Harrison's Reports (1936)

Entered as second-class matter January 4, 1921, at the post oSbao at Mew Yerk, New York, under tne act ot Marcn 3, lava. Harrison's Reports Yearly Subscription Rates: iiacv dda A nil/ A V Published Weekly by 1440 dKUAUWAI Harrison's Reports, Inc., United States $15.00 V L fcl V Publisher U. S. Insular Possessions. 16.50 Plew I ©TK, IN. I. p g HARRISON, Editor Canada 16.50 Mexico, Cuba, Spain 16.50 A Motion Picture Reviewing Service Established July 1, 1B19 Great Britain . 15.75 Devoted Chiefly to the Interests of the Exhibitors Australia, New Zealand, ^"^Th^ 6"6"9 India, Europe, Asia .... 17.50 Its Editorial Policy: No Problem Too Big for Its Editorial HarreportsS 35c a Copy Columns, if It is to Benefit the Exhibitor (Bentley Code) A REVIEWING SERVICE FREEFRQM THE INFLUENCE OF FILM~ADVERTISING Vol. XVIII SATUR^AVTdECEMBER 5, 1936 No. 49 Box Office Performances of 1935-36 and 1936-37 Pictures — No. 2 Paramount ( 1935-36 Season) The following are the box office performances of this company's 1935-36 season's pictures : Excellent, 1 : "Trail of the Lonesome Pine." Excellent to Very Good, 1 : "Rhythm on the Range." Very Good, 1 : "Desire." Very Good to Good, 4: "The Bride Comes Home," "The Milky Way," "The Moon's Our Home," and "Poppy." Good, 6 : "The Big Broadcast of 1936," "Hands Across the Table," "The Crusades," "Collegiate," "Anything Goes," and "Thirteen Hours in the Air." Good to Fair, 6 : "Accent on Youth," "Two for Tonight," "Mary Burns, Fugitive," "So Red the Rose," "Early to Bed," and "Yours for the Asking." Fair, 11: "Every Night at Eight," "The Last Outpost," "Rose of the Rancho," "Big Brown Eyes," "Florida Special," "The Case Against Mrs. Ames," "Palm Springs," "And Sudden Death," "The Return of Sophie Lang," "Spendthrift," and "Three Cheers for Love." Fair to Poor, 9: "Here Comes Cookie," "The Virginia Judge," "Peter Ibbetson," "Too Many Parents," "Till We Meet Again," "Forgotten Faces," "Border Flight," "Girl of the Ozarks," and "A Son Comes Home." Poof, 20: "This Woman is Mine," "Without Regrets," 'Annapolis Farewell," "Two Fisted," "Ship Cafe," "Coronado," "Millions in the Air," "Scrooge," "It's a Great Life," "Her Master's Voice," "Soak the Rich," "Timothy's Quest," "Woman Trap," "Klondike Annie," "The Preview Murder Case," "Give Us this Night," "F-Men," "Sky Parade," "Fatal Lady," and "The Princess Comes Across." In addition to these, Paramount has released "Little America," which was sold on an individual contract, and 12 westerns. Information about the box office performances of the westerns was not asked, but was about "Little America," which they reported as having done poor business. Recapitulating the gradings without the titles of the pictures, we find that the results are as follows : Excellent, 1 ; Excellent to Very Good, 1 ; Very Good, 1 ; Very Good to Good, 4 ; Good, 6 ; Good to Fair, 6 ; Fair, 11 ; Fair to Poor, 9 ; Poor, 20. The number of pictures this company has delivered with first and second rank stars, regardless of their box office worth, are the following : Pictures with first-rank stars, 7 : "Two for Tonight," with Bing Crosby ; "Peter Ibbetson," with Gary Cooper and Ann Harding; "The Bride Comes Home," with Qaudette Colbert; "Anything Goes," with Bing Crosby and Charles Ruggles ; "Desire," with Gary Cooper and Marlene Dietrich ; "Poppy," with W. C. Fields ; and "Rhythm on the Range," with Bing Crosby. Pictures with second-rank stars, 13: "Every Night at Eight," with George Raft ; "Accent on Youth," with Sylvia Sidney and Herbert Marshall ; "Here Comes Cookie," with Burns and Allen ; "The Big Broadcast of 1936," with Burns and Allen, and Jack Oakie ; "Hands Across the Table," with Carole Lombard ; "Mary Burns, Fugitive," with Sylvia Sidney ; "So Red the Rose," with Margaret Sullavan and Walter Connolly ; "Klondike Annie," with Mae West and Victor McLaglen ; "Trail of the Lonesome Pine," with Sylvia Sidney ; "The Moon's Our Home," with Margaret Sullavan ; "The Princess Comes Across," with Carole Lombard ; "Early to Bed," with Charles Ruggles and Mary Boland ; and "Yours for the Asking," with George Raft and Lionel Barrymore. (1936-37 Season) "My American Wife," with Francis Ledcrer : Good. Mr. I.edcrer is a fair drawing card : hut only with good stories. "I'd Give My Life," with Tom Brown and Frances Drake : Fair. The stars do not mean much to the box office. "Hollywood Boulevard," with John Halliday, Robert Cummings, and Marsha Hunt : Poor. Mr. Halliday is all right for a character part, but not for a star ; Robert Cummings and Marsha Hunt do not mean much to the box office. "Texas Rangers," with Fred MacMurray, Jack Oakie, and Jean Parker : Very Good. The combination of players is pretty good for the box office, but the picture did better than that, because of its magnitude. "Straight from the Shoulder," with David Holt and Ralph Bellamy : Fair to Poor. The players don't mean much. "Lady Be Careful," with Lew Ayres and Mary Carlisle : Good to Fair. The players are fair drawing cards. "The General Died at Dawn," with Gary Cooper : Very Good to Good. "Three Married Men," with Roscoe Karns and Mary Brian : Fair to Poor. The players don't mean a "dime" to the box office, even though they do good work in pictures. "Wives Never Know," with Charles Ruggles, Mary Boland, and Adolphe Menjou: Fair. The story is poor. "Murder with Pictures," with Lew Ayres and Gail Patrick : Fair to Poor. Poor story, and players do not draw more than fair. "Valiant is the Word for Carrie," with Gladys George, Jackie Moran, Arline Judge, and Harry Carey : Very Good to Good. The picture is excellent and Gladys George does such good work that she deserves to be placed in the second rank as a star. One or two more pictures like this one and she will be a first-rank screen star. Harry Carey, too, helps. "The Big Broadcast of 1937," with Burns and Allen, Jack Benny, Bob Burns, Benny Fields, Sam Hearn and others : Excellent to Very Good. The player combination is first rate, and although the plot is weak the picture draws, because of these names. "Wedding Present," with Cary Grant and Joan Bennett : From Good to Fair. The players are fair at the box office. "Accusing Finger," with Paul Kelly. Kent Taylor. Marsha Hunt and Harry Carey : Fair. The story is not cheerful. "Rose Bowl," with Tom Brown, Eleanor Whitney, Buster Crabbe : Fair to Poor. Story poor, and players do not mean much to the box office. Grouping the first fifteen of the 1936-37 season, and comparing them with the first fifteen of the 1935-36 season (excluding the westerns and "Little America,"), we get the following results : Last season : Excellent, None ; Excellent to Very Good, None ; Very Good, None, Very Good to Good, None ; Good, 3 ; Good to Fair, 2 ; Fair, 2 ; Fair to Poor, 3 ; Poor, 5. This season : Excellent, None. Excellent to Very Good, 1 ; Very Good, 1 ; Very Good to Good, 3 ; Good, 1 ; Good to Fair, 2 ; Fair, 2 ; Fair to Poor, 3 ; Poor, 2. This season the program is showing an improvement. THE STATUS OF THE UNDELIVERED 1935-36 SEASON'S MGM PICTURES An exhibitor has written me as follows : "I bought MGM's 1935-36 features but I did not sign the Rider whereby I was to accept eight other features instead of Nos. 603, 605, 627, 634, 635. 637, 640. 641, 642, and 647. Should they release any of these pictures this year, am I entitled to them, even though they may change the numbers ?" (Continued on last papc)