FILM WEEKLY.Friday, March?.9, 1935 '

T

--- -~ - -- ---

TO Reg!Stered at the G.P.O. as a Newspaper

BARBARA STANWYCK IN

"COURAGEOUS"

FI LM WEEKLY, .\larch 29, 193&

·CRAWFORD GABLE-

A 'TRIANGLE WITH A MIGHTY STAR IN EACH CORNER - AND a laugh in every line!

Sunday Express

YOU'VE NEVER

KNOWN LOVE

TO BE SUCH

" Forsake everything and see it " "A rage, not to say a riot" Sunday Dispatch •

" If you miss seeing this picture, never read this page again" News of the World

AT ALL THE LEADING CINEMAS ON AND AFTER MONDAY NEXT I

2

1i_·~~~~~~~J~;··1. his forthcoming Life of Christ.

~ * .. * ~ i The sentence of five days' im- ~

Francis Lederer for breaking ·.:~ prisonment recently imposed on '_,:'=,,_

the Californian speed limit has been reversed. Lederer is now free.

* * * Helen Hayes announces that,

on the completion of her present M.G.JU. contract, size will leave the cinema and devote herself entirely to lzer family and the stage.

Lubitsch is reported to have bought the once popular oper­etta, "The Count of Luxem­burg," to be adapted for Carl Brisson. Brisson is at present on holiday in Honolulu.

The Cuban Government want to ban" Rumba," George Raft's latest picture. They say it libels their island.

* * * Walt Disney ha~ been pre­

sented with three wallabies by an Australian admirer. Result: Walt is about to start a new cartoon called lliickey' s Kan-garoo.

* Paramount are to film the

life of Garibaldi. They wanted Robert Donat for the lead, but he is already tied up.

* * * C. B. Cochran is reported to have been otiered £15,000 a year to take a post as produc­tion supervisor with M.G.M.

* * * The Irish Abbey Theatre

Players are to make a talkie on their return from America. The story will be by Lennox Robin­son and exteriors will be shot in Ireland. Studio work will be done here under an American director.

* * Mae Busch, star of many

silent pictures, including The Christian and The Unholy Three, is making a steady come­back. Some time ago she played in the Laurel and Hardy comedy, Fraternally Yours. Now she is trying her hand at , drama again in a supporting r6le in Stranded, the Kay Francis-George Brent picture.

* * * The llarmon-lsing Company

are to produa a new type of cartoon with all the characters and backgrounds made of cloth. The central character is a calico dragon who lives in a red flan­nel castle_

* * * La Dame aux Camelias is an.

nounced as Garbo's next pic­ture, following Anna Karenina.

* * * Clive Brook has signed a one.

picture contract with Fox to play in Orchids to You, adapted by Howard Estabrook, directed / '·~:. by Harry Lachman.

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FILM WEEKLY, Marcil 29, 1935i

II Bad Luck II

Picture

" It is based on a whimsical idea and is excellently acted by a real/ I bril/ i -nt cas.t" frank Morgan, Reginald Owen, Margaret Sullavan and Herbert Marshall in" The Good Fairy"

I T'S an old studio superstition that films dogged by misfor­tune while in the making

often turn out to be huge suc­cesses when they reach the cinemas.

Screen history is dotted with bad-luck pictures which have meant good luck at the box-office. And unless I am greatly mis­taken, one more is shortly to be added to the records. It is Mar­garet Sullavan 's latest, The Good Fairy.

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SEVERAL classic rows held up the production of this unfor­

tunate film, and gave everybody the impression that it would pro­bably never be completed.

You know, of course, that :Miss Sullavan eloped to Yuma with the director, William \i\lyler, in the middle of the proceedings. You also know, if you read Margaret's remarks in a recent issue of FILM WEEKLY, that she and William Wyler had a series of quarrels about the film before tl1ey agreed to get married.

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ADDED to that, \Vyler was ! ' fired " shortly after the

elopement for taking too many close-ups of his wife.

Things were patched up to­wards the end, and Uncle Carl Laemmle, the producer, bestowed

his benediction on all concerned. But the' people who worked on The Good Fairy were certainly very far from being one big happy family.

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THE superstitious will therefore be pleased to know that it

has turned out a very good film. It is to have a special pre-release run at the Empire, Leicester Square, a theatre usually reserved by M.G.M. for their own pictures.

I saw it at a trade show a short time ago, and I have seldom heard so much laughter at the screening of a new talkie. There was nearly as much spontaneous en­thusiasm as at the memorable first performance of that famous record-breaker, One Night of

·Love.

4

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J DO not know how The Good Fairy will be received in the

West End of London, and I

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Star Portrait

FREE See Page 34

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hardly think critics will be en­tranced by its artistic qualities, ·which are a trifle mixed. But I believe that filmgoers generally will find this an exceptionally amusing romantic comedy. It is based on a whimsical idea, and is excellently acted by a really bril­liant cast.

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MISS SULLA VAN herself gives a remarkable perform­

ance as a silly little goose of a girl who causes everybody a great deal of trouble by her stupidities. Frank Morgan is fine as one of those idiotically amorous middle­aged men he p-0rtrays so well.

Herbert Marshall unbends enough to play what is really a comedy part. Reginald Owen, an actor for whom my respect in­creases with each succeeding pic­ture, contributes a marv-:!lous character study of a belligerent waiter, so unlike anything he has done before that I had to look up the cast of characters for his name.

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S-IG~S of the disagreements · which punctuated the mak­

ing of the picture arc easy to de­tect. The story has emerged as a queer cross between farce and fantasy-a '' compromise,'' as Margaret ?ullavan called it.

The wedding scene upon \vhi<:h Mr. Wyler is alleged to have spent so much time, and which is

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NEXT WEEK.

PAGES

3°· AS USUAL

FILM WEEKL Y'S Fourth Annual

BRIT.IS H Fl LMS

NUMBER D D D

Details on Page Six

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••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••a9

NEW FILMS Reviewed in this issue

AFTER OFFICE HOURS. Clark Gable and Constance Bennett.

MUSIC IN THE AIR. Gloria Swanson and John Boles.

CLIVE OF INDIA. Ronald Colman and Loretta Young.

LOTTERY LOVER. Lew Ayres and Peggy ff!ars.

(See pages 27 to 29)

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FI LM ' WEEKLY 10-13, BEDFORD STREET, STRAND, LONDON, W.C.2

· Telephone: Temple Bar: 8171-2-3-

Friday, March 29, 1935 Volume 13, Number 337

Telegrams: Reelinews, Lesquare, London

EDITOR: HERBERT THOMPSON Associate Editor: JOHN GAMMIE

Bergner's Big Moment NEXT Monday is an important date in the screen career of

Elizabeth Bergner. On that day her second British picture, Escape Me .l\ieuer, will

be screened at a gala premiere in London. The red carpet will be out, and the customary policemen will be there to hold back the crowds as the distinguished audience is decanted from its limousines and taxis at the theatre entrance.

The significance of the occasion lies, however, not in its social trimmings-a commonplace of every important :film premiere now­adays-- but in the fact that it marks the first British screen appear­

. ance of Bergner in a characteristic part.

D D D .A fe\\' have seen her in one or two of her German pictures. l\1any

have seen her in (' ather£ne the Great. But the real Bergner is still virtually unknown to British tilmgoers. We saw only a little of her in the role of the unhappy Catherine, which was by no means a suitable merlium for her gamin personality.

This, when you come to think of it, is a truly remarkable si tua ti on.

Here is an actress who is intemationallv famous. '0./e talk of her simply as Bergner, as ,,ve might talk of Garho. We [lave accepted her, without qnestion, as one of the great stars of the screen. Yet she is onlv now ;itout to make her British screen debut under ideal conditions~ in the film version of a play which was specially written for her. ·

I£ she has achieved. so much, on the strength of so little, what \Vill be the measure of her achievement now ? ~Has the unassailable Garbo at last found a serious rival ? Monday's premiere \vill ansv1·er these interesting questions . .

Clark Gable, Clown CLARK GABLE, formerly one of the most unrelenting of he-men,

discovered an unsuspected talent for light-hearted comedy in It Happened One Night.

His 'producers, surprised and pleased, decided to "cash in on it." They did.

In fact, they made him something of a clown in Forsaki11g All Others. The experiment proved very successful. Its freshness and novelty saved it from mere silliness. But that did not mean that it could be repeated ad lib.

It comes as a slight shock to find Gable, in After Office Hours, again clowning his way-with far less excuse-through a part which might have been played "straight."

It is time to cry " Enough." A little horseplay goes a long way . 3

FILJ! WEEKLY, March 29, 1935.

Makes Good I ~~~~ ~~~ ~;~~I~ ;~ ;~~ ~~~~:

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said to have given him the idea of marrying his star, has been cut to a mere '' flash '' at the encl.

But the net result is extremely funny aria:! that is all most people are iil~ely to bother about.

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W. E shall probably bear a lot more of William \Vvler

after this. Miss Sullavan 'has vowed ne,·er to make another picture under him. Yet I think their marriage will do him a great deal of_good. . 1 • •

He 1s a pamstakmg, stuchous type of man who would probably become too serious, too absorbed, in the derails of his work, with­out a cheerv feminine influence.

I ha,·e b~en privileged to ha\·e a peep at their private life, and it i.; nn· much like that of the Thin Ma11 'couple. Margaret should inspire her husband to greater things, eyen if she doesn't ap­prove of his methods.

D D D

WYLER, as .a matter of fact, has bad a highly romantic

career. It would make a g·ood film story, if it didn't sound so improbable.

It began in the ear1y autumn of 1920, when Carl Lacmmle, of UniYersal, who was then on a tour of Europe, left his gloves in his hot'el and went into a shop in Pari;; to buy a new pair.

The young man who served

him was the son of the proprietor, and his name was v\'illiam \;\Tyler. He recognised l\Ir. Laemmle; and told him he was fed up with gloves. You couldn't expand in gloves! He \\·anted to get: into something like advertising or the film business.

D D D

I MPRESSED bv \\'yler's sin­cerity and ' earnestness,

" Uncle;, Carl became interested in this dapper glove sale!>man. .

'' Do you know anything about films? '· he asked.

" No, sir,'' said \\"der, " but I could learn ! '' ·

Inten-icws with \\'ylcr's parents followed, and, eventually, he sailed back to America with Mr. Laemmle, and vvas given a job in the " Foreign Publicity Department" of the New York Office. He made good at once, and, within a year, was in com­plete charge of all the ·publicity of Universal Pictures in the Latin­speaking countries.

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BUT writing advertiserpc1?ts for pictures, eyen at a 111ce

comfortable salarv, failed to please him. He ·wanted to. get into the · production side of the business:

So he wrote to Laemmle and told him of his ainbitions, saying that he would be prepared to start at the bottom if need be.

The U ni,·ersal President took

SEVE.N YEARS' HARD

Clark Gable

CLARK GABLE will be kept busy for at least the next

seven years. M.G.M. have given him a new contract for that period. Not that a seven-year contract is unusual" in itself. Lots of stars get them-and find themselves out of a job within six months. But Clark has a different kind of. col) tract.

It contains no options. Con­tracts with actors have a habit of being rather one-sided affairs. The studio retains the right to break the agreement when it likes. Not so with Gable's contract. He will get paid whether he works or not.

Which just goes to show two things : (a) Mr. Gable has a clever manager, and (b) M.G.M. have a lot of faith in Mr. Gable's ability to remain popular until 1942. He'll be 41 by then.

" You know, of course, that Margaret Sullavan eloped to Yuma wich t:.e director of the picture, William Wyler"

him at his word ! He made him " odd job " man at Universal City, at a salary of a few dollars a week ! \\Tyler was a good odd job man, and when The Hunch­back of Notre Dame went into procluctio1i, he was niade third as­sistant direetor, and did so well that he later became first assistant to such directors as Ernst Lu­rbitsch and In·ing Cummings.

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FROM the~1 on, liis . progress was. rapid. So rapid that he

.had to face scandal in the shape of rl1mours that he was " in with " the Laemmle familv and was being pushed· to success.

The 'box office was his best friend. He was making two­reel \\"es terns, and each one he made \Yas a bigger success than the last. So he graduated to five-reel \\' esterns, and then to other pic­tures, such as Anybody Here Seen A'elly.? \\·ith Tom Moore and Bessie Love as his stars. . His first chance to direct a really important film came in 1931, \\'hen he \Yas placed in charge of \\-alter Huston's Law and Order.

Last year, bis able direction of John Barrymore in C 011nsellor at Law \Yon him praise from critics on both sides of the Atlantic. And so to T lze Good Fairy, n·hich "·ill ha 1·e boosted his reputation a few

more points by the time he return:: to Holly\rnod from his European honeymoon \\·ith Margaret Sul ]a. van \\'yler.

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DISNEY'S NEW IDEA

N E\\'S of important develop· ments at the \Yalt Disney

studios reaches me from Holly­\YOod.

Disney is reported to be "think­ing out" a cartoon, Snow-white and the Seven Little Dwarfs, \\'hich \\'ill be as long as the average dra­matic feature film, but \\'ill be made, like the Silly Symphonies, in full Technicolour.

The cartoon king- has toyed \\'ith similar ideas in the past. He seems to be serious about it this time. He admits it will be an experi­ment; a risky one, too, for_ it will cost about £30,000 and may not "click." But if it does he will produce at least one full-length cartoon-not necessarily a comedy -each year. More than one if the public approves, and practical difficulties can be overcome.

D D D

AT present, the Disney.\\·orkshop is at full pressure. The

studios are seven cartoons behind schedule, and each subject means several \\·eeks' hard \\'Ork.

Lt is a solemri thought that Dis­ney probably would never have been ab~e to make such miniature

masterpieces as· The Goddess of Spring and The Tortoise a11d tlze Hare without the income he derives from the sale of Mickey Mouse dolls and toys.

The Walt Disney Enterprises Company, formed to exploit these reproductions of Mickey and Min­nie Mouse and other characters from the c.artoons, brings in more money than is derived from the exhibition of the films. And the revenue goes into the production of more and better cartoons, which would not otherwise be a paying proposition.

Commerce, in other words, has onc'e again come to the aid of Art.

D D D

THAT £20,0CO

SAM GOLDWYN, back in Lon­don after a strenuous bout of

picture making in Hollywood, pro­fesses to be puzzied by the report that he offered £20,coo for a story for Eddie Cantor's next picture.

"But," says Mr. Goldwyn, "I'd pay £50,000 for a story if I liked it well enough."

\Veil, if £20,006 is too little, £50,000 will do.

D D D

A s a matter of fact, the famous offer was reported from a re­

liable Hollywood source, and was probably connected with some of Goldwyn's recent pronouncements on the whole subject of film author­ship.

He contends that there are far too many screen. writers at present wh.o are not worth the money, and that many thousands of pounds are thrown away annually on poor stories.

Judging from some of the hack­neyed pieces of fiction masquerad­ing as stories I have come a<;ross within the past year or two, I should say he is perfectly right.

If he is determined to apply the test of sheer merit to. every story he buys ih the future-disregarding such little things as the reputation of the author-he will start a revo­lution against high-priced, but worthless, stories, which should do a lot of good.

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ASTAIRE'S LATEST

OUR Hollywood representative is enthusiastic about the latest

Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers screen musical comedy, Roberta, which is scheduled to follow Lives of a Bengal Lancer at the Carlton some time in May.

It is an adaptation of an Ameri­can stage success, and is said to be immeasurably better even than Tlze Gay Divorce. Astaire's danc­ing is described as "terrific" and the music "full of hits which everybod¥ will soon be whistling.".

D D D

T HE most interesting point about the picture, to me, is that a

return has evidently been made to stage methods of putting over dances and musical numbers.

"FILM WEEKLY'S" GREAT BRIT.ISH 'ANNUAL

FILM WEEKLY'S famous British Films Number for 1935-the fourth annual edition-will be better than ever.

Contents include FULL PAGE photogravure PICTURES of British stars in their latest parts; a two-page CARTOON by SHERRIFFS, the famous caricaturist; the RESULTS of "FILM WEEKL Y'S" BRITISH FILM BALLOT for 1934; an UNVARNISHED WHO'S WHO of British Picture People; and pages and pages of magnificent articles by well-known contributors.

As there will be a tremendous demand for this Number, readers are advised to make certain of getting their copies by placing their orders NOW.

80 PAGES

FILM WEEKLY, March 29, 1935.

perfect that the people in the cinema burst into spontaneous ap­plause a few seconds before they appeared. The effect was "in­tense! y thrilling."

D D D

H OLLYWOOD is now laughing heartily up its slee\·e. Pro­

ducers of "musicals" have been striving for years to get as far a\\'ay from stage technique as pos­sible, and have spent millions of pounds on panoramic sets and elaborate overhead and upside­down camera-work.

Now, someone goes right back to the stage, using the simplest and easiest metI'ods, and makes a great "hit." Can you wonder that the Busby Berkeley cro\vd are feeling pretty sore about it?

0 D o• HISTORIC MOMENT

T H IS "·eek has seen. the cine­matic reconstruction of a

landmark in gastronomical history -the invention of the sand,,·ich. The place was Vauxhall Gardens, the year somewhere around i 750. David Garrick, Dr. Johnson, Gold­smith and other notabilities were out on a mild spree, dinina under the trees in front of th; boxes where t~e more daring ,young men of the eighteenth cent.ury took their evening relaxation. Herbert \Vil­cox was sitting beside the camera ,'i'"ecting the scene for Peg of Old l.Jmry.

The waiters brought on plates of meat. Lord Sandwich, one of the Garrick party, suddenly found himself visited by inspiration and called for a loaf of bread. Cuttino­tffo slices from it, he slapped ~ piece of beef between them and began to eat.

The first sandwich! Forerunner of the daintier morsels which were to make Mrs. Beeton a back number and bring fortunes to the snack-bar proprietors.

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THE. scene over, Cedric Hard­w1cke, who plays Garrick,

came over to tell me of a disturb­ing thought that had struck him that very morning.

"Here am I," he said, "exhibit­ing what is in effect the most colos­sal imp.ertinence. I, an actor, am attemptmg to re-create on the screen the personality of one of the greatest actors we have, ever known. Men of genius have been characters in films before-but they've urnally been poets or play­wrights or composers or pianists. I don't mind being cast as a world­famous violinist-nobody expects me to be an expert on the fiddle. But, as Garrick, I have to act the very parts which Garrick himself made famous. I have to convince the audience that I am an actor of Garrick's greatness. \Vhat impu..: dence ! ".

Some of the dances are filmed as though from a camera planted in the front of the stalls in a theatre, and at the end, Astaire and Ginger Rogers come back and " take a bow" as if recalled by the applause of the audience.

At the Hollywood pre-view, the timing of their re-entrance was so

OUT NEXT FRIDAY 3o. AS USUAL

J:ut that way, it certainly ~eems a difficult job. The only comment I can make on the situation is that Sir Cedric Hardwicke is the one actor I should have chosen to bring it off successfully.

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NOT PARTICULAR "c/ESAR said: 'Let me have

around me men that are fat.' I say : 'Let me have around me men '-and let it go at that,"­Mae West.

6

FILM WEEKLY, March 29, 1935.

IT PAYS to be -A "TYPEL/ says BETTE

Not ·long ago, Bette Davis was rejoicing at her escape from stereotyped parts -publicly thanking the pro­ducers who gave her the opportunity of playing the character role of the contempt­ible Mildred in " Of Human Bondage " (which British film. goers have just seen).

Now she declares that she is not taking any more risks. " I feel I went to the limit in •Of Human Bondage,' she says.

Why has she changed her mind ? She tells you all about it in this exclusive FILM WEEKLY article, which gives an interesting insight into the problems of a modern film heroine.

T HE most difficult thing to do either on screen or the stage is to go

on playing oneself . . . being oneself . . . and still remain interesting.

DAVIS

The easiest thing in the world is to play a character role. At least, I have fouqd it so.

Until recently, as you know, I played a long series of sophisticated and stereotyped rol~-nearly always the girl friend with strong ideas on how to manage men.

If one is interested in acting, that kind of thing is apt to grow monotonous. vVhen, the opportunity for a change comes, as it did to me in Of Human Bondage, the temp­tation is very strong. So when I was asked to play the role of Mildred in that film-at the suggestion of Les!ie Howard-I wanted to do it at once. "

Yet, do you know, I almost didn't? My cournge slumped to zero as I read the book. I was not sure I could play the part after all, because l simply couldn't believe in such a person as Mildred, nor believe that she could go on holding that sort of a man.

I still feel that, in order properly to under­stand the film-especially my part in it­one needs to have read Somerset Maugham's story as a text book. I don't suppose more than one in a thousand of those who have since seen the film had ever even heard of the book. How many, then, could have felt ' that they really knew the girl Mildred, whom I tried to portray? Only a very, very few I fear-and I mean I fear !

I like experiment. I should still be glad, at times, to have the chance of sho\ving the public what I can do with a character role.

But I don't want to g-o too far. In Human Bondage I feel I went to the limit.

vVhen my husband and my friends saw the

"I simply couldn't believe in such a person as Mildred"

Bette Davis as herself (a·bove) and as Mi!dred in "Of Human Bondage" (left). Many critics c~n· sider that her performance of this part shoud have won her the Academy acting trophy for 193.4

film, they were speechless. They simply could not believe it was me. The fact that the picture has since achieved such fine results in no way minimises my own perception of the risk I ran.

I recently finished another character role in Bordertown with Paul Muni. I think it gives me a better opportunity for real acting even than Of Human Bondage.

I am seen as an ordinary, common Ameri­can girl, who marries a revolting old man for the sake of his money. Unable to en­dure his drunken amours, and having con­ceived an interest in a young man (Muni), I murder the husband. !he crime preys on my mind, and finally drives me insane. It is a good role, I think, but again, it is I

experimental, and I think it will do nice!J for the present, thank you !

I want to go back to my nice, smartly dressed secretaries, lady journalists, com­mercial artists, and understanding girl friends for a while. I know what the public thinks about that type of role.

Nothing would please me better, just now, than a few more parts like the one I played in Cabin in tlte Cotton. Remember? She was modern enough to be amusing; she had a fine sense of humour, and she was clean and normal enough not to make anyone in the audience feel sick.

Let's face it. It is useless to disguise the fact that to become popular, and keep her popularity, a Hollywood actress has to establish a definite screen style-an identity to which one must frankly attach the hor­rible description "type."

Once she has discovered a style which the public acclaims, she must remain more or less the same little woman in every picture she mak~3; rather more than less, too !

This is certainly the verdict of the Ameri­can film public. Perhaps, in Britain, where ] understand individuality is more strongly develcped, it is performance rather than the personality which counts. I should very much like to find out for myself, and I will make a film in England the very first chance 1 get;· Hollywood keeps me too busy at the moment.

."WE fr/mgoers are growing tire<l of spectacular miracles har­

nessed to music.''

"Some directors are of the opinion that ' serious music can dispense with dignity."

"Musical films as a whole are not having a square deal."

FILl11 WEEKLY, March 29, 193f;

Where II

Musical II

s by W: JOHN ELTON

" MUSICALS " are low in the esteem of critics and discriminating filmgoers. If tr.e word "brilliant," so frequently

applied to films varying from thrillers such as The Man iV!to Knew Too Much to historical romances such as The Barretts uf TVi111f'ule Street, is by any chance associated with a pro­duction of a musical character, we arc at once surpris.ed and curious to know how ;,uch a m-iracle of direction has been achieved.

This, to me and to all other lovers of mu;.ic, is a catastrophe, but unhappily good reason for the public' s loss of faith in musical pro­duction s is too plentiful to be denied.

No musical which evades the is,.,ues of com­mon sense can hope to be considered arJistic­this in spitr of Busby Berkele\·, Buddy Brad­ley, and the other brilliant manufacturers of formation and fermentation. Yet in these super-efficient days when heads arc turned grey to assure the correctness of the smallest detail in films, down to a ring on the finger or the design of a fifteenth-century tankard, musicals are still offering scenes and sequences \Yhich are nothing short of .an effrontery to the intelligence of the modern audience.

Release from Realism? The average director appears to regard music

as an immediate relea:,e from the bonds of realism and an oppodunity to "·andcr in the mists of an absurd fairvland without the slightest regard to congruit-y or the vanishing patience of his potential audience.

The pity is that very few of these musical s scorning the rules of realism a.re sufficiently clever or suitably designed to fall under the heading of "burlesque" or "fantasy."

There is a very real place for fantasy on the screen,, as was proved long ago by S1111shine Susie and the brilliant productions of Rene

Clair. But it is significant that, even in the case· of pictures such as Le Million, the fan­tasy depends upon dexteritv of touch and tricks of continuity rather than upon modern and unnecessary miracles \Yhich are never encountered in life.

\\" e film goers arc growing tired of spectacu­lar miracles .harnessed to music. \\' e are losing interest in sequences such as those in Dames, which . typify such an unnece s:,ary wavering between realism and fanta sy . .

Extraordinary Happenings An examination of Dames pro\·c s that the

.word " musical " is expected ' to cover some extraordinary happenings. Dick PO\\·ell and Ruby Keeler, originally on the stage of a theatre which'; we presume, does not possess elastic; walls, are follo"·ed during the course

. of their stage performance through streets thronged \Yith people and parked cars, into a subway, into a raih\·ay carriage (a long, long· journey here), and over the rails of a railway yard containing a mere half-dozen or so trains.

The sequel to this is a dazzling succession of Bu? by Berkeley creations-' "·hich would have called for Olympia to contain them-and then we are sudden 1 y shocked to find ourselves gazing once more at the non-rlastic theatre and the applauding audience, these · proving that the director earnestly trusted us to believe that this cavalcade of half a city had passed across the stage. ·

Dames does not stand alone: too many large­scale musicals are still asking for sympathy in this way. After such a spectacle, it was a re­lief to me to find that the chorus girls in Brewster's Millio11s do not burst the bul 11·arks of Jack Buchanan's yacht an,d go for a short canter over the Bay of Biscay-oh !

Romance is not intended to be al ways in

F1Lil! JVEEKLl', March 29, 1935.

Go Wrong Gramophone and "Film Weekly' s"

Music Critic G ives Exper~ Opinion

Vexed Subject on· a

harmony with stark realism, but even romance is not permitted the licence of disregarding the customs and irrevokable Jaws of Nature. It is this licence that the directors of many -0f -0ur musical films arbitrarily assume.

The pattern for realism in romance is found in 011e Night of Love. This film has \veak­nes!'es-thc thin speaking \·oice of Grace Moore in comparison \Vi th her glorious singing; the forced situations such as Mary's discovery of Monteverdi in Lally's arms-and yet it proved an outstanding success. \Yhy?

Because of its music-yes-but ~ven more because of the sa11e prese11tatio11 of its music. It showed sincerity. It respected the credibility of the audience. \Vhen Grace Moore indulged in musical exercises, it did not impott an orchestra of one hundred musicians to accom­pany her; \vhen an opera was presented at a theatre, it remembered the dimensions of the average stage and managed to resist the temp­tation, in the " Madam Butterfly" scene, to send Grace Moore drifting through forests of blossoming trees, to finish up on the peak of a mountain soine miles away, with prisms, discs, candles and candies closing in to give a symbolic fade-out. In other words, it observed the rules of common sense, and we applauded gratefully.

Another hurdle where realism often stumbles to the embarrassment of a critical audience is that of accompaniment. Musical accompani-

" The pattern (or realism is found in 'One Night of Love' •.. Why? . .. Because of the sane presw­tation of its music "

Right : Grace Moore with Tullio Carminati in a scene from this famous

film

ment can be of tremendous value e\·en to a film _ whi~h is not otherwise musi~al, and no one m his senses would ask directors to intro­duce the work of an orchestra only when one is shO\Vn on the screen. But what is to be desired (quite in conformity with good art) is that audiences should be emotionally affected without immediately realisiuK the cause. This ideal, particularly in the accompaniment of actual musical items in the films, is constantly being sacrificed for the sake of flourishing effect. ·

In lh1fi11islied Sympho11y, for example, we saw young Schubert sitting down to give a recital at the piano before the Princess Kinsky. And what did we hear? A piano? Oh no, we heard instead the immediate and undisguised crashing of a symphony orchestr-a. Perhaps young Schubert carried this in his \Vaistcoat pocket. Admittedly, the orchestra was none other than the Vienna Philharmonic and a de­light to listen to, but is it impossible in these days of film efficiency to increase the pleasure of the audience by introducing an orche'1ra as an orchestra-or even a comparatively simple, but definitely expressive, piano as a piano?

" Tact " Wanted

I am not so stiff-collar~d as to suggeft that an should only be applied when strictly in line with cold realism. My argument most certainly is, however, that music, and particu­larly accompaniment, should be introduced \\ ith tact and gentleness, so as to preserve the illusion of realism so laboriously created on the screen.

This can be done, and it is significant that the films causing least complaint in this respect are those that have been acclaimed as suc­cesses. Referring once more to One Night of Love-and it is difficult not to refer to this production when dealing with the successful presentation of music-you will probably be able to recall the scene in which Tbllio Car­minati, noticing Grace Moore's nervousness before her first opera, forced her to try over a song with him. He accompanied her on the piano. The piano was at first the only accom­paniment heard, and I sincerely believe that the majority of filmgoers, if asked, would say

9

that it remained so during the whole of the song.

As Grace Mo-0re grew in confidence and strength of voice, however, so did the accom­paniment match her mood by a gathering depth and significance. Actually, the soft strings of a violin added themselves, very quietly and with artistic simplicity, to the chords of the piano. The violin had a use-it symbolised Grace Moore's strengthening confidence-and yet not once did it make the audience blatantly aware of its presence. · ln ·such a way is a scene in a musical film given dignity, and rendered more effective, without loss of realism.

Absurdit ies Unfortunately, some directors are apparently

of the opinion that serious music can dispense with dignity. Jan Kiepura is a victim of this policy .. In My Song for You, he was sho\\n in the opening scenes, in a ridiculous garb, hopping about the deck of a yacht as he sang; l ater, in the same film, he was shown in a bathing costume at a S\\·irnming bath, singing to an audience (which had paid for its ''>seats" with the express intention of hearing his voice, mind you !) immersed to the waists in water.

If this is what directors consider to be suit­able presentation of a good ·voice, then it is fortunate that Caruso lived when a tenor could perform. with dignity. In all probability the modern film-makers would have planted him in a wheelbarrow and pushed a banana into his hand.

The subject is a wide one-the difficulties of musical comedies, the problems of presenting popular songs-but from this alone it can be seen that musical films as a whole are not having a square deal. There is no art in the world that appeals to the emotions or the artistic sense of collected people more than music, and yet the conductor's baton is con­unually being turned into a jester's jack.

Let us hope, then, that directoTs will cease to be obsessed by the belief that the applica. tion of heavy brush-loads of music will glo:;s over breaches of faith with their audiences. \Vhen this happens, musical films will take their proper place in the lists of sincere and artistic productions.

IS AMERICA UNFAIR TO BRITISH 'FILMS?

A U.S. reader is "riled" by her country's treatment of our pFcfures

To the Editor, FILM \VEEKLv.

W E American filmgoers have just begun to realise the ex­cellence of British pictures.

If we 1::.ave been a long time doing so, 1t is largely because British pictures have not received a fair deal in American cinemas. All efforts to get our local theatre managers to book the better British films have, so far, been unavailing.

I am still riled at the treatment of Catherine the Great, starring Eliza­beth Bergner-. This fine picture was relegated to a small, sme'.ly theatre which usually shows V,Testerns ; while Hollywood's hoge-podge, The Scarlet Empress, was screened at our largest and best theatre. \Ve demonstrated our approval of the British film bv filling the small theatre to capacit\:, while the Hollywood production played to scant aud:ences.

It seems that America has a poor spirit of reciprocity since Britain has given such sp~endid support to AmeriC3.n films. Britain has also suppiied the American screen "ith some of its finest' talent, includ 1 ni:;­George Arliss, Claude Rains, Herbert ~Iarshall,- Di.ana Wynyard and manv othecs.--CORfNNE CHILDERS, <;06, Cle-111ent Avenue, Charlotte, N. C.', C.S.A.

Misleading Advertising J VISITED a local cinema for the

sole purpose of seeing Shirley Temple in Change of Heart. All [ saw of her was one shot, and that taken from the back. Yet her name on the ·bills was quite as big as those of the other principal artists. Is this fair?-(:\I1ss) D. M. DE.\Kt:\', f!a/es­worth Road, Handswortlz, Sheffield. - !Shirley Temple was not originally "feature:!" in Chan?e of Flea rt, a Ga~·nor-Farrell picture, although she had a small part in it. She wa• com­paratively unknown when this film wa~ made, an<l her name appears on the distributors' synopsis only in the detailed list of characters and players. -ED.]

* Although Shirley Temple's name was

hilled three or four times larger than thus~ of the other players, she was on the ,er; en in Stand Up and Cheer for onlv a few minutes.

Something should be done to stop managers from luring the public in ~o their cinemas under false pretences.­\\". \YHTTAKER, !'vi os<r A i'enue, F" ·e Lane Ends, Bradford.

Filming " .The Dredm" H. l\IOOlUNG'S article on A ,Y. il!ids11111111er Night's Dream

(FIUI WEEKLY, March 15) fired me "'ith astonishment. What posoessed Hollywood to over'.oad the gossamer "Dream" with elaborate spectacle and mammoth architecture? '

The greatness of the play lies in its glorious poetry. From a dramatic point of view, .the plot is trite and disjointed, and not even the most in­spired acting can make the lovers any­thing but cardboard figures.

Shakespeare wove lovely word pic­tures into the play and left the rest to ' the imagination of the audience. Sumptuous settings and elaborate de-

SHOCKING REVELATIONS. The night clubs of Rangoon, os pictured by Hollywcod in "Mandalay," have caused delighted surprise to the unsuspecting irhabitants of Rangcon, according to a Rangoon reader. Our illustration shaws Kay Francis, in the

film, as hostess of a Rangoon night club

tail, such as galloping unicorns and grotesque gnomes, are unnecessary and in ,bad taste.-(M1ss) NI:'-!..\ Hix. sos, Preston Road, TVe111bley .

Perhaps l\Iax Reinhardt's next ven­ture will be a \Y.arner musical founded on l\Iilton's "Paradise Regained" and played by Warner Brothers' crooners and hot rhvthm cuties.­~Llt<GARET l\li:uucori, Hampstead Gardens, Golders Green, N.W.

\\"hatever it may be as entertain­ment, the film of "The Dream" will no't be Shakespea.re, for three good reasons :- .

The. elaba,rate sets, which are super­fluous and must detract from the text.

The actors. Onlv trained Shake-spearean artists can" deli Yer the lines properly.

.\ccent. Any English dialect would ha \'e been acceptable, but Shakespeare could never blend' with the American accent.-E. DORA TURBI~. Coalbrook .Jlansions, Bedford Hill, Ba/ham,S.W.

Loud Laughter from Rangoon J~ filming stories of the East, Holly-

wood producers seldom trouble much about accuTacy, en the assump­tion, I suppose', that few filmgoers have been frere.

\\"hen such pictures reach the real East, they are receiYed, as you may imagine, witlr considerable amusement. Following, for example, are extracts from a review of Mandalay in The Rangoon Gazette.

" I had always been led to believe that Rangoon was. a progressive city with modern buildings, paved streets, an up-to-date harbour · and almost e,·erything else that one associates with civilisation. But I find I have been

10

wrong. Rangoon, the producer of this entertaining dramatic comedy tells us, is a shambling, neglected-looking, sleepy place, with waving palm trees, phretons .and strange, narrow, winding streets. Those of the population who are not 'Empire builders' are Chinese. The wharf was a revelation. I ha\'e never seen anything like it be. fore. And you should see our night clubs! "-Jon:; BRADLEY, Sule Pagoda Road, Rangoon. [~fandalay was directed by Michael

Curtiz. with Kay FranciR as Tanya, " t.he most notorious woman in Ran­goon," and Ricardo Cortez as Tony, her gun-running lover. It was released in Britain last August.-Eo.1 ,

The Time Element 'VH\' is it that so many otherwise

competent directors fad to mark adequately the passage of time in their films?

Two recent pictures, The ilfan Who r..·new Too Much and The Pai.nted Veil, were, in my opinion, marred by neglect of the time element.

In Hitchcock's film, one of the

CRITICISM

FILMGOERS are the most important critics, for,

whatever the professional cr.itics may think, it is upon their judgment that the success of a picture depends.

Let us hear your opinions of the films you see.

Prizes are awarded each week for the best letters published. This weefc:•s awards go to :-JOHN BRADLEY (£1. Is.} and Mrs. A. WILLIS (I Os. 6d.), whose IE.ttsrs appear on

this page, ········ ................................................................ ~

FILM WEEKLY, Marcl. c\I, 19~5.

characters appears to m.ake the journey from the A)bert Hall to Wapping in about two minutes.

In The Painted . Veil, Garbo is pic­tured as a neglected wife ·almost before we h.ave reaiised that she is married, and ·embarks on a love affair with

· Townsehci w~en theY. have barely been rntroduced. - (MRS.) A. WILLIS, lllonega Road, Forest Gate, E. ·

When Freddie Recited F1rnDDIE BARTHOLOMEW'·S sue.

cess rn David Copperfze:d recalls to mind an incident which I witnes.sed a few years ago in a small \\'iltshire town. - I_ hel~ed to organise a conc«rt · ~t which l· redd1e g-ave a number of reci­tations: His elocution was marvellous, especially for a child so young.

Like_ the audience, Freddie fully apprec1.a'ed his own effort's; which he showed by clapRing himself heartily after nery turn.-]. H. FI<ANCIS, St. Giidas, West End Terrace, Winches­ter.

Early Filmgoing Days S IT"ril'\G comfortably in a palatial

· modern cinema, I reca~led my early filmgoing days at the old Royal Pavilion, Blackpool-the birthplace of pictures in this town.

A temporary screen was erec'.~d on a wooden stage at one end. Tl:.e floor . was covered with sand, and the seat­ing consisted of wooden forms. A huge watchman's brazier, emitting smoke and fumes, was the heating apparatus.

Boys used to bring potatoes and roast them on the brazier while watch­

·ing the pictures, returning home with blackened hands and faces.

All the same, those were happy days !-THO~US SHARPLES, Ball Street, B/tickpool.

Walter Huston Missed 'VHAT qas happened to Walter

. Huston? This g-reat actor gave magnificent performances ernn in the early talkies. How ·much better he might be in the superior talkies of to-day, with their improved stories and technique. I cannot. understand why Hollywood neglec~s him.-C. GRF.F.XE, Haverstock Hill, N.W.

[Walter Huston vohrntarily left Hollywood to return to his first love, the stage; against the wish of M.G.M .. who, it is said, have given him a stand4 ing invitation to return. He is at present appearing in the U.S.A. in a play baeed on Sinclair Lewis's "Dodsworth," and rnay bring it to London. His lust film seen in England was Keep 'em Rolliny, relea,;ed last N ovem!Jer.-Eo.l

As Others See Them J THOCGHT Tlie Painted Veit

merely mellerdrammer, though Garbo is always a rest for the eyes. Are there no beautiful subjects that it should be necessary to make a film about choler.a? As one who has nursed leprosy, I know ·the horror of these diseases, and I protest against pictures of such sad, sad things.­DArSY Sl'RRIDCE, Ar1111/f Street, Cat. ford, S.E.

Vienna has made a·nother master­piece in So Ended a Great Love, a worthy successor to the lovely Jfllaske­rade. The acting is so sensitive that you know what the characters are th.inking without a word being spoken. -(Miss) K., ACLAND, Oxford Street, w.

F/L.\1 WEEKLY. March 29, 1935.

Picture People by JACK ARNOLD

Dick Powell is ready for "Broad­way Gordolier." a musical with

was there to be laughed at. In Blessed E<'ent, you remember. Joan Blondell

GARY COOPER is scheduled to p'ay in The Light that Failed, adapted from the Rudyard

Kipling novel. Story is of an artist who is torn

between devotion to paintinl' a master­p iece and a longing for travel. It was filmed way back in early silent days. \\-as staged in London in 1903 with Forbes Robertson as Dick.

J(Il'LING wrote two endings to the story. As origina'ly planned,

and later published in novel form. the hero went to the Sudan \Var and was killed.

However, it was first published in a magazine, and for this pur.pose it ended happily with the marnage of the hero.

It is not difficult to guess which version will be used in the film.

0 0 0 .

J OAN CRAWFORD will have a new type of part shortly. Metro plan to cast her in The Garden of

Allah, from Robert Hichens' novel.

\Vhe,n he was in vaude­ville he and Ginger Rogers

did .an act together. He gets one of the largest fan mails

In Hollywood. All letters are answered -except proposals of marriage. He gets several a week of those.

D 0 D

A LINE MACMAHON is set for a new picture with Guy Kibbee. Title : The Patient in Room 18.

Say what you like, Aline is one of the most versatile of players. Com­pare her in II ea rt of New York, 011e­way Passage and A vVoman in EI er Thirties.

\Vhen the Broadway play, "Once in a Lifetime," was being cast, Aline did her best to get the part of May. She was refused. However, she got the part in a touring company.

The co.rnpany toured in California, and, when "Once in a Lifetime" was filmed, Hollvwood rnshed after her holding· out the p'art with both hands.

D D 0

J OEL McCREA is going paternal · these days. In Heaven's . Gate

he plays the part of Shirley Temple's father.

He looks af~er Shirley all day and

his own child at night. It's a boy, born last September.

Joan Crawford will soon star in a film of" The

_Garden of Allah"

For Ii eaven' s Gate a complete circus has been hired. It inch!des one of the l"rgest tents in ex istence and the largest ele­phant in captivity. Shir'.ey is looking fcrwaEd to circus fun.

PERHAPS to take his mind off two doses of fatherhood, Joel is be­

coming a rancher. He owns about l ,ooo acres, and plans to raise cattle.

He is doing it on the instalment plan. Each time he finishes a picture part of the money goes in additions to the ranch. He says H e011en' s Gate means another 200 acres to him.

When making his lR..st picture Joel had an example of how the world turns. Arnold Gray was a star in silent pictures and J eel was his stand.­in. In Private W or/d s Arnold Grav was Joel's stand-in. -

n 0 0

E RNST LUBl'fSCH is plannini! big things in his new capacity as productio.1 chief at Para-

mount. · He has just purchased rig.hts in five ·

hun::lred Victor Herbert rne'odies. Herbert wro:e many operettas, includ­ing the one from which Naughty

l!Jariella , Jeanette r-Iacdonald's latest, was adap ed. -

H 2 will produce a film based on the title, Life and J! e/odies of Vi ctor flerbert. Probability is thitt Bing Crosby, Carl Brisson and l\Iary Ellis will play in it.

HOLLY\YOOD is excited because Lubitsch called ~farlene Dietrich

back from a holidav for re-takes for Tfze Devil is a Woman. .And Von Sternberg, who nevair makes re -takes

It is rumoured that when Marlene makes another picture, Gary Cooper may play opposite her. They were toge ther in 111 orocco.

0 , D CJ

GRETE MOSHEIM is new to _ British films. She is leadin1'

!adv of the new Gaumont-Bri-tish picture, Car of Dreams.

Film is a musical about a girl worker in a musical-instrurnenr fac. tory who finds herself the owner of an unbelievably magnificent car.

John l\Iills p'.ays opposite her. Robertson Hare is in it, too. Story, as you probably know, is

about a man who leaves a monastery to face the world, but finally renounces even the woman · with whom he has fallen in love and returns to seclusion.

..................................................................................................................................................... GRETE l\IOSHEir.I is another of Max ReinhaJdt's pupils. . Her

father is a doctor in Berlin .

NO leading man has yet been chosen for Jo.an Crawford. In a former.

film of 'the story, Ivan Petrovitch played opposite Alice Terry. Th\lt was in 1927.

Even before that it was filmed with Torn Santschi in the lead. Santschi was a vVestern actor.

The play gave Nazimova what is probably her most famous stage part. Incidentally, Kazirnova is now actin.g in the new Shaw play, "Simple­ton of the Unexpected Isles," in New York.

0 0 0

L AWRENCE TIBBETT will be back on the screen soon. Dar­ryl Zanuck is ge.ting an

original story written for production shortly .. It will, of course, have an operatic background.

Funny that Tibbctt played opposite Grace Moore in New Moon, yet neither of them were "discovered."

Tibbett learnt to use his· voice as a schoolboy when he was roped in by an \lndertaker to sing at funerals. He got a few dollars per bunal.

One of his great points is his exu­berance, on and off the screen.

\\·hen he made his first film, -7 he Rogue Song, h'is voice was so power­ful that a special microphone had to be obtained.

.o 0 0

D ICK POWELL 1s slated for a new musical, Broadway Condo, lier. Joan Blondell and William

Gargan will be in it. Also the Four Mills Brothers and

several others from American radio.

DICK is now one of the topmost screen. crooners. Yet in his first

picture "he played a crooner who

KNOW THE DIRECTORS 7.-W. S. VAN DYKE

W S. (" Woody") Van Dyke , - has had so much publicity

lately, as the maker of " The Thin Man " and "forsaking All Others," that the greatest of all his qualities -his versatility-has been some-what obscured. ·

He is a director who need never become monotonous because he can do so many things supremely well. It was not his fault that he got into a rut of so-called " naturalistic" films a few years ago. Because he had had a success with " White Shadows in the South Seas " and again with " Trader Horn," it was th.ought that he should confine himself to pictures of open-air adventure and " nature drama " in various forms. Because he has recently had an even greater succe>s with "The Thin ·Man," he might easily find himself in another rut-this time oft.•ltra-smc.rt comedy dramas which, by sheer repetition, would eventually become mechanical and dull. Which would be a great pity, for Van Dyke's range is wider than that of. any other front-rank director.

His " emancipation " from nature films actually began as long ago as 1931, when he directed Lionel Barrymore in a straightforward murder melodrama, " Guilty Hands." Since then, he has ranged over almost evc;ry known variety of film fare and has shown himself to be master of many styles.

The praise showered upon him might have turned a lesser ma.i's head. But Van Dyke is hard-bitten,

experienced, unlikely to be led astray by adulation. He knows life, and can reproduce it on the screen, because he has lived a particularly full life himoe'f. Actor, miner, lumberman, news­paper reporter, playwright-he has tried most things once, and made a suctess of many of them. He got a lot of his film knowledge from the great D. W. Griffith. He /earned about acting as a child from his mother, Laura Winston, once a well-known American stage star.

Six feet tall, laconic in speech and determined in manner, he is the antithesis of the sensitive, tempera­mental director. He ·just knows what he wants-and has a habit of getting it.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••o••••••••••••••.-•••••••••••••••••••••u•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ••••••••••••••••;

11

Grete's first "personal appearance" was when she was very young. She found the audience in her home too restricted, so she took a portable har­monium into the street and played there .. _ until her father; heard of it.

A Continental critic writes of her: " SErn, electric, blonde, blue-eyed, her amazing talent is allied to delight­ful personal characteristics ... Gish acts \\·ith her hands, Bergner with her shoulders, l\Iosheirn with her lilt­ing feet and quick, mercurial legs."• \Yhich is no mean feat, whichever way you spell it.

D D D

R OSEMARY AMES wins the speed trophy in the Romancecandals this week. At 11 a.m. she ob­

tained a six-rnir.ute divorce from Bertie l\Ieyer, London stage producer.

Two hours later she married J. Abner !itilwell, Chicaf'O banker.

She has original ideas on marriage. Her first husband acted as best man at her second wedding.

l\J:ORE follows. Esther Ralston has obtained , a decree and the

custody of her two-year-old daughter. Thelma Todd won by alle~ing dis­

illusionment and extreme cruelty. Dorothy Gish is divorcing James

Rennie, screen actor. She played with him in a film entitled Remodel­ling Her Husband.

l\1TO.RE follows. Anita Page has sued ll'..l for an annulment of her mar­riage to Kacio Herb Brown, compo­ser. Perhaps he played the trombone in bed, or something.

l\Iax Reinhardt has applied to the courts to validate the divorce he obtained in Riga in 1931.

~ flLM TOPICS by GLOBE

LONDON PAVILION Monday, April I st

WORLD PREMIERE

of

BERGNER in

"ESCAPE ME NEVER"

You will be spell­bound by her mag­netic personality!

A British and Dominions Production

distributed by

N.8.-" Ne// Gwyn " fifty-ward postcard criticism competition finishes Wednesday, April 3rd. Past- your entries before that date, marked "Film Weekly," to Globe, British and Dominions Studios, Boreham Wood, Hertforffshire. Result will be an­nounced in "Film Weekly" issue dated

April 12th,

FIL.~f WEEKLY, March 29, 10~

Studio II Miracle Man

HERBERT HARRIS int-erviews Harry wizard

Davo, of t-he

II k II ma e up

B.l.P. st-udios

Y OU never hear much about men like Harry Davo, al­though they're incalculably

important to films. You've not heard of him? I thought

maybe you had11 't. But Harry has been a miracle-man of make-up at the British Inter-national Pictures stu­dio at Elstree for six years. Six years of n o s e s, e y e I a sh es, beards, spirit - gum, paint, powder and all the other paraphernalia of a big studio's make­up room.

"'hen ambitious girls go to be made up be­fore the all-important "tests," they say to Harry, "Make us as lovely as you possibly can! " And this plea got so monotonous that Harry put up a notice that they could all see. It read : " \\' e wi II do our best to make you beautiful, but we are not conjurors."

That is one of the stories Harry told me in the intriguing make-up room at B.I.P. The walls are decorated with scores of portraits of stars who have passed through Harry's almost surgical hands. They bear grateful and admiring messages. There is one from Anna May \Vong in Chinese. And there is one from Jane Baxter on the bottom of a Blossom Time " still" which reads : " Thanks for all the good chalking." "Jane would call pencilling 'chalking,'" mused Harry.

" Balancing'' a Face

Many of the portraits show the stars in unrecognisable forms after "treatment."

"Few people know how intricate is make-up for films," said Harry. "\\' e work in co-ope"ration 'vith the cameramen. \Vhen the player has been made up, we call in the cameramen, who study the subject closely, and decide what will not photograph we! I. Alterations are made. Then the player is photo­graphed and shown on the screen of the studio theatre. \Ve watch points, and often make further alterations. And I make up fifteen or twenty people a day !

"One side of the face is different from the other, you know. \Ve have to 'balance' them, often plucking one eyebrnw to make it correspond with the other, and so on. I have spent two hours on the faces of girls not even playing character roles.

" The talkies made one slight difference in make-up. Some people, when speaking, will raise one corner of the mouth rather

12

Given a painting cf Lord Burghley (Jeff) Harry , Davo had to make up B.n Webster to match.

He achieved the mirccu/Jus result shown abcve

unduly. \Ve can give the other corner an artificial ' twist' and so 'balance' it. Yes, the game is full of little touches like that.

"As you know, we have been re­creating quite a lot of .historical characters recently. In those bound volumes up on the shelf we have the portraits of most historical figures, and we copy them as closely as possible, Sometimes we call in the Na ti on al Portrait Gallery.

"Athene Seyler, as Queen Eliza­beth, in Drake, has an artificial nose, and it takes me half an hour to put it on." ·

Then Harry opened a box to ex- -pose half a dozen "noses." Rather a gruesome sight. They keep these as "casts," so that noses that have been removed can be returned to their owners' faces in the same shape!

"Hay Petrie, as Quilp, in The Old Curiosity Shop, was one of my most tricky subjects. That nose took three-quarters of an hour to put on. In the last part of the film, Quilp jumps from a wharf into the water. The first time they shot that scene, Quilp hit the water rather bard, and emerged "·ith his nose on his cheek. That meant another three-quarters of an hour in the make-up room before a re­take ! His whole make-up took nearly two hours.

"Dickens characters are all heavy work for the make-up men. \Ve had the sketches of the famous illustrators, Pbiz, Cruickshank, and Kyd, only, unfortunately, these famous illustrators don't all agree on what the characters ought to look like. However, I think we have brought the characters to life in a manner that will not offend the most ardent Dickensians."

Making up Richard Tauber to look like Schubert was another of

Harry's tasks. He h·as had all sorts of famous people literally through his hands.

" I get quite a kick out of s-lap­ping the greasepaint into the faces of well-known boxers ! " he con­fes~ed. "I've made up Kid Berg, Bombardier \Velis, Gunner Moir (who is in Drake), and Jack Doyle, star of McClusky the Sea Rover. \Vhile I was slapping the face of Kid Berg, he suddenly looked up at me and cried : ' Say, old man, aren't you taking a bit of a risk? ' 'Keep still,' I said, 'or I'll knock you clean through tJ:ie wall, and you can talk to me after I come out of hospital.'

Moustache Trouble

"And talk about false mous­taches ! One fellow liked his mili­tary moustache so well that he went home in it. But another poor chap found I had gone home when he came to ha\·e his moustache re­moved, and after tugging quite a lot he visited the local chemist for help.

·•You could tell false whiskers at a glance in the old days. But you can't now."

Harry told me he has been in the film business since before the war,. doing everything. He used to do quite a lot of stunt work­diving off housetops into the river, hanging on cranes, and being sus­pended upside down over the side of a ship.

It was his work as a "double," in fact, that gave him his flair for make-up. Harry has " doubled '~ for such people as Henry Ainley, Sessue Hayakawa, and Sid Chap­lin. He made himself up to look as much like them as possible tasks which helped him to perfect his art.

11 FILM WEEKLY, March 29, 1935

"BUDDIES" AG.AIN

JAMES CAGNEY and Pat O'Brien,

the two " buddies ,, who were together in Here Comes the

· Navy, are back again. In the recently finished Devil Dogs_ of the Air they are still wrangling over a girl. This time the girl is Margaret Lindsay and she looks a girl who is worth wrangling over.

James Cagney and Margaret Lindsay in "Devil Dogs of the Air."

"Now, see here .... " Just the beginning of an argument between Pat O'Brien and James Cagney as to who shall escort Margaret Lindsay.

The commander uses models to describe certain manreuvres to Pat O'Brien (at the left) and lames Cagney .

13

Cardinal Richelieu was the power behind the throne of King Louis XIII in the days when all Europe was at the throat of France. (George Arllss as Richelieu and Edward Arnold as King Louis XIII.)

A scene in the cathedral. Edward Arnold, George Ar//ss and (right) Halliwell Hobbes .

F I R S T' FILJ.1 WEEK/,Y,March29,1935

P 1-CT U R E S

Francis lister as Goston in the film.

FILM WBEKLY, March 29, 1936

OF N E.W

The leading feminine part is played by M!]ureen O'Sullivan. Here she is seen in a moving scene with Guy Bellis.

Dramatic lighting gives power to this scene of the Cardinal's death. George Arliss and Guy. Bel/ls in "Richelieu."

A . R L I S S FI · L M •

15

LAST week FILM WEEKLY published an exclusive -

picture of George A .rliss in make~up as the Cardinal in his new 20th Century picture, Richelieu.

This week we are able to present the first pictures of actual scenes from the film. They show the principal characters in their screen roles, and give · an excellent impression of the atmosphere of the picture.

For many years before his death Richelieu was the secret director of French policy and . dominated Louis ·

·XIII.

Just a flash of " The Mexicano," the new dance which Dolores Del Rio performs the film.

16

FILM WEEKLY,March29, 1935

Dolores Del Rio and Pot O'Brien In" Cali­ente."

Leo Carillo ploys a leading port in the film with Dolores Del Rio.

INTRODUCING "THE MEXICANA"

FILMS have already intropuced us to several new dances. " The Carioca :· and " The

Continental" were two of them. Now, ih her new picture, Caliente, Dolores Del Rio introduces "The Mexicana."

In this film Dolores plays the part of a beautiful dancer in Agua Caliente, the Mexican town which is a favourite pleasure resort of many Hollywood stars.

FILM WEEKLY,March29, 1935

EVELYN VENABLE

IN SHIRLEY TEMPLE'S NEW FILM JN her new film, 'The Little

Colonel, Shirley Temple plays opposite Lionel Barrymore. The story is set in the days of the Civil War. Lion et Barrymore is a die-hard rebel, who cuts off his daughter (Evelyn Venable) for marrying a Yankee (John Lodge).

However, their little daughter (Shirley Temple) is made honorary colonel of a cavalry regiment. Her sweet parade. ground manner (or perhaps it was her horse) melts the old die-hard heart, and tiny hands weave loving bonds of union round the separated family!

~~T'."""7

17

EYelyn Venable, cast out by the Southern rebel for maJrylng a Yankee.

Shirley Temple and Lionel Barrymore In " The Little Colonel." -

Paul Robeson as ~ 8osambo, the ex­convict who becomes a chief, and Nina Mae t McKinney as Lilongo, the girl whom he rescues from slave I traders. ------

PAUL

18

' '

The , natives are held back with gun and spear. Left to right, Robert Cochran as Bones, Paul Robeson, Leslie a·anks, Nina Mae McKinney, and John Thomas as Abi­boo.

FILM WEEKLY, March 29, 1935

SANDERS THE famous " Sanders " books by I

in Sanders of the River, the nev Zoltan Korda, which will have its we

Paul Robeson will be se<:;n for i magnificent singing will be a feature o plays opposite him. The part of I: by Leslie Banks.

For this film a production unit tra'\i Africa to secure material. A comple1 banks of the Thames at Teddington together, chiefly from the · shippin1 act as extras.

r Wallace. are brought to the screen Jndon Films production directed by s premiere in London on April 2. first time in a British film and his

e production. Nina Mae McKinney ict Commissioner Sanders is played

d thousands of miles through Central .ative village was constructed on the i hundreds of natives were gathered uarters of London and Cardiff, to

King Mofloba (Toto Ware), Sanders' sworn enemy, bar­gains· with the slave traders, Smith (Eric Maturin) and Ferrini (Marquis de Portago).

19

While Sanders is ab-/eave in

'England, 8osambo and his wife ·are captured by the hostile tribe of King Mofloba .

I I

BRITISH ·

ARTISTS FROM

HOLLYWOOD

AN attractive portrait of Frank Lawton and Diana Wynyard, the two British artists who are star­

ring in Over The River, the Hollywood film adaptation of John Galsworthy's novel, which can be seen at the cinemas next week. .

The two ·are both in England at present. Diana Wynyard has unfortunately had to leaye her West End play, "Sweet Aloes," owing to an operation for appendicitis. Frank Lawton's next film, Delay In the Sun with Binnie Barnes, has been postponed so that he can appear on the London stage in "Worse Things Happen at Sea."

20

FILM WEEKLY, March 29, 1936

FILM WEEKLY, Jfauh29, 1935

Also in 1929 came Joan's marriage to Douglas Fairbanks Junr.

/,ovely, glamorous Joan Crawford as we know her to-day.

SELF MADE STAR

JOAN CRAWFORD is an- outstanding example of a self-made star. She began unknown, unnoticed,

as an extra player. Gradually, by hard work, by con­stant! y training herself for better things, by concentrating on her ambitions, she climbed the ladder of success rung by rung. Now she stands at the top among the loveliest and most popular actresses on the screen.

These picture;; show steps in her career. It is a far cry from the unsophisticated, untrained actress-of those early days to the glamorous star of to-day. Joan's latest picture, forsaking All Others, in which she leaves heavy drama to play a vivacious, fun-loving girl, can be seen at the cinemas next week.

21

Joan became blonde for "Laughing Sinners," but this· style of hairdressing shows us a new Joan as the dancer in "Dancing Lady."

FAMILY VISITOR. You would recognise Bill Cagney anywhere as James Cagney's brother. Bill visited the studio recently to see how Brother Jim looked In his costume for "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

F/Lltl. WEEKLY, March29, 1935 , ............................... , I NEWS ! I IN ; I PICTURES i !. .............................. !

CELEBRITIES AT

NO HIGH­HA TT ING HERE. Jean Parker has her own dressing table with her name over the ·top, but if any of the other girls on the production want a dab of powder, they're welcome to borrow Jean's.

ACTRESSES AT SCHOOL. A school has been opened in Berlin to train young actresses for the screen under almost the same conditions as they will find in a studio: Here is a - pupil speaking into a · microphone so that faults In her voice can be corrected.

22

\ ·--

F 0 R T WINKS "The Man Who Tried to Buy Razor Blades After EightO'clock" or "So This is How a Film is Directed." The man is Alfred Hitch­cock, caught sheltering from the wind in a doorway in the open-air village set built for the Gaumont­British film, " Thirty - nine Steps."

l'ILM WBBKLY, M11rrll29 , l935

DINNER

SITTING OUT. Many o( the most famous stars wrned up recently to a dinner party given by Director Harry Lachman. Here are Anna Sten , Warner Baxter and Marlene Dietrich.

NEWSBOY ACTOR. Waverley Station , Edinburgh, has been reconstructed in the studio(or "Thirty-Nine Steps " and just to make the thing complete, James Cairns, the real station newsboy, was brought 400 miles to ploy in the (ilm. Robert Donat is buying a paper (rom him.

PARTY

11ue1berg, , ·onic, got h is

..... .,1a manager several st he &xed on a nice, .~g little cinema, and )d a dress su it from a won it at strip pGker.

* * was to send the mana­""lema a telegram call­

y to the North of >n as he had gone, ormed the staff that 1anager and sacked

1en the real manager l his attendants re­

of thugs, and was ~t by the commis-

* the police be-

, Ike decided · stop being a llfortunately, he . t of the deal. e box-office just >found that the tmorency (better , as " Hot Liz"),

25

" Even i( you offered us a contract we wouldn't play in your rotten pictures,

so there !" ( Posed by W illiam Powell)

tune out of it. For instance, it include:-

Shots of the first mother to eat cus­ta rd apples and play three simul­taneous games of chess while hanging upside down from a fire-escape in Battersea Park.

* * * A SCREEN interview with Jabez \Vhackerboot, the nonagenarian who

for over seventy years has worked in a pocket-knife factory manufactur incr things - for-taking-stones-out-of-horses!". hoofs.

Shots of a special tray for holding t rousers .

Shots showing the manufacture of special magnifying glasses for deter­mining average rainfall or looking a t threepenny-bits on which the Lord's Prayer js written thirty-seven times.

Oli, the Jootlii"'l 11li!uule

1 6LYMIEL JELLY/

I

No other preparation can do what Gly• miel Jelly does. It contains special soft• ening and beautifying ingredients and is made b y a process that cannot be copied.

NO MORE CHAPPED or CRACKED HANDS.

Tubes 3d, 6d, I /­In Decorative

Glass Jars 2/6

Just as Glymiel Jelly gives your hands charm an:!

beauty, so G LY M l EL FACE CREAM gives char m and ~ea11ty to vo•Jr romolexion. 6d. a t1Jbe

$'~ du r i n 8 Spo rt s

Don't ri'\k vour Wfl\~:... hei1:~ ruinetl durini J{a1nt-... A u 774 ·· \\ Net-lig-ht a11d 111v1!;ible-will pre· /J _\\ vent 'v;i.es l>e ng- hlown ab''" or '/,,,~ c.:ru111µlt!cl. \\'car it at ni;:ht too . Yo11r hair will 110t need S• tt111g so ofien. Solcl i11 a~I l~a1r a~ld 6 pastel shades :tt B >0 r::,, IJ;nrdrcS!-,t'fS, Drar!er'i and Stores, etc. ll;_tlo ~.,,,,; , Nm ~ quahtie., fro1n 2d. ea ... h, or with ~ _... • ail -La.,.tex y arn me'ih edg-e, which S =~~~ edJ{e doe~ not mark the forehead, from 1<!. ,.·•ch. 11.,,f, '" !·11.(• ""d HAIR NETS /oi· ·-·The Byard Mannfactnring Co., Ltd., CasUo Boulevard. Nottingham.

SOLD EVERYWHERE Sciml1fic

Of .,I/ Chemists ctnd Stores' - YOUU KNOW WHY/ TRIAL SIZE 6d •

.. " Fil m Wee kly" Com petit ions

Let Us Hove Y·our "Title"

"T ITLIXG" is the new craze .among filmgoers. ~:ach v.. eek of these contes:s bnngs hun­

dreds of clever entries. In fact, the number of titles sent in for the ninth contest (resu:ts of wh'.ch are published below) set up a record.

These contests are simple to do, yet they demand a certain amount of film knowledge. However, any . regular filmgoer should find them quite easy.

On this page you see a picture of James Cagney, Mrs. Cagney a~d J oan Blondell. To complete it the pic­ture needs a title.

Perhaps you have some suggestions. All you haYe to do to stand a cha.nee of winning one of the money prizes offered is to give the picture a title, hut it must be tlze title of a film. There are no restrictions as to the· date when the film was macte-you may t:se the title of any fifm, old or new,

. except " shorts."

Two f xomples For instance, you might ti tie it

Si11i; As ·we Go, or you might even be ~ude and call it Tlze Case of tlze H 01<li11g D og. The picture should be viewed on its own merits, and, of course, the titles will not be intended to refer to James Cagney and the others as real people. A few minutes' thought should giYe you plenty of ideas.

Your aim should be to find an

Winners of THE entries for the ninth contest

beat all others in number. In­evitabl v, with such a large entry, several- titles were duplicated.

How Am I Doin'? was suggested by seYeral reatj.ers, so was !'./aster and JI! an. One reader suggested Behold, My Wife!

The First Prize of One Guinea has been awarded to Miss V. Hammond,

ai:nusmg and apt title that fits the picture. The first one that comes into your head may be good, but it may be too hackneyed. A second thought will probably produce a wit­tier and more subtle ti tie.

Prizes Offered for what is, in the opinion of the

Editor, .the most appropriate .and original application of a film title to the picture, a: First Prize of One Guinea will be awarded. In addition, there will be two Consolation l'rizes of 10s. 6d . each for what are con­sidered to be the two next best titles. In the event of more than one reader sending the same winning entry, the prizes will he awarded to those entries strictly in the order in which they are scrutinised .

Entries should be made on post­cards. Entrants may make as many attempts as they wish, but not more than two titles must appear on one poslcard.

Remember th.at your ti tie must be that of a fi lm-recently entries have been received bearing titles of songs, plays or other titles not connected with

. films. Postcards should be addressed to

"Titles (11)," fILM \YEEKD.', 10-13, Iled­ford Street, Strand, London, \V.C. 2,

and must reach this office before mid­day on Thursday, April 4.

"Ti ti es" ( 9) II Port-Rouge, Torpoint, Cornwall, v. ho struck a topical note with No Speed Limit.

26

The two Consolation Prizes of 10s. 6d. each have been awarded to Miss V. A. Morris, 89; Mill Hill Road, Norwich, Norfolk, for T lze " Last" Gentleman; and to Miss M. Snoddy, 59, Kevern Square, S .\V., for Up /or the Derby.

FJL.ll WEEKLY, March 29, 19~5.

jTheCHARM OF [NATURAL LIPS! I

I

Giva your lips a lluring n.at ural colo ur •• . without a t race of paint

To keep your lips most alluring, y.)u 1nust use lipstick as other w Jmen do. So the thing to do is· to u ie the lipstick especially made t) colour lips beautifully' . without causing a painted look in the slightest! There is a lipstick that does this ; it's called Tangee.

Un-like ordinary lipsticks, Tan­gee . isn't paint. , Instead, it contains a colour-change principle that. enables it to intensify your natural colouring and become a very part of your lips! LOOKS ORANGE - ACTS ROSE

In the stick Tangee looks orange. On your lips it changes to rose! Not a pale rose. Not a jarring red. But the one shade of blush­rose most becoming to your type! Thus Tangee keeps your lips youthful-looking with natural colour instead of ageing your appearance . with that painted look that men detest.

Tangee lasts all day, toq ... without smearing or rubbing away. And its special cream base is soothing to dry lips: Get Tangee to-day .. . 2/ 6 and 4/ 6 sizes. Also in Theatrical, a deeper shade for evening use. From all hairdressers, chemists and stores.

UNTOUCHED - Lips left untouched arc apt to have a faded look ... make the face seem older.

PAINTED-Don't ri~k that pamtcd look. It'> coar.;cn ing ancl men don't like it.

TA N G E E - lntensifie> natural colour, restorc·s youthtul appeal, ends that paint"d look

Cheeks mustn't look raintl'cl, eith~r. So use Tangee Rouge. Chang-es. to natural colo tirini:( ! Permanent too! Colour stays natural all day long!

Trial sizes of Tang-ee Lipstick ancl Tangce Rouge o b ta i n a b I e c very w be re at 6d. each.

LUFT·TANGCE LTD., 88, REGENT STREET, W .I.

Works: Johnson's Place, Pimlico , S.W . I.

I

FILM WEEK L Y , March 29, 1935.

WHAT-AND WHAT NOT-TO 'SEE "Film Weekly's" Complete Guide to

C/a;k Gable enc: Constance Bennett

AFTER OFFICE HOURS rf 'iff, Clark Gable as Jim Branch, Co11st1mre

Beiml'lt .as Sharo11 Norwood , St11a1t E ru•i11 as H ell/A' Parr, Billie Burke as Mrs .. Norwood , -Ha'r 1•er Stephens as Tommy Ba1111ister,_ I{atlza­ri11e Alexander as Mrs. Patterso11 , Hale Hamil ­ton as !lf r. Patterson, . Henry Travers as Cap, HnuJ 'rmetta as I talian. 111 .G.M. picture, directed by Robert Z. Leonard. At the Empire from to-day .

Amusing and, at times,exci~ir.g news ­paper _- comedy - murder - m~lodrama. The conflicting elements do not mix.as well as they might, and there is rather too much horse-play, but the g ~neral effect is entertaining enough.

B ECAUSE we laughed at Clark Gable in It Happened One Night and Forsaki11g

- All Others, the idea now seems to be that he should clown as m uch as he possibly can. Which is really a p ity.

This \\'ould have been a better picture if Gable had been allowe d t o do some more " straight" acting . As it is, he is compelled a lmost to burl esque hi s p art of a "tough" !'< e11· ·y ork newsp aper editor.

The newsp aper is one of those queer journals, onlv to be found in fi lms, 11·hich are staffed bv CQ.!llic Press photograp hers, halfcbaked Society co lumnists, and half-asleep reporters, the whole O\\'ned by a political " grafter " 11·ho kno11·s nothing at all apout newspapers, any­wa1"

\\'hat happens is this: Gable is fed up with hi" society chatterer (Constance Bennett) and "fires" her. T hen he di,covcrs that she kno11·s .all the people intimately connected 11 ith a big sc<.rndal which is threatening to "break" at any moment. So he makes up to her-just for the sake of getting a scoop.

The scanda l doesn 't "break" a:, anticipated, but there is a m ur der instead. Constance Bennett 11·as p resen t when it happened..-:but doesn't kno'w it. Gable is convinced that the police have got the wrong man and, with the aid of Miss Bennett , does some spare-time detecti 1·e work. It is th en onl v a matter of time before the r eal mur_clerer is rounded up and Gabl e and Miss Bennett kiss and make up ·al I their p ast m isunderst andings.

The dialogu e is p eppered with wisecracks,

and there are one or t\YO unexpected tl\·ists in the unra,·elling of the murder mystery. But bouts of h011seplay, app arently introduced to liven up tl-e picture, have the unfort unate effec.t of robbing some of its more hectic pas­sages of credibility.

Constance Bennett is overshado1Yed bv the indomitabl e Gable. \ \That she has to do she does quite nice ly, and that's about all. Billie Burke, as Miss Bennett's "ritzy" mother, por­trays another of those feather-brained and ki t ten ish Society mamas for which she is now celebrated. Stuart Er1Yin is amusing as the kind of P ress photographer one never finds in rea l life, and the rest of the " support" are quite equal to the demands of the story.

Clark and Conn i e match wits and lips in the gayest romantic comedy;--made in the new style-1935 model

(!faM.,

GABLE ~

BENN Ell w ith Stuart Erwin, Billie Burke, Katharine Alex• ander, Harvey Stephens

Also

LAUREL and HARDY'S

latest laughter-piece "TIT FOR TAT "

27

the New Films .......... Edit-ed by .... .. .. ......... .. .. : .. ,

JOHN GAM V11E

MUSIC IN THE AI R TFith .Gloria Swanson as Frieda, f ohn Boles

as Bruno, Douglass ll1011tr;o1i1ery as Karl, June Lang as Siegliiide, Al Slzean as Dr. L essing, Negiuald Owen as J;Veber, J oseph Cawthorn as Upp111an11, Hobart Bosworth as Cornelius, Sam Haden as Martha, Marjorie Main as Anna, Roger I mhof as BurJ;om{zster, f ed Prouty as Kirschner, Christian Rub as Zipfel­huber, F uzzy Kniglzt as Nick. Fox picture, produced by E rich Pommer, directed by f oe May. Coming to tlze Capitol.

A m:>derately attractive adaptqtion of. the musical play. The production is artistic, ·but slow; .the music very g?od; the comedy a little heavy.

T HI? Holly\\'ood picture actually has . a strong German :flavour. Not merely· m

its background (it is set in the Bavarian moun­tains), but also in .the treatment it has received at the hands of the producer, Erich Pommer, and the director, J oe May.

The touch of Pomm er, \\'ho \\'as the man behind Congress D ances, is easi ly discernible in the fine, rhy thmic cro\\'d scenes that dis­tinguish the beginning and the end of the fi lm. Action, camera-\\'ork and cutting fit perfectly to the s1Ying of the m usic.

Bu t in the pon derous treatment of farcical situations and the heavy-handed labouring of jokes, there is a touch that is equally German, and ' not nearly so pra_ise\Yorthv.

It is this heaviness that causes some dull patches, and makes . the picture seem longer than it is. <

The story (1Yhich sticks closely to the

I

."'1~1tD BRITISH ft. I ~t,~ co•" uo. rl<:rtJflf

~~ I S-uceess at tAe ~at,

q,wii/;(e atcli FRITZ KORTNE~

John Betjeman

"Evening Standard"

"I ADVISE EVERYONE TO SEE T H I S REALLY INTEREST­ING BRITISH FILM"

Harris Deans

"-Sunday .Graphic.,

"THE FIN­EST FILM 0 F ITS TYPE l'VE E V E R

SEEN"

A\Dtlt; D-~"1011· JI ll lhe amn;,ilt'l panw ff urentonLf of Ille Oritffl

#ow TRANSFERREP to

IJ.1~1!,\!J

FIL.11 WEEK.(.¥. March 29. 11135.

"An excellent Clive '.' : Ronald Ca/man in " Clive of India "

origin~! - stage version) is none too strong to sta rt \VIth. It tells how country boy and girl Douglass Montgomery and June Lang go to the great big city, get caught up in the whirl of theatrical life, and eventually return t() find real happiness in their o'rn little village.

Gloria Swanson and John Boles, both play­ing comedy roles that verge on farce, come into the plot as two highly temperamental light-operatic stars who philander with the young bucolic pair.

A scene in which Boles and Miss Swanson run through a rehearsal of the first act of their show in their agent's office is uproari­ously funny. But the stodginess of the direc­tion tends to make it drag a little. The treat­ment should ha ,.e been a little more flippant; a lot less paimtakingly conscientious in point­ing the jokes.

The four principals all de well and the sup­port is good. Al Shean is very funny as a village composer and Joseph Cawthorn con­tributes a sound piece of character-acting as an orchestra conductor.

See this, if it attracts you, for its crowd scenes, music and spectacle, and for the per­formances of the principal players. But don't expect too much of it, or you may be disap­pointed.

CLIVE OF INDIA Tritlz f,on,ild < ofi,1<1,1 as Robert Clive,

l.orrtta Y 01111g llS Jlargaret Ji askelyue, !- rami.< L~ster as Edmund Maskelyne, Colin I 'livt· <1 < ·,1p1t1m Johnstone, C. Aubrey Smith as tlze Prime Minister, Cesar Romero ns Mir j,1f! 1r, Ferdi111111,l ,Vunie1 as Admiral iVatso11, :ll u11{11gue Lo«i: ,i, G ovenwr Pi1;ot, Lumsden llare as Sergeant Clark, Mischa Auer as Suraj U d Dow/ah. Twentieth C e11tury picture, directed by Richard Bolesla7JSkV. Adapted by TV. P. Lipscomb and R. /. Mi1111ey from their. own play of the same title. At the Tivoli now.

Very good romantic drama built around a stirring subject. Colman is, on the whole, an excellent Clive, and the film makes a strong piece of enter­tainment in spite of episodic develop­ment and occasionally sketchy treat­ment. rr may be ,that both the historians and the

cinema "purists" will find fault with 28

Clive of India, but it is impossible to deny this picture the possession of powerful popular qualities, beside which its defects must seem comparatively unimportant. It bas emotional and roman.tic appeal, idealism and spectacle in no mean degree. '

There has been no inore effective dramatisa­tion of history than Messrs. Lipscomb and Minney's story of Robert Clive. The only point upon which tit is fair to quarrel with them is that they have seen fit to try to tell the whole story 'in the film, as well as in the play, and have had to leave out so much that the effect is sometimes scrappy and disjointed. Important events are skimped, or side-stepped by explanatory subtitles, and the last two reels are weakened by the abrupt passage of long stretches of time. Clive is whisked out to India and back again within a few minutes, after \Ve have been carefully informed that the voyage, in those days, took a whole year.

The latter part of 1he picture, moreover, is a little too preoccupied with Clive's domestic affairs. The great issues of his career some­how become subordinate to the comparatively trivial question of his obvious inadequacy as a husband. The naughty boy wants to go away and play with his soldiers in India again, imtead of staying at home with his poor little wife. That sort of thing is an anti-climax to drama on the grand scale.

But, in the main, the incidents which make up the story are well' chosen and sufficiently important, as well as dramatic, to justify them;eh·es. Clive's -rise, by a mixture of im­pudence and ability, ·from humble clerk to military commander is cleverly and amusingly accomplished. His desperate "strategy," in­volving even the forging of a British Admiral's signature to a secret treaty, makes good melo­drama. And there is a spectacular "high light" in a confused but thrilling reconstruc­tion of the battle of Plassey, with armour-clad elephants lumoering towards the British forces like prehistoric tanks.

The acting gives these episodes all the force and fire they need. Colman, sans moustache, but not without his usual charm, manages to suggest the flair for leadership and adventurous spirit of Clive as well as the man's arrogance and humour. It is a highly coloured, but never an irresponsible or an impossible, por­trait.

The entire supporting cast, largely male, performs so efficiently that it would be invi­dious to single out any one member for special

I .

FI Llf I! EEKL Y, March 29, 1935.

commendation. They are all as good as their parts.

On the other hand, it was surely a mistake to cast Loretta Young as Margaret Maskelyne (afterwards Lady Clive). She is just not toe type, although her performance is remarkably good when one takes into consideration the irritating sentimentalities of the part.

LOTTERY LOVER rr·itlz Lew Ayres as Cadet Frank Harringto11,

Pat" Paterson as Patty, Peggy Fears as Gaby Aimee. Sterling Ii olloway as Cadet Harold Slump, Reginald De11ny as Captain Pay11e, Alan Di11elzart as Tank, I.Vatter Ki11g as Pri11ce /l.fida11of/, Eddie N11ge11t as Gibbs, Nick Form1 as Cadet Allen Taylor, Rafaela Ottia110 as Gaby's maid. Fox picture, directed by n·ilZia111 Tliielt'. Seen at the Regal.

Average comedy with music. New­comer Peggy Fears makes a promising appearance in a none too happy part, but the story is inane and much too long-drawn-out.

BELIEVE it or not, this is actually another cilmedy about the boys of the U.S. Navy.

The fleet visits France-which is simply asking for trouble-and a bunch of young cadets is let loose in Paris. One of them (Lew Ayres) is more serious than the rest. He goes to bed and reads a book \1·hile the others make '' hoopee.

His friends "fall" hea,·ily for Gaby Aimee . (Pegg~· fears), star of a naughty French revue.

The1· all \vant to woo and \1·in her, but as that is obl"iomly impossible, they draw lots for the honour, 11·hich falls, as an astute ' audience 11·i1l easily have anticipated, on booklover Lew Av re,. 1

.Doubtful of his qualification;, for the role of Romeo, the boys hire a chorus girl (Pat Paterson) for him to practice on. And no one wil 1 be surprised to learn that he falls in love with the chorus girl instead of the star.

In fact, the less said about the plot the better. The picture's appeal is based almost entirely on high-spirited but obvious comedy, plus a few quasi-French re1·ue numbers in the theatre scenes.

Lew Ayres and Pat Paten:on make an en­gaging pair of young lovers, but both are worthy of something stronger in the ,,·ay of parts.

Peggy Fears seems out of her element as a French re\'ue queen, but displays a captivating personality which suggests that she only needs the right role in order to make a real hit.

The film as a whole is much too long. It real]\· ends some time before the final fade-out. Cutti'ng \rnuld effect a considerable improve. ment and probably result in an acceptable come(ll' of " second feature" standard.

Douglass Montgomery ar:d Jun e Lang in " Music in the Air "

• WILLIAM OAROAN

ond emf o/! llwus<mds

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BRITISH

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Less.: HYDE PARK CINEMAS LTD. Props.: REGAL CINEMAS LTD. Gov. Dir. : A. E. ABRA HAMS

29

At the Cinemas Next Week

Three Fronr-Rank St-a FORSAKING ALL OTHERS ,

M.Gl11. A. American 6'Jmin> G Mary.. . . . . Joan C1awford d Jeff . . . . . Clark Gable

r~~p:: . . . . ~~~:i~~ ~~~::r~~~~h ro n Paula ll1lhe Durke Eleanor Rosa1md Rus~c1l Connie . . FrancC's Drak1• Wiffens Tom Rickets Johnson . . Arthur Treachf-'C

Com~dy Bena. . . . . Greta Meyer

Directed by W. S. Van Dykr

QNE of the most hilarious comeuies yet made. Crawford, Gable and

Montgomery fooling at the top of their form under the expert guidance of director W. S. Van Dyke. First-rate light entertainment.

It must be admitted at the outset that this picture relies as much on dialogue as on action for its humour­but what dialogue! The.re is a laugh in every line of this brilliantly funny tale of a girl and the two men in her life.

Joan Crawford, as the girl, makes a howling success of a harum-scarum characterisation which carries her right back to her Dancing Daughter days.

Robert Montgomery has a" bounder­ish " type of part frequently putting him in an unfavoµrable light, but one just cannot help chucICling over his escapades and the air of injured inno­cence with which he leaves other people flat or forlorn.

Clark Gable forgets all that he-man stuff and clowns and wis'ecracks his way through the picture with an unbridled sense of humour.

What the story is about, in detail, simply does not matter. It is sheer nonsense balanced with just enough sophistication and plot to keep it from being completely idiotic. It has some immensely amusing, cleverly contrived situations, of the type at which you can chuckle in advance, and some stretches of pure slapstick, when the characters fool around and fall off things and get into absurd scrapes.

The sparkle of Van Dyke's direction hardly lets up for a moment, and the performances of the three stars could not be bettered. There is· the added

• advantage that you never can b~ quite sure into whose arms Miss Crawford will finally fall.

Just in case the three principals tire, Charles Butterworth and Billie Burke, both at the top of their form, are on hand to chip in at intervals with their well-known inanities.

*** Nobody was more surprised at the success of this film than the three stars, who thought little of the story before it was made. It is the first time they have all appeared

r····;~~···~·:~~···~~~:~:~~····~·~·~~···~~~· .. ···1 officially " released " to the

cinemas next week. This means that the majority of cinemas will be showing them from Monday onwards, although it is possible that they may already have ap­peared in your district, or may be a week or two late in reaching it.

The information given below the title of each picture reviewed consists of name of producer, Censor's certificate (Adult or Universal), Country of origin, and running time.

Items of general interest are appended in the form of footnotes.

~••••oa•o•o•o••••••••••••••••••H••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

" The performances of the three stars could not be 'bettered '' Robert Montgomery, Joan Crawford and Clark Gable

together, though both Gable and Montgomery have Played separately with Miss Crawford.

Note the "modernised Victorian" i11-t.eriors-a new M.G.M. style of decoration, inspired by " The Barretts of Wimpole Street." Joan Crawford's hoop-skirted wedding gown-one of twenty different

.costumes worn by her· in the film-will interest the dress-minded. It is Adrian's idea of a 1936 fashion.

OVER THE RIVER Universal. ·A. American. 86 mins.

CJare.. . . Diana Wyo yard Tony. . . . . . Frank Lawton Lady Mont . . . . Mrs. Pat Campbell Dinny . . • . Jane Wyatt Sir Gerald Corven . . Colin Clive David Dornford . . Heginald Denny Gen. CharwelJ . . C. Aubrey Smith Sir Law. Mont . . Henry Stephenson Brough LioncI Atwill Forsyte . . Alan Mowbray Lady Charwell Kathleen Howard Judge Gilbert Emery Chayne E. E. Clive Blore. • Rob<'rt Greig Benjy . . Gunnis Davis Mrs. ~urdy . . . . Tempe Piggott

Directed by James Whalf'. From tbe novel by John Galsworthy.

DIANA WYNY ARD and Frank Law-ton in an ·exposure of divorce­

court injustice. Good dramatic enter­tainment. Though it is heavy at times and has numerous minor faults, the strong central theme makes it interest­ing.

Quite the best part of this picture consists of a long, detailed reproduction of the hearing of an English Society divorce case, done with all the fidelity to fact, and lack of embellishment, of a verbatim report. The result is in­herently dramatic. It is just a pity t?at the rest of the picture, leading up

30

to this big s~ene, is neither as strong nor as convincing.

A great deal of time and patience is wasted at the beginning in showing off a collection of authentic English back­grounds. Practically all that is con­veyed by the first reel or two is that Lady Corven (Diana Wynyard) has left her sadistic husband (Colin Clive) and has met a nice young man (Frank Lawton) on the way home from abroad.

The husband pleads with her to return to him, but she defies him and indiscreetly continues seeing her per­sistent young man, while private detectives snoop in the background, making notes.

Then, in court, the whule messy business of divorce is gone through. The blameless wife and co-respondent suffer intensely. The husband is publicly white-washed.

There is an unfortunate anti-climax after that, but the tense drama of the courtroom ·is not easily forgotten.

With one regrettable exception­Colin Clive's absurdly melodramatic husband-the acting touches a high level. Diana Wynyard gives a per­formance of Cavalcade quality as Lady Corven. Frank Lawton is a good, if rather boyish, Jover, and Mrs. Patrick Campbell sweeps her way irresistibly through a garrulous · part such as she had in Rip Tide . .

* * * ] ohn Galsworthy completed the novel -the last of his stories about the Forsyte family-shortly before his death. A stickler for accuracy, he disliked having his works altered for screen purposes, though several of them have been filmed, including " The White Monkey," "Loyalties" and" Escape."

In adaptinrJ the novel for the screen, R. C._ Sherri![ red'uced 10,950 lines of

FILM WEEKLY, March 29, 1935.

rs dialogue and prose to 3,373 lines of dialogue and "continuity," including 417 lines of new dialogue. He made Clare the heroine inst.ead of Dinny, changed Dornford's christian name from Eustace (disliked in America) to David and abolished the moustache h6 wears in the novel ; invented the restaurant scene and greatly expanded the election and trial episodes.

The. players in the picture, •ch.ich 'if•as nade m Holly•f'ood last summer, are British •cith one exception, Jane Wyatt, who comes from the New York stage and is t1centy-two.

'J;he film is Frank La7£ton's second H olly1coodl picture and Mrs. Patrick Carnpbell's third. Mrs. Campbell's own maid and her pet Pekinesc appear 'iJ.·ith her 011 the screen. The child is Reginald Denny's daughter, Barbara.

THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP ' R. l.P. U. British. 95 min.,;;.

The Grandfather . . Ben Webc;ter ?\ell . . Elaine Benson Quilp Hay Petrie His Wife . . fif!atrix Thomson Sampson Brass Gibb McLaughlin Sally Brass . . Lily Lo~g Dick Swivcllc.r Reginald Purdell The :\'Iarchioncss . . Polly Ward Thf' Single Gentleman James Harcourt The Schoolmaster J. Fisher-White Codlin Dick Tubb Short . . . . Roddy Hughes ~frs. Jarley . . Amy Veness Rit . . . . Petcr•Penrose Tom Scott . . . . Vic Filmer

Directed by Thomas Bentlf'y.

A REMARKABLY faithful recon-struction of the spirit and letter of

the book. Hay Petrie stands out with a broad and vivid performance as Quilp. Good entertainment for Dickens-lovers.

Director Thomas Bentley, acknow­ledged Dickens expert, has stuck closely to the letter of the book, and does not attempt to disguise the fact that several of the characters, literally rendered, are really semi-caricatures.

Every important situation and scene in the original narrative is painstakingly portrayed with an astonishing wealth of detail which, though inclined to be cumbersome, is eloquent of the pro­ducers' desire to maintain absolute fidelity to a classic of fiction.

The concluding scenes showing the death of Little Nell are carried to an incredible length, but exert an un­mistakable emotional appeal.

The . acting is dominated Q.y Hay Petrie's portrayal of Quilp-a master­piece of comic nastiness which must be seen to be believed. It is a frankly popular characterisation, done with immense gusto.

Ben \Vebster is rather negative as the Grandfather,· but he ·certainly creates a lovable character. Elaine Benson, the new child "discovery," makes a suitable Little Nell, although she acts, rather than feels, the emo­tions she is called upon to register.

• • * " I am breaking my heart over this story," wrote Charles Dickens. " I am nearly dead with grief for the loss of my child (Little Nell)." His readers were equally moved and, when the final chapters of the novel appeared (it was published, 1840-41, in serial form), they charged him indignantly with. being "cruel." Originally, Dickens had no intention of "killing" Nell, but was persuaded reluctantly that it was the right thing to do " after taking so mere a child through such a tragedy of sorrow." It was his third novel.

The story was adapted by novelist Margaret Kennedy, of" Constant Nymph"

.fame. El~ne Benson is the daughter of a Lo11don

bank manager · She applied for a test, with no previous film experience, and.was engaged to play Little Nell on her fourteenth birth­day. She is a schoolfriend of Nova Pi/beam.

Ben Webster, a pioneer British film star, played for the pre-War London Film

FILM WEEKLY, 1'1arch 29, 1935.

JAN KIEPURA'S S IN G I .N G SAVES A SLENDER ••MUSl·CAL' 1

Company. Has been 011 the stage nearly fifty years, playing juvenill! for Sir Henry lrving. - He is' seventy.

MY HEART IS CALLING Gaumont-British. U. B1ili.sh. 91 min.,.

Mario Delmonte . . Jan Kiepura Carla. . . . . . ;\Jarta Eggerth Alphonse Rosee Sonrnt> Hole Director Arvelle • . Hugh Wakefo·Id Fevrier . . • . Ernest Thesiger Manage-ress of Dress

Salon . • . . ).J a riP Lohr .Margot . . ]t:'annP Stuart Page Boy . . . . john Singer

Directed by Carmine Gal!one.

JAN KIEPURA and Marta Eggert'! in a flimsy music:il which will

please admirers of Kiapura's voi3e though the picture is ·undistinguished in other respects.

Kiepura appears as an unknown tenor whose electrifying voice is the chief (almost the sqle) asset of .an itinerant opera company in search of e,n engagement.

Marta Eggerth has the slender part of a beautiful stowaway who, having appaAlently no other purpose in life, is attached to the opera company by Kiepura as a mascot. And Sonnie Hale is the Micawberlike impresario whose function is, as he explains, " to create opportunities for the company to live up to."

It is an amusingly conceived story, well suited to the tone of the production, but the note of lighthearted irres­sponsibility which ·the director and players have sought to sustain is sometimes a little off-key. The dia­logue is seldom witty enough ; the incidental business is too commonplace and Qnoriginal ; and Kiepura's singing is introduced in circumstances which tend to mar its effect.

Kiepura's melodious songs and stir­ting arias certainly constitute the strongest attraction. He is in good

" The husba~d pleads with her to return to him" Colin Cl~ve and Diana Wynyard in "Over the River "

voice, and has goou musical material to work on. Marta Eggerth's part, though it· gives her few opportunities for serious cbaracrerisa1 ion, does, at all events, pre<oent fresh aspects of her attraci ive perrnnality. .

*** It was after appearin~ together in this film that Marta Eggerth and Jan Kiepura were reported to be engaged.' Both are to make their next pictures in Hollywood.

Miss Eggerth, nearly t11•enty-three, made a great reputation ixith ". The Unfinished Symphonv," her only previous British film being " Where ls This Lady ? " Born in Hungary, she played her first part in BudaPesth opera at nine and was a w:ell­known singer at sixteen. She recently com­pleted " Casta Diva," an Anglo- ltalian

picture, in Italy, with Phillips Holm<< and Benita Hume.

MENACE Parammint. A. Amerfran. Ml mins.

HP1en Chalrner~ Gertrude l\lichael Colonel Crecy Paul Cavanagh l\.lrs. Thornton . . Henrietta Crosman Ronald Cavendish . Jolm Lodge Fre<ldie Bastion Raymond l\Iillantl Norman Bellamy Berton Churchill Skinner : . Halliwell Hobbes Andrew Forsythe Robert AUPn Wilcox . . Fo1rf'stC'r Harv('y Police Inspt ctor Montagu Love Gloria Chalmers Ar1ctta Duncan Alison Bastion Gwcnllian Gill

Directe<! by Ralph :l!nrphy.

ROUTINE murder mystery With some _ chilly moments. Fulfils the chief

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requirement of keeping the criminal's identity unknown till the last reel, and is acted by a capable cast. Moderately good.

Gertrude Michael, Paul Cavanagh and Berton Chmchill are on holiday in East Africa. They telephone Ray­mond Milland to join them in a rubber of bridge. He leaves the dam which he is constructing and, while he is away, it bursts and drowns many people. He kills himself rather than face the disgrace.

Miss Michael, Cavanagh and Churchill return home to America, where they receive threatening notes fr6m the dead man's brother. The latter savs he will kill them to revenge his brother. The situation becomes tense when the day fixed for their deaths arrives. Nobody knows who the mmderer is. Churchill gets bumped off. Gertrude and Cavanagh are saved just in time. The identity of the murderer comes as a · satisfactory surprise.

There's nothing here of any great importance, but the picture bas been capably produced.

THE GREEN PACK British Liem. A. Btitish. 72 mins.

Larry Dean . . . . John Stuart loan 1 hurston . . Aileen ~I arson Martin Crect . . Hugh Miller

1~~ 1~1ii~1~~;:1.an · · 3~~~· ~t;~~ts Mark Elliott . . Michael Shepley Jn -;pectOr A~ilar . . Anthony Holles Mo1•IY Carr . . . . Percy Walsh

Dir<>ded by T. Hayes Hunter. From the non"'l "The Green Pack, 11 hy

Edgar Wallace. MYSTERY thriller that might have

been interesting had it not been overloaded with talk. The ::i.ctors fail to overcome the handicap of too much dialogue and uninspired direction. Fair entertainment at the most.

The story, which gets going when some of the prattle has died down

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FILM WEEKLY: March 29, 1935.

"CO'URAGEOUS" BA.RBARA STANWYCK

round about the seco,.;d reel, tells how sini5ter Hugh Miller double-crosses John Stuart first over his girl-friend, Aileen Marson, and then over a gold­field which Stuart discovers in company with Garry Marsh and Michael Shepley.

Stuart and his two friends decide to kill Miller. To settle who shall do it, they deal from a green pack of cards. The man who ·gets the Ace of Spades

Jacqueline in the most altruistic manner. It all ends with a spectacular aerial round-up of the bad men.

Walker acts well, Hoover supports him satisfactorily, and Miss \Vells looks charmin'g. Noah Beery and 'William Farnum are good in support.

ADVENTURE LIMITED will say nothing and do the job. Paramount-British. U. British. 69µ1ins.

Miller is duly found shot and nobody ~~~~~~;;,~~~ct · · 1l:~~rti~1i11 is~aw knows who did it. Any of the three Reginald Purdie Sam Wilkinson might have been the murderer, each Don Lorenzo } has a motive, and there is a twist. Montague Phelps Hugh E. Wright

The odds are that you will have · ~::;,~1~1 tC,~~~u~~ 1 ller £l~~~~~c~c~~~~~l~y guessed the right answer long before General Ilarocla . . Cecil Humphreys it is revealed on the screen. For that, Anita Lorenzo Pearl Argyle

you have to thank the director, who Peggy Maxw~~irect~d b~0J~~~%e I3~;1~"; fails to arouse interest in his characters and situations, and the scenarist, who A STUPID attempt at comedy drama has provided such trite and meaningless that fails either to convince or dialogue. They combine to offer the amuse. Very poor. audience much too much encourage- Harry Milton falls in love with Pearl ment to let its thoughts wander. Argyle, whose papa, Don Lorenzo, is

COURAGEOUS Wamer Bros. A. American. 62 mins.

Marian Ormsby Barbara Stanwyck Daniel Forrester Frank Morgan Ellinger Ricardo Cortez Neil . . Lyle Talbot Necl Philip Reed Robert . . Hobart Cavanaugh John Ormsby Hemy Kolker Rosa. . Rafaela Ottiano Simpson Edward McWacle Judge Hardv Walter Walker Sloane ·. . Samuel Hinds Chinese Cook \<\'illie Fung Lord Verrington . . Jameson Thomas

Directed by Alfred E. Green.

BARBARA STANWYCK in another · uninspired drama that is unworthy

of her talents. Her charm and ability give the film a fair entertainment value that it does not really deserve.

The theme o~ Courageo.us is interest­ing and full of possibilities. It is that of the broken-hearted girl who con­tracts a loveless marriage in a hurry and subsequenJ,.ly regrets it.

As Marian, The heroine, Miss Stan­wyck marries a well-meaning admirer, Frank Morgan, "on the rebound" after the tragic death of her fiance. She is fairly happy with him for a time, 'though she docs not Jove him.

Enter a dashing young airman, Ricardo . Cortez, with whom she falls in love. She is faced with the problem of breaking the news to her unfortunate husband, who promptly has a J:;e:irt attack.

So far the picture is plausible and reasonably entertaining. The denoue­ment, however, is tame, and the drama peters out at the end rather weakly.

Barbara Stanwyck's performance is always worth watching, and as the camera seldom leaves her, one is given ample opportunity of observing her beauty and her half-dozen different styles o( hairdressing.

AIR PATROL Monogram.

Nick Terris .. Janet Colonel .. Captain T<'n j5

Pete Tavlor. Harland. Powell Paul ..

U. Amerfran. 62 mins. Ray Walkf'r Jacq1wline Wells WilJiam Farnum Noah Berry Hvr~m1 Hoover Morgan Conw~y Warner Richmond Donald H.C"cd Billy Erwin Horace

Stella . . . . Ruth Romaine Directed by R. N. Bradbury.

HEARTY, unsophisticated melo-drama of rival " buddies " in

the same air patrol. Treated on stereo­typed " Flagg and Quirt " lines, and interesting for its aerial thrills-pro- · vided you are not tired of that kind of thing. ·

Ray Walker .is the hero. Hyram Hoove.r his r,ival and friend. And Jacqueline Wells the pretty bone of contention.

Ray gets on well until a dirty dog forces him to take part in a bank robbery. Ray is disgraced-but Hyram stioks to him and helps him to win

the deposed and imprisoned President of a South American State. Milto» and his two friends, Sebastian Shaw and Sam \Vilkinson, rescue Lore'nzo with the aid of Hugh E. Wright, a character actor.

The idea might have been good if it had been treated properly, but the director seems unable to distinguish between straight comedy and burlesque. He has not received much help from his cast, with the exception of Hugh E. \Yright , who is good in a dual role.

JOSSER ON THE FARM Fox-British. A. Brihsh. 63 mins.

Josser . . Ernie Lotinga Betty Bettv Ask!! June.. . . . . Hope Davy Mrs. Savage.. Mur:cl Aked Dennis John Gattrrll Granby Garry Marsh Brookes Hyde White Spud Edwin Ellis Lllke . . H. F. Maltbv Clerk of Court James Crai~· Police Inspector Franklyn Kelsey Tanner . . . . Johnnie Schofield.

Directed by T. Haves Hunter.

TYPICAL Ernie Lotinga comedy in the broad and crazy manner of

his music-hall sketches. Lotinga, as Jimmy Josser, starts the

picture on a farm. But he's not such a yokel as he looks. Scenes at an election, a night ·club 'and a magistrate's court give him plenty of opportunity to display his slyness and irresponsibility.

Lotinga may be heavy-handed in his comedy technique, but there are lots of people who think him riotously funny. If you are one, you will find this picture well up to standard. Adequate support is provided by Betty Astell, l\foriel Aked and Garry Marsh.

THE SILENCE OF DEAN MAITLAND

Cine-Sound. .1. A ustral£an. 89 mins. Dean l\Iaitlancl John Longden Alma Lee . . . . Charlotte Francis Dr. (Ha!) Evcrarcl . . John Warwick Alma Gray . . JoccJyn Howarth Marian Everard Patricia Minchin Ben Lee . . Les Wharton Charlie Gray . . Claude Turton Mrs. LC'e . . . . Leal Douglas Rev. Maitland, Sen. W. Lane-Bayliff Thomas EYer:::.rd John Pickard

- Lillian Maitland . . Audrey.Nicholson William Grove Geor~e Lloyd "Gran' Fer " Fred MacDonald Maitland's Son . . Little Billy Kerr

Directed by Ken Hall.

VERY heavy drama of a clergyman who commits murder, lets his best

friend go to prison for it, and suffers rangs of remorse for eyer after. Weak.

John Lon~gden -is the clergyman. The part calls for some very heavy melodramatics-which he adequately provides. The rest of the cast is undis-tinguished. · Th~ story relies more on sentiment

than logic, and you will probably find its Victorian flavour a mixture of the depressing and the ludicrous.

FILM WEEKLY. March 29. 1935.

BELOW is a ready-reference guide to a number of important

• films which are not otherwise reviewed in this issue, but

which may be seen currently at cinemas in Central London,

and in some provincial cities

Abdul the Damned.-Fritz Kortner in a magnificently acted study of .U sinister Sultan tortured by fear of assassination. The film itself is strong drama, opening a little slowly, but working up to an im­pressive climax. Definitely a picture to be seen and discussed -B. J.P.

Behold My Wife.-Sylvia Sidney as a Red Indian girl whom a Society youth marries "on the rebound ,,. after his parents have squashed his affair with a typist. Some scenes are absurdly overdone, but acting and direction are both capable, and the general verdict is likely to be "good in parts."-Paramo1111t.

Big-Hearted Herbert.-Hearty comedy of family rows. Guy Kibbee is a dictntorial (lld wind-bag always at variance with his wife (Aline MacMahon) and his children because he is so sure he is right about everything from bananas to bath tubs. Fast-moving fun that owes more to charac­ter-drawing than actual situations. Good. -First National.

British Agent.-Improbable but quite exciting melodrama of revolution and counter-revolution in Russia. The main story situation of a romance between a British secret-service man and a girl " on the other sicte" is hackneyed, but it is persausively acted by Leslie Howard and Kay Francis, and there is a tense climax.­Warner.

The Case of the Howling Dog.-A very crude title for a well-constructed, soundly characterised murder mystery yam, in which the people are at least as important as the plot. Warren William is in great form as a lawyer with a gift for detection and the interest hardly ever slackens. Very good entertainment.-First National.

David Copperfield.-Probably the best adaptation of a long biographical novel in screen history. Dickens beautifully done, with a whole host of superlative perform­ances from a flawless cast, and a great many brilliant scene;: Don't miss this one. -M.G.M.

The Gay Divorce.-The London stage hit filmed in a way that should please everyone who doesn't insist on comparisons with the· theatre production. Fred Astaire dances brilliantly and plays the hero pleasantly. Ginger Rogers partners him well. Good comedy, great dancing and excellent tunes, including the famou:; "Night an:l Day."-Radio.

Happiness Ahead.-The successor to Twenty .U1/lio11 Sw~ethearts. No Bushy Berkeley spectacles, but plenty of catchy tunes, snappy " wisecracks " and romance worked into a" straight" story of a window cleaner and a stage star. Dick Powell excels himself and Josephine Hutchinson is a newcomer yon ought to know. In short, a good American" musical."-First National.

In Town To-nigh~.-" Canned " variety entertaiument. No story-just a series of mdividual "acts," introducing Stanley Holloway, Arthur Prince, Tessa Deane, dance bands, a military band, etc., etc. All the performers do well, but it is impossiule to assess this as a film.-British Lion.

It'!>' a Gift.-A display of comic virtuo­sity by W. C. Fields in a story which is just a framework for his ample personality. Very scrappy but very funny. See j( by all means-unless you are among those who arc simply not amused by Fields.­Paramount.

Limehouse Blnes.-George Raft miscast in a lavishly staged but poorly written melodrama of London's Chinatown. In spite of~· arty" photography, it looks like hokum-and that's jnst what it is. Fair entertainment.-Paramou11t.

The Lives of a Bengal Lancer.-1\Iilitary drama at an army outpost on the north­west frontier of India. Magnificent spectacle ; a good human story, with lots of humour ; fine acting all round ; and generally dignified treatment raise this into the outstanding class. Excellent entertainment.-Paramount.

Man from Folies Bergere.-1Iaurice Chevalier in the best part he has had for some time. He plays a dual role, giving him scope· for acting as well as singing and dancing. In other respects, this is just a slick but unoriginal dual identity farce, with elaborate musical numbers at the beginning and the end.-Twentieth Century.

The Pmsnit of Happiness.-Quiet but pleasantly entertaining costume comedy of Puritan New England, with Francis Lederer as a Hessian conscript who courts Joan Bennett, the daughter of Charlie Ruggles and Mary Boland. Engaging performances lly all concerned.-Para­mount.

Radio Parade .of 1935.-All the B.B.C. stars, and some others, in an elaborate and highly ingenious revue, which works a tremendous broadside of radio entertain­ment into a timely skit on broadcasting. It has pace, huinour, personality and plentv of music. A first-rate show for radio " fans" and a pretty good one for anybody in the right mood.-B. J.P. ·

Richest Girl in the World.-l\liriam Hopkins as a poor little dch girl trying to find a husband who will love her for herself alone. A far-fetched story made plausitile and amusing by slick treatment and clever acting. Very good light entertainment.­Radio.

Road Honse.-Ratlwr muddled comedy­drama of an ex-barmaicl and her Cockney lover, opening with a pre-war prologue, continuing later with murder melodrama, and ending (most bewilderingly) with a bathing-pool spectacle which seems to have strayed in from a super 0 musical." Possibly worth while if you like Gordon Harker and Violet Loraine, both of whom· are good in big parts.-.Gaumont-British.

The Scarlet Pimpernel.-Leslie Howard in superb form as Baroness Orczy's famous character. His pulishec1, delightful per­formance is the greatest asset of a tasteful, though sometimes slow, production. It bas comedv, drama, thrills and colourful backgrounds. \'ery good entertainment of high quality.-Londo11 Films.

There's Always To-morrow.-Binnie Barnes playing the role of dear friend to Frank '.\!organ, who finds his growing family able to get along without him, and his wife too busy to " understand " him. The dialogue is ju~t so-so; the acting likewise. Fair entertainment.- Unii'ersal.

TriplP, Trouble.-Whccler and Woolsey mixed up in a deadly feud between two Southern families. Routine W. and W. farce-comedy, funny enough to pass muster if these comedians appeal to you, but regrettably reminiscent of an elongated two-reekr of the most obvious slapstick school.- Radio.

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33

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45. A~tiSS . G~?1:;: ..• in TH: LAST GENTLEMAN. 43. ASTH:R, NILS in LOVETIME. 11. BAXTER, JAN~ ... in BLOSSOM TIME. 60. ASTAIRE, FRED ... in THE GAY DIVORCE. 58. BARNES, BINNfE ... in THERE'S ALWAYS TO-MORROW. 50. BENNETT, JOAN ... in THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. 51. HARDING, ANN ... in THE FOUNTAIN. -49. LEDERER, FRANCIS in THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. 53. LOY, MYRNA in EVELYN PRENTICE. 57. PARKER, JEAN ... in LIMEHOUSE BLUES. 54. POWELL, WILLIAM in EVELYN PRENTICE. 56: RAFT, GEORGE ... in LIMEHOUSE BLUES. 59. ROGERS, GINGER in THE GAY DIVORCE. 55. WONG, ANNA MAY in LIMEHOUSE BLUES. 52. YOUNG, LORETTA in CARAVAN.

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FILM WEEKLY, March 29, 1935.

Things You Wanr ro Knew ABOUT films and film people will be

answered by TEMPLE BAR. The number of quEstions is limited to three at any one time and a stamped and addressed envelope £1lUSt be er.closed for reply.

Bergner's History.- Elizabcth Bergner is now in New York appearing on the stage in "Escape l\Ie !\ever." She played in the film version of this play for British and Dominions towards the end of last year, and the picture is to be shown at the London Pavilion verv shortly. Elizabeth, whc was born in Vienna on August 22, 1900, is married to Paul Czinner, who has directed many of her films . She began her stage . career· when quite young, and specialised in "gamin" characters. . Her most famous part was that of Joan in Shaw's "Saint Joan," and it is possible that she may appear· in a British screen vtrsion of this play when " Escape Ille !\ever" fmi ~hes its run in New York. She made her film debut in" Der Evangeli­mann '.'as a character player, and later appeared with Emil Jannings and Conrad Veidt in "Nju." Two of her Continental films, " Dreaming Lips'" and "The Loves of Ariane," have recently been shown in England. Elizabeth has red-brown hair and brown eves. (P, F. E., Stockport.)

Arllss's Address.-Ceorge Arliss will next appear in the title role of "Cardinal Richelieu(seepages 14ancll5). Heisshortlv returning to England to make his second British picture. Letters should be addressed to him either at Twentieth Centurv Studios, 1041, !\. Formosa Avenue, Hollywood, California, or at the Gaumont­British Studios, Shepherd's Bush, London. (M. E.W., Godalming.)

Silent Film.-" Two Arabian Knights " was a silent film produced by Allied Artists (now Unitecl Artists) and was ge1•t'11lly released on l\1ay 14, 1928. The chief players •were William Boyd ancl the late Louis Wolheim. (G . J. R ., Hampton.)

Carl's New Films.-Carl Brisson's latest film, " All the King's Horses," is adapted from the musical play of the same title, written by Lawrence Clark and l\Iax Guersberg. Kitty Carlisle will be his leading lady in "Waikiki Wedding." On the completion of this film, it is planned to star him in "The Count of Luxembourg." (P. B. R., Gorleston.)

The Prolessur.- Paul Lukas had the important role of the professor, Fritz Bhaer, in "Little Women." (D. J., South Shields.)

Hollywood Contract.-Molly Lamont left England a few weeks ago to fulfil her contract in Hollywood. Her address is Radio Pictures, 7 80, Gower Street, Hollywood, California, U.S.A. (H. J. 111" Godstone.)

·Victoria's Record.-Victoria Hopper has recorded" Love's \\'isdom" and" Lorna's

Song," from "Lorna Doone" on H.M.V. record No. B8249. The words for" Lorna's Song" were written by R. D. Blackmore, the author of the famous story. (L. D., Bristol.) - •

Two "Mr. Wu's."-Matheson Lang appeared in a silent film version of " Mr. \Vu," but has not yet acted in a talkie based on this play. His first talking film was "The Chinese Bungalow." The late Lon Chaney played in the American film "Mr. Wu," which was produced in 1927. (W. P. S., London, N.W.)

Seating Capacity. - The Trocadero Cinema, Elephant and Castle, has a total capacity of 5,500. (M. J. E., London, S.E.) ,

Returned tu America.-Claude Rains has now returned to America after finishing his role in "The Clairvoyant." He was born in London forty-five years ago, and made his first appearance on the stage as a child in "Sweet !\ell of Old Drury, ' subsequently becoming call-boy at His Majesty's Theatre. He is well known on the stage in England and America, where he has lived since 1926. His latest films are "The Man Who Reclaimed His Head " and "The . Mystery of Edwin Drood." He has been married three times, his present wife being Beatrix Thompson, the English stage actress. (L. R. E., Ports­mouth.\

Rex Beach's Nuvel.-Rex Beach's novel, "The Goose \Voman/' was filmed as a talkie bv Radio Pictures under the title of "The Past of Mary Holmes." This picture was released on August 25, 1933, and the principal players were Helen 111cKe1lar, Erio Linden and Jean Arthur. (C. D. W., Manchester.)

Four Mills Bruthers.-Yes, the Four Mills Brothers are reallv brothers. John Mills is the eldest and is twenty-three. The others are Herbert, twenty-one, Harry, twenty and Donald, nineteen. (N. B. A., Southampton.)

Hollywuud Changed Her Name.-Frances Drake was born in New York twenty years ago, and came to England in 1928 to complete her education. Under the name of Frances Dean she appeared in London cabarets and in the British films "Meet l\Iy Sister" and "The Jewel." When she went to Hollywood Paramount decided to change her surname to Drake. Her latest films are " Ladies Should Listen" and " Forsaking All Others ." (B. A. P., Kingston.)

Katharine's Contract.-Katharine Hep­burn signed a contract with Radio Pictures last August to make six films in the next two vears for this corrwany. She married Ludlow Ogden Smith, a Kew York business man. (W. B. G., London, N.W.)

Married Three Times.-John Halliday, whom vou admired in "'Ihe Return oi the Terror," was born in Brooklyn, New York. on September 14, 1880. He has been married three times and his present

,,_----------------·· ........................... cur HER£ ................ , ........ .

FREE STAR PORTRAITS

TH65ar~~e~ ~ffebr~~u~~~:r:,~7;ea~tto0~e~d:~r~~ The portrait has been chosen specially for this gift scheme, and is a real photograph measuring approximat~ly 8 in. by sr in.

Half the portrait is published in the coupon on the right. The other half will be pub~ Jished next week.

One portrait of the star will be given in exchange for each completed face.

Keep this week's coupon until next week. The only conditions are that envelopes must

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Here is the other half of the portrait of Janet Gaynor. Affix to the coupon published last week and post to " Half Faces," °Film Weekly," 10-13, Bedford Street, Strand. L'ondon, W.C.2, with 3d.

in stamps.

Retain this coupon until next week. Stick the second half of the portrait, which will then be published, in the tr1ani;ular space provided

To:" Half faces,"" Film Weekly" 10-13. Bedford Street. Strand, Lo -don, W.C.2

Please send me the free portrait of Greta Garbo in return for the above completed picture. I enclose 3d. ;n stamps for postage and packing.

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34

wife is Eleanor Griffith. Letters should be addressed to him at Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, California, U.S.A. (F. V., Glasgow.)

Loder's Latest.-! have no record of a John Loder Club in this country. You may write to him at Associated Talking Pictures Studios, Ealing Green, London, W.5, where he has recently appeare~in " It Happened in Paris." (B. B., Bristol.)

Not the Same Actor.-You are correct in saying that the part of Cli,·e, Leslie Banks's friend in " The !llan Who T<new Too l\luch," was taken by Hugh \Vake­ficld. It was Richard Bird, however, who was seen as Eric Hammond in "The Great Defender." .(H. C. E., Winchester.)

On the Stage.-Kav Hammoncl is in private life Mrs. Romild L~on and has a baby son, John. She is the daughter of Sir Guy Standinf!, who appears in " Lives of a Bengal Lancer." Kay is not making any films at the present time, bt1t is appearing at the Globe Thc>atre with Owen Nares in" Youth at the Helm." (0. N. \V., Guernsey.)

Hard - working Actress. - Gertrude Michael was given her first leading part in " "The Notorious Sophie Lang,'' and has since played anotlcer lead in "Th!enace." She has onh· secured these important parts after years ·of harq work. She first came to Hollywood to play the min'>r role of Louise in "A Bedtime Storv" \\·ith l\laurire Chevalier, and after pbYino: a number of small parts in Paramount films, -was gi,·en a slightlv more important part in "The Search for Bf'autv." It is esti­mated that since the com'iJletion of this film she has acted in more than twentv pictures. It is not surprising that she ha·s just returned from an enforced rest ordered by lwr doctor. Her la test part is with Richard Barthelmess in " Four Hours to Kill." Gertrude was horn in Talladega, Alabama, and has brown hair and blue eyes. She was educated at the University of Alabama and Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. She had a successful stage career in Kew York before entering films, and is also an accomplished pianist. (T. p_ A., London, E.)

Gracie's New Film now in Production.­Gracie Fields' new film, "Look VP and Laugh," started production last week. The story is an original by J. B. Priestley, who was also responsible for tlie script of her last film, ·" Sing As We Go." Douglas \Vakefield, her brother-in-law, and her brother, Tomnw, are included in the cast. Letters should -be addressed to Graci~ at Associated Talking Picture Studios, Ealing Green, London, W.5. (H . C. C., Watford.)

Star Clubs News.-A Binnie Barnes (Social Service) Club has recently been formed by llliss M. Hart, " Kingswell," I~ondon Road, Kettering, Northants. The first year's subscription is 3s., and Miss Barnes has consented to send signed photographs to those who support her club. All surplus funds are to be donate(l to selected charities, including .Dr. Barnado's Homes. News sheets are to be published monthly and will be sent free to all members and 8lso the annual printed Club Magazine. The Ramon Novarro Service League is desirous of securing new members, and Mrs. Viola L. l"oss, 21, Endersleigh Gardens, Hendon, London, N .W.4, will he glad to send full particulars to all readers who are interested.

Change of Title.-Anna Lee's last film is now entitled "Heat Wave." While in production this film was called " The Code." Anna ·was to have appeared in "Th~ Clairvoyant," but owing to illness had to relinquish this part. (J. R., Manchester.)

Portraits of Norma.-FTLM WEEKLY published three photogravure portraits of Nonna Shearer during 1934. The dates of the issues were April 13, l\ovember 23 and December 28 (Cover). Copies of these issues may be obtained from the Back Number Department, at this address, price 4d. each, post free. (C. 1\1. D., Leicester.)

STARS JN THEIR PARTS

TOKEN Available until April 26, 1935

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35

FILM WEEK • LY, March 29,.lYa5