The Exhibitor (1951)

HXKIBITOR April 11, 1951 The Shorts Parade TWO REEL Comedy WINE, WOMAN, AND BONG. Colum¬ bia All Star Comedies. lS^m. Telling their wives that they are working late, Maxie Baer and Maxie Rosenbloom go to a night club, where they pick up two girls. The place is raided by the police, and the two Maxies are arrested, and spend the night in jail. When they are released, they go home, and convince their wives that they were heroes in a fire. However, a television news program shows them in the night club with the girls, and trying to escape the police. FAIR. (3424). Documentary CRUISE SHIP. RKO— This Is America. 16m. Happenings on a cruise to South America is the story, and leaving on the Santa Paula from New York, the pass¬ engers enjoy the facilities of the ship, which include a large pool, deck games, and formal and informal entertainment. At each stop the passengers become tour¬ ists, buy, and store up memories. The voyage back home is highlighted by a masquerade ball. This winds up as a good plug for the line whose vessel was used. GOOD. (13107). LONE STAR ROUNDUP. RKO— This Is America. 15m. The camera visits a modem cattle ranch in Texas, and gives a detailed report. The ranch is filled with new autos, tractors, scientific breeding, and a private landing strip for planes. The main theme is that cattle ranching today is big busi¬ ness. GOOD. ONE REEL Color Cartoon A BONE FOR A BONE. Warners — Merrie Melodies. 7m. Two polite gophers are enjoying a gin game when a tough dog decides to use the place to bury his bone. They politely ask the dog to take the bone elsewhere. However, he attacks the gophers. The polite little gophers soon make the dog sorry he started. FAIR. (7711). BUNNY HUGGED. Warners— Bugs Bunny Special. 7m. When Bugs Bunny sees his boss being beaten by the wrest¬ ling champ, he takes his place. After a few disastrous attempts to meet the champ’s brute strength, Bugs decides to use his brain. The battle soon becomes no con¬ test, with Bugs completely demoralizing the thimble-witted champ. FAIR. (7722). DRIPPY MISSISSIPPI. Paramount — Screen Songs. 7m. This entertaining and interesting cartoon history of the Missis¬ sippi River follows it from its source, and gives a little information about the river and the major cities. The bouncing ball then takes over for a version of the old song based on the spelling of Mississippi. EXCELLENT. (X10-4). DUDE DUCK. RKO— Walt Disney. 7m. A bus load of girls and Donald Duck arrive at a Dude Ranch. The bored horses become excited at the sight of the girls, but the one assigned to Donald balks when he sees him. The horse fights Donald’s efforts to ride him. After a long struggle, the horse succeeds in getting Donald trap¬ ped on the back of a wild bull. FARR. (14110). FAIR-HAIRED HARE. Warners — Bugs Bunny Specials. 7m. When a settler builds his house over Bugs Bunny’s prairie home, the rabbit goes to court to protest the encroachment of his property. The judge rules that Bugs and the settler shall share the property, with complete ownership going to the survivor, should one die. The settler tries to finish off Bugs, but his at¬ tempts backfire, and he and his house are blown skyward by a blast of TNT. GOOD. (7723). HOLD THE LION PLEASE. Paramount — Noveltoons. 7m. Little Audrey wants to own a pet. Not having enough money, she goes to the zoo, and selects a lion to take home. She tries to disguise him as a dog but this doesn’t fool the maid, who gets a rifle. Audrey faints, and the maid, thinking that she shot Audrey, says she would allow her to keep the lion. GOOD. (P10-6). LITTLE ROQUEFORT IN MUSICAL MADNESS. 20th-Fox — Terrytoons. 7m. A cat steals into the music shop where Little Roquefort lives, and disturbs the mouse by loudly beating the drums. Little Roque¬ fort belabors the cat with a variety of musical instruments until the intruder makes a hasty exit, and the mouse finally gets back to bed, only to be aroused by the alarm clock. FAIR. (5111). ODOR-ABLE KITTY. Warners— Blue Ribbon Hit Parades. 7m. When first reviewed in The Servisection of Decem¬ ber, 1944, it was said of this Technicolor cartoon: “The kitty, taking a beating from the butcher, housewife, and dog, disguises himself as a skunk, and gets plenty to eat, but an amorous skunk is too much for her, and the windup finds her glad to be a cat again. GOOD.” (7309). SYMPHONY IN SLANG. MGM— Car¬ toons. 7m. This is one of the best cartoons from MGM in some time. A hep character gets to the Pearly Gates, and speaks in a language that no one understands. He is brought to Noah Webster, who is also confused. Then, as the character tells his story, the cartoons translate into actual fact the slang that is used, which makes one of the most novel subjects in some time. EXCEL! ENT. (W-245). THRILL OF FAIR. Paramount — Popeye. 7m. Olive Oyl presses Popeye into service as a baby sitter for Swee’ Pea while she enters her pig at the fair. Swee’ Pea immediately wanders off through shooting galleries, across tight rope wires, etc., with Popeye always getting hurt. With the help of a can of spinach, Popeye finally brings the child back safely. GOOD. (E10-5). Comedy SO YOU WANT TO BE A COWBOY? Warners — Joe McDoakes Comedies. 10m. Western fan Joe McDoakes takes his wife to the theatre, and, as he watches the cowboy saga unfold, imagines himself in the place of the hero. He sings, plays a guitar, kills three Indians with one shot, and finally fights with the villain on a cliff. McDoakes comes out of his trance when he finds himself hanging on to the edge of the balcony. GOOD. (7404). Musical SCENES FROM RIGOLETTO. Artkino. 10m. A group of gypsy dancers and singers perform some of the dances and two of the famous arias from the well-known Verdi opera. The singing, which is done in Rus¬ sian, is rather on the weak side, and the scratchy print and sound track do not add to the merits of this short. FAIR. Novelty CAMERA SLEUTH. MGM— Pete Smith Specialty. 10m. In serious vein, this fol¬ lows the work of a private detective who vises a camera to get evidence of false insurance claims. He is shown on a case involving a farmer who says he can't walk as a result of an accident. After months of work, the detective finally gets pho¬ tographic proof that the farmer’s claim is false. GOOD. (S-258). FIXIN’ FOOL. MGM— Pete Smith Spe¬ cialty. 8m. Handy husband David O’Brien decides to make a new doorway. Things start off badly, and get worse. O’Brien accidentally walls in his son, gets the water and gas pipes mixed, and ruins the lin¬ oleum, and just about everything else in the house. GOOD. (S-257) . HORSE-HIDE HEROES. Warners— Vitaphone Novelty. 10m. Baseball fans will get a kick out of this nostalgic visit through the years to see some of the greats in action. The film highlights Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig, Honus Wagner, John McGraw, Bob Feller, and many other diamond immor¬ tals, and ends with a tribute to Babe Ruth. GOOD. (7605). KIDS AND PETS. Paramount — Pace¬ makers. 11m. Small fry decide to put on a pet show, and each member is busy pre¬ paring animals for the big show. There is a wide assortment of birds, dogs, mon¬ keys, horses, rabbits, and more. The film keeps jumping back to two youngsters having a tough time convincing their duck that it should be entered. At the show, everyone is given a prize. Red Barbar does the commentary. GOOD. (K10-5). A TRIP THRU SPACE. Hoffberg. 12m. While a commentator fills in the necessary links, shots of the universe, Venus, Mars, Saturn, the moon, and other aspects of the heavens are shown. This should have in¬ terest for those scientifically inclined, and will be tolerated by others. FAIR. Color Sports ROCKY EDEN. Warners — Sports Parade. 10m. The color camera takes in the splendor of the area in the Canadiafi Rockies set aside by the government for animals and other wild life. Shown are the beautiful falls, quiet lakes, and other magnificent views. There are some fine shots of animals. GOOD. (7506). Sports ARMY’S ALL-AMERICAN. Columbia— The World Of Sports. 10m. The camera picks up All-American end Dan Foldberg from the time he starts his day at West Point, and follows him through the activi¬ ties of the typical day. The action then shifts to some highlights in the football career of Foldberg and the army team. GOOD. (3805). ARROW ARTISTRY. 20th-Fox— Sports Reviews. 9m. Archery champion Andy Vail performs some mildly spectacular feats with bow and arrow, consisting mainly of breaking balloons held by pretty assistants, and shooting various targets while hang¬ ing from a low-flying helicopter. Mel Allen’s punning commentary is about as silly as they come. FAIR. (3101). Too late To Classify Features The Thing Adventure Drama 86m. (RKO) Estimate: Highly interesting, well-made exploitation entry. Cast: Margaret Sheridan, Kenneth Tobey, Robert Comthwaite, Douglas Spen¬ cer, James Young, Dewey Martin, Robert Nichols, William Self, Eduard Franz, Sally Creighton, James Amess. Produced by ( Continued on page 3058) 3056 Servisection 4