Harrison's Reports (1939)

20 HARRISON'S REPORTS February 4, 1939 USING THE SCREEN FOR CARRYING THE MESSAGE OF DEMOCRACY'S BLESSINGS In these clays of world strife, many exhibitors have felt that the screen should by all means be utilized for spreading the message of democracy and for arousing the patriotic fervor of the people in this country; they feel that this is the only way by which invidious propaganda from totalitarian countries may be counteracted. Warner Bros, has, as most of you no doubt know, already produced six Americanization shorts, in natural colors, and it is now producing six more. I have seen one of these short features, "Declaration of Independence," and desire to say that, in addition to its being a fine patriotic subject, it is excellent entertainment. Every exhibitor should book, not only these shorts, but others, no matter whether they are released by Warner Bros, or by any of the other companies. I feel sure that picture-patrons will enjoy them. BOX-OFFICE PERFORMANCES OF 1938-39 SEASON'S PICTURES— No. 4 RfCO 1937 38 "Smashing the Rackets," with Chester Morris, Frances Mercer, and Bruce Cabot, produced by B. P. Fineman and directed by Lew Landers, from a screen play by Lionel Houser : Good-Fair. "Breaking the Ice," with Bobby Breen, Charles Ruggles, and Dolores Costello, produced by Sol Lesser and directed by Edward F. Cline, from a screen play by Mary McCall, Jr., Manuel Seff, and Bernard Schubert: Good-Fair. "Carefree," with Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, produced by Pandro S. Berman and directed by Mark Sandrich, from a screen play by Ernest Pagano and Allan Scott : Very Good-Good. "The Renegade Ranger," with George O'Brien and Rita Hayworth, produced by Bert Gilroy and directed by David Howard, from a screen play by Oliver Drake: FairPoor. Forty-five pictures have been released. Grouping the pictures of the different ratings, including the Westerns, from the beginning of the season, we get the following results : Excellent-Good, 2; Very Good-Good, 2; Good-Fair, 9; Good-Poor, 7; Fair, 8; Fair-Poor, 15; Poor. 2. Forty-six pictures were released in the 1936-37 season. They were rated as follows : Excellent-Fair, 1 ; Very Good-Good, 2; Good, 4; Good^"air, 11 ; Fair, 12; Fair-Poor, 12; Poor, 4. 1938 39 "The Affairs of Annabel," with Jack Oakie and Lucille Ball, produced by Lou Lusty and directed by Ben Stoloff, from a screen play by Bert Granet and Paul Yawitz : GoodFair. "Fugitives For a Night," with Frank Albertson and Eleanor Lynn, produced by Lou Lusty and directed by Leslie Goodwins, from a screen play by Dalton Trumbo: Fair. "Room Service," with the Marx Brothers, Lucille Ball, and Frank Albertson, produced by Pandro S. Berman and directed by William Seiter, from a screen play by Morrie Ryskind: Good-Fair. "Mr. Doodle Kicks Oft," with Joe Penner and June Travis, produced by Robert Sisk and directed by Leslie Goodwins, from a screen play by Bert Granet: Gojd-Fair. "A Man to Remember," with Edward Ellis, Anne Shirley, and Lee Bowman, produced by Robert Sisk and directed by Garson Kanin, from a screen play by Dalton Trumbo : Good. "The Mad Miss Manton," with Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda, produced by P. J. Wolfson and directed by Leigh Jason, from a screen play by Philip G. Epstein: Good-Fair. "Tarnished Angel," with Sally Filers, Lee Bowman, and Ann Miller, produced by H. P. Fineman and directed by Leslie Goodwins, from a screen play by Jo Pagano: FairPoor. "Lawless Valley," with George O'Brien and Kay Sutton, produced by Bert Gilroy and directed by David Howard, from a screen play by Oliver Drake : Fair-Poor. "Annabel Takes a Tour," with Jack Oakie and Lucille Ball, produced by Lou Lusty and directed by Lew Landers, from the screen play by Bert Granet and Olive Cooper : Good-Fair. Nine pictures have already been released. Grouping the pictures of the different ratings from the beginning of the season, we get the following results: Good, 1 ; Good-Fair, 5; Fair, 1 ; Fair-Poor, 2. The first nine pictures in the 1937-38 season were rated as follows : Excellent-Good, 1 ; GoodFair, 1 ; Fair, 4; Fair-Poor, 3. 20th Century-Fox 1938-39 "Gateway," with Don Ameche and Arlenc Whelan, produced by Samuel G. Engel and directed by Alfred YYerker, from a screen play by Lamar Trotti : Good-Poor. "Keep Smiling," with Jane Withers, Gloria Stuart, and Henry Wilcoxon, produced by John Stone and directed by Herbert I. Leeds, from a screen play by Frances Hyland and Albert Ray : Good-Fair. "Alexander's Ragtime Band," with Alice Faye, Tyrone Power, and Don Ameche, produced by Harry Joe Brown and directed by Henry King, from a screen play by Kathryn Scola and Lamar Trotti : Excellent. "Speed To Burn," with Michael Whalen and Lynn Bari, produced by Jerry Hoffman and directed by Otto Browcr, from a screen play by Robert Ellis and Helen Logan : Fair. "My Lucky Star," with Sonja Henie and Richard Greene, produced by Harry Joe Brown and directed by Roy Del Ruth, from a screen play by Harry Tugend and Jack Yellen: Very Good-Fair. "Safety in Numbers," with Jed Prouty, Spring Byington, and Shirley Deane, produced by John Stone and directed by Malcolm St. Clair, from a screen play by Joseph Hoffman, Karen DeWolf and Robert Shapin: Fair. "Hold That Coed," with George Murphy, Marjorie Weaver, and John Barrymore, produced by David Hempstead and directed by George Marshall, from a screen play by Karl Tunberg, Don Ettlinger, and Jack Yellen : GoodFair. "Time Out For Murder," with Michael Whalen and Gloria Stuart, produced by Howard J. Green and directed by H. Bruce Humberstone, from a screen play by Jerry Cady : Good-Fair. "Straight, Place and Show," with the Ritz Brothers, Phyllis Brooks and Richard Arlen, produced by David Hempstead and directed by David Butler, from a screen play by M. M. Musselman and Allen Rivkin: Good-Fair. "Meet the Girls," with Lynn Bari and June Lang, produced by Howard J. Green and directed by Eugene Forde, from a screen play by Marguerite Roberts: Fair-Poor. "Five of a Kind," with the Dionnc Quintuplets, Jean Hersholt, Claire Trevor, and Cesar Romero, directed by Herbert I. Leeds, from a screen play by Lou Breslow and John Patrick: Good-Fair. "Mysterious Mr. Moto," with Peter Lorre, Mary Maguire and Henry Wilcoxon, produced by Sol M. Wurtze! and directed by Norman Foster, from a screen play by Phillip MacDonald and Norman Foster: Good-Fair. "Suez." with Tyrone Power, Loretta Young, and Annabella, produced by Gene Markey and directed by Allan Dwan. from a screen play by Philip Dunne and Julien Josephson : Very Good-Good. "Always in Trouble," with Jane Withers, Andrew Tombes, and Jean Rogers, produced by John Stone and directed by Joseph Santley, from a screen play by Karen DeWolf and Robert Chapin : Good-Fair. "Just Around the Corner," with Shirley Temple, Charles Farrell, and Joan Davis, produced by David Hempstead and directed by Irving Cummings, from a screen play bv Ethel Hill, J. P. McEvoy, and Darrell Ware: Very GoodGood. "Sharpshooters," with Brian Donlevy, Lynn Bari, and John King, produced by Sol M. Wurtzel and directed by James Tinling, from a screen play by Robert Ellis and Helen Logan : Fair. Sixteen pictures have already been released. Grouping the pictures of the different ratings from the beginning of the season, we get the following results : Excellent, 1; Very Good-Good, 2; Very Good-Fair, 1; Good-Fair, 7; Good-Poor, 1; Fair, 3; Fair-Poor, 1. The first sixteen pictures in the 1937-38 season were rated as follows : Excellent, 1 ; Excellent-Very Good, 1 ; Excellent-Good, 1 ; Very Good-Good, 2 ; Very Good-Fair, 1 ; Good-Fair, 4 ; Good-Poor, 2; Fair. 3; Fair-Poor, 1.