Canadian Film Weekly (May 31, 1944)

AP. 6 ee Vol. 9, No. 22 ‘Curse of the Cat People’ with Simone Simon, Kent Smith RKO 70 Mins. THIS ONE NEEDS STRONG ACCOMPANYING FEATURE TO PASS MUSTER; CARTER CHILD CAPTURES HONORS, “The Curse of the Cat People” ‘is a strange compound of the real and the fanciful that won’t draw more than mild attention from audiences, which are apt to be puzzled by it all. Given a fragile story that is stretched to the breaking point, the film has ’ chiefly in its favor a sense of tenderness induced by the fact that the main character is an abnormally sensitive young girl with an elf-like personality who lives in a dream world from which her parents have a hard time luring her. The child, as played by Ann Carter, gives the production some merit as a woman’s picture. The film is a sequel to “The Cat People,” the two main players in which do encores in “The Curse of the Cat People.” They are Simone Simon and Kent Smith. In the current exhibit Smith is married to Jane Randolph, and the Carter girl is their child. Miss Simon, Smith’s first wife who met a tragic end in “The Cat People,” appears in the spirit in this instance. The story revolves around the effort of Smith and Miss Randolph to cure their youngster of her strange tendencies and to steer her back to normal childhood. Smith’s fear is that the youngster may develop the same obsession for the supernatural that brought doom to Miss Simon in “The Cat People.” Miss Simon comes back as a ghost in answer te the little girl’s prayer for a friend who can understand her. Miss Simon protects the child from harm besides acting as her playmate. The association with the Simon wraith succeeds in bringing happiness to the child. Val Lewton produced the film, while Gunther V. Fritsch and Robert Wise directed. Miss Carter runs away with the acting honors, giving an ¢éXtremely appealing performance. Miss Simon is purely decorative. Smith and Miss Randolph are routine. CAST: Simeone Simon, Kent Smith, Jane Randolph, Ann Carter, Elizabeth Russell, Eve March, Julia Dean, Erford Gage, Sir Lancelot, Joel Dayis, Juanita Alvarez. DIRECTION, Fair. PHOTOGRAPHY, REVIEWS FROM FILM DAILY, NEW YORK ‘Broadway Rhythm’ with George Murphy, Ginny Simms M-G-M 11S Mins. LAVISH MUSICAL IS TECHNICOLOR TREAT; PIC PACKED WITH ACE TALENT; STUNNING GROSSES INDICATED, “Broadway Rhythm” is a large and tasty order of entertainment, pure and. simple. Mark this down as a musical that plays a sweet boxoffice tune. It has everything that a film of its type is expected to have to rate as popular diversion. Music, comedy and romance have been mixed together prodigally to make the film one of Metro’s finest. Jack Cummings has given 4 lavish and eye-arresting production to the screenplay of Dorothy Kingsley and Harry Clark, which is based on a story by Jack Mc~ Gowan derived from “Very Warm for May,’ musical of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein, 2nd. He has made “Broadway Rhythm” a showman’s picture— a musical in which Technicolor has been put to its finest use. The story is unimportant and can very well be overlooked. What matters most is the display of talent staged by a cast of names that “know how.” Generously spotted in the script are Specialty numbers that are really big-time. Among the performers who appear in these sequences are Lena Horne, Hazel Scott, the Ross Sisters and Dean Murphy. The story itself calls for the services of George Murphy, Ginny Simms, Charles Winninger and Gloria De Haven, not to mention several minor performers like Nancy Walker, Ben Blue, Rochester, Kenny Bowers. Murphy is a show writer and producer badly in need of a star for his new attraction. He finds her in Miss Simms, slipping Hollywood star in search of a stage vehicle. A wealth of songs in a variety of moods makes “Broadway Rhythm” a positive delight for the younger generation. Tommy Dorsey and his band provide some swell accompaniments. Little fault can be found with the cast or with the direction of Roy Del Ruth. CAST: George Murphy, Ginny Simms, Charles Winninger, Gloria De Haven, Nancy Walker, Ben Blue, Lena Horne, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Hazel Scott, Ray Kent, Koss Sisters, Dean Murphy, Louis Mason, Bunny Waters, Walter B. Long, Tommy Dorsey and orchestra, DIRECTION, Good. PHOTOGRAPHY, ‘Three Russ Girls’ with Anna Sten, Kent Smitth UA 80 Mins. DRAMA WITH RUSSIAN BACK GROUND FINE TRIBUTE TO SO0VIET NURSES. “Three Russian Girls” rates attention primarily as a tribute to those heroic, selfless women of the Soviet who daily face death to minister to that nation’s wounded in the war against the Nazis. Its mood is somber, as perhaps serious treatment of such a subject demanded. The picture falls short of being popular entertainment since it doesn’t possess enough variety, nor sufficient change of pace. The film contains several choral numbers that help considerably. They are almost the sole touch of joyousness in the production. Whatever its faults, there is one thing that cannot be taken away from the picture: it has a powerful sense of reality and that simple quality so characteristic of foreign films. Fortunately, the film offers good exploitation possibilities. What story there is in the film has to do with the activities of a group of Russian girls who volunteer for nursing duty. Most of the action transpires in an old house near the front converted into a hospital. There the girls get their introduction to the horrors of war, A romance between Anna Sten, the chief nurse, and Kent Smith, an American test pilot shot down by the Germans while trying out a plane for the Russians, adds to the entertainment value of the production. Miss Sten gives Smith the faith needed to restore use of his limbs. Among the most effective scenes in the picture are those showing the evacuation of the hospital under Nazi bombing and the nurses’ participation in the fighting against the invaders. Miss Sten ends up wounded. In the finale she and Smith, who has been called back to the States, part in the hope they will resume their romance when the fighting is over. CAST: Anna Sten, Kent Smith, Mimi Fersythe, Alexander Granach, Cathy Frye, Paul Guilfeyle, Kane Richmond, Manart Kippen, Jack Gardner, Marcia Lenack, Mary Herriet, Anna Marie Stewart, Dorothy Gray, Fedor Chaliapin. DIRECTION, Okay. PHOTOGRAPHY, Good. Hanson to Vancouver Oscar Hanson, head of Monogram, landed in Vancouver last week for a look at the newlybuilt branch office in the city. REVIEWS IMFORMATION RATINGS $2.00 Per Annum ‘Chip Off the Old Block’ with Donald O’ Connor Universal sz Mins. MUSICAL COMEDY OFFERS SWELL ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE FAM. ILY TRADE; O'CONNOR A WOW. The irrepressible Donald O’Connor finds romance again in “Chip Off the Old Block,” a swell family film with a special appeal to the young people. The story gives the young performer a free rein in displaying his varied talents. O’Connor puts on a grand show with the capital assistance of Peggy Ryan and Ann Blyth among the younger element and Helen Vinson, Helen Broderick, Arthur Treacher and Patric Knowles among the grown-ups. The tempo is fast and gay throughout the footage, and the interest is maintained extremely well from beginning to end. The story is inconsequential but always diverting. O’Connor is Donald Corrigan, a student at a private naval academy with a mind of his own. During a temporary suspension from school he meets Miss Blyth, the daughter of an acting family, and falls head over heels for her. The girl’s mother (Miss Vinson) and grandmother (Miss Broderick), who have had experience with members of the Corrigan clan, try their darndest to break up the romance between the youngsters but without success, although the kids have their little misunderstandings. At the finish, Miss Blyth is on the way to a stage career and Miss Vinson and O’Connor’s pop (Knowles) have revived an old romance. Most of the effective production numbers are displayed when the show in which Blyth is appearing plays a performance at Donald's school. O’Connor and the Misses Blyth and Ryan handle the singing chores as capably as the acting assignments, with the last-named playing a friend who helps advance the romantic interests of the young lovers when she can't have the boy for herself. Nine attractive songs are shared by the trio. Several of the tunes are laugh-provoking novelty numbers. CAST: Dona , Ann Blyth, iy as ag er erick, Arthur Treacher, Patric Knowles, J. Edward Bromberg, Ernest Truex, Minna Gombell, Samuel S. Hind A Bacon, Joel Reames me eee 2 appear Goed. PHOTOGRAPHY, oP oe