Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1940)

October 12, 1940 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW Page 27 Diamond Frontier Universal Drama 71 mins. (Prod. No. not set— Nat'l Release, Oct. 4) AUDIENCE SLANT: (FAMILY) GOOD ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE THRILL FANS. BOX OFFICE SLANT: IF SOLD ON THE THRILL ANGLE IT SHOULD DO REASONABLY WELL AT THE BOX OFFICE. IN SOME SITUATIONS STRONGER FEATURE SUPPORT MAY BE NEEDED. Cast: Victor McLaglen, John Loder, Anne Nagel, Philip Dorn, Cecil Kellaway, Francis Ford, J. Anthony Hughes, Ferris Taylor, Lionel Belmore, Hugh Sothern, Siegfried Arno, Dewey Robinson, Evelyn Selbie. Credits: Associate Producer, Marshall Grant. Directed by Harold Schuster. Original screenplay by Edmund L. Hartmann and Stanley Rubin. Director of photography, Milton Krasner. Plot: During a diamond strike, Loder returns to his South African home. McLaglen and his lawless cohorts gain control of the diamond fields. When Loder tries to bring law and order to the town, McLaglen has him "railroaded" to prison. Later, McLaglen plans to have him killed while "trying to escape." Loder escapes and is believed dead. He returns to the town as a member of English nobility, finally succeeds in avenging the wrong done him by McLaglen and his cohorts. Comment: Production on this picture couldn't have been so difficult; first, the situations, except for the setting, closely resemble those in Dumas' "Count of Monte Cristo," the wronged hero even assuming the name of the Dumas character, Edmund Dantes ; second, many of the jungle thrill scenes must have been taken from the company's "African" files. But for all this, the picture is good entertainment for neighborhood and grind-run situations, especially for the thrill fans, since every highlight of every African picture ever produced has apparently been injected into the script. How Loder ever gets back to civilization after being confronted by snakes, lions, tigers, alligators, and other jungle obstacles will have intelligent spectators guessing, but the action fans will accept it as a matter of fact. Although getting top billing, Victor McLaglen's performance as the ruthless diamond smuggler is subordinated by that of John Loder as the sufferer of his greed and cruelty. Arrange a display of valuable diamonds under heavy guard in your lobby. Promote window displays from jewelers. Conduct a letter contest on "What Diamonds Have Meant to Me." Catchline: "Life was cheap . . . love was priceless ... in the crimson capital of Africa's diamond belt." The Long Voyage Home (Hollywood Preview) United Artists Drama 103 mins. (Nat'l Release, Nov. 22) AUDIENCE SLANT: (ADULT) UNUSUAL ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE MEN. ONE OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR DRAMAS TO REACH THE SCREEN. BOX OFFICE SLANT: PERFECT FOR THE MAJOR CENTERS. WILL NEED ADDITIONAL SELLING TO INTEREST THE WOMEN. Cast: John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell, Ian Hunter, Barry Fitzgerald, Wilfrid Lawson, Mildred Natwick, John Qualen, Ward Bond, Arthur Shields, Joseph Sawyer, J. M. Kerrigan, Rafaela Ottiano, David Hughes, Billy Bevan, Cyril McLaglen, Douglas Walton and others. Credits: Directed by John Ford. Screenplay by Dudley Nichols. Story based upon one-act plays by Eugene O'Neill. Photographed by Gregg Toland. Film editor, Sherman Todd. Art direction, James Basevi. Special effects by R. T. Layton and R. O. Binger. Musical score, Richard Hageman. Produced by Walter Wanger. Plot: On board a British tramp steamer headed for home are Thomas Mitchell, an Irish seaman, always ready for a fight ; John Wayne, a big Swede who has saved his earnings and plans to go home to buy a farm for his folks; Ward Bond, a sullen pugnacious fellow; Ian Hunter, a Britisher obviously out of place in such company and three or four others. They are carrying high explosives and are headed for the war zone. Bond is hurt during a storm at sea and dies before the frightened eyes of his companions. Because Hunter is different, a rumor starts that he is a spy. They gag and bind him, but among his papers they find a citation revealing him as a British war hero, so they release him. Nearing the war zone, they suddenly hear the drone of planes and before they can all take cover, Hunter is shot down. With their pockets loaded with their pay, they head for a pub as soon as they land and there they drink heavily. In this way Wayne is shanghaied aboard another ship, but Mitchell drags him off. In the ensuing fight Mitchell is taken along when the ship gets under way. Comment: Unusual in every respect, here's a sensational picture with a million dollars worth of appeal for the masculine theatregoer in the major centers. It's a powerful drama, one of the best of its kind to reach the screen, with action and storm sequences comparable to any ever photographed. The entire production can truthfully be listed as spectacular and thrilling, and Director John Ford, the man responsible for many top pictures, rates raves for his excellent work, equal to "The Informer," his Academy Award winner of several years ago. Leading roles, played by John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell and Ian Hunter, are of the dynamic order. Equally effective are the performances of Barry Fitzgerald, Ward Bond, John Qualen, Arthur Shields and the rest of the stellar cast. The September issue of Esqwire reproduced the paintings by nine contemporary American artists, of scenes and characters of the picture. Exhibition of the originals will tour the country through museums for two years. Catchline: "Story of burly seamen and the boat which is their world for too long a time." Dancing On A Dime (Hollywood Preview) Paramount Musical Comedy 73 mins. (Prod. No. 4008— Nat'l Release, Nov. 8) AUDIENCE SLANT: (FAMILY) ESPECIALLY ATTRACTIVE TO YOUNGER PATRONS. BOX OFFICE SLANT: NEWER "NAMES" IN THE CAST WILL NEED EXPLOITATION. Cast: Robert Paige, Grace McDonald, Peter Hayes, Eddie Quillan, Frank Jenks, Virginia Dale, Carol Adams, Lillian Cornell, William Frawley, Phillip Terry, Tom Collins, George Meader, Charles Lane, Arthur Aylsworth, Wanda McKay, Fay Helm, others. Credits: Directed by Joseph Santley. Produced by A. M. Botsford. Screenplay by Maurice Rapf, Anne Morrison Chapin and Allen Rivkin, based on a story bv Jean Lustig and Max Kolpe. Director of photography, Charles Lang. Film editor, Doane Harrison. Songs by Frank Loesser and Burton Lane and Frank Loesser and Victor Young. Plot: Robert Paige, producer; Peter Hayes, Eddie Quillan, Frank Jenks, Virginia Dale and Carol Adams, actors, are among those stranded when the F. T. P. folds. The girls get jobs in burlesque, and William Frawley, stage manager, lets the boys sleep in the theatre while they seek someone to back their show. Grace McDonald, Little Theatre graduate, also jobless, is added to their group. Paige and Grace find a lot of bills in a piano; after she has broken one with Charles Lane, a banker, they learn they are counterfeit. Finding the theatre is to be torn down unless a tenant is found, Paige decides to use the phoney bankroll to bluff credit to be his own producer. Instead the theatre company manager gets the bills and locks them in his safe. On opening night, Lane recognizes Grace and calls F. B. I. men. To keep the theatre company manager from learning about the bills, Jenks opens his safe and substitutes the box-office funds. Then Virginia and Carol manage to pick Lane's pocket and substitute a good bill, clearing Grace. The show is a success, and all romances are completed. . Comment: Here is light musical entertainment, capable of use as a singleton lead in spots where youthful audiences predominate, and anywhere to counterbalance a drab main feature. Like all musicals, it demands that all thoughts about a plot with logic be scrapped. Produced on a comparatively modest budget, as musicals go, Director Joseph Santley and Dance Producer LeRoy Prinz have contrived enough smart novelties to materially raise its interest. There are five songs, one in the possible favorite division and another, "Debuntante Number One," which gets outstanding production. Grace McDonald, newcomer from a Broadway musical, will interest many ; with Carol Adams, Lillian Cornell and Virginia Dale for those with other ideas as regards feminine beauty. Release of the song numbers and their plugging through radio stations and dance orchestras will be one of the easiest to hand exploitation phases for this picture. Catchline: "Youth proves its right to work and romance." Third Finger, Left Hand MGM Comedy 96 mins. (Prod. No. 107— Nat'l Release, Oct. 11) AUDIENCE SLANT: (ADULT) HAS PLENTY OF LAUGHS AND WILL PLEASE THOSE WHO LIKE THE SOPHISTICATED TYPE OF COMEDY. APPEAL NOT LIMITED, HOWEVER. BOX OFFICE SLANT: SHOULD DO AN ESPECIALLY BIG BUSINESS IN CLASS HOUSES, WITH GOOD RETURNS ELSEWHERE. Cast: Myrna Loy, Melvyn Douglas, Raymond Walburn, Lee Bowman, Bonita Granville, Felix Bressart, Donald Meek, Ann Moriss. Credits: Produced by John W. Considine, Jr. Directed by Robert Z. Leonard. Original screenplay by Lionel Houser. Director of photography, George Folsey. Art director, Cedric Gibbons. Film editor, Elmo Veron. Plot: Myrna Loy, fashion magazine editor, has invented a husband as "job insurance." Meanwhile, Bowman, a lawyer, hopes she will get a divorce. But Myrna meets Douglas, an art dealer from Ohio, and their romance progresses admirably until he hears her addressed as "Mrs. Merrick." He is furious, although Myrna explains she is trying to get a "divorce." Douglas later shows up at her home, pretends to be the missing husband. Myrna, annoyed, cannot denounce him without exposing her own ruse. She induces Bowman to get Douglas to marry her so she can divorce him on the promise that she will eventually marry Bowman. They are married, and Myrna embarrasses Melvyn by acting like a tough girl from Brooklyn. Disgusted and hurt, he plans to return home. But Myrna, seeing Bowman's shortcomings, effects a reconciliation with Douglas. Comment: There are lots of clever twists to this plot and the dialogue is sparkling. Cutting ten to 15 minutes out of it would improve it and make for better spacing of the laughs, however. Several scenes are outstanding, especially one in which Myrna plays a "tough gal" and another in which a Pullman porter, with a knowledge of law, gets a chance to show off his erudition. Myrna Loy turns in her usual good performance but she has been photographed to better advantage. Melvyn Douglas is his usual self in comedy parts which is good to say the least. The supporting cast measures up to standard in all departments. Direction by Robert Z. Leonard is smooth and capable. For exploitation see Showmananalysis on page 21 of this issue. Catchline: "Living up to a marriage that never took place." A Little Bit of Heaven (Hollywood Preview) Universal Musical Comedy 87 mins. (Prod. No. not set— Nat'l Release, Oct. 11) AUDIENCE SLANT: (FAMILY) IDEAL FOR THE FAMILY TRADE. BOX OFFICE SLANT: BOUND TO HAVE WIDESPREAD APPEAL AND SHOULD DO TOP BUSINESS. Cast: Gloria Jean, Robert Stack, Hugh Herbert, C Aubrey Smith, Nan Grey, Butch & Buddy, Eugene Pallette, Billy Gilbert, Stuart Erwin, Nana Bryant; Frank Jenks, Tommy Bond. Credits: Produced by Joe Pasternak. Directed by Andrew Marton. Original story by Grover Jones. Screenplay by Crrover Jones, Daniel Taradash and Harold Goldman. Di (Continued on next page)