Evening star., 1939-05-13

his part, the inconsiderate thing it
sounds in cold type. however, for
the final footage of the film builus
toward a climatic struggle with
the Indians in which the action, the
valance and the violence amount
to a frenzy. One could not ask
more and it is silly, maybe, to ask
less. But one does.
The ingredients which have been
whipped into Union Pacific" are
designed to produce whole hearted
admiration for America as we'll as
for Paramount. Any small doubt
that the odds against the pioneers
who opened the West were virtually
lnSuperable disappears. Nature, hui
man and otherwise. had a villain
Gus heart and a crafty mind and
a cunning hand in its resistance to
progress in those days. In opposing
and conquering them. the heroes of
the picture look the more heroic,
sometimes incredibly so.
In the best tradition of empire
building, there is a love story run
ming concurrently with the building
of the line. Its principals, Joel Nc
Crea, Barbara Stanwyck and New
conner Robert Preston, manage to
keep their personal affair subordi-
nate to the major concern of get
ting the track constructed. Po-
litical skulduggery, financial Chi
canery, labor and liquor troubles,
battles with the Indians, and the
numerous other obstacles to the lat
ter accomplishment result in a ter
rife casualty list. They also result
in an apparently accurate insight
into what happened in the late SOS
when the American dream was being
brutally slapped around by the
manifold forces Of evil, all of which
carried couple of guns and knew
how to use them.
Mr.. De Mile. himself a crafty fell
low IN his way, invariably knows
when to mitigate the excitement of
his drama He has worked into it
petently executed patch of comedy.
1t is introduced primarily through
characters who can be laconic about
the murder and misery through
which the Irish rail builders are liv-
ing. They appear in the unkempt
unshorn forms of Akin Tamiroff
usually villain) and Lynne Over
man. They wander through the
script as pair of assistants to Hero
McCrea, finding pleasure in the
counter-killings which the depreda-
tions OF the opposition inspire their
boss to order.
The comedians occupy great
deal OF footage as offsets to the up
roarious action Of other passages,
but not too much to permit of many
spectacular panoramaS with which
a De Mile film must abound This
one is highlighted by many. one
of the most notable of which is
the collapse Of a temporary stretch
OF road which sends a test train
plunglng down mountainSide
Another Is the running battle be-
tween the road builders and the
Indians. at one moment of which
the latter get the upper hand bv
dropping water tank on the
speeding train, wrecking it and
causing 1t to explode These are
areas of suspense worthy of the
dramatic SENSE OF De Mile. as are
others OF lesser proportions.
The characters of the drama
are rather stock types Mr.. Nc
Crea Is the unconquerable hero:
Miss StanWyck the beloved colleen.
daughter of the roads oldest and
best engineer; Mr.. Preston is the
he er-dO-Well who makes his viii
lainies palatable, Henry Kolker and
Brian DonleVv are the unmitigated
villains, and the others spring from
similarly familiar grooves. All con-
historic prototypes, Miss Stanwyck
the most heavily handicapped by
a script which asks her to speak
an Irish brogue and juggle two
swains rather awkwardly.
Its general bigness is so much
bigger than any of it's faults that
Union Pacific" is worthy of the
attention of every one OF Mr..
De Miles horde of admirers.
*
The Earle's stage show has been
whitfield down to proportions which
compensate for the unusually long
running time of the picture, which
is hours and l3 minutes. The
35-minute vaudeville program is
highlighted by the comedy antics
of Dick, Don and Dinah and gives
the RoXyettes chance to con-
tribute two interesting numbers.
The first one features cockatoos,
the last bicycles range of versa
tility that has come to be expected
of the theater's ballet. The other
spots are occupied by the vocaliza-
tions of the Virginians, nice en-
semble, and the dancing of Carol
King a tWinklinp miss