The Educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Page 190 The Educational Screen THE FILM ESTIMATES Angers Holiday (JaneWithers) (Fox) Another unnatural, precocious role for Jane who is the whole show in lively but incredible story. Pub- licity stunt built around movie-star-heroine be- comes real kidnapping case but Jane's strategy captures gang, reuniting her adored news- paper-hero with actress. 6-1-37 (A) Hardly (Yj Perhaps (C) Prob. amusing Ab Good as Married (John Boles, Doris No- lan) (Univ.) Fast, fluffy, sophisticated, alcoholic farce, featuring facetious contempt for mar- riage. Ultra-rich playboy weds his Secretary (Nolan is charming) to save income tax, and goes on playing to last-reel-moral-ending. Good box-ofiice despite Boles* comedy antics. 6-8-37 (A) Depends on taste (Y) Unwholesome (C) No Beethoven Concerto (Russian, Excellent English titles) (Amkino) Notable Russian picture, dominated by children, with two ex- traordinary little heroes in national competi- tion for violin honors. Acting notable, music beautiful, human interest strong. Culture and happiness presented as Russian norm. 5-11-37 (A) Very good (Y) Good (C) Perhaps Cafe Metropole (Power, L. Y^oung, Menjou, Winninger, Westley) (Fox) Suave Parisian gambler, engaging young inebriate as his tool, absurdly rich and absurdly acting American family, make an amusing, smart, merrily im- probable farce-comedy. Certain elements prob- ably too farcical to be objectionable. 5-11-37 (A)Very good of kind(Y)Prob'ly good(C)Hardly Captain Calamity (John Houston. Marian Nixon) (Gr. Nat.) Elementary, loosely knit story of sordid villainy and violent fighting over money and women in South Seas. Heavy- fisted, pleasant-singing hero rather engaging, and full color photography of tropical lands and seas often notably good. 5-25-37 (A) Hardly (Y) Doubtful (C) No Captains Courageous (Bartholomew, S. Tracy. L. Barrymore) (MGM) Powerful portrayal of rich little snob transformed by hard knocks and high adventure among rough but under- standing fishermen. Grand Banks schooner life magnificently shown in tense, convincing, human drama. Masterpiece of cinema. 5-11-37 (A) Excellent (Y) Excellent (C) Very strong Captain's Kid (Sybil Jason, Kibbee, Robson) (1st Nat.) Unpretentious character comedy with Kibbee as old sea-captain spinning tall yarns and adored by his old sweetheart's little niece. Sybil is engaging and is prime motive force throughout. Improbability and over-precocious child conduct don't worry production. 5-25-37 (A) Hardly (Y-C) Fairly amusing Charlie Chan at the Olympics (Oland, Luke, K. de Mille) (Fox) Good Chan picture. He chases airplane mystery from South Seas eastward, to catch villain in Olympic stadium in Berlin. Two sons now help their clever father. The eight-year-old is good, but Luke works so hard at his acting! 5-25-37 (A) Good of kind (Y-C) Good China Passage (Constance Worth, Vinton Ha- worth)(RKO) Gem-theft-thriller of slight dis- tinction. Shanghai diamond disappears, and swarm of suspects, military hero and Federal Agent heroine all board same steamer for 'Frisco. Long voyage of snoopings, druggings, killings, to clumsy clinical solution. 5-25-37 (A)Mediocre (Y) Hardly (C) No Elephant Boy (Sabu. Indian boy, and Kala Nag, the elephant) (UA) Another masterpiece by Flaherty of "Nanook" and "Man of Aran." Great, natural, healthily thrilling picture, made in native jungles, from Kipling's tale of deep friendship between adorable boy and mighty elephant. Every one should see it. 6-8-37 (A) (Y) (C) Excellent Fair Warning (J. Edward Bromberg, Betty Furness) (Fox) Above average Class B murder- mystery, with credible motivation, rather novel plot, detective decidedly original in man- ner and method, and without excessive vio- lence. Death Valley setting adds more inter- est than the mild romance injected. 5-25-37 (A) Fair (Y-C) Good of kind Girl from Scotland Yard (Karen Morley) (Para) Complex mystery thriller built round sinister "death ray" that threatens destruction of British Navy. English Secret Service hero- ine and American newspaper-man hero put an end to half-mad inventor's ghastly activity. Made expressly for spine-chilling. 5-18-37 (A) Good of kind (Y) Doubtful (C) No Hit Parade, The (F. Langford, Phil Regan) (Repub.) Well-done, entertaining musical with radio acts logically woven into substantial story of radio agent, society radio star who jilts him, and ex-convict heroine who makeo good on the air with hero's help and gets par- don when her innocence is established. 6-1-37 (A) (Y) Good of kind (C) Little interest Hotel Haywire (Byington, Overmann, Carril- Io)(Para.) Meant for hilarious nonsense farce about astrology-addled wife and easy-going husband headed for divorce, hubby to furnish evidence of adultery. Sprawling plot, over- eflfort to be funny. Characters too unlife-like for successful satire. 6-8-37 (A) Stupid (Y) No value (C) No Being the Combined Judgments of « National Committee on Current Theatrical Films (A) Discriminating Adults (Y) Youth (C) Children Date of mailing on weekly service is shown on each film. (The Film Estimates, in whole or in part, may be reprinted only by special arrangement with The Educational Screen) I Met Him in Paris (Colbert, Douglas, R. Young) (Para.) Sophisticated comedy of hero's struggles in Paris and Switzerland to prevent seduction of heroine, carefully transformed into farce. Uneven in quality and interest. Second half of picture fails to realize its dramatic possibilities and character values. 6-1-37 (A) Good of kind (Y) Better not (Ci No Jim Hanvey, Detective (Guy Kibbee, Tom Brown) (Repub.) Loosely-woven murder mys- tery with plots and counter-plots. Crime fol- lows attempts to steal valuable emeralds and rural detective-hero finally traps killer. Oc- casionally amusing and interesting but whole illogical and unconvincing. 6-1-37 (A) Hardly (Y) Perhaps (C) No Kid Galahad (£. G. Robinson, Bette Davis) (War.) Well-done, vivid, sordid stuff about prize-fight-racketeering hero, with heavy gang- ster complications. Charming little romance oi minor characters set in elaborate welter of swagger, swat and sweat. Typical Robinson role, fairly reputable role for Davis. 6-8-37 (A) Very good of kind (Y) Better not (C) No King of Gamblers (Nolan, Trevor, Tamiroff) (Para) Well done racketeer thriller, with the newspaper-hero engaging even when drunk. Ail characters live and move in sordid atmos- phere of sex and impropriety, but the good manage to stay "good" and thus keep the mess more or less censor-proof. 5-11-37 (A)Depends on taste (Y)Unwholesome (C)No Let Them Live (John Howard, Nan Grey) (Univ.) Interne-hero wages vain fight for slum clearance against powerful city political boss who tricks and outwits him, until serious epi- demic enables hero to win cause. Elementary, largely incredible, but total effect probably good. 6-1-37 (A) Hardly (Y) Fair (C) Doubtful Let's Get Married (Ida Lupino, W. Connol- ly, R. Bellamy) ^Col.) Arrogantly temperamen- tal heroine defies her rich, powerful politician- father's ideas for her marriage. Weather- forecaster hero is high-principled, but his aver- sion to politicians cannot save him. Heroine- chase-hero motif again. 5-25-37 (A) Fair (Y) Probably amusing ^C) No Love from a Stranger (Ann Harding, Basil Rathbone) (U.A.) Psycopathic killer-motif, finely acted, building up quietly and effectively to grisly spine-chilling climax as heroine's charm- ing, cultured husband of few weeks is revealed as maniacal murderer. Terrifying suspense un- til she outwits him, saving herself. 6-1-37 (A) Good of kind (Y) Too grim (C) No Make Way for Tomorrow (V. Moore, Beulah Bondi) (Para.) Realistic domestic comedy, not- ably acted, depicting contrasts and conflicts between aged parents and their children. It is deeply human, convincingly true, frequently amusing, but too many moments are poignant and depressing for popular success. 6-1-37 (A) Excellent (Y) Mature but good (C) Beyond Mama Steps Out (Alice Brady, Kibbee, Fur- ness) (MGM I Another in current series of heroine-chases-hero pictures. Bizarre, newly- rich American mother slurs America and seeks culture in a burlesqued France. Too crudely done to be clever, and too elemental to be called intelligent amusement. 5-11-37 (A) Mediocre (Y) No (C) No Man Who Found Himself (John Beal) (RKO) Trite theme, achieving little distinction in the telling, about regeneration of young surgeon, soured on his profession, who becomes in turn hobo, construction laborer and airplane me- chanic, until heroine and a train wreck achieve his awakening. 5-18-37 (A) Hardly (Y) Fair (C) No interest Night Key (Boris Karloff, Jean Rogers) (Univ) Pseudo-science, gang melodrama, and romance combined in exciting thriller. Good in spots, and Karloff's role a relief from his usual monster parts. But mostly artificial thriller, preposterous and unconvincing as a whole. 5-11-37 (A) Hardly (Y) Doubtful (C) No Night Must Fall (R.Montgomery, R.Russell, Dame Whitty) (MGM) Genial, smiling young man, living as trusted and loved member of rural English home, finally disclosed as hideous psychopathic killer. Striking blend of gentle realism and stark crime. Quiet, grim, difficult theme very ably presented. 5-18-37 (A) Very unusual (Y) (C) Doubtful value or int. Nobody's Baby (Patsy Kelly, Lyda Roberti) Hilarious farce with slight plot stretched to feature length, ably acted by the two heroines. Humorous, somewhat suggestive, complications develop when the girls, probation nurses, take care of a baby until its night-club-dancer- mother is reunited to husband. 6-1-37 (A) Depends on taste (Y) Passable (C) No Penrod and Sam (^Billy Mauch, Frank Craven, Spring Byington) (Warner) Boy-parent psychol- ogy, young human nature, engagingly presented in modernized Tarkington story, with healthily exciting melodrama added. Quite wholesome en- tertainment for all, with bits perhaps strong for sensitive children. Mauch promising. 5-18-3? (A) (Y) Very good of kind (C) Probably good The Prince and the Pauper (Mauch Twins and outstanding cast) (1st Nat.) Mark Twain's fanciful tale of 16th Century English Court splendidly screened, in spirit of book and times. Only a trying moment or two for very sensi- tive children. A much-loved classic admirably handled. No romance lugged in I 5-25-37 (A) Excellent (Y) Excellent (Cj Good Prisoners (Russian) (English titles) (Amkino) Realistic, finely acted portrayal of how skill- fully and "paternally" the G P U handles tough criminals and wins them back to the glorious gospel of work. Excellent propagan- da on Russian methods and the sweet and wholesome life in Soviet prisons. 6-8-37 (A) Gwd of kind (Y-C) No Racketeers in Exile (Bancroft, Venable, Wynne Gibson) (Columbia) City racketeer takes his gang to his own home for hideout. Stumbles on profitable idea of evangelism fop graft, and merrily swindles friends and rela- tives till converted by own preachings ! Brazen hypocrisy thoroughly repugnant. 5-11-37 (A) Hardly (Y) No (C) No Scotland Yard Commands (Clive Brook) (Gr. Nat.) Opens with ex-naval-hero on drunken spree. He stumbles upon smuggler activities on coast, is commissioned by Scotland Yard to finish the job. Fantastic doings, with the long arm of coincidence working overtime. Clive Brook his suave, stiff, familiar self. 6-8-37 (A) Hardly (Y) Hardly (C) No A Star is Born (Gaynor, March, Menjou) (U A) Expert glamorization of Hollywood with iine technicolor and notable cast. But heroine's success must depend on disagreeable screen-hero whose drunken antics lead her to stardom, him to suicide, and picture to anti- climax. Fine material stupidly ruined. 5-11-37 (A) Depends on taste (YiNo (C) No Step Lively^Jeeves (Treacher,Givot. Dinehart) (Fox) Attempt to "improve" the Jeeves series by loading film with horseplay, slapstick, and burlesque crooks. Treacher's unique character play lost by making him mere puppet of racketeers in nonsense farce. Nullifies only value of Jeeves pictures. 5-18-37 (A) Mediocre (Y) Little value (C) No They Gave Him a Gun (Tone, S. Tracy, Gladys George) (MGM) Grim character drama, with three strong roles of two doughboys and nurse, and war background effectively done. The weak- ling hero, trained by his country to kill with a gun, turns gunman after the war and earns a grisly end. Strongly anti-war. 5-18-37 (A) Goodof kind (Y) Probably good (C) No Thirteenth Chair (Dame Whitty. Madge Evans, Lewis Stone) (MGM) Excellent screening of old Veiller melodramatic thriller, in which spiritual- istic medium functions to aid law in detecting cold-blooded slayer of two. Some grewsome moments. Roles by Dame Whitty and Lewis Stone are notable. 5-18-37 (A) (Y) Very good of kind fC) Too strong This is My Affair (Robert Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck) (Fox) Pretentious crook melodrama carefully laid in 1901 as to costumes, cluttered furnishings, and archaic slang. Naval-hero.sent after bank robbers, joins gang, narrowly miss- es execution, wins beer-hall heroine. McKinley, Dewey and Teddy Roosevelt convincing. 6-8-37 (A) Fair (Y-C) Doubtful interest or value Tsar to Lenin (Russian. English narration) (Lenauer) Impressive, authentic scenes (many faded and worn) by royal, "red" and other cameramen, give grim history of Russia from tsar to revolution with portraits of leaders. Vocalogue by Max Eastman informative but thoroughly pro-communistic. 5-25-37 (A) Interesting (Y) Doubtful (C) No Turn Off the Moon (Charles Ruggles, Eleanor Whitney) (Para) Hilarious, very noisy nonsense farce, laid in Department Store whose senti- mental owner settles his i)olicies by astrology. Horseplay, drunken antics, and much music and dance by none too skillful cast. Ruggles' lead- ing role is only merit. 5-18-37 (A) Perhaps (Y) Probably good (C) Hardly Way Out West (Laurel and Hardy) (MGM) Amiable nonsense farce, partly burlesque on old westerns, with the stars as carefree, jov- ial gypsies. Usual antics and pantomime fun- ny as usual, but story suffers at times from prolonged repetitions and sustained slapstick. Some needless vulgar touches. 6-8-37 (A) Depends on taste (Y-C) Probably amusing