Judge — June 15, 1929 — page 23: what you’re looking at

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

JUDGE JUDEWG reMOVIES s the Four Marx Brothers are well worth seeing A under any circumstances, their singing, talk ing, dancing, drinking, silent movie ‘The Co- nuts” is worth the price of admission, but not a nickel more. If you have seen the Marx. brothers, you will find them slightly repressed by the limited camera lens, but bawdy and sadistic as ever. If you have never seen them, I cannot give you any other deseription than that they are hilariously funny. Unfortunately, “The Cocoanuts” is cursed with a musical comedy plot, as it is jokingly referred to, ind two of those beautiful musical comedy singers: who find their beautiful friendship torn asunder in the second act and then, after three or four solos and toe dances under the wax apple blossoms, dis cover that love conquers all. Such twiddle-twaddle is bad enough when you ean see the gals in’ the flesh over the footlights, but when you see them in murky movie lights and when their voices sneak up at you from under your seat or down in the base ment and then break over your eardrums with all the soft cacophony of a small artillery engug you realize there has been reat mistak Of all stage forms the musical comedy structure is the most artificial, There is seldom anything but the most childish attempt at a story, the is written in that hard-boiled Alice in Wonderland manner and the tenors and sopranos draw their pay for their sex appeal rather than any chance know! edge of diction or enunciation, u knew this, but when you realize that for the next six months we ire going to be deluged with movie musical come dies it does seem as though the movies were in st slough of stupidity. ‘The directors have unlimited room to wield their cameras up and down dale, but they are using cheap stage sets and artificial back grounds for their musical comedies and it) would seem that the vaudeville and burlesque houses should pick up some good ex-movie customers during the coming year. Phe Cocoanuts” contained all the dull tenor soprano love scenes it had when it played the mate stage. ‘They are dull under any cireumstan but when you cannot see the dancing without risk ing your eyesight from a camera jerking hither and yon, and when their voices rattle like musketry: fire in your ears, it becomes a downright imposition on the part of the producers to expect you to put up with it for a minute, despite the Marx brothers, Before leaving “The Cocoanuts” I would like to make a polite bow to Harpo, the eynical assaulter of the Marx quartet. Having seen him in’ every show he has played during the past five years, 1 think he is the most arrogant entertainer [have ever watched. t only does he sneer quietly at his audi ences, but he imposes his hobby on them, and makes them like it. He cannot play the harp or any other instrument with more than a rank amateur’s skill, yet in every show he comes forth at some time or another and with a great d of hocus-pocus sits down to the harp and gives a passing rendition of “Mighty Lak a Rose” or some similar classic ditty In “The Cocoanuts” he not only plays the harp, but he appears with a clarinet and for no reason at all plays a nondescript number. ‘The fact that he en Jeys lessons on the harp or the clarinet is not in itself amazing, but that he steps out and holds an audience for five or ten minutes with nothing at all is worthy of comment and respect. [* 20 ate disappointed in “The Cocoanut talking movie, wait until you se Lon Chaney, in a silent opus * From minute to minute and hour to hour I searched ear- nestly for some explanation of this strange and ex citing picce of work. All I can report accurately is that it all took place somewhere north or south of China and that two women battle over a Mr. Lloyd Hughes for a rea Cont’ ued The Movie Guide “East Is Eastin adway” —To be reviewal next ry the best actors in the talking movies ms this ove worth whi “lanocents of Paris" —Maurice Cb lier didn’t know Al Jolsoa and Fannie master, Brice had done this ane about the songxter fy the with the breaking beart. A real star io a bad on Paul Must, 4 elo, Worth sering, , : “On With The Show" —Nett week. es ™ enn ere “ she eth River” "The Rescue, ether willing aiiere tease pas: Warsce, Lev" "The Case ot Lena Smith Shearer, and Stoe “Betrayal.” comicbooks.com