Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (Sep 1934 - Aug 1935)

12 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 1935 AS I SEE THEM . . . Reviews of New Films By ROLAND BARTON Boxoffice Rating 9 9 + UNDER THE PAMPAS MOON Fox 81 Minutes Warner Baxter Ketti Kallian John Miljan Jack LaRue Veloz and Yolanda Directed by James Tinling A somewhat disappointing, though mildly entertaining take-off on the "Cisco Kid" role that Warner Baxter did so well several years ago. The star displays a flair for comedy hitherto unrevealed, but the romantic and action phases of the film fail to impress, making for several stretches of dull footage. Ketti Kallian, the French girl seen in "Marie Galante," has a weak role and is poorly photographed. She will have difficulty recovering from the adverse effect of this part. Baxter is more comical than romantic and this will hamper the prospective female lure the picture might be expected to have. The heralded "Cobra Tango," danced by Veloz and Yolanda, is nothing to get excited about. Under the pressure of "Cisco Kid" advertising and Baxter's name, this may pull through to slightly above average business. PLOT: Baxter is leader of a band of Argentine gauchos. His exploits as conqueror of many women's hearts are spoken of, but not shown. When a plane, flying to Buenos Aires, is forced down on the pampas, Baxter meets Ketti Kallian, a cabaret singer, and her manager, John Miljan. Baxter immediately tries his love-making on Ketti, with fair success. After seeing Baxter's horse in a race, Miljan bribes LnRuc to steal it and he takes it to Buenos Aires. Baxter traces it there just in time to see it run in a race. He wins some money on his horse, but is unsuccessful in trying to get it back. Not knowing that Miljan is the real culprit, Baxter takes his promise of assistance. Meanwhile, he has his mother, a noisy, energetic woman, come to the city, and together, mother and son of the pampas, proceed uproariously to spend their money on clothes, toilette and champagne. When Baxter learns that Miljan stole his horse, he gathers his gaucho friends together in Buenos Aires. He suspects Ketti of being implicated and spurns her efforts to tell him the truth. He rescues his horse just as it is being shipped out of the country, and returns home with his horse, his mother and — Ketti. Play up the "Cisco Kid" angle. In better class houses, the comedy should be stressed, while action houses will naturally plug the hardriding gauchos. Boxoffice Rating • • — ESCAPE ME NEVER United Artists 91 Minutes Elizabeth Bergner Hugh Sinclair Directed by Paul Czinner Elizabeth Bergner further establishes herself as the most capable actress now on the screen. Her magnificent performance makes you lose sight of the basic shallowness of the plot. The excellent production and Paul Czinners' fine direction aid it greatly. But, in the final summation, it is all Bergner and she is quite enough for any connoisseur of histrionics. Her emotional flights range from A to Z in the acting scale, all handled brilliantly. Generous word-of-mouth publicity will enhance the b. o. value of "Escape Me Never," but it cannot be counted on for important business anywhere. Bergner is the only thing to sell and she is known to American audiences only by her work in "Catherine the Great," which broke no house records. Class houses should fare pretty well with it, but nabes will have a struggle to pull Average business. PLOT: Miss Bergner is first the childishly immoral street waif, then the mistreated wife of her husband, a musician, then the unhappy mother of his child. In her love for her unkind husband and her struggle to hold him against the opposition of a titled lady, she has the opportunities to display her magical ability as an actress. The plot fades into insignificance in the light of her performances. It all ends happily. Publicize Bergner as the "world's greatest actress" — many critics have called her that. Reference to "Catherine the Great" will not help much and might better be omitted. ELK. SPECIAL TRAILERS Call Us and Learn How Cheaply You Can Get a Trailer for That Special Attraction SAG.imorc 165 3 FILM SERVICE CO. 25th ST. and LEHIGH AVE., PHILA., PA. Boxoffice Rating C O THE GIRL FROM 10th AVENUE Warner Bros. 70 Minutes Bette Davis Colin Clive Alison Skipworth Ian Hunter Directed by Alfred E. Green What worth there is to this horribly hackneyed yarn is contributed by that capable young actress, Bette Davis. The complete plot is revealed ten minutes after the opening title flashes on, but Miss Davis once again demonstrates that her fine performances in "Of Human Bondage" and "Bordertown" were no flukes. She has the stuff that it takes to make great emotional actresses and it is a pity that Warners can't do better by her. Stories like "Girl from Tenth Avenue" can't be made something to get excited about by a Duse, a Bergner or a Garbo, and it is placing a striving young actress at a great disadvantage to spot her in such trash. Better class audiences will snicker at the many improbable situations that make up this yarn. Cheaper nabes may accept it fairly well, since Bette does what is possible to make the story seem logical and dramatic. Fair biz is the best that should be expected anywhere. PLOT: The rich young man is given the gate by his society sweetheart, who goes for a spouse with more dough and influence. The disappointed chap gets pie-eyed and is taken into camp by the poor, but honest Goil from Tent Avenoo. She gets herself pie-eyed, too, and they get married in that condition. Then, the old society girl friend decides that she really loved the boy she ditched and comes back for him. Do you have to be told the rest? The conflict, the young man's indecision, his final return to the Goil from Tent Avenoo, where love, poor but honest, eagerly awaits him. All advertising should plug Bette Davis' great work in the two pictures mentioned above. She has a limited following and it should be capitalized. This is her first starring role. Alison Skipworth's name should get second position. Boxoffice Rating • • — ACE OF INDISCRETION Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 78 Minutes Paul Lukas Madge Evans May Robson Helen Vinson David Jack Holt Ralph Forbes Directed by Edward Ludwig Slow-paced and talkative, this muchrepeated story manages to be moderately entertaining through the efforts of a competent cast of players, led by little David Jack Holt. This youngster lends a sympathy and emotion to his role that will affect even those bored by the faff Continued on Page Eight) BOXOFFICE RATING We have been requested by many exhibitors to use some simple system of indicating our rating of the boxoffice value of the films reviewed below. The "point" system of evaluation, at best, can give you only an arbitrary estimate of a picture's drawing power, so we urge you to read the entire reviews. Some pictures are particularly suitable for certain types of audiences and this must be covered in the detailed criticisms. • Means POOR • © Means AVERAGE 9 9 9 Means GOOD • • • • Means EXCELLENT Plus ( -f ) and minus ( — ) will be used occasionally to indicate slightly above or below the point rating.