The Film Daily (1939)

INI DAILY Friday, October 13, 1939 .v :< RCVICUIS Of TH6 R€UI flLIHS '< ■< "Dancing Co-Ed" with Lana Turner, Richard Carlson, Artie Shaw M-G-M 80 Mins. SPARKLING MUSICAL COMEDY WITH GOOD CAST SHOULD BE A SOLID HIT WITH THE POP. TRADE. In addition to being first rate entertainment in every respect without the presence of the popular swingmaster, Artie Shaw, "Dancing Co-Ed", with Shaw as an added attraction, should be a solid hit with the pop. trade. It is gay, amusing and musical by turns, and there's a neat litle romance thrown in for good measure. The direction of S. Sylvan Simon is expert, giving the picture a zippy pace that bubbles with action from start to finish. Lana Turner, attractive and personable, makes her debut as a star with a flourish, turning in a smooth performance. Richard Carlson is good looking and capable opposite Lana, and Ann Rutherford fills a top supporting role neatly. Maestro Shaw swings his music in the most approved killer-diller fashion for the edification of the jive trade. Lee Bowman, Leon Errol, Thurston Hall and Roscoe Karns ably support the principals. Albert Manheimer rates a nod for his snappily paced and cohesive screenplay. Hall, the high mogul of Monarch pictures, is in a dilemma when the wife of his dancing star, who is his partner, discovers she is going to have a baby just before they are to start production on a super-dooper musical. Karns, Hall's press agent, has the bright idea of selecting a new star through a college contest. Lana, daughter of Leon Errol, both of whom are in vaudeville, is planted in a college to be the winner of the contest so Karns will be certain of getting a good dancer. However, this is just the beginning of trouble for everybody. Carlson, editor of the college paper, starts an investigation to see if anybody has been planted in the college. Lana and Carlson both get in a jam with the dean and their fathers are sent for. On top of this, Carlson falls for Lana, but blows up when she tells him the truth about herself. Finally the day of the contest arrives after Shaw has been to a number of other colleges. Lana is kidnapped by Carlsons friends at his behest, but finally makes him take her back to the college so she can dance in the contest finals. Meanwhile, Karns has put Ann Rutherford on to stall for time when Lana dosen't show up. Everybody is happy when Hall selects Ann, gives Errol a job and Carlson proposes to Lana. The scene of producer Hail at the race track with a portable radio listening to news flashes, and hearing about his star's becoming a mother, will give plenty of laughs in the trade. Exhibitors can have a field day exploiting this one with Artie Shaw in the cast. CAST: Lana Turner, Richard Carlson, Artie Shaw, Ann Rutherford, Lee Bowman, Leon Errol, Thurston Hall, Roscoe Karns, Mary Field, Walter Kingsford, June Preisser, Mary Beth Hughes, Monty Wooley, Chester Clute, Mary Field. CREDITS: Producer, Edgar Selwyn; Director, S. Sylvan Simon; Screenplay, Albert Manheimer; Based on a Story by Albert Treynor; Cameraman, Alfred Gilks; Editor, urn I . . nil Television Spy with William Henry, Judith Barrett, William Collier, Sr. Paramount 58 Mins. (HOLLYWOOD PREVIEW) SUSPENSEFUL MELODRAMA MIXES SCIENCE AND ESPIONAGE IN TIMELY FASHION. "Television Spy" rises considerably above the average B programmer. Its fifty-eight minutes are packed with suspense, and the timeliness of its subject will lift it over any rough spots. It opens with the discovery by William Henry of a television broadcaster which will carry television waves farther than the present fifty-mile limit. His research is carried on under the sponsorship of William Collier, Sr., who does himself credit in a grouchy rich man's role. After weeks of work in a secret laboratory, William Henry and Dick Randolph, with Collier looking on, perfect their invention and each experiment takes their broadcasts farther west. They aim to perfect the instrument and turn it over to the U. S. governmnet. Spy interference enters in the form of Dorothy Tree, Collier's old friend, who is revealed as a foreign agent, and who, by working through Minor Watson, Collier's former partner, and Anthony Quinn, Collier's butler, is able to steal the plans and set up a similar instrument. By an accident the two sets cross waves and reveal each other. The discovery of the second instrument arouses suspicion at Collier's laboratory and finally brings about the arrest of the thieves and spies. A mild long-distance romance also results between Watson's daughter, Judith Barrett, and William Henry. The scienific angle of the Endre Bohem story is so engrossing that the human side takes second place. All the cast, however, performed well what was given them. Director Edward Dmytryk handled the plot pointedly for suspense and scientific complexities. Horace McCoy, William R. Lipman, and Lillie Hayward delivered a tight and logical screenplay. Unusual shots through the small "television" screens were photographed by Harry Fischbeck. CAST: William Henry, Judith Barrett, William Collier, Sr., Anthony Quinn, Richard Denning, John Eldredge, Dorothy Tree, Morgan Conway, Minor Watson, Byron Foulser. CREDITS: Associate Producer, Edward T. Lowe; Director, Edward Dmytryk; Story bv Endre Bohem; Screenplay, Horace McCoy, William R. Lipman, and Lillie Hayward; Cameraman, Harry Fischbeck; Art Directors, Hans Dreier and Franz Bachelin; Film Editor, Anne Bauchens; Sound, Gene Merritt and Gene Garvin. DIRECTION, Suspenseful. PHOTOGRAPHY, Good. "Mystic Circle Murder" with Robert Fiske, Betty Compson Merit Pictures 69 Mins. HOKUM MELLER RATES AS FAIR PROGRAMMER FOR SMALL NABES. Strictly a program offering, this release will serve as a filler in the small nabes. It has plenty of hokum, a fair amount of action and an adequate cast that struggles hard with the sketchy material used as a story background. Betty Compson, Robert Fiske, Helene Le Berthon and Arthur Gardner fill the principal roles. Story deals with Fiske's spiritualist racket, which he uses to mulct innocent clients of large sums of money. Miss Le Berthon gets mixed up with Fiske and he suggests she go to Egypt when the police and newspapers get on his trail. Gardner, a demon reporter, who is enamored of Miss Le Berthon, also arrives in Egypt. Fiske immediately advises his client to go to India, and Gardner ends the world tour when he catches up with them there. Madame Harry Houdini, widow of the late noted magician, makes a brief appearance in the film to deliver a warning against fake mediums. CAST: Betty Compson, Robert Fiske, Helene Le Berthon, Arthur Gardner, David Kerman, Robert Fraza. CREDITS: Produced by Continental Pictures; Direction, Screenplay and Original Story, Frank O'Connor. DIRECTION, Adequate. PHOTOGRAPHY, 0. K. All-Negro Film to Open Bryant Productions has completed an all-Negro film entitled, "George Washington Carver," based on the life of the noted Negro scientist. Plans are being made for a Broadway opening the latter part of this month. Will Air 20th Century-Fox's 'Drums' on Kate Smith Prog'm (Continued from Page 1) ciation with Young & Rubicam. Bacher has been working on the idea for some time. If the dramatization is effective it is believed deals will be made by the leading motion picture companies to have certain of their big pictures dramatized and made a part of current air shows. It is reported that Louella Parsons figures in the plan and may present data in connection with the picture being dramatized. W. Donn Hayes. DIRECTION, Fine. Expert. PHOTOGRAPHY, Brobuck Experiencing Biggest 6 Months' Biz Detroit — Increased commercial film business will give Brobuck, Inc., producing organization here, its biggest six months for the period ending Dec. 31, according to William Alley, script manager. Major new accounts are: Kelvinator Division of Nash Kelvinator; Firestone Tire Company; J. I. Case Co., Racine, Wise, tractor manufacturers; Household Finance Corporation, Chicago; Gates Rubber Company, Denver; Plymouth Division and Chrysler Service Divisions of Chrysler. To handle the increased volume of production, a new script writer, Merrill Sweetman, has been added to the staff. "Slapsie Maxie's" (Broadway Brevity) &• Warners 17 mins. Sure-Fire Fun Equipped with a slick screenplay which packs laughs galore, this tworeeler is sure-fire with anyone who has a sense of humor. Appeal, because it's a pugilistic yarn, is strongly toward the male gender. Maxie Rosenbloom, Johnnie "Scat" Davis, Frank Faylen, Gulley Richards, and Tommy Reilly are perfectly cast. Story recounts how Johnnie Davis' footwork, as a waiter, captures the imaginative fancy of Maxie Rosenbloom, night club proprietor. That very night, following a quick knockout of his adversary, the champ comes into the joint, but is knockedout accidentally by "Scat" Davis who has too carelessly wielded a tray. Onlookers believe the k.o. was legit, and Davis is forced into a bout with the champ. What happens in the roped arena is a salvo of fun. Noel Smith directed this short, and it's a good job. "Going Places" Universal 9 Mins. Bird Life An unusual short, this study of odd birds photographed in their natural habitat should interest all nature lovers. Probably of all the birds in the Western hemisphere the toucan is the queerest. The size of the toucan's beak has been a scientific wonder ever since the bird was first seen by ornothologists. We see macaws, whooping cranes, owls, Canadian geese, cormorants, owls, Canadian number of other species. It is particularly interesting to watch the pelicans, awkward and ungainly on land, they are among the most graceful feathered performers in the world when they take to the air. "Crop Chasers" (Color Rhapsody) Technicolor 7 54 Mins. Enjoyable Offering Filmed in Technicolor under the direction of Ub Iwerks, with music by Eddie Kilfeather and musical direction by Joe De Nat, footage deals with a flock of militant, hungry and well-organized crows who devour a farmer's crops so brazenly that the poor man readily gives two itinerant scarecrows employment. The new employes are no help, but when a young crow falls down a well, the scarecrows rescue him. As a rewai'd and peace offering the flock of feathered raiders bring back the farmer's crops and respect the scarecrows. Cartoon fans will enjoy the offering.