Evening Star Newspaper, November 11, 1929, Page 26

THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, MONDAY, NO VEMBER 11, 1929. The Week’s Attractions in Local Theaters Reviews of New Phot;);l:ys and Stage Productions Like a war-whoop at a POLY'S cisigonas Darty, the. spirit| i “Little ' of burly comedy invades the Accident” more or less dainty and sacred precincts of a maternity hospital at Poli’s Theater this week. “Little Ac- cident,” the selected title of the play as well as a career lady's descrip- tion of a new-born member of the hu- man family, appears to skate over thin ice of propriety and the most intimate affairs of life, without so much as mak- ing a dent in the glossy surface. It would be perfectly correct, at cer- tain points in the course of the eve- ning, to raise the eyebrows in a re- fined sort of way and to draw down the corners of the mouth, but even at the very moment of thus expressing dis- crimination, there comes a sudden turn in the direction of wholesome human nature—a ray of kindly devotion com- bined with humor, which penetrates the brain, straightens out the eyebrows, changes the course of the outer sec- tions of the mouth, and paves the way for resounding laughter. ‘What it is all about seems to be less important than the guestion whether it is good comedy, or comic stuff which provides an evening's entertainment. The question might properly be an- swered in the affirmative, and while the authors, Floyd Dell and Thomas Mitchell, are to be credited with clever manip- ulation of situations which depend for their effect upon rapid changes to avold the danger line, it should be stated that the members of the fairly large cast are both interested and interes in the interpretation of their roles. Be- sides. that, they possess varied talents which make them good actors. An old theme, “Mother love is vic- torious over the ambition for a career,” underlies the action, without too ser- jously interfering with the chief pur- pose, which is to produce mirth. The fact that the young man in the casc, according to the admissions of his own ent, is “‘a son of the most prominent lamily in this city,” gives point to the story of a suddenly postponed wedding. ‘The climax of the farce, when three women who have loved the hero meet in the same apartment, and two cf them individually relinquish their rights in favor of the college sweetheart, who had preferred a career in art, but finally is won to the idea of marriage, is an appeal both to sentiment and to & sense of the ludicrous. In fact, the entire production may be sald to il- luminate some old truths in a breezy atmosphere. Mr. Mitchell, co-authar, fills the role of Norman Overbeck, whose stirring adventures in love are here portrayed. His vigorous personality requires no artificial embellishment for this farce, & fact with which theater-goers are familiar, Rachel Hartzell as Isabel Drury, the young woman who is finally persuaded that marriage is not incom- patible with art, contributes vital effective reading of her part, and versa tility of expression to a difficult role. Jane Marbury as Mrs. Case, boarding house keeper, and Katherine Hastings as Monica Case, her daughter, are ac- tors of good quality. Fleming Ward as Gilbert Rand, friend and adviser of Overbeck, acts with vigor and poise. A dozen others might be mentioned as contributors to the general effect, in- cluding_Susan Conroy, Owen Martin, Adrian Rosley, Lora Hays and Elizabeth Bruce. D.c.C. Leading players, entire- GAYETY ly at honfepi.n their vari- “Jazztime ous lines, sing and dance Review” and wise-crack the “Jazzt] Revue” to ime boisterous public favor at the Gayety | J. week. Opening audiences hailed the revue with shouts of applause. Kitty Madison, singing bird of the affair, took the spotlight of credit at early shows and bade fair to reyeu these triumphs through the week. Jack Hunt, chief comedian, turned in a cap- ital account of himself both as to drol- and gong, and won favor With the ns,* Others prominent in the re- vue were Babe Abbott and Harry Leif, , Eloise Dwan and Dolly Ashton. A word, too, in ing for the gal- hntwko!uwefiu. Some 20 of them whirled and tapped through the routine of the show, herewith accorded credit for their efforts in addition to the actual handclapping which they had in the theater. METROFPOLITAN George Arliss in “Disraeli” One of the most inter- esting and d e li ghtful plays of the g stage, Louis N. Parker’s “Dis- speaking raell,” which served as a starring ve-| gp e hicle for the distinguished actor Arliss for several years and in W] he was enabled to present one of the finest personal characterizations of the theater, is shown at the Metropolitan Theater this week in the form of a ‘Warner Bros.” Vitaphone production. The photoplay, with its talking char- acters, s, of course, a gratifying re- minder of the play, but the most en- thustastic admirer of the talkie will not venture, it is safe to say, the judgment that it in any sense compares with the play, although capacity audiences at all the performances seemed to enjoy it ‘with wrapt attention. . ‘While the Parker play is not an ac- curate transcript of history, its varia- tions are not sufficiently important to matter. The story of the play, almost identical with that of the photoplay, is thoroughly entertaining and in the photoplay Mr. Arliss’ wonderful pre- sonality in its creative form is finely preserved. True, there are sound de- fects in the reproduction of his speak- ing voice, but these seem to quickly be- come adjusted. Joan Bennett and Anthony Bushell meet the requirements of the young lovers of the story, presenting an Eng- lish type of acting entirely in keeping ‘with the story, while Mrs. Arliss in her own attractive personality is as real- istically present in the picture as in the play. Doris Lloyd as Mrs. Travers, the English spy in the pay of the Rus- sian government, melodramatically meets the requirements of her part, and Da- vid Torrence as Lord Probert and Ivan Simpson as Hugh Meyers, who furnishes the millions to purchase the stock of the Suez Canal, thus enabling Disraeli to expand a smug little England into an imperialistic role and to make’ his beloved Queen, Victoria, Empress of India, both provide fine characteriza- tions. Others in the long list of characters include Margaret Mann in a brief but far-off view of Queen Victoria; Gwendo- len Logan as the Duchess of Glastonbury, Henry Carvill as the Duke, Norman Gannon as Foljambe, Michael Visaroff as Count Bosrinov, the Russian Am- bassador, and Charles E. Evans as Potter. ‘The story, of course, has as its out- standing plot the circumstances leading up to the purchase of the shares of Suez Canal stock by one of England's great- est premiers at a time when Russia was his greatest rival in the project. W. H. RKO_KEITII ‘The possibilities of are shown on a “Rio Rita” high plane in this reproduction of the popular musical comedy of a few seasons ago, with its catchy songs, colorful choruses, dra- matic situations and fine comedy. Bebe Daniels in the title role gives an ex- cellent characterization of the lovely Mexican girl whose wistful love and dis- illusion provide the opportunity for some of the best musical numbers. Miss Daniels succeeds admirably in the sing- ing parts, : Musical comedy in sound pictures seems to be what the public wants. Keith's was packed at all performances Saturday and yesterday. As a musical comedy “Rio Rita” follows the cus- tomary pattern, with all the stock characters, and this pattern does not suffer in its transition from the stage 1o the screen. The story deals with the search by a captain of the Texas Rangers for a Mexican bandit, the Kinkajou, who has been raising havoc with banks above | stay. the Rio Grande. He goes into Mexico disguise in search of his prey and in the course of the quest loses heart to a daughter of the country—and incidentally comes near losing his life to one of those bedecked generals of the southern republic, who eventually turns out to be the bank robber himself. The comedy is introduced by two Americans, one who has come to Mex- ico to get a divorce under the pre- sumably laxer laws of that country and his lawyer. Then his former wife steps in, having inherited $3,000,000. Some laughable situations develop. ~The American hero in a foreign land falling in love in the midst of adventure and moronic Americans making fools of themselves—such is familiar mu- sical comedy framework. “Rio Rita” is what it is—a gorgeous, spectacular mu- sical comedy of the melodious type. It suffers nothing from its presentation on the screen. Those who liked it on the will like it quite as well, if not T g o] les, as the singing captain of the Rangers, is especially impressive in his rendition of theme number, “Rio Rita,” which everybody was hum- ming for a few weeks after it came out with the original show. Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey keep the audience constantly laughing in one comic situ- ttl'g: after another. e sound picture reproduction of “Rio Rita” provides a couple of hours of high-class, enjoyable entertainment and probably is the forerunner of a ;:c;;ie "r:nxxl presea;md;m of the same , practical aranteed an enthusiastic reoepunnA—T‘:uR. H. RIAL Mary Nolan scores an- MarAINTIP other hit in “Shanghai i ary °h": Lady,” a talking picture in Sl::ng of the intriguing Orient y’ now showing at the Ri- alto. Taking the part of a woman with a checkered past, the star gains the sympathy of the audience early in the picture and holds it until the end by superb acting. James Murray, the hero, well adapted to the role he plays. He is a lover of parts and his acting is flaw- less as an ex-convict, beach comber and drifter posing as a gentleman. He real- ly adds color to the picture. “Shanghai Lady” is adapted from John Colton’s stage play. The plot centers about two derelicts of the un- dex;wtfild, Mary bgalan as Cassie Cook an urray as “Badlands” McKinney. Both tire of the routine of their ex- istence and begin to pretend. Then the trouble begins. They leave Shang- hai together only to be forced back by a bandit attack on their train, Meanwhile, a government agent discov- ers the identities of the pair. However, the agent meets a timely death. He is killed because he has committed a crime against the mandarin. This per- mits the couple to live in peace. An authentic atmosphere is added to the picture by occasional snatches of con- versation in Chinese. The photography is exceptionally per- fect. It brings out the talents of the players in an admirable manner. Mary Nolan and Murray are. capably sup- ported by Lydia Yeamons Titus, Wheel- le{l Oakman, Yola D'Avril and Mona co. ‘The program also is marked by the showing of “Over There Today,” an Armistice day attraction. !m:lurfed are several outstanding camera shots of the war and views of the Armistice day parade in Paris. This feature is far superior to the general run of such pictures. An Evening Star-Universal news reel also is well worth seeing.— is Colleen Moore, in a right- EARLE eous attempt to mlg‘utn “Footlights in the talkies a box office and Fools” value comparable to that which she enjoyed in the silent films, appears most recently in a story of show life which, had it not been preceded by many backstage talkies already, would be novel and diverting. The film “Foot- g:m and Fcols” is current at the le. 5 latest "l‘bu?: the lq.lr’.:rlal! = tl:’: pic erself, prov that sudibflity is 'an asset, to her, flounces through the story with com- plete assurance. and that piquant verve which has endeared 'her ‘to_all lovers of wholesome youth on the screen. Herewith she is plain Maggie Murphy (or is it Molly O'Reilly?), something handsomely Gaelic_at all events, mas- querading behind the wigs and gowns and accents of Fifi D'Auray, a revue queen imported from the chorus by way of Paris and a press agent's writer. Bel one thing and pretending she's r, Colleen gets into much trou- ble, but, of course, it gives her the cinematic_oportunity of being (in the guise of Fifi D'Auray) a bird Come, come; it's Colleen at her Col- leen-est, after all—a sprightly miss, in- tent on - the real things of life, all the homely virtues which make a man a man and a movie star a fortune. the credit side of Colleen’s ledger. Supplementary features on the bill include an amusing Vitaphone bit on the romantic importunities of a philan- ' derer-poet’s life, played by Edward' Everett Horton; a timely review of up-to-date happenings in the Univer- sal-Evening Star newsreel, and musical embellishments by the Earle's excellent orchestra under Daniel Breeskin. F.O. Lenore Ulric makes her talk- FOX ing film debut as a half-breed Lenore Eskimo girl in “Frozen Ulrie in Justice” at the Fox this week. “Frozen The film should be important Justice” gl‘l:bo(nphiwly. for seldom the screen given off more of the atmosphere of the far north. As Talu, the half-breed ;]d‘f; g{mn"yoummx tribal chieftain, ives a convincing portrayal of a soul's everlasting conflict when a father’s blood calls to the white man’s land and the mother’s blood would To sketch the story is to suggest the dramatic possibilities. Talu, constantly thinking about the white women her father told her about in her youth, dis- obeys ‘her husband, Lanek, and goes to the white trader’s vessel. The trader promises dresses and a mirror to look in. While her husband’s people pray to the gods to avert a storm, Talu and the women make whoopee on the trad- ing vessel until the ice flow cracks “E suddenly and destroys the boat. Lanel arrives in the nick of time and saves Talu. The captain and his first mate only are saved among the crew. Dragged back to the Lanek igloo, Mrs. Lanek suffers a beating and the sting the sourd picture| Ly hall only disillusionment and grief. At this ‘rclm Miss Ulric sings “The Right Kind of a Man.” Her dance hall patrons like it, but this reviewer thought her effort only fair. bef drawn inside his | statue as a dramatic star. reaches the mate's side in time to hear that Talu loves only him and he sets out in pursuit. Thus the stage is set, so to speak, for frozen justice. The captain shoots down the lead dog in Lanek’s team and is set to finish Lanek when the ice cracks beneath his feet. Here we have as realistic a moment as the screen can afford. Miss Ulric is convincing, but the pic- ture is not calculated to add to her In parts it is dull, with too much of the north and entirely too much of Nome. It is difficult, too, to appreciate Talu's strug- gle with herself and observe that Lanek is immune from the consequences when he is portrayed by Robert Frazier, who is most unlike an Eskimo. “Frozen Justice” could be much less entertaining and two stage features of the bill would still be worth the ad- mission—Leon Brusiloff’s conductorship of the Fox Orchestra in selections from “Faust,” & notable effort, and Eva Thornton’s singing. Miss Thornton has a lovely voice. The Spanish song she sings is in color with the presentation, “Plesta,” a Fanchon and Marco idea, in which she appears. The Romeros—five senoritas and three cabelleros (it being Spanish)—are featured, and June ‘Worth does a very interesting acrobatic dance. ‘Eddie Hill substituted for John Irving Fisher Sunday afternoon and his witty songs won considerable applause. A fashion reel and Fox Movietone News are the short subjects. In the latter Mrs. Albert B. Fall is presented in.a sound interview that may or may not be important. O, PALACE An impulsive child of nature, reared in the “Untamed” half-caste society of a South American village, sudden heiress to 4 large fortune left her by an oil- tramp father, and shortly after con- fronted by the exigencies of civiliza- tion in New York’s younger drinking set —these are the child and the circum- stances with which Joan Crawford copes eagerly in her full-length talkie debut at the Palace this week. The picture is called “Untamed” and early audiences put a good-humored stamp of approval upon it, accepting the fact with the fiction of the plot. Bolstered by the mature talents of Ernest Torrence and Robert Montgom- ery, Miss Crawford makes her Bingo Dowling as literal a character as the producers, always keen for love interest and plenty of it, would allow. The story is such an one as the movies de- light in, full of surprises and quirks of adventure, lending itself to jazz tempo and ending up on the proper note of happiness ever after. BE-mo‘s early philosophy of progress was_summed up in the formula of “socking them on the nose” male or female, and never throughout the pic- ture did she relinguish that primary rule of conduct. Translate it as you will—into a fist fight in the drawing room, or a well timed bullet from a re- volver—the rule held good, and Bingo got what she wanted. Young Andy Mc- Allister, minion of culture that he was, was what Bingo wanted from the mo- ment she met him on the boat en route to New York, and Andy McAllister was what she got eventually. Only, of course, after a succession of climaxes and anti-climaxes in the orchidaceous life of ease along Park avenue. In this all-too-rapid transition from calico to chiffon, from crudeness to sophistica- tion, “Untamed” has its greatest weak- ness, a veneered, illogical, fantastic plece of hokum. But, as a piece of minor eloquence from the microphone and the lens, the picture holds up well, Miss Crawford quite justifying stardom. The stage show this week at the Palace moves at a brisk gait, pleasantly melodious and pleasantly witty. Under the title of “The Song Shop,” Al Evans, master of ceremonies, and the Palace Syncopators supply a modicum of spirited music, helped along by the ef- forts of Hal Sherman, clownish panto- mimic; Carlton and Ballew, a comic duo; Maureen and Sonny, clever acro- batic dancers; the Faust Trio, with a colorful and vigorous dash of opera from Gounod's masterplece, and the Dave Gould Girls, terpsichoreans in routine. F. 0. \ By achieving a COLUMBIA successful synchro- “Why Bring That nization of Moran Up?” & Mack's amaz- ingly popular pho- nograph records with a back-stage screen version of the history of “the ‘Two Black Crows,” Paramount has pro- duced a creditable talk, multi-laugh box office hit that has justified a second week’s run at Loew’s Columbia. ‘Those who might be moved to inquire “Who cares about that?” would do well to visit the Columbia and find out. If there were no_ other excuse for “Why Bring That Up?” than to give George Moran and Charlie Mack an opportunity to give “their public” a possibly authentic hint as to the “how come” of the early-bird gag, it would serve a useful purpose. But the first talkie of the Black Crows goes farther than that. It pre- sents an interesting diversion from the old behind-the-scenes hokum of stage life, judiciously seasoned with enough reality to make the audience feel it is being let in one some family secrets of its favorite black-face team and spiced with more laughs than the Crows ever crowded onto a record or into a radio microphone. ‘True enough most of the laughs are old ones, gags we have heard so many times that many of us have been driven to throw records out of the window or put them out of reach of the young- sters. Yet those same old gags would be terribly missed if they were not to be heard at the Columbia this week. Indeed, it is suspected that many pa- trons, unable longer to bear up under the silence which followed their record- Buy in November Pay in January 4TH YEAR SALES! Men’s $12.95 to Lounging Robes $9.85 Hardly anything’s more comforting rayon brocades . satin collar, facings and cuffs. All-over designs, ombre effects. breaking activities, are flocking to_the | show just to hear once more the heated debate about the early bird and the unfortunate worm. Octavus Roy Cohen was assigned a difficult task when he was chosen to write a_“plot” that would serve as a vehicle for the Crows. The well known author of negro stories turned out a surprisingly interesting story. How much of the tale is an autoblography of the Crows is a matter of conjecture. Reports are that the piece has quite a dash of truth in it. Anyway, the picture leads the public to believe that the Two Black Crows were born in Paris, Ohio, as a result of a chance meeting of two down- hearted vaudeville comedians, that the friendship born of this union flourished until a villainess entered the scene, that the woman induced Moran to “fall for her” and then sought to bleed him of all his profits and some of Mack’s be- sides and that the threatened collapse of the blackface team was averted only when Mack landed in the hospital with a broken head and Moran came to his senses and ditched the girl. The climax is one of those mixed-emotions, senti- mental sickroom scenes that seldom fail to click. Director George Abbott has done a good job. Evelyn Brent makes an at- tractive villainess, Harry Green, as the Jewish manager, shares acting honors with the principals. Supplementary attractions include & technicolor production, “Mexicana,” featuring dark-eyed senoritas who can sing and dance; Frances White in some of her old hits and Hearst Metrotone News, in which the shot directed by an assassin at Prince Humbert in Brussels is plainly heard. 1In the belief that there LITTLE are enough devotees of «Piccadilly” silent photodrama in Washington to assure profitable patronage, the Little Theater on Ninth street inaugurated its Winter season Saturday with “Piccadilly,” a British-made film starring Gilda Gray, the first of a promised series of talkless, soundless screen offerings. When, a couple of weeks ago, the local representatives of the Film Arts Guild announced that they would retire from the management and operation of the Little Theater a great many persons in Washington regretted the closing of the little picture house which had ex- hibited so many pictures the esoteric appeal of which would have made them unprofitable in a large theater. Yet be- cause of the very quality of art or dar- ing or imagination which usually dis- tinguished these films many people here attended the presentations week after week. These patrons will greet with genuine pleasure the announcement of the Little Theater’s reopening. The inaugural picture, “Piccadilly,” is based on a story written expressly for Gilda Gray by Arnold Bennett, the Eng- lish novelist. Many have felt that the - @APD on one of these cheerful- ly patterned robes after a busy day in the world of affairs. (Gift idea for thoughtful wives). Faultlessly tailored from heavy Small, medium, large and extra large sizes. (Main Floor, The Hecht Co.) creator of “Old Wives Tale,” “Clay- >N Ry - APREP He TN $15.00 than slipping . . with full checked or hanger” and “Hilda Lessways” must surely have had his tongue in his cheek when he wrote the melodrama of Lime- house which unfolds at the Little The- ater this week. Modeled after the best Hollywood traditions, “Piccadilly” in cludes a dash of the yellow peril, a mur- der, a courtroom scene and divers activi- ties in a night club. It is well acted by such players, in addition to Miss Gray, as Anna May Wong, King Ho- Chang and Jameson Thomas. It is in- teresting to note that the picture was directed A. E. Dupont, who made “Variety”; the intriguing technique which marked that earlier work is again ARTHRITIS! | Any one aficted with Arthritis knows how difficult it is to overcome the pain, stiffness and enlarged joints. Various remedies are tried and discarded. The trouble continues to_get worse instead of better. Here is hope for you. Mountain Valley Mineral Water from Hot Springs, Ark., is an excellent aid in the treatment for Arthritis, Rheu- matism and Neuritis. A New York hosptali’s Clinical Test on a number of chronic patients brought splendid results, and the record is set down in an easily read booklet. We shall be glad to mail it. 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