Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1939)

October 21, 1939 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIE W Far/e 17 Kansas, Livingston and Hatton learn about I he situation from Renaldo. When Hickman, uovernor genera!, visits the island on a routine matter of investigation, Douglas con-iM'ts to keep the truth from him. Disguised a> a masked rider, Livingston gains an audience with Hickman, who is sliot from behind by Douglas. Livingston is accused of the murtler, but Renaldo, who has been caplured and will not reveal the masked rider's Identity, is condemned to death. But Livingston and Hatton round up tlie people, pre\ ent the execution and expose Douglas. Comment: In locale and story the latest .\1 esquiteers western is superior to its predecessors. The locale is a Caribbean island, and the story is exciting without being ineredil)le. Then, too, Duncan Renaldo is a suitable replacement for John Wayne. With Its Spanish atmosphere, the film is geared liir Latin-American consumption as well as tlie domestic market. It succeeds in holding and maintaining the interest, resorting nnly to melodramatics near the end to satisfy the peanut-and-popcorn fans. Otherwise, the performances and general production treatment are, by comparison, as good as those which would be accorded pictures in a higher allocation. The fact that it's a western doesn't deter Republic in this connection. Contact music stores for window displays utilizing records and sheet music of cowboy tunes. Tie up with book stores on the western novels of William Colt MacDonald. Distribute fan fotos of the Three Mesquiteers. (FAMILY) AUDIENCE REACTION: THE MASSES WILL ENIOY EVERY MINUTE OF IT, AND THE SUPERSOPHISTICATES WILL FIND THEMSELVES WEAKENING IN THEIR AVERSION TO HORSE OPERAS. BOX OFFICE SLANT: WHEREVER THE MESQUITEERS ARE POPULAR, THEIR NEW WESTERN SHOULD DRAW WELL. Meet Doctor Christian (Holl\wood Preview) RKO DRAMA 66 mins. (Prod. No. 5— Nat'I Release, Nov. 10) Credits: Jean Hersholt, Dorothy Lovett, Robert Baldwin, Enid Bennett, Paul Harvey, Jackie Moran, Patsy Lee Parsons and others. Screenplay by Ian McLellan Hunter, Ring Lardner, Jr. and Harvey Gates from an original storv bv Harvev" Gates. Directed by Bernard Vorhaus. Produced by William Stephens. Plot: Dr. Christian (Jean Hersholt), kindly village physician, has unselfishly devoted his life to caring for the Rivers End folk, with little revenue and not much more recognition. His small salary as health commissioner and that as physician for Harvey's mill constitute his chief cash income. He loses the latter when he cannot be reached for an accident. He engineers the naming of Harvey as mayor, battles with his friend over the need of a hospital and other health needs, and is replaced. Patsy Lee Parsons, the mayor's small daughter, suffers a near fatal accident in the car of Moran, her brother, after the latter quarrels with Dorothy Lovett, the doctor's nurse, because she prefers Baldwin, a suitor of her own age. Dr. Christian performs an operation after a specialist refused to use the available equipment, and the mayor restores his job and promises to build the hospital. Comment: Aimed squarely at the smaller towns of the country which have been for three years listening to Hersholt's Dr. Christian radio program, this is a natural for the field and should score accordingly. Jean Hersholt's work and role give him a wide lead as to honors, with Enid Bennett's restrained playing of the mayor's wife and Jackie Moran and Patsy Lee Parsons as her two children standing out. The boy's puppy-love affairs and his sister's pranks supply what humor has been introduced. Principal selling efforts should be placed on the combination of Hersholt and the Dr. Christian role, which is especially widely heard in the middle west. Vorhaus' direction is well paced and production values are adequate. (FAMILY) Catchline: "A prophet earns honor in his own country." AUDIENCE SLANT: SMALLER TOWN AUDIENCES WILL FOLLOW THE STORY WITH DEEP INTEREST; THOSE IN MAJOR CITIES ARE LIKELY TO FIND IT TOO EVEN TENORED AND SLOW PACED. BOX OFFICE SLANT: SHOULD BE A GOOD DRAW WHERE THE RADIO PROGRAM IS POPULAR; )UST A PROGRAMMER ELSEWHERE. Torchy Plays With Dynamite WB DRAMA 59 mins. (I 'rod. No. 326— Nafl Release, Aug. 12) Credits: Jane Wyman, Allen Jenkins, Tom Kennedy, Sheila Bromley, Joe Cunningham, Eddie Marr, Edgar Deering, Frank Shannon, Bruce MacFarlane, George Lloyd, Aidrich Bowker, others. Screenplay by Earle Snell and Charles Belden. From an original story by Scott Littleton. Based on characters created by Frederick Nebel. Directed by Noel Smith. Plot: In order to get a line on Marr, desperate criminal, Jane Wyman, feminine reporter, has herself interned in jail so she can be near Marr's moll. Sheila Bromley. Jane arranges with Lieut. Jenkins, her boy friend, for an escape, she and Sheila to go to San Francisco to await Marr. In the Golden Gate city, Jenkins poses as a trainer of his assistant, Tom Kennedy, while Jane watches her chance to call in Jenkins and Kennedy to capture Marr and his two henchmen. Jenkins is recognized by one of the henchmen, and is taken for a "ride." But he escapes and returns to a wrestling match in which Kennedy is participating, in time to arrest Marr. Comments: Introducing a new Torchy Blane (Jane Wyman), a new Lieut. Steve McBride -(Allen Jenkins) and a few other new characters, this latest offering in the series is good entertainment for the action fans. Jane fits into her role as though she had been born for it, while Jenkins is a wise choice for her policeman boy-friend. Suspense is maintained up to the last foot of film, and there are plenty of laughs mi.xed in with the action. Advertise the fact that a new Torchy Blane is in the series — "a chic reporter." Let the local newspaper assign a story to readers as a contest, with amateur reporters to send in their stories. The best one is printed and the writer receives theatre tickets. Invite letters from school girls telling why they want to become newspaper reporters. (FAMILY) Catchline: "It's Torchy's most explosive adventure." AUDIENCE REACTION: WITH ITS FAST ACTION AND BREEZY COMEDY, IT'S GOOD ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE MASSES. BOX OFFICE SLANT: THIS DEPENDS ON HOW OTHERS IN THIS SERIES HAVE FARED AT YOUR BOX OFFICE. IT WILL NEED THE SUPPORT OF A STRONGER FEATURE. 10 Days In Paris (London Preview) Col. DRAMj.'V 82 mins. (Nat'I Release Date Not Set) Credits: Rex Harrison, Karen Verne, C. V. France, Joan Marion, Anthony Holies. Screenplay by John Meehan, Jr., James Curtis. Directed by Tim Whelan. Produced by Irving Asher. Plot: Harrison, a British spy, is shot at in Paris. He comes around in a hospital to learn from his father that he crashed his (Continued on page 23) 1270 Sixfh Avenue Tel.: Circle 7-3945 New York, N. Y. FLASH! JUST BOOKED! 50 WARNER THEATRES PHIL A. TERRITORY