Indianapolis Times, Volume 41, Number 43, Indianapolis, Marion County, 1 July 1929 — Page 5

JTLT 3, 1929

HAINES IS HIMSELF MAN'S MAN’ The Director Has Attempted to Make a Hot Spectacle Out of ‘The Black Watch' at Apollo. RV WALTER D HICKMAN TT seems that Bill Haines is passing through that unfortunate stage of his movie experience that he must be himself instead of the character he is acting That has been my impression several times lately in seeing him on the screen. The directors for a long time forced Pola Negri. Richard Dix and even Bebe Daniels to be just themselves instead of projecting a true character en the screen. With talking pictures it is another matter, because the voice must be a part of the characterization You may think my remarks are all out of

order because Haines’ latest, “A Man s Man." is not a talker. It has sound effects and that musical background. The point I am trying to make is that Haines just the smart crack-

ing kid Instead of being the timid, sincere but foolish soda jerker in Hollywood. As I recall the original stage version the playwright, Patrick Kearney, made quite a character out of the shy and sensitive lad who marries a movie struck girl who thought that she was a second Greta Garbo.

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William Haines The time has come when an actor must create a complete characterization instead of being just himself. And the future will tell just how well Haines will be able to meet this demand. Pola Negri claimed that she always had to be a vampire. Bebe Daniels, wanting to be dramatic, always had to be cute as well as the smart young thing. In other words, the directors thought that the public was buying the natural personality of the star instead of acting ability. In that I think the directors are wrong. History of the stars, their rise and fall, proves my statement. Asa picture. “A Man's Man’’ is just another Haines movie. Nothing more than that. To me it is very unsatisfactory, because Haines is just himself and not the character in the story. Haines has the help of Josephine Dunn and Mary Busch in the other leads. Now at Loews Palace. B B B HOW A CHALLENGE AND HOW IT WAS MET When Talbot Mundy wrote the story’, "King of the Khyber Rifles.” he unconsciously issued a challenge to any r movie director who would attempt to film the story. The fact is that John Ford did j a pretty good job of a mighty dis- j ficult problem. The result would j have been much more satisfactory j if Myrna Loy had not been cast as ,

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the high priestess who betrayed the natives. MLss Loy has much to learn in acting as well as talking. Her work is stilted all the time and handicaps tlie splendid work of Victor McLaglen and Roy D'Arcy. Any highly fantastic war romance j is difficult to film, and more so when : the chief feminine character is played by MyTa Loy, who does not 1 possess the ability to create the ro- , mantic atmosphere that would force ! millions of natives to follow her to death. As Miss Loy plays the priestess, the character is just a rotter who attempts to glorify a probable love affair. Ford’s best wonc as the director in tills movie is shown in the opening reels when the Scotch captain is getting his men ready for the World war, and when McLaglen, as an officer, returns to India to do j some secret work for his king. His ! duty was to crush the high priest- j ess who held the natives in her control. The job was made more difficult; when one learns that the priestess ! was quite a vampire with the Eng- j lish officers who were sent to betray her. But she meets her water-1 100 in McLaglen. The Khyber Pass scenes have been splendidly directed and the picture is all right as long as it remains a spectacle, but when Myma j Loy starts vamping, well, it is just! too bad. The acting and the talking of McLaglen is satisfactory and the great mob scenes are splendidly handled. The recording and projec- j tion of sound fall but the talking ; of Miss Loyi is satisfactory. “The Black Watch” is interesting | as a spectacle but as a vamping vehicle for Miss Loy it is not so hot. ! And yet. “The Black Watch" is ■ much better than the other new! movies that I have seen for this week. Now at the Apollo. a b a SENTIMENT OR DRAMA—WHICH? While I was seeing Laura La Plante as the society wife who became mixed up in a lot of domestic j grief just because she didn't watch ' hpr step after her march to the : altar. I had the thought that the j director must have had a difficult i time in making the story convinc- i ing. Here we have the friend of a wealthy family found guilty of the murder of his wife while he was innocent. The jury found him guilty because he would not state where he

was at, at the time of the murder

of his wife. Being innocent he was ready . to take his punishment because he was protecting the name of a woman from scandal. The truth was his silence made matters worse for her because it focused attention upon the mystery’ woman. The woman finally gets up enough courage to confess that, he

John Boles

was with her at the time of the murder. Then society began to talk and talked so much that the director gorgot to bring to justice the shrimp who actually killed the woman. Too bad how overworked some of these directors are. who have to make the actors talk a wee bit. and then keep silent for a long time. It is all very, very confusing. In other words the director in this case had a lot of worries to make even one second of the story sound natural. And even a child had to be brought in to spill That mother love stuff all over several scenes. “Scandal” as being shown this week at the Circle is just another movie and one I will never remember that was ever made. That's my opinion. Please have your own. The only reason that the name of ! John Boles is played up in the cast : is that he was quite a somebody in “The Desert Song.” You would never discover that in “Scandal.” Laura La Plante tries to be convincing, but the character will not permit her to be that. The two things that I liked best on the bill was the clever monologue of Raymond Hitchcock and the vocal work of the three Brox Sisters. Mighty good. Now at the Circle. a a b COMPARING A MOVIE AND A STAGE PLAY First saw “The Wheel of Life" as a stage production some years ago. I still have the impression that it was a mighty dramatic show, due probably to the work of Elsie Ferguson. The movie version of this play done as a talker is unlike the stage show in giving the male character the lead instead of the female lead. This has been done because Richard Dix is the star and you know as well as I do that a star in a movie

production must be the star and no maybe to it. The movie version follows the stage version rather closely until the ending. In the stage pay, the woman returns to her husband after sending her lover away. In the movie version, the husband is killed with the wife kneeling over him and with the lover close by. The plot for the

’ '4f / flichard Dix

most part is laid in India with its mystical background. Richard Dix saved a beautiful woman from drowning herself while he was on leave, later discovering on his return to India that she is the wife of his commanding officer. Esther Ralston plays the role of the wife who falls in love with Dix. Miss Ralston in the talking-

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movies is fast coming forward in her ability as a dramatic actress who knows how to talk as well as act. In the scene when she discovers that her lover is going away and the one that follows when she begs him not to go, proves this statement. The scenes in the pagan temple after she and' Richard have given themselves up as lost because of the attack on the temple by the natives and also have given away to their love, are very well acted. If you like your entertainment full of dramatic situations, spiced with suspense, you will like this alltalking dramatic picture. I still have the feeling that “The Wheel of Life" was more impressive on the stage than in movie form. That is, of course, my personal opinion. and probably because I must confess a weakness for Miss Ferguson. On the Indiana stage Sammy Cohen scores in “What Price Comedy.” You recall he was the comedy relief in the movie version of “What Price Glory.” A good fun maker. Charlie Davis and his orchestra are putting out some really hot music, as the thermometer proves. The band is featuring “I Have a Feeling I'm Falling.” The Stone - Vernon Foursome proves to be one of the most sensational dance acts I have seen at the Indiana. The girl of the act, having three male partners, is busy most of the time, and most of that time is soent in the air. Other features are two-reel alltalking comedies and a news reel. At the Indiana until Friday. <By C. TANARUS.) Other theaters today offer: Charles Timblin. blackface comedian, at the Lyric: “Two Lovers." at the Colonial: “Simba,” at the Isis, and “The Man I Love,” at the Ohio. Monk Beautified by Pope By T'hUm Press . , . VATICAN CITY. July I.—The first series of beautifications which Pope Pius wil make during 1929 was concluded Sunday with the elevation to blessedness of Francesco Da Camporosso, a Capuchin monk who did charitable work among the Genoa dock workers.

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