Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (Sep 1934 - Aug 1935)

10 INDEPENDENT EXHIBITORS FILM BULLETIN WHAT THE CRITICS SAY about the current films . ♦ . Excerpts off newspaper and magazine reviews OIL FOR THE LAMPS OF CHINA First National With Pat O'Brien, Josephine Hutchinson, Jean Muir New York Times ". . . Some of the most agile shilly-shallying of the season. . . . Despite its great length and a certain monotony of ill fortune in the lives of its principle characters. . . . Brilliantly acted by Pat O'Brien and Josephine Hutchinson and beautifully filmed by Mervyn LeRoy. . . . The tragedy of the film is that such splendid acting and technical skill could not have been devoted to making an honest screen version of Mrs. Hobart's novel." New York Herald-Tribune ". . . Continually absorbing and sometimes moving. . . . Certain aspects of modern China have been clearly and truthfully revealed. . . . Production breaks down in a muddled and trite ending. . . . Stimulating if not emotionally satisfying." New York World-Telegram ". . . . Unusually well-played and directed. . . . Colorful, picturesque, sincere, it holds one's interest in spite of its loose ends and the episodic manner in which it is told. Although it is by no means an exceptional film, it is full of the simplest elements of human life, and so it becomes engrossing and satisfying." Baltimore Sun ". . . Something new, perhaps unique, in motion pictures. . . . The story of a man who fell in love with an international oil corportion. . . . An intensely interesting film implying more than it reveals. . . . The Chinese atmosphere is vividly reproduced." Philadelphia Record ". . . Adult, thoughtful and thoroughly absorbing drama. Outstanding in theme and treatment and exceptionally well acted. . . . Even and sure pace gives the story a cumulative force that is irresistible. . . . Unfortunate that 'Oil for the Lamps of China' has been saddled with a climax of such obvious falseness. But such a fault becomes trivial in the face of the film's overwhelming excellence." PEOPLE WILL TALK Paramount With Charles Ruggles, Mary Boland New York Times ". . . Warm, human and enormously likeable. . . . The uncomfortable feeling of seeing yourself on the screen. ... An almost unbearably candid account of the wife's gift for detecting criminal motives in the husband's most innocent remarks. . . . Slips pretty badly after a splendid beginning." New York Herald-Tribune ". . . Gets off to a running start with bright dialogue and lively pace, but then sinks into perfunctory padding which makes it just another routine little feature. . . . Pleasant light entertainment for a hot night. . . . Cast is excellent." THE CLASS KEY Paramount George Raft, Claire Dodd New York Times "... A salty tale of violence and secret murder. . . . Has been excellently produced and it becomes as crisply exciting a melodrama as Broadway has seen lately. . . . From climax to climax in a series of absorbing revelations." New York Herald-Tribune . . . Moments of ferocious and breath-taking melodrama. . . . But the plot itself is a wobbly skeleton, curiously inexplicit for a murder mystery. . . . Concentrated on two outstanding passages of the novel. ... In these sequences the director and his company have captured all of the strange intensity, the staccato dialogue and the vivid characterization that makes Mr. Hammet's novels outstanding. . . . Attains something of the ultimate in stark and unaccented melodrama." New York World-Telegram ". . . Right up on top of the list of current screen entertainment. . . . Murder in a thoroughly enjoyable manner. . . . Although it is a murder film by classification ... a dozen times better than the average mystery film. . . . Strictly speaking, it is a study of character. . . . Moves briskly, engrossingly, dramatically and convincingly." Philadelphia Record "• . . Becomes just another detective story with two redeeming features. One is George Raft's performance, the other, the character depicted by Edward Arnold. . . . Lacks that sprighdy and insolent humor we have come to expect from a screen version of a Hammett novel. . . . Assures a diverting hour." Philadelphia Ledger . . . Does not concentrate particularly on thrilling action. The shocks are sharp and brief, but expert photography, utilizing many shadow eeffcts. succeeds in casting the aura of suspense over the story. . . . Melodrama is well sustained." Baltimore Sun ". . . Something more than an action story. . . . More light and shade than the usual murder mystery and a grim ruthlessness that is rather fascinating. . . . Cinemelodrama near its highest point of technical development." • • THE VIRGINIAN Paramount Gary Cooper, Walter Huston Philadelphia Ledger '. . . Relic bobs up to remind us that films aren't as streamlined as we had supposed. . . . Technical business of photography and sound recording stand comparison with present films. There is only a slight hoarseness in the sound to remind us that it was made so long ago." Philadelphia Record . . . Survived the changing movie years with amazing vitality. . . . Action of the film suffers little from the handicap of a stationary camera. . . . Good story." BECKY SHARP RKO With Miriam Hopkins, Francis Dee, Allison Skipworth, Billie Burke New York Times ". . . Both incredibly disappointing and incredibly thrilling. . . . Dramatically tedious. . . . An animate procession of cunningly devised canvases. . . . Impossible to view 'Becky Sharp' without crowding the imagination so completely with color that the photoplay as a whole is almost meaningless. . . . Much more significant as an experiment in the advanced use of color than as a straightforward dramatic entertainment. . . . Seems static and landlocked, an unvarying procession of long shots, medium shots and close-ups. . . . Endlessly talkative as well. . . . Unconscionably jerky in its development and achieves only a minor success in capturing the spirit of the original." New York Herald-Tribune "... Regrettable that their concentration on sheer imagery has caused them to neglect the dramatic aspects. . . . Episodic and singularity lacking in climactic power, while the movements of the actors always suggest a parade rather than an arresting arrangement of emotionally convincing situations. . . . Miriam Hopkins in the tide role gives an uneven performance." New York World-Telegram "Were it not for the fact that it is photographed entirely in the newly perfected technicolor process . . . would scarcely disturb the early summer doldrums along 'Cinema Row.' . . . Least important item is the story. . . . Admit that much of the new color photography is beautiful, impressive and effective . . . also report that there is a great deal that isn't. . . . As for the story of the Jezebel, Becky, it may be said that it is an uneven entertainment, with dull and interesting scenes by turns, and that it is played by its entire cast in a manner much better than it deserves." THE NITWITS RKO Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey Philadelphia Record ". . . . No better title could have been selected . . . Nutty duet have never been madder. . . . They gag, clown, cut capers, sing, dance and go on a jamboree that doesn't end until every set, post and prop as well as every member of the large cast has been mowed down. . . . Packed with laughs. . . . Also unfolds a murder mystery with a fair amount of suspense in spite of its broad burlesque. . . . Songs . . . presented with an eye to the comic character of the production, are sprinkled throughout the picture." Philadelphia Ledger ". . . Good foolery. . . . Offers a lot of gags, mostly new, and most of them are completely sanitary. ... A comedian's happy hunting ground, the burlesque mystery thriller. . . . Laughs come along in rapid succession, leading up to a slam-bang finale of the good old custard pie days."