Judge — September 27, 1930 — page 23: what you’re looking at

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

inene is no reason why Constance Bennett should be ‘playing in movies when there is so much unemployment among talent, except, perhs beeause she is Constance Bennett. While there is not much for her to do in “Three Faces East,” her latest picture, she did that with the intensity of a mannequin trying on a pair of corsets, and she was greeted with a good horse laugh when, having pumped old Eric von Stroheim full of lead, she blandly remarked: “I'm sorry.” This is the third time this manuseript. has dramatized for the public and it shows signs of wear, Even Arthur Caesar and O. H. P. Garrett, who can do better, failed to pull it out of last deeade’s ashes. The boys who drew their pay for shouting and clicking their heels in the first scenes combined with the di- rector to leave the audience ij s0- lute mystery as to whether Miss Ben- nett was a German spy about to be shot by the French, an glish spy about to be shot by the Germans, or just a spy that had been hanging iround the | waiting for a re- porter. It is intended to throw you off, but it threw me so far off I didn’t see the end of the picture until the next d After this utterly worthless scene we next find Miss Bennett in the home of Sir Austen Chamberlain 1 tricky bit of imagery), First S Lord of the Admiralty. The phrase, Lord,seemed to catch the sereenwriter’s faney. We are informed at least ten times that Miss Bennett is on her way to the First Sea Lord’s home, and by their diction you Jed to. believe that the British Sea Lords are penned ina corner of the Albert Museum and fed by His Majesty's First Sea Stew- ards, The best work in this triple-threat mystery is turned out by tric von Stroheim. In an execrable Middle- Western accent he deliberately, I hope, burlesqued some of the worst lines Th ever heard. “Of course [ um attracted by your beautiful body,” JUDGE MG mHeE™€! By PARE LORENTZ says he, and then mugs at the audi- ence like a Minsky comic. He pouts, and leers, terious throughout every scene and, whatever his aim, he furnishes the only entertainment to be had from 2 t." Miss Bennett is absolutely wooden and colorless. Her appearance in the cast constitutes the only obscure mystery in the show, nd looks comically mys- hree Faces torm Over Asta” is another Rus- sian silent film. It is so inten- sified by superior camera work, you do not feel a lack of articulation, only a few captions are necessa The photography appr aches a more legitimate dramatic use than any Rus- sian film to date. There is a wretched musical score that must have been welded to the picture after the censors and the translators. 1 finished their work, Hacked as it is, the sincerity of this movie, a thing so lacking in Hollywood—where from producer to actor sincerity is avoided as a thing of evil—makes it a robust show. The British colonial policy and the antics of the Buddhist faith are heavily sat- irized in “Storm Over Asia,” and satire is another er to Holly- wood, but the technical perfection of the picture makes it a good movie. The Amkino directors have to sell Recommended “Hollday"—Ii you have not seen it look for it the next tine, The oil king’s super rugh good moments with a an Bennett, a One Embarrassing Night"—/ English comedy turned fairly the screen “RamMes” An successful attempt at out of the Storm Over Asia”—Propaganda not- withstanding, the another exciting job. ssians have OVIES g something in their movies—this time it is Mongolian unity—but despite this handicap they know their jobs so much better than the California m stros their work is always exciting. “Storm Over Asia” is very worth while, “Goon ews” was a fairly enter- taining musical comedy on the nd two of the leading enter- Mary Lawlor and Gus Shy, are employed in the movie vers The director conscientiously avoids using the camera in any way that might conflict with the artificial flavor of musical comedy form, with the re- sult that the canned version is at least ninety per cent less fun than the stage show. I suggest that the producers 1 the boys over to see ‘Monte Carlo,” which is, if they haven't dis- covered it, a movie. “7 rr’s Go Native” is a hodge-podge comedy that turns back to the old days of wise-cracking titles and Mack Sennett prattfalls for some of its material and then turns into one of those hoof-and-song things. Jack Oakie is supposed to be the main attraction. He goes through his wist- ful moods without showing tricks. The dancing is terrible the dialogue very unfunny. The Mack Sennett falls are funny, but I su any Laurel and Hardy comedy as better entertainment than “Let's Go Native.” ny new iwoiam Cameron Me Dr. Hugo Reisenfeld producing two-reel, non-talking musi cal pantomimes from time to time that are so good they usually applause than the so The best one I hav cerer’s. Apprenti I advise th owners to give them some money and turn them loose. They probably are the only two men in Hollywood ex perimenting with movie technique and they know what they are about. 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