The Film Daily (1948)

..hursday, September 16, 1948 DAILY if Him DfllLV REVIEUIS OF nEUI SHORTS ^ "Families First" Oth-Fox 10 minutes Highly Important ; This is a short that has the eternal 'meliness of the weather, and its 111' ■ is just as important. Point lit xe-reeler makes is this: when arents can offer their children a 8nse of security, of affection, of imortance — -besides taking care of leir physical needs, then the chilren will grow up int.o decent citi^1 ens. However, when children are "' eglected, when favoritism is shown, .''hen affection is absent, then the i^ome climate is fertile soil for disintegrated personalities which result in delinquency and other anti:T3cial behavior. Commentary is restrained while le visual images show two families, "■oth similar but different in that ne pair of parents is patient, unerstanding and painstaking with ;s offspring, while tJie other is not. Material is handled with profes^'iional skill in acting, direction, pho; Dgraphy and music. ^i RKO-Pathe made this short for ''^^■'le New York State Youth Commission. TOA is sponsoring the film ^'leatrically as part of the September Youth Month program. Release ;! ite was Aug. 30. Sixceen mm. ver^fon of 17 mins. length will be made vailable to schools, clubs and other gencies after the 35 mm. short ha* een shown nationally. "Roaring Wheels" /B. 10 Minutes ' Breathtaking ; This r°el offers some of the most ictraordinary scenes of daredeviltry 1 sports ever filmed. Auto speedsters re seen risking their lives trying to reak a speed record. Som°t'mes, lore th'-n records are broken. Filmed highlights from America's 'freatest speed races. "Paris on the Plata" ■'-I 9 minutes (A Vpfiety V^ew) Music Enhances Footage Footage covering the interesting -ghts of Buems Aires, its architecare, ra^e tracks, and people is in the sin of the average travelogue. Far bove the average is Jack Shiandn's atmospheric offstage music. WB. "Jungle Man Killers" (Technicolor) 10 Minutes Exciting Hunting party goes in search of a man-eating tiger that has already killed several villagers in Hyderabad, India. Colorful and authentic scenes lift this short above the average travelogue. "Just Suppose" M-G-M 9 minutes Fair This time the Smith named Pete figures out how well or bad off the status quo would be if men bought hatg the way women -do, males had babies instead of vice versa. It kinda' belabors the brain and the taste is questionable but the general audience mind should be tickled. "Rebel Rabbit" WB. 7 Minutes One of the Best Chagrined at the picayune bounty offered for rabbits, Bugs Bunny goes on a rampage to prove that rabbits can be as annoying as foxes and bears. Hilarious sequence of the U. S. Army pursuing Bugs marks this short as one of the best about tJie WB rabbit. "Ladies in Wading" RKO (Spor^scope) 9 Mins. Fine A quintette of shapely misses run through their aquatic specialties at the Bo?a Raton Club in Florida. They are superb in their individual styles of swimming and highboard activity. The camera, never once at rest, follows them aloft, the length and breadth of the pool. Every foot of the way the view is rewarding. "Football Thrills No. 11" M-G-M 8 minutes Good Pete Smith's annual collection of pigskin plays both spectacular and humorous this time goes back for 10 years and with wit, sound effects and the like, gets off a sock reel for the oncoming season. The alert exhib. will buy this one. /B. "Football Magic" 20 Minutes Exciting Review of l^st year's most intersting football games, including pro nd pre-college contests. Funniest jquence, though, is that showing vo groups of kids playing with all leir might on a sand lot. "Rockets of the Future" (Answer Man Series) •I 8 minutes Interesting Such topics as how long would a '-2 rocket take to get to the moon, ,ie art of fencing, how to train Dgs, and what to do in the case of lake bites are presented in an enrossing manner. "My Own United States" (Technicolor) WB. 20 Minutes Very Good Camera tour of the U. S. includes scenes of towns and cities, beaches and mountains, historical sites and playgrounds. Truly worth seeing. Many an American will learn for the first time what a beautiful land he inhabits. "The Man From New Orleans" WB 19 Mins. Interesting Well told story in Technicolor relates the discovery of a forgotten Mexican village by William Spratling and how he brought new life and prosperity to Taxco without disturbing the contentment and tradition of its people. "Life With Grandpa" 20th-Fox 17 Minutes First Rate The problems of old age which sooner or later become the concern of most of us are reviewed in an engrossing manner by the producers of the March of Time. The short shows how the State and Federal Governments have to some extent taken over the responsibility of taking care of the aged. But there remain many problems yet unsolved. This is a film of first importance. "Jimmy Dorsey fir His Orchestra" U-I 15 minutes Tops That great pains were taken in the production of this short is quickly evident by its high professional quality and excellent entertainment values. "We Hate Cowboy Songs," a comedy number is adroitly handled by the Mello-Larks. Dottie O'Brien and Bill Lawrence turn in a neat rendition of "Quien Sabe." "The Truce Hurts" M-G-M 7 minutes Okay Tom, the cat, and Jerry, the mouse, have been at each otJier long enough. So this time they decide to call off their usual roughhouse antics and bury the hatchet. They don't bury it too deep, however, and after finding the olive branch too heavy and troublesome to maintain, they are at it again. In Technicolor. "The Shell-Shocked Egg" WB 7 Mins. Mild Adventures of a partly hatched turtle are told with mild humor. As the turtle wanders blindly from one hazard into another, one is reminded of the old hair-breadth experiences of Harold Lloyd in the 20's. "Water Battlers" (Answer Man Series) U-I 7 minutes Fascinating Extraordinary photography reveals some of the secrets of the salmon. Also fascinating is the footage on the manufacture of golf balls, tlie demise of Manhattan's horse cars, and the pyramids of Egypt. "Up-Standing Sitter" WB 7 Mins. Fairly Amusing Daffy Duck gets daffier as he tries to mind Mrs. Hen's latest offspring. Tiny chick enlists the aid of a ferocious bulldog to thwart Daffy's solicitude. Slapstick sequences are mildly diverting. "Let's Sing a Song From the Movies" WB 10 Mins. Good Dipping into its library of past successes, WB comes up with some tuneful clips. Among the favoi'ites are "Am I Blue," "By a Waterfall," "Some Sunc'ay Morning," and "A Gal in Calico." "Dig That Cold" RKO 17 Mins. OK Kennedy Kapers Brother convinces Edgar Kennedy his method in acquiring legal rights to a pot of gold coins is the best of all possible. This results in some excavating of Neighbor Billings lawn and winds up with a blast only for Edgar to learn that the metal was fake stage moola. The usual gamut of situations is run through. It stands up well with wha; has been previously offered. "So You Want To Be In Politics" WB. 10 Minutes Better This time Joe McDoakes takes a flyer into politics. He wants to change his mind after he learns that his alleged friends have put him up for dog-catcher. The machine refuses to let him back out. So McDoakes becomes the city's dogcatcher. This latest in the McDoakes occupational guidance series is somewhat better than a few of the previous ones. 10 minutes "Martin Block's Musical Merry-Go-Round" M-G-M Good Les Brown's band is the featured outfit that makes with the tunes on this program number and Virginia O'Brien renders a vocal. It is several cuts above the usual banddisc jockey pattern in production and handling. "Charlie Barnet fir Orchestra in Redskin Rhumba" U-I 15 minutes Good Okay interpretation of such old favorites as "Jeepers Creepers" by Virginia Maxey, and "Jealousy" by Clark Dennis are the outstanding numbers in this short. Other numbers include "Redskin Rhumba," "Skyline," "Peg Of My Heart," and "'Pompton Turnpike." WB. "Hen House Henery" 7 Minutes Topnotch This Merrie Melody Cartoon is a sure candidate for the Academy Award. The antics of Henery Hawk and a rooster ten times his size will keep audiences laughing from opening shot to the last sequence. The little chicken hawk after several false starts finally tricks the rooster. "Chicago, the Beautiful" M-G-M 10 minutes Good James Fitzpatrick has captured the zip and swing of the Windy City ably in this first of a New Technicolor series to be devoted to displaying the American scene and inside U. S. A. Highlights show the various boulevards, architecture, Loop and the house that chewing gum built.