Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (Sep 1934 - Aug 1935)

10 INDEPENDENT EXHIBITORS FILM BULLETIN WHAT THE CRITICS SAY about the current films . ♦ . Excerpts of newspaper and magazine reviews THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN Paramount With Marlene Dietrich, Lionel Atwill New York Times ". . . The talented director-photographer, in 'The Devil is a Woman,' makes a cruel and mocking assault upon the romantic sex motif which Hollywood has been gravely celebrating all these years. His success is also his failure. Having composed one of the most sophisticated films ever produced in America, he makes it inevitable that it will be misunderstood and disliked by nine-tenths of the normal motion picture public. The uninformed will be bored by 'The Devil Is a Woman.' The cultivated film-goer will be delighted by the sly urbanity which is implicit in Mr. von Sternberg's direction, as well as excited by the striking beauty of his settings and photography. New York Herald-Tribune . . . The narrative wanders aimlessly through various conquests of a Spanish siren, with especial emphasis on the fatal and altogether preposterous fascination she exerts over a wealthy army officer. The final regeneration of the trollop in the screen version makes an ending as jejeune as it is fraudulent. . . . Even the paltry plot . . . offers opportunities for occasional flashes of dramatic vigor, but the director has dissipated the sharp conflict of each situation in a maze of lovely photography. . . . Of Miss Dietrich, it can best be said that not being asked to act, she does not do so. Decked in a series of fantastically gorgeous costumes, she graces the production with her beauty, giving scant attention to her characterization. . . . 'The Devil Is a Woman,' according to reports, ends the long association of von Sternberg and Miss Dietrich as director and star. While it is not a very engaging valedictory, it demonstrates rather clearly that their parting is for the best." A NIGHT AT THE RITZ First National With William Gargan, Patricia Ellis New York Times ". . . Restores the vanishing farce to the screen and supplies more honest merriment than some of its more genteel brethren in the Broadway area. . . . The daffy tale of a high-pressure publicity man who sells the Ritz a Mozart of the cuisine, only to discover that the fellow cannot even boil eggs competently. . . . Manages to be witlessly pleasant. . . . All in all, the comedy works the lode of its central idea for a reasonable sum of laughter." New York Herald-Tribune "... A light and entertaining comedy-drama . . . Deals with none of the problems so pressing. . . . Rather, it describes the dire pitfalls lying in the path of a chef who cannot cook, and the troubles which beset a high-powered press agent who falls into a trap of his own creation. ... It amuses. Some of the wisecracks are funny. . . . Mr. Gargan, who, while working the Lee Tracy style a little too consciously here, still offers an animated and colorful portrait of a press agent. The piece tumbles along like a scow over a rapids, sometimes awkwardly and sometimes without a rudder, but it is always speedy, good-natured, and by hook or crook hangs onto the attention of its observers." MR. DYNAMITE Universal With Edmund Lowe, Jean Dixon New York Times ". . . The birth of a new screen detective. . . . Private operative who concludes each case in a blaze of glory and a burst of profanity from the San Francisco detective squad. . . . No cause to complain about the death rate. ... A racy toughly written tale, the picture has all the advantages of swift pace, a capable cast and a compact story." Philadelphia Evening Ledger "... A glib non-too-scrupulous gentleman who hasn't a very high rating with the constituted authorities but who manages to solve murders notwithstanding. . . . Another one of those pictures in which the Police Department runs a poor second to the free-lance investigator. . . . Gives the audience a lot of enjoyment. . . . Case in point concerns a triple murder." New York Herald-Tribune ". . . Except for the wise-cracking dialogue ... It is undistinctive. Almost anyone could have written this commonplace yarn about three murders and solved them with as much ingenuity. . . . Adaptation is dull; the direction has not the clarity of the original writing. . . . Not that the picture is really bad — it is an average production — but that it is disappointing." New York World-Telegram ". . . Mixes comedy with murder. . . . Lively, humorous, well played and exciting, it is one of the jolliest crime stories that has come this way in many moons. . . . Edmund Lowe as Mr. Dynamite, one of those tough, wise-cracking private sleuths who apparently cannot solve a crime unless accompanied by a favorite Watson, usually some comely wench who is expert in getting off an airy nifty when the occasion demands. . . . Although the plot contains three peculiarly cold-blooded crimes, the element of horror is almost entirely lacking because of the merry and light-hearted manner in which the narrative is told and played." CICOLETTE RKO With Adrienne Ames, Ralph Bellamy New York Times ". . . The most commonplace item that has reached Broadway recently. ... A pretty sweeping statement. As a reminder of the clip-joint racket. . . . May prove useful to future historians of the mad 1920's. But for practical entertainment purposes, it is phenomenally banal." New York Herald-Tribune "Belongs to the Night Club Era. . . . But, unfortunately, does not make the most of its opportunity. . . . Paints its picture crudely and thoughtlessly, and substitutes the cheap tactics of cheap film productions for the genuine cheap and tawdry essence its subject offers. . . . Just another 'quickie'. . . . The only interesting aspect of the production is the pictures it draws of the night club and later the swanky uptown affair, as representing New York during a certain phase of its night life career." A SHOT IN THE DARK Chesterfield With Charles Starrett New York Times ". . . Possesses, among other ailments, an inability to be properly mysterious. . . . Telegraphs its punches in a way that may seem insignificant to Chesterfield Productions . . . but is as good as a confession to us amateur gumshoes. . . . Too commonplace in the various departments of its manufacture to be more than casually attractive. . . . Generally, there is a de< ided absence of liveliness both in the writing and playing." New York World-Telegram ". . . Will fairly satisfy that portion of the moviegoing public which has a relish for such things and which believes that where cinema exhibits dealing with lethal matters are concerned half a loaf is better than none. Possessing a sound, standarized goose-flesh idea moderately well worked out. . . . Affords a tolerable sixty or seventy minutes in the cinema. . . . No 'Thin Man,' or even a 'Star of Midnight' for thrills, suspense or humor, but it does contain all the perfectly good and staple ingredients of the customary guessing game over the dire things which happen when a murderous criminal is at large." THE GIRL FROM 10th AVENUE First National With Bette Davis, Ian Hunter New York Times "... The tenement girl who clashes with the ladies of the swanky set and beats them at their own game. ... A good deal of the writing is fresh enough to make 'The Girl from Tenth Avenue,' seems modestly stimulating instead of just old potatoes. . . . Runs to type in the last ten minutes. . . . Miss Davis . . . aided by a scenarist who seems to have a good working knowledge of the female brain . . . gives a performance which is both truthful and amusing." New York Herald-Tribune "Starting off with considerable vigor. . . . Slips gradually into accustomed grooves. . . . Veteran filmgoer should be able to anticipate nearly every evolution of the plot. ... A patchwork drama of high and low society. . . . Designed as a vehicle for Bette Davis. . . . Neither the material she has at hand nor her performance would indicate that the venture was particularly successful. . . . Scarcely creates more than a stock characterization." New York World-Telegram ". . . Spotty and generally feeble. . . . For the most part, shambling and bogus. ... It has some nice comedy moments. ... A narrative that should have been exciting and entertaining, but ... is so undecided whether to be straight drama, farce or a combination of both that it never jells."