Canadian Film Weekly (Jun 14, 1944)

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ne | THE PICK OF } THE PICTURES |j Vol. 9, No. 24 Knickerbocker Holiday with Nelson Eddy, Charles Coburn, Constance Dowling United Artists 85 Mins. MUSICAL LOADED WITH COMEDY AND ROMANCE GETS AWAY FROM ROUTINE; GOOD ENTERTAINMENT FOR ALL, Producers Corporation of America makes its bow with a modest but extremely diverting musical that is built along simple lines with little loss of production values. Satire has been put to good use for the sake of comedy and plenty of charm and frivolity have gone into the film’s making. The picture makes a bid for the interest of the femmes and the younger folks with a generous display of light popularstyled musical numbers and a leavening of romance. Produced and directed creditably by Harry Joe Brown from the musical play of Maxwell Anderson and Kurt Weill, “Knickerbocker Holiday” is set. in the New York of the Dutch days. Nelson Eddy is a firebrand fighting the governing council for its tyrannical rule. Charles Coburn is Peter Stuyvesant, the governor of New Amsterdam, who not only is an enemy of the people himself but tries to steal Constance Dowling, daughter of the chief councilman (Ernest Cossart), from Eddy. After a lot of comic activity, Eddy succeeds in converting Stuyvesant to the cause of democracy and in rescuing Miss Dowling from the latter’s tentacles. In the screenplay of David Boehm and Rowland Leigh, which is based on an adaptation by Thomas Lennon, four of the tunes.from the stage production have been retained. Eddy and Miss Dowling handle all the vocal chores, except for one number sung by Coburn and another by Johnny “Scat” Davis. Eddy and Miss Dowling fill the bill romantically as well as vocally. The acting honors are carried away by Coburn, with Cossart his chief competitor. Otto Kruger, Percy Kilbride, Fritz Feld and Davis are others who help out considerably. Not to be overlooked are two fiery gypsy dance numbers executed by Carmen Amaya and her company. CAST: Nelson Eddy, Charles Coburn, Constance Dowling, Ernest Cossart, Shelley Winter, Johnny ‘‘Scat’’ Davis, Percy Kilbride, Otto Kruger, Richard Hale, Fritz Feld, Chester Conklin, Carmen Amaya and company. DIRECTION, Good. PHOTOGRAPHY, REVIEWS FROM FILM DAILY, NEW YORK The Sullivans with Anne Baxter, Thomas Mitchell 20th-Fox 111 Mins. STORY OF HEROIC BROTHERS RATES AS GREAT ENTERTAINMENT; TERRIFIC APPEAL SPELLS SMASHING GROSSES. In creating this inspiring monument to the memory of the five Sullivan brothers who fell together in a naval engagement in the service of their country, 20th Century Fox has enriched the world with a film possessed of a universal appeal that has not often been matched on the screen. The production, a superlative cinematic achievement that is above everything else a great family attraction, reaches into the heart of every person because it duplicates the story of millions of young men who have been torn from their homes to engage in the cruel business of war. A human document such as “The Sullivans” is limited in its boxoffice possibilities only by the ability of theatres to take care of those who will clamor to see the picture. The prominence accorded the Sullivan tragedy in the public prints will prove a tremendous spur to attendance. “The Sullivans” is not a war picture. Not more than half of the final reel deals with the war. The film dwells on the final moments of the five brothers no longer than it has to, its concern being their lives as normal American boys dedicated to the pursuit of all the things associated with youthful living. The film resolves itself into a study of family life—a study rich in detail and warm with feeling. Its picture of an American family of modest means is painted with laughter and tears, plus a bit of romance. No formal plot is in evidence. What stirs the emotions and holds the interest is the wealth of little incidents that color the existence of the Sullivans. No cheap and forced dramatics have been employed to give punch to the film. CAST: Anne Baxter, Thomas Mitchell, Selena Royle, Edward Ryan, Trudy Marshall, John Campbell, James Cardwell, John Alvin, George Offerman, Jr., Roy Roberts, Ward Bond, Mary McCarthy, Bobby Driscoll, Nancy June Robinson, Marvin Davis, Buddy Swan, Billy Cummings, Johnny Calkins, John Nesbitt, Selmer Jackson, Harry Shannon, Barbara Brown, Larry Thompson, Addison Richards. DIRECTION, Aces. PHOTOGRAPHY, Goed. ‘Hi, Good Lookin’ with Harriet Hilliard, Kirby Grant Universal 62 Mins. MODEST MUSICAL PROVIDES NICE ENTERTAINMENT FOR FAMILY PATRONAGE AND THE YOUNG FOLK. This is a pleasant little musical for the family trade and the young crowd. Besides -a nice quantity of wholesome fun, the picture offers its audience a succession of song numbers, plus two name orchestras. Ozzie Nelson’s and Jack Teagarden’s, and a couple of specialty numbers, these by the Delta Rhythm Boys and the hot-footed colored dance trio of Tip, Tap and Toe. Harriet Hilliard and MKHirby Grant share the singing burden, with the latter especially a standout. Miss Hilliard is a small-town gal who comes to Hollywood to make her mark as a radio warbler, while Grant is a star of the air waves. The chap falls in love with the girl and endeavors to get her a break on the air. Her big chance comes when he consents to sing with her on a small all-night station without making his identity known to the public. The combination proves sensational. His activity in behalf of Miss Hilliard causes Grant to neglect his own program. His sponsor is on the verge of dropping him and signing up Miss Hilliard and her mysterious partner when the identity of the latter leaks out. Everything is ironed out satisfactorily at the end. Comedy has been used generously in unfurling the story. The acting is spirited. Miss Hilliard and Grant breeze through their parts, receiving acceptable assistance from the others, especially Eddie Quillan, Fuzzy Knight, Betty Kean, Marjorie Gateson and Roscoe Karns. Quillan, as a pal of Miss Hilliard who helps put her across, and Knight, as the operator of the all-night radio station, provide most of the laughs. CAST: Harriet Hilliard Kirby Grant, Roscoe Karns, Milburn Stone, Betty Kean, Eddie Quillan, Frank Fenton, Marie Harmon, Vivian Austin, Marjorie Gateson, Fuzzy Knight, Robert Emmett Keane, Elizabeth Dow, Sidney Miller, Ozzie Nelson and Orchestra, Jack Teagarden and Orchestra, Delta Rhythm Boys, Tip, Tap and Toe. _DIRECTION, Good. PHOTOGRAPHY, Alter Capitol, Mont'l Alterations and _ redecorating are the order at the Capitol, Montreal, 4 $2.00 Per Annum Passport to Adventure with Elsa Lanchester RKO 64 Mins. FAIR AMOUNT OF ENTERTAINMENT FOUND IN THIS PIC, WHICH 1S A STRANGE MIXTURE OF MELODRAMA AND FARCE, If “Passport to Adventure” is taken as a joke, there is no reason why it shouldn’t provide a fair amount of entertainment. If, however, it is meant to be eyed seriously, then it is likely to get nothing but dubious treatment from audiences. For, frankly, this story about a London scrubwoman who beats her way to Germany to eradicate Hitler cannot be accepted with a straight face. It is so preposterous and fanciful that one is forced to the conclusion that it was deliberately intended as farce. The whole thing is a strange mixture of straight melodrama and humor that verges on burlesque. At no time is the film believable. At the bottom of “Passport to Adventure” is a good idea, the potentialities of which have not been fully realized. The charwoman is inspired to undertake the job of ridding the world of Hitler’s presence when she miraculously escapes death in a German air raid on London while carrying on her person a “magic eye” left to her by her husband, a soldier killed in the war. She credits the eye with saving her life. Believing she is blessed with a charmed life, the woman works her way to Berlin, where, by pretending she is a deaf mute, she gets a job as a cleaning woman in the chancellory. She is caught before she is able to carry out her mission, but succeeds in making her escape from Germany in a plane snatched from the Nazis by a member of the German underground sought by the Gestapo. The direction of Ray McCarey keeps the film moving swiftly. Herman Schlom produced with small distinction. Val Burton and Muriel Roy Bolton followed the line of least resistance in building the screenplay. CAST: Elsa Lanchester, Gordon Oliver, Lenore Aubert, Lionel Royce, Fritz Feld, Joseph Vitale, Gavin Muir, Lloyd Corrigan, Anita Bolster, Lydia Bilbrook, Lumsden Hare, Hans Schumm. DIRECTION, Fair. PHOTOGRAPHY, Helps Hospital Fund The Parkway Theatre, Fort Erie, Ontario, repeated its annual custom of turning over two nights’ receipts to the Douglas Memorial Hospital Auxiliary.