The Exhibitor (Jun-Nov 1941)

the exhibitor June 11, 1941 ONE-REEL Color Cartoon HOLLYWOOD STEPS OUT. Vitaphone _ Merrie Melodies. 7m. Another take-off on the Hollywood celebs, with the cari¬ catures including all the big shots, Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Gary Cooper, Greta Garbo, and loads of others. Audiences will probably get a kick out of it, although it could have been funnier. On effort, however, and because of the material, it deserves a high rating. EX¬ CELLENT. (6719). THE ROOKIE BEAR. Metro— Color Cartoons. 8m. Hibernating Mr. Bear has a horrible dream. He’s drafted and ex¬ periences all the discomforts and evils of being a rookie — long marches with a heavy pack, sore feet, gun-fright, etc. Soon he reawakens in his own comfortable bed, only to receive a telegram informing him he has really been called — “this time it ain’t no dream.” Moderately funny, this is well produced and timely. GOOD. (W-247). Cartoon HORSEFLY OPERA. 20th Century-Fox —Terry Toon. 7m. The horse flies and the flea cowboys ride the range, with the proverbial spider trying to hold up the stage. He is outwitted, of course, in a routine cartoon. FAIR. (1513). Travel EMPIRE IN EXILE. 20th Century-Fox — The World Today. 9m. The Dutch Indies, and how they are carrying on, with Leland Stowe contributing the commen¬ tary. The military preparations, train¬ ing, fleet, tanks, ships, etc., are all pre¬ sented, and one gets a good picture of what may happen if the islands are in¬ vaded. This is topnotch stuff of its kind. EXCELLENT. (1703). WINTER IN ESKIMO LAND. 20th Cen¬ tury-Fox — Magic Carpet of Movietone. 10m. Another of the interesting Father Hubbard series, this shows how the Eskimos amuse themselves during the winter, with the spring ice breakup follow¬ ing. It is up to the usual standard of the series. GOOD. (1110). THE ’40 -’41 SHORTS PARADE AND COMPLETE LISTING APPEARS FORTNIGHTLY IN THE YELLOW SECTION OF THE EXHIBITOR TOO LATE TO CLASSIFY Features Passage from melodrama Hongkong 60m ( Warners) Estimate: For the bottom half of the duallers. Cast: Lucille Fairbanks, Keith Douglas, Paul Cavanagh, Richard Ainley, Marjorie Gateson, Gloria Holden, Lumsden Hare, Tom Stevenson, Boyd Irwin, Chester Gan. Directed by D. Ross Lederman. Story: Keith Douglas, a mystery mur¬ der writer, sees Lucille Fairbanks while both are trying to get out of Hongkong, and he writes her a letter a day, the film action depicting the contents of the letters, and making a melodramatic tale. But she then turns the tables on him. It all winds up as having been staged. X-Ray: Made for the duallers, lacking names, this will serve as filler for the bottom of the twin bills. Patrons who walk in in the middle of the show might be confused, as it is that kind of a story. The Chinese background offers selling angles. Ad Lines: “They’ll Do Anything to Get Passage From Hongkong”; “Not Even Murder Can Stop Her”; “Exotic Adven¬ tures — Thrilling — Mysterious”; “The Mys¬ tery of the East in a Strange Melodrama of Twisted Lives.” West Point Widow Comedy Drama (4030) 64m (Paramount) Estimate: Programmer will fit into the dual spot. Cast: Anne Shirley, Richard Carlson, Frances Gifford, Richard Denning, Maude Eburne, Archie Twitchell, Lilian Ran¬ dolph, Janet Beecher, Patricia Fai'r, Cecil Kellaway, Charles Coleman. Directed by Robert Siodmak. Story: Anne Shirley, a nurse, marries Richard Denning, an Army football star, but the marriage is kept a secret and an annulment arranged when it appears Den¬ ning’s career will be ruined if it leaks out at West Point. She keeps from Denning the fact that she is to be a mother, to prevent him from resigning. Richard Carlson, a young doctor, also loves her, and knows the story, but when the two of them are seen with the baby, gossip be¬ gins. He denies the marriage to the hos¬ pital authorities, but to hide the truth he says he is the father, and agrees to marry Shirley. Just before the graduation from West Point, Denning comes to Shirley, who has quit her job, and tells her that he is engaged to another girl. Windup, how¬ ever, is a happy one, with Shirley going to Carlson, who has enlisted in the Army Medical Corps. X-Ray: Lacking star names, but with capable featured players, this is better than much of the B material seen around. As the first production from Sol C. Siegel at Paramount, it has its moments. Selling the baby angles for the family trade, the hos¬ pital and nurse background for the adults, and West Point for everyone, this can be handled. It has been well edited, and doesn’t waste any time. Ad Lines: “What Goes On In the Heart of a Nurse”; “She Was a West Point Widow — A Wife In Name Only”; “The Code of West Point Said ‘No’ to Marriage”; “Honor or Family — What Would You Do?”; “A Human Story About the Kind of People You Know”; “Could She Hide Her Baby From the Man She Loved?” Shorts BEAUTIFUL ONTARIO. Columbia — Tours. 9m. In color, the scenic wonders of the Canadian province, the fishing hatch¬ eries, water carnivals, etc., are noted. Tieups with travel bureaus are possible for this subject. GOOD. (2560). HIAWATHA’S RABBIT HUNT. Vitaphone — Merrie Melodies. 7m. The combi¬ nation of the hare and the Indian, Hiawatha, hunting results in as funny a cartoon as has been seen in a long time. Those who like the hare will, of course, be laughing as soon as they see him, and others will, too. The gags are frequent and funny. EXCELLENT. (6720). LASSO WIZARDS. Paramount — Grant land Rice Sportlight. 9m. Plain and fancy rope tricks are shown by cowboys and others. The youngsters should be espec¬ ially interested. GOOD. (R0-11). LIONS ON THE LOOSE. Metro— Pete Smith. 9m. Pete Smith observes the lion cubs and others going through their paces. Included as well are a cobra, raccoon, in addition to some bears. It will be liked. GOOD. (S-268) . PANIC IN THE PARLOR. RKO— Leon Errol Comedies. 14m. Errol goes to Tia Juana with a pal for a spree. Wife catches wise and for revenge pretends she has a couple of lovers in the house, including a large Cossack knife-handler. Errol dis¬ guises himself so he can trap her. He suc¬ ceeds in making a fool of himself, and get¬ ting in hot water with his boss, who fires him. It ends on a note of pathos. Comedy note is almost entirely of the slapstick variety, pleasing to kids and small-towners, but boring to metropolitan adult audi¬ ences. FAIR. (13706). POPULAR SCIENCE, No. 6. Paramount. 10m. Again up to the usual standard, this shows raising of mushrooms, a dressmak¬ er’s dummy, streamlined building, and ex¬ tracting venom from snakes for curative purposes, among other things, all interest¬ ing. GOOD. (JO-6). SALT WATER DAFFY. Universal — Color Cartoons. 7m. A burlesque on our naval efforts. Depicted through gags are various types of naval vessels and arma¬ ments, aircraft, and battle maneuvers. It’ll panic the kids and provide plenty of laughs for the oldsters, too. Commentary describes the happenings burlesqued on the screen. Photography and animation are very good. GOOD. (5250). SCREEN SNAPSHOTS, No. 8. Columbia. 9m. Jerry Colonna is the outstanding spot in this, introducing folks on a party. In¬ cluded are Fannie Brice, Dickie Jones, Jane Withers, Freddie Bartholomew, Mauch Twins, Spanky, Darla Hood, Larry Simms, Glenn Ford, Joe E. Brown, Sidney Miller, and others. This is up to the series standard. GOOD. (2858) . TWINKLETOES — WHERE HE GOES NOBODY KNOWS. Paramount — Animated Antics. 7m. Twinkletoes is bribed to plant a time-explosive, but the fellow who puts him up to it gets it in the end. FAIR. (H0-10) . 766 Servisection 4