The Exhibitor (Nov 1938-May 1939)

14 SPECIAL FEATURES HOLLYWOOD NEWSREEL He Ends His Football Game and Talks About The Neiv "Finds” • HELLO, FOLKS! This is WARREN STOKES speaking to you from Hollywood over the JEP network. We are now into the last few moments of the final quarter of your industry football classic between the exhibitors and producers and into the first few hours of 1939. The spirit of prosperity is no longer around the corner. They don’t have to hide it any more. The producers seem to have everything pretty well bottled up. This last quarter is really a corker and the exhibitors are trying to stand up and take it like real showmen. • UP TO THIS PERIOD, they have been unable to cancel a lot of bad plays and most of their long runs have been confined to the silk hose of female All Services OF THIS PUBLICATION APPEAR REGULARLY Plus • The Same Intimate Coverage • Better Management • In the Spotlight • Special Features • The National Mirror and everything else that makes this the complete trade journal. patrons snagged on the old seats. The exhibitors are thrown for a loss of patronage every time this happens and most of their feature plays turn out to be a headache because of faulty sound equipment, unbalanced projection, with the result that their business is literally booming — in the wrong direction. Once again we call your attention to the Better Management Section of this publication for a complete check-up on your theatre equipment. The producers are putting in a new player. That ovation coming from the exhibitor section is a rousing cheer for AL CHRISTIE who comes back into the game after a long absence prepared to deliver a series of shorts with a comedy kick under the Grand National banner. • THE PRESS AGENTS are staging another demonstration at the west end of the field with more promise for 193 9. Philadelphia’s exhibitor leaders, are turning an attentive ear with LEWEN PIZOR, CHARLES SIEGEL, M. E. CGMERFCRD and WALTER VINCENT sitting on the bench with WILLIAM GOLDMAN, TED SCHLANGER, MARCUS BENN, DAVE MILGRAM and JOE CONWAY perusing the trade memorandum and arriving at the conclusion that nobody knows exactly what the score is. The referee is looking at his watch and in a few moments this grid iron classic will go down in history. It had us down a long time ago. And there’s the gun which brings us to the end of this celluloid classic, the end of 193 8, the end of this nightmare, and the beginning of 193 9 in which, the score still being nothing to nothing in favor of the exhibitors, we can still look forward to another promising New Year with 365 nights to make good with the public and the producer', might even yet live up to the slogan MOVIES ARE YOUR BEST ENTERTAINMENT. • LOOKING OVER THE PLAYERS, we must admit that the producers have developed a flock of new personalities for the enterprising exhibitor who will in turn profit by helping to sell them to his patrons. New star material is the life of this business. Its future development is a necessity we cannot afford to overlook, in this movie business we can truthfully revise the old saying "familiarity breeds contempt” to read "familiarity breeds boxoffice.” • STANDOUTS FOR 193 8 which should be entered in the record for exploitation in 1939 are of Paramount importance. Paramount leads the parade in the discovery of new and worthwhile talent. • ROBERT PRESTON rates high among the new leading men. After only three pictures he was picked for a top role opposite JOEL McCREA and BARBARA STANWYCK in "Union Pacific.” Preston is a first string player that will be worth watching. BOB HOPE is a new type of screen comedian who has reached the top in less than one year and will undoubtedly stay there for quite some time with the proper vehicles. Outstanding boy find of the year is DONALD O’CONNOR who stepped right into the spotlight with a grand performance in "Sing You Sinners.” • "CINDERELLA GIRL” of the year is ELLEN DREW who overnight won the feminine lead in this same BING CROSBY picture. HEDY LAMARR who hit the top with one picture is the brightest glamor find of 193 8 and garnered more publicity space than any other individual. MARIE WILSON, who has been a slow starter due to limited opportunities, finally got her chance in "Boy Meets Girl” and rates definitely as the screen’s newest comedienne. All in all Hollywood has developed and discovered more worthwhile talent in 193 8 than in many pr'viou years. It is safe to predict that Hollywood will release some of its finest pictures during 193 9 and there is every indication, as far as quality is concerned, of a prosperous New Year for the Motion Picture Industry. This is WARREN STOKES saying, "So Long, folk'!” HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR TO ALL. ADVANCE SHOTS Brief Glimpses of Features Shorts to Be Reviewed Received too late to be included in last week’s Blue Section were the following features. These advance shots are given for the record pending the publication of the next Blue Section. FATHER O’FLYNN (Hoff berg)— Tom Burke, Jean Arienne, Robert Chisholm. 6 5m. Real Irish melodrama, based on the lilting title song, this should be a natural for the sons of Old Erin. FORBIDDEN MUSIC (World)— Jimmy Durante, Richard Tauber, Diana Napier. 63m. A satirical operetta, this British importation should draw the Jimmy Durante comedy fans, tenor Richard Tauber followers. LONG SHOT (Grand National) — Gordon Jones, C. Henry Gordon, George F. Stone, Marsha Hunt. 69m. Better than average racing story, this is a top-spotter for many situations. It is a creditable production, with plenty of action. MAMELE (Sphinx) — Molly Picon, Edmund Zayenda, Max Bozyk. 103m. First lady of the Jewish stage, Molly Picon scores again, in a domestic drama that should be a natural for Jewish houses. PACIFIC LINER ( Radio)— Victor McLaglen, Chester Morris, Wendy Barrie. 74m. Cholera breaks out on a trans-Pacific liner, but chief engineer Victor McLaglen, doctor Chester Morris, nurse Wendy Barrie ultimately are victorious. PRAIRIE JUSTICE (Universal)— Bob Baker, Dorothy Fay, Jack Rockwell. 57m. Routine Bob Baker singing-western, this has the hero saving the ranch, finding the rustled cattle, etc., etc., e:c. TOPPER TAKES A TRIP (United Artists) — Constance Bennett, Roland Young, Billie Burke. 78m. A worthy successor to the original "Topper” (with many of the same cast), from which tie-in scenes are given, this deals with the Topp.rs’ marital, divorce difficulties. Short subjects reviewed during the past week included the following: AIR THRILLS (Pictorial Films) — 9m. Compiled from library shots, this is a fair aviation subject. CRIME RAVE (RKO-Radio)— 1 8m. Operating a haberdashery, Leon Errol solves a crime wave. THE GREAT HEART (Metro).— 10m. An excellent discussion of Molokai’s famed Father Damien. HOW TO SUBLET (Metro) — 8m. A weak Robert Benchley, on the renting problem. LADY LIFE GUARDS (Central)— 8m. A good novelty reel, showing the training of the lady life guards at New York’s Manhattan Beach. MAID TO ORDER. (RKO-Radio) — 1 8m. Edgar Kennedy becomes involved in a mixture of horticultural, in-law troubles. MECHANIX ILLUSTRATED (Vitaphone) — 10m. An interesting collection of popular science items. ONCE OVER LIGHTLY (Metro) — 18m. The barber college’s shaving "classic.” THE OWL AND THE PUSSY CAT (20th Century-Fox) — 7m. An above-average technicolor Terry-Toon. PLUMB CRAZY (RKO-Radio)— 20. Pat C. Flick, as a Greek plumber, gets the gas, water pipes crossed. PRACTICAL JOKERS (Metro) — 10m. Our gang is not too successful at a party. SILENT NIGHT, HOLY NIGHT (Hoffbergf — 3 5m. A moving, impressive picturization of the srorv leading up to the writing of the famed Christmas carol by Father Mohr, Franc's Gruber. SCREEN SNAPSHOTS, No. 4 (Columbia) — 10m. Louella Parsons goes football — along witli Hollywood’s great, near great. THE VIKING TRAIL (20th Century-Fox) — 10m. An excellent travelogue of the Land of the Midnight Sun. WRONG WAY OUT (Metro) — 17m. A Crime Does Not Pay subject on the marry-inhaste-and-repent-inleisure theme. January 4, 19)9