Evening star., 1939-10-07
Sound Drama
Is This Tale
Of Divorce
Capitol's Here I
Am a Stranger Is
Well Done
By HARRY MacARTHJJR.

That pretty child torn asunder
by divorce has grown up and gone
to college. And further coptribut-
ing to the novelty of Here I Am
a Stranger" the new photoplay at
Loew's Capitol, is the fact, the
somewhat startling fact, that the
pretty child does not bring mama
and papa together again. It is nice
to find people behaving in a more
or less normal manner in the sort Of
drama Hollywood has been wont
to cry over and solve with Shirley
Temples smile.
Those two people of Here I Am a
Stranger, in love though they are,
are just not mated, not destined to
live together in anything like hap
piness. And their son belongs to
both, is equally a part o. each.
That is the only logical place for
Here I am Stranger" to leave
the persons involved in it and that
Is where, praise Allah or the origi-
nal story by Gordon Malherbe Hill
man, it does leave them. It leaves
them there with a minimum of
theatres, too, and a goodly portion
OF sound drama, praise, perhaps,
Director Roy Del Ruth.
Involved in Here I Am q Stran.
ger" you will find a newspaperman
Orchard Dix who is sort of Ham,
let, who can't make up his mind
about much of anything. Too long
remembering he was football hero
and the little tin god of the campus,
he is given to telling of people with
the power to hire and fire. So,
thinking Of her sons future before
her love for her husband, his wife
(Gladys George one night picks UP
the babe and marches out into the
rain.
A quick lap dissolve and the son
has become Richard Greene and
ready for college, his mother has
married again. Then come the dra-
mates (and some, but not too much,
foolishness). The lad discovers his
father, finds he is not such a bad
sort, becomes involved in several
problems rather too weighty for his
young shoulders.
All Of this is played with almost
complete honesty by the people men
toned above and some others. MI.
Dix is especially fine in his sincere
portrait of a father who lost and
found both a son and himself.
Brightest face, however, is that Of
Miss Brenda Joyce, newcomer who
is very pretty girl without being
too pretty, If you know what we
mean, and who seems to be young
actress with some talent. Russell
Gleason and Roland Young are
about, too.
The Capitol's stage this week is
full of lassies who are both attrac-
tive and talented, they being the
members of Phil Spitalny's Hour
of Charm" Orchestra. And an
Hour of Charm" as probably has
been said before, is just what Mr..
Spitalny's young ladies and some
speciality performers provide.
The music is tiptop-especially
that spectacular fireworks display
arranged after Liszt's Second Hun
garian Rhapsody" and the booming
bolero-rhythm, "Begin the Beguine," !"
which has replaced M. Ravel's
'Bolero" as the finale. Hour Of
Charm" arrangements may go far
from the original for pyrotechnical
display, but they are fine listening.
Among the individual artists con-
tributing charm are June Lorraine,
whose impressions, clever caricatures
of the stars, are the best you have
seen in a long time: Maxine, who
sings throatily and not enough;
Evelyn, whose violin makes music
that is ever so sweet, and the Three
Little Words, whose second number
is better than their first. So just
wait and they will finish with that
Polka" thing. Several other people
add bright moments, among them
an especially accomplished tap
dancer named Johnny Coy.