Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (Sep 1935 - Aug 1936)

8 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1935 AS I SEE THEM . . . Reviews of New Films By ROLAND BARTON 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. Th« "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 picture* are particularly suitable for certain types of audiences and this must be covered in the detailed criticisms. • Means POOR • • Means AVERAGE • • • Means GOOD • • • • Means EXCELLENT Plus ( + ) and minus ( — ) will be used occasionally to indicate slightly above or below the point rating. for him but he does not disclose his identity; and she continues to play the part of the ''rich society girl." However, she begins to have a dull time due to snobbery, etc., and is thrown frequently into the incognito prince's company due to his clever manipulations and his faculty for being in the pro;^^ place at the proper moment. When at a v social event at the hotel the prince discloses 's true identity Dee thinks he is kidding. Alt, ■ Lederer spends a night in jail tor lmpersoni ting royalty anu a miscellaney ot otner charges, followed by a mammoth New York ofnciai reception — all endj well just as Dee is going back home heartbroken and Lederer shows up again as an elevator operator, answering her ring to go down. AD TIPS: Sell this on the charm angle. Get it over as best you can by truthfully saying it is of the same delightful school of entertainment as "It Happened One Night," etc. Sell it first to the women; building up Lederer as that new type of polished, sophisticated, charming lover. The men may come anyway, and coming won't be disappointed. J NONNIE. the unfortunate lovers and an outstanding performance by Minna Gombell, as the iniquitous mother of little Cora Sue Collins, aid the picture no little. Kruger's under-playing goes too far "under" in several scenes, but, on the whole, it is impressive. Young Miss Collins delivers an energetic portrayal, her best to date. "Two Sinners ' will smash no box-office records. It should do average or better in most spots and will please those who see it. PLOT: Kruger, well-to-do English gentleman, is released from prison after serving 15 years for the murder ot his wife's lover. Shunned by his former friends, he goes away to France, where he meets Martha Sleeper, employed by Minna Gombell, profligate widow, to take care of her neglected child. Kruger, in love with Martha, tells her the story of his past and she, bewildered by the shock, runs away from him. He thinks she, too, does not understand and leaves before little Cora Sue has convinced Martha that she should ask his forgiveness. Martha then becomer involved in a dispute with her employer and is sent to jail for one year. The child brings Kruger back to help her, but she mui.l serve her sentence. Cora Sue's mother is killed in an accident and Kruger adopts the child. When Martha is freed, they all go to live on Kruger's country estate. THE CAY DECEPTION BOX-OFFICE RATING COMEDY ROMANCE . . . Highly amusing adult fun . . . Francis Lederer and Frances Dee questionable b. o. draws . . . Lacks action . . . Rates • • for neighborhoods and rural spots and • • + for class. Fox 80 Minutes Francis Lederer . . . Frances Dee . . . Directed by William Wyler A most charming and light tidbit that is a sparkling example of that school of light comedy made famous by Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, and frequently striven for by various movie producers. More than adequately produced and excellently enacted this frothy Cinderella-finds-herPrince affair splashes across the screen as cheerful, graceful, easy-to-take entertainment. It's ultra-sophisticated handling of the almost ridiculous romantic. One of those pictures women will rave over — finding in it the visualization of all their dreams. Men will not find it hard to take either. Both principals certainly have ingratiating personalities and extract from their parts every ounce of comedy, drama, romance, and what not invested therein. It's definitely a class house picture, however, and lacks the physical action necessary for neighborhood and rural spots. PLOT: Dee, winner of a sweepstakes, takes her #5000 and sets out for one wild fling in the big town. Lederer, .i prince from ./ mythical Continental kingdom, Studying hotel management in the United States incognito, meets her while "working" as a bell boy. He falls for her and she TWO SINNERS BOX-OFFICE RATING DRAMA . . . Faithful and carefully made production of Warwick Deeping's "Two Black Sheep" . . . Sincere performances help . . . Qualities are "major" in every phase . . . Rates • •. Republic 75 Minutes Otto Kruger . . . Martha Sleeper . . Minna Gombell . . . Cora Sue Collins Directed by Arthur Lubin Here is a typical Warwick Deeping story, fraught with the drama, the tender emotions so appealingly put on the pages of the novels written by the author of "Sorrell and Son." Not that "Two Sinners" is another "Sorrell," but it is partial to those same qualities that made the latter story so popular. The same vein of tragedy is current throughout, the same sort of gentle, hapless people are buffeted by cruel fate. All this has been handled intelligently and with proper feeling in the new Republic film. It makes an engrossing and touching movie, if not a particularly distinctive one. Sincere playing by Otto Kruger and Martha Sleeper as AD TIPS: Warwick Deeping is one of the most widely read authors in this country. His "Sorrell and Son" should be mentioned in all copy, this as its successor. Kruger can be sold to the women. He appeared in "Chained" and "Vanessa" for M-G-M. R. B. LITTLE BIC SHOT Reviews in a paper with the COURAGE To Say What It Thinks are the only reviews worth reading BOX-OFFICE RATING COMEDY-MELODRAMA . . . New child "find" . . . Story a revamp of wise guy racketeers going soft over kid who gets mixed up with them . . . Excellent casting of supporting players; but they lack drawing strength . . . Okeh for neighborhoods and action houses . . . Rates • • — . Warner's 80 Minutes Sybil Jason . . . Glenda Farrell . . . Robert Armstrong . . . Edward E. Horton . . . Edgar Kennedy . . . Jack LaRue . . . Directed by Michael Curtiz Very reminiscent of "Little Miss Marker" but a capable job right down the line. The new starlet has a personality that will get you if you don't watch out! She sings, dances, does impressions, really acts, and cries real tears. And the casting in this fast-moving opus of petty and not so petty racketeers is well nigh perfect. The (Continued on Page 6)