The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 19

r'' Mary Pickford Gets HOLLYWOOD FILMS AND STARS' REVIEWS THfc PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. THURSDAY MORNING. APRIL 29. ,1943 ad lO $50,000 for Play Ulri Which "Starred Lenore Just a Thing Called Joe," in her own inimitable fashion. "Honey In the Honeycomb" and "Consequences," the latter with Anderson, fall to the sultry lot of Miss Home.

LITTLE BLACK SHEEP Also new is "Little Black Sheep." which is most engagingly sung by the Hall Johnson Choir. Louis Arm strong and his trumpet put In a brief appearance during one of the Hades Interludes; Duke Ellington and his orchestra make the sound track sizzle when they turn up at Jim Henry's cafe; and "Bubbles" (John W. Sublett) cuts some fancy terpsichorean capers as Little Joe's mortaJ enemy. Domino Johnson. 'Cab in in Sky at Aldine Stars Ethel Waters Musical Sequences Are Best Features of Fantasy on Film Will Be Made Into a Musical By Louella O.

Parsons HOLLYWOOD, April 28. rnHAT smart little business woman, Mary Pickford, has sold the 7, I Belasco play "Kiki" to William Ooetz at 20th Century-Fox -1- for $50,000. No play in the history of the theater has had nth OTA0RR0V OPtH DOORS a more interesting story. Lenore Uiric created the role oi the French Gamin, the naughty Kiki, who marries a man of wealth 5.nd then proceeds to embarrass him by her antics. After Lenore made one of her greatest hits.

and the play -an for several years. Joseph Schenck bought it for Norma Tal-madge and paid $100,000. Laser when sound came in it was chcsen as a vehicle for Mary Pickford. Belasco asked an ad A.rA. 0 'CABIN IN THE SKV," a Mrtro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture; arreenplay by Josrph Srhrank, based on the muMral play of the name title; book by Lynn Root; lyric by John lJUoiirhr; muir by Vernon Iuke: additional nonRS by K.

V. Harburar and Harold Arlen; muMral adaptation by KoKer Edens; rhoral arratiKpnicntu by Hall Johnson; directed by VI nee rite Min-nelll; opened yesterday at the Aldine. THE CAST STAGE nVI INPBRS0N! ditional for the talkie rights. It is the intention of 20th to make it into a musical so I have an idea either -Ethel Water Petunia Jackson Alice Faye or Betty Grable will get It. The Man Who Plays The Little Joe Jackfton, Eddie Rochester" Anderson Sweetest Trumpet fieorffla Brown Lena Home In The World! Louis Armstrong Rex Ingram Kenneth Spencer (John W.

Sublett) "Mi I MmzMM The Trumpeter Lurlus Lucifer, Jr. Reverend Green The General Domino Johnson, Bubbles" The Deacon Fleetfoot IP Donald O'Connor, 17, has been given the romantic male lead opposite Susanna Foster in "Angela" at Universal. "Angela" is the new title on Sinclair Lewis's "Angela Is 22" and I'm glad they have discarded "Birthday." While Sroung O'Connor won't have to don whiskers to play the older man who falls for a young girl, it will be a step up the romantic ladder for him. Who knows? By the time he is 19 if he isn't in the Army he'll be playing character parts! The cynical "tall girls" who have been writing me they don't believe a word '4 -M; First Idea Man Oscar Polk inton Moreland Hlllle Best Necnnd Idea Man- Third Idea Man, Moke" (Fletcher Rivers) Fourth Idea Man. Poke" (Leon James) Bill BUI Bailey screen "Cabin In the Sky" is heavy-handed fantasy, a sort of sepia "Lilliom," that is more pretentious than appealing.

DIRECTION IS FAULTY The chief fault, it seems to us, is the unimaginative direction of Vin-cente Minnelli who nevertakes full advantage of the motion picture medium's facilities for creating fantasy. Freed of stage limitations, he has deliberately limited himself, his material and his cast with endless close-ups, heavy sets and pedestrian story-telling. If Minnelli has fumbled his opportunities. Miss Waters has not. For she is still sincere and touching as Petunia, faithful wife of Little Joe Jackson whose weakness for dice, liquor and a hussy called Georgia Brown bring him to the brink of death in a barroom brawl.

Petunia's prayers win Little Joe a six-month period of grace, during which Lucifer, and the General battle for his soul. It is Petunia and a "technicality" that at last make possible the Jacksons' climb up the heavenly staircase. MUSICAL NUMBERS BEST All this is told via the dream and flashback method, with Eddie "Rochester" Anderson mugging away in the Little Joe role just as though he were still playing opposite Jack Benny. Lena Home is dramatically, physically and vocally effective as the temptress; while Rex Ingram scores in his original part of Lucifer, and Kenneth Spencer is properly impressive a3 the General. The musical numbers are by all odds the best sequences in the picture.

Miss Waters sings the title song, "Taking a Chance On Love," and, a charming new number by Arlen and Harburg, "Happiness- Is Messenger Boy. "Buck" Lily Mrs. Kelso rwaiwring fa- (Ford L. Washington) Butterfly McQueen -Ruby Dandridge Nieodrnws about Hollywood glamorizing sirens over Dude The STARDUSTERS sT ATI iPI I pn -Ernest Whitman Jim Henry Duke Ellington and his orchestra The Hall Johnson Cboir I mm a aa aa By Mildred Martin rms.ine iakk The expansive personality and warmth of that fine natural actress. Ethel Waters; Lena Home's lush beauty; and half-a-dozen top-flight Co West for songs are the chief, if not only, assets JOE E.

BR0WH sa 41 4skfa i "Cabin In the Sky," which opened TWO-GUM at the Aldine yesterday. Based on the Broadway musical of ROUGH WW six feet had better wait and see "Private Miss Jones" before tossing more brickbats. M-G-M has lined up six luscious beauties all over six feet tall for an entire sequence in the Kathryn Grayson movie and Director George Sidney says they are honeys. The honeys, to wit, are: lovely Helen O'Hara, who stands six feet four and a half in her shoes; Bunny Waters (Al Jolson's heart) who is the same size Sylvia Liggett, six feet three and three quarters; Dorothy Ford, six feet five and a half, and Susan Paley, the "shortie" of the group who is only six feet two and a half. At this writing no deal has actually been set but you needn't be surprised if Harry Cohn films the life of Fred Waring.

The studios never do anything by halves and these musical biographies are popular these days. Tom Waring is writing the story and if it is approved by Columbia it will be brought to the screen with the Waring boys probably playing their own roles. HAVE ROMANTIC ROLES IN NEW FILM Marsha Hunt and James Craig are two of the average Americans depicted in William Saroyan's "The Human Comedy," opening at the Boyd today. it 1 VtatS ROSEMARY lW a couple or seasons ago in which Miss Waters also starred. his is the first time since "The Green Pastures" that a major studio has attempted production of a feature with an all-Negro, cast.

M-Q-M's heart and intentions were obvioully in the right place, but as it reaches the fThe Great Impersonation' Opens on Capitol Screen 2 1911 and Hn CHESTNUT BETTY GRABLE When I saw Arlene Judge yesterday -busy getting ready to go to New York a. It 11 she was busy, and happy- iv if to rehearse for the Arlene Whalen role in "Dough Girls" for the 'A TAe Great German baron and the English gentleman he resembles. The two, acquaintances from years before, meet in Dakar quite by chance at the outbreak of war between Germany and England. One goes to England via Germany on a spy mission, and it is presumed the audience is kept guessing Just which is which, until denouement time about 50 minutes later. Bellamy does a capable job in his dual impersonation, and Evelyn Ankers is quite attractive as his English wife of nearly seven years' separation.

There's a four- or five-cornered romantic entanglement involving both Bellamys, Miss Ankers and Kaaren Verne and Edward Nor-ris as German spies. S. L. S. "THE GREAT IMPERSONATION," a I'nlversal picture; from the novel by E.

Phillips Oppenhelm; screenplay by W. Scott Darling; directed by John Rawlins; opened yesterday at the Capitol. THE CAST Sir Edward Domlnry Baron von Ragrnsteln Ralph Bellamy Muriel Evelyn Ankers Sir Ronald Aubrey Mather Bardtnet Edward orris Baroness Stephanie Kaaren Verne Seaman Henry Danlell Stories in which one man Impersonates another, through fortuitous resemblance, generally hold interest, and "The Great Impersonation" is no exception, even though on close scrutiny the plot is full of holes. The Capitol's new film finds Ralph Bellamy playing a dual role that of a Motion Piate "The Human Comedy" is more than a picture it is life itself. It relates some of the heart-warming things that happen to ordinary people and it is the sum of these little things that add up to a greatness no other picture has achieved.

Los Angeles company. The play opens here June 11. Arlene seemed to think it was the biggest break she has had in a long time. Her new step-daughter, Captain Jimmie Addams' child, arrived in New York while she was there to make her home with Arlene. She said she had received seven letters at one time from Jimmie, who said he won't be back for two months.

I never expect to see anyone get such a welcome as Joe E. Brown received at the Letterman Hospital in San Francisco last Saturday when he visited there. "Oh, gee! Oh, gee!" said one youthful fellow whom Joe had last seen at Padoga Hill, "I am so glad to see you, Joe, I want give you a present." Joe E. assured him that all he wanted was lo see the lad get well. General Frank Wead said that Joe had done a great job for the morale of the boys the first actor to bring entertainment to the service lads in the South Pacific.

Joe visited Guadalcanal, Z.f Solomons, Honolulu, the Fiji Islands, Australia and New Guinea. Amazjngnhe way he called many of the boys by their first names and recalled the last time he had met them. Snapshots of Hollywood Collected at Random: Billie Boze, Tommy Manville's latest ex, is in town and reports are for a Warner test Helen Vinson, looking tres chic, at the Mocambo with Alex D'Arcy Bets are that Martha Kemp Mature will marry the rich Spencer Martin who has been giving her the beeg rush Deanna Durbin gives a pint of blood to the Red Cross this week and it will be filmed for an actual scene In her new movie. "Her's to Hold" Jean Lorraine looking pale and showing the ordeal she has been through, was on the Para lot on Monday. She is the young dancer who lest her husband and almost her own life in the same Clipper crash with Jane Frohman several months ago.

i aK- pit I Battla of Mhi.c JOE FRASETT0 and Hil W.I.P. Orch. WHY PAY MORE! Man. 4 Tm. 830 t'linrt.

T6o lilt. 86o Plst Tax 8 P.M. ts 1 A.M. tnd METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER present Mai Hallett Coming To Met Ballroom In line with bringing famous name bands here, the Met Ballroom, Broad and Poplar announces that Mai Hallett and his orchestra will open Monday. Teddy Powell is the current band.

A new policy to accommodate defense workers has been inaugurated for Saturday dancing, with continuous music offered from 6 P. M. until midnight. ARNOLD WIAND And Ills Bund Veloz and Yolanda opened at Ciro's last night and Nothing: to the rumors big movie turnout greeted them STANLEY-WARNER rrrv VJL DOORS OrENI CM5 A. AV, that Kay and Jack Proctor are rifting.

Kay is in New York but they celebrated their 15th anniversary via the telephone Dined with Kathryn and Joe E. Brown and Sid Grauman at Omar Khayyam's. George Mardikian, the celebrated chef, prepared a special Armenian dinner. Sid is packing them in at the Alcazar with his "Hi-Lites of 1943" with Bill Robinson and company The Edward Lawrences (he's in the publicity department at M-G-M) have adopted a four-week-old baby girl WW-3MM 1 1 Tin Bill VnL 'j 1 1 lb A KISS MDGHT BETRAY But how he did kiss! All the thrills of this famous novel corne blazing to the screenl A FUN-PACKED REVUfl First Night-Club Appearance PAUL MOHR, M. C.

RITA ZA.NE LEE LAW'LER And Other Night-Club Aces 1 ED DEVER'S PALS OF RHYTHM Starring MICKEY K.OONEY Frank MORGAN James Craig Fay Bainter Van Johnsffn Jack Jenkins John Craven Mary Nash Marsha Hunt Ray Collins Donna Reed Dorothy Morris Ann. Avars Henry O'Neill Produced snd Directed by CLARENCE BROWN 6 xVve U-p CHOICE LIQUORS WINCS Screen Plsy by HOWARD ESTABROOK mMowwicm "tlM X' CL 1507 MORAVIAN ST. 3 BITS OF RHYTHM Mmlcot Novtlty Star MARTHA DAVIS Foramovt BoegFa-Woogi Singer WENDELL MASON Mmitobl Voco fit oo Ac ti Introducing the New Star PIERRE AUMONT DICK WADE Swing Keyboard SAT. JAM SESSION 2 TO P. M.

5for with H27 CH4MCCLOR ST. SUSAN PETERS RICHARD WHORF-MARGARET WYCHERLY SIGNE HASSO A Metro-Goldwyn-Maor Picturm LATE SHOWS FRIDAY NIGHT! PICCADi'LLY PIPERS with BONNIE DAVIS "Don't Sta Now" cor4 famm JEAN ELDRIDGE S9r of Popvlor Tune irt masssa ssaa iv wiip -x For those unable to attend regular shows 2 Complete Performances After Midnight! Last Feature at 3 A Af..