Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (Sep 1935 - Aug 1936)

10 INDEPENDENT EXHIBITORS = F I L M BULLETIN REVIEWS C Continued from Page 12 ) piece of comedy in that gay, carefree mood. Entrusted in the hands of Guy Kibbee, Burton Churchill, Hobart Cavanaugh, and those competent zanies, Allen Jenkins, Eddie Conrad and Shaw and Lee, the doings swing along at a ridiculous and funny pace. Conrad, incidentally, deserves watching; he's a comic comer. No elaborate dance numbers, just lively, informal fun — that's "I Live for Love." Not enough name strength to make it mean much more than ordinary business, but will surprise the customers and please them immensely. Go after it and it may pay dividends. PLOT: Marshall, a guy with a voice, sings upon impulse with Conrad, Shaw and Lee, wandering street "musicians." When cact opposite Del Rio in a play in rehearsal she ices on him wanting her favorite, Alvarado, to get the part. Much to the disgust of Churchill, the producer, and Cavanaugh, his "yes man," Marshall walks. Kibbee, soap manufacturer, looking for a voice for his radio broadcasting, finds it in Marshall when his agent, Jenkins, brings him in. When Del Rio is invited as his guest artiste on the air the battle starts all over again; and doesn't stop until Del Rio finally makes up her mind she loves Marshall more than she does Alvarado, her career, or publicity. AD TIPS: Sell this grand new voice, Marshall. Also plug the fact that it is comedy with music, rather than another musical. NONNIE. STORM OVER THE ANDES BOX-OFFICE RATING ADVENTURE MELODRAMA . . . Jack Holt in a typical and entertaining aviation adventure yarn . . . Will please his followers . . . Rates • • in action houses. Universal 82 Minutes Jack Holt . . . Mona Barrie . . . Antonio Moreno . . . Gene Lockhart . . . Grant Withers . . . Directed by Christy Cabanne There is plenty of action, romance and adventure in this typical Jack Holt film. The star, as a daredevil aviator, war fighter and sacrificial lover, carries virtually the entire burden of the picture and his fans will love it. Title has too much of the scenic sound to it and will not help, but there is enough Holt stuff to please them once they're inside. Gene Lockhart, newcomer comic, brings a good number of laughs and will be seen more often in the future. The balance of the cast are OK and Tony Moreno, hero of many silent films, does a nice comeback job as a South American flier. Most of the action takes place in the Gran Chaco territory of South America, where Bolivia and Paraguay are at war. Plenty of exciting airplane stunts and fighting keeps the action at top speed between down-toearth interludes of romance and comedy. This will do average business where Holt is a favorite. PLOT: When Holt and Grant Withers have a dispute about Withers' girl, Holt knocks him out and hops off in his plane. He next turns up in the embattled Gran Chaco area and becomes a hero in a plane battle. After he saves Moreno's life, Jack falls in love with his wife. Once again he rescues Moreno and after an exc'ting air battle with Withers, who is flying an enemy plane, in which Holt is wounded, the latter gives up his affair with Moreno's wife and bows out to leave husband and wife to their reconciliation. AD TIPS: Sell Holt. Better to avoid the airplane angle, since these pictures are not so strong at the b. o. Adventure and comedy are important in this and copy should stress them. L. J. GUNNERS AND GUNS BOX-OFFICE RATING WESTERN . . . With novel settings on a dude ranch and featuring gun battle between big city gunmen and cowboys . . . There have been many better and many worse . . . Rates • • — only where this type of horse stuff can play. Mitchell Leichter Production (Released by Republic) 60 Minutes Edmund Cobb . . . Edna Aselin . . . Edw. Allen Biby . . . Black King (Horse) . . . Directed by Jerry Callahan Ordinary horse opera with setting the modern west and a large dude ranch, which features some bathing beauty shots around a swell swimming pool. Love story is almost as important a factor as the gangsters vs. cowboys business. Black King, the featured horse, docs not do or add very much to the picture, and the cast is practically unknown with possible exception of Cobb, who has been around for years in westerns. PLOT: Cobb loves Aselin, but finds a rival in villain, Biby, who is a gangster hiding out at the ranch with his party. Biby murders Aselin's father, who is a "reformed" gangster now holding the money for the rest of the boys in jail. After the usual hard-riding and chasing over the hills and a pitched battle between gangsters and cowboys there is a final clinch and a quick fade-out. AD TIPS: Only good for doubling even in a house that can get away with horsies. Don't oversell on the horse angle — as the beautiful beast does not do much in this frolic, although billed as "The Horse with the Human Brain!" NONNIE. THIS WOMAN IS MINE BOX-OFFICE RATING MELODRAMA . . . "Weakie" made in England and releases by Paramount here ... It is boring and poor sound hurts more . . . Should be cancelled . . . Rates •. Paramount Release 68 Minutes Gregory Ratoff . . . Benita Hume . . . John Loder . . . Richard Bennett . . . Directed by Monty Banks There is very little excuse for "This Woman Is Mine." Why Paramount, scouting for British-made product to distribute in this country, ever selected this one is beyond understanding. The story, much of it played against a circus background, is a heavy, cumbersome affair in which no character holds the sympathy of the spectator. Gregory Ratoff, actor with a desire to write, is credited with the story, and one only has to see the enormous role Mr. Ratoff has handed himself to understand that he must have written it. As a lion tamer, the star-writer handles a dramatic role with a dialect that somehow always sounds comical. The balance of the cast perform capably enough, but their names will be almost total blanks at the b. o. If all the technical features of this picture were excellent, it would still be a tiresome bit of film fare, but it is made even worse by some of the worst sound we have heard in recent months. This is a good one to reject and Paramount should require no American exhibitor play it. PLOT: Lion-trainer Ratoff sells Katherine Sergava an idea to marry him in return for favors he has given her, although she does not love him. Seeing another circus performer, John Loder, winning her love, Ratoff tries every means to hold his wife, but gives up when he becomes convinced she loves the other man. In one last gesture, he goes into the lion's cage with his hands bound behind him to meet his death. AD TIPS: The circus angle may help some spots. Richard Bennett should be spotted in all copy. The title offers ideas for clever printed matter stunts. L. J.