The Exhibitor (Jun-Oct 1939)

SenHsection 5 of America. This has a nice assortment of gags, is one of the better entries in the series. Porky is K. K., Jr., and his trip is quite an event, aided by the Schelsinger thinker-upppers. GOOD. (4812). H. M. NELLIE OF THE CIRCUS. Universal— Walter Lantz Cartoon. 7m. Rather good, the Jack Daltonish hero looks for his sweetheart, now Nellie, the trapeze artist, in the clutches of Rudolf. He finds her, ousts the latter, wins the girl. GOOD. (3255). H. M. NICK’S COFFEE POT. 20th Century-Fox— Terry Toon. 6m. Nick opens his coffee pot, the bugs all come, but the spider grabs the girl, runs away with her until overtaken by the hero, who vanquishes him. If this sounds, familiar, do not complain to us. BAD (9513). H. M. THE PRIZE GUEST. 20th Century-Fox-Terry Toon. 6m. This in a class by itself; it is probably the poorest in the series all year, which makes it very poor, indeed. The prize guest registers at the hotel, performs some tricks, winds up as a ballyhoo for a film selling magic tricks. They should have tried some magic in production. BAD. (9514). H. M. A WORM’S EYE VIEW. Columbia — Scrappy. 7m. A worm on a hook talks a fish out of satiat¬ ing his appetite on the poor worm. It all makes for average cartoon entertainment. FAIR. (9755). L. S. M. WOTTA MIGHTMARE. Paramount — Popeye. 8m. One of the screwiest of the usually screwy Popeye black and whites, this had an adult audi¬ ence howling with delight. Just imagine then, how the kids (for whom it was primarily de¬ signed) will appreciate it. The spinach-eating sailor dreams he’s having trouble courtin’ Olive CVyl up in heaven. Flashbacks from an enact¬ ment of the dream to Popeye’s slumber antics are just what the doctor ordered. EXCELLENT. (E8-8). L. S. M. Dramatic VOODOO FIRE. Vitaphone— Your True Ad¬ ventures. 10m. A good entry, this tells how a young man working on a West Indies plantation became a sudent of voodoo, almost lost his life when the natives rebelled. It makes for an interesting subject. GOOD. (4309). H. M. Musical HOAGY CARMICHAEL. Paramount-Head¬ liner. 10m. Hits by Hoagy Carmichael are played by Jack Teagarden and band, while a soloist sings and some shots of darkies (generally the theme of the Carmichael words) are glimpsed. It makes for an odd musical entrant, but there’s no denying the class of the compositions. GOOD. (A8-10). H. M. Color Novelty MERCHANIX ILLUSTRATED, No. 4. Vitaphone — Color Parade. 10m. A diversified, en¬ tertaining collection of up-to-date scientific mis¬ cellany, this fourth entrant in the Color Parade sub-series presents the latest devices in crime detection, the making of chocolate peppermint patties and cherries, the making and uses of colored rubber, and the manufacture of lead pencils. GOOD. (4609). W. W. POPULAR SCIENCE No. 5. Paramount. 10m. Old people going to school, a hot wire "saw” which cuts by burning, and views of the Max Fleischer studios in Miami, showing a Popeye color cartoon in the making. Latter is very interesting even though in the nature of a commercial ad for the series. GOOD. (J8-5). H. M. Novelty GOING PLACES, No. 62. Universal. 9m. Graham McNamee presents the commentary while some rather late shots of skiing are offered. Idea is to show how the ski idea has sunk into this country, how the skis are made, winding up with some nice skiing shots. It comes a bit late in the cycle, but it is interesting. GOOD. (3 373 ). H. M. KNOW YOUR HISTORY No. 3. ColumbiaHappy Hour. (Special). 11m. Presenting three historical events which should arouse the patriot¬ ism of most patrons, the third Know Your His¬ tory depicts the story of how "America” was written and when it was first sung in Boston in 1 832; the "Unknown Soldier”; and the trag¬ edy of the British nurse, Edith Cavell. Although it fails to create the impression it should and its cast seems amateurish, the subject should bring forth a moderate applause when it is ended. FAIR. (9473). G. K. PARAMOUNT PICTORIAL No. 10. Para¬ mount. 10m. Gentlemen at work, showing the Ted Peckham school of escorts in New York City and how it operates; Oriental fingers, the making of Japanese vases and dolls; the Song of the Year, showing Robin and Rainger, who wrote "Thanks For the Memory,” and the clip from "Big Broadcast” showing Shirley Ross and Bob Hope singing the number, all of which keeps the production costs down. GOOD. (V 8-10). H. M. SANDHOGS. 20th Century-Fox Adventures of a Newsreel Cameraman. 10m. Lew Lehr (without dialect) narrates, while an absorbing story of sand hogs building tunnels under the Hudson River is told. Shots, all taken on location, are interesting, and the final meeting of the crews working from opposite ends of the river, is dramatic. This marks a change in this series to one clip versions, a decided improvement. GOOD. H. M. SCREEN SNAPSHOTS No. 9. Columbia. 10m. One of the legs interesting of Harriet Parsons’ current series, this takes us to the race track, a horse show to give photographic proof that the film stars are truly ga-ga over the gee-gees. The Three Stooges literally, figuratively fall flat in an attempt to inject some humor into the proceedings. FAIR. (9859). L. S. M. STRANGER THAN FICTION, No. 62. Uni¬ versal. 9m. The usual assortment of novelties, making a good entrant, with the making of roads in Holland, small mules, a trick horse, some cute miniatures, in addition to other clips. GOOD. (3360). H. M. Color Travel JAMAICA. Paramount — Color Cruises. 9M. Although the color isn’t so good, the shots are, and Jamaica, British West Indies, looks like an island paradise. Shots of industries, etc., are shown, making for a good travel number. GOOD. (K8-6) . H. M. Sport DEVIL DRIVERS. RKO-Radio — Sportscope. 10m. Auto racing through the streets of Monte Carlo, in Africa, in Europe, in the United States, with some shots of Indianapolis and midget rac¬ ing, all making up a nice sports entry. GOOD. (9431 1). H. M. DIVING RHYTHM. Columbia— Sport Thrills. 10m. With a cast of high-diving champions garnered from among the topnotchers in the field, Columbia has managed to put more grace, thrills in 10 minutes than sometimes fits into a full-length feature. Olympic champs Pete DesJardines, Charlie Diehl, Marshall Wayne execute double jacks, half gainors, flying somersaults, but the climactic breathtakers are provided by Tony Zukas whose high board antics left pro¬ jection room audience gasping. Burlesque dives were performed by Ted Weingarten, Frank Fos¬ ter. Ford Bond’s expert delivery of Jack Kofoed’s narrative sort of gilds an exciting lily. EXCEL¬ LENT. (9806). L. S. M. INSIDE BASEBALL. 20th Century-Fox — Ed Thorgersen. 10m. Commemorating the 100 th anniversary of baseball, this shows glimpses of the present day greats in the game, with shots of many celebrities at training camp, as well as a few inside plays. It makes for a good male reel, with the women joining in, if they are fans. GOOD. (9304). H. M.