Evening star., 1932-12-03
big City Blues"
A Fast-Moving Picture.

long haired and the fair-haired
boy Of Warner Bros pictures these
days, is appearing this week at
Loew's Columbia in a cinema which
atones for many Of the crimes COM
mitted against the ancient story Of
the unsophisticated country boy who
goes to New York.
Fast-moving, sumptuously mount
ed and distinctly different from the
tnnumerable hackneyed Aims Holly
wood has turned out on the same
thing. big City Blues" bears its
inane title cheerfully, almost lives
1t down. When the village swain,
Bud Reeves, becomes embroiled In q
riotous drinking bout In the big city
and finds himself accused of mur-
dering a chorus girl by cracking her
skull with a bottle, the director
courageously refuses to drag in a
professional screen mother, sad
scenes in the little gray home in the
West as the breath Of scandal watts
toward Indiana or buckets of
glycerin tears. The treatment
throughout is equally honest.
Bud arrives in New York with
$1.l0o his aunt left him and q
glamorous concept of New York,
doubtless acquired by reading news
paper columnists (of whom screen
author Ward Morehouse Is one). He
Is met by his cousin Gibbony, . gusty
sponger with delusions Of grandeur,
thick-skinned as a rhinoceros.
Cousin Gibbony launches forth to
SHOW naive Bud the town, on the
$1,100.
The first night they give a party.
People flock to the free drinks like
cats to a dairy. Drunks, men-about-
town who are always on the 20 be-
cause no one will allow them In the
some place twice, boy who works in
a theater. ham actor, chorus girls
and, eventually, the hotel house de-
tective, join the tussle Bud likes a
chorus girl named Vida. They are
getting excited about each other.
Consin Gibbony Is hiccoughing mer-
rily, the house detective Is off in the
linen closet guzzling champagne
when the ham actor and the boy
who works in the theater start an
argument over who shall take home
blond lass, at that moment snor-
ing alcoholically.
The two men go for one another
with bottles and fists. The lass re-
wives and gets in the way. She is
killed.
As soon as they know she Is dead.
all the guests depart with no un-
certain haste, leaving Bud in his
hotel room with dead woman lying
on the divan and no way to explain
1t. He starts to call the police, but
changes his mind and runs out like
the rest. Vida regains her courage
and comes back to stick with Bud,
finds he has gone, and escapes again
just as the house detective wanders
into the room looking for another
drink.
Bud roams the streets, frightened,
nervous and alone. A rich, bored
middle-aged woman picks him I'D in
a speakeasy. He asks her to guide
him to a night joint where he thinks
he will find Vida. He does. Together
they gamble away the last Of Buds
money, turn from the dice table to
be met by q detective and are ar
Walter Catlett as Cousin Gibbony,
Ned Sparks as an owl-eyed, loqua-
cious globe trotter and Guy Kibbee
as the hotel detective add excellent
impersonations to the good work Of
major figures in the cast.
A "Torchy" comedy you will want
to miss, 1.-THE Family Album" musical
reel and Paramount news complete
the program. r. B. p. Jr.
Hobart Bosworth ut Earle,
With Benny Davis and Bright Film.
WITH Hobart Bosworth receiving
w an enthusiastic welcome on the
stage, and Benny Davis displaying
his latest company Of capable young
stars, the Earle program for the
week is strong in both departments,
for the motion picture. "Thfy Call
It sin." Is Illuminated with TIE mag
a