FOLLOWING a time-honored custom, and in the childish belief that somebody cares, this department presents its impressions of the cinema output for the six months just ended.
Not to keep a palpitant public in suspense let us announce forthwith that of all the pictures we have seen since last June we select the following as having made the greatest appeal to our individual taste. Having first made a list of our favorites, we shall next elaborate on our reasons for their selection, and no one can stop us.
As the best talking picture of the period, we nominate Warner Brothers’ “On Trial.”
Among serious silent films, our choice is Paramount-Famous-Lasky Corporation’s “The Patriot.”
From the comedies we pick MetroGoldwyn-Mayer’s “The Cameraman” as the best abdominal laugh-producer and the Fox Film Corporation’s “Dry Martini” for those who prefer the sophisticated chuckle.
Of the short talking subjects, Fox’s Movietone presentation of His Disarming Majesty, King Alfonso XIII of Spain, romps away with first honors, and in the silent class the undoubted winner is U. F. A.’s “Killing the Killer.”
Alfonso of Spain
It will be observed that both comedy choices are silent ones. This is not to say that there have been no talking comedies; it’s because all talking comedies so far appear to fit best under the classification “short subjects” and this field has narrowed itself down to an elimination tournament between King Alfonso and the veteran mime, Robert Benchley, with the foreign boy getting the nod.
We choose “On Trial” as the best talking picture to date because of the superior co-ordination of its speech with its action; that is to say, we thought “On Trial” moved faster, held one’s interest better and gave more notion of what the talking movie should do to overcome the scenic limitations of the theatre than did “Interference” or “The Singing Fool,” both of which were fine technical jobs and to be highly recommended as entertainment. “On Trial” was directed by Archie Mayo and featured Pauline Frederick, Bert Lytell, Lois Wilson, Richard Tucker, Johnny Arthur, Jason Robards and Holmes Herbert.
First National’s production of “The Barker” was such a fine piece of work in its silent phases that it deserves special mention.
For straight silent drama, “The Patriot” has seldom been surpassed in screen history. Ernst Lubitsch, its director, was given an absorbing plot to work with, and three great performers to carry out his ideas: Emil Jennings, Lewis Stone and Florence Vidor. No further doubt of Jannings’s preeminence in his line could well exist after watching him steal scene after scene from one of the finest actors in Hollywood, and this in spite of the fact that Lewis Stone gave one of the best characterizations of his distinguished career.
To Fox Film Corporation’s “Four Devils,” directed by F. W. Murnau. we unhesitatingly award second place among silent films. This picture was voted a bore by many critics, and the “vampire” Nile played by Mary Duncan was stigmatized as overdone and old-fashioned; maybe it was. But the picture is still on Broadway as these lines are Written.
Buster Keaton in “The Cameraman” put. on several scenes that brought forth some of the heartiest guffaws we have ever heard from a movie audience, and another one (the one-man baseball game) that almost drew tears.
“Dry Martini,” a Harry d’Arrast production, kept us fascinated and amused throughout its improbable, ribald length. It was just a politely contemptuous grimace at Paris Americans that had what we call real fun in it. Matt Moore, Albert Conti, Mary Astor, Sally Eilers, Albert Gran and John F. Dillon gave adroit performances, and the direction was swell.
This, we think, brings us to a consideration of the Movietone appearance of the King of Spain, a triumph of recording, and a chance to meet face to face one of the most engaging individuals in the world. Alfonso’s little selling talk on his country and the humorous slant to his observations about things in general are among the high spots in current entertainment. In addition to its value as amusement, the film suggests to no small degree the possibilities of the talking movie as an ambassador of good will. No one hearing and seeing the personable Alfonso would be able to conceive of making war on a country that had such a good guy for its King.
“Killing the Killer” was a German subject that showed in hair-raising fashion the death battle between a mongoose and a cobra. The mongoose won, and his method of doing so was recorded in a series of some of the most remarkable motion pictures ever made. We saw this little picture three times, in different New York theatres and in each case it was greeted with gasps, shrieks and, at the end, a great storm of applause.
Among other “short subjects” the talking variety has been predominant and has included Mr. Benchley’s “Treasurer’s Report” and “Sex Life of the Polyp,” Chic Sale in “Marching On,” Billy Jones and Ernest Hare (the famous Happiness Boys of the radio), Richard Bonelli of the Chicago Opera Company, whose Pagliacci Prologue was really splendid, a standard jazz orchestra with a crazy leader named Gene Morgan and numerous others ranging from the sublime to the mediocre, and so on down.
Altogether, a period that has seen some notable advances and only one serious defect: too little Greta Garbo.