The Film Daily (1937)

THE -3&*i DAILY Thursday, June 3, 1937 Ik ■& Reviews of the Hew fUms ndthe "Riders of the « FOREIGN A Me/ "Behind the Headlines Tracy, Diana with Lee Tracy, Diana Gibson RKO Radio 60 Mins. SWELL MELLER PACKS PLENTY OF ACTION AND THRILLS WITH LEE TRACY DELIVERING STRONG, Made for thrill purposes only, but that is enough for the thrill fans who want their action hectic and sizzling. This one meets the requirements perfectly, with Lee Tracy back after a long absence, and just as effervescent and dynamic as ever. He plays the role of a news commentator on the air, who operates right on the scene of the hot news, broadcasting via a buttonhole mike in his coat lapel, with his pal, Tom Kennedy, handling the transmission to the studio with a portable set carried in his auto. Opens with Tracy reporting a disastrous fire, and showing up his girl rival out to scoop him as she does her stuff for a newspaper. This newcomer, Diana Gibson, is worth watching, for she has looks, a figure, a personality, and a real yen for strutting before a camera with verve and charm. With the help of his pocket mike that he leaves in his coat in a room with a bunch of gangsters planning to waylay a government shipment of gold, Tracy gets all the details of the plot. The girl reporter eavesdrops, and starts out to scoop him. But she runs afoul of a G-Man who is really a member of the gang, and he kidnaps her and brings her to the gang's hideout. They have given Tracy the slip. The armored car carrying the gold is hijacked ingeniously, and the gang take it inside a moving van to a cave where they can open the armored car and get the gold at their leisure. Then comes the hectic doings, as the girl seated in her car in the cave, sends an SOS on the set she has hidden in the rumble seat. Business of Tracy and the Federal men picking up the message, tracing it, and swooping down for the capture. As metiers go, this one is leading the list. Tracy does a grand job, and Diana Gibson is a honey child who will score strong. Donald Meek as the gang leader lends class with a deft characterization. Direction by Richard Rosson is fast, and builds to cunning suspense. Cast: Lee Tracy, Diana Gibson, Donald Meek, Paul Guilfoyle, Philip Huston, Frank M. Thomas, Tom Kennedy, Doodles Weaver, Ralph Robertson, Art Thalasso, Edith Craig. Producer, Cliff Reid; Director, Richard Rosson; Author, Thomas Ahearn; Screenplay, J. R. Bren, E L. Hartman; Cameraman, Russell Metty. Direction, Very Good. Photography, Okay. Imperial Franchise to Adams Imperial/ has closed with Jack Adams of Dallas a five year franchise agreement. The agreement will include Imperial's current product as well as the 32 pictures for '37-38. The territory covers Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. The exchanges will operate under the Imperial name. Riders of the Whistling Skull" with The Three Mesquiteers Republic 58 Mins. GOOD ACTION WESTERN WITH INDIAN ATMOSPHERE MAKING IT A DRAW FOR THE YOUNGSTERS. The Indian atmosphere is worked in very naturally in this adventure of The Three Mesquiteers — Bob Livingston, Ray Corrigan and Max Terhune — by having the theme tied up with a search for hidden treasure of an ancient Indian tribe, whose descendants are hidden away in the desert wilderness. The Three Mesquiteers join up with a scientific expedition on learning that the girl's father, a scientist, has evidently been held captive by the Indians after he had discovered the location of the hidden treasure. Another member of the expedition is mysteriously murdered just before the start across the desert. Circumstances point to some member of the party being the murderer. The Three Mesquiteers decide that the only way to uncover the murderer is to stick with the group, and watch everybody closely. The thrills and surprises come fast as soon as the party approaches the site of the Whistling Skull, which is a jagged rock on the mountainside marking the location of the hidden treasure. A half-breed who had undertaken to guide the party is uncovered as the murderer, but he escapes and joins his people hidden in the mountain pass. The party is marooned on top of a high cliff when the half-breed kicks the ladder away, but they discover a cave that leads to the treasure, and also the imprisoned father of the girl. The rescue of one of the Mesquiteers who is captured and about to be offered as a sacrifice forms a good thrill climax. Cast: Robert Livingston, Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune, Mary Russell, Roger Williams, Fern Emmett, C. Montague Shaw, Yakima Canutt, John Ward, George Godfrey Earle Ross, Frank Ellis, John Van Pelt'. Producer, Nat Levine; Director, Mack V. Wright; Screenplay, Oliver Drake, John Rathmell; Authors, Bernard McConville, Oliver Drake; Editor, Tony Martinelli; Cameraman, Jack Marta. Direction, Very Good. Photography, Fine SERIAL "The Painted Stallion" Republic About 20 Mins. per chapter (A Serial) Produced on an unusually large scale, this exciting serial is packed with swell action, hard riding and frequent thrills, judging from the first two chapters. Republic has screened a high-powered and romantic version of the winning of the West during the years immediately following the withdrawal of Mexico from the jurisdiction of Spain. To establish trade relations with the new territory, a wagon train of U. S. official representatives, pioneers and scouts set out for Santa Fe and are beset by hairraising adventures when the Indians Tre Anni Senzct Donne" Years Without ("Three Years Without Women") Piedmonte 66 Mins. ITALIAN COMEDY FETTERED BY TECHNICAL SHORTCOMINGS AND LACKING GENERAL APPEAL. Handicapped by lack of technical quality, and with general audience appeal limited by the absence of English titles, this Italian-made comedy is only passable entertainment at best. Its story deals with a 'young man who is heir to the riches of his uncle. But the deceased's last will and testament imposes a strange restriction, namely that the handsome nephew refrain from mingling for three years with (he fair sex. A magician deftly plots to land a lovely girl in the monastic seclusion of the heir's castle. He chooses her rather than the millions. The fortune then goes to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Nino Besozzi plays the role of the romantically inclined bachelor and does a good job of the assignment. But in the last analysis the feature is inconsequential. Cast: Nino Besozzi, Sandra Ravelli, Lamberto Picasso, Olga Capri, Guiseppe Pierozzi, Roberto Pasetti, Oreste Bilancia, Giarome Almirante, Calisto Beltramo, Aldo Moschmo, Alfredo Martinelli, Gino Viotti, Turi Pandelfini, Pio Campa, Alfredo Robert. Director, Guido Brignone; Author, Luigi Bcrelli; Music Score, L. Colacicchi. Presented by Cine-Lux Corp. at the CineRoma Theater. are stirred up by renegade outlaw groups to attack the expedition as it advances toward its destination. Numerous historical characters of the period are portrayed in the cast, and an early "legend" of the Indian tribes, the periodic appearance of a mysterious "redskin" who saves white pioneers from the dangers which beset them through attacks by both the Comanche tribes and roving outlaws, is woven into the story. This strange rider, mounted on a painted stallion, shoots whistling arrows to warn against attacks. In the first chapter, "Trail to Empire," there is a dramatic and spine-chilling sortie by the Comanches against the pale-face invaders, while the second chapter, "The Rider of the Stallion," relates how and why the Indians ceased the attack, as well as the task the wagon train has in fording a swollen river in the night. Ray Corrigan plays the top featured role. The other principals are Hoot Gibson, leader of the train, and young Sammy McKim, who plays the part of the renowned Kit Carson during the scout's boyhood days. William Whitney is the serial's director, together with Alan James and Ray Taylor. Barry Shipman and Winston Miller penned the screenplay, based on the original story by Morgan Cox and Ronald Davidson. Outdoor drama enthusiasts of all ages should "go" for this serial in a big "Maria, Die Magd" ("Mary, The Maid") Casino Film Exchange 88 Mins. POP TYPE HUMAN INTEREST DRAMA, WELL ACTED AND PHOTOGRAPHED. Foreign film fans generally will like this story of a maid who, because of the professional and added outside interests of the woman who employs her, becomes virtually the mother of the latter's six-yearold son. There are frequent emotional moments spiked with copious human interest elements. Hilde Koerber essays with solid skill the part of the maid, and her performance and those of the juvenile player, Arthur Fritz Eugens, plus many exemplary instances of able photography, are the film's highspots. Cast: Hilde Koerber, Hilde Hildebrandt, Alfred Abel, Hans Schlenk, Herbert Paulmueller, Ernst Legal, Helmuth Brasch, Will Dohm, Wolfgang Kieling, Arthur Fritz Eugens, Erika Raphael, Gerhard Gruender, Carl Auen. Producer, Tobis-Minerva; Director, Veit Harlan; Musical Score, Leo Leux. Presented at the 86th Street Casino Theater. way. It should do well at the box-office. exceptionally Mins. SHORTS Community Sing No. 3 Columbia 10 Swell for Nabes This series has been pepped up considerably with this issue. Back in the Gay Nineties, with the band and singers dressed in styles of the day. Charles Irwin acts as emcee. Wendell Holmes takes the audience with him through the old favorites, leading and encouraging them to yodel and warble. Andy Sanella and his ork play "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Little boy Jolly sings "Wait Till the Sun Shines Nellie." But Wendell Hall is the show, leading the audience through such old favorites as "The Bowery," "In the Good Old Summer Time," "Little Annie Rooney," "There'll Be A Hot Time". With the words superimposed on the screen, this one should go strong in the nabes where they like to get chummy and noisy. Directed by Charles Lamont. "Krazy's Race of Time" (Krazy Kat Cartoon) Columbia 7 mins. Good Phantasy A glance into the future, with Krazy doing a newsreel a la March of Time in the year 1999. All kinds of inventions jazz up the reel, with auto roads running through skyscrapers, and giant machines turning out country homes all rea/f ^ to be lived in. Machinery does if n4e/-, thing and the humans are really : managed by the machines. At thej finale, Krazy takes a rocket trip toi Mars, and is glad to come back I when Mars treats him rough. Aj Charles Mintz production. Anima-j tion by Harry Love.