Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1941)

'MOUNTAIN MOONLIGHT' BEST OF THE WEAVERS' HILL-BILLY FEATURES Rates • • + in small towns; good duall Republic. 63 Minutes. Leon Weaver. June Weaver. Frank Weaver. Betty Jane Rhodes. Kane Richmond. John Archer. Loretta Weaver. Frank Sully, Andrew Tombes. George Chandler, George Ernest. Roscoe Ates. Johnny Arthur. George Meeker. Leonard Carey. Harry Hayden. Directed by Nick Grinde. The home-spun humor of the Weavers is amusingly transplanted from the Ozarks to Washington in this lively programmer for small town and naborhood audiences. The broad, down-to-earth antics of the two hillbilly brothers, their sister. Elviry, and her daughter, Violey, are invariably entertaining and their rustic music and singing is guaranteed to set patrons' feet tapping. The plot er for naborhoods of "Mountain Moonlight," based on the reliable adage that Wealth Doesn't Bring Happiness, is packed with comedy and a few sentimental touches as well. It's the best of the Weavers' hand-tailored films and merits extra selling wherever the stars ars popular. When a cyclone hits the Ozark Mountain home of the Weavers they find, in the ruins, a promissory note from the American Government in 1790, payable to Abnsr's greatgrandfather. Their friendly neighbors raise the money to send the entire Weaver family to Washington to collect for the note payable on demand. Th3ir senator tells them the note is invalid, but, when a clause is found making it automatically renewable every seven years, their fortunes change. Cicero turns to polo-playing, Elviry takes up operatic singing, one daughter forgets her small 'DANCE HALL' JUST A DUAL Rates • • — as dualler 20th Century-Fox. 68 Minutes. Carole Landis. Cesar Romero, William Henry, June Storey. J. Edward Bromberg. Charles Halton, Shimen Ruskin, William Haade, Trudi Marsdon, Russ Clark, Frank Fanning. Directed by Irving Pichel. Strictly for double features — is the obvious label on this 20th Century programmer. The pointless script, based on a novel by W. R. Burnett, follows a familiar formula, with two young people constantly bickering although they are secretly in love and the climax a foregone conclusion from the opening reel. The dance hall backgrounds add some color and Carole Landis sings two old favorites, "There's a Lull in My Life" and "There's Something in the Air," very charm 'JUNGLE CAVALCADE' THRILLING COMPILATION OF FRANK BUCK'S 3 FILMS Rates • • + in action spots! fair as supporting dualler elsewhere RKO-Radio. 76 Minutes. Directed by Frank Buck, Clyde Elliott and Armand Denis. Narration by Frank Buck. "Jungle Cavalcade" is a thrill-a-minute adventure film made-to-order for the sensational type of ballyhoo which will attract the youngsters and the action-minded fans. Always the leader in filming wild animal expeditions, Frank Buck has selected the outstanding sequences from "Wild Cargo," "Fang and Claw" and the never-to-be-forgotten "Bring 'Em Back Alive," giving the film a new and attention-holding narration and neatly spaced the exciting bits with a few comedy moments. The picture's highlights are readily recognizable from the three previous films, but the many patrons who seek vicarious thrills from close-ups of Buck's authentic encounters with the ferocious denizens of the jungle will find these scenes as fascinating as when first seen. Picture is best suited for the spots where male customers predominate. Among the notable unrehearsed sequences are the death struggles between a crocodile and a black leopard and a python and a man-eating Royal Bengal tiger and the scene where a python crawls into a pig pen, swallows a live pig and then is swollen and captured by his own gluttony. The baby honey bear and the woolly gibbon monkeys are cutely amusing and the Borneo probosc s monkey is a highly humorous sight. The photography is always exceptionally clear. LEYENDECKER BILLER ingly. Performances are not bad. Film will be a so-so dualler in most locations. Cesar Romero is manager of a dance hall in a small city and fancies himself as a Lothario. When a new singer, Carole Landis, arrives from New York, he takes it for granted that she will fall an easy victim to his charms, but finds himself very much '.nistaken. After much bickering, Miss Landis .skillfully lures Romero into a bashful proposal and then runs out on him, but of course their romance eventually ends happily. Romero is established as such a thorough rotter that it isn't very convincing when he suddenly turns into a sympathetic character, and the idea of the worldly-wis? singer falling for the blandishments of the small town Lothario is never entirely believable. There is a secondary love interest town fiance and the young son becomes a night owl. Abner keeps his head, however, and, after spreading a false report that the note is worthless, their fair-weather friends desert them and the family returns home. The Weavers, particularly Leon, as the patient Abner, and June, as the societyminded Elviry, give genuine characterizations of simple mountain folk. Frank Weaver gets laughs with his pantomine as the tonguetied Cicero and Loretta has her customary comedy part of the silly Violey. Betty Jane Rhodes and John Archer are quietlyattractive romantic leads but George Ernest seems a bit juvenile for his drunken scenes as the night-clubbing son. Nick Grinde has directed with unsophisticated audiences in mind. LEYENDECKER between a young pianist in the swing band and a gold-digging wench, who promptly turns him down when he lends his bankroll to Romero to help him out of a jam. Carole Landis is attractive and gives a good performance as the hot-tempered dance hall songstress. Cesar Romero is easy and convincing in a role that fits his talents like a glove, and William Henry does a nice job as the likeable young pianist. June Storey portrays the cheap little gold-digging waitress so well that it will probably bring her other assignments as a screen siren. J. Edward Bromberg's characterization of a salesman who makes shy love to Miss Landis is a real standout. Irving Pichel's direction is easy and he has made the most of a weak script. CRAWFORD (Hollywood) TENNIGHTS>"BARROOM (this picture has no connecfion with the novel and play of the same title) ROBERT ARMSTRONG • FRANK ALBERTSON LINDA HAYES RUSSELL SIMPSON SKEETS GALLAGHER Original screen play by Don kyan GEORGE SHERMAN Director T JULY 26, 1941 25