Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-05-28
From the Front Row
Reviews and News of Washington Theaters.


In with some extremely popular
contributions from Jack Pepper,
Madeline Berlo, Mack, Harold and
Bobby, and the Chester Hale Girls.
Wesley Eddy also has some selec-
tions which add to the merit Of the
performance.
The work of the orchestra. under
Phil ,Lampkin, continues to bear the
mark of good leadership, and the
selection for the week Is a medley
OF songs from the various war
periods Of the country, offered as
Musical Cocktail"
The whole is well balanced and
carries evidence of skill In creating
harmonious program. D. &C.
$50 Big"
At the Metropolitan.
900 BIG" the current offering at
~ the Warner Metropolitan
Theater, is better than most movies,
bslt not all it should be.
The picture falls far short Of the
heights attained by Edna Ferber's
Pulitzer prize winning story, from
which it was adapted. Much OF the
power of the book, of course, may be
laid at the door of Miss Ferber's
sheer writing ability. It is easy to
understand, for instance, how hard
it might be to capitalize on excep-
tional descriptive writing IN mining
q book.
The best thing that can be said Of
the picture is that it whets the ap-
petite for the book for those VINO
didn't get around to reading 1t when
It was a best seller few years ago.
The bright spot Of the movie Is
the acting of Barbara Stanwyck.
She makes good mother. Stage
mothers generally rely on synthetic
gray hair, would-be wiStful peace
full sort of expression and other ar
tifices which make them look some
what simple minded. NOT MISS
StanWyck. She Is a most accept
able mother without seeming to try,
which always is half the battle ior
an actress.
The work of Dick Winslow as an
unappreciated lover Is worth men
tioning. In fact, he wins the SYM
pathy of the audience from the
minute he resorts to boyish tricks
in an effort to outsmart his more
mature rival.
To one who hasn't an intimate
knowledge of the windSwept farm
ing land of the Middle West the pic
ture seems authentic. At any rate
the fields are fiat, which Is as they
should be II memory serves us well.
Miss StanXyck begins as a gam
bler's daughter and becomes In turn
school teacher, wife, mother and
asparagus grower. All Of which
doesn't sound very romantic. but 1t
will surprise you. u. b. w.
radio Patrol" at Keith's
Shows New Phase Of Gang Drama.
CHIFTING backgrounds for thrills
- and for sensational stories on
the screen restore the vividneSS OF
the criminal gang as source OF
dramatic action. Radio Patrol"
offered at R-K-O Keith's, intro
duces a new element which puts the
hunted but belligerent gunman at
disadvantage for the first time since
he made his debut in theatrical en-
tertainment. A subject which was
supposed to have run its course and
to have reached the cemetery Is
brought back from the grave and
provided with fascinating element.
Police cars equipped with receiving
sets cover the big city. and may be
dispatched at a moments notice to
any point which requires police at
tention, while a general alarm brings
the whole fleet of autos and motor
cycles in a mobilization that must
strike terror to killers and robbers
Romances of individual policemen
give the popular tone to Radio
Patrol" which deals largely with the
inner features of the police organiza-
ton. and combines satisfying infor-
nation about the conquest OF crime
with a plot which has been FASH
toned for the story of group of
police personalities at play and at
work. The big feature Of the story
is the attempt to rob bank in the
stockyards, a project which IS aided
by one patrolman. who is successful
in winning a bride, but lacks the
stability to maintain loyalty to the
department. The losing rival for the
woman is a strong character on the
force. and it is his energy and skill
which defeat the gang robbers and
save the bride from the disgrace of
facing the facts about a grating
husband.
Rapidly moving scenes and strik-
ing examples Of the use of the radio
in meeting the task of an over
worked law-enforcement organization
give some distinction to this uni
versal product. which has the merit
of being the pioneer in q new field
Robert Armstrong, Lila Lee and
Russell Hopton carry the weight of
the story. while other characters are
represented by June Clyde, Andy
Devine Onslow Stevens, John L..
johnson, Harry Woods. Sidney Toler,
Jack La Rue and Joe Girard Mr.
Toler's work as a superior officer is
feature of the piece.
The Keith program also includes
a film based upon Russia's five-year
plan, which is in effect travelogue
of modern Russia. covering all parts
of the Soviet Republic. with special
attention to the engineering projects,
particularly power plants. and ex-
tending to the large-Scale farming