Motion Picture Herald (Nov-Dec 1946)

all members of the cast having their say at length, and finally they decide not to get the divorce after all. Talkativeness is the principal count against the picture, although the dialogue is of better grade than most, and contains some lines reflecting keen observation. Previewed at the studio. Reviewer's Rating : Average. — William R. Weaver. .Release date, not set. Running time, 87 min. PCA No. 11421. General audience classification. Jenny Williams Loretta Young Dale Williams David Niven Nona Griffith, Eddie Albert, Virginia Field, Jerome Cowan, Rita Johnson, Nana Bryant, Charles Ruggles, Luella Gear, Howard Freeman, Zasu Pitts My Brother Talks to Horses MGM— Whimsy Under Handicap Whimsy fans and horse addicts who've come to know Morton Thompson's fascinating little tale about his brother who had the gift of conversing with horses, plus the admirers of Butch Jenkins and Peter Lawford, presumably make up the public for which this picture is intended. Exploitation directed accordingly may be undertaken with assurance that the original Thompson tale, in all its charm, is told again in the picture; and it's not, perhaps, positively mandatory that the advertising copy mention additional story material, evidently supplied to make running time, which handicaps the whimsy all but fatally. For this or whatever reason, observation of the reaction of a preview audience at the traditionally responsive Village theatre in Westwood, Cal., prompts pessimistic speculation as to the commercial prospects of the property. The picture tells, as did the original tale, how a boy of nine years conversed with race horses (and others) so understandingly that he always knew, for instance, which one was going to win a given race. This enabled his brother and some other people to do right well at the track, and then one day, as the little boy began to understand about death and girls and how a chicken lays an egg, he found out he had lost the gift of communication, and that was the end of that. This is done in the picture about as it was in the story, with Butch giving one of his best performances, but the picture also contains a welter of additional material (some gamblers, a family like the one in "You Can't Take It With You," a boy-girl romance, etc.) which classifies as additional in the sense of quantity only. Overlong for the subject, and oddly assorted as to content, the script is charged to the author himself. Production is by Samuel Marx and direction by Fred Zinnemann. Previewed at the Village theatre, Westwood. where a midweek audience dwindled somewhat as the picture progressed. Reviewer's Rating : Average. — W. R. W. Release date, not set. Running time, 94 min. PCA No. 11734. General audience classification. Lewie Penrose "Butch" Jenkins Jon Penrose Peter Lawford Beverly Tyler, Edward Arnold, Charles Ruggles, Spring Byington, O. Z. Whitehead, Paul Langton, Ernest Whitman, Irving Bacon, Lillian Yarbo, Howard Freeman, Harry Hayden Singin' in the Corn Columbia — Canova Comedy There are entertaining moments in this film for audiences desiring the type of comedy and music with which Judy Canova is identified. The star is supported by Allen Jenkins as her straight man. When Judy Canova, working as a fortune teller with a circus troupe, learns she is to inherit some property, she heads west. When she arrives at the desert ghost town she finds there is a stipulation in the will that she must return the town to its rightful owner, an Indian tribe, before she receives the inheritance. However, there is a group of gamblers led by Hon est John Richards, played by Alan Bridge, who will gain possession of the town if it is not returned to the Indians. The Red Men believe the town is haunted and refuse to accept it. In the race against time, Judy is successful and the Indians accept the town and she gains her inheritance. Ted Richmond produced and Dell Lord directed. Seen at New York projection room. Reviewer's Rating : Average. — M. R. Y. Release date, December 26, 1946. Running time, 68 min. PCA No. 11961. General audience classification. Judy McCoy Judy Canova Glen Cummings Allen Jenkins Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Alan Bridge, Charles Halton, Robert Dudley, Nick _ Thompson, Frances Rey, George Chesebro, Ethan Laidlaw, Frank Lackeen, Singing Indian Braves Susie Steps Out UA-Comet — Comedy with Songs Producers Buddy Rogers and Ralph Cohn, in pursuit of their policy of making light comedies in hour-long packages, come up in this (their second) with a tale about an adolescent girl who masquerades as older in order to earn money for the household when her father loses his job through illness. It's homey stuff at bottom, although an overlay of content pertaining to her singing in a night club and ultimately becoming a television star is the portion that gives the picture life and sparkle. Nita Hunter is the newcomer seen as Susie, and David Bruce is the best known name in the cast. The time is now and the place Hollywood, where Susie's sister works at an advertising agency job and is in love with a crooner. Susie, failing to crash the portals of radio, hires out to a night club, pretending to be older than she is, and complications accruing from that deception involve principally the crooner and the sister, who is played by Cleatus Caldwell. Reginald LeBorg directed from a screenplay by Elwood Ullman based on an original by LeBorg and Kurt Neumann. Previewed at the studio. Reviewer's Rating : Average. — W. R. W. Release date, December 13, 1946. Running time, 65 minutes. PCA No. 11834. General audience classification. Susie Nita Hunter Jeffrey David Bruce Cleatus Caldwell, Howard Freeman, Grady Sutton, Margaret Dumont, Percival Vivian, John Berkes, Joseph J. Greene Boston Blackie and the Law Columbia — Murder Mystery Chester Morris plays the title role in a Boston Blackie film for the eleventh consecutive time. Here he portrays a con man who turned straight. The murder mystery plot moves rapidly from one exciting incident to another. Trudy Marshall, as the magician's assistant, Constance Dowling as the girl who escaped from prison, and Richard Lane, as Inspector Farraday, give good performances. While Boston Blackie holds a magic show for the inmates of a woman's penitentiary, one of the girls escapes. Boston Blackie is suspected of being an accomplice and in an effort to clear himself he locates the girl. The girl was one time an assistant to a famous magician who was involved in a theft. The young woman escaped to get her share of the money, but the magician's new assistant also knew about the money. Two murders are committed and the circumstantial evidence points to Boston Blackie, but he cleverly secures a confession from the murderess and clears himself. The original screenplay by Harry J. Essex is based on characters created by Jack Boyle. Ted Richmond produced and D. Ross Lederman directed. Seen at a Nezv York projection room. Reviewer's Rating: Average. — M. R. Y. Release date, December 12, 1946. Running time, 69 min. PCA No. 11963. General audience classification. Boston Blackie Chester Morris Trene Trudy Marshall Dinah Moran Constance Dowling ADVANCE SYNOPSES > SANTA FE UPRISING (Republic) PRODUCER: Sidney Picker. DIREC | TOR: R G. Springsteen. PLAYERS: Al | lan Lane, Bobby Blake, Martha Wentworth, ' Barton MacLane, Jack LaRue, Tom Lon [ don, Dick Curtis, Forrest Taylor. WESTERN. The cattle owners of Bitter : Springs are having their herds rustled and their own lives endangered by a band of outlaws. The ranchers join together and petition Allan Lane, in the role of Red Ryder, to take the job of town marshal. He accepts, encounters numerous difficulties but finally captures the gang. SIOUX CITY SUE (Republic) ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: Arm and Schaefer. DIRECTOR: Frank McDonald. PLAYERS: Gene Autry, Lynn Roberts, Sterling Holloway, Richard Lane, Ralph Sanford, Ken Lundy, Helen Wallace, Pierre Watkin. MUSICAL WESTERN. A girl, _ talent scout for a motion picture studio, tricks a singing cowboy into lending his voice to be used in an animated cartoon featuring a donkey. When the cowboy, who had expected to be starred, learns of the trick, he ' retreats to his ranch. Later a studio executive comes across his screen test, and decides to star him after all. The girl is unable to persuade the cowboy to return to Hollywood until she learns of a plot to drown his cattle. Her timely warning convinces the cowboy of her good intentions, and he signs the proffered contract. SHORT SUBJECTS HAIL NOTRE DAME (RKO Radio) Sportscope (74302) In South Bend, Indiana, stands one of America's famous universities, Notre Dame. This subject, however, places its emphasis not on education but football. It shows Frank Leahy carrying on the coaching tradition of Knute Rockne. The reel ends with a game with the University of Illinois. Release date, October 18, 1946 9 minutes EQUESTRIAN QUIZ (MGM) Pete Smith Specialties (S-759) The horsey set gives Pete Smith inspiration for his latest quiz. He comes up with a series of information puzzlers about equines. 10 minutes PARDON MY TERROR (Col.) All Star Comedy (8421) Gus Schilling and Dick Lane, as two private detectives, go off in a hunt for clues in the murder of wealthy Jonas Morton. They encounter sliding panels, a living corpse and other impedimenta but in a hilarious climax catch their criminals. Release date, September 12, 1946 16^4 minutes BIKINI, THE ATOM ISLAND (MGM) Miniatures (M-784) Bikini natives are shown in a dramatic presentation of the evacuation from their homes for the atom bomb tests. Carey Wilson is author and narrator. Production by Fred Quimby. Release date, June 15, 1946 -10 minutes SO'S YOUR ANTENNA (Col.) All Star Comedy (8432) When real gangsters overhear Harry Von Zell's radio program on which he plays a hoodlum, they envisage him as an accomplice for their crimes. Harry accepts their offer, thinking it an acting role. The consequences that follow are hilarious. Release date. October 10, 1946 17 minutes 3322 PRODUCT DIGEST SECTION. NOVEMBER 23, 1946