Silver Screen (May-Oct 1939)

Silver Screen for October 1939 79 of family life, is pretty apt to be a good picture. "By honesty I mean a story that is not put together from a lot of worn-out cliches but one that makes a valid attempt to picture life as it is with actors ivho resemble human beings rather than automatons from a glamour factory. 'Juarez' and 'A Man to Remember' are examples of honest pictures. In my judgment, 'Suez' and 'The Hardys Ride High' (the latter, with particular reference to Mickey Rooney's distorted antics) were dishonest. If to honesty you can add eloquence, dramatic power and visual effectiveness you are apt to have more than a good picture, possibly a great one." Suspense and logic are the important factors, in the mind of Katharine Hillyer of The Washington Daily News. "Suspense is an important element," she says. "Yet there are many plots of pictures we know thoroughly and yet get just as big a kick out of them as if we didn't. Am I making sense? But, anyway, I'll pick 'Pygmalion' as my favorite picture of the year and maybe get the key to your question by saying what I think about it. The directing had a twist to it, the dialogue was brilliant and the performances were just about perfect. It was logical and, darn it, I think logic is one of the most important things for a movie to have. If logic is tossed out the studio gate then a film must click on every other point. Such as the English film, 'The Lady Vanishes.' I didn't care if there were minor flaws and if the whole business might have been called preposterous. It was a lulu of a mystery." Standards keep shifting but, fundamentally, entertainmnt is the measure of a good picture, votes Marjory L. Adams, of The Boston Globe. "Is a picture entertaining to the average audience or to a specialized audience?" Miss Adams asks herself in passing verdict on a film. "Has a picture introduced a new treatment, either of an old subject or a well-worn formula? Do the players really characterize or do they walk through their roles? Does the film stimulate your imagination or is it just another picture? "Standards differ from year to year, just as public taste does. A whacky film by itself, when there are too many serious pictures, is a box-office sell-out. It is a dreadful bore when there are too many of the whacky comedies. The film you wrote about as an epic in 1929 develops amazing faults in 1939, when you see it over again." Another critic with a simple standard of values — are you bored or are you entertained?—is James H. Briggs, drama and motion picture editor of The Rocky Mountain News of Denver, Colo. "A film does not necessarily have to possess a brilliant cast or one single glamorous actress to please my taste. I can watch for a hidden small-name character actor or actress to deliver a swell performance. "I believe a movie fan should judge a picture on the frame of mind it leaves him in when 'The End' is flashed across the screen. If it leaves him happy, it's a swell show. If it leaves him in a humor to go out and kick dogs and steal pennies from a blind man, then the film should positively be jerked out of circulation." Merle Potter, the motion picture editor of The Minneapolis Journal, states: "I have found that my reactions to pictures are about the average. If I tried to analyze a picture, I would ask myself to what extent the picture approached perfection in these four classifications: 1, story; 2, acting; 3, direction; 4, production. However, I think that if a critic starts taking a picture apart in this fashion, he wearies his readers. What they want to know is: 'Do I want to see the picture under consideration?' "So the reader should, in my opinion, be given an idea of what the story is about, whether it's a drama, comedy, farce, melodrama, etc. Naturally, you apply different standards when considering the various types of entertainment. In a farce you will stand for anything, regardless of how wild or improbable it is, so long as it entertains. In a drama, you should have a story that doesn't offend your intelligence ; it should be logical, believable, etc. In melodrama, you allow for exaggeration, because that's an inherent part of melodrama." Elizabeth Copeland, of The Richmond, Va., News Leader, says something important when she remarks: "I think fans should learn to judge what is phony and what is not." And she goes on, "By that I mean, they should train themselves to pick out the natural from the unnatural in acting, script, direction, historical background, and so on. I think they should learn not to think a picture is good simply because their favorite stars are in the cast. Often a very good performer can give a very bad performance. "I look for all these things in a movie — I want it kept straight, simple, artistic, consistent to the original idea, historically accurate, mobile and genuine. I prefer good direction to good acting, a good script to elaborate set decoration. Good acting is something you feel rather than see and if I can't have good acting and good speech together, I prefer the latter. "Personally, I would rather have simple sets that suggest the mood of the_ story than the most elaborate sets in which all the details are so perfect that they rather clutter up the stage. I would do away with as much emoting as possible and substitute a little beauty of gesture or a very good line." Suspense is a strong point with Elinor Hughes, the dramatic and motion picture editor of The Boston Herald and The Boston Traveler. "I judge a film first on its ability to create and maintain an intelligent amount of suspense; second, for the artistry — I don't mean artiness — of its direction; third, for the quality of the script writing; fourth, for the acting," she says. "Criticizing films tends to destroy illusion and I no longer find myself developing palpitations at the sight of the glamour boys and girls. If they can act, all very well. If they can't they leave me cold. I've seen so many pictures that my standard of values is necessarily high." To sum up, all you need is common sense and the courage to believe in your own opinions. Taking that for granted, you can now consider yourself a bonafide screen critic, so far as your own entertainment program is concerned. See you at the movies tonight! New Under-arm Cream Deodorant | safely Stops Perspiration ARRID -does 1. Does not harm dressesnot irritate skin. 2. No waiting to dry. Can be used right after shaving. 3. Instantly checks perspiration 1 to 3 days. Removes odor from perspiration. 4. A pure white, greaseless stainless vanishing cream. 5. Arrid has been awarded the Approval seal of the American Institute of Laundering, for being harmless for fabrics. 15 MILLION jars of Arrid have been sold. 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