The Bioscope (Oct-Dec 1931)

20 THE BIOSCOPE November 11, 1931 struggle with ruffians, Raymond wins the reward — also the girl. A Western of moderate appeal. ANALYSIS Stories 8% out of 20% Direction 9% „ 20% Acting 5% ,, 20% Photography and Recording 5% „ 20% General Appeal •5% 20% 32% „ 100% P. C. Short Product “THE HUNTER" (Universal). Cartoon Comedy. 654 feet. Release date : Immediate. Certificate : U. Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit, accompanied by his dog, becomes a fox hunter. Fair average. “ KENTUCKY BELLES ” ( Universal). 569 feet. Release date : Immediate. Certificate : U. Oswald cartoon. Exciting race by eccentric horses and other creatures. Good of its type. “ STRANGE AS IT SEEMS ” ( Universal). 805 feet. Release date: January 7, 1932. No. 14 of this series contains a fisherman in a raging torrent catching salmon with his hands, a beekeeper wreathing himself with the insects and placing them in his mouth, and a fanatic with grotesque sculptures illustrating the Bible. “ BUSY BEAVERS ” (Ideal). Silly Symphony Cartoon. Walter Disney. 661 feet. Release date : Not fixed. Certificate : U. Resourceful little beavers fight an inundation. Clever and amusing. “ WHAT A HEAD ” ( Ideal). Talkomedv. 1,800 feet. Release date : Not fixed. Certificate: U. Jack Duffy, Frances Lee, Ronnie Roudell, etc. A funny old man has a headache and doctors make love to his daughter. Much knockabout nonsense, pleasing to juveniles. “ DOUBLE CROSS ” ( Ideal). Burns Detective Drama. 964 feet. Release date : Not fixed. Certificate : A. Sensational murder mystery, the victim being stabbed in the back by an unseen assailant. Excellent of its type. THOSE T00-Y0UNG SUPERVISORS THE EDITOR, THE BIOSCOPE. Dear Sir, A letter in your Readers’ Forum of the current Bioscope, headed “Too Old at 40 ? ” prompts me to record a somewhat similar experience that befell me last spring. An advertisement in your columns (under a box number) asked for a relief operator. I replied, enclosing photograph, copies of references, and ended by offering to attend interview at my own expense. I got an answer, requesting me to attend at an office in Wardour Street the next day, it being stressed that the company could not be put to any expense. I went (by motor-cycle) and was taken up in the lift by a page-boy. After a long wait, I was shown into the office and met the company’s supervisor, an extremely young man for such a position. He asked a number of questions, some of them hardly fair. For instance, he asked if I could take a generator down, which is not really an operator’s work ; also, whether I could take down a Western Electric head, which he should know is not permitted. Where I really got wrong was in not remembering the number of the set I had been on, whether it was 2 s.x. or 3 s.x. He exploded at that . . . ! His attitude had weakened my self-confidence and I was not able to do justice to myself. He promised to communicate the result of the interview, since when I have heard nothing. I wonder whether this is the same firm, and super “ BLUE RHYTHM” (Ideal). Cartoon. 681 feet. Release date : Not fixed. Certificate: U. Mickey Mouse proves himself a brilliant pianist, while his dearest girl sings. Wonderful syncopation. “THE TAMALE VENDOR” (Ideal). Talkomedy. 1,828 feet. Release date : Not fixed. Certificate : U. Tom Patricola, Chiquita de Montez, Margaret Breen, Charles Judels. Comedy of flirtations with singing, dancing and guitar playing. Pleasing Mexican settings. Riotous finish. Excellent for popular halls. “PIGSKIN CAPERS” (Ideal). Terry-Toon Cartoon. 543 feet. Release date : Not fixed. Certificate : U. The antics of footballers and others. Quite a good number of this series. “POKER WIDOWS” (Ideal). Mack Sennett Talkomedv. 1, 769 feet. Release date : Not fixed. Certificate : A. Patsy O’Leary, Arthur Stone, Gertrude Astor. A philandering professor of dancing, cursed with a jealous wife, encounters the husband of a lady he is pursuing. Amusing farcical comedy for adults. “ THE CONQUEST OF THE AIR ” (Wardour). 2,325 feet. Release date : Not fixed. Certificate: U. Informative and entertaining film showing man’s failures and successes in flying, starting with the mythical Daedalus, Leonardo da Vinci and others. The triumphs of recent times are illustrated by authentic pictures, including Santos Dumont, Bleriot, the Wright Brothers, etc. The film is quite up to date and finely photographed. An excellent short for any house. “THAT’S CRICKET” (Wardour). 1,388 feet. Release date : May, 1932. Certificate : U. Famous Australian cricketers ; Woodful introducing Bradman, Grimmett and others. Excellent general booking. “FACING THE GALLOWS” (Radio). Nick Harris Detective Stories No. 1. 1,709 feet. Release date : April 4, 1932. Certificate : A. Clever and highly sensational murder mystery, with ingenious elucidation. Good anywhere. “FALSE ROOMERS” (Radio). 1,854 feet. visor, referred to by your correspondent ? Yours faithfully, H. K. Stanley. 6, Eldon Terrace, Haxby Road, York. November fi, 1931. PROTECTION BETTER THAN . . . ? THE EDITOR, THE BIOSCOPE. Dear Sir, I really think you are to be praised for putting into your paper such a daring article as that which comes from Mr. John Maxwell. I have been told how careful all the newspapers are about offending their big advertisers, but your courage in putting that article in shows that to be wrong. I cannot see quite what Mr. Maxwell is getting at about the costs of a film, but I want to say that I believe very few British exhibitors would mind even if their rentals went up slightly if a tariff was put on American and other imported films, because if something is not done to keep them down a bit the foreigners will get us all in a box by building up huge cinemas against us. 'When once the British producers were used to getting enough output to keep us going, a little less depending upon the imported films, prices would right themselves again, and the British exhibitor would be saved . I believe in protection, even if we do have to pay a bit more, because in the long run we shall all be better off by keeping a little Release date : April, 1932. Clarke and McCullogh. Farcical, but funny, happenings at a lodging house. Sound popular house appeal. “ BENEATH THE SOUTHERN CROSS ” (P.D.C.). Vagabond Adventure Series. Certificate: U. 958 feet. Release date : January 11, 1932. The marriage preparations and ceremony of a Hawaiian couple depicted in really beautiful photographs. The running commentary is very American and rather too verbose. An attractive short. "FLOATING FUN” (P.D.C.). Grantland Rice Sound Sportlight. 825 feet. Release date : May 9, 1932. Certificate : U. Shows the amusements provided aboard the s.s. Bengenland. Can be regarded as an advertisement of the joys of ocean trips. “MANHATTAN MARINERS” (P.D.C.). Grantland Rice Sound Sportlight. 778 feet. Release date : April 25, 1932. Certificate : U. A motorboat runs swiftly round Manhattan Island and provides effective camera shots of the coastal views. Not uninteresting, but obviously designed primarily for American consumption. “OLYMPIC TALENT" P.D.C.). Grantland Rice Sound Sportlight. 751 feet. Release date : April 11, 1932. Certificate: U. Grantland Rice eulogises the prospect of American athletes for the International Games. Quite interesting if shown at an appropriate date. “ ONLY MEN WANTED ” (P.D.C.). Comedy. 1,821 feet. Release date : February 29, 1932. Certificate : U. Knockabout fun resulting from the efforts of three girls to find wealthy husbands by forming a matrimonial agency. Fast moving, but not outstanding, comedy. For popular houses. “ 13th ALARM ” (Paramount) . 1,677 feet. Release date : May 2, 1932. Certificate : U. Plenty of knockabout is the order with Chester Conklin as a fool head fireman who manages to do everything but the right thing. Some big fire scenes should put this over well everywhere. Forum more of the country’s money here instead of having it all shipped in lumps across the Atlantic in order to buy big cigars for the foreign film magnates and pay for champagne baths for Hollywood stars with voices that give us English people real pain. Please allow me to sign myself, Independent Exhibitor (Not independent means, though). Nottingham. November 5, 1931. John Pearson Leaving Warner Brothers Everyone doing business with Warner Brothers will miss the genial personality of John Pearson, who is leaving that organisation on the 20th of this month. Mr. Pearson has been a prominent and popular figure in the film trade for the last 20 years and has gained the admiration and respect of all who have come in contact with him for his shrewd business capacity, his sterling in tegrity, his charming courtesy and genial humour. Mr. Pearson’s first entry into the film trade was with the Tyler Apparatus Co. about 1911, later on being associated with Dr. Jupp and the London Film Co., the Globe Film Co. and with J. F. Brockliss before joining the Vitagraph Co., with whom he remained 12 years, until, in fact, it was taken over by Warner Bros, in 1925. His many friends will await with keen interest news of his further activities. “ Bioscope ” Readers’