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~ [ r T-iiriiirrnii— -......AMUSEMENTS 1 . *w*wfinancial I f-Jfcj feSgiifc. Mips; «m’ ATTRACTIONS OF IMPORTANCE TO KANSAS CITY'S PHOTOPLAY SCREENS THIS WEEK.S CITY STAR.rbert Marshall Is a .married man for whom . Claudette Colbert r bait in “Zaza,” the new film version of a famous play, at wman. At length the lady does a bit of renunciation on her count, to show her heart is right about matters.','.se James” Is Full ofccitement and Moves Speedilychnicolor Version of the Missouri Bad Man’s Life i Stirring Spectacle That Gives Tyrone Power a Thrilling, Robin Hood Role.« ...........iTyrone PowerVi*............Henry-Fonda..............Nancy Kelly, Randolph Scottjj cobb........ Henry Hull........Sltm Summerville J. Edward Bromberg...........Brian’Ddhlevy..........John Carradine,....... Donald Meefe■I’it ...........John Russelln'is. ‘...........Jane Harwelld ........Charles Tannenord .........Claire Du Buey Willard Robertson..........\ Harold Goodwin.......Ernest Whitman Eddy Waller................Paul Burns........Spencer Charters.............Charles Haltona~as,sssp’r ........Virginia Brissacin * TEd Le Saint/vs . .........John ElliottII ; .........ErvUle Alderson. .....George BreakstonMember. . . .Lon Chaney, jr.scene uvas Pineville, Mo., y hot day of late last mmer, as the months re verging towards fall, nt was the making df les,” the big Twentieth x spectacle that tells of1 Missouri after the Civil the. depredations of the 5 and their gang were be-tionally notorious, mak-mmonwealth “the Robbernany. . ,ing was In the little Ozark ting the picture, and Ty-, Henry.Fonda, Randolph m Donlevy and. others to be. featured in it.,/ds that poured down to est cofher of the state to big event were tremen-• one week end more than tators jammed the high* the police patrol worked ion to keep traffic from rled.you—or you, or you—saw2 actual filming of “Jesse [any of the hill folk weye xtras” for various scenes, a wholly-to-be-expected f the opportunity to ‘ie actors.”Result Is Here, t of all the grand xhibition at the n theaters this week, a es” of beautiful techrti-graphy, of artistic direc-ne aftey scep of ej^iter e story, and of capable s big cast. ./ 1 : relatives of the James ted out when they saw d product, history was out good-naturedly by hnson, the script writer, lis tale, that fact must be i be excused tby the blunt that a good; story is hough, ip many respects, ippen to tie the .truth, has strife engendered by of the railroad starting ul Jesse on his ’ road iy, when the manreally turned to the wrong as a result of hatreds resulting from the Ciyil war.Brian Donlevy,. as a railroad agent, is shown buying rights of way from the farmers for a meager $1 an acre, .and attacking members of the families wheh the heads df the house resist. Jane Harwell, as Jesse James’s mother, is killed by a bomb that Donlevy throws into her cabin, and Jesse and his brother. Prank, become robbers and twin scourges of the railroad men and their trains to avenge the tragedy that has come into their lives.A Movie Robin Hood.A background of sympathy is built up for Jesse at the start of the film then, and there are thousands of Missourians who will testify from stories that have come down in their households that the bandit was far from a sympathetic soul in real life. True, the dialogue later contaius passage after passage when Frank James and Zerelda, Jesse’s’- wife, moan that Jesse has changed and that he deserves no consideration from anyone, but the fact remains that the Twentieth Century-Fox people have tried to invest the man with Robin Hood characteristics, in order that Tyrone Power, the flower df the studid’s\ masculine flock, shall not play a “heavy” role. The cess of the attempt is open to argument. ,Not subject to-the slightest tinge of denial, however,, is the ’fact .that the picture is stirring,' moves with high-geared speed, and never -falters as it makes its way steadily toward its climax. One scene alone—in which two riders and their horses are shown falling over a cliff—will make you gasp for breath.Tyrone Power, a handsome chap in his early twenties, finds the role of a robber leader not beyond his reach. If he could play Ferdinand de Les-seps, father of seventeen children, in “Suez,” as the actpr . did, although the canal picture was careful not to mention the numerous offspring, he certainly would have little trouble with1 the character of Jesse James.Fonda Is Outstanding.The Frank James of Henry. FOnda is the Best thing we rememb.ee the r having done in a year or more. Randolph Scott’s marshal* is a sympathetic, nicely ^etched portrayal, and J. Edward Bromberg puts a great deal into the production in his com-itively brief appearance as Mr. yan,..the man who brings about the ambush that greets the; James boys when they attempt :to rob me bank at Northfield, Minn. ,Her home studio has figuratively thrown its hat in the air and sent whoops toward the horizon over the acting of Nancy Kelly as Jesse's wife, when, in our opinion, she is theNancy Kelly, Tyrone Power and Henry Fonda lead stirring lives in “JesCe James,” the spectacle of post-Civil war days in Missouri, which has opened at the Esquire and Uptown theaters. Action fills the story, and the scenes of excitement are constant.trionic ability. John Carradine, who has played more villains’ roles in Hollywood pictures than Babe Ruth hit home runs in his best year in the American league, is “the dirty little coward who shot Mr. Howard,” and is properly despicable in the doing. You didn’t think anyone else would be given the part, did you?Claudette Colbert Plays nNaughty French'. Damsel in “Zaza,” an Adaptation of an Old Stage Success, Which the Newinun Is Showing.Dufresne ,..Claudette Colbert . .Herbert” Marshall. .Constance Collire ..Genevieve Tobin ....Walter Catlett; WaldaSimone ....Pierre’s Wife .Toto........Jeanne^ Lizeron.Conductors.Clarence Harvey. w ...Dancers—Dorothy Dayton. Harriett Had-don, Helaine Moler, Dorothy White, Louise Seidel.T the turn, of the century, in ,, |he e$rly months of 1899, in ! fact, the American theatergoing public was madly excited about “Zaza,” a play imported from the French stage by David Belaseo, in which he was starring Mrs. Leslie Carter, one of his favorite actresses, in New York.“Highly immoral,” this drama from the pen of Pierre Berton, the man who won Sarah Bernhardt’s heart, and Charles Simon, was called at the time. “Crude and sensual,” “coarse and animal,” were phrases used to describe it. The reformers vciwed they never had heard of such unlicensed goings-on, and. of course, the box offices Waxed tremendously fat.Other artists played “Zaza” through the years, Alla Nazimova being among them. Last summer an adaptation of the old story was made by the Paramount people in Hollywood. It finally was passed by the Will Hays office, after various cuttings, rewritings, and retakes were demanded by the authorities there, and it is currently at the Newman to show you what shocked your fathers and mothers forty years ago.“Zaza,” it seems to us, creaks with age in the story department, a sign of infirmity that it has every right What seemed just too eyebrow-’lifting and1 blush-arousing at one time is more or less run-of-the mill stuff now. After attendance at two or three plays of Eugene O’Neill and listening to the dialogue of Noel Coward's “Design for Living,” to name, one of a dozens attractions that could be used as illustrations, the plot of “Zaza” hardly seems of jpochal evil, nor does the sight of Claudette Colbert performing a ‘can-can” alarm particularly audiences that are used to the “strip teases” of Gypsy Rose Lee.The tale of a French actress whoHE SELECTS FINE GOMPANY FOR HIMSELF.Auer (center) is siuTOimded fcnedict, Hally-ig from left to right) by DavtdGorcey, Harris Berger,, 'a^i^lSfl|Siicaii, all’pugnacious juveniles, in “Lit- * ....Guys to «**has an affair with a married but finds his wife and child have the greater hold on his affections is preserved quite faithfully in the film version of the old drama. Herbert Marshall, as the Pierre Dufresne jn the case, constantly seems sinned against than sinning, only pallidly interested in the general goings-on from the start.Full of Gallic exclamations of “Zut!” the dialogue is, and Miss Colbert grinds out the word as though she delightfully were consigning herself to eternal perdition every time she pronounced it. In a year spent in the country of cognac and the bounding franc, we had a lot worse phrases than that addressed to us by various members of the bourgeoise, and we believe that had “Zut!” meant something really low down in their vocabulary they would not have hesitated to use it oh your humble servant. ; .“Zaza” is a big production, wisely enough given a Parisian star by the casting offices. We saw part of it filmed in Hollywood last summer and the moments on the sound stage were precious ones.Miss Colbert, a woman of tempera' ment who fancies she knows con siderable about acting —and does —only had the advice of George Cukor, director, Nazimova, “technical assistant,” and others to tell her how to play the part. The result was a series of explosions that sounded as if every day was the fourth of July in the “Zaza” neighborhood.When the activity was at Its height an assistant director, Hal Walker, who wins our nomination for being the most unpleasant man- ever saw in a movie studio on the entire West coast, would call “Clear the set!” using (1) a roar, (2) a grinding sneer, or (3) a tearful screech—his gamut of vocal accomplishments—and “Zaza” would be left behind until the next day.’ Some fun!Bert Lahr plays a straight role well in the production, and deserves praise for his every moment on the screen. Helen Westley, .Constance Collier, Genevieve Tobin,. Walter Catlett and others also;take: part to good effect. * .Miss Colbert’is a glamorous and flashing Zaza, and has our sympathy for what she went; through while the picture was being made. What she could have done without the “aid” of Madame Nazimova and Mr. Walker would have been interesting to see.the way the watchman will cast his ballot, and he and his brood ride to prosperity as a result. The fault with the film, if it has a noticeable one, is that its ending is telegraphed from the first moment the plot content is shown. You know that Barrymore is not going to vote the way he is supposed to do—and that is just what happens. He has assured happiness for himself and his youngsters in the meantime, however, and his chuckle at the expense of his dupes is the reward the man deserves.This is a part that only an accomplished actor could make interesting, but the way in which it is portrayed shows anew that no one has made a more striking comeback in the film world in the last year that John Barrymore. He gets aAntics and Melees in General Feature “Little Tough Guys in Society,” Which the Fox Tower Is Showing.Footman., Peggy Stewart Harold Huber........David Oliver.... Frankie ThomasTK:HE latest exploitation of juvenile misbehavior, a subject that seeAs to be intriguing photoplay producers these days, is to be found in “Little Tough Guys in Society,” theTyrone Power and Jeanette MacDonald the Movie WinnersInternational Poll Places Clark Gable and Sonja Henie In Second Place—Kansas City Voters Agree on Queen, but Choose Nelson Eddy King.YRONE POWER, handsome and illustrious son lt;famed acting father, is the King of the Movies for 1939. Jeanette MacDonald, musical comedy star, whose photoplay popu larity even has exceeded the favor she won on the stage, is the Queen, Those results, were received after i international contest conducted last week by The Star and sixty-one other newspapers in the United States and Canada.Twenty-two million readers wereTHE MOVIE KING AND QUEEN OF 1939.“The Great Man Votes,” Dire by Garson Kanin, Features John Barrymore at the Or pheum—“Torchy Gets HerMan” Shown Also.VpTES.”‘‘THE GREAT ..Vance ..........\ /.. .JohnDonald .........PejMiss Biiiow* \7.y.7kewne. iron Hat McCarty... .Donald . Dave McCarty..;. ...... .BennyChester AlnsleacBrlcManos Hot She. Charles Dale.,.Elizabith Risdon ~KriganMr* Byrne'’ ......EVERAL months agfli Garson Kanin, at that comparatively .unknown directed :pn the R.-K.-G. lot in Hollywood, made a picture called 'A Man to Remember,” which stood out above the average group of photoplay releases as Sonja Henie does over a flock of 18-year-old girls taking their first ice skating lessons. ‘‘A Man to Remember,” produced a moderate-sized budget and with no “name” actors or actresses in the cast, was listed by critics as nong the ten best pictures of theNow Kanin has tried to repeat the formula in “The Great Man Votes.” which heads the Orpheum’s bill and has John Barrymore in its lead. The result iff a more than satisfactory and entertaining comedy. If it does hot reach the mark set by its illustrious predecessor, the faijlt may be laid1 at the door of John Twist’s screen play and not to any diminution;,of pace on the part of Mr.gftlirf / 1 • r ,“ ‘ r a- yarnabout a • former._—...... professor (Mi-.^Barrymbre’lwho takes to the bottle, following the loss/ of his-wife, and 1: a night watchman to support and daughter, little Peter ai d Vh gr a Weidledpality, and the/mu-state. the bibulous Ml flattered and i Plug-ugly poll) an• Tyrone Power and Jeanette MaoDonald were, acclaimed the leading members of photoplay royalty as the result of a popularity contest conducted internationally by The Star and slxty-one newspapers in . key cities, Clark Gable and Sonja Henie finished in second positions.lot of fun out Qf a role that is right down his alley, and he transmits the enjoyment to his audiences.Those two juveniles, Master Hol-Iden and Miss Weidler,- lead the supporting players and are grand in their1 characterizations. This little Weidler girl is one of the most accomplished and Sincere “troupers” bh the West coast movie lots, a fact that might as . well be recognized, as it certainly is the truth.Katherine Alexander, . Donald MacBride, Brandon Tynan and Elizabeth Risdon are among the other adults of importance who are present. All contribute their share to a good performance.“TORCHY GETS HER MAN.”Torchy Blane............Glenda FarrellSt? ve M-’Bricfc.......... Barton MacLaneDesk' Sergeant GeorgeBugs . ............John BlageiyGloomy ...............Tommy JacksonProfessor ............ Frank RelcherGonzales .............Edward RaquelloStoneham ...................Ed KeaneSchmidt........ Nat CarrCapt. McTavish........Frank ShannonMaxle ........*.,......Joe CunninghamBrennan .....Herbert RawllpsonTHE Hollywood Reporter a trade paper that is read with more than average interest in the movie ’colony, suggested in* a review of “Torchy Gets Her Man” that it be the last. Torchy Blaiie story the Warner Brothers studios release.j those sapipnt words of wisdom, we say, “Ameri!”Nothing hastbeen; worse, in recent months, -yin • your reviewer’s * estimation, than , the r Torchy Blane stories, which have shbwn, on an average of once every .six^weeks, newspaper life a| it isnVknd aigtrl reporter who Would' fee /discharged after she worked as muph as two; hours in a City room pf; any reputable publication in the nation,-;; ',vv *' A But the $oijphyiBlape items go on ;«lt;»and‘the __,thpworst. ’photoplay production, a reporter not only writes her stories , but pute the headlines on them Before she turns them in to the city desk—which will give any person ...........attraction on the Fox Tower’s screen.The “Little Tough Guys,” a less than attractive crew of jhoodlums of 'teen years, are compatriots of the “Dead End” kids, that immortal sextet that ’ specializes in thievery; gang warfare, bullying tactics, etc.In fact, “Little Tough Guy” David Gorcey is the brother of “Dead End” kid Leo Gorcey, which will give you some idea about the whole set-up.The Little Tough Guys” are in (Continued on Page 2D.)given an opportunity to vote in the event, which is -watched closely by the film industry. , .The 1939 poll was the second annual King and Queen of the Movies test that has been held. The 1938 event found Clark Gable wearing the crown among the' men, and Smyrna Loy among the women.Easy for rower.The “Big Five” among the 1939men, and . their total number of votes:Tyrone Power ..............89,647Clark Gable .........54,558Spencer Tracy ........43,843Nelson Eddy................36,998Richard Greene............29,121The women’s scores:Jeanette MacDonald ........59,608Sonja Henie .......... 52,09ftMyrna Loy .......... 50,108Bette Davis ................38,174Loretta Young .............35,487It can be seen, therefore, that Power, abetted by his recent striking appearances in “Su^s” and “Jesse James,” romped to comparatively easy honors in the masculine division.Miss MacDonald had a closer race of it, but always held a !ead,: although never a too commanding one, over Miss Henie.Kansas Citians and residents of this territory, in their votes sent to The Star, agreed on Miss MacDonald as Movie Queen, but gave Nelson Eddy the men’s decision.The first five in The Star’s poll:Eddy............... 932Power .............. 913Tracy..................... .668Gable........................633Greene.......................467Among the women:Miss MacDonald............1094Miss Young...............,., 762Miss Loy............... 660Miss Henie i. .Alice Faye ....Son of an Actor/Tyrone Power, in his early twenties. is the son of Pa tie Ffetyome and Tyrone Power, sr., a “matinee idol” in his prime. He came from a family whose name was famous in the-theater for more than a century. Educated at Purcell high school, in Cincinnati, he played in stock for a while, appeared at the Century of Progress exposition in Chicago, was radio programs with Don Ameche, had various roles in stage productions, and then entered pictures, some of his most successful productions being “In Old Chicago,” “Alexander's Ragtime Band,” “Marie Antoinette,” “Suez” and “Jesse James.” He is unmarried.Jeanette MacDonald was bom in Philadelphia June 18, 1907. Through the aid of her sister, then playing in New York musical attractions, she obtained a position in the chorus of a Ned Wayburn show at the Capitol theater. There followed parts hi “Irene” and “Tangerine,” a lead in “The Magic Ring, the ingenue prima donna roles in “Tip Toes” and other attractions, and her entrance into the movies, in which she has starred successfully in various films with Nelson Eddy, the most notable of which were “Naughty Marietta” and “Sweethearts.” She is the wife of Gene Raymond, movie actor. L. L.........507 ...423HIS BROOD MEANS HIS LIFE—AND HE WINS FOR THEM.Virginia Weidler.and Peter,»Holden play the’soxi and daughter of John BazT3^u|ft^% Man Votes” which heads the^Ortiheum’s hill. A bibulous soul, the hero is well on his . until the boy .and girl straighten, him out, and gain^a better lot for themselves in the doing.
Newspaper Details
Kansas City Times
Kansas City, Missouri, US
Sun, Jan 22, 1939
Page 63
Full Page
Clipped by
Joplin P.
MO, USA 04 Aug 2024
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