Canadian Film Weekly (Apr 29, 1942)

20th Century-Fox TO THE SHORES OF TRIPOLI Payoff: A superb offering of martial rhythm and colors is this picturization of Marine Corps training. Though the doings are thoroughly American, Canuck audiences will enjoy the panoramic tinting and the stirring brass of the bands. It’s designed for every type of patron. What Goes On: Story is a mild variation of a familiar one. John Payne is the too-capable nuisance who just can’t fit into the mold of tradition. Randolph Scott is the tough old sarge who has his hands full with Payne. Payne slugs the sarge, who takes the rap because of his friendship with Payne’s pater. Then the Payne saves the sarge’s life during target practice at sea— but for the wrong reason. Anyway, John blows off the service until the news of the Jap attack catches up with him, then embarks with the boys. Maureen O’Hara, as a nurse, provides the romance. Sizeup: This is much more of a look than a listen picture. Nancy Kelly, William Tracey, Maxie Rosenbloom and Minor Watson are in it. Columbia HIGH OVER THE BORDERS (National Film Board—‘Canada Carries On’ Series) THE Payoff: Though this is an educational short on bird lore, it is very good theatre of a unique escapist brand. What Goes On: The things everyone has always wanted to know and promised himself he would find out someday are here presented in a deeply interesting manner. Why and how birds are banded; where they go and how they get there; and the particular habits of each family make up the picture. Sizeup: It’s interesting, informative and beautiful. Regal COURTSHIP OF ANDY HARDY Payoff: The same popular standard. What Goes On: There are enough separate stories here for several Hardy films. (A) Andy gets in trouble for car theft. (B) Mrs. Hardy gets tangled up with a phoney collection agency. (C) Donna Reed, as the daughter of a divorced couple, becomes the problem of the senior and junior Hardys. (D) Daughter Marian comes back from the big town with sophisticated notions and must be straightened out. Sizeup: MGM is lavish in stories as well as production. Andy is comparatively restrained here. Donna Reed, a starlet, swipes much of the footage. The usual players, assisted by William Lundigan, Frieda Inescort and Harvey Stephens. Esquire MR. V. Payoff: This sometimes gay, sometime intense drama of underground channels out of pre-war Naziland ranks high as audience fare. It offers Leslie Howard in a favorite and familiar role, that of a spirited and humane will-o’-the-wisp. What Goes On: Howard, as a fuddy-duddy professor of archaeology, is the private joke of his class, He takes some of the male members along to Germany for summer field work. They discover his real character and mission and they join him in smuggling out important refugees. In the course of his work he meets a girl who has been pressured into being a Gestapo spy by threats to her interned father’s safety. He straightens all that out. Sizeup: Offered as a fantasy, the audience is asked to accept Howard's ability to be in several places at once—and will. The Gestapo is presented as a jackassical group but as the film progresses its representatives grow in deep-dyed villainy. The authenticity of their terrorism keeps pace with Howard’s change of character to keen-witted realism and the latter part of the proceedings picks up sharp suspense. It’s mostly a one-man job but the supporting players offer fine help. Canadian FILM WEEKLY Phone: Adelaide 4316 April 29th, 1942 Republic YOKEL BOY Payoff: A crackpot-pourri of Hollywood whims and gangster whams. It has much music and clowning. What Goes On: Eddie Foy, Jr. is the small-town movie bug imported to Hollywood by Producer Alan Mowbray as a guide to what the public wants. His idea is to get Public Enemy No. 1 to play Public Enemy No. 1. The gangster messes up the studio by imposing his own ideas. Meanwhile Foy and Joan Davis, the mobster’s sister, get romantic. Sizeup: The Davis girl keeps things rough and rowdy, aided and abetted by Foy, Albert Dekker, Roscoe Karns, Lynne Carver, Marc Lawrence and Tom Dugan. It will serve well as the laugh portion. Universal JAIL HOUSE BLUES Payoff: The big thing is a penitentiary musical comedy. Otherwise marks time. What Goes On: Nat Pendleton is a jailbird with show bug. He gets out, takes care of the men muscling in on his mother’s beggar organization, then returns to the coop. In the outside world he finds the tenor he needs and kidnaps him into jail. The tenor, Robert Paige, gets a Broadway contract and his girl, Anne Gwynne, as a result. Sizeup: It’s pleasing enough filler. Jail is so much fun that none wish to leave and all who do try to get back. Samuel S. Hinds, Elizabeth Risdon, Warren Hymer and an assorted collection of mugs and thugs are the plaster. RKO SCATTERGOOD RIDES HIGH Payoff: This issue of the rural saga has more color and scope than most of its predecessors, mainly because Scattergood Baines’ heavy homeliness is somewhat relieved by other earthy and amusing characters. It has action and interest added to the customary sentiment. What Goes On: Young Charles Lind loses his father in a trotting horse accident. The family farm and stables are sold to social-climbing Dorothy Moore and her hen-pecked husband, Jed Prouty. Lind gets back his favorite racer, wins enough to buy back the farm and maintain his romance with the interlopers’ daughter. Scattergood? He pulls the strings that put things straight. Sizeup: Scattergood’s homely phrases, which fall hard on some urban ears, are there in smaller measure. Guy Kibbee is the same old angel. & XHIBITORS ROOKING _ASSOCIATION A thoroughly reliable, tried and proven buying and _ booking service for Independent Theatre Owners. 21 DUNDAS SQUARE Toronto Frank Meyers, Manager @