“THE FAMILY DRAG”

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 910, 1 March 1930, Page 14

“THE FAMILY DRAG”

BRIGHT COMEDY-DRAMA AT THE MAJESTIC BARTHELMESS TALKIE “I married for a chance at happiness, and all I got was a family around my neck dragging me down like a ten-ton derrick.” And having relieved himself of something that had been on his mind for about three years, Richard Barthelmess slammed the door as he went out. In “The Family Drag,” which had its initial screening at the Majestic last evening, Richard Barthelmess, popular screen star of silent days, is seen and heard in a talkie production. 3.-I o has the same nice looks and the talkies reveal a more than pleasing speaking voice. He plays the part of a young newspaper man who arrives at Paris, Vermont, U.S.A., to take over the local paper, “The Courier.” Tie arrives full of pep and enthusiasm, and keen to make Paris, Vermont, look like a fairsized spot on the map. Unfortunately, he secures board and lodging with a “refined” family which quickly sets out to make him “one of us.” Dot, the fascinating young dress designer whose shop is next door to the “Courier” office, warns the handsome young editor to beware of the Parker family. “They are all lined against you and will rope you in,” she warns him. One somehow feels sorry for the tall dark girl when she only gets snubbed for her pains, and one somehow feels that young Carroll has made a big mistake when he marries Alice Parker and, incidentally, the father and mother, the sister, brother-in-law and two children. Father promptly knocks off work, and the brother-in-law is only saved from doing the same thing by reason of the fact that apparently he had never started. A year or two of that and Carroll has to admit that he has succeeded in only one respect he | has made the “Courier” a real family paper. Dot, the dress designer, leaving for Xew York, implores him to CLit away from the little toAvn and get back to the atmosphere of big things. As the train steams out she reaches forward and kisses him, and once again he realises he made a mistake. For a local organisation he had composed a musical comedy, and when the paper fails and his father-in-law refuses to raise a mortgage on his which Carroll had previously cleared tor him, Carroll decides to try his luck with his play in New York. His wife, frightened to take the risk of failure, j refuses to accompany him. A BIG SUCCESS In New York. sadly up against ! things, he again meets Dot, now a successful dress designer for big theatrical ventures. With her assistance he gets his play accepted, and it is a huge j success. Now he is on his feet Dot : again decides to move on. She tells him that it would be better so, and that she is going to France. She admits that it is because of the fact that he is married, and that she loves him. What is for Carroll a very sad moment is not brightened bv the unexpected appearance of Carroll’s wife, complete with father and mother, and the the sister and brother-in-law, and two children. All Carroll's letters to her had gone unanswered until he had made good and enclosed a cheque, when the family decided that the time was ripe for a family reunion. Carroll almost makes the same mistake twice, but an insulting remark by the brother-in-law about Dot stirs him into belated action. A heavy right to the point of the brother-in-law’s jaw puts him out of subsequent proceedings, and in reply to the combined efforts of the family to describe what manner of man he is Carroll informs them that they can have his furnished Pat with its year’s rent paid in advance. He slams the door as he rushes { 10 catch the boat to France and happi- j * C £#tia Lee and Alice Day provide two interesting contrasts. Alice Day. one cannot help feeling, is quite a good and sufficient reason for men leaving home.

A pot pourri of English events, an interesting New Zealand publicity film on boo culture, an interesting colour fantasy, “In Dutch/* and a very enjoyable sound cartoon, “Micky the Mouse,” complete an enjoyable entertainment. A saxophone solo by Mr. George Poore, accompanied by Mr. J. White-ford-Waugh’s Orchestra, was warmly applauded.