Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Wednesday 10 January 1934, page 5
Notes on the Screen
__»._
1 AT CITY THEATRES THIS
J WEEK
Film- are classified as follow Of exceptional merit, ....; good entertainment, a... fair entertainment. was, not be recommended. '
Iii Atheneum, - "»»"Thark" and
says-The Love Contract."
Capitol. - seasons of Songs and
seasons Sunday Afternoon."
I HoUs Theatre de Luxe. - AP-The
I Rascals" and as The Pride of I the Force."
I L>ccum.-»"She Had to Say Yes"
I and as To-morrow at Seven."
Majestic. - was The First Mrs. I Fraser' and »»»".Night of the
Garter."
I Mayfair. - »»""Tailing: for You"
and *«*"r.P.l."
II Plaza. - ***"M> Weakness."
was Regent. - was Paddy the Next Best J Thing" and overriding- the
I Music."
State. - »«»"Doctor Bull" and
Day of Reckoning."
By CLOSE UP
We shall have to make up our minds to be" a lot of Lilian Harvey In a trade book discussing its products in 1934 the Fox Film Corporation tells exhibitors that
nothing has been spared in the way of stories casts and production values to
iiMw near.
inaKt- JILI HIL our
office sensation of 1934 As Greta. Garbo and Marlene Dietrich were thrust upon the picturegoing public by ecstatic publicity men so Lilian Harley is being ex-ploited by Fox In a surprisingly short time she has been directed to the Hollywood pattern That is rather a pi by Hollywood
prefer s types to in dividends Even Garbo has become a type So it is with Lilian Harvey She has been dressed made up and directed to conform to a type which the public is believed to admire on the screen All this is apparent in her pet formance a good performance of its type-in My Week
ness at the Plaza But is it a compliment to Lilian Harvey? Surely it would be more flattering to say to a successful European actress Be Lilian Harvey
rather than to say Use your talents to be what our public wants I shall look forward with interest to seeing some of the films which made her name in Europe It may be instructive to compare her work in these with her work in her first American films
Emil Ludwig's Napoleon
Emil Ludwig has been to Hollywood Americans are quite crazy - they are dear but quite crazy he said when passing
through London on his way back to his home at Locarno They pay a writer 100 dollars for a paragraph and a girl 1000 dollars for showing one leg Lud ing did not go to Hollywood to discover that He went there to write the scenario for a film to be called Napoleon based on his own book It will be distributed by First National Almost as interesting is the announcement that Edward G Robinson will play Napoleon Robinson is one of the finest character actors on the screen He could dwarf half a dozen Clark Gables but he has never been ranked with the popular stars Perhaps that is because the is not good looking He has in fact an intelligent face and that In Hollywood may be a disadvantage unless it is a face people will laugh at Ludwig however, not being a film product was anxious to discover the man not the face to play Napoleon He likes Roi Prison He has imagination and de-ter ination was Ludwig s comment The film should be good if the producer does not take liberties with the author's scene no-a doubtful hope
Film and and Finance
figures always perplex me but I defy
anyone to make head or tail of the mass of financial statistics to which the Senatorial committee in Washington (USA had to listen recently when it investigated Wall street s flirtations with HollyWood
Even the committee gave up HIL puzzle in despair But a glance at the evidence pages of it have been published in the Motion Picture Herald -at least enables the picture goer to form some idea of a hat a colossal business his money has made of the films
The highlight of the investigation was, the appearance of William Fox in the witness box The emperor in exile of
Fox Films told an amazing story His ' retirement in 1936 from his position of dominance over the Fox Film Corporation and the Fox Theatres Corporation was a sensational development in the hectic history of the industry But his evidence was more sensational He asserted that he had been the victim of a conspiracy to wrest his companies his vast amusement empire from him A sober view of the matter rather suggests that after the collapse
of the stock market in 1929 Mr Fox encountered difficulties similar to those which faced most business men His policy of short term borrowing over
expansion and the acquisition of enormous properties at inflated prices was his so
doing The Fox interests simply had to have help According to the evidence of the vice president of Chase Securities Corporation Mr Fox received 15 000 000 dollars in cash in addition to other considerations amounting to 6,000 000 dollars
for his control of Fox films and Fox theatres which it was stated were confronted
at the time by 90,000 000 dollars north of obligations falling due So now
the Fox Film Corporation is controlled if i not actually owned by the Chase banking
Interests and Fox himself a pioneer of I the industry slips into obscurity with 1 about 20 000 000 dollars to console his
retirement
Mr Thring s Programme
Efftee Film Productions will make the following films in 1934 - Sheepmates by William Hatfield The Streets of London adapted by Frank Harvey from the stage play Clara Gibbings the English comedy a screen version of Collits' Inn and Ginger Murdoch by William Hat field There is nothing daring or spectacular in this programme but Mr Thring's company is perhaps too young to venture upon any but a quiet and normal avenues of development
' I Was a Spy The
Gaumont British film I Was a Spy should not be missed when it is shown in Melbourne shortly I saw it at a private screening and I cannot recall any war film except All Quiet on the western Front that impressed me more The film is another tribute to the ability of Victor Say The pi enable the most competent director in Britain at the moment The film is based on the true story of Martha Cnockaert a Belgian woman who
was compelled to nurse German wounded and at the same time was involved in the vast system of espionage behind the German lines The story is developed Ruth Jessie and logically and with few concessions
to sentiment Madeleine Carroll s performance as the spy is a brilliant piece of dramatic acting The whole cast is admirable Conrad Veidt as the German commandant is far better than he was in Rome Express and Herbert Marshall is almost as good as he was in The Faithful Heart I Was a Spy must be linked
among the best of the British films I cannot recall any British film in which mob scenes have been filmed more effectively
or in which dramatic action has been more tightly compressed