Judge — August 31, 1929 — page 21: what you’re looking at

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

JUDGE r is pitiful to see eight thousand people seated, huddled, and jostled into one movie theatre simply because by accident or design the menu movie they were waiting Telling the Cock-eyed World.” It is a gigantic smoking-car scene occupied by traveling salesmen in United States Marine uniforms. The story is a continuation of Captain Flagg and Sergeant Quirt of “What Price Glory” fame, or “With the Marines at Home and Abroad.” This bawdized Rollo Boys story will be hilariously funny or revolting to you, depending upon your viewpoint. The big laughs are harmless enough. A tin lass before the sergeant. “I'm of the land!” he says. the land,” replies the sergeant consists of raw meat. T) to see us” corporal drags a 1 bringing you the “T've got the | —where’s Mari Ag one of the that he Rollo boys informs his comrade is up a well-known crick.” Another ace is the scene in which the comic relates the traveling-salesman classic to one of the native entertainers, and when she says she has heard it he gets to his feet and remarks: “Let's you and me take a walk.” The scenario for this well-directed series of S| bert revue sketches was written by Lawrence $ ings and Maxwell Anderson, the gentlemen responsi- ble for “What Price Glory,” the greatest war play ever written in this country. “Telling the Coc eyed World” is a cortected carbon copy, smeared and marred by corrections from the original. I enjoyed “Telling the Cock-eyed World” for the dubious reason that for once a movie portrayed pro- fessional soldiers as gentlemen who spend. their leisure time drinking, gambling not too reluctant dies, ins! ’.M.C.A. secretaries. When you consider that Mary Pickford could not represent an expectant mother in a talking movic even though the réle was praised when Helen Haye: spoke the same lines on the stage, and that “The Green Hat,” a best-seller, had to change its title and the disease of its hero before the censor-fearful authorities would put them in movie form, it is a re- lief to hear even innocuous bawdy lines growled over the movie tone by two very, very rough fellows. Outside of enjoying the novelty of seeing William Fox bait the censors—and T would give a lot to know how he got it through the lines—"Telling the Cock eyed World” disappointed and disgusted me object strenuously to the story. If we have to man. If we have t helpless Latin-Ameri saddle ride occupy a miserable, boggec let the boys in the please, and save the ma n countr, as hard as th hogany and petroleum of nother man’s country for democracy. If our professional soldiers are ordered to shoot and bomb men who are performing the heinous duty of protecting their homes, it bothers me not at all. But I will not sit quiet and see all this dramatized and glorified in the name of patriotism— that’s rubbing it in. I resent the heeause two men of stature signed their names to this traveling salesman’s epic. I know it will not disturb the Messrs. Stallings and Anderson to hear that I consider them cheap fellows. And it is reasonable to argue that if two reputable artists need a yacht or a Long Island estate it is their own affair if they want the movies to foot the bill. But I have a feeling that if Bellows had turned out a comic strip for the same purpose it would have been good, and that if bell wrote jokes for June they would be funny- d “Telling the Cock-eyed World” is neither good nor funny. It is funny in the sense that it would be funny to read an old, old smutty story in S. Parkes Cadman’s daily counsel to the lovelorn, or that it would be surprising to hear Your maiden aunt rip out a stream of profanity, be- cause the ordinary movie is restrained to the phrase- ology of the catechism. But “Telling the Cock-eyed World imitation of “What Price Glory.” scenes are almost identical. (Continu movie s a cheap Some of the I object to the work 1 on page 25) The Movie Guide “Alior’—Past-moving. Excellent di- Tection and ecting in a crook talkie ‘*Breadway”—Fantastic sets, fair mu- sic, good direetion, but no acting in a talkie version of the famous stage play “Bulldog Drummond” —Ronalt Col- man steps out as the leviing man of Hol- lywood in the best talkie to date. “Coceanuts"—The Pour Marx Broth- ers worth seeing in a masical comedy but not worth bearing. “The Cock-Eyed World” —In this issue. “Four Feathers” —An extravagant but dail combination of animal life and army trouble in the Soudan. “A Dangerous Weman”—Very bad. “Hearts in Ditis”—Unele Tom’ a with muvic, including a marvelous come dian and some excellent ¢inging. Alle negro, all-talking. ecents of Paris” —\ famous French in an old plot. Chevalier does enough to make it worth while “Piccadilly” — Excellent silent movie “River of Romance”—A musing. “Sweet Giet—Fint alkie. “Single Standwa” ment, with Greta Garbo. good musical