Canadian Film Weekly (Apr 10, 1946)

THE PICK OF THE PICTURES | | — —~ AS . OICE of the CANADIAN MOTION PICTUSE Ih REVIEWS INFORMATION RATINGS REVIEWS FROM FILM DAILY, NEW YORK Vol. 11, No. 15 Snafu with Robert Benchley, Vera Vague, . Conrad Janis Columbia 82 Mins. MODERATE DIVERSION IS DISHED OUT BY FILM VERSION OF GEORGE ABBOTT STAGE SHOW. The readjustment of an underage war veteran to the ways of civilian existence is productive of a fair amount of entertainment in the screen conception of the George Abbott stage production. The screenplay, which was done by Louis Solomon and Harold Buchman, authors of the play, has been produced and directed by Jack Moss in a manner that is a little too listless for a film of this sort. While the picture has much that is ordinary about it, it can be depended upon to get its quota of laughs, especially from patrons who are not overdemanding. The film should enhance its appeal from the fact that it poses a problem which the parents of many young returning servicemen have been faced with. The parents in “Snafu,’’ the mother in particular, find it difficult to realize that the son sent home because of his being under military age is not the same boy he was before he lied himself into a uniform. Insistence of the boy to carry many of his army ways and habits into civilian life is made the subject of much of the comedy. The direction of Moss doesn't always succeed in getting the best out of his players. The late Robert Benchley and Vera Vague cope with the roles of the parents, while Conrad Janis essays the boy with a good deal of spirit. The best impression perhaps is made by Enid Markey as a spinster. CAST: Robert Benchley, Vera Vague, Conrad Janis, Nanette Parks, Janis Wilson, Jimmy Lloyd, Enid Markey, Eva Puig, Ray Mayer, Marcia Mae Jones, Winfield Sith, John Souther. CREDITS: Producer, Jack Moss; Director, Jack Moss; Screenplay, Louis Solomon, Harold Buchman; Based on play by Louis Solomon, Harold Buchman. DIRECTION, Fair, PHOTOGRAPHY, Okay. Laurie Is Delegated For Presentation Archie Laurie, Eagle-Lion head now in Britain for the J. A. Rank world convention, took along a pair of solid gold Seven Moons earrings to present to Phyllis Calvert in behalf of W. R. Johnston, the jeweler who distributed so many similar pairs in the Dominion. Miss Calvert is starring in “Madonna of the Seven Moons,” the Eagle-Lion hit. My Reputation with Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent Warner Bros. 34 Mins. EXCELLENT MADE PICTURE PRESENTS FINE DRAMATIC ENTERTAINMENT WITH SPECIAL APPEAL TO FEMMES. In “My Reputation” Barbara Stanwyck is starred in a drama that is largely an emotional exercise to which women will respond with alacrity. Assailing the heart with vigor in a dramatic display that permits Miss Stanwyck to play a role that shows her off in an extremely sympathetic light, the Henry Blanke production should have an unusually easy time of it in drawing heavy patronage. As an extractor of tears the film is definitely worthy of attention. The Clare Jaynes novel, “Instruct My Sorrows,” presents a story that allows Miss Stanwyck to indulge in a histrionic holiday. The role is a meaty one and the star makes the very most of it, running through a whole range of emotions to the delight of the ladies. Producer Blanke, Director Curtis Bernhardt, Scripter Catherine Turney and her fellow players, from top to bottom of the cast, have accorded her every possible assistance to enable her to give a showy account of herself. The problem that faces a lonely widow who is still young and possessed of the capacity for romance has been tackled with interest and fine dramatic sense in a film produced with care and distinction by Blanke and directed with deep understanding by Bernhardt, who has missed few chances to capitalize on the heart--moving possibilities of the Turney screenplay. “My Reputation” details the difficulties that face Miss Stanwyck in trying to make a new existence for herself upon the passing of her husband. Life must go on. She meets and falls in love with George Brent, an Army officer, in defiance of her mother, who believes she is not being true to the memory of her dead husband, and of her friends, who attempt to cast mud upon her reputation. CAST: Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Warner .Anderson, Lucile Watson, John Ridgely, Eve Arden, Robert Shayne, Esther Dale, Jerome Cowan, Scotty Beckett, Bobby Cooper. CREDITS: Producer, Henry Blanke; Director, Curtis Bernhardt; Screenplay, Catherine Turney; Based on novel by Clare Jaynes. DIRECTION, Good. PHOTOGRAPHY, Good. Miss Susie Slagle’s with Veronica Lake, Sonny Tufts, Joan Caulfield, Lillian Gish Paramount 88 Mins. WARM, INGRATIATING FILM WITH EMPHASIS ON HUMAN INTEREST RATED GOOD ENTERTAINMENT. Those interested in just people and the way they react to circumstances bearing on their personal lives will get much out of “Miss Susie Slagle’s,’”’ which is marked with a warmth and a human quality that permit the production to bore into the heart and gain the sympathy of the audiences. The fact all the characters are ingratiating goes far in giving the film acceptibility and making it engrossing in the face of the lack of any formal story. Atmospherically, too, the picture has a lot in its favor. Much of the action transpires in Susie Slagle’s boarding house for medical students, the year being 1910. Out of the place have gone countless numbers who have won distinction in the medical arts. Miss Gish, as Miss Slagle, hovers over her boys with an ineffable sweetness, taking a personal interest in their problems and well-being and making their accomplishments a part of her own life. Among her guests is Sonny Tufts, who has difficulty finding himself and acquiring confidence in his capacities for becoming a surgeon. He is in love with Joan Caulfield, the daughter of a professor at the medical school. Another girl who plays an important part in his life is Veronica Lake, whose romantic dreams are blasted when her sweetheart, a fellow student of his, dies of diphtheria. Produced effectively by John Houseman and directed with understanding by John Berry, “Miss Susie Slagle’s’” has been interestingly scripted by Anne Froelick and Hugo Butler from an adaptation by the former and Adrian Scott drawn from a novel by Augusta Tucker. The film has been performed by a lot of pleasant people who bring a good deal of conviction to their roles. Billy De Wolfe comes close to walking away with the film in a comedy role. CAST: Veronica Lake, Sonny Tufts, Joan Caufield, Lillian Gish, Ray Collins, Billy De Wofe, Bill Edwards, Pat Phelan, Roman Bohmen, Morris Carnovsky, Renny McEvoy, Lloyd Bridges. CREDITS: Associate Producer, John Houseman; Director, John Berry; Screenplay, Anne Froelick, Hugo Butler; Adaptation, Anne Froelick, Adrian Scott; Based on novel by Augusta Tucker. DIRECTION, Good, PHOTOGRAPHY, Good. $2.00 Per Annum Tangier with Maria Montez, Preston Foster, Robert Paige, Louise Allbritton Universal 76 Mins. THOSE NOT TOO DEMANDING WILL BE INTERESTED IN COM MOTION FILLED MELODRAMATIC TALE. The talents of a cast of marquee worth are largely throttled in a story that gives the impression of a world of to-do over little. The film, reminiscent of “Casablanca,” has to with intrigue in Tangier. Plenty of commotion has gone into the telling of the tale in an attempt to create interest, with the ingredients being familiar if not incapable of stirring up excitement in the breasts of those whose entertainment needs are easily satisfied. On the strength of its cast, the picture should be able to overcome the majority of its weaknesses. It may be safely said that the personalities of the performers will be able to place the film in the winning column. The lure of Maria Montez alone should do wonders in helping the film over the bumps. M. M. Musselman and Monty ¥. Collins adhered closely to pattern in devising their screenplay from the Alice D. G. Miller original. Amid all the confusion one is able to assemble the story of a group of persons interested in a costly jewel, each for a different motive. It’s pretty tough to make out who’s friend and who's foe until far into the film. Efforts of Miss Montez, Louise Allbritton and Robert Kent, dancers all, and Robert Paige, an American newspaper man, to prevent the gem from falling into the hands of Preston Foster, villainous police official guilty of wholesale slaughter in the Spanish civil war, comprise the plot. Foster wants the gem so he can retire to a life of ease. The direction of George Waggner is no better than commonplace. The* production accorded the film by Paul Malvern under Joe Gershenson has much in its favor. As an added inducement the picture offers three popular tunes sung by Sabu in the role of troubadour. CAST: Maria Montez, Preston Foster, Robert Paige, Louise Allbritton, Kent Taylor, Sabu, J. Edward Bromberg, Reginald Denny, Charles Judels, Francis McDonald, Erno Verenes. CREDITS: Executive Preducer, Joe Gershenson; Producer, Paul Malvern; Director, George Waggner; Screenplay, M. M. Musselman, Monty F. Collins; Based on story by Alice D. G. Miller. DIRECTION, Routine, PHOTOGRA. PHY, Good. _