Evening star., 1935-01-05

but Bernard Shaw or a Ghan'
Mr.. Barnums discovery that the
public likes to oe fooled was his great
est wisdom If the bearded lady didn't
happen to be bearded, then that was
too bad-but somebody having told
him she was bearded and until the
people discovered she was fake, Mr..
Barnum believed in going right ahead
and selling her for what she was
worth. If he could empty his audi
torium by putting up a sign which
said. This way to the egress" (the
word suggesting something new and
strange to a gullible public then he
would empty it that way.
Anything to fool the people" was
his motto If the people found out
they didn't like his new offering, then
he would give them something else.
In the meantime, however, they had
paid to find out whether they liked it
or not.
While 1.-The Mighty Barnum" may
not be the greatest of pictures, 1t is
still racy document which audiences
at Loew's Fox should enjoy. The flc-
ton that has been put into it is prob
ably the fiction of making Phineas
Barnum a naughty boy rather than a
smart show man. If he was so shrewd
with his frogs and midgets and saw
dust, then it is hard to believe that
he could have been such an old Pen
rod in his home. However. the fault
may lie on the side of Wallace Beery,
who is amusing and childlike, but
consistently and eternally Wallace
Beery.
Mr.. Beery and Adolph Menjou, as
Mr.. B. Walsh, carry the story along
on their shoulders with their Gus
tomary enthusiasm. When at the end
you are reminded that the B" in Mr..
Walsh's name stands for Bailey"
and you see them both, he and Mr..
Barnum marching into the future as
the pappies and the grandpappies OF
our present-day circus, then there
arises in you a genuine pride that
you have become SO well acquainted
with these two rascals. And you
scuttle back over one or two Incl
dents which you perhaps slurred over
during the proceedings.
There are one or two items Of bad
taste in the film; occasional drama"
which is stretched beyond credulity,
a singing sequence by Virginia Bruce
which seemed to annoy people all
around us-and other minor errors.
On the whole. however, it is rollick-
ing story of an amazing person. hand
somely staged by Twentieth Century
Pictures, and we'll acted by good
cast. Beery as Barnum Cor rather
Berry, Menjou as Bailey and Janet
Beecher as Barnum's poor wife have
the fattest parts. Rochelle Hudson's
love affair with Menjou seems rather
lame. However, we don't suppose that
love in those days was so hot either.
THIS weeks stage show (ahem) at
the Fox is extremely doubtful. To
be quite honest and thoroughly ugly
about it it belongs right smack on
Ninth street-and even that may be
a little tough on Ninth street. 1t is
long, peculiarly lacking in either taste
or talent, and terribly. terribly dull.
To mention most of the performers
would only aggravate things. However,
Jay Flippen, the Washboard Sere-
naders and Marie Fowler Qocal beauty
reminiscent of JEANNE Lang) liven
things up as best they can
y X y
7 EE GARMES, Hollywood's ace cam
- eraman, who scored 1000 with
400 in Budapest" is in town. He
and Mrs. Garmes (the former Ruth
Hall) and Mrs. Garmes' mother are
spending the weekend at the Ham
ilton Hotel The Arthur de Titta's
are playing host to them and will run
them down to Mount Vernon, etc,
this afternoon. Mr.. GarmeS Is at
present working on a Hecht-MacAr-
thur picture for Paramount in New
York. More Monday.