Hollywood (Jan - Mar 1943)

Important Pictures [Continued from page 73] Deborah Ker THE AVENGERS •** Paramount I The Avengers is another timely war film to come out of England. It deals with Norwegian resistance to fcthe Nazis expressed in a wide-spread underground movement, and is climaxed by an exciting Commando raid on Norway by British troops guided by loyal natives. Hugh Williams is an English newspaper man who had been stationed in Norway before the war and possesses secret information about Nazi activities there. When the war starts he is sent back to sabotage German movements, and is helped in this work by Deborah Kerr, a Norwegian girl in love with him. Miss Kerr is blond and lovely, as well as a capable actress. Some of the final shots are documentary, having been filmed during an actual Commando raid on the Norwegian coast. As a technical fault of the film, it is slow-moving and takes a while getting started. You'll enjoy the action, however, at the climax of the film. NIGHTMARE **H Universal ■ Murder and mystery are mixed with Nazi intrigue in an attempt to make Nightmare an eery melodrama, but they succeed in presenting only a fairly entertaining, and at times confusing, film. As Diana Barrymore's latest offering, it could hardly be termed her best. Brian Donlevy, an American gambler in London, manages to get both a Nazi spy ring and Scotland Yard after him, when he unwillingly helps Diana escape a murder charge. Sometimes slowmoving, and at best unconvincing, the film is patterned on the current crop of spy thrillers. It might be summed up in the words of the Scotland Yard man who remarks to Donlevy at the end of the picture, "We might have solved this case days ago if you hadn't interfered." LUCKY JORDAN **i/2 Paramount ■ Alan Ladd delivers his usual well-rounded performance in this rather hackneyed gangster story, brought up to date by injecting Nazi spy activities into the well-worn plot. Ladd is again cast as a gangster who, in the final reel, goes straight. He fails in his attempt to evade the draft, but later es 74 Brian Donlevy Helen Walker capes from the Army camp to rejoin his gang. He kidnaps a canteen worker, who is trying to reform him. In the meantime, the gang has turned fifth columnist and is delivering military information over to the Nazis. Ladd goes patriotic, doublecrosses his former pals, turns them over to the FBI and returns happily to the Army. Unfortunately, Ladd seems to be definitely typed for gangster roles. He has much ability which could be used more broadly. Helen Walker is a newcomer who does exceedingly well in the part of the canteen worker. Mable Paige is outstanding in her role of the genial drunk, posing as Ladd's mother. This makes for an evening's entertainment. Miniature Reviews •••* MRS. MINIVER (M-G-M) Cast: Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Teresa Wright. Jan Struther's best seller adapted into a vibrant, poignant film that brings the war home. Showing how the English people can take it, it's one of the finest war films to date. Greer Garson is a good bet for the Academy Award. ROAD TO MOROCCO (Paramount) Cast: Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour. The latest of the side-splitting Road series is the funniest yet. Bob and Bing vie for Dottie's affection in an African locale. Loaded with laughs. THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES (R-K-O) Cast: Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright. The life story of Lou Gehrig, who rose to the heights of baseball glory only to meet a tragic death at the pinnacle of his fame. Teresa Wright is outstanding as Mrs. Gehrig. Babe Ruth makes his screen debut as himself. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (Warners) Cast: James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston. A rousing tribute to that grand old man of the American theater, George M. Cohan, portrayed by Cagney who was never better. All the famous Cohan songs. • ••'/2 HOLIDAY INN (Paramount) Cast: Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale. Great entertainment bubbling over with Crosby's crooning, Astaire's dancing and Irving Berlin's melodies. All about an inn opened only on holidays. Excellent performance by a talented newcomer, Marjorie Reynolds. MY SISTER EILEEN (Columbia) Cast: Rosalind Russell, Janet Blair, Brian Aherne. The adventures of two small-town girls in Greenwich Village, N. Y. A comedy tale that everyone will love. NOW, VOYAGER (Warners) Cast: Bette Davis, Paul Henreid. A psychiatric study of a frustrated, dowdy woman who transforms herself into a glamorous figure, and falls madly in love with a man she can never have. Stark drama. TALES OF MANHATTAN (20th CenturyFox) Cast: Charles Boyer, Rita Hayworth. Ginger Rogers, Henry Fonda. Star-studded film depicting adventures of a tail coat as it is handed down from one character to the other, bringing fortune or disgrace to the wearer. Each episode of the story is complete in itself. The huge and glittering cast is awe-inspiring. THE BLACK SWAN (20th Century-Fox) Cast: Tyrone Power, Maureen O'Hara, George Sanders. A blood and thunder adventure story of the Spanish Main in the days of the buckaneers and pirates. Fast action and brilliant color photography. THE MOON AND SIXPENCE (United Artists) Cast: George Sanders, Herbert Marshall, Doris Dudley. The story of a man who scorned society by leaving his family, breaking up other men's homes and running off to the South Seas to devote his life to painting, only to be destroyed by his own obsession. THE NAVY COMES THROUGH (R-K-O) Cast : George Murphy, Pat O'Brien, Jane Wyatt. A splendid salute to the brave boys of the Merchant Marine is this exciting yarn of a gun crew on a sub-chasing expedition. THUNDER BIRDS (20th Century-Fox) Cast: Gene Tierney, Preston Foster, John Sutton. Thrilling Technicolor picturization of the air corps in training. Filmed at the Thunder Bird Air Field in Arizona. Gene is breathtaking in color. WHITE CARGO (M-G-M) Cast: Hedy Lamarr, Walter Pidgeon, Richard Carlson. A sultry tale of the white man's disintegration in the tropics. Hedy Lamarr cavorts becomingly, clad only m copper-colored greasepaint and a lurong. ••• FLYING TIGERS (Republic) Cast: John Wayne, John Carroll, Anna Lee. A grand tribute to those brave sky adventurers of the Burma Road, the AVG. Wonderful air shots, action and excitement. FOR ME AND MY GAL (M-G-M) Cast: Judy Garland, George Murphy, Gene Kelly. Judy was never better in this story of vaudeville and the first World War. Introduces Gene Kelly, who has a big future. Songs and dances. GEORGE WASHINGTON SLEPT HERE (Warners) Cast: Jack Benny, Ann Sheridan. A city slicker and his wife move into a country farmhouse and the result is an amusing comedy situation. ICELAND (20th Century-Fox) Cast: Sonja Heme, John Payne. Just to watch Sonja Heme twirl over the ice is, worth the price of admission. An adequate story but secondary to the skating sequences. THE TALK OF THE TOWN (Columbia) Cast: Ronald Colman, Jean Arthur, Cary Grant. You won't want to miss this combination in an exciting and credible story of a fugitive from justice who seeks refuge in the home of a school teacher. THE WAR AGAINST MRS. HADLEY (MG-M) Cast: Fay Bainter, Jean Rogers, Van Johnson. A rich widow who refuses to face the realities of the world at war is finally brought to her senses by the example of her friends and family. An apt and moving study. WAKE ISLAND (Paramount) Cast: Brian Donlevy, Robert Preston, Macdonald Carey. The thrilling factual story of the heroic defense of Wake Island against the Japs. Very stirring. YOU WERE NEVER LOVELIER (Columbia) Cast: Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Adolphe Menjou. Colorful musical romance in a South American setting. Highlighted by Astaire's superb stepping. ••Va SEVEN DAYS' LEAVE (R-K-O) Cast: Lucille Ball, Victor Mature. Tuneful musical concerning mishaps of a soldier who has seven days' leave from the Army to fulfill requirements of a will, including marrying the girl. THE FOREST RANGERS (Paramount) Cast: Paulette Goddard, Fred MacMurray, Susan Hay ward. It's chief attraction is a forest fire in Technicolor. Otherwise only fair. THE GLASS KEY (Paramount) Cast: Alan Ladd, Brian Donlevy, Veronica Lake. A mystery yarn complete with gangsters, crooked politicans and a couple of murders. William Bendix is excellent. THE HARD WAY (Warners) Cast: Ida Lupino; Dennis Morgan, Joan Leslie. The dramatic study of a shrewd woman who uses her young sister to further her selfish ambition. Excellent portrayal by Ida Lupino. WHO DONE IT? (Universal) Cast: Abbott and Costello, Patric Knowles. Those two zanies cut loose again, this time in a radio murder mystery, which they do more to complicate than solve. Youngsters will love this. Crosswword Puzzle Solution D 0 G S 1 0 C D ' 1 T R 1 C H B A S s T R E A T L E L E N D P A 1 R T 0 T S S U N E L T H 0 u G H T A N S 0 B E s O F L A C 0 0 G B A T E N R S B R 1 A R 1 M 0 T E N A L D 0 N A F T E E T Y G A S T N A E L A N D U R T R R A 0 D 0 U R G K L 1 E A R E N o 0 A S T A «-|