THE CRIMSON PLAYGOER

When Captain John Ayers released the movie rights of his book to the Warner Bros. Inc., he could have had very little notion of the Hollywood system. It is hard to believe that he is satisfied. The movie, true enough, is harmless and occasionally entertaining. But the possibilities of such a work proved a little too much for those who sit in back rooms and pound out superlatives. "The Police are Liars," "The Police are Fakers," they assure us. Snappy mottos, these, emblazoned in three foot red capitals, snappy mottos to garner quarters and to ornament the ad man's paradise.

In harmony with a well-oiled cinematic formula, the dramatic value of this production is in inverse proportion to the fury of its advertising campaign. As the "Bureau of Missing Persons" appears on the screen, it is a harmless tale centered around the adventures of a young detective in the particular department under inspection. His inexperience is considered sufficient justification for a lengthy sermon on the value of the Bureau; his presence imparts some continuity to the series of otherwise unconnected incidents; his youth is Hollywood's reason for dragging in the love interest.

Mr. Pat Obrien labors to produce a mechanically adequate detective; Miss Bette Davis is beautiful, in her clipped manner. But the honors for holding this piece together go to Mr. Lewis Stone, Mr. Stone, it is true, is called upon for some difficult scenes. He must lecture his new detective; he must provide honorable exits for adulterous husbands; he must, in one moment, bluff a confession from some murderer, and, in the next, pat the shaggy head of a boy prodigy. This is the sort of thing which acting will ruin. But Mr. Stone is glad, as always, to remain Mr. Stone.

For the preservation of at least a portion of his educative intent, Captain Ayers must therefore thank Captain Stone. The salvage, however, is small; the Warner Bros. have seen to that. What might have been a dull and instructive film is muddied with a useless love interest; what might have been a mediocre romance is muddied with police records. As usual, when it is caught between two fires, Hollywood has jumped into both.

On the same bill, these theatres have included a Fox Film, "The Worst Woman in Paris." Recommended for admirers of Adolphe Menjon.