National Box Office Digest (Jan 1940-Jan 1941)

JANUARY 2, 1940 'Cafe Hostess’ Made For Honky Tonk Trade COLUMBIA (The Digest Estimates 70%) Producer ..Jack Fier Director Sidney Salkow Screenplay Harold Shumate Story: Tay Garnett, Howard Higgin. Featured: Preston Foster, Ann Dvorak, Douglas F o w 1 e y, Wynne Gibson, Betty Compson, Peggy Shannon, Lorna Gray, Bruce Bennett, Eddie Acuff, John Tyrrel, James Craig, Don Beddoe, Arthur Loft. Photographer Benjamin Kline Film Editor A1 Clark Time 64 minutes Just about as good as its flashy title suggests, and nothing more. Where you know that title and some flaming posters about the girl of the nighty-naughty life will sell tickets, it will get by. Elsewhere, it is just run of the mill filler, and none too happy a filler for discriminating audiences. Los Angeles newspapers, whenever they lately run short of something for a front page headline, always turn to discussion of the poor percentage gals in the honky tonk saloons who sell their charms and maybe more to visiting sailors, visiting firemen, and visiting what-have-yous, so long as there is a drink order. This may be a condition existing in many other cities, whether or not we do not know. But it is the theme of the yarn. And the development of the script is as straightforwardly naive as the headlines. Ann Dvorak is one of the wispy percentage gals, held in the job because the nasty meanie Douglas Fowley has her under control, saved by Preston Foster, the two-fisted sailor boy. That's it. and that’s all there is. On the whole, it is capably done, considering the basic idea and the limitations of quickshooting and low budget production. Harold Shumate naturally turned in a workmanlike script, Director Salkow does his routine best with routine materials. Exhibitors Booking Suggestion: Good for the he-man audiences; they will eat it up. Aside from that angle , you will lose nothing by passing it up. Previewed Dec. 21th. WHAT THE OTHER FELLOWS SAID: REPORTER: “This is another one of those trite action melodramas that continually crops up from Columbia’s ‘C’ department. It starts out slowly and ends up the same way. The best that can be said for ‘Cafe Hostess’ is that it will serve as a filler in the lesser situations.” VARIETY : “‘Cafe Hostess,’ dealing with the manipulations of the percentage girls in a gyp joint, is considerably better than the usual run-of-mine material for the secondary spots, thanks to care with the story and competent direction, as well as sound performances by an able cast.” 'Calling Philo Vance’ Weak Program Effort WARNERS (The Digest Estimates 70%) Associate Producer Bryan Foy Director William Clemens Screenplay Tom Reed Based on story by S. S. Van Dine Featured: James Stephenson, Margot Stevenson, Henry O’Neill, Edward Brophy, Sheila Bromley, Ralph Forbes, Donald Douglas, Martin Koslock, Jimmy Conlon, Edward Raquello, Creighton Hale, Harry Strang, Richard Kilping, Wedgewood Nowell, Bo Ling. Photographer ...,L. Wm. O’Connell Film Editors Benjamin Liss, Louis Lindsay. Time 63 minutes This new version of the successful Vance picture. “Kennel Murder Case.” comes off as something less than average. Exhibitors can figure it as a dualler. but should be careful not to let audiences expect the intelligence, skill, or suave class of the original Philo Vance yarns. Chief trouble seems to be that Brynie Foy, in turning the yarn over to his crew, had his mind full of thoughts of “Nazi Spy” and current headlines, with the result that the story becomes even too much for the broad shoulders of Philo Vance to carry. Foreign spies, stolen airplane plans, intriguing women of the nether-nether world are mixed in a jumble that finally gets around to some semblance of the original “Kennel Murder Case” plot. A lot of things happen, and there are many moments of interest, for the moment, but the total doesn’t make much sense. James Stephenson is presented as the new Philo Vance. He is adequate, and perhaps that is praise, since he wasn’t given the material of his predecessors. Balance of the cast is of standard stock company calibre. William Clements did the best he could with straight-line uninspired direction of a story that was over-inspired. Exhibitors Booking Suggestion: Okay as complicated who-dun-it for dualers, but don't oversell the Philo Vance angle and have them expecting too much. Previewed Dec. 23rd. WHAT THE OTHER FELLOWS SAID: REPORTER: “This remake of S. S. Van Dine’s ‘Kennel Murder Case’ comes up as good, fast whodunit fare. It is well produced, directed and acted and should fill the niche for which it is intended, comfortably and profitably.” VARIETY: “It won’t matter much what type of feature splits dualers with ‘Calling Philo Vance,’ because by the time Philo has been thoroughly paged, the audience will be exhausted to a point of slumber.” The Highlighter Looks Back On Earlg 1939 Headlines (Continued from Page 4) this year, Raoul Walsh, who is hitting on high again, John Wayne, ready to cash in on a fine 1939, and Republic, which is courageously sinking the bankroll. . . . Here’s hoping the delay will be brief, and the time lost only used to benefit the screen result. . . . Looks as though Paramount has bought itself a bet in taking over “Shepherd of the Hills,” Harold Bell Wright perennial, from Warners, for nroduction on a big scale in Technicolor. . . . That Harold Bell Wright name is money in the bank. . . . Ask Sol Lesser. . . And now. with Technicolor. . . . We’ll be meeting you at the box offices in 1941. . . . Larry Darmour takes over Columbia serial production. ... A good deal for Columbia and for Larry, who has quitely gone along with his Jack Holt pictures hitting an exhibitor and audience average that is one of the most consistent records in the business. HARRY EDINGTON STEPS INTO RADIO-RKO TOP SPOT We knew that canny George Schaefer would have a surprise up his sleeve, when he finally made up his mind about naming a successor for the executive chair in RKO production. . . . Schaefer never lets the rumor mongers or the headline writers run his business. ... So he caught them all flat-footed. . . . And he avoided all the Hollywood politicos and social party workers by picking the man he felt possessed the showmanship instinct and the executive ability to do the job. . . . So Harry Edington who knows stars and pictures for so many years that he has crossed all the t’s and dotted most of the i’s in picture development over the past score of years, steps into the spot without any strings on him, or any favors to return because of back-scene maneuvering. . . . Our congratulations to both George Schaefer and Harry Edington. . . . And our expectations of some big happenings in the coming year from RKO. . . . Alfred Newman, whose name has been on so many hits for musical accomplishments, stuck his chin out Thursday by inviting the top critics of music and press to hear an exposition of the music coming up soon on “The Blue Bird.” . . . He came through with flying colors, and left a highly critical group with a new realization of the importance music plays in the important pictures of today. . . . r n CLUB 17 1710 North Las Palmas BABE HENSLEY, Mgn. Dir. In New York It’s Stork Club In Hollywood It’s Club 17 \ HARRY LASH Dottie Long Lucille Best No Cover No Minimum _ /