Evening star., 1932-12-31

plOlIeQ ny lilc
camera. it is. nevertheless, made
fairy convincing by the perform
ance cf Mis- Chatterton, who takes
her place once again in the cinema
sun after a few painful skirmisheS
off into the hinterlancs.
Women, particularly, will enjoy
this-especiaUy those women who
have always had sneaxing suspl-
cicn that they would chop their
hsad- Of for their sons If this
chipping would save the lads from
the tragedy Of a ,oSt ideal. Frisco
Jenny's theory Is that it is better to
have her boy brought up IN a
strange home and be filled with ex-
pensive bread and butter rather than
have him kEOW that his mother is
not one OF the 400" and that she
earns her livelihood through uncon-
ventional ways.
So it is that after a series of
ma jor and minor disaSters-in which
the San Francisco earthquake is
pictured with great skill Cthe best
part OF the picture)-pCor Lady
Frisco, who has lost her boy and
refuses t. take him back or tell him
who she is. goes to San Quentin. She
is sent there and strung up by the
neck because she has killed the
man who wanted to tell her boy
that his mother was the greatest
underworld baroness in the city.
The boy, of cour e. is the district
attorney, and he 1t is who pleads
the case against his own m1ther-
and who. in the bitter end, doesn't
know what he has done
A sad, sd Observation-Disclosures
and implausible - but interesting
through the fine work of Miss Chat
terton and Louis Calhern. 1t Is alo
interesting en- account CT series OF
ridiculous 1906 hats, which are
strangely reminiscent of this seasons
creations.
The stage show Is enlivened by
thone excellent comedians. Block and
s5mewhat advanced Lopez ~Deou-
tantes," who 90 nicely with their
orchestra, by two pant0mlmlsts, one
of whom you'd never guess Is a girl,
and by the usual Japane.e acrobats,
who perform many impossible things
Maxine Doyle. approaching the 20
\
E de S MELCHER.
Heritage Of the Desert"
BY Zane Grey, at Columbia
DISTOL shots which search out
their intended victims just in
time to avert disaster and without
the slightest chance OF failure. have
been brought to artistic perfection
in the filming Of the romantic stories
of Zane Grey, and that authors
Heritage Of the Desert offered
at the Columbia Theater. carries its
quota of such warlike events. in ad-
dition to some hand-to-hand strug-
gle in which devastating blows ap-
pear to be struck.
The picture is satisfying to those
who like to see this authors semi
historical contributions turned into
a semblance Of life. and it is quite
conceivable that the conventional
battle between settlers in the South
west end land thieves is more real
istic under the camera than on the
printed page. The pleasure it gives
is dependent partly upon the per-
spective involved in frequent transi-
ton between the group scenes and
individual incidents and the broad
views. with animals on the range,
and impressive scenery of the portion
of the Southwest that is represented.
Especially strong is the attack Of a
giant bear upon the f1ocks, while
the riding and exhibition of equine
perfection are features.
This picture, in its position as the
latest Of such films, has gained in
detail from previous attempts In the
same field, and while it has the
character. chiefly, of an exhibition
of elemental life and elemental ma
ture, 1t suggests that this reproduc-
ton of a disappearing form of life is
of a series that has attained profess
sional distinction.
Especially Is it true that the favor
ite actors Of such productions have
developed a naturalness that might
be envied by those engaged in show
ing the more refined phases of So
ciety Miss Sally Blame. for instance.
who has been chosen for the hero
inc in numerous Western shows. has
progressed in her display OF human
and emotional qualities to the point
some rank, while j. Farrell Mac
Donald and David Landau also take
a high place in this type Of drama.
Randolph Scott has the personal
equipment for a heroic role. and the
others who give force to the story
are Gordon WeStcott, Quinn vii.
liams and Vincent Barnett.
The Columbia program includes
several short films, most conspicuous
among which Is q Hal Roach COM
edy. called The Taxi Boys" which
wins mark of 100 per cent for the
display OF comic stupidity. Nothing
conceivable could surpass it in that
respect. There are also A travel pic.
ture covering all parts of the world
and cartoon comedy which is very
nri0ipo1 ID c. C