The Film Daily (1940)

10 9$ Friday, September 6, 1*1 DAILY; ft ft REVIEWS OF THE HEW FILfllS ft % "Who Is Guilty?" with Ben Lyon, Syd Walker, Terence de Marney Monogram 69 Mins. INGENIOUS MURDER MYSTERY HAS WELL WORKED OUT PLOT AND SURPRISE ENDING. This British-made film contains a number of surprises. It has an ingenious plot and well developed continuity with a surprise ending. Exhibitors should be able to use the picture widely despite its lack of names. The English accents of the players, with the exception of Ben Lyon, are a bit thick, but still understandable. Technical work on the picture is ragged. Ben Lyon, Syd Walker, Terence de Marney, Athole Stewart, Antoinette Cellier and Leslie Perrins are prominent in the cast. Fred Zelnik was the director. Story is based on a stage play by Alec Coppel. Walker, a Scotland Yard Inspector, is called in on a case just as he is about to leave for a vacation. With his assistant, de Marney, he believes that he has solved the murder of Perrins when an amazing chain of events start. Lyon admits to killing the man, but denies having been in the next flat where an empty pistol shell is found. Then Athole Stewart, when identified as the mysterious-occupant of the next flat, also admits to killing Perrins. Then a third suspect admits to the killing. Finally a fourth murderer shows up in the person of Antoinette Cellier. There is a good deal of humor injected into the goings on in addition to its more serious aspects. Naturally, there is a solution to why there are so many killers and it proves to be an interesting one. CAST: Ben Lyon, Athole Stewart, Syd Walker, Terence de Marney, Barbara Blair, Antoinette Cellier, Leslie Perrins. CREDITS: Producer, I. Goldsmith; Director, Fred Zelnik; Screenplay, Laurence Huntington and Alec Coppel; Based on a stage play by Alec Coppel. DIRECTION, Fair. PHOTOGRAPHY, Spotty. Will Canvass Indies On Canadian Reforms (Continued from Page 1) would be agreeable to all. This conference with the independent associations will precede any further meeting of the special clearance committee. Local Paramount Sets Pix For Rest of '40 Paramount Theater, Broadway, has completed its booking schedule for the balance of the year, Manager Robert Weitman announced yesterday. Following the current feature, "Rhythm On the River," which incidentally is registering the third biggest gross in five years, the schedule for the year, in order, is "Rangers of Fortune," "I Want A Divorce," "Victory," "Arise My Love," "Northwest Mounted Police" and "Love Thy Neighbor." "Girl From Havana" with Dennis O'Keefe, Claire Carleton, Victor Jory Republic 69 Mins. ROUGH AND READY ACTION MELLER WILL FILL THE BILL AS A PROGRAM OFFERING. With plenty of action injected, this meller will serve okay as program fare. The plot idea of the two buddies battling over a girl is not new, but it always has possibilities, in this case, bogged down slightly by mediocre dialogue. However, exhibs. should be able to spot the picture to advantage. Dennis O'Keefe and Victor Jory are adequate as a pair of brawling oil drillers. Claire Carleton, Steffi Duna, Gordon Jones, Bradley Page, Addison Richards and Abner B berman are prominent in the supporting roles. Lew Landers directed from a screenplay by Karl Brown, with additional dialogue provided by Malcolm Stuart Boyland. O'Keefe and Jory get in a cafe brawl over a dice game and get jailed. Miss Carleton starts the trouble by giving O'Keefe a pair of loaded dice so he can win his money back from Jory. Released from jail, O'Keefe goes back to the cafe to get their money and gets in a row with Trevor Bardette, with Gordon Jones, the drillers' pal, shot in the fight. O'Keefe sets out on Bardette's trail and kills him, but has to take a job running munitions to live. Picture has plenty of hocus pocus winding up in a good free-forall brawl with O'Keefe united with his pals in fighting Biberman and his bandits, for whom he had been running guns. CAST: Dennis O'Keefe, Victor Jory, Claire Carleton, Steffi Duna, Gordon Jones, Bradley Page, Addison Richards, Abner Biberman, William Edmunds, Trevor Bardette, Jay Novello, Frank Lackteen. CREDITS: Associate Producer, Robert North; Director, Lew Landers; Original Screenplay, Karl Brown; Additional Dialogue, Malcolm Stuart Boyland; Cameraman, Ernest Miller; Editor, William Morgan. DIRECTION, Good. PHOTOGRAPHY, Good. Biz in Unoccupied France Normal, Says Wm. Morgan Business in the unoccupied area of France was continuing normally at the time he left that country a few weeks ago, William Morgan, French manager for 20th-Fox reported yesterday following his arrival here. However, Morgan said he has not had any information as to what has transpired in Paris or Belgium in regards to the film business although part of the French staff which went to Bordeaux has returned to Paris. Morgan is here for conferences with Walter J. Hutchinson, director foreign distribution for 20th-Fox, and Ben Miggins, continental European manager, who is also in New York. Metro Buys "Eight Girls" West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Metro has bought "Eight Girls and a Horse" by Stanley Rauh and George Sayre. Edgar Selwyn will produce. Manny Seff will prepare the script. "Gold Rush Maisie" with Ann Sothern, Lee Bowman, Slim Summerville Metro 82 Mins. OKAY AS NABE OFFERING, BUT FALLS BELOW STANDARD OF PREVIOUS RELEASES IN SERIES. "Gold Rush Maisie," latest offering in Metro's series about the blonde showgirl who has a penchant for getting into "situations," will probably entertain nabe fans, but it does not measure up to the standard set by its series predecessors. The script is just ordinary, with Miss Sothern given few opportunities to really sparkle. The story itself is not very plausible. Miss Sothern does all that could be expected of her in the lead role, carrying off one drunk scene with hilarious results. Lee Bowman, Slim Summerville, Virginia Weidler, Mary Nash, John F. Hamilton, and Scotty Beckett give adequate support. Edwin L. Marin directed, but was hampered by his material. Miss Sothern, on her way to take a job in cafe, gets stranded at Lee Bowman's ranch, located on the edge of a ghost town in the desert. Finally reaching town, she finds her job gone. Trying to get back to Phoenix she gets mixed up with Virginia Weidler and her family and decides to go with them to the scene of a gold strike. The gold is there and everybody seems to make a strike, but when the assayer arrives he tells them that their ore is not worth the cost of mining. A considerable amount of business ensues and the hard hearted Bowman opens up his property, which has plenty of water, so that it can be farmed by the stranded gold seekers. Maisie treks off again to look for a job. CAST: Ann Sothern, Lee Bowman, Slim Summerville, Virginia Weidler, Mary Nash, John F. Hamilton, Scotty Beckett, Irving Bacon, Louis Mason, Victor Kilian, Jr., Wallace Reid, Jr., Virginia Sale, Frank Orth, Kathryn Sheldon, E. Waller, C. Judels. CREDITS: Producer, J. Walter Ruben; Director, Edwin L. Marin; Screenplay, Betty Reinhardt and Mary C. McCall, Jr., Based on a story by Wilson Collison; Cameraman, Charles Lawton; Editor, Frederick Y. Smith. DIRECTION ,O.K. PHOTOGRAPHY, Good. National Screen Service Regional Meet Calls 100 Close to 100 home office executives, branch managers and salesmen ' of National Screen Service yesterday attended a regional meeting held in the Hotel Astor. Conclave, presided over by Goerge Dembow, NSS general sales manager, was for the purpose of perfecting organization and plans for the 15-week "Herman Robbins 20th Anniversary Testimonial Sales and Business Drive" which will be launched nationally on Sept. 15 in honor of Robbins' two decades of service with the company of which he is president. Similar regional meetings will be held shortly in both Chicago and Los Angeles. Former is slated for Sept. 8-9 in the Congress Hotel, and the latter for Sept. 13-14 in the Hotel Ambassador. "The Tulsa Kid" with Don "Red" Barry, Noah Beer Luana Walters Republic 57 FASTMOVING WESTERN HAS PLE I OF EXCITEMENT FOR THE AC") FANS. Replete with action of every descrir this release should please the western Film has a snappy pace and an able to make the story plausible. The loca are good and the technical work is i par. Don "Red" Barry, who improves each release, is given able support by Beery. Luana Walters, David Durand, G Douglas, Ethan Laidlaw, Stanley Bly and Snowflake are among the suppc players. George Sherman gets cred associate producer and director, with original screenplay credited to Oliver [ and Anthony Coldeway. Barry, an orphan who has been brc up by Beery, a professional gun fig leaves his foster father when he se killing that Beery is involved in. Dn into a small town he is the witness killing in self defense. David Durand, has killed Stanley Blystone, member gang trying to get his water rights, is ported by Barry at his trial. Barry Durand to escape when a gang of men 1 ed by George Douglas try to lynch hir Shortly afterwards Beery is hired by E las to "get" Barry. This situation is developed, with plenty of action until I renounces his connection with the gan; supports Barry in his fight. CAST: Don "Red" Barry, Noah Ei Luana Walters, David Durand, George E las, Ethan Laidlaw, Stanley Blystone, \ Elliott, Jack Kirk, Snowflake. CREDITS: Associate Producer and C tor, George Sherman; Original Screen Oliver Drake and Anthony Coldeway; eraman, John MacBurnie; Editor, Thompson. DIRECTION, Fast. PHOTOGRAPHY, I Gilbert Davidson Dead St. John, N. B.— Gilbert D. Ds son, 63, a pioneer in commercial ijj ing picture photography in the nj time provinces, is dead * fORCIGf) A "Schubert's Serenac (French dialogue, English titles) Arthur Zeihm, Inc. 95 \ HERALD TRIBUNE: Film's t\ ment is light, in contrast to c musical pictures of this kind, and acting is good. DAILY NEWS: Musical ac< paniment constitutes the picti chief charm. NEW YORK TIMES: As a pic \ this one is slow and somewhat sti CREDITS: F. T. Film production; Dirs Jean Boyer. PLAYERS: Lillian Harvey, iouver, Bernard Lancret.