The Exhibitor (Nov 1939-May 1940)

Servisection 6 THE SHORTS PARADE THREE-REEL Novelty STARLIGHT NIGHT. Hoffberg, 27m. Released last year as “Silent Night, Holy Night,” and burdened down by almost 40 minutes of running time, this Englishlanguage import made in Switzerland has been pared down to 27 minutes of good cinema. It re-enacts the story and the events which led to the writing of the Christmas carol, “Silent Night,” by Father Mohr and Francis Gruber. The film is especially worthy as an exploitable addition to pi'ograms during the holiday season. GOOD. L. S. M. TWO-REEL Comedy SCRAPPILY MARRIED. RKO-Radio— Leon Errol. 20m. If the last two minutes of his two-reeler hadn’t rolled around, we wouldn’t have hesitated in calling this a downright bad entry. However, the marital untangling which took place in those last few moments provided some hearty laughs. George Meeker is married to Lona Andre, despite a Mexican divorce which says he isn’t. So he marries Adele Pearce. So Leon Errol, as Meeker’s attorney, has troubles. He has plenty more when his wife walks in, but that’s where the fun starts. FAIR. (03703). L. S. M. TWINCUPLETS. RKO-Radio — Radio Flash. 19m. In as merry a mix-up as has occurred in two reels in many a moon, the Stroud Twins of radio and the Brewster twins of the cinema gallivant slaphappily across the screen and take advantage of the natural comedy set-up provided by two sets of identical twins. Clarence Stroud is wed to Barbara Brewster— or vice versa— and the other two twins are on the verge. Comes complications about a musical comedy contract and something about a college building. The four still haven’t found out who’s who when the end comes. GOOD. (03204). Dramatic RAIDERS OVER ENGLAND. Monogram— Special. 18m. Made with the cooperation of the British government, this shows what would happen in the event of an air-raid on England. Obviously of more interest there than here, it still has its points. The title is exploitable, and the shots of ground crews in action, planes, etc., should be interesting. FAIR. H. M. Color Musical THE ROYAL RODEO. Vitaphone — Technicolor Production. 15m. Combining a new angle on cinematic oaties with a loud huzzah for Americanism, the Warners have again upped and produced one of the industry’s sterling short subjects. Featuring such players as John Payne, Cliff Edwards, Lucille Fairbanks, Scotty Beckett, and Boyd Irwin, the picture is a tabloid edition of an exciting western. Cowboy Payne brings his Wild West show to the mythical Kingdom of Avania where he gives a command performance before boy King Beckett. He rescues the young king from the clutches of a treacherous regent. In a musical finale, the entire cast sings “The Good Old American Way,” a sort of musical lesson on how to run a country. Lucille Fairbanks, a beauteous dream in blonde hair, handles the femme interest in a most interesting manner EXCELLENT. (5002). L. S. M. 428 Musical RHUMBA LAND. Universal — Musical. 18%m. Wini Shaw sings two numbers, the Theodores dance, Vivien Fay and Jimmy Clemens dance, Tana sings, and a rhumba band plays — all of which makes up an upto-average musical two-reeler, with background of Havana. GOOD. (4223). H. M. SERIAL THE GREEN HORNET. UniversalSerial, in 13 two-reel episodes. Gordon Jones, Wade Boteler, Keye Luke, Anne Nagel, Philip Trent, Walter McGrail, Cy Kendall, Selmar Jackson, John Kelly, Gene Rizzi, Douglas Evans, Ralph Dunn, Arthur Loft, Edward Earle, Ann Gwynne, Ann Doran. Directed by Forde Beebe and Ray Taylor. One of radio’s foremost dramatic programs is transferred to the screen with a certain degree of success in the form of this 13-episode serialization of “The Green Hornet.’ Because of the huge following the radio program possesses, there is a ready-made audience awaiting the picture play. The kids, especially, will go for it. Although Gordon Jones, playing the dual role of a young newspaper publisher and the Green Hornet, goes about capturing an entire gang of insurance racketeers, the first three chapters were individual adventures by themselves, somewhat of an innovation in serials. However, each chapter ends with Jones in plenty of hot water, and it will take the entire 13 editions before he finds out the mastermind behind the work. Anne Nagel capably takes care of the unimportant femme romantic lead; Keye Luke is prominently featured as Jones’ faithful valet; and Wade Boteler is okay as his Irish bodyguard. GOOD. L. S. M. ZORRO’S FIGHTING LEGION. Republic— Serial, in 12 episodes. First episode three reels, others two. Reed Hadley, Sheila Darcy, William Corson, Leander de Cordova, Edmund Cobb, C. Montague Shaw, John Merton, Budd Buster, Carleton Young, Guy D’Ennery. Directed by William Witney and John English. The dashing Zorro, made famous by Douglas Fairbanks some years back, returns to the screen in the form of Reed Hadley, who tops the cast of what, judged by the first two episodes, looks like one of the season’s best-drawing serials. Hadley arrives from Highlight Shorts • TWO REEL Uncle Sam, The Farmer — March of Time, No. 3— RKO. ONE REEL Color Cartoon Fresh Fish — Vitaphone. Musical Merry Wives of Windsor — Paramount. Color Novelty Popular Science No. 2 — Paramount. Novelty Screen Snapshots No. 2 — Columbia. THE EXHIBITOR California to take the place of his murdered uncle on Benito Juarez’s council. He teams up with cousin William Corson and a uniformed band of patriots to prevent treacherous government officials from stealing the gold scheduled to be delivered to Mexico City. The mystery to be solved is the identity of an armored God who incited a fanatic Indian tribe against the white men who are to deliver the gold Hadley makes a handsome and spirited Zorro. Sheila Darcy, as the femme lead, didn’t have much to do in the first two chapters, but she surely dressed up the screen while she was around. EXCELLENT. (873/1—873/12). L. S. M. ONE-REEL Color Cartoon FAGIN’S FRESHMEN. Vitaphone — Merrie Melody. 7m. Blackie the Cat thinks his kid brothers and sisters are sissies on accounta they spend most of their spare time singing, when they could have more fun listening to gangster stories on the radio. Blackie dreams of enrolling in Fagin’s School for Crime, and joins his family in musical endeavor when he awakens. There are plenty of hearty laugh sequences. GOOD. (5306). L. S. M. A HAPPY LANDING. Imperial. 8m. Filmed in Veri color, which is not always of the best, this depicts the antics of a little boy, with a girl, a rooster, and a small duck. An independent cartoon venture, it cannot be said to rank with the color cartoons seen around, although for some types of houses, it may have its moments. FAIR. H. M. SCRAMBLED EGGS. Universal— Color Cartoon. 8m. In the better cartoon sphere, this shows how Peterkin, a mischievous little body, changes the eggs on which the various birds are sitting in the Maternity Tree. But when he finds out that he has to take care of the babies, he apologizes and patches things up. GOOD. (4263) . H. M. A WICKY WACKY ROMANCE. 20th Century-Fox — Terry Toon. 8m. In the Technicolor land of the South Sea Isle, the wicked pirates capture the native dancer, and her hero rescues her, with not a great deal of originality. FAIR. (0554). H. M. Cartoon THE HITCH-HIKER. 20th Century-Fox -Terry-Toon. 7m. This time it’s a duck with a trailer without a car. Comes a dog with a car without a trailer. They get together and a horde of mosquitoes quickly tear them apart. There are a few moments of fun. FAIR. (0505). L. S. M. PIED PIPER PORKY. Vitaphone— Looney Tunes. 7m. Porky, as the Pied Piper of Hamelin, is outraged when he discovers that one wise-guy mouse still defies him. He tries his pipe to no avail, then sics his cat on the audacious rodent who make a fur coat out his pursuer. GOOD. (5604). D. O. Musical ARTIE SHAW AND HIS ORCHESTRA IN “SYMPHONY OF SWING.” Vitaphone — Melody Master. 10m. Still one of the country’s foremost swingsters, Artie Shaw will add to his horde of fans when this 10-minute jam session starts making the rounds. Tony Pastor opens the show with a vocal rendition of “Jeepers Creepers” and Helen Forrest follows with a solo on "Deep Purple.” Shaw and his band really