Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (Sep 1935 - Aug 1936)

10 INDEPENDENT EXHIBITORS :F I L M BULLETIN — REVIEWS (Continued from Page 12) on its own. As it is, "Murder At Glen Athol" will make a strong double feature show. Three murders and any number of suspects enliven the story, which is handled with a lighter touch than most movie detective yarns. It sets and maintains a snappy pace; the dialogue is crisp and pungent — surprisingly good, as a matter of fact, and the mystery of "who dunnit?" will be solved only by Detective John Miljan. For action you have one good punch in the nose, an auto dashing over a cliff, shooting, stabbing and brain crushing. Crime Club fans will like it and with a comedy it will make a show of pleasant diversion. Rates fair-minus on its own. PLOT: Miljan, crime solver par excellence, is on vacation writing his past exploits, when he meets his next-door neighbors, who prove to be quite a queer bunch. Three murders follow in the wake of a party given by the neighbors and attended by Detective Miljan. He becomes involved in solving the crimes through the insistence of Irene Ware, falls in love with her while doing so, and eventually sails for Europe with her, after pinning two of the murders on a person you will least suspect — the other crime proving to be accidental when the butler took a pot shot at a prowler. AD TIPS: Dare 'em to solve it before the end. Spot cards around the lobby in advance reading: "D ) YOU KNOW WHO COMMITTED THE MURDER AT GLEN ATHOL?" NONNIE. BAP BOY BOX-OFFICE RATING COMEDY-ROMANCE . . . "Bad Boy" is really bad — or worse . . . Just about as uninspired and uninteresting a film as has been made this year . . . Will pass on dual bills only . . . Rates • +. 20th Century-Fox 56 Minutes James Dunn . . . Dorothy Wilson . . . Louise Fazenda . . . John Wray . . . Luis Alberni . . . Beulah Bondi . . . Directed by John Blystone This is not only bad — it's pretty terrible. A brief 56-minute "feature" effort that has less than six minutes of real entertainment in it, "Bad Boy" is promptly delegated as suitable only for "filler" material on a double feature bill. Don't expect to sell it as "an intimate study of irresponsible youth braving the scorn of conventional society for a taste of forbidden pleasures." It is devoid of sex, being so good that even the susceptible twelve-yearolds will be bored stiff. Fox has been energetically running this boy James Dunn into a rut from which he may never extricate himself. After his first rise to popularity in "Bad Girl," Dunn has been handed a succession of poor roles in poor pictures and this latest Vina Delmar excursion in inconsequential romantic doings just about writes finis to his career — at least with the Fox outfit. As for "Bad Boy," it probably should be reported that Louise Fazenda is rather funny in what she has to do. That is all worth mentioning. PLOT: Dunn, a poolroom loiterer, meets and falls in love with Dorothy Wilson. When he meets her parents, he discovers that her stepfather is the man from whom he has won money consistently at pool. Dunn is ordered out of their house, but Dorothy loves him truely and runs off to marry him. He tries to find a respectable job, but can't. Finally, when he is at the end of his rope and ready to leave his wife to a better man (a bank clerk), he happens upon a robbery, saves the day and becomes a wounded hero. He gets a job and the consent of his in-laws. AD TIPS: It's by the authoress of "Bad Girl." You might be able to capitalize on the popularity of that picture. R. B. WINGS OVER ETHIOPIA BOX-OFFICE RATING TRAVELOGUE . . . Most timely and highly interesting subject . . . Not confined to showing scenery, but reveals facts about Selassie's people . . . Excellent support for weak feature. Paramount 56 Minutes Narrator: Gayne Whitman Directed by L. Wechsler From the photographic records of a recent expedition into Ethiopia by two Swiss airmen, Paramount has edited a highly informative and sometimes startling short feature, which, by reason of its timeliness, should keenly interest everyone who reads a newspaper. This is more than a mere scenic tour of the wild country over which Haile Selassie rules so precariously at this moment; it reveals many interesting facts about the life of the black people that will engross the average spectator. Almost all of the material has never been screened before. In the more impressive passages there are airplane views of the vast mountain and desert areas Mussolini has set out to conquer, and one is struck by the difficulty of the task he has set for his soldiers. Intimate glimpses of Emperor Selassie and his army preparing for the conflict that was recognized as inevitable months ago; scenes depicting debtors chained to their creditors, in accordance with the law; infants having their faces slashed for purposes of identification. The well-written commentary accompanying the picture proves an asset. Certainly, this can be exploited to bolster a weak feature and bring fair returns. ELK. CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS Ten cents per word, including initials, address, or box number. Minimum insertion 15 words. Cash or money order with each copy. Yearly contract rates are lower. Send for contract scale. Address communications to FILM BULLETIN, 1313 Vine Street, Phila., Pa. DECORATORS Decorate your theatre attractively and economically by Paramount Decorating Co., 311 North Thirteenth Street, Phila., Pa. INSURANCE All forms of special insurance applying to theatre operation handled on minimum rates. Representative will be sent on request. Box FB 107. JANITORS' SUPPLIES Cups, towels, toilet paper, bulbs, disinfectants, soaps, etc., Krankel's Sanitary Supplies, 305 S. 40th St., Phila., FREmont 0127. TRAILERS Snappy, effective trailers; special low prices. Film Service Co., 25th St. and Lehigh Ave., Phila., Pa., SAGamore 1653. THEATRES WANTED PENNA., N. J., DEL., MD. Buy or lease. Goodis, 1201 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. UNIFORMS USHERS' and doormen's uniforms attractively made to measure. American Uniform Co., 134 South Eleventh Street, Phila., Pa. Buy from FILM BULLETIN ADVERTISERS