The Exhibitor (Nov 1941-May 1942)

March 25, 1942 Color Novelty POPULAR SCIENCE, No. 4. Paramount. 11m. Up to the usual standard, with clips devoted to a toy railroad used for safe¬ guarding travel, in the Chicago Museum of Science; rose gardens, in Newark, N. Y.; Professor Oakes, with a painless pocketpicker; and a portion devoted to the pho¬ tographic division of the Army Air Corps, at Lowry Field, near Denver, Col., this should hold interest. GOOD. (Jl-4). THE SKY PRINCESS. ParamountMadcap Models. 7y2m. With the music Tschaikowsky’s “Waltz Of the Sleeping Beauty,” this is based on that work. The princess is imprisoned by the witch; the prince comes to save her. This is beauti¬ ful, representing a lot of work, but it doesn’t rank with the best in the series. It is also questionable whether most audi¬ ences really appreciate the effort that goes into this type of subject. GOOD. (Ul-3). Novelty CHILDREN OF THE STARS. RKO — Picture People No. 7. 8m. Going behind the scenes into the Hollywood homes, the stars are shown in their “private” lives with their children. Among the stars whose domesticity are portrayed are Rich¬ ard Carlson, Dorothy Commingore, Jimmy Ellison, Stuart Erwin, and Roy Rogers. Short will appeal to those who want to know more about their movie heroes. GOOD. (24407). SCREEN SNAPSHOTS No. 8. Columbia. 10m. This entertaining issue, devoted to ASCAP, features Allan Jones who acts as m.c., Groucho Marx, who offers a comedy song, and a group of songwriters each playing his own composition at a naval training base show. Virginia Weidler, Connie Russell, also appear, and sing. GOOD. (3858). Color Travel LAND OF THE QUINTUPLETS. Metro — Fitzpatrick Traveltalk. 8m. Here is a familiar although always interesting sub¬ ject detailing a visit to the Dionne wonder girls at their Government — super¬ vised home at Callendar, Ont. It shows the children, who are quite ladylike now, Dr. Dafoe, their nurses, tourists, etc., but not their parents or brothers or sisters. It also shows several paintings of the quints, which is not such a good idea in a sup¬ posedly moving picture. GOOD. (T-319). Travel HUB OF THE WORLD. 20th CenturyFox — World Today. 10m. Washington as it is today, with Fulton Lewis, Jr., comment¬ ing on the scene, this makes an interest¬ Servisection 9 THE EXHIBITOR ing reel. The buildings, city, are all pre¬ sented with excellent photography, as well as shots of Stimson, Knox, Nelson, and others, with even a clip of President Roosevelt included. This is actually a travel subject, with slightly different treat¬ ment. Lewis commentary isn’t exciting. GOOD. (2404). Topical ALL SLAVIC CONVENTION. Artkino. 10m. This portrays the convention of all the Slavic peoples held in Moscow in 1940, with excerpts from most of the important speeches and the signing of the now im¬ portant Slavic Soviet Pact. GOOD. SOVIET WAR NEWS. Artkino. 10m. A Russian newsreel shows the Soviet army in the current conflict with the Nazis. It is of topical interest. GOOD. TOO LATE TO CLASSIFY Features Reap the Wild Wind Melod[2a2™ (Paramount) (Technicolor) Estimate: Well-acted, well-produced drama has appeal for all box-offices. Cast: Ray Milland, John Wayne, Paul¬ ette Goddard, Raymond Massey, Robert Preston, Susan Hayward, Lynn Overman, Charles Bickford, Walter Hampden, Mar^ tha O’Driscoll, Louise Beavers, Elisabeth Risdon, Hedda Hopper, Victor Kilian, Keith Richards, Oscar Polk, Wee Wille Davis, Lane Chandler, Davidson Clark, Lew Merril, Frank M. Thomas, Milburn Stone, Ben Carter. Produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Story: It is 1840, and America’s shipping is being ruined by salvage pirates, led by Raymond Massey, off the Florida Keys. Falling in love with John Wayne after his ship is wrecked by the gang, Paulette Goddard goes to Charleston to see what she can do toward getting him a new com¬ mand. While there, she meets Ray Milland, a lawyer whom Wayne has declared to be his most bitter enemy. When Wayne is sent back to Florida as second mate, and then beached, Paulette thinks Milland has something to do with it. The truth is that Milland, who is sent to the Keys by the firm in an attempt to find evidence against the pirates, holds Wayne’s papers as captain of a new steamship, and has been told to give them to him when he has been proved innocent of complicity in the wreckings. Learning this, Wayne becomes discouraged, and is persuaded to join forces with Massey. Obtaining his cap¬ tain’s papers without Milland’s permission, Wayne goes to Havana to pick up his new command, intending to sail it home, and wreck it. Milland commanders Miss God¬ dard’s ship, with her aboard, and sets out in pursuit. Believing Wayne innocent, Miss Goddard delays her boat, which al¬ lows Wayne to carry out his plans. He is arrested, and brought to trial, but with no actual evidence, it seems he will go free. However, a seaman tells of hearing a woman on the stricken ship scream. Milland and Wayne go down to the wreck as divers, and there find the woman’s shawl. Wayne is killed saving Milland from a giant squid, but Milland comes to the surface with the shawl. When Massey’s brother, Robert Preston, sees it, and he realizes tbe woman was his fiancee, Susan Howard, in a rage, he turns on Massey, who shoots him, and is, in turn, shot by Milland. The pirates are broken, and Milland and Goddard settle down to. a happy married life. X-Ray: A thrilling spectacle, made as only DeMille can produce one, this has all the necessary ingredients for a happy box office life. Photography is superb, in Technicolor. Acting is more than good, with the best jobs by far being those turned in by Milland and Miss Goddard. It has everything, action, comedy, drama, and romance, required of a top flight produc¬ tion, and it has them in the proportion necessary. Selected to carry the banner for the Paramount 30th anniversary, “Reap the Wild Wind” is quite worthy of that honor. Ad Lines: “A Grand Blending of Ten¬ derness and Excitement In a Great Pic¬ ture”; “Here It is at Last . . . The Year’s Most Sensational Production”; “Only the Man Who Gave You ‘Northwest Mounted Police’ Could Make ‘Reap the Wild Wind’ ”; “DeMille at His Best ... In His Crowning Achievement.” Shorts SHUFFLE RHYTHM. Universal— Musi¬ cals. 15m. Henry Busse and orchestra play while a series of acts show their stuff. In¬ cluded are the Six Hits and a Miss, who sing “Ramona” and another number; a singing team who present “To See My Sunday Gal”; a pair of dancers; a novelty trumpeter with a trick doll, among others. The net result, however, is a routine short. FAIR. SPORTS IN THE ROCKIES. UniversalVariety News. 9m. This shows Lake Louise, the Canadian Rockies, Banff, and nearby mountain spots. This is an excel¬ lent advertisement for the resort, but out¬ side of that rather ordinary. The color generally is adequate. FAIR. (6361). GOOD-BYE MR. MOTH. Universal — Technicolor Cartoon. 6%m. The moth does a job on Andy Panda’s tailor shop, de¬ spite the latter’s efforts to destroy him. This is an average entrant, despite a few humorous moments. FAIR. (6249) . 979