Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1947)

66 OUOTfS" What the Neiospaper Critics Say About Neu) Films 'Terils of Pauline'' Accorded High Praise The New York critics really let their hair down (although The Times' Bosley Crowther managed to maintain his dignity) in expressing their unconfined joy with Betty Hutton and "The Perils of Pauline."' Usually serious-minded Cecelia Ager of PM calls it "a bonanza of belly-laughs, a free-swinging comedy with no holds barred." She expresses appreciation of the fact that the picture turns sentimental near the end, since "this enables the audience to pick itself up off the aisles and go home." It gets Miss Ager's seldomaccorded double-check. In Hearst's Journal American, Rose Pelswick terms "Pauline" a "honey of a picture" with some sequences that are "hugely amusing," while Eileen Creelman of the Sun raves about Miss Button's great comedy performance: "She grabs hold of the picture and squeezes all possible entertainment out of it." High tribute is also paid the star by the Herald Tribune's THE UNFAITHFUL WARNER BROTHERS ' Cin and violence have rarely curdled in worse fashion .. .Has little to recommend it as entertainment. . .Almost no suspense ...As dull as lit is distasteful." — BARNES, N. Y. HERALD TRIBUNE. ' 'HPhe Unfaithful' is far from a total loss. It will reap a bourtiful harvest at the box office from the handkerchief brigade." — COOK, N. Y. WORLD TELEGRAM. " A nn Sheridan emerges as a strong dramatic actress. . .She gives a forceful moving portrayal in a soundly constructed tale of murder and of marriage .. Thundering good drama." — CREELMAN, N. Y. SUN. ,,'1 engthy, serious drama .. .Conversational for the most part, expensively mounted and heavy in theme and handling." — PELSWICK, N. Y. JOURNAL AMERICAN. "Cuper de luxe triple A production that spits out preachments . . Has an av/ful lot of story to zing through. . .Under the pres sure of its mission, the very film itself behaves as though it had dosed itself with benzedrine and marihuana both." — AGER, PM. MOSS ROSE 20TH CENTURY-FOX "/^ne of the most leisurely mysteries ever filmed, but with all its deliberation over detail, it does manage to sustain a tone of suppressed intensity and excitement." — COOK, N. Y. WORLDTELEGRAM. "Cpun out at a leisurely tempo, the film has effective mood and atmosphere and a good performance by young Miss Cummins. "—PELSWICK, N. Y. JOURNAL AMERICAN. "Cuave and absorbing mystery thriller, neatly plotted and deliciously played ... Splendid performance by Peggy Cummins. ' —CROWTHER, N. Y. TIMES. '■"\7ibrant personality of Ethel Barrymore sustains slowpaced melodrama .. .Has period atmosphere, ^considerable suspense and variegated action. Unfortunately the work has been filmed so haltingly that it takes all of Miss Barrymore's acting magic to held it in focus."— BARNES, N. Y. HERALD TRIBUNE, ""liilood and murder are equally important ... Settings are handsome and quite right for the mood of murder. 'Moss Rose' is quieter, slower than most melodramas." — ^CREELMAN, N. Y. SUN. "T-Jas all the regulation appurtenances — but with a higher polish because its three stars make it an important production,. .Excellent is its choice of stars." — AGER, PM. NEW ORLEANS UNITED ARTISTS "T ouis 'Satchmo" Armstrong fans and the Woody Herman en thusiasts will find this one solid ... Music in the film is its principal attraction, but the story that goes with it is spun out pleasantly enough.""— PELSWICK, N. Y. JOURNAL AMERICAN. "par-from-inspired screen endeavor to trace the birth and evolution of jazz... A fizzle in every respect but one. That is the frequent tooting of Louis Armstrong.'" — CROWTHER, N. Y. TIMES. .A.'^ that is lacking is a sustained thread of entertainment to keep one engrossed in the variety of hot licks. For a jazz enthusiast 'New Orleans' will prove comparatively rewarding." — BARNES, N. Y. HERALD TRIBUNE. Howard Barnes, who admits that Betty has never been one of his favorite actresses, but credits her with "a remarkably versatile performance. . .The zeal with which she engages in the wildest sort of slapstick acrobatics is matched by her steady and restrained handling of the straight portions." Mr. Crowther of the Times utters a mild note of complaint that "Perils of Pauline" fails to live up to its promise to be a true biography of the old serial queen. Pearl White, or a legitimate rertection of the early days of movie-making. However, putting aside the question of authenticity, he finds that the picture "is certf.in to tickle the funnybone." Archer Winsten gives "Pauline" a Good-Plus on the Post's I.Iovle Meter, saying that in some sequences the laughter "reaches gale proportions." As for the star: "There's a rude, raw vitality about that Hutton girl that breaks the boundaries of any ordinary ■Olatant thing to one whose ear is not sympathetically attuned to jazz, blues, swing or whatever you choose to call it... Largely an excuse for presenting nearly two hours of cacophony by Louis Armstrong and his band and a few numbers in slightly more restrained tone by Woody Herman and his orchestra." — WYER, N. Y. SUN. "X_Jas some good blues singing and some good jazz playing in the early reels and that about sums up what entertainment there is. . .One of the great stories of American folklore, the start of jazz music, is reduced to commonplace romance in this picture."—COOK, N. Y. WORLD-TELEGRAM. DARK DELUSION METRO-GOLDWYN-JVLVYER ""T^he latest film in Metro's Dr. Gillespie series ... turns the Rialto into a silo... Story is as grainy as they come, and it grows tall on hackneyed props. . .Palatable as it may be to its particular fans, as motion picture drama it is strictly off the cob." — GUERNSEY, N. Y. HERALD TRIBUNE. "■^Tot only true to tradition but is also concerned with afflictions currently striking the fancy of film producers. . .Treats largely of schizophrenia and post traumatic psychosis, with such popular c'.inical asides as narcosynthesis, guilt complexes and true kleptomania thrown in gratis... But for all of its trimmings the good doctor's dogged researches seemed familiar, routine, mildly satisfving and not particularly exciting." — WEILER, N. Y. TIMES. "As one of the dyed-in-the-wool fans of this series we're glad to wslcome back the bunch at Blair. We find them a warmt engaging, enterprising crowd — not lacking in humor, either." — THIRER, N. Y. POST. REPEAT PERFORMANCE EAGLE-LION "T^ramatic hocus-pocus ..Is even harder upon the nervous sys•^"^ tem than the summer's first merciless heat... Not only is dramatic credibility completely lacking in all this stew but the whole thing is done with such pretension that even the possible salve of ridicule is missed." — CROWTHER, N. Y. TIMES. "An intriguing premise, the plot is sometimes fuzzy and careless on detail ... Suspense is well sustained and the film has emotional persuasion." — MASTERS, N. Y. DAILY NEWS, "■pretentious, high flown melodrama in the old style made sfll more ponderous by interludes of philosophic discussion." — COOK, N. Y. WORLD TELEGRAM. "T^ialogue and situations, far from adorning the philosophic kernel of thought, smother it in a monotonous alternation of strident emotion and brittle, unsuccessful wit." — WINSTEN, N. Y. POST. "I" udicrously awful.. Reminiscent of the silent screen at its worft .. .Pretentious, implausible and very hard to take." — BARNES, N. Y. HERALD TRIBUNE. "T^espite its pedestrian treatment, the suspense inherent in the '-^ question sticks. Though it has neither style, irony, nor point of view, and accords no cerebral satisfaction, 'Repeat Performance' does compel attention." — AGER, PM. "fnteresting film, well told, well acted ... Entertaining excursion into thp melodrama of the real and the unreal." — CREELMAN, N. Y. SUN. JULY 2 1, 19 4 7 27