The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 41

POWEINIMMEIMMIIMMI1MIMIMNIMMINOMIfttv AMUSEMENTS FINANCIAL A 74k 4 inserted for the English market that they carry slisht conviction I'll bet Gene says that to all the earls lat nt Orpheum Ann L070 tune Kay Lenin Flomemerv Len Tn LOrn0 CrnwtV Ulla Lane Emma 'itip 04E4 Pag Adam IA-Tip CIVIO Rains Felix 17 JffrPv Lynn fir Clitiiin 'train Jr Eddie Ainert Annt run Mew Rntienn Ben Crowley Frank Mriltign Ernet reiba Dirk Toren Dr Forreet rit Henry 0 Neill Mrs Ridgebeld Vero Leiria to $6 In rt I REAL' ESTATE EDITORIALS MUSIC MOIMIEMPOLOFLIIIIROMMMINVIIMMIIIM UI PamgeY I 'rose Hail tacit Herbert De Richard Moore Slane Clark Peigv 's Barney Harris Amer Bryant AMert Martin 0 Nlichaei BtOWII Of Orge ForbeS Mrs Victor Herbert Lamp Lighter NEWMAN "The Oreat Victor Herbert" rn poimey Allan Jones pose Hall Mary Martin ctot Herbert Walter Connolly Richard Moore Lee Bowman atie Clark Judith Barrett Susanna Poster owl Harris Jerome Cowan artier Bryant John Derrick bert Martin Pierre Watkin ichael Brown Richard Tucker Aare Faller Hal Dawson )rbes Emmett Vosan rs Victor Herbert Mary Currier mo Lighter James rinlayson THE KANSAS CITY STAR: KANSAS CITY SUNDAY JANUARY it 1910 THREE LITTLE GIRLS IN HITS eks PRISCILLA LANE This young woman yho a short time ago was sineng with Fred Waring's PennsylvaNans now is leading a chorus of happy fans and theater men Recently her "Dust Be My Destiny" and "Roaring Twenties" performances sent her stock skyrocketing at the box office At the Orpheum this week she restmtes the role of Ann Lemp which jt brought her to the nation's attention In "Four Daughters" The new picture is called "Four Wives" It is a tendeK love story of how a girl's a SECTION el akte limn momennon anommummonaffmeanimmemonr ''ffig 4 REAE ESTATE EDITORIALS THE KANSAS CITY STAR music 43t KANS CITY SUNDA-Y JA-NUARY 14 1940 SECTION oPOMEIMINMrtitrIMMNNEIMEIMEIEIOMIMIOIOMEIE1NOUEIIIEMOIEMkillMEIMIMOEIO a --7- OC tion i THRFE LITTLE GIRLS IN HITS ct g)iure 0 (e views 44'' 1 I 4(11-- rs 3 7 tt-I'Lk3 0-----------bat BY Joux Mormr '44''t N-11 "The (-treat Victor Herbert 14 0 4 Thhn PertigeY Allan Jones Mary Martin 0' N' 4 I wiise Ha tam Herbert Walter Connolly N' i'irrc De Richard Moore Lee Bowman 411 t- Marie Clark Judith Barrett 7 6uaanna Poster -i' Priuk i Jerome Cowan 4 Michael Brown Barney Harrel! i f4r Warner Bry 1 Sibert Martin a 1 George Faller Forbes Mrs Victor Herbert Lamp Lighter John Carrick Pierre Watkin Richard Tucker Hal Dawson Emmett Vogan Mary Currier James Plinlayson t- ts'': 2-4 oscl 447' mor Nti 'l 4 ')? 3I''e7 1 A 1 "j11C rIsj'9'' "1rtb tt4iA3 i l'''''' tl '1113- 14 1 2: 1 4 Ims4 toe -se---- ''''s -s 4: s43 I'''" 4'l "I- ty Nt 4 1e to: '''Akig11 3 i' ''l I 3 4 1 3 'N i(i i 1i "0" '''1' tir 1 )- 4 li I S4 11140N Ite: 7 i i 14 A 1 i Elitodt I VCa 1 t' 14 3 4 T1 V' 10t z4 7' i i rj 04 A ii 1 Pi i to'3r''' ''-(: 's 11 '''i: 1 il 1 4: litktilL3 Vett 0 -sis! -3' s' -p) i '413 1r- ::::::::1 i 5 4111E) 4 II 0 'stp-s -t-( PRISCILLA LANE This you it ng woman who a short time ago was ingitng with Fred t' Waring's Pennsylvanians now is leading a chorus of happy fans and 1 theater men Recently her "Dust Be My Destiny" and "Roaring 'I ''''41'' 1:1 Twenties performances sent her stock skyrocketing at the box office i '4 ss 'I) At the Orpheum this week she resumes the role of Ann Lemp which 1 fil k1111 brought her to the nation's attention in Four Daughters" The new 3 toill as pVi -or I iv 0))Nr p-Aorilti picture is called "Four Wives" It is a tender love story of how a girl's 1 i 3 'it A10'11t-z "re IT'S a dumb Lane that has no turning Rosemary having seen what romance did for Priscilla in "Four Daughters" now goes into the rose-colored spot In the sequel "Four Wives" Rosemary's love story comes to a happy flowering and the film ends in wed- ding bells which are almost drowned out by the sound of -babies' rattles As Rosemary's cupid hovered over the family rooftree he must have been in danger of being pecked to death by storks All the other sisters wind up with offspring in their arms The only villain in the piece is Race Suicide and he takes an awful beating Sometimes this tale of marriage and progeny gets to the point where you wonder why they didn't call it "Union Prolific" Which isn't to say you won't like it Not quite so good as "Four Daughters" it is a lot better than "Daughters Courngeous" it abounde in pleasant family humor and heart appeal The Lemps are lovable folk Most of us would like to be related to so crotchety and kindly an old codger as the Adam Lemp portrayed by Claude RRitIS and I've never seen the family that couldn't use an Aunt Etta of the sort Preaented by May Robson The entire picture is keyed to a mood of small town wholesomeness that provokes a brotherly feeling in most midwesterners We know Frank McHugh's Babbitt and we like him and we like Dick Foranis florist who gets hay fever from the flowers that bloom in his bankbook and who is a person to whom we've said "Howdy" many a time It's a pleasure to welcome Rosemary's young man into such a family particularly when the young fellow is as attractive as the grinning Inarticulate and kindly doctor pertrayed by Eddie Albert You'll remember Mr Albert as the dumb cadet who had a previous brush with the stork in "Brother Rat" Yen may also remember him in "On Your Toes" but his good work here should make you try to forget it Like Mr Foram Mr McHugh and Jeffrey Lynn Mr Albert promises to be the ideal American husband the sweet kindly fellow who smiles at his wile and keeps his mouth shut If there's anything this temp family needs tend the need has not yet become acute) it is a certain in fusion of masculinity The Lernp family with its preoccupation vitth women's problems and its men Woo always do la the women want thean is apt to take on the tone of a Louisa Alcott feminine world And the feminine world is not the real for women life no matter how carefully the ladies plan it some man always ia ley didn't call it Ly you won't like good as "Four lot better than ous" it abounds humor and heart ps are lovable would like to be 'hety and kindly Anad ainms Inmdp pIolf- illy that couldht of the sort pre- bson The entire a mood of small a that provokes a 1manIcktt mmciHdwuegsht-3 Fr him and we like who gets hay vers that bloom i who is a person I "Howdy many welcome Rose- nto such a family the young fellow the grinning in- dly doctor plr- Ibert You'll re- rt as the dumb evious brush with ther Rat" Ysa er him in 'On 5 good work hcre try to forget It Ir McHugh and Albert promises nerican husband ellow who smiles teens his mouth ling this Lap the need has not It is a certain in iity The Lemp eoccupation wtth and its men who omen want them the tone of a feminine world world is not the for women )vti carefully the a man always ia vICTOR HERBERT has beat his own record For sheer delightful musical entertainment' this is the best movie I've seen since "Naughty Marietta" which you'll recall was 'also one of Victor Herbert's triumphs It's a critic's film over which he needs do no criticizing Story acting direction and writing all are flawless contributions to the rowing total of a pulse-quickening heart-heating show Its one of the few tilms this page an recommend withoUt reservations since it should appeal to any audience young or old senous or gay discriminating 'or: casual fie a show that can be seen three times a week without becoming tiresome It's the picture we've au i been waiting for So easy and expert is the'finished product that it Is difficult to believe the script kicked around the Paramount studios three years and that it long was a piece of elecdwood upon which producers and writers stubbed their toes Every- one knew the songs of Victor Herbert were loved by the public and that the Victor Herbert period with its gay restaurants its devotion to cooking and champagne and its' naive elegance was one to awaken fond and lively memories But Victor Herbert himself was hard to dramatize He was an Irishman who spoke with a German azemit his youth had been spent In German colleges) His most famous remark was "I vant vat I vant ven I vant it" shouted at a Ludlow's waiter He loved his wife and he was kindly His most talked about exploit was to drink Mumm's In a washed in Worchestershire All that didn't add up to drama tirt clutched the emotions: It was trie that Herbert's life was when Irving Berlin and Crhwin hecame the vogue of New York and that he was unhappy be- caiiie of his fall from the pedestal' In the period of his eclipse he arp7ared as guest conductor of the Newman orchestra here and caused no great furor It was also true that before his death theliPt radt0 polls rveelec1 that unlike New York' tho three times a week without becom- VICTOR HERBERT has beat his own record For sheer delightful musical enter- tainment' this is the best movie I've seen since "Naughty Manetta" which you'll recall was also one of Victor Herbert's tri- umpbs It's a critic's dream---a film over which he needs do no criticizing story acting direction and writing all are flawless contributions to the rowing total of a pulse-quickening heart-heating show It's one of the few iiirn this page an recommend iuld without reervations since sho appeal to any audience young or old senous or gay discriminating 'or: casual It's a show that can be seert ing tiresome It's the picture we've product that it is difficult to believe ell been waiting for So easy and expert is the'linished the script kicked around the Para- munt studios three years and that it long was a piece of deed wood upon which producers and wrrS stubbed theirtoes Every lle one knew the songs of Victor Her- bert were loved by the public and that the Victor Herbert period with is gay restaurants its devotion to cceking and champagne and its naive elegance was one to awaken fond and lively -memories But Victor Herbert himself Was hard to dramatize He was an Irish- spoke a with German ac- cprit (his youth had been spent In German colleges) His most famoust remark Was "I vant vat I vant venl 1 ant it snouteo at a Ludlow's waiter He loved his wife and he uas kindly His most talked about 1 exploit ma? to to -wit baunana bin at 9 washed in Worchestershire I All that didn't add up to drama tirt clutched the emotions It was t-ie that Herbert's life was sad when Irving Berlin and Crhwin hecame the vOgue of New York and that be was unhappy be czute of his fall from the pedestal In the period of his eclipse he arp-ared as guest conductor of the Newman orchestra here and caused no great furor It was also true that before his death the IIPt MOO polls- rvceled that unlike New York th 11 4 1 i' i It Ivc: fir li1111 1 0- 17i 4 ly r)- t4i 1 4 A ii II 1 -j 1 tr 1 11 -ki t4' lir- i i i memories of her first husband who is dead threaten the buccess of her second marriage The other Lane sisters and Gale Page share honors in the film which contains much gentle family humor memories of her first husband who is dead threaten the success of her second marriage The other Lane sisters and Gale Page share honors in the film which contains much gentle family humor MARY MARTIN A s' A I MARY MARTIN 1 1 I I MARGARET SULLAVAN 6he re-establishes herself as one of the most Important talents on the screen in "Shop Around the Corner" in which she portrays a working girl who battles and marries the straw boss (James Stewarp In this film she's back to heights she scaled in l'Only Yesterday" "Little Man What Now" and The Good Fairy" after being eclipsed for several seasons by bad parts It's a welcome return The movies have too few such talents The picture's at the Midland It 4 A 7 4 nrr I AlrAlk Avi-I-ILLAkIttitEo II 0 LJ Ellati 1-'11111 6he re-establishes herself as one of the most Important talents or The sad story of bow she sang "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" while her lather was dying put her in the public's mind but the talent she displays in The Great Victor Herbert" is what will keep her there With beauty a lovely voice and a gay and pleasing screen personality the seems a bright bet for stardom The picture which includes thirty of Victor gerbert's best loved melodies is at the Newman where it is delighting the iustomers bact tittay 01 flUW bne bang my mart 'smogs to moor' wnue her lather was dvinr out her in the oublic's mind but tilt talent cha Morgan while reviewing 'Henry Goes to Arizona" If Franks lawyer will call on us he'll find us willing to make amends by giving Frank anything from a pound of flesh (which we'd be glad to get rid of) on up Its a fine characterization Morgan while reviewing 'Henry 4 Asi 7 11111 tb 77 kraut as a Casanova of the leather goods A youth named Charles Smith delivers a touching moment as the boy who has come to town to get a job but Mr Lubitsch let William Tracy go overboard a bit in impersonating the errand boy who puts on airs when he learns "where the body is buried" and calculating commerce but they are really great throbbing citadels of affection as I should know since I once spent the summer as a bundle wrapper at Jones's Love is the I topic behind the counters The lunch rooms wash roomsand stockrooms quiver as the epics of lest night's dates are recited Those who are "serious" and those who are "playing around" are identilied quickly and "going 'steady' is a fate much more to be desired than "sitting pretty" Any presentable customer is examined raptly at a possible dream man or heart's desire woman Due to the prettiness QI Kansas City women I always was wrapping my thumbs in my own bundles and the only reason I no longer have the five I was born with is that I probably amputated them with twine in one of my roods of idyllic rhapsody there in the button department Of course every store and office has its villain the yes-man chiseler double-crosser and knifer-in-theback who lives like mistletoe on an oak tree on the bobs's elbow This part is brought to epic proportions by the funny work of Joseph Schild a and calculating commerce but they of an actor whl is filled with the virtues and faults of the theater He Is generous kind1y4 witty glamorous and a complete ham his sincere love and false pride warring continuously in him Of all the actors In Hollywood this reviewer considered Mr Jones the least likely to make his eyes get misty But he did IL The scene where he is too proud to give his wife and daughter the humble little Christmas presents he has bought for them will cause you to reach for your handkerchief and you'll be close to blubbering when he finally conquers his pride and goes on as an extra In order to keep his daughter from being a failure The score is one glorious melody 4 I i 1- etti- 4t i ri Itz iki --1-e1kilhbNlin 44 11S1' TO 00 141 3 1 The Earl of Chicago" "Silky" Ki 'mount Robert Montgomery "Doe" Ramsey Edward Arnold Gervase Gonwell Reginald Owen Munsey Edmund Owenn Redwood Clive Gerald El 'mount Ronald Sinclair Maureen Kilmount Norma Virden Lord Chancellor Ha Mull Hobbes Reading Clerk Ian Wulf' Judson Peter Ocdfrey Guide Billy Bevan hero go into a long liumb silence following his use Of the weapon' The trial before the house of lords is interesting in that it reveals a procedure never before put on the screen The audience waits and waits for the hero to speak (as it waited for Gary Cooper in the lunacy hearing in 'Mr and the suspense is effective But when his words finally come they are the ramblings of a demented person Had this suspense been satisfied with a great speech this might have been a great film Now with doubts of his hero's sanity in the minds of the spectators Mr Fowler tries to get a great finish by making you wonder whether the titled gangster will die as one to the manor born But this too is Insipid since the behavior of a man bereft of his faculties cannot supply any great suspense of character What effect it has is due entirely to Robert Montgomery who gives a fine performance in a badly muddled vehicle The film includes a few cheers for the British system of hereditary aristocracy but they're so obviously along the primrose path in the mauve decade Immediately the yarn became a wow because Victor Iierbert's music' although written by a fat -manw is not best'embedied by one In spirit it is eager gay gild passionvett--it is at once dreaming and playful It is the song of an unspoiled girl reaching out to seize life in all directions Paramount had a second lucky day when it signed Mary Martin to sing the main role Miss Martin arrives on the screen with the freshness of a debutante and the skill of a veteran As the theme scng of her career has it "her heart may belong to daddy" but the heart of the world is going to belong to her after this performance She gets the breathless guileless eagerness of the belle of the nineties into her acting and her singing Whether she's trying to conceal the rips in her worn gloves or making love on a bicycle she's a fascinating baggage always romantic but never sappy Opposite her is Allan Jones playing the best role of his career that a' IT vi a Ii di and it re-establishes Frank as the fine actor he is Like most employers he goes through the entire picture thinking that he runs a business instead of a temple of love This is one of the great values of the picture You may believe stores are places of cold MIDLAND 1 ccuntry had netforgotten him The nallonal audience still placid him alcad of Berlin and Gershwin This liRd its elernentsof pathos: but the sloty of the forsaken maestro was a ziow and twice-told tale It was a luckyday for Paramount anmi William Le Saxon the boss of the studio decided- to tell the story of Victor Herbert period rather than his life to roveal it through the eyes of a girl who left a home in the country to look for happiness ccuntry had 'fiC nahonal audie ahcad of Berth bad its elernen story of the a slow and evil It was a Wei hEn William the studio dec of Victor Hei than his life the eyes of a tiro country ti trailing ashes On the floor getting snootiul on the evening the bridge club meets or petulantly wandering off to eat barbecued goat when he should be at a formal dinner party Without a touch of this exasperating masculine counterpoint the woman's story becomes a dreamy fairy tale and artificial- In that fact lies the literary force of Margaret Mitchell(Conttnued an Page 120) 4 1 1111 NAME "The Shop Around the Corner" Klara Novak Margaret Sullavan Alfred Kralik James Stewart Hugo Morgan Ferenc Vadas 1 Joseph Schildkraut Flora Sara HadenPirovitch Nein( Sressart Pent Katona William Trscy Ilona Courtney Rudy -Charles Smith YOUR CHOICE OW that everyone else has put in his nickel's worth con- cerning who was best in the movies The Star's motion plc- ture department is eager to hear the only choice it deems choice A knowledge of your preferences will be invaluable both to your movie editor and to the producers who remain in business by serving you To learn this we're going to have an election as was conducted last year On the ballot below you will find spaces to name your first second and third choices among the actors and actresses It is par ticularly important that you be governed not by what you have read but by what you have seen Don't be Influenced by the words of this critic or any other' State your ckoice If your critic has been overlooking any popular favorites this Is your chance to set him right Any actor or actress you have seen on the screens of Kansas City in the last twelve months is eligible There are no age limitations Marie Dressler and Shirley Temple both have been reigning favorites so consider the children and the character players You need net confine your votes to those who have been given the ad- vantage of leading roles or expensive productions Consider the people in the supporting roles Perhaps your votes may raise some neglected genius to stardom But you don't have to vote for geniuses either Personalities that giye pleasure can be more important in popular entertainment than great masters of the technique or acting Vote for whomever has pleased you Ranot4 most be slimed but the names of voters will not be published Only one person can vote on one ballot All ballots should i :4 1 ----------N i 4 -t t- 1 i ro V' r' 1 1' IL VA' ''11' '''i'' Tii10e I i r' kV' -4- tg: 4 41A 10011 I t5ei-4 't A monmoo a SINCE it contains so many swell ideas this should have been a fine picture It cons cnns a Chicago gang chief NVII0 is found to be the legitimate heir tos British earldom and finds himself on trial for murder in a court which he can't house of lords This could have been made into a wow piece of as an entertaining comedy or as a social document drama The trouble Is that it tries to be both and in so doing confuses its audience and flops its plot No audience can maintain two points of view at once The picture introduces Robert Montgomery as an amiable Damon Runyon sort of crook who quickly wins the heart of the audience Then in the middle of the story the picture goes serious and winds up hanging the affable fellow Had Prank Capra decided to finish "It Happened One Night" by shooting Claudette Colbert for being a social parasite the results could have been no more disconcerting Or bad he decided to finish "Lady for a Day" with May Robson under the wheels of the subway train the effect would have been about as happy I note that this picture is from al story by Gene Fowler and Charles De Grandcourt From what I know of Mr Fowler's writing I feel pretty sure be can be saddled with the responsibility for what has happened Gene like Damon Runyon is a graduate of newspaper writing He's probably a greater wit than Damon and his imagination has wider range and greater vitality But unlike Damon Gene never has learned to discipline or harness hts talents He writes so entertainingly he can sell anything he puts on paper The result is that he wanders from an idea as soon as it starts to bore him It is not unusual for him to fall in love with some eccentric but minor character in the middle of a story and devote the remainder of the book to him finishing his main plot perfunctorily or even leaving it dangling No one minds this in fiction where the reader's sole concern is the hope that Gene will keep on writing But when one attempts to dpmatize his works the flaws quickly become apparent Stripped of the Fowler style the plots become rambling and often pointless tales Extraneous elements that were thrown in be cause they amused Gene foul up the logic There's a typical Instance In this film -Gene who can't resist a paradox became enamored of the notton of a gangster who had a psychopathic horror of firearms He can't tolich them He can't even bear to look at them But Fowler has him use an automatic to commit a murder when the plot needs I homicide Now all precedent (at least in the theater) has established the logic that to touch the thing that insphts such an aversion is to conquer the Inhibition Gaing contrary to this line of thought Mr Fowler has his F- ii" i4411P Ii f'31 i 'Ic-(At'iith i 1 c-AJ-0- 1 titi I riP i''1 4 8 )v '4 1 I UI i 44 i II 'eamkago I I) I 41 1 se I 1 sz i I It' A i 0 4 i 4 be addressed to "King and Queen of the Movies 1940" The Kansas City Star Kansas City Mo Ballots received after midnight Wednesday will not be counted Step up ladies and gentlemen! Step right up and name your choice! 0 HAVE you ever considered the advisability of turning your self inside out? Most of us have souls like our skins pink and 'tender on the inside but calloused and tough on the out We're little 'likely to use our tough side to knock people down for being too unappreciative of our inside All of which is dramatized hilariously in "The Shop 2 Around the Corner" a cheerfut funny picture which you will miss only at your peril It tells the yarn of two moonstruck young people who become acquainted through I newspaper advertisement and who woo each other through letters addressed to fictitious names In these letters they build themselves up into such paragons of nobleness and loveliness that Romeo and Juliet (had they seen them) would have abandoned the balcony and started taking lessons in character building Meanwhile the boy and girl unwittingly are working side by side selling leather goods in the same store giving each other digs between the phony smiles they hang out for the customers and being as generally mean and ornery as a fishwife when the smelt aren't running This leads to one of the screwiest romances the screen has offered It is much funnier than is indicated by this outline but a detailed recital of all their emotional turmoils spats and flights of romance could not be improved by my spoiling the freshness of the plot and the surprise of the laughs by relating them aU here Ernst Lubitach directed this pie-tore You will remember him as the clever maestro who produced "Ninotchka" and you'll agree that anyone who has a respect for humor will let the effervescent Mr Lubitsch tell his own gags The boy and the girl story is surrounded by the life of the store which is revealed through a set of characters whom you'll love and recognize as the friends and heel of your workaday life There is a beautiful performance by Felix Brassart (who looks like a weary Grouch() Marx) as a kindly old clerk who'll never get anywhere and who knows it Liberal with his heart he is terrorized at the prospect of using his head Like a querulous rabbit he scuttles into the stockroom whenever he hears the proprietor bawling "Now all I want is your honest opinion" Frank Morgan plays the boss as the DiMaggio family plays baseball A few weeks ago this column said some cutting little things about Mr of all their emotional turmoils spats and flights of romance could not be improved by my spoiling the fresh- new of the plot and the eurPrise of the laughs by relating them aU here 1 1 i and Queen of the Movies evi 1940 1 1 Y1 CI incyn My Previte movie actors are I My favorite movie actresses fret 1 11 2 3 MELANIE Olivia de Havilland fa a sweet as the world's sister in the dramatization of the Margaret Mitchell be seller "Ggine With the Wind" and should find her value greatly enhanced in whatever roles her Ftudto sees fit to give her hereafter They'll probably be starring harts Miss De Havilland is in the fortunate position of having the most sympathetic role in a film whose hero is a profiteer and rlmic and whose heroine is a ruthless and selfish coquette The hearts of the audience belong to Olivia Olivia de Havi tization of the Ma and should find studio sees fit to parts Miss De the most syrnpatb cynic and whose hearts of the audi "RHETT GABLE" If ever a part was band-tailored for an actor it is that of the sardonic hero of "Gone With the Wind" Those who know Cajoles husband find him so much like the Margaret Mitchell blockade runner they're never quite eure whether they're looking et Clark Cable or Rhett Butler They my the names can be used almost Interchangeably The role may be considered the crowning achievement of his vigorous career In the filln that will open January 26 at the Midland "RHETT GABLE" bP LI' :17 -i2' 3 'r My Name My Address 1 4 fr? ft I I A 44 14 iLnn' -II 11MMM UlinatIMME MMEM.