The Exhibitor (Jun-Oct 1943)

THE SHORTS PARADE Serial SECRET SERVICE IN DARKEST AFRICA. Republic Serial. 15 chapters. Rod Cameron, Joan Marsh, Dimcan Renaldo, Lionel Royce, others. Directed by Spencer Bennet. Episode one. 28m. This counter espionage meller is laid in Casa¬ blanca. Plot has to do with Nazi duplicity and brutality, and concerns efforts of the swastika boys to palm off fraudulent “holy” documents on the Arab sheiks, and the attempts of the French legation and American secret service, headed by Rod Cameron and American reporter Joan Marsh, to thwart them. Many of the sit¬ uations are familiar, but the action is fast and furious with a fight in practically every other foot of film. The beating up of square headed Nazis who, of course, are the villains, gives this added popular appeal, but it is really just another serial for the kids. Wind up of chapter one has hero Cameron fighting a gang of Arabs and Nazis on what looks like a misplaced ferry boat, with the boat dynamited to smithereens for the fade-out. FAIR. (284/1-284/15) . Two Reel Comedy HOT FOOT. RKO — Edgar Kennedy Comedy. 17m. Edgar Kennedy wants to go to the fights with his friend, but without his brother-in-law. They concoct a scheme whereby Kennedy becomes gravely ill, and sends for a specialist, his friend in disguise, who will take him away for a ■day or two for observation. Everything goes well until his mother-in-law over¬ hears the two rejoicing and their future plans. Under pretense of giving Kennedy a foot bath, she puts his foot into a tub of cement, which quickly hardens. The fake doctor tries to blow it off, and, when Kennedy awakens, he learns that his brother-in-law has gone to the fights with his friend while he is stranded in bed. GOOD. (33406). RADIO RUNAROUND. RKO — Leon Errol Comedy, 18m. Leon Errol leaves the house for his radio station forgetting that this is his wedding anniversary. A neigh¬ bor tells Mrs. Errol that the Matrimonial Oracle on Errol’s station is a fake. To prove her wrong, Mrs. Errol writes a test letter to him. Errol, arriving at the station, finds that the Oracle is sick, and rushes to take his place. He answers his wife’s letter by telling her to leave her husband for another man. He finds out it was from her, and tries to fix things by get¬ ting a blonde to make love to him so as to make his wife jealous. His secretary, however, overhears the plot, and tips off the wife. When the blonde arrives at the house, her big tough boy friend breaks in as she is going through her act, and threatens to annihilate Errol. His wife, however, chases them both out of the house with a poker, and all is quiet once more. GOOD. (33706). THE EXHIBITOR Documentary 69TH PARALLEL. Artkino. 21m. Rich¬ ard Blaine narrates for scenes on the bat¬ tlefield at the northernmost tip of the Russian battle lines. An entertainment troupe ventures into the very front lines themselves to play before the boys at their battle stations. The crew and commander of a Russian submarine which has sunk 106 ships is decorated. A surface craft locates a floating mine, and a detonation detail is set out to blow it up. An Allied convoy is attacked by a group of Nazi planes, and is driven off with a loss of several enemy planes. The convoy reaches port safely, and its large and varied cargo is unloaded. This documentary short was made with the Arctic Fleet of the USSR Navy by the Central Newsreel Studios of Moscow. GOOD. Dramatic WAR IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. Eng¬ lish Films. 13m. This is an English short of apparently ancient vintage, and the opening scenes are more reminiscent of a travelogue rather than a war short. The Suez Canal, its usefulness, advantages, and disadvantages, are discussed. All the coun¬ tries that border on the Mediterranean, such as Egypt, Gibraltar, the island of Cyprus, Turkey, etc., and their principal exports and pr^ucts are shown. The short closes with a few scenes of Allied bombs falling on enemy territory, and several naval units firing their big guns. Produc¬ tion was by John Hanau for the Canadian Ministry of War Information. Partial nar¬ ration is done by Leslie Howard. FAIR. Color Sport CHAMPIONS TRAINING CHAMPIONS. Vitaphone — Service Special. 16m. The Navy Pre-Flight Training School at St. Mary’s College, California, is covered, with shots of the various sports activities which put the boys into condition. Headliners of past years in the field of football, basket¬ ball, etc., assist the veteran college coaches in preparing the boys for tough days ahead. Sports include football, soccer, bas¬ ketball, track, boxing, wrestling, among many others. While similar activities have been seen before, this will still prove interesting. GOOD. (8006). OttReel America Speaks MEN WORKING TOGETHER. Colum¬ bia — America Speaks. 11m. This tells the story behind the governmentissued pos¬ ter of the same title, how the poster was created from three photographs, one of a welder, one of a sailor, and one of a soldier, and how, after its completion, the welder wrote to the government inquiring as to the identities of the other two “models”. The government thought it would be a nice gesture to introduce the three, and subsequently sent the sailor and soldier to the steel mill, where they met the welder, who took them on a person¬ ally conducted tour of the plant. This is interesting, and blends several different things in adroit fashion. The value of propaganda posters is indicated; how they are made is shown; and the importance of the pbster’s slogan, “Men Working To¬ gether,” is stressed. GOOD. (4963). Color Cartoon THE ARISTO CAT. Vitaphone — Merrie Melody. 7y2m. A spoiled cat is left alone June 30, 1943 in a large mansion, and is afraid at the thought of shifting for himself. He is very hungry when he comes across two mice, but he is ignorant of the fact that they are mice. They point out a ferocious bulldog to the cat as a mouse, and sic him on the dog. The fur flies as the dog chases the cat, upon whom the realization comes too late that he was tricked. GOOD. (8716). JACK WABBIT AND THE BEAN¬ STALK. Vitaphone — Merrie Melody. 7m. Bugs Bunny in'vades the realm of the giant in his quest for big carrots. The giant, a Socrates Mulliganish sort of indi¬ vidual, comes out on the short end after Bugs almost gets lost inside the giant’s head and in his hair. GOOD. (8715). WHO KILLED WHO. Metro — Cartoon 8m. This isn’t up to the standard of re¬ cent Metro cartoons. A “Crime Doesn’t Pay” type of narrator tells the audience a murder mystery will be shown, but the resvilt, while occasionally funny, is too confused. 'The dumb detective tries to find the killer in a ghost house, with the mur¬ derer turning out to be the commentator. FAIR. (W-448). TREE FOR TWO. Columbia — Color Rhapsody. 7%m. The fox, a tree surgeon, on tour of the forest, spots an old broken down tree full of holes. He starts to fill the holes with cement, but the crow, who lives in the tree, objects to the fox’s actions. His objections, however, cut no ice. The crow starts to hamper the fox so that the fox ends up with the bucket of cement on his face. In his efforts to free the fox, the crow almost kills him, and, when he is finally freed, chases the crow through the forest, chopping down everything in an effort to hit the crow with an axe. GOOD. (4509). Cartoon THE HUNGRY GOAT. Paramount — Popeye. 7m. This has very little of Popeye in it. It features a goat which isn’t par¬ ticularly funny. The goat wants cans, but there is a shortage, so it starts to eat a battleship. Popeye tries to come to the rescue, but can’t make headway. This is probably the weakest Popeye of the cur¬ rent season. BAD. (E2-9). Comedy FARM HANDS. Metro — Our Gang. 11m. The kids go to the farm, and get into all sorts of scrapes. The antics are more often funny, and the gags are dated. FAIR. (C-495). Musical RATIONED RHYTHM. Paramount — Headliner. 10%m. David Ross narrates, and Alma Kay sings, while the Kom Kobblers, a wacky aggregation of musicians, furnish their own type of rationed music. The camera proves that swing, etc., can be rationed, and even if the music isn’t of the top hepcat variety, this should afford amusement. GOOD. (A2-8). Color Novelty POPULAR SCIENCE. No. 5. Paramount. 10m. In Rio de Janeiro, the institute founded by Oswaldo Cruz helps all man¬ kind; some damsels show what to wear in the Victory garden, which should make any plants sit up and take notice; the Wizard of Waukesha irons out another problem; and Uncle Sam’s gliders go through their formations. GOOD. (J2-5), iil« ■^■■1 J.