Evening star., 1934-09-10

in the space allowed his daily
and Macarthur for failing, in
"conditions as close to the ideal
state of society,"" to bring forth
that as men of Intelligence, lima
should have healt otherwise will
"When the method ends more as
a self f-conscious stunt, without feeling
and dramatic warmth we must
accuse the MesSers. Hecht and NC
Arthur of letting us down little" :"
AS n final flourish, the critical gentle
man opines that the producers may
hurl the same charge against CLAUDE
Rains, the star, who overacts dls-
astrously in the role they have de-
vised for him."
So far, this would sound more like
a recitation of the nays than affirma-
fion of our faith in the aforemen-
toned team of movie makers, tnelr
product and their star, but it seems
only fair to resound all the opposi-
tion,s broadside before answering
with our own feeble shots to the
windward.
The defense contends, first OF all,
that there is nothing either SELL
conscious or cold in treating the mar
rative of Crime Without Passion"
as it has been handled. The cinema
manufacturers were concerned WIN
a shrewd, brilliant, unscrupulous
lawyer, his amourS, misdeeds ana
eventual internal collapse. one
scarcely expects such a man, "a
mental sadist," to find either his
romantic or his intellectual COM
partnerships among this ambiguous
lot of people commonly designated as
normal. The foremost CHARACTERISTICS
of the man are his contempt LOT
stupidity, his icy disregard 1or tne
feelings of others, and a strangeS
ardent devotion to whatever woman
finds his favor for the moment. He
himself confesses that he has no soul
except that supplied to him by proxy,
by the devotion of some woman. IN
these affairs he expresses the only
positive emotion permitted by ms
stronger side, that of the egomanlac
and supersophisticate.
This happens to be the nature OF
the man. 1t does not follow that a
pictorial story of a portion OF ms
life is self conscious" when it
stresses certain facts in his makeup,
or that there is lack of drama In
negative or frozen hero. mans
denial may at times be more exciting
than his acceptance, particularly II
he saws him nay with initiative and
ruthlessness. That glittering icicle,
Lee Gentry, attorney, made our
blood run hot and cold, whilst we
watched his Vaccinations, and wher-
ever his supreme disdain for all OF
the kinder moralities seemed 10
exceed probability and throw the
story out of balance, there was
ALWAYS that smoldering, hot-eyed
little dancer, Carmen, to even Things
up again.
AS for Mr.. Rains, we will admit ne
had something of a field day OF
viciousness in the role of M. Gentry,
but he certainly did not skip the
boundaries of truth, as the metro
politan opposition may learn by watch
ing, at work or play, one or two OF the
more dramatic New York barrlsters.
Those gentlemen are as full of tricks
and postures as a whole Punch and
Judy pull board, and not few Of them
have been known to carry their his
trionics into the drawing room, the
cocktail bar and wherever else they
divert themselves when not defending
the perfidious. If Mr.. Rains over
acted, it may have been because he
decided to outdo the living counter
part of his role, but you may be sure
the original will soon be revenged If
he hears Of. it.
** r
TT is our unkind duty now to point
l. fingers and cry, "Shame" bit at
certain other gentlemen in the mo-
ton picture business. We refer to the
author of the script, the director, the
producers, actors, prop men, water
boys and stage hands of 'The Foun-
tain" which has yet few more days
at R-K-O Keith's. They have commit
ted one of those objectionable errors
in fact for which newspaper reporters
are invariably shot at sunrise, auditors
beheaded in the town square and air.
plane pilots scratched of the roll call
To wit, they have stuffed certain
famous modern poesy into the mouths
of characters who are meant to be
talking in war days, whereas the lines
were not penned until 1925.
You remember when Baron Rupert
meets his wifes lover in the garden
of their estate, and, unaware of the
existence of the triangle, begins tc