Life — December 7, 1928 — page 34: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

CONFIDENTIAL GUIDE The Theatre More or Less Serious The Age of Innocence, Empire—Katharine Corneil” Arnold Rorff, Rollo Peters, Isabel Irving and others in an adaptation of the Edith Wharton novel. To be reviewed later. Congei, Sam i. Horris—With Helen Menken, Peliz Rrembs and others, To be reviewed later. Diamond Lil, Royale—One of the Mae West out- put, three for a quarter. " Exceeding Small, Comedy—Poignant tragedy of young married life. The Grey Fox, Playhouse—Well-staged scenes from the more amiable sections of Machiavelli's life, with plenty of references for historyilovers. “Henry Hull As the Old Boy himself, pestered by Chrystal Herne. Jarnegan, Longacre—Richard Bennett as the movie director who tears through Hollywood shout- ing maledictions, a few of them effective. fealousy, Maxine Elliott—Two people (Pay Bainter and John Halliday) carrying some rather intense family trouble for a whole evening. Very well done. Macbeth, Knickerbocker—One week more of Plorence Reed and Lyn Harding in Shakespeare's rile ‘Major Barbara, Guild—The Theatre Guild makin gp for “Paust""by reviving Shaw with Winitre Lenihan, Dudley Digges and other Guilders. To be reviewed next week. ‘A Man with Red Hair, Garrick—A rather weak attempt to catch the horror of Walpole's novel. Edward Robinson's performance saves it. Royal Box, Belmont—A new version of Charles Coghlan’s old play, with Walker Whiteside. To be reviewed next w The Sacred Flame, Henry Miller's—By Somerset Maugham, with Clare Eames, Stanley Logan and others. To be reviewed next week. The Squealer, Forrest—PFrankly ten-twent’-thirt’ melodrama of dope-peddling in old Prisco. “I'll get you ‘for this!" is said five times and they hiss the villain. Strange Interlude, John Golden—A great deal of extra time taken to explain parts of a play which needs no explaining, but an interesting four de force nevertheless. , Lucille La Verne—A revival of the most the plays about the mountain whites. Tin Pan Alley, Biltmore—Regulation drama of Tenderloin night-life, with Claudette Colbert, Nor- man Foster and Joh Wray. The War Song, National—George Jessel making people laugh and cry as the Jewish boy who wasn't raised to be a soldier. ‘The Wild Duck, Forty- Ninth St—Ibsen's splendid lay revived by the people who did it so well before. 'o be reviewed next week. Comedy and Things Like That ¢, Rits—The troubles of a mother with a large family of stage children. “Janet Beecher as the mother. Crashing Through, Republic—Rather tepid social satire. The Front Page, Times Square—Madhouse com- edy-melodrama, dealing with everything in a news- paperman's life except dulness. tlemen of the Press, Forty. Eighth Sti—Also a play but with considerably jess action. tuff, nevertheless. The High Road, Fulion—Lonsdale comedy of British manners, immeasurably helped by its cast, including Edna Best, Herbert Marshall and Prederick Kerr. Holiday, Plymouth—A new play by Philip Barry, with Hope Willams, Ben Smith, Donald. Ogdes Stewart and others. To be reviewed later. Hotbed, Klow—Academic hard-feeling runni through a moderately effective attack on our ol enemy, Hypocrisy. : The Jealous Moon, Majesti and with Jane assisted by Philip Merivale and Sir Guy Standing. To be reviewed later. The Lady Lies, Litile—With William Boyd, Shirley Ward and others. To be reviewed later. Little Accident, Morosco—A great deal of amuse- ment incident to‘a young man’s being a father just before his marriage. Thomas Mitchell and Katherine Alexander head a cast. Mima, Belasco—Lenore Ulric, with Sidney Black- met ond A,B: Anson. in a translation of {foinar's “The Red Mili’ (not the old Montgomery and Stone musical). _ To te reviewed later =” later. ight Hostess, Martin Beck—More trouble in ht-clubs, what with gambli MSS Cale Waldo Nev oo ak eens oe Page 48 — Paris, Music Bor—If it weren't for Irene Bordoni— but therel If it weren't for Irene Bordoni the show would never have been put on. Play Without « Name, Booth—With Peggy Woot, MacKenna, Katherine Wilson and others. To be reviewed later. . Relations, IVallach’s—Mr. Clark, who wrote this and plays the lead, seems to feel that it is necessary for_some reason to keep it going. Skidding, Bayes— Just so-so. This T ‘alled Love, Bijow—A comedy about arriage which has enough good stuff in it to give Violet Heming a chance. . Tomorrow, Lyceum—To be reviewed later. Tonight at'12, Hudson—A mystery play less hectic than most, but a good workmanlike job of interest- olding. The Yellow Jacket, Coburn—The Coburns and most of the people who made this such a hit originally. “Young Love, AMasque—Pleasant comedy of sex life, with an exclusive and expert cast consisting of Dorothy Gish, James Rennie, Catherine Willard and Tom Douglas. Eye and Ear Entertainment Americana (New Edition), Liberty—With Julius Tannen and others. To be reviewed later. “(Not the “Americana” which just closed.) Crackers, Forty-Fourth Si—It seems there rere four Marx Brothers who got a lot of people to laughing. Billie, Erlanger's—Mr. Cohan's current hit, with Polly Walker heading the cast. Biack Birds of 1928, Fisinge—They don't come any better than this Negro revue. ‘Good Boy, Hammerstein's—All-around good enter- tainment, with Eliot Nugent, Charles Butterworth, Helen Kane and the rest. Good News, Forty-Sixth St.—We shall have to see this again or the other college shows we have seen since will spoil it for us. Hello Yourself! Casino—Would not be much with- out Waring’s “Pennsylvanians,” but with them has Several high spots. pi Hold Everything! Brosdhurst—Good music and lenty of laughs. What more do you want? Ona Munson, Bert Lahr, Victor Moore and Jack Wh Midnight Frolic, New Amsterdam Cantor upstairs. To be reviewed later. The New Moon, Imparial—A good show to take anybody to, consisting of tasteful numbers and pleasing, dancing. Evelyn Herbert, Gus Shy and bert Halliday. Rainbow, Gallo—Book by Laurence Stallings, music by Vincent Youmans, with Louise Brown, Charles Ruggles and Harland Dison, To be reviewed ater. Rain or Shine, Cohan—This been ever since Pebruary, and they are still laughing. Scandals of 1928, Apollo—The customary good entertainment put on by Mr. George White, assisted by Harry Richman, Prances Williams, Willie Howard, Tom Patricola and Aan Pennington. Show Boat, Zieg/ed—Shame on you for not havi seen this. Charles Winninger, Helen Morgan. Puc and White, Edna May Oliver and Norma Terris. This Year of Grace, Selwyn—One grand revue. By and with Noel Coward, with Beatrice Lillie at her Three Cheers, Globe—Mr. Will Rogers carrying a whole show vary successfally. The Three Musketeers, Lyric—Plenty of good singing and nice scenery and costumes. Dennis King and Lester Allen. Treasure Girl, Alrin—Gertrude Lawrence, with Walter Catlett, Mary Hay and Clifton Webb, and Gershwin music, all working very hard to make a weak show better. Ups-a-Daisy, Shuder!—Good entertainment, with Luella Gear, Marie Saxon, Roy Royston and others. Vanities of 1988, Earl Corroll—Dirty but funny. W. C. Pields, Joe Prisco and Ray Dooley. White Lilacs, Jolson—Good clean music. Guy Robertson, Odette Myrtil and De Wolf Hopper. Whoopee, New Amsterdam—The New Eddie Cantor show. To be reviewed later. Repertory and Laboratory Civic Repertory, Fourteenth $.—Eva Le Gallienne's second highly suceessful season, includi: “The Would-Be Gentleman,” “L’Invitation au ESS “The Cherry. I" (with Nazimova), “Cradie " and “Peter Pan.’ < yk Mirror, Cherry Lowe—Very gloomy and lone. Robert Benckley. not is where Joe Conk has | c The Movies Recent Developments On Trial, Warner Bros.—One of the first, and stil one of the best, of the courtroom plays made into an exceptionally absorbing talking picture. Dry Martini, Paramoun!—There are some amusia, moments in this Parisian farce, but they are of bref duration. Show People, Metro-Goldwyn— Marion Davici and Wiliam Haines team up splendidly in a strenuoss satire on the star system in Hollywood. The Wedding March, Paramount—Parts of thi von Stroheim drama are magnificent—but most it is just plain stupid. The blame can be divided between the army of surgeons who cut it to pieces, and von Stroheim himself. The Home Towners, Werner Bros—Small-towa narrow-mindedness and big-town big-heartedness contrasted in a well-written, well-acted talkie comedy. His Private Life, Paramount—The Menjou rubber. stamp has worn so thin that its impressions are now barely perceptible. Why don’t they cast this excel- Jent actor in a Western, just for a change? _ Varsity, Paramount—A Princeton sophomore is rescued from drink and wild women by an old janitor who turns out to be the boy's father. The talking scenes are dreadful. While the City Sleeps, Metro-Goldweyn—Not Loa Chaney's best, but including a tremendous gun-fght which docs much to relieve the general boredom. Four Devils, For—A strange and rather du! ture of stale subject matter and modernistic treat- ment, in which Janet Gaynor appears as a young acrobat who loses and regains her man. Our Dancing Daughters, Metro-Goldwyn leagues are protesting against this hot it puts ideas into young people's heads. that puts ideas into young people's heads deserves to_be encouraged. : Me, Gangster, Fox—The occasional immoral inci- dents in this highly moral melodrama are much more interesting than the lesson which it attempts to teach. The Battle of the Sexes, United Artists—Phylls Haver as a sweet little gold-digger and Jean Hersholt as the sucker, and a better pair of performers you couldn't hope to se Mother Knows Best, For—The sad story of a vaudeville star who suffered from an overdose of mother love. very well done, aside from one ternble outburst on the Movietone. Lilac Time, First National—I wish the League of tions would call a conference for the limitation of luloid epics of the Great War. Having accom plished that, they might well do something abost abolishing “theme songs.” The Patriot, Paramount—Emil Jannings at the height of his mighty powers as the mad Czar Poul. The Singing Fool, 1Varner Bros.—lIf you have any doubts as to the potentialities of the talkies, see Al Jolson in this. See him in this anyway. (In accordance with an old’custom, this department of Live extends the season's greetings to Miss Greta Garbo) R. E. Sherwood. Reading Matters of 1928 The Perfect Ship, by Weston Martyr. [Weshbare achtsmen and sea-loving farmers, there is 59 thristmas gift than this biography of a boat. Tamerlane, by Harold Lamb. McBride—Tbe story of Timur the Lame, the last of the great com querors, is more thrilling than fiction. and Counter-Spy, by Richard Wilmer Rows Viking—A history of international espionage by no'means dull Contains ail the elements of the better detective stories. Bad Girl, by Vita Delmar. Harcourt, Brace After rereading, this still seems the Best of Year of Its Kind. > The Greene Murder Case, by 8, S. Van Dist Soribner's—And for anyone who hasn't read it, this the best of chill-chasere and kneesknockers 4, The Vi Queene, by, wel. Jr, Bre eet opey actini ‘among books. Wherds an Atuerican advertising and platitude writer 4 i jpearean country house. (Continued on page 64) —For better comicbooks.com