Evening star., 1934-01-13

StuartS to float a dozen RomeS.
While Mr.. Goldwyn has reaped more
beauty than he has wit out of this, he
has given Maestro Cantor few good
gags, two songs which already are meat
for radio crooners, and chariot race
which is the best thing of its kind. In
this, Mr.. Cantor is nailed to his wagon,
and as he waltZeS along on his wheels
runs into everything except the Wool
worth Building, purusing the heroine
for some reason. and being pursued for
another, and eventually continuing the
chase in chariotlesS chariot which has
been whitfield down to nothing save
pair of skis and horse.
This is the high point of the new
West Rome versus Rome picture which
is packing them in at the Palace this
week. Mr. Cantor. whose eyes grow
larger as he gets older, and who still
sings his songs clapping his hands and
jumping up and down with his knees
going west and east, returns in his
annual screen frolic. full of the joy of
landing back in Rome when it had
Ruth Etting as yodler of sweet songs
and Gloria Stuart as the heroine who
looks better than any heroine in a long
gold wig.
Although we haven't yet quite figured
dlm-apart from singing mo More
Love" over the suddenly dead figure OF
Grace Poggi who has done the best
Wiggle dance of the season atop giant
slave-market platform-she is smooth in
her vocaliZings il disappointing in close
up and she assists Miss Stuart in her
flight from the greedy clutches of En-
peror Valerius-( delirious' to Eddie).
Mr.. Cantor, who has dreamed his
Roman dream as citizen Of the mod
ern town of West Rome. wanders into
the past and Immediately finds him.
self in trouble. Making sly cracks
at the Empress Agrippa. who he knows
only from his history books and insult
ing this person and that. he lands in
Jail only to find himself in the presence
of Miss Stuart-Who any one would go
to Jail for anyway.
From there on his Roman excursion
consists mostly in trying not to eat
the poison which he, as the Emperor's
new food faster, should eat-and his
final exit is that wild goose chase over
the California hills in that chariot
which gets smaller and smaller.
All of this Mr.. Cantor accomplishes
with that twinkle in his eye which
means that he is having a good time
as we'll as doing the same for his audi
ence, and with that sort of light footed
bravado which has placed him well at
the top of popular funmakers. He is
assisted most agreeably by Edward
Arnold, as the emperor: by Veree Teas
dale, as the well-shaped empress; by
David Manners. with hair curled to
frazzle, and by the above mentioned
ladies, all of whom are smooth and
white, slimly clad and pleasantly blond
* x x
~AYTr NETTNJT uho y,a,tad IN
be a comedian, gets his chance in
Hi, Nellie!" film whose title has al
ready begun to be OF hose Skip it"
gags from Hollywol We came out
of the theater yes. lie youth of
the land was shout. =, Nellie!" to
sisters, brothers. couSI-o and the lady
at the ticket window and to gentle
man who very nearly tlattened one of
the young men for being so familiar
with him. Thus started the words seem
destined for mortality-inaSmuch as
Mr.. MUM, Ned Sparks. Glenda Farrell
and other screen luminarieS make pretty
good use of them in the current picture
at the Earle.
Mr. MUM, who is phenomenally good
at anything he does on the stage or the
screen, is seen in this as managing
editor who, when he fumbleS story, is
relegated to heart throb" column, in
which capacity he works under the
name of Nellie. While MUM is expert
and amusing in his work and acts with
that diligence which is one of his main
virtues, we suspect that he is better
when he is gruff and when, after twist
ing his face into grim, solid determine
ton, he becomes less of a comedian
than he does a strong, good man or
weak bad man.
Nevertheless, much of the film Is
amusing-and is recommended but for
those sequences when it is necessary to
take the action into a cemetery and dig
up "stiffs" for the sake of the plot. At
this point, the story gets bit beyond
itself-but it helps to put MUM back
into the harness and to give the heart
throb" column to clustering man who
had been partly responsible for Muni's
discharge from his exalted perch.
The players in this comedy OF
newspaper folk appear mostly to lesser
advantage-except for dolorous-faced
Ned Sparks and gum chewing Miss Far
rell-due to the fact that the camera
seldorn leaves MlIni's side. This Is as It