The Film Daily (1943)

I Friday, May 28, 1943 DAILY V :< RCVICLUS OF TH€ MUI MUDS Ht :< "Stormy Weather" with Bill Robinson, Lena Home Dfh-Fox 77 Mins. COLORED MUSICAL OFFERS WEALTH F NEGRO TALENT; PIC HAS GAYETY ND WHIRLWIND PACE. The colored entertainer is paid his due >'Stormy Weather," which professes to be ^ story of Bill Robinson and his rise to ,ie in the show world. The story is told jive tempo in keeping with the tem srament of the Negro race and provides tremendous display of colored talent. The 3ce is hot and furious throughout, and le performers carry on with an abandon nd a fervidness that never permits the in ;rest to wane. Robinson shares top billing with Lena orne. They are surrounded by such other olored headliners as Cab Calloway and his and, Katherine Dunham and her troupe of sneers, Fats Waller, the Nicholas Brothers, da Brown, Dooley Wilson, the Tramp and. Babe Wallace, Ernest Whitman, and host of others, all of them ace attracons. Rarely has a film been so generously ndowed with musical numbers, old and . ew. The film is practically nothing more Tan a succession of musical numbers, with Imost no plot to talk about. Twenty jnes are spotted in the film. Sentimental Dngs share the limelight with jive numbers ut over with the feeling that only the <egro can muster for such occasions, lost elaborately and most effectively staged lOlff all the songs is the title tune, sung y Miss Home. With all due respect to Robinson and 1 iss Home the most rousing moments of ie film are allotted to Calloway and the licholas Brothers. However, all the per I jrmers in this colored musical give ex | ellent accounts of themselves. The story takes Robinson from 1918, i.'hen he was mustered out of the service, 3 the present, winding up with a show put n by him for the entertainment of a group f colored soldiers about to leave for over2as. Miss Home appears as the enterainer who encouraged Robinson to enter tow business. The film depicts Robinson's ffforts to get to the top. Worked into the am is a romance between Robinson and A\%% Home. Andrew Stone directed the William Lejaron production capably from a screenlay by Frederick Jackson and Ted Koehsr based on an adaptation by H. S. Kraft If a story by Jerry Horwin and Seymour B. !• obinson. Leon Shamroy provided excelent sepia photography. CAST: Lena Home, Bill Robinson, Cab I '.alloway and his band, Katherine Dunham \ 'ancers, Fats Waller, Nicholas Brothers, -da Brown, Dooley Wilson, Tramp Band, • abe Wallace, Ernest Whitman, Zuttie Sinleton, Mac E. Johnson, Flournoy E. Miller, ohnnie Lee, Robert Felder, Nicodemus tewart. CREDITS: Producer, William LeBaron; 'irector, Andrew Stone; Screenplay, Fredrick Jackson, Ted Koehler; Adaptation, H. . Kraft; Based on story by Jerry Horwin, eymour B. Robinson; Dance Director, Clarnce Robinson; Musical Supervisor, Fanchon; '.ameraman, Leon Shamroy; Art Directors, ames Basevi, Joseph C. Wright; Film Edior, James B. Clark; Special Effects, Fred ersen. DIRECTION, Okay. PHOTOGRAPHY, .:• ■ "Song of Texas" with Roy Rogers Republic 69 Mins. A HAPPY TUNE FOR THE ROGERS FANS; ACTION AND MUSIC NICELY MIXED; PHOTOGRAPHY ACES. Roy Rogers continues along the high road in his newest film for Republic, delivering another load of excellent entertainment to his fans. "Song of Texas" is a classy western that holds the attention of horse-opera lovers to the last hoof beat. There is an easy-going quality about the picture that makes for a pleasant sense of relaxation even in the face of several sequences highly charged with excitement. The production strikes a refreshing note which cloyed filmgoers should find especially welcome. For this credit goes primarily to the beautiful outdoor vistas of mountains and desert imprisoned in superb photography and to the unhurried and nerve-settling music dished out by Rogers and Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. There is plenty of gayety to counterbalance the melodramatic moments of the picture. The musical content is one of the most attractive features of the entertainment. The songs, seven in number, are delivered in first-rate fashion by Rogers and his singing buddies. The list consists of "Moonlight and Roses," "Rainbow Over the Range," "Blue Bonnet Girl," "I Love the Prairie," "On the Rhythm Range," "Chapanecas," and "Mexicali Rose." The film has been finely produced by Harry Grey and smoothly directed by Joseph Kane. Reggie Lanning's camera work is fit to give anyone the wanderlust. Not the least of the film's assets is the musical direction of Morton Scott. The screenplay of Winston Miller, a nice job, concerns a feud between Rogers and Barton MacLane — a feud engendered by the former's decision to quit the latter's rodeo, of which our hero is the star attraction. Rogers, with Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers, is determined to organize his own rodeo. MacLane does all in his power to prevent Rogers from carrying out his plans. The plot takes on added interest when Rogers loans his ranch to a former rodeo star down on his luck (Harry Shannon) so that the latter's daughter (Sheila Ryan), who is coming from the big city to visit her father, will not be disillusioned. Much of the action has to do with efforts to keep Miss Ryan from learning the truth and to prevent MacLane from getting his hands on the ranch. Rogers gives another of his ingratiating performances. Miss Ryan and Shannon lend him fine assistance. Arline Judge returns to the screen after a long absence in the role of Miss Ryan's pal. MacLane handles the villainy well with the help of Wiliam Haade. CAST: Roy Rogers, Sheia Ryan, Barton MacLane, Harry Shannon, Pat Brady, Arline Judge, Wiliam Haale, Bob Noan, Eve March, Hal Taliaferro, Sons of the Pioneers, Alex Nahera Dancers. CREDITS: Associate Producer, Harry Grey; Director, Joseph Kane; Screenplay, Winston Miller; Cameraman, Reggie Lanning;: Film Editor, Tony Martinelli; Art Director, Russell Kimball; Musical Director, Morton Scott. DIRECTION, Good. PHOTOGRAPHY, Superb. "Bataan" with Robert Taylor M-G-M 114 Mins. WAR FILM TOO GRIM TO RATE AS POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT, BUT IS EXCITING, SUSPENSEFUL, WELL-ACTED. Remembrance of the heroic stand of our boys at bloody Bataan should supply the chief motive for a filmgoer's desire to see this picture. It is to this fact more than to anything else that the production will owe whatever success it may attain at the boxoffice. The film gives a good idea of what the warriors of bataan must have gone through in holding their positions against overwhelming odds, but in its determination to reenact that tragedy with deathly grimness and with vivid detail that leaves nothing to the imagination the offering forfeits its claim to entertainment in the full meaning of the term. Certainly the subject has been handled capitally but it pours on the stark drama with such utter lack of restraint as to make one wince. It's a gory film in which death and destruction take no rest. The production can expect small patronage from the women, for it is a little too strong for the ordinary feminine stomach. Not only is it not a pretty picture, but it has not one romantic moment in its extended footage. As directed by Tay Garnett the picture, which is dedicated to the heroes of Bataan, creates a sense of impending doom as it unfurls its story of a small patrol hemmed in by the enemy in a steaming jungle. The men are holding a vital position against insuperable obstacles. Rather than retire to safety they elect to defend their position with their lives in order to slow up the Jap advance. The men are killed off one by one until only their sergeant is left to challenge the enemy. And even he is doomed at the end as we leave him blazing away at the Japs. "Bataan" is a red-blooded story loaded with acts of valor. Audiences will react enthusiastically to the accounting the heroes give of themselves. At the finale the ground is carpeted with dead Japs. Atmospherically the picture has a lot to commend it. Here the glory goes to Art Director Cedric Gibbons; Arnold Gillespie and Warren Newcombe, special-effects men, and Cameraman Sidney Wagner. The elements of excitement and suspense are strong in Robert D. Andrews' screenplay, which was produced by Irving Starr. Andrews has injected a few moving moments into his story. Robert Taylor does a creditable job as the sergeant in charge of the patrol. Other members of the patrol include George Murphy, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Nolan, Robert Walker, Desi Arnaz, Barry Nelson, Phillip Terry, Tom Dugan. Among the most vivid portrayals are those of Mitchell, Nolan and Walker. The last-named is responsible for a number of heart-gripping scenes. CAST: Robert Taylor, George Murphy, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Nolan, Lee Bowman, Robert Walker, Desi Arnaz, Barry Nelson, Phillip Terry, Roque Espiritu, Kenneth Spencer, J. Alex Havier, Tom Dugan, Donald Curtis. CREDITS: Producer, Irving Starr; Director, Tay Garnett; Screenplay, Robert D. Andrews; Cameraman, Sidney Wagner; Musical Score, Bronislau Kaper; Art Direc "Mister Big" with Donald O'Connor, Gloria Jean Universal 74 Mins. O'CONNOR IS PRACTICALLY WHOLE SHOW IN FILM COMBINING MUSIC, COMEDY AND LOVE. "Mister Big" gives further evidence of the remarkable talents of Donald O'Connor. The young man carries the film in a display of all-around ability that will gain him new attention. He discharges his assignment with a poise and a self-assurance that would do justice to a veteran. The O'Connor lad is practically the whole show. It is fortunate for the film that he is around almost all the time to clown, sing or hoof. Thanks go primarily to him for the fact that "Mister Big" is nifty entertainment for the family trade. With young folks the picture definitely cannot miss. Love, music and comedy have been combined to make the production attractive to those for whom this type of product is intended. The film is gay, lively stuff stuffed with some of Hollywood's best young talent. O'Connor obtains most of his young support from Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan and the Jiviri' Jacks and Jills. The mature members of the cast who give him important assistance include Robert Paige, Elyse Knox, Samuel S. Hinds and Florence Bates, all first-rate. One of the strongest factors in the film's success is certain to be its musical content. Eleven tunes in a variety of moods are strewn through the film. Most are credited to Buddy Pepper and Inez James. The singing burden is shared by Miss Jean, O'Connor and Miss Ryan, who does an outstanding job in a comedy role. The story is along extremely familiar lines and matters little. It concerns the efforts of the students of a dramatic school to put on a jive show as their annual presentation. Their ideas are at variance with the purposes of the school, which is owned by Florence Bates, who worships the classics. The youngsters are abetted by the faculty of the school, which includes Paige, Miss Knox and Hinds. When Miss Bates finds out, it's too late to do anything about it. The show goes on and is a huge success. Miss Bates does an about-face at the end. Charles Lamont's direction is good. Jack Pollexfen and Dorothy Bennett did the screenplay from a yarn by Virginia Rooks. Ken Goldsmith was associate producer. CAST: Gloria Jean, Donald O'Connor, Peggy Ryan, Robert Paige, Elyse Knox, Samuel S. Hinds, Bobby Scheerer, Richard Stewart, Mary Eleanor Donahue, Florence Bates, Ray Eberle, Eddie Miller's Bob Cats, Ben Carter Choir, Jivin' Jacks and Jills. CREDITS, Associate Producer, Ken Goldsmith; Director, Charles Lamont; Screenplay, Jack Pollexfen, Dorothy Bennett; Based on story by Virginia Rooks; Cameraman, George Robinson; Art Directors, John B. Goodman, Harold McArthur; Musical Director, Charles Previn; Dance Director, Louis daPron; Film Editor, Frank Gross. DIRECTION, Good. PHOTOGRAPHY, Good. tor, Cedric Gibbons; Special Effects, Arnold Gillespie, Warren Newcombe; Film Editor, George White. DIRECTION, Good. PHOTOGRAPHY, Good.