Life, 1929-02-08 · page 39 of 44
Life — February 8, 1929 — page 39: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains film reviews and advertisements from the silent/early-talkie era. The main text reviews "Dream of Love," a romantic melodrama starring Joan Crawford as a gypsy girl who falls for a prince (Nils Asther). The reviewer dismisses the plot as predictable and Crawford's costume as unflattering, though acknowledging the leads' attractiveness. The cartoon strips (lower left) appear to be humorous commentary on movie-making, showing amateur camera operators and film industry mishaps—typical Life satire about Hollywood's growing pains during the transition to sound films. The page also advertises Wrigley's spearmint gum and European tours. A notable joke references early talkie problems: an ambulance siren interrupts filming, with Billy Haines quipping that "somebody coughed in a talkie scene and the director shot him"—mocking both the sensitivity of early microphones and directors' desperation during the chaotic shift from silent to sound pictures.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
old Prime Minister. And the Prince loves a poor but earnest gypsy-sortof.a girl, and they are so very, very much in love that one night he goes to see her in her little gypsy wagon and it is all so interesting that they just forget all about the time until it’s morning. But he remembers then that there is this king business to be con- sidered so he says—guess what?...“This is good bye!” . ; Then, of course, there is a revolution and the Prince’s team wins. So just to be different, everyone screams, “Long Live The King.” But what of the pretty sort- of-gypsy? Is she down hearted? Don’t be silly. She says, well baby, of course I can’t hope to crash into the King row, but I'll be more than a Queen to you. . .and so, to the best of your knowledge and belief, they are not married and live happily ever after. This is an awful thing to wish on Joan Crawford after “Our Dancing Daughters.” They even handicap her beauty during most of the picture under one of those frowsy gypsy-sort-of costumes. Nils Asther is handsome as the prince and Aileen Pringle and Harry Myers strug- gle valiantly—but I doubt if that story could be helped with a blood transfusion. Such is “Dream of Love.” Uniersat will run sound and silent ver- sions of “Broadway” simultaneously in adjacent New York theatres to determine difference in box office values... John McCormack is making a Victor record of “Sonny Boy”... Benefit performances of talkies are being staged for the blind of Los Angeles by Fox. They follow the story by using programs with the raised system of notation Roxy's claims a new three- LATEST THINd our [4 A mOviC cameRa | 7 FORTHE AMATEUR FER PETES Sane MOVE wie y,, day admission record of 79,737 customers. The picture was “In Old Arizona”... Lily Damita, making a personal appearance in New York, spoke with a cute French ac- cent but seemed to have perfect control of the word “whoopee”... Fannie Ward will talk for Vitaphone. . .It is understood Fan- nie will recount the conversation she heard between the Indian chiefs during the sale of Manhattan. Recommended The Shopworn Angel. Paramount; The Viking, Metro-Goldwyn; The Barker, Pirst’ National; The Patriot, Paramount; The Singing Fool, Warner Bros.; Our Dancing Daughters, Metro-Gold: ence, Paramount; Marching On, Pox; Metro-Goldwyn; Home-coming, U. F. A.; On Ti Warner Bros.;' Alias Jimmy’ Valentine, Met: Goldwyn; The Woman’ Disputed, United Artists; Killing the Killer, U. P. A. n; Interfer- how People, 3 rial, The ambulance siren shrilled down | Hollywood Boulevard. Villagers ran out |on the streets. “Don’t be alarmed,” said Billy Haines, “somebody coughed in a talkie scene and the director shot him.” —Photoplay. M ALLEN 200 All Expense Tours $225 up. finavian Croises, $395 TOURS, Ine., 154 Boylston Street, jerranean ai Qa 00 aay you can enjoy a really up-to-date training in this attractive field, full of sparkle and dash— a radical departure and pleasant relief from old fashioned courses and an- tiquated methods. Pre- pare for a career in this delightful, well-paid pro- fession. Write for free il- lustrated book, “The Last Word in Humorous IIlus- tration.” The Russell Patterson School Michigan Ave. at 20th St., Dept. 5 CHICAGO, ILL, ‘THE DE VINNE-MALLENBECK COMPANY, INC. PRENTERS, EW YORK comicbooks.com