Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1945)

11 Opinions on Current Productions , and Sxploitips for Selling to the Public FEATURE REVIEWS Incendiary Blonde Paramount (4431) 113 Minutes Musical Drama Rel. Its title doesn't even begin to describe the temperature, for as sheer entertainment the screen biography of Texas Guinan is hotter than a B29 load of fire bombs and it should keep the theatre turnstiles clicking fast enough and long enough to burn out their bearings. In fact, the reviewer's neck will not be extended too far through a prediction that it will prove the year's top grosser in its field — if not in competition with the season's entire product. In every department — story, performances, production values and numbers, direction, photography in sparkling Technicolor, music, costuming and other technical details — it is a triumphant job of picture making. In its vast variety of material there is ample to sate every and all tastes in screen fare — music, action, spectacle, suspense, romance, drama, comedy, tragedy. George Marshall directed. Betty Hutton, Arturo de Cordova, Charlie Ruggles, Albert Dekker, Barry Fitzgerald, Mary Phillips, Bill Goodwin. The Great John L. UA ( ) 9B Minutes F Melodrama Rel. June 4, '45 John L. Sullivan has been dead since 1918, but, instead of dimming the memory of him, time has added to the legends of his feats in and out of the boxing arena. He is still a hero to the Irish; his name is familiar to every boy who puts on gloves in the polite modern versions of what used to be real prizefights. Frank Tuttle has fashioned a lively action film with romantic overtones of frustrated boyhood love and an unhappy marriage as a subtle defense of the fantastic brawling of the heavyweight champion. There is enough boxing to satisfy the men, sufficient love interest to appeal to women, and enough resurrection of a nostalgic past to stir the memories of the oldsters who refer to that era as "the good old days." Linda Darnell and Barbara Britton are beautiful even in bustles. Greg McClure, Linda Darnell, Barbara Britton, Lee Sullivan, Otto Kruger, Wallace Ford. George Matthews. The Way Ahead 20th-Fox (511) 106 Minutes F War Drama Rel. This Two Cities film is a forthright presentation of the story of men who took up arms to defeat a Fascist enemy. The picture follows the army careers of a group of "civilian" soldiers — men who learned in the course of their training, pride in their outfit and selfless devotion to a cause that was their way of life. When a torpedo strikes the troopship en route to the fighting in North Africa, the men accept the emergency unquestioningly, endangering life in a calm execution of the tasks assigned them. It is this spirit that prevails and motivates the gallant action in following scenes of combat. The British accents are intelligible, and the unpretentious handling of the roles complies with the demands of a tale forceful in its simplicity. It is this simplicity, consistent throughout the film, that presages good grosses. Carol Reed directed. Foreword by Quentin Reynolds. David Niven. Raymond Huntley, Billy Hartnell. Stanley Holloway, James Donald, John Laurie. Blonde Ransom ■p Drama With Music Universal (9042) 68 Minutes Rel. June 15, '45 Spectators will be totally indifferent whether or not anyone ever ransoms the blonde — the producer, director, writer or anyone else connected with this li'l number which misses fire on every count. Woeful misuse of a group of proven troupers, a story which lacks definition and attempts to incorporate too many elements conspire with amateurish direction to make it one of the weakest hooks yet devised, upon which to hang an entry in Universal's endless parade of semimusicals. The film should never struggle above a supporting niche in less important programs and even there it cannot hope for better than tolerance. Starting out as drama, laced with alleged comedy, the picture struggles through several changes of pace and then goes almost operetta in the closing sequence, which is the offering's brightest spot. Directed by William Beaudine. Donald Cook. Virginia Grey, Pinky Lee. Collette Lyons, George Barbier, Jerome Cowan, George Meeker. R!U HOXOFFICE Out of This World Comedy With Music Paramount (4426) 97 Minutes Rel. Eddie Bracken singing — with Bing Crosby's voice; cute Diana Lynn playing the piano — backed up by a pulchritudinous girl band; specialties, production values, story, dialog, direction and all other details that literally live up to the film's title. Those are just some of the assets which will make this landslide of mirth and music a top-of-the-profitsheet hit in any theatre where it is booked. Audiences will have just as much fun as those who made the picture and it is obvious that they relished their chores. The yarn takes apart a swoon crooner — from genesis to bobby-socks madness — and subjects his meteoric success to as subtle a ribbing as the screen has carried in many months. And for those who like music, there is a special bonus of entertainment. Directed by Hal Walker. Eddie Bracken, Veronica Lake, Diana Lynn, Cass Daley, Parkyakarkus, Donald MacBride, Florence Bates. Don Juan Quilligan Comedy 20th-Fox (527) 75 Minutes Rel. June, '45 This world needs a good laugh, and certainly there's plenty of material here. "Don Juan Quilligan," as the name might indicate, is a straight out-and-out farce, and it's plenty funny. It fits William Bendix, a barge captain Don Juan, like the proverbial glove. His experiences with women begin when he meets the sister of the owner of a goulash joint in Brooklyn. That sister is Joan Blondell, who has two brothers, one a cop, the other a ballplayer; plus a desire to get married. Up at the other end of the barge run, Utica, Mary Treen's cooking reminds Bendix of his mother. So, he blunders into some wedding complications. Phil Silvers invents a twin brother, and the fun goes on until Bendix is accused of murder. It will fit nicely into the top of any dual bill. Frank Tuttle directed. William Bendix, Joan Blondell, Phil Silvers, Ann Revere, Mary Treen, John RusselL Veda Ann Borg. One Exciting Night Comedy Paramount (4427) 63 Minutes ReL Several notches below the high standards established by previous Pine-Thomas productions, this murder yarn is formula from the opening shot to its weak climax. It's the hoary yarn about a disappearing corpse with rival reporters — a man and a gal — working against each other and both against the police to find the cadaver and the scoop that goes with it. Situations and dialog are unnatural and the cast didn't have a chance to lift the clambake out of the doldrums into which there is no action, no suspense, no comedy. The film was designed as a second feature, but even there it will prove disappointing, particularly in the better houses where P-T pictures are usually booked. Bill Thomas, himself, directed and did a fair job considering the material. William Gargan, Ann Savage, Leo Gorcey, Don Beddoe, Paul Hurst, Charles Halton, George Zucco. Tierra de Pasiones Clasa-Mohme ( ) ( — ) Minutes Rel. Jorge Negrete, Pedro Armendariz, Margarita Mora, Carlos Orellana, Jose Baviera, Margarita Cortes. June 9. 1945 Drama With Music Combining folk customs and legend, this Is an entertaining picture even without English captions. This is largely due to the virile singing of Jorge Negrete, a Mexican Clark Gable wired for pleasing sound effects. The picture opens on a Mexican holiday scene that is anything but festive, for the first mango has fallen. According to the legend, this day the local tyrant shall die by the hand of the son of the man he persecuted, drove into the hills, and later ambushed and killed. A flashback reveals the romance interrupted by the tyrant, who gives the hand of an aristocratic girl to another. The virginity test is dramatized by the girl's defiant confession that she expects a child by her sweetheart— so white flowers are tom from the bridal cart and red ones substituted. Then there is a Lochinvar rescue. Directed by Jose Benavides jr.