Evening Star Newspaper, December 16, 1929, Page 24

19K EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. €. MONDAY, DEC EMBER 16, 1% The Week’s Attractions in Local Theaters Reviews of New Photoplays and Stage Productions 7 D In many respects COLU MBI’\ “Hallelujah” comes “Hallelujah’ near the ideal mo- tion picture, now that sound has stormed and routed the silent cohort. “Hallelujah,” to the person who seeks genuine photoplay entertainment, has Just about all the ingredients that go Yoward the successful product. There 15 joyous singing, novel bits of comedy 2nd pethos to wring the most stony heart. And all the work of Negro play- ers! There is no reason why the names of the players should be mentioned. ‘They form, as a whole, a competent cast: they work together as such casts shouid work; there are no_ sta “Hallelujah™ follows “Hearts in Dixi s the second all-Negro production. The latter at- tracted especially favorable comment, and the former is becoming one of the hit pictures of the year. As to the story: Zeke is the laughing, singing elder son of the country house- hold. After a journey to town to sell the family cotton he falls before the bright glances of a siren, loses the cot- ton money in a shady dice game, starts a battle royal, accidentally shoots his younger brother. Then comes a “vision,” and Zeke turns to the rather stormy career of an evangelist. Follow remark- able camera studles of evangelistic meetings, baptisms and the conversion of the brown siren. But Zeke falls, runs off with the charmer, meets various ex- periences that pull the heartstrings. After a term on the rock pile the former evangelist returns to the homeland. amid much rejoicing, and there is a wedding. King Vidor, the director of this pic- ture, has gone deeply into the lives of his characters, whether the incidents are representative of the Southern Negro or not. He gives us a picture ‘which is, to say the least, different—and that alone is no small effort, as the sound productions are turned out today. ‘The roles of “Hallelujah" are not played by actors and actresses who pose before the camera and shed onion-tainted tears; they are played by living char- - Philipsborn acters. And the photography is far above the average, with an indication now and then of the German influence in camera angles. The songs were es- pecially written by Irving Berlin. The | usual added attractions complete Co- lumbia’s program. C.E.N. FOX “The Farrell and Mary Duncan is the redeeming feature of River® “The River” this week's screen offering at the Fox Theater. Splendid as Farrell's char- acterization of the backwoods boy is, however, the heights of absurdity which the story at times attains plays havoc with his work. “The River” is one of those poorly directed pictures that work up to a| climax_which draws deristve laughter from_the spectators when they should be sitting on the edges of their chairs. Such_was the case when the person- able Mary Duncan attempted to revive her frozen lover with the warmth of her own body. Miss Duncan and Far- rell, however, despite the mediocrity of their material, are at times highly entertaining and their playing can only reflect credit on their abilities. Allen John Pender, the vouth from the backwoods, and the highly sophis- ticated Rosalee (Mary Duncan) meet in a construction camp orr the river. This is the first woman Allen John has met, but he knows all about them from books. Before it is all over, how- ever, ne learns that, while books may be all right for general purposes, their help is negligible in specific instances. Or it may be that the man who wrote the books was not acquainted with Rosalee. At any rate, the process of educating Allen John is the brightest spot of the picture and worth sceing. The feature picture is overshadowed this week by the stage presentations, with Mel Klee, blackface comedian and singer, setting the pace. The stage feature is a version of ‘Contrasts,” with Fanchon and Marco's troupe car- rying the roles. Songs and dances from a company of oldtimers, intro- duced as from 59 to 81 years of age. LEVENTH ST. — BETWEEN Phone Franklin 9133 and Virginia Lee will do your Christmas Shopping for you. In addition to our regular Gift Wrapping, we have a special service desk where trained experts will wrap your gifts in a beautiful manner ne Gift Lingerie $2.95 Gowns Teddies Step-Ins Dancettes most welcome o sborn's. care of every name on your heart treasures it it comes from We have planned this special event to take e gift list at little cost and the selections include every pastel color and beautifully lace-trimmed or simply tailored lingerie. The workmanship of Charles | T made a big hit with the Sunday night audience. They deserved the applause they got because their enteriaining was of the genuine variety. John Irving Fisher takes his turn at the piano, offering “When You and I Were Young, Maggie.” Nan Black- stone, with ~snappy songs; Gypsy Byrne, impersonator and dancer: Bud and Eleanor Coll, Serge and Robert Temoff and the Sunkist Beauties con- tribute their usual good performances. The Fox Movietone News and the or- chestra’s playing of Liszt's “Second ;lfiyxngarlan Rhapsody” complete the R-K-O KEITH _ Were its exe: . cution as great “The Great Gabbo” o5 it5 notentiali- ties, “The Great Gabbo,” at Keith’s this week, would be one of the truly fine pictures. As it is, however, probably not better than any of the dozen or more photo plays of back-stage life which have bid for success with the same old story of the vaudeville team that splits in the midst of its aspira- tions for “big time.” True, “The Great Gabbo" uses the star’s own conceit instead of a dress- ing-room vamp to bring about the rift between him and his partner, and there is a new conclusion substituted for the hackneyed joyous reunion on Broad- way. But the theme, dealing with a single personality gone awry, is not .enough at variance with its predecessors of the same type. Eric von Stroheim is “The Great Gabbo,” ventriloquist _extraordinary, and he portrays that frightful char- acter with finesse. Even a Stroheim, however, must find difficulty in carry- ing upon his shoulders the burden of hundreds of feet of dancing chorus girls in shots that show how they look from the orchestra, the balcony, the boxes and the wings—even with Betty Compson interpreting her role of his ego-tortured partner with excellent nicety. It seems to this reviewer that those chorus-girl scenes are responsible for the tiring tempo of the production. Von Stroheim and Miss Compson render excellent individual perform- ances. Great dramatic situations are not imposed upon them, but there is a subtlety of action about the presenta- tion of Gabbo, the egomaniac, which is highly pleasing. Donald Douglas walks in at proper | moments to be identified as the suc- | cessful partner of Gabbo's former team- F&G for a very nominal charge. Fox Scarfs A Luxurious Scarf is a welcome to Every Woman’s Wardrobe and makes an exceptionally thoughtful Gift. Rich Selections Are Priced $3250t0 %150 Rich, prime peltries in Red, Brown, Pointed, Beige and Platinum colors. Scarfs of outstanding quality and value from which to select. NANEATSARANAANEIRANNCAINAENARANERNS Leather D’Orsay’s for Christmas Gifts $72.50 orite style in red or or patent. Elk padded soles and baby Span- ish heels. An exceptional value at $2.50. New Handbags The Excellent Gift S5 mate after she becomes the prima donna in the same Broadway show which makes Gabbo star. In short: Ben Hecht gave “The Great | Gabbo” all the potentialities it needed | when he wrote his original story; Eric von Stroheim and Betty Compson do | about as much as they can as its lead- | ing players, but James Cruze, director, | evidently slowed things up with his ap- parent efforts to garland the story it-| self with pace-tripping shots of every-| thing that went on on that cinema stage. | Fred Clark has prepared an enter- | taining bit of musical nonsense this week which delighted yesterday after- noon's audience. A new issue of R-K-O news and a Tiffany color reel, “Jungle Drums,” complete the program. METROPOLITAN “Charming Sinners” The com- | bination of | Ruth Chat- | terton and | ‘W. Somerset Maugham produces excel- lent results in “Charming Sinners,” now being shown at the Metropolitan. It is a story of unconventional love. containing a large amount of humor. It is well conceived and excellently de- veloped, Clive Brook, in the principal male role, provides the exact sort of work to support Miss Chatterton in this Eng- lish drawing room affair. The uncon- ventionalities of love, of course, are hinted at in the politest of terms. Mar- | traditional ital affairs which become boresome, in the English manner, turn humorous by compulsion. Laura Hope Crews and Mary Nolan are also impor- tant members of the cast. The picture depends largely upon its dialogue to be entertaining, in addition to the excellence of its stage cast. In this respect it serves to prove the effi- ciency of the talkies as a medium of entertainment, just as “The Virginian” served to prove the effectiveness of sound in an all, or almost all, outdoor picture. Tn one of the short subjects, all of which are interesting, Taylor Holmes appears, He has the husband’s part in en amusing comedy of married life. News reels and other short films com- plete the program. J.N. P, PALACE A diversified and highly entertaining pro- “The Locked Door” gram is offered at the Palace Theater this week, which sees the stage features corralling headline hon- ors and the screen show, “The Locked Door,” relegated to the subsidiary ranks despite the very excellent performance of a well drilled cast headed by Rod La Rocque, Barbara Stanwyck, William Boyd and Betty Bronson. Allan Rogers' stage offerings are of Broadway caliber from the exotic “Dresden China” revue to the low comedy line thro out, along with lins and P b Patti Spear, the prima donna of the “Dresden China” number (which, by the way, almost has a plot), is received enthusiastically in her trio of solo num- bers, with some excellent choral har- mony from the ensemble. She is sup- ported by a baritone and tenor, each possessing voices of unusual richness. Miss Spear is petite, pretty and has a rippling grace of movement—which, in- deed, is characteristic of the entire en- | semble of dainty dancing girls in the | Chester Hale group. An amazing adagio dance, involving & | trio instead of the usual duet, adds another note of grace to the program, while “Georgie Taps” proves to be a tap dancer par excellence, All in all, this initial appearance of the Loew stages units in the Capital promises many delightful things for local thea- tergoers who anticipate the hour behind the footlights as keenly as the hour with the screen stars when they go “a-movieing.” “The Locked Door, adapted from Channing Pollock’s play, “The Sign on the Door,” is by no means dull or unin- teresting. Thanks chiefly to the able direction of George Fitzmaurice and the high-power acting on the part of the principals, it moves along rapidly and holds the attention. But nothing can completely conceal from view the obvious flaws in the plot. The author apparently didn’t bother his head much some first-class musical talent, by Col- | eterson. about plausibility, dramatic structure or other little incidentals of that sort. And the final climax comes with an abruptness that is startling. Neverthe- less, Barbara Stanwyck finds plenty of opportunity to demonstrate her talent as an emotional actress, and does 8 splendid piece of work, supported ad- mirably by the finesse of La and the charming ingenuousness of the love- Iy Bronson. Boyd is adequate in the role of the husband who did the deed for which his wife stands accused— with good reason for his act, be it said. An overture the wide-angle screen in a special ar- rangement of “Singing in the Rain” ccmbining orchestra, voice and a storm scene on the new screen with réllrked effectiveness. EARLE Dorothy Mackaill, al- ways charming, is fea- “The Love tured with Sidney Black- Racket” mer this week at the Earle in “The Love Racket,” as a girl who has erred but is repentant, and is faced with the ordeal of trying, as a member of the jury, & girl who has killed a man she had once unwisely loved, while faced with the dread that her fiancee, whom she now leves, may learn of her unhappy past. It is a role demanding the best talents of a great emotional actress, and how well Miss Mackaill meets this extraor- dinary demand must be left for de- termination by those who see the pic- innovation introduces | ture. There may be a difference of opinion. Miss Mackaill, however, is ex- cellently supported by Mr. Blackmer, as the flancee. and Edmund Burns as they man who had deceived her and been killed by another. It is the tensest of drama, lald prin- cipally in the courtroom, where the areat opportunities for acting are of- fered. The lighter moments are laid elsewhere and the director in presenting them has embellished the picture with outdoor scenes of beauty and charm Alice Day is seen as the girl on trial fo; herhme. n the minor attractions, “Alway: Faithful,” a talking playlet, present: Blanche Sweet as a pleasant reminder, while Harry Gribbon and Andy Clvdc furnish fun in a new comedy, “The New Halfback.” Milton Davis presents an organlogue . with an invitation tn the audience to join in, and Dani-| Breeskin's orchestra plays the song hits from “Sunny Side Up.” 2 WARDMAN PARK “The Cock-Eyed World” pleasant litts> theater, the Wardman Park has reopened,’ with its first attraction ‘The Cock-Eyed World,” sequel picture to “What Price Glory?” Victor Mc- Laglen, Edmund Lowe and Lily Damita are the featured players in this film, (Continued on Twenty-fifth Page.) That a rticu- arly We leave it to your No Speeches! No Adjectives! 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High shades, pastel eve- ning shades and the smart all- black frock. A Special Featuring Women’s New Coat Sweaters $10 These coat sweaters are made especially for women and are found only at Philipsborn’s in Washington. They are made to fit, have smart collars and are knitted in shell fashion. Many colors.