The Exhibitor (Nov 1938-May 1939)

Servisection 5 Dramatic THE MARCH OF TIME No. 8. Background for War — The Mediterranean. RKO. 18m. Returning to the one subject issue after a couple of flings with the duals, Time comes through with another first-rate contribution to film reporting. This time it’s the story of how the fascist powers work to gain a foothold in a desired land. In this case Italy has its eyes on France’s Tunisia. By showing how Italy spreads anti-French, antiBritish propaganda among the democratic country’s colonies by the process of boring within, it points out how easily the Mediterranean can be the scene of war. It also shows, but not quite as detailedly as the Fascist propaganda, how France combats her non-democratic enemies, propaganda, public incitement. All in all, this is another MOT which can be exploited for profit. EXCELLENT. (93108). L. S. M. MONEY TO LOAN. Metro — Crime Doesn’t Pay. 20m. Excellent, exposing the loan shark racket, showing how a death of a loan shark victim allowed the police to round up the gang and get testimony from a young girl, a young boy, truck owner and others who have been victimized. This is, of course, swell for tieups with finance companies, etc. EXCELLENT. (P-812). H. M. Musical A FAT CHANCE. Vitaphone — Broadway Brevities. 18m. Outside of the two brief appearances of the New York Roxy’s ace Gae Foster girls chorus, a comedy routine performed by Aaren and Broderick, this is one for the red ink side of the ledger. Johnny Perkins tries terribly hard to be funny as a night club proprietor beset by income tax difficulties, but it is all in vain. Because of the acts mentioned in the first sentence, this is somewhat entertaining. FAIR. (4024). L. S. M. PROJECTION ROOM. Vitaphone — Broadway Brevities. 19m. Jack Arthur, Evelyn Case, the Briants, Gower & Jeanne, and Eddie Foy, Jr., are seen in a pleasant musical, with a projection roomstudio background. Foy is the publicity man, who has to patch up a romance between two radio "sweethearts,” who have a spat just when they are beginning to shoot a picture. He does. GOOD. (4022). H. M. Novelty NORTH SEA. Lenauer — International. 24m. Only once in a long time does someone come out with something as entertaining, beautiful, thrilling as this English importation. Outside of the fact that the language is sometimes unintelligible, this should keep American audiences interested all the way. Fine photographic shots show a fishing boat tossed around an angry sea while a gale blows its hardest. How the far-flung coastal radio stations co-operate in bringing the boat safely back to its dock is vividly told. Only because it is difficult to understand the speaking voices, this just falls short of receiving top ranking. GOOD. L. S. M. ONE-REEL Color Cartoon A DAY AT THE ZOO. Vitaphone— Merrie Melodie. 7m. Leon Schlesinger sent his ace commentator to Kalama Zoo, and what he did not see, the artists who accompanied him did, with the result that here is a Merrie Melodie that is in the upper brackets of the excellent class. From the opening statement of locale, to the finale where the pestered lion indicated the whereabouts of the pesterer, it is one continuous belly-laugh. EXCELLENT. (4313). W. W. THE HAPPYTOTS. Columbia— Color Rhapsody. 6m. Here is a collection of rhythms for the ear, plenty of color for the eye, but as a cartoon, this portrayal of gnomes, flowers is nice enough, but definitely fails to click as cartoonal entertainment should. FAIR. (9 308). W. W. THE NUTTY NETWORK. 20th CenturyFox — Terry Toon. 7m. An Orson Wellesish back March Awards (Winners of the March monthly awards are eligible for a place on the 193 9 Grand Shorts Awards ballots. Winners of the April monthly awards will be eligible for a place on the 1940 Grand Shorts Awards ballots.) Serial Buck Rogers — Universal The Lone Ranger Rides Again — Republic TWO REEL Comedy Small Town Idol — Vitaphone Color Dramatic Sons of Liberty — Vitaphone Dramatic March of Time No. 7 — Radio March of Time No. 8 — Radio Money to Loan — Metro ONE REEL Color Cartoon A Day at the Zoo — Vitaphone Prest-O Chang-O — Vitaphone The Ugly Duckling — Radio-Disney Wilbur and Goofy — Radio-Disney Dramatic High Peril — Vitaphone The Story of Alfred Nobel — Metro Color Novelty The Master’s Touch — Vitaphone Novelty Air Waves — Radio Four Seasons — Walch Screen Snapshots No. 6 — Columbia Sport Heroes at Leisure — Metro Hold Your Breath — Paramount Ice Antics — Metro Snow Falls — Radio The Hunting Dog — 20th Century-Fox Color Travel Imperial Delhi — Metro Republic of Panama — Paramount ground has the inhabitants of Monkeyville scared. The color in this is very fascinating. However, the cartoon, itself is not. FAIR. (9327) H. M. PREST-O CHANG-O. Vitaphone— Merrie Melodies. 7m. Here is one of the better of the steadily improving Schlesinger offerings. Two mongrels are stranded in a magician’s house, are made the butt of many a disappearing and reappearing gag before the rabbit villain is knocked silly. It had a projection room crowd laughing itself to tears. EXCELLENT. (4514). L. S. M. SMALL FRY. Paramount — Color Classics. 8m Pleasant, the story of the small fish who thought he could be a big fry but who was scared out of his wits. One sequence is particularly colorful. GOOD. (C8-4) . H. M. THE UGLY DUCKLING. RKO-Radio— Disney. 9m. The other ducks are brown, this one is white. His parents disown him, the birds disown him, even a decoy duck treating him roughly. He is in tears, desperate; when a mama goose, her brood finally adopt him, he is happy. EXCELLENT. (94,111). H. M. Cartoon G-MAN JITTERS. 20th Century-Fox — Terry Toon. 6m. Gandy Goose takes his father’s pipe, imagines himself a detective, becomes entangled with ghosts, a Frankenstein monster. The conclusion finds him awakening — perhaps the audience will, too. FAIR. (9510). H. M. SCRAPPY’S SIDE SHOW. Columbia— Scrappy Cartoon. 7m. Scrappy arranges a collection of "freaks,” but the Brat breaks up the show. FAIR. (9754). W. W. SO DOES AN AUTOMOBILE. ParamountBetty Boop. 7m. Here is an improvement in the series, probably the best Boop this year. Betty shows that automobiles are like humans, by showing how the invalid automobiles suffer, are put back into shape in the auto hospital. It makes a funny, pleasant entrant. GOOD. (T8-7). H. M. Comedy DUAL PERSONALITIES. Metro— Our Gang. 10m. Alfalfa is hypnotized, arranges a fight with Butch, later makes a deal with the latter to find out who Darla loves, but it doesn’t come off too well. FAIR. (C-937) . TAX TROUBLE. Vitaphone — Variety. 10m. The air waves’ popular Grouch Club comes to the screen again to provide loads of fun for the fans enjoying the Edgar Kennedy type of humor. He who personifies the Kennedy quick-tempered wit does a grand job as the man who is plagued by his family while attempting to make out his income tax report. It received nice audience reaction. GOOD. 4907). L. S. M. Dramatic A MINUTE FROM DEATH. Vitaphone— Your True Adventures. 12m. As in the previous Gibbons entries, there is too much Gibbons and too little action. Other than one gun shooting scene, this is a very peaceful bit. It is a story of an apartment house janitor who is accused of robbing the tenants until he helps capture the sneak-thief. The cops shoot at him while he miraculously escapes their bullets in time to catch the real crooks. GOOD. (43 07). L. S. M. Musical "IT’S THE McCOY,” CLYDE McCOY AND ORCHESTRA IN. Vitaphone— Melody Master. 10m. Man with the "sugar blues” trumpet leads his orchestra and some entertainment to a routine musical one-reeler. A couple of grand favorites, "Saint Louis Blues,” "Deep in a Dream,” Wayne Gregg, Bennett Sisters, while a bunch of jitterbugging youngsters perform to an uncomprehensible tune for the finale. The ’teen age crowd will go for it. GOOD. (4712). L. S. M. Color Novelty MARINE CIRCUS. Metro — Pete Smith Specialties. 10m. In technicolor, with James A. Fitzpatrick directing, this is interesting. It shows the new marine aquarium in northern Florida, something new, in which fish live in large tanks with plenty of opportunity for the onlooker to observe them at close range. Naturally, it isn’t very exciting but Pete Smith does the best he can with the commentary. GOOD. (S-906). THE MASTER’S TOUCH. Vitaphone— Technicolor Special. 11m. Continuing the popularization of great art, started with "The Immortal Brush,” Vitaphone has come through with an offering which should be another smash success for art, class houses. First part centers on Dante Gabriel Rosetti (1828-1 882), his “The Day Dream," "Dante’s Dream,” the second part on Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), his "The Zouave.” Interlarding a layman’s discussion of these art treasures, the sundry elements of color and composition with a musing commentary on what might be in the mind of the painter, the pictured characters, the anonymous narration gives the subject greater significance than mere pictorial beauty, by which it alone would have been outstanding. EXCELLENT. (4405). W. W. Novelty AIR WAVES RKO-Pathe-Reelism. 10m. This is, indeed, a plug for NBC, but it is also an excellent short subject. With montage by Slavko Vorkapich, usually associated with Metro, the short shows the development of radio, then takes the onlooker back of the scenes to show what goes into a radio program. As such, it is good shorts making, even though it is a tremendous plug for NBC. EXCELLENT. H. M. {Continued on page 28 5) 283