Motion Picture Herald (Dec 1933–Mar 1934)

60 MOTION PICTURE HERALD February 10. 1934 daily papers today and was received by the greatest crowd I have had on a Saturday night. Played it on a weekend, and was a good spot for this picture. Fox has produced a high percentage of real pictures this year so far, and let's hope that they will keep it up. — Tony Balducci, Avon Theate, Canastota, N. Y. General patronage. MAD GAME, THE: Spencer Tracy, Ralph Morgan — Not a bad sort of picture. Interesting to the end. Business rushing past the door. Used special advertising but could not get them in. Played week before Christmas. Running time, 74 minutes. Played Dec. 18-19.— A. H. Edwards, Orpheum Theatre, Orwigsburg, Pa. Small town and rui'al patronage. MR. SKITCH: Will Rogers, Zasu Pitts— While I cannot say this was his best (as "State Fair" stands ahead of all his pictures) this is a natural for the small towns. Everybody went out feeling like they had been entertaine'd. Personally call it excellent. Miss Desmond f^ne. Played Jan. 21-22.— D. E. Fitton. Lyric Theate, Harrison, Ark. Small town patronage. MY LIPS BETRAY: Lilian Harvey, John Boles— A snappy little picture that drew a nice Sunday and Monday business. Lilian Harvey is cute and John Boles will draw the ladies. He only sings one song which is hardly enough to satisfy. Business good. Running time, eight reels. Played Dec. 10-11. — R. W. Hickman, Lyric Theatre, Greenville, 111. General patronage. MY UPS BETRAY: Lilian Harvey, John Boles— A dandy production. Business above aveage. Good singing, good story, good acting. You need not hide after showing this one. Running time, 79 minutes. Played Jan. 15.— A. H. Edwards, Orpheum Theatre. Orwigsburg, Pa. Small town and rural patronage. MY WEAKNESS: Lew Ayres, Lilian Harvey— Cannot class this as a big show. Just fair entertainment. Cannot imagine anyone being so dumb as Lilian Harvey was in this one. Did not draw. Played Dec. 23-24-25.— E. H. Malone, Community Theatre, Hammond,, Wis. Small town patronage. MY WEAKNESS: Lilian Harvey, Lew Ayres— This is a swell show. Good music and no risque dancing scenes. Can be played any night of the week and will satisfy. Patrons liked the show but they were so few that it was a pity to run the show. However, it was not the fault of the picture. Played week before Christmas and that kills any picture. Running time, 74 minutes. Played Dec. 20.— A. H. Edwards, Orpheum Theatre, Orwigsburg, Pa. Small town and rural patronage. OLSEN'S BIG MOMENT: El Bre'ndel, Walter Catlett— Full house with plenty for the second show but on bargain night. They seemed to get a kick out of this, in spots. I don't believe it is strong enough for anything but a double bill or else a bargain night. Running time, seven reels. Played Jan. 17-18. — Mayme P. Musselman, Princess Theatre, Lincoln, Kan. Small town patronage. OLSEN'S BIG MOMENT: El Brendel— I was afraid of this picture as the reports on it were somewhat disappointing. In my theatre, howevtT, it did a very satisfactory business and pleased almost one hundred per cent. Running time, 66 minutes. Played Jan. 1920.— W. J. Powell, Lonet Theatre, Wellington, Ohio. Small town and rural patronage. SHANGHAI MADNESS: Spencer Tacy, Fay Wray —Plenty of action. Made a good Saturday picture. Running time, 68 minutes. Played Dec. 23.— Albert S. Rains, Queen Theatre, Dallas, Texas. General patronage. SMOKY: Victory Jory— A swell horse western. Many thought it not as good as the book by Will James. But because of the many comparisons between the screen version and the book. I knew that for once my patrons were well satisfied. James' comments alongside "Smoky" were very good. — ^Tony Balducci, Avon Theatre, Canastota, N. Y. General patronage. SMOKY: Victor Jory, Irene Bentley, Will JamesExcellent Saturday show. The story of Smoky from the time he was foaled until old age. Story told by Will James. Grownups will e-njoy it. Played Jan. 20.— D. E. Fitton, Lyric Theatre, Harrison, Ark. Small town patronage. SMOKY: Victor Jory, Irene Bentley, Will James— The best animal picture ever made. An ideal Saturday night show. Small town exhibitors should get behind this and make themselves some money. Unfortunately, I did not know how good it was until I saw it the first night's showing in my theatre, and then it was too late. You'll have to go out and sell it to your country patrons if you expect to do more than normal business, as the book has not been so widely read. Running time. 65 minutes. Played Jan. 5-6.— W. J. Powell, Lonet Theatre, Wellington, Ohio. Small town and rural patronage. WALLS OF GOLD: Sally Eilers, Norman Foster— A good picture to better than average business. — C. M. Hartman, Liberty Theatre, Carnegie, Okla. Small town patronage. WALLS OF GOLD: Sally Eilers, Norman Foster— This picture followed "Hoopla" and is a far better production from every standpoint. Not exactly a family picture but the story had a moral to it. No adverse criticisms from the patrons. Running time, 70 minutes. Played Jan. 10.— A. H. Edwards, Orpheum Theatre, Orwigsburg, Pa. Small town and rural patronage. WALLS OF GOLD: Sally Eilers, Norman Foster, Ralph Morgan— Eilers only fair. Morgan and Foster very good. Well received. Good entertainment. Played Jan. 7-8.— Horn and Morgan, Star Theatre, Hay Springs, Neb. Small town patonage. WARRIOR'S HUSBAND, THE: Elissa Landi, David Manners— A fantastic production with excellent music and scenes and a lot of comedy. I got a poor print and this hurt the se'cond night attendance. Seemed to please my patrons, with the exception of the complaints about poor prints. Wish Fox would get some inspectors who would really inspect films before they send them out.— Gladys E. McArdle, Owl Theatre, Lebanon, Kan. Small town patronage. Majestic HEARTS OF HUMANITY: Jean Hersholt, Jackie Searle — One of the finest pictures it has ever been our privilege to run. Pictures of this type make friends for the theatre. Running time. 70 minutes. Played New Year's. — E. E. Warner, Opera House, Augusta, Wis. Small town and country patronage. WORLD GONE MAD, THE: Pat O'Brien, Evelyn Brent — A dandy picture. Just the right kind of a story at just the right time. Play it by all means. Your best people as well as the rougher element will say "It's a dandy picture." Running time, 80 minutes. Played Jan. 7. — E. E. Warner, Opera House, Augusta, Wis. Small town and country patronage. MGM BEAUTY FOR SALE: Madge Evans— Just another picture. Played midweek. — E. A. Reynolds, Strand Theatre, Princeton, Minn. Small town patronage. BLONDE BOMBSHELL, THE: Jean Harlow— Ten reels in a mad house. A wrangle from start to finish. Business poor. A few liked it. — C. M. Hartman, Liberty Theatre, Carnegie, Okla. Small town patronage. CHIEF, THE: Ed Wynn — This is good comexly and a family picture. Some regular patrons stayed away because they do not like Ed Wynn's style over the radio. Business was average, but if laughter is a criterion to go by, then "The Chief" was O.K. Running time, 66 minutes. Played Jan. 13. — A. H. Edwards, Orpheum Theatre, Orwigsburg, Pa. Small town and rural patronage. DANCING LADY: Joan Crawford, Clark Gable— This picture certainly didn't do the business that it was reasonable to expect. Joan seems to have lost her draw and Clark Gable has been miscast and shunted off to minor parts so many times that he's a "has been." It took too long to get this thing going and too many people have see-n the same old wings so many times that they are tired of them. There are two or three big numbers in this that are pletity good, but they don't save the picture for Joan. "Wasn't she ugly in this?" I don't know how many people I heard make that comment. We plugged it plenty, but didn't do much better than any ordinary program would have done. Played Jan. 14-15-16. — Mayme P. Musselman, Princess Theatre, Lincoln, Kan. Small town patronage. DANCING LADY: Joan Crawford, Clark Gable— If it wasn't for MGM I would have been out of business long ago. Not only do they give us good pictures but they don't want to take all. Played Dec. 12-13-14-1516. — SpeTo Latchis, Latchis Auditorium, Brattleboro, Vt. General patronage. DAY OF RECKONING: Richard Dix, Madge Evans — Here is a good picture for Satuday or any one day engagement. Hardly think it would stand up for two days or more. Richard Dix turns in a nice bit of acting. Played just before Christmas and business not so good. Running time, eight reels. Played Dec. 23.— R. W. Hickman, Lyric 'Theatre, Greenville, 111. General patronage. DAY OF RECKONING: Richard Dix, Madge Evans — Personally I cannot say anything against this picture. We had bad weather and receipts were e-xceptionally low. I did not notice any walk-outs but perhaps that was because it was raining fast. At any rate the cash customers did not pay the cost of the overhead, let alone any film bills. Then, too, it followed "Cliristopher Bean" which drew above average and this always means several poor nights following. Running time. 70 minutes. Played Jan. 22. — A. H. Edwards, Orpheum Theatre, Orwigsburg, Pa. Small town and rural patronage. DINNER AT EIGHT: Marie Dressier. Billie Burke. Jean Harlow, Wallace Beery. John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore — A really big picture with a great cast. Much better than "Grand Hotel." Acting is excellent and the story interesting throughout. Still not a small town picture unless you have more of the class of people who appreciate such entertainment than I have. Business was disappointing.— D. B. Fiske, Fiske Theatre, Oak Grove, La. Small town patronage. DINNER AT EIGHT: Marie Dressier, Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow, Billie Burke, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore — This is Metro's big picture and drew some extra business. To me, the picture is cheaply constructed. No big sets, not many people. About the only thing that would indicate a big outlay of money would be the high price stars and Jean Harlow's negligees. Running time, 110 minutes. Played Jan. 17-18-19.— R. W. Hickman, Lyric Theatre, Greenville, 111. General patronage. FAST WORKERS: John Gilbert, Mae Clarke— This is very poor entertainment. Just the type of picture that ruined John Gilbert and still Metro gives him more like it. One more and what little popularity he has will be gone. Played one day to fair business. Played Jan. 17. Running time, 66 minutes.— J. J. Medford, Orpheum Theatre, Oxford, N. C. General patronage. HER SWEETHEART (CHRISTOPHER BEAN): Mane Dressier, Lionel Barrymore— Here is a better picture than "Tugboat Annie." We ran it under conditions that were not favorable for making money, but I say it's a dandy picture. Changing the name from "The Late Christopher Bean" to "Her Sweetheart" may have had something to do with the small business, but if your patrons like Marie Dressier, they will not be disappointed. The whole cast is perfect, good story, good sound. Played Jan. 21-22-23.— S. H. Rich, Rich Theatre, Montpelier, Idaho. Town and rural patronage. HER SWEETHEART (CHRISTOPHER BEAN): Marie Dressier, Lionel Barrymore — This is a fine show but the humor is not broad enough to sink into the masses. The humor is subtle, the acting is great and everything is fine but somehow the masses do not get it. I knew for weeks in advance that business would not equal "Tugboat Annie." Business far above average. Running time, 87 minutes. Played Jan. 20. — A. H. Edwards, Orpheum Theatre, Orwigsburg, Pa. Small town and rural patronage. HOLD YOUR MAN: Jean Harlow, Clark GableTwo good stars in a mighty fine picture. Running time, 90 minutes. Played Jan. 13.— Albert S. Rains, Queen Theatre, Dallas, Texas. General patronage. LOOKING FORWARD: Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone — Played this one late. It is an exceptionally fine production worthy to show in the finest theatre. A clean picture and not exaggerted. Pictures like this would bring patrons to the theatres that now stay away. Fully 50% of the present day pictures insult the intelligence of the average person. Not so with "Looking Forward." Did not do a rushing business but it pleased. Nothing trashy about it. Running time, 70 minutes. Played Dec. 28. — A. H. Edwards, Orpheum Theatre, Orwigsburg, Pa. Small town and rural patronage. MEET THE BARON: Jimmy Durante, Jack Pearl — All I can say is that I showed this picture on New Year and I had good business matinee and night. In addition to a good turn-out, the patrons seemed to enjoy the picture. Jimmy Durante is still popular and justly so. Zasu Pitts is always welcome. Nothing outstanding about Jack Pearl; Jimmy pushed him through the picture from start to finish. Remember Jimmy made "Hell Below" an outstanding money making production. Running time, 65 minutes. Played Jan. 1. — A. H. Edwards, Orpheum Theatre, Orwigsburg, Pa. Small town and rural patronage. MEET THE BARON: Jack Pearl, Jimmy Durante —Good at the box office and got a lot of laughs. Some liked it and some, including the proprietor, did not. Went over good with the young folks but a little too silly for the more conservative. Running time, 65 minutes. Played Jan. 13-14.— Gladys E. McArdle, O^vl Theatre, Lebanon, Kan. Small town patronage. MIDNIGHT MARY: Ricardo Cortez, Loretta Young —An underworld picture that got the money. Played Dec. 31. — Albert S. Rains, Queen Theatre, Dallas, Texas. General patronage. NIGHT FLIGHT: Hele'n Hayes, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Clark Gable, Robert Montgomery — A man's picture. Tlie ladies didn't take to it. Average business. — C. M. Hartman, Liberty Theatre, Carnegie-, Okla. Small town patronage. NIGHT FLIGHT: John and Lionel Barrymore, Clark Gable, Helen Hayes, Robert Montgomery — The stars in this one should make money for you, but the picture is poor entertainmeTit. I hope that the day will come soon when the producers learn that it takes more than stars to make a good picture. This may go over well in the large towns, but here it is just another program picture that nobody wants to see. Played two days to only a fair business. Played January 15-16.— J. J. Medford, Orpheum Theatre, Oxford, N. C. GeneTal patronage. NIGHT FLIGHT: Helen Hayes, John and Lionel Barrymore, Clark Gable, Robert Montgomery— Business better than average. Aeroplane titles are popular here. The cast studded with star names also had its bearing on the attendance. To me the parts taken by the Barrymores seemed too minor and commonplace. Print was in poor condition and for some reason or other my sound outfit must be turned on all the way to make the dialogue audible with any MGM picture, and I have one of the two best makes on the market. Running time, 80 minutes. Played Dec. 29.— A. H. Edwards, Orpheum Theatre, Orwigsburg, Pa. Small town and rural patronage. PENTHOUSE: Warner Baxter, Myrna Loy— A picture that holds the interest of the patrons from start to finish. Good cast, good story, good photography and good at the box office. This kind of picture is worth two or three of the so-called "specials" that in lots of cases are just special prices and special flops. Running time, 91 minutes. Played Jan. 20-21. —Gladys E. McArdle, Owl Theatre, Lebanon, Kan. Small town patronage. PRIZEFIGHTER AND THE LADY, THE: Myrna Loy, Max Baer, Walter Huston— Did a very poor business with this one, although I will say it was the fault of the title. If you can get the patrons to ignore the prizefight title and come in, they will enjoy this production. My patrons do not fall for prizefight or