are sis- ters' and the marriage of Bobby to one, to the amazement of the other is amazing mostly to the girl, • but it'll do because it's the nearest to a surprise in the short. M. c. In the floor show scene, unbilled. Is one B. B. B., getting stouter, but this time with a haircut. Bige. "RENO OR BUST" with Franklin Panghorn and Bernice Elliott Comedy 13 Mins. Strand, New York Vitaphone Nos. 3942-3943 Fair satire on Reno and divorces, the chief laugh derived from a law yer'a advice to the husband to give Jiis wife 'a wallop for evidence of cruelty. It's done in the presence of a doctor with the husband play ing sick, but the wife ducks and the doc gets the sock. At finish couple arc escaping from the hotel because the doc thinks the husband is a nut and- has sent for the wagon. Their desire for divorce vnnl.slies with the final clinch. .Some of the dialog bright, but the big average of dull chatter keeps thi.s down to fair rating. With noth- ing else on a bill for an audien<;e to laugh at, this one might help. Bige. "RESOLUTIONS" With Billy House 22 Min.; (Comedy) Rivoli, New York. Paramount Wisecracks from Billy House, fat hubby type, are up to the minute and put over with a- slyness that gets the maximum of laughs, espe- cially from those payees boasting a touch of sophistication. The smarter the crowd the better they'll like the talking part of this, although in some parts of the sticks. House may not register, if at all, until hours later. But House's singing. That's an- other angle. It couldn't have been the fault of the theatre because the music and other voices were re- leased in proper volume. It must have been the position of the mike In Astoria. Whatever it was, tech- nically, when House commenced to yodle he did It so powerfully it seemed the RlvoH apparatus would never last out the strain. Just a tremendous blare that would make the deaf throw away their head- phones. Fortunately his singing was con- fined to two numbers and required only , a comparatively small part of the running time. The skit Is around the familiar New Year's Eve party, with the un- expected return of the wife. "VOICE OF HOLLYWOOD" With Lloyd Hamilton Novelty Revue 23 Mihs. Globe, New York Tiffany Another in a series several of which have already been released. Compared to some already seen, this one with Lloyd Hamilton, the radio announcer, takes a back seat. Worse shorts are to be found around, however, exhibs taking no great chances on using this one if for no ot'.er reason than Its novelty angle. Hamilton wo:" j up a couple gags himself, but none that pulls a big punch. He Introduces Ernest Hll- llard, who works with him; Walter Hiers, who does some mild wise- cracking; Leatricc Joy in the French number from her recent vaude routine; Dorothy Burgess and Donald Kerr in a love scene and Carlotta King, singer, doing "Song of Siberia." Burgoss-lCerr team and ^Miss King stand out. Miss Joy's number does not have the effect here that it did when she was do- ing it in viuule. Thotogruphy and recording, as well ns contlnully and dircn-tlon .<<ati.sfa<'tory. Char. "THE WIZARD'S APPRENTICE" Hugo Riesenfeld Featurette 10 Mins. Rivoli United Artists An excellent novelty, featuring trick sets and photography. While there is no dialog, the un- derlying motif is the Hugo Riesen- feld score, obviously arranged for mystic emphasis, and as such more effective than any speech. Student wizard extends himself In art until he starts a flood that Is not abated until his mentor arrives. Transforming statue to living wom- an is one of the earlier tricks. Spooky sets and lighting. Waly. "FRENCH KISSES" With Bobby Agnew and Monty Collins Comedy ^8 Mins Loew's New York. N. Y. Educational Mediocre short product, lower in rank than the bulk of the comedy material on the market Although a comedy, and made as such, it is crude and far from funny. Poor recording and a lot of French ac- cented Jargon pile up the minus marks. An American in Paris, hoping to impress his girl, sets up in a studio with a valet as his aide-de-camp. Before the girl and her snooty aunt arrive, a French dame in the building gets a yen for the Ameri- can and hides in the studio. Be- tween the American's efforts to get the girl out of the way and her lover's search of the premises, the usual slapstick is introduced, but in t.his case it falls flat. Neither Bobby Agnew nor Monty Collins is a good type. Half the time they seem ill at ease. Aside from the poor talent, the director (Stephen Roberts) has much to answer for. Technically, which includes pho- tograpl-.y and recording, short is be- low the average. Char. "THE GLACIER'S SECRET" Scenic (Synchronized) 10 Mins. Strand, New York Pathe The "glacier's secret" Is the body of a woman, lost many years before when, as a bride running away after a quarrel with her husband, she -slipped through a crevice. Glacier gives up . its secret when cracking. One sees a woman's luit and pocket book picked out of the ice. Then a shot of a wa)l of ice with a dark smudge in it. That smudge is sui)posedly the woman, thongl; doesn't look it. Thought itself is enough to frighten the short into an impression. Picture is silent with explanatory dialog and musical score running the entire distance. Photogi-aphed by Tom Terris, "the vagabond di- rector." Van Buren film. Some beautiful shots of snow poaks anil niountuinoiis glacier.^. Uciits llu> aviMMgp scenic through the story. Bige. All Who Have Made Vitaphone Varieties may take advantage of this oppor- tunity to make that fact known in WARNER BROS. Special Edition of Out June 25, Next ACTORS, AUTHORS and others engaged, present or past, in talking short work can seize this chance to let the show business of the world know what they have done in, for or with VITAPHONE VARIETIES ACTS AND ACTORS who have appeared in shorts should give this especial atten- tion, by announcing their shorts, and if carrying billing, include the billing in the announcement; also all information in connec- tion with themselves, profes- sionally, that will aid exhibitors, circuit heads and house , man- agers to properly exploit them in any town played. VITAPHONE VARIETIES will continue appearing forever in the. largest cities and the smallest hamlets.. It's an out- standing and opportune mxunent in the WARNER BROS, special edition issue of "VARIETY" for those of the talking shorts to publicize themselves, for the present and their future. WIDEST MEDIUM This is likely the widest ad- vertising medium ever presented by any special number. Besides going direct to all of the great and immense Warner Brothers' interests and affiliations, every- where, it will go to the whole of the show business all over, be- sides all of the daily newspapers of America. Recall to the producers what you have done. Recall to the theatre your name and bilHng. Recall to the large fan public who you are. Regular Advertising Rates Prevail Forward your advertisement at once for attention and placement to "Variety," New York City