Alexander Graham Bell lived in what was essentially a materialistic age, a fact that may have prompted RKO not to make fame an end in itself in the screen biography that bears his name, now showing at the Keith Memorial. Anyway, Don Ameche is called on not only to portray how the inventor of the telephone obtained recognition but also to show how he gained riches. In the first assignment, all is reasonably smooth sailing. Aided by Loretta Young, Don Ameche gives a fairly convincing life portrait of Bell in his rise from a cold attic to the court of Queen Victoria. This might seem the logical point at which to call quits, but RKO is adamant and refuses to halt here. Instead, the picture embarks on a long dull explanation to prove that genius is rewarded in gold, as well as in renown. The old court room scene is hauled in--this time, of all things, because of a patents suit. And by the time the right side obtains justice, no one cares very much, even though it seems that Alexander is awarded one-fifth of all the stock of Western Union for his invention. All this may have been very important at the time but nowadays it makes for pretty innocuous entertainment. Henry Fonda furnishes adequate comic relief, and the rest of the supporting cast strives valiantly to make a poorly presented story interesting. But the odds are too great. All in all, Mr. Bell deserves something better than this.

The playbill also offers Warner Baxter in a little affair talled "The Return of the Cisco Kid." This film accomplishes little except to increase the gloom at the Memorial this week.