Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (Sep 1935 - Aug 1936)

8 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 1936 AS I SEE THEM... Reviews of New Films By ROLAND BARTON KING OF BURLESQUE BOXOFFICE RATING MUSICAL-MELODRAMA . . . Good cast and musical numbers make this entertaining . . . Haphazard script and 20th Century-box 88 Minutes Warner Baxter . . . Jack Oakie . . . Alice Faye . . . Arline Judge . . . Mona Barrie . . . Dixie Dunbar . . . Gregory Ratoff . . . Nick Long, Jr. . . . Kenny Baker . . . Directed by Sidney Lanfield This has lots of what it takes to entertain, but it has been composed so haphazardly that much of its value has been dissipated. The first half of the picture is badly handicapped by a careless script and pointless direction. Only the expert comic playing of reliable Jack Oakie saves this portion from being boring. The second half is crammed with practically all the worthwhile material and this enables "King of burlesque" to wind up as a better than average musical. It has a good cast, hea led by Warner Baxter, in a role similar to the one he had in "42nd Street." Alice F aye is better to look at and far more appealing than ever before. Oakie, as noted before, is his usual unforced comic self. Dixie Dunbar, a cute trick in '-'hts, Kenny Baker and Nick Long, Jr., •sh entert. ining songs and dances in the closing musical sequence. There is nothing unusual about the story, involving, as it does, the show producer who reaches the heights only to flop when he falls for the wrong woman. And all the time the right girl has been right under his nose! That's novel, isn't it? But, "King of Burlesque" might have been a swell picture, in spite of its story weakness, if about half of the first half had been chopped. What it has in the way of stars, Oakie comedy and musical numbers will bring it above average business generally. By the way, the so-called burlesque in the opening scenes would probably offend the Minsky Bros. — it's so appallingly clean! PLOT: Having made a success of burlesque on 14tli Street, Baxter decides to move uptown to Broadway and produce musical comedies. Despite associate Oakie's misgivings, he scores a triumph and becomes the big shot of show business. Desiring to improve his social position, he looks for "a dame with class" and falls for impoverished society widow Mona Barrie, neglecting to realize that the real girl of his heart is Alice Faye, his dancing leader. Trying to produce shows in accord with his wife's ideas, Baxter goes broke and his marriage cracks up. Alice, who had gone to England to become famous on her own, returns in time to promote Baxter back on his feet with a big hit, by providing him with a bogus Russian millionaire with a bankroll — her bankroll. Baxter marries Alice and Oakie marries Arline Judge to get her out of his hair. AD TIPS: Compare this to "Thanks a Million." Unit that this is the true story of a famous Broadway producer's career. Sell the cast and give Oakie billing above Faye. BARTON. SEVEN KEYS TO BALDPATE BOXOFFICE RATING MYSTERY-COMEDY . . . Weakened version of the old Geo. M. Cohan play . . . Only slightly entertaining . . . Acting just so-so . . . OK for duals, but will go below average alone . . . Rates • +. RKO 68 Minutes Gene Raymond . . . Margaret Callahan . . . Eric Blore . . . Erin O'Brien-Moore . . . Henry Travers . . . Grant Mitchell . . . Directed by William Hamilton & Edward Killy This is the fourth (or is it the fifth?) movie version of the Earl Derr Biggers novel and the George M. Cohan stage play. The law of diminishing returns has been operating as usual and we have on hand now the poorest one of the lot. It sums up to very mild mystery-comedy. RKO apparently felt that the ole hoss needed a shot of novelty to bring it up to date, so the basic plot was altered just enough to ruin whatever vestiges of interest the original had. Too, quite a few gags were tossed in to "modernize" this relic. Whereas, in the Cohan play, the mysterious doings at Baldpate Inn were deliberately stirred up by the crooks who desired to prevent the young novelist from writing his book, in this version we are asked to believe that the dizzy events really take place — which makes it almost impossible to swallow. Gene Raymond plays McGee, the novelist, with the subtlety of a piano mover. Eric Blore is less satisfying than ever before. The few laughs gleaned by this reviewer were turned in by Henry Travers, the female-hating "hermit." On the whole, however, the cast does little to redeem the picture. "Seven Keys to Baldpate" may amuse the juvenile trade, but we imagine it will bore the average adult audience fairly stiff. It does make good fare for a dual bill, though. PLOT: Possessing what he believes is the only key to deserted Baldpate Inn, Raymond goes there to write a novel in twenty-four hours. One by one, six other people show up and gain admittance to the Inn with keys each possesses. Mysterious happenings run rampant through the house, distracting Raymond and preventing him from writing his novel. A detective who has recovered stolen jewels is there to get $200,000 from the man who lost them and collected insurance. Several people are trying to outwit each other for the money, a newspaper woman is following the stolen jewels for a story, and a nutty "hermit," who hates women because his wife skipped out with a saxophone player, is cavorting around the premises as a ghost. Raymond fails to complete his novel, but he marries Margaret Callahan, the reporter. AD TIPS: Follow the "Keys" angle by teaser window cards and circulars. "Here is one of the 'Seven Keys to Baldpate,' House of a Thousand Thrills'." Place seven keys in seven different store windows within a radius of ten blocks around the theatre; each one carrying a card reading, "This is one of the 'Seven Keys to Baldpate.' Find the other six keys, which are in stores within ten blocks around the Blank Theatre. The first fifty people to bring the names of the seven stores to the theatre will win passes." BARTON. TOO TOUGH TO KILL BOXOFFICE RATING MELODRAMA . . . This claims a weak story, weaker cast and a phoney title ... A fair amount of action justifies its use on a dual bill . . . Rates Columbia 5 8 Minutes Victor Jory . . . Sally O'Neil . . . Johnny Arthur . . . Thurston Hall . . . Directed by D. Ross Lederman A cheap melodrama that will get by only in the last run action spots. It is impossible to find one element in it that warrants its production or that will cause anyone to ac {Continued on page 6) 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 • • • Means GOOD • • • • Means EXCELLENT Plus ( + ) and minus ( — ) will be used occasionally to indicate slightly above or below the point rating.