The Exhibitor (1949)

THE EXHIBITOR February 16, 1949 Annette Bach. In Venice, he finds her at his concert, and courts her. She meets him in church, and vows her love, but they are seen by a spy of her overbearing, aristo¬ cratic father, magistrate Gualtiero Tumiati, who decrees Bechi leave under penalty of death. Bechi returns, and swears never to leave her. The fearful Bach comes after him, and they sail away. They live happily in Rome and Turin, and his fears depart when he learns of the astronomer’s suicide. However, Tumiati and his son track them down, and offer them forgiveness, which they accept, but on the return to Venice they are ambushed by Tumiati’s thugs and Bechi dies in a church. X-Ray: Bechi has ample opportunity to sing, duel, and swashbuckle in thi^ but the emphasis on superstition, the delicate love affair, and the religious slant will re¬ strict this mostly to the Italian areas. This starts fast, and is fairly interesting throughout. Among other pieces, Bechi sings a cantata, “Mercy O Lord.” Ad Lines: “Though She Was Destined To Bring Him Death, He Couldn’t Sing Without Her”; “Gino Bechi’s Glorious Voice Rings Again In ‘The Lovers’ “A Gripping Drama Of Two Lovers Who Swore Not To Part.” The Shorts Parade fwo Reel Color Musical THE SUNDAY ROUND-UP. Vitaphone — Technicolor Special. 20m. In this re^ release, starring singing and fighting Dick Foran, with Jane Wyman in a bit as a dance hall singer, there are sufficient amounts of fighting, singing, and pretty girls to make this appealing, and keep things moving. The story has -Foran as a new minister, who has to resort to an entertainment show to bring people into his church, and get the support of the town’s saloon owner. The songs rendered are “The Old Apple Tree,” “Police Gazette,” and “The Open Road.” GOOD. (5005). Musical TED WEEMS AND ORCHESTRA. Uni¬ versal-International — Name Band Musical. 15m. For the old timers, this is very wel¬ come and pleasantly entertaining. Elmo Tanner’s whistling stands out. This is one of the less jarring, more pleasant musi¬ cals. Numbers heard are “Weemola,” “One Twenty-Five Kelton,” “You Came A Long Way From St. Louis,” “Nola,” “Shine,” “My Body Lies Over The Ocean,” “I Won¬ der Where That Gal Of Mine Has Went,” “Hair Of Gold,” and “Carlola.” GOOD. (4303) . THE BARBER OF SEVILLE. ClassicFirst Opera Film Festival. 22m. Excerpts of the popular Rossini opera are heard, interspersed with an English narration. The orchestra and chorus of the Rome Opera House handle the music well enough, and the famous Tito Gobbi sings “Figaro,” but most of the singing is not too expertly dubbed in. FAIR. SIX GUN MUSIC. Universal— Musical Western. 25m. Two sisters, Patricia Alphin, a veterinary, and Lina Romay, an actress, put all their money in a ranch, sight un¬ seen, and, as they ride to take possession, they meet Tex Williams and his partners, Deuce Spriggens and Smokey Rogers, on their way to market with their cattle. They refrain from informing the girls that their place is a broken-down wreck, and say that they will visit them upon their re¬ turn in a few weeks. The girls land in Williams ranch house by mistake, think¬ ing it’s their own, and Alphin saves herds of cattle through her veterinary efforts. The boys return to find that they have been evicted. They try to explain, but are driven off. The decide to fix up the girl’s place and then ask them to move. After they finish, the sheriff shows up with a delinquent tax notice, and they see they have the wrong ranch. They apologize, the surrounding ranchers pay the tax bill out of gratitude, and the girls can stay on. Songs heard include: “Go West,” “Big Hat Polka,” and “You Gotta Hand It To The West.” This was directed by Nate Watt, and produced by Will Cowan. GOOD. (4351). Novelty CHEATING IN GAMBLING. Universal — Two Reel Special. 17m. John Scame, authority on gambling, adhering to cards in particular in this release, shows how easy it is for the crooked gambler to fleece innocent victims during a so-called friendly game of pasteboards. He demon¬ strates how the various types of illegal deals are made, and how winning hands are dealt in seemingly orthodox fashion. The slow motion camera as well as stop scenes demonstrate the crookedness of each move. EXCELLENT. (4201). OUR DAILY BREAD. RKO— This Is America. 16m. The usual thorough treat¬ ment is given to viewing the various aspects of making bread. Beginning with the planting and grinding of wheat, the footage includes government agronomists, men operating reapers, loading ships, etc., and some shots of the recent “Friendship Train” shipment to France. GOOD. (93104) . One Reel Color Cartoon A-HAUNTING WE WILL GO. ‘Para¬ mount — Cartoon. 8m. In this appealing Technicolor short, a little ghost named Little Casper is sad over his inability to make friends in the animal world until one day he finds a duckling who isn’t frightened. They become friends, and all goes well until the duck is deceived by a hunter’s decoy, and is winged, but saved from death by Casper. GOOD. BAD LUCK BLACKIE. MGM— Techni¬ color Cartoon. 7m. A small kitten is tormented by a large bulldog, and gets protection from an infallible bad luck¬ bringing black cat. Each time the kitten blows a whistle, the cat appears, and soon heavy objects fall upon the bulldog, who almost breaks the spell for awhile. GOOD. (W-37) . FIN ’N’ CATTY. Vitaphone— Blue Rib¬ bon Hit Parades Reissues. 7m. When first reviewed in The Servisection of Nov. 3, 1943, it was said: “A house Cat must have goldfish, but cannot stand any contact with water, so to get at the goldfish is a prob¬ lem. Everytime that the cat gets a drop of water on him, he runs for the paper towels. One time, the fish beats him to the towel roll, and has a piece of fly paper waiting. When the fish tries to get back to the bowl, the cat has blocked his entrance. After a merry chase through a water-filled shower room, the cat ends up in a bowl of water, and liking it. GOOD.” (5302). HOLLYWOOD MATADOR. UniversalInternational — Walter Lantz Cartunes. 7m. This Woody Woodpecker entry is okeh, only Walt Disney did practically all of it long ago in “Ferdinand, The Bull,” but it has lots of good moments, and winds up with some strong belly laughs. GOOD. (4322) PLUTO’S JUDGMENT DAY. RKO— Walt Disney Reissues. 7m. When first re¬ viewed in The Exhibitor in 1935, it was said: “Mickey Mouse’s dog, Pluto, has his day here. Mickey had admonished Pluto for chasing a cat. Chastened, Pluto falls asleep in front of a fireplace, and has a terrible dream in which he is chasing an elusive cat, who leads him to the torture chambers and trial rooms of the cat king¬ dom. An awesome prosecutor, a sneering judge, and a mocking jury, all cats, find Pluto guilty. He is about to be roasted to death when he wakes up. GOOD.” (94703). SYMPHONY IN SPINACH. Paramount — Popeye. 7m. Rivals Popeye and Bluto read an ad by Olive Oyl for a versatile musician. They both answer it, and Popeye is tricked into annoying Olive, though she prefers his jazz to Bluto’s classical play¬ ing. Spinach brings Popeye back to defeat Bluto. FAIR. (E 8-2). THE COUNTRY COUSIN. RKO— Walt Disney Reissues. 7m. When first reviewed in The Exhibitor in 1936, it was said: “Monty City Mouse invites Abner Country Mouse to the big city. They dine upon a bountiful table til Abner imbibes too much champagne, and kicks Mister Cat. Monty hides, and Abner rims home. EXCEL¬ LENT.” Color Musical THE EMERALD ISLE. ParamountScreen Song. In Polacolor, this audience participation short has many humorously slanted observations about Ireland before a fast, catchy rendition of “MacNamara’s: Band.” Some of the puns are about the Killarney’s lakes, the “Rocky Road to Dublin,” County Cork, and the Irish Sweepstakes. FAIR. (X 8-3). Musical SONGS OF ROMANCE. Universal— Sing And Be Happy. 9m. The Kings Men Quar¬ tet provides the harmony to such tunes as “Jeannine I Dream Of Lilac Time,” “If I Had You,” and “My Darling Clementine.” There is cartoon animation on each of the numbers. FAIR. (4383). Color Novelty THE STOCKING YARN. ParamountPopular Science. lOm-Magnacolor. This takes a look at a naval laboratory in Mary¬ land, where detailed scientific tests are made on models to determine later reac¬ tion when built, and included are tests when damaged, regarding waves, turning, etc. Also viewed is the rose industry in Tyler, Tex., where two-thirds of the rose bushes are grown and how the petals are made now into a jelly, and also how stockings have come to be worn by women so seemingly now from the Elizabethan days when men wore them. GOOD. (J 8-2). Novelty A RAINY DAY IN HOLLYWOOD. Co¬ lumbia — Screen Snapshots. 10m. The camera dwells on a different type of pre¬ miere, the opening of a new bank in Holly¬ wood with all the celebrities pitching in with personal appearances to put some¬ thing away for a rainy day. Among those seen with gags and byplay are Irene Dunne, Louella Parsons, Jack Benny bringing his money in mattresses to the bank, George Burns, Gary Moore, Marion Hutton, Adele Mara, Allan “Rocky” Lane, Hal “Great Gildersleeve” Peary, Buddy Clark, and othws. GOOD. (1855). 2S66 S«rvis»ction 6.