Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-07

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duce some distinctive methods Of ap-
pealing, to the commercial world.
Instead Of that. an actress Of ca
such plays as require rare talent, Is
made an tmitator Of lower types
which are obtainable in lmitless
quantities. Wasted space on the
screen and wasted acting, after
which the customary animated
tableau at the end declares that q
trivial incident has been concluded.
woman, keeping secret her mar
rage to college classmate, gets q
job because of flneSse in purely per-
sonal matters, gets business from a
big company because she has reached
the point Of calling the head of the
corporation by his given name, dis
cusses business in the apartment Of
her employer in the small hours Of
the morning, and sets things all ,
right by refusing to obtain divorce.
This furnishes confirmation Of the
reports from Hollywood that there
Is a scarcity OF material for motion
pictures.
There is good acting Of a conven-
tional kind by Frank Albertson, who
plays opposite Miss Young, and
Ricardo Cortez, model for all that
Is effective on the third side of a.
triangle, puts vigor into a poor task.
Two prospective correspondents a:e
played by John Blondell and Dor
othy ChriSty, and the formers ex-
perience with the hero Of the story
In q manufactured affair Of the
compromising sort is a real gem CT
acting.
The stage presentation for the
week makes a feature Of Broadway
Affairs of 1881" with Bob Nelson
as the leader Of the troupe, includ-
ing dancing, instrumental music and
acrobatics. Galla-Rini and sister
play on numberleSS musical inStru-
ments with skill, Frank and Eddie
Monroe revive an old but effective
form for presenting a varied assert
ment OF somersaults and Joe Young
and company have a plentiful sup
ply OF comedy. Bobby Jones teaches
golf playing from the screen, ana
the usual newsreel is shown.
D. c. c.
"Kick In" on Screen
Presented 1t the Palace.
WHEREAS our sermon Of last
week had to do with the up
lifting effects of competent cast on
a trite play, the lesson for this
week might well concern the devas-
Eating damage few mediocre actors
can deal q fairly good dramatic
vehicle.
To make this moral self-eYident, it
might be mentioned that Clara Bow
a. fVNfv
lead in the Paramount Kick In" at
Loew's Palace this week, and her
profound inability to handle a dra-
matte role very nearly wrecks the
Willard Mack piece.
The author of Kick In" manu-
featured a very passable machine
made story which Is based on the
oft-lamented fact that society is not
particularly loving to its convicts
after they are released from penal
servitude In order to emphasize his
point, the playwright has pictured
his hero, one Chick Hewes, as a man
who is not only suspected when he
strives to go straight" after a peni-
tertiary term, but actually is hound
ed by the police. beaten down and
made to bear the brunt of their in
competence in catching criminals.
Mr.. Mack would tell us that the
copper who cannot find the law
breaker makes every effort to con-
vict the nearest available suspicious
character. This probably is not true
of many of our police organizations.
and even If it should be an accurate
assertion, the charge is not half so
black as our sentimentalists aver.
To railroad" man to prison in
jures him, his family, possibly many
friends. To loose a habitual GRIM
inal on society is to menace hun
dreds. The latter Is the more fire.
Quent fault and the blacker miSdeed
But this is not to be lecture in OPP
position to the falacious theories of
Kick In"
The story concerns the struggles
of a young man who does a stretch
in prison, comes out and attempts to
establish himself In the world Of
business. Because he does not desert
his crooked friends. who have been
loyal to him: he is dragged into their
crimes. Naturally. there are twists
and turns OF plot, moments when the
villainous cops seem sure to triumph,
times when the fate of the narrative
Is utterly in doubt. The usual happy
movie ending is tackled on. perhaps
as a reward to those who turn from
the path of waywardneSS.
Juliette Compton plays a minor
comedy role with more skill than all
the other hiStrionic efforts in the
cast in combination.
The stage show features Irving
Aaronson and his Commanders Or
cheStra, an organization which adds
considerable verve to the entertain
ing performances of Jay Flippen,
Red Stanley and Phil SAKE, Fay
Brady and Edna Sedgwick.
Selected short subjects complete
the program. r. B. p,