The Exhibitor (Nov 1939-May 1940)

THE EXHIBITOR Servisection 4 conflict as it touches women workers at home and in the field. (Picture is now being re-issued by Leichter, with this printed for the record) . Estimate: War from the wovien's angle. Straight Shooter (Victory) Family Western 60m. Tim McCoy, Julie Sheldon, Ben Corhett, Ted Adams, Reed Howes, Forrest Taylor, Bud Buster, Carl Matthews. Directed by Sam New field. For the first time in this series, as we recall it, “that Mexican” does not appeal — but everything else does: that twinkle of the eye, the one-right kayo, and the barking six-shooter of unerring accuracy, all of which adds up to Captain William Carson, F. B. I. It is a theft of $500,000 in government bonds which brings Lightning Bill (Tim McCoy) , under an assumed name, and his pal Magpie (Ben Corbett) to the wide open spaces. Lightning Bill gets his men (Ted Adams, et al.)— and his gal (Julie Sheldon) —with reasonable dispatch (60m.) and with plenty of action, riding and gunplay to keep the fans interested. One song interrupts the action, yet with Maestro McCoy on hand it does not matter — much! Estimate: All McCoy and an hour long. Ten Nights in a Melodrama Barroom 61m. (B. and M. Pictures) Hal Shelly. Zita Johann , Edna Hagen, Charlotte Wynters, Evelyn Baldwyn, Charles Richman, Jackson Halliday, Claude Cooper, Arthur Lip son, Helen Hack, Scott Moore, Dave Manley. Directed by D. W. Griffith. Not to be confused with Arrow’s 1922 production, or Roadshow Productions, 1931 version, this incarnation of the oldtime tear-jerker is a shortened (from 87 minutes) version of David Mark Griffith’s conspicuous show of the 1932-1933 season, “The Struggle.” Under circumstances (usually single, and probably, non-theatrical, showings) where the show can be gagged in the manner of “The Drunkard” or “Murder in the Old Red Barn,” the Edwin Waugh teetotal preachment can probably go, but for the usual run of commercial theatres, Griffith would also (probably) like to have the work forgotten. Estimate: Those nights are here again! FOREIGN Alpine Passion (Amore Sulle Alpi) (Esperia) .Adult Melodrama 74m. Gustavo Diessl, Simona Bourday, Leone Belliere, Beni Fuhrer, Davide Zogg. Directed by Serge de Poligny. The woes befalling what the program calls a man “born with the stigma of bastard” provide the circumstances around which are constructed this mildly entertaining Italian tale of romance in the Alps. Gustavo Diessl, who played the same role in the German production of the story, is a mountain guide whose uncertain birth subjects him to the intolerance of his fellow townsmen. Simona Bourday is the only person who believes in him and she’s betrothed to another. Diessl is acused and tried of murder and although acquitted, he is looked upon with scorn. He becomes a hero, allowing for a happy ending. An Italian audience showed appreciation. Estimate: Esparia has done better. The First Film Concert (World) Family Musical 52m. No production credits available. Something excitingly different in the way of motion picture entertainment, “The First Film Concert” is a series of connected short subjects each of which features a recognized musical artist. The net result is exactly as the title implies — it is a concert on celluloid. Although an attraction of this sort can be looked at as excellent food for movie-goers, it must be admitted that the masses place their Artie Shaws before their Gregor Piatigorskys. Seen via exceptionally fine camera work and heard via exceptionally fine sound were the following: Alfred Cortet. in a piano solo of DeBussy’s “Children’s Corner”; Gregor Piatigorsky, the world’s greatest violoncellist, in an andante and rondo by von Weber; Brailowsky gives a short piano recital of Chopin’s “Valse Brillante”; Jacques Thibauds’ violin interprets Albinez’s “Malaguena”; Elisabeth Schumann sings Schubert’s “Ave Maria”; Serge Lifar and the corps de ballet of the Paris Opera dance; and other performers also add their talents. A fair-sized audience was fervent in its approval. Estimate: Extremely attractive fare for the arty. Marseillaise Family Drama (World Pictures) 80m. Pierre Renoir, Lise Delamare, Louis Jouvet, Andre x, Ardisson, Paul Dullac, Jean-Louis Allibert, Alex Truchi, Nadia Sibirskaia, Castel, Jenny Hellia. Directed by Jean Renoir. Jean Renoir, whose reputation jumped sky-high after his megaphoning chores on “Grand Illusion,” had huge-scale ideas when he started telling this story of the French Revolution, but he missed out in bringing it to a head. The completed film is an excellent offering for houses which have built up reputations among the more liberal audiences Otherwise, it is an average show for art theatres. With Pierre Renoir as Louis XIV, Lise Delamare as Marie-Antoinette, and Louis Jouvet in a prominent role, the picture can’t miss hitting some truly brilliant moments. Ten thousand extras were used in unfolding a tale which paints the French insurgents as intelligent people rather than as an unleased mob. Estimate: Fair French cinema. The Mill on the Floss Family Drama (Standard) (English-made) 78M. Geraldine Fitzgerald, Frank Lawton, Victoria Hopper, Fay Compton, James Mason, Griffith Jones, Sam Livesey, Pauline De Chains, Mary Clare, Athene Seyler, Marita Hunt, James Roberts, Phillip Frost, Amy Veness, Felix Aylmer, Eliot Wakeham, William Devlin, A. W. Payne, William Holloway, Ivor Barnard, Eldon Gorst. Directed by Tim Whelan. If there was any doubt that Geraldine Fitzgerald ranks among the top flight artists of the day, any such doubt must be dispelled after watching the young lady establish herself on even stronger cinema firmament in the excellently-made “The Mill on the Floss.” Because Miss Fitzgerald is familiar to domestic audiences through her superb characterizations in “Wuthering Heights” and “Dark Victory,” hers is the name to be sold along with the classical importance of George Eliot’s famous novel. Tim Whelan, an American whose directorial efforts have been successfully confined to England during the past few years, handles the megaphone with the utmost of proficiency as he delicately unfolds the tragic romance. A definite success for art houses, the picture can be sold with the right handling in almost any situation. The story, in brief, is that of the love of Fitzgerald for Frank Lawton, son of her father’s and brother’s most hated enemy. Their love culminates in death for both because of her folks’ bigoted hatred. The unhappy ending is brought about by a flood scene. Estimate: Outstanding British attraction. North Sea Patrol (Alliance Films) (English-made) Geoffrey Toone, Judy Kelly, Clifford Evans, John Wood, Albert Burdon, Alf Giddard, Henry Oscar, Edmund Broon, Doris Hare, Daphne Raglan, Keneth Kent, Marguerite Allen, Olga Lindo, Leslie Perrins, Frank Fox, Diana Beaumont, Joan Fred Emery, Laurence Kitchin. Directed by Norman Lee. Under normal circumstances “North Sea Patrol” would, largely on the strength (or lack of it) of its unknown (to U. S. theatre-goers) cast, be just another yarn of navy men and espionage agents, but, in view of the immediate importance and the potential significance of England’s North Sea battle fleet, this latest Alliance Films import offers the exhibitors a timely melodrama, replete with intrigue, spies, and Britannia’s still ruling the waves, which can be exploited, or even allowed to ride on the appeal of the action-paper available. Briefly, it is the story of the last-minute preparations made by the British admiralty to launch a crushing naval attack at the zero hour and the efforst of foreign agents (who have virtually taken over a society dowager’s home which is to be the scene of a party attended by the navy principals — and the sealed orders!) to obtain the details of the first move. There is plenty of action (but not within a certain obviousness which belies British astuteness), and it is on this timely angle that the picture must be sold, as the cast, capable journeymen as they may be, are without box-office appeal on this side. Estimate: Pleasing, timely programmer that can be sold. Family Melodrama 59m. A People Eternal (Henry Lynn) Family Drama 65m. Conrad Veidt, Marie Ney, Anne Grey, Peggy Ashcroft. ( Yiddish Dialogue Players: Bennie Adler, Zena Goldstein, Leon Schechter, Lillian Bloom, Max Rosenblatt.) Original English direction by Maurice Elvie. When the English filmization of Eugene Sue’s novel, “The Wandering Jew,” was shown some years back (released by Olympic in 1935) , it was a pretty inferior cinema which smacked a bit of anti-Semitism. Yiddish producer Henry Lynn took the old print, retained several scenes, and dubbed in the Jewish tongue as a means of changing the story and making it a suitable vehicle for Yiddish moviegoers. The dubbing is a pretty good job, but the finished product is no better than the original. By showing how the Jew survived persecution during the Roman empire and during the Spanish inquisition, it signifies that Judaism will always live despite bigotry and racism. Its exploitation value lies in its novelty. (Jaffa released a Yiddish version of this same story in 1393, with Jacob Ben-Ami and M. B. Adler.) Estimate: Weak Yiddish offering. 418