The Film Daily (1943)

Tuesday, July 13, 1943 Vtifa 11 -V > R€VICUS Of THE R6UJ flLfllS :< " "The Sky's the Limit" with Fred Asfaire, Joan Leslie RKO 89 Mins. SWELL LIGHT COMEDY SATISFACTORILY TEAMS ASTAIRE AND MISS LESLIE; STRONG BOX OFFICE SHOWING INDICATED. The sky's the limit on the entertainment ' 9fe of Fred Astaire's newest film, a light ^7dy that teams him happily with Joan Leslie. The dancing comedian breezes through his role to the complete delight of his fans, carrying Miss Leslie along with him to deserved success in a chain of situations that are good for plenty of laughs. The emphasis in "The Sky's the Limit" is strictly on fun. Edward H. Griffith's direction holds the film to a snappy pace throughout and keeps the humorous content uppermost at all times. Only two or three dance numbers are permitted to break up the action, and none of them is spectacular enough to steer attention away from the story itself, which is the main thing in this film. As Astaire's singing and dancing partner Miss Leslie reveals a new assurance and poise in a part that calls upon her to exercise her comedic talents. She serves as a good foil for the brash Astaire. Given nice production touches by David Hempstead, the film derives from a screenplay by Frank Fenton and Lynn Root which contains some surprisingly good comedy lines that fit the Astaire personality perfectly. The yarn is scarcely to be taken seriously. It is from first to last a gay romp in which Astaire has a chance to play the sort of role best suited to him — that of the cocky blade who makes himself obnoxious in his determination to win a fair heart, which happens to be Miss Leslie's this time. Astaire plays a Flying Tiger back home on a brief furlough before undertaking a new assignment. To avoid annoyance he dons civilian clothes and sets out on a round of fun on which he meets Miss Leslie, a photographer with whom her boss, a mag publisher, is in love. Astaire gets the gal after a lot of hilarious complications. Much of the comedy revolves around Astaire's efforts to keep his identity from Miss Leslie. Astaire and Miss Leslie are supported by a fine cast in which Robert Benchley stands out strongly as the publisher. Benchley steals the show several times. CAST: Fred Astaire, Joan Leslie, Robert Benchley, Robert Ryan, Elizabeth Patterson, Marjorie Gateson, Freddie Slack and His Orchestra. CREDITS: Producer, David Hempstead; Associate Producer, Sherman Todd; Director, Edward H. Griffith; Screenplay, Frank Fenton, Lynn Rot; Cameraman, Russell Metty; Special Effects, Vernon L. Walker; Songs, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen; Dance Director, Fred Astaire; Musical Director, Leigh Harline; Art Directors, Albert S. D'Agostino, Carroll Clark; Set Decorators, Darrell Silvera; Claude Carpenter; Soundman, Richard Van Hessen; Film Editor, Roland Gross. DIRECTION, Good. PHOTOGRAPHY, Good. "Danger! Women At Work" with Patsy Kelly, Mary Brian, Isabel Jewell (HOLLYWOOD PREVIEW) PRC 60 Mins. PLEASANT LITTLE COMEDY WITH FRESH THEME PROVIDES GOOD ENTERTAINMENT. Here is a pleasant little comedy, which has a fresh theme. It has been given good production by Jack Schwarz and his associate producer, Harry D. Edwards, with Sam Newfield's direction responsible for plenty of comedy. Patsy Kelly comes through with another splendid performance as a comedienne, while Cobina Wright, Sr., Betty Compson, Mary Brian and Isabel Jewell are among the principals. Patsy and her roommates, Mary Brian and Isabel Jewell, enter the trucking business when Patsy's uncle leaves her a truck. The girls agree to haul a gambler's paraphernalia from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. En route to Las Vegas, they pick up Cobina Wright, Sr. a socialite, who is afflicted with amnesia. They also give a ride to Wanda McKay, an heiress, who is fleeing from her father, and Betty Compson, a fortune-teller. To complicate matters, the truck is chased by high-jackers and detectives seeking a $5,000 reward for finding Wanda McKay, and Cobina Wright, Sr.'s husband. Gertrude Walker and Edgar G. Ulmer wrote the original story and Martin Mooney the screenplay. Ira H. Morgan's photography is first-rate. CAST: Patsy Kelly, Mary Brian, Isabel Jewell, Wanda McKay, Betty Compson, Cobina Wright, Sr., Allan Byron, Warren Hymer, Michael Kirk, Vince Barnett. CREDITS: Leon Fromkess in Charge of Production; Producer, Jack Schwarz; Associate Producer, Harry D. Edwards; Director, Sam Newfield; Authors, Gertrude Walker and Edgar G. Ulmer; Screenplay, Martin Mooney; Cameraman, Ira Morgan, ASC; Art Director, Frank Sylos; Editor, Robert G. Crandall. DIRECTION, Good. PHOTOGRAPHY, First-rate. Schines Close in Bucyrus Bucyrus, O. — Southern Theater, a Schine house which has been operating a week-end policy, is closed for the Summer. Micu-Becker Acquire Celina, O., Theaters Fort Wayne, Ind. — John Micu and Clarence W. Becker, owners of the Indiana and State theaters, have purchased a half-interest in two theaters in Celina, 0., the Ohio and the Fayette. The two Celina theaters will continue to operate under the present management. Urges Confirmations of Bookings of War Shorts Eldora, la. — Plea that all exchanges follow the example set by Metro and adopted by 20th-Fox in sending out advance confirmations of the block-booked GovernmentWAC free shorts distributed by them is voiced by Leo F. Wolcott, president of Allied-Independent Theater Owners of Iowa-Nebraska. "Prairie Chickens" with Jimmy Rogers, Noah Beery, Jr. UA-Roach 46 Mins. LATEST ROACH OFFERING IS OLDFASHIONED SLAPSTICK THAT WILL MAKE A HIT CHIEFLY WITH KIDS. "Prairie Chickens" is out-and-out slapstick aimed strictly at kids and adults not particular about the entertainment they get. This sort of stuff has been done to death on the screen. Only a person whose risibilities are easily touched will be able to work up more than a smile over the doings in the picture, which is the latest of the "streamlined" features being turned out by the Hal Roach outfit. Time has worn some of the tricks in "Prairie Chickens" pretty thin. It is one of the film's assets that it runs but 46 minutes. What happens in the picture is purely for the kids. Although there's no end of rushing about, nothing much actually transpires in the course of the story, an extremely silly affair. The plot has to do with the efforts of a crooked ranch foreman to drive off visitors who are interfering with his activities. Among the visitors are the owner, some cowboys and a boodle of beauties, who supply some sort of excitement for the men by rushing about screaming while clutching their garments. One of the foreman's pet devices is having his stooges make up as ghosts. The guy has the upper hand until Jimmy Rogers and Noah Beery, Jr., gets on the job and lower the boom on him. The shining light in the cast is Jack Norton, that perennial screen drunk. Playing the owner of the ranch, he runs away with whatever there is to run away with in "Pairie Chickens." He is responsible for most of the laughs in the film. Besides Rogers, Beery and Norton others in the cast include Joe Sawyer, Marjorie Woodworth, Rosemary La Planche, Raymond Hatton, Ed Gargan, Frank Faylen. Hal Roach, Jr.'s direction is fast but no more. Fred Guiol produced from a screenplay by Arnold Belgard and Earle Snell based on a stoy by Donald Hough. CAST: Jimmy Rogers, Noah Beery, Jr., Joe Sawyer, Marjorie Woodworth, Rosemary La Planche, Jack Norton, Raymond Hatton, Marge Ann Deighton, Ed Gargan, Frank Faylen, Dudley Dickerson. CREDITS: Producer, Fred Guiol; Director, Hal Roach, Jr.; Screenplay, Arnold Belgard, Earle Snell; Based on story by Donald Hough; Cameraman, Robert Pittack; Special Effects, Ray Seawright; Art Director, Charles D. Hall; Film Editor, Bert Jordan; Sound, William Randall; Set Decorator, W. L. Stevens. DIRECTION, Fair. PHOTOGRAPHY, Okay. * SHORTS * "Sullivans" Via 20th-Fox West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Twentieth-Fox will finance and release the Sam JaffeLloyd Bacon film, "The Sullivans," based on the combined stories of the five Sullivan boys who lost their lives on the cruiser Juneau. Film will be made on the Fox lot and part of the proceeds will go to the Sullivan family. Jaffe will produce and Bacon direct. "Bill Jack vs. Adolf Hitler" (March of Time) 20th-Fox 17 mins. Excellent March of Time's latest release is easily one of the best of the series. It records an experiment in labor-management relations that packs terrific interest. The subject is the defense plant operated by Bill Jack, who uses paternalism to the ultimate degree to get the most out of his workers. The footage shows the means by which Jack is able to attain a production record that has won him nation-wide attention. It is a fantastic success story which argues for the application of the human touch to dealings between boss and worker. The free services made available to the employes make up an amazing list. Practically everything is supplied free to the workers in return for their loyalty to the management— a loyalty that drives them to give their all for the boss. Wage earners and employers alike will be drawn to the film, which has the potentialities of a strong box-office attraction. The subject has been directed superbly by Jack Glenn. Richard <de Rochemont has done a whale of a job in his capacity of managing editor. "He Can't Make It Stick" (Color Rhapsody) Columbia 7 Mins. Timely and Punchy Characterized by its distributor as "a colorful burlesque on a famous paper-hanger in Austria," meaning, of course, Adolph Hitler, tab production is more exactly an allegorical comedy which recounts how impossible it is for the Shicklegruber wallpaper (Nazism) to be made to stick on the wall-surfaces (nations) of the world. Footage brings out the madness, recklessness, and cruelty of the Nazi regime, and pokes fun at the authors of that political credo. The animation by Volus Jones and Jim Armstrong is both expert and hilarious. Audiences, even though they might miss some of the amusing and subtle facets of the allegory, will, nevertheless enjoy the short heartily. Tops in the chain of scenes is Adolph eating a rug. It's timely and packs a wallop. Charles Ryan Recovering Chicago — Charles Ryan, Warner theater exec, here, is improving rapidly from a slight stroke sustained while in Atlanta. Ryan went South to visit his son at Fort McClellan, Ala. Playing Mexican Product Houston — Horwitz Palace and Iris are playing Mexican pix.