Judge — August 24, 1929 — page 23: what you’re looking at

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

JUDGE youne director, Richard Wallace, has made another good movi onted from Booth Tarkington's novel of life among the fox-hunting squires of Virginia who rode up and down its pleasant valley before the wah, suh, and is renamed, in the usual mysterious way, “River of Romance.” The story is « to remain sati lowed Wallace and become ntle satire. The movie manages al, simply because the director al- Beery to step out of the pie shop a real comedian again, As a drawling, lying, river ga he reminds you of W. C. Fields t his best. The action in the gambling hall, the dialogue, and the superb charac ion of Beery give “River of Romance” a salty flavor seldom found ina movie. I am servi up the middle of the movie for you simply because you'll forget everything else; the Magnolias; the off-stage, crooning, Harlem quartet; the atrocious attempts at Southern dialect which via the movictone sounded like Chinese opera; and the heavy, overdone burlesque of the villain. There is one other thing worth missing—Henry Walthal's magnificent portrayal of a Southern gentle- man. Not content with the make-up and rig of an apostle, he rolled his eyes and stood with hands gently folded over his stomach and smiled benevo- lently on all occasions, like a school teacher receiving a framed portrait gallery of U. S. Presidents from the graduating class, in an effort to appear as South- ern as a Smithfield ham. It was ham; Hollywood, not Smithfield. Not only that, but every time he received a mint julep he licked his chops, smacked his lips, and heaved a sigh that burst out of the movietone with the explosion of a cab horse colliding with a Mack truck. Walthal has been doing things “like that in the movies for the last fifteen years and he either should be sent C. O. D. to Walter Hampden, or turned out to pasture with Francis X. Bushman and his dimple, ct al. Fortunately, there was not much of Walthal. Un- fortunately there was not enough of Beery. Young Mary Brian gave an exceedingly charming perform- ance and, for the first time, Mr. Buddy Rogers acted like a nice young man instead of like a very, very, very nice young man. If you'll just overlook the dialect and a few dull moments, you will find every thing else about “River of Romance” highly enter- taining. she hit these shores, grim good piece of work. In actually walks, smiles, Fron the first time since Greta ‘bo has done “The Single Standard” she and acts. I have never been able to understand the universal palpitation that has followed her slow but stupid appearance on the great American sereen sex appeal, unfortunately a matter of opinion. Nice legs and much hair might be “it,” but it deesn't make an actress. evertheless the lady can, and docs, act in her latest movie, and the fact that she is homely and awkward while so engaged only ine like her more. However, I'm funny that way— unless a woman has a broken nose, a cauliflower ear, or folding ankles, I can never really get interested. There is not much of a story to “The Single Stand- ard,” although it starts out with a great big bold statement to the effect that if men can, so can women, and the action boils down to the situation whercin a woman is given the choice of leaving her husband and child for an erstwhile free-lance lover or staying with her husband and letting the little one respectable woman for a mother. The situation is neatly turned, Miss Garbo works hard and effec- tively, and on the whole it all furnishes good summer entertainment. The best thing about “The Single Standard” is its muteness. have a is the best musical talkie yet pro- STREET GIRL” n It has nothing much for a story, the Broadway ted more simplicity r ay producer has ever managed in all the tenor and Tiller girl soups I have seen served in New York dur the last seven years. plot, and The Movie Guide “A Dangerous Woman” —Very bad. “Alibi” —Fast-moving. Excellent direc tion and acting in a crook talkie. “Broadway” — Pastastic sets, fair mmusie, good direction, but no acting in a talkie’ version of the famous stage play. “Butdey Drummend” — man atepn out as the lead Holly the best talkie “Caccanuts™ — The For Brothers worth seeing ino comedy not worth hearing. “Four Feathers”—An extravagant but r “Innocents of Paris” —A ull combination of animal life and army French star in an okt plot. does enough to make i “Piceadit /”—Excellent “River of Romance”. “Street Girl” —In this sue. “Single Standard"—In this inve. famous Chevalier th white. lent movie, n 1 this issue. some excellent singing. Al-oegro, allstalking