Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1947)

SHORT SUBJECTS reviews and synopses (Running times are those quoted by the distributors.) MAGIC TOWN (RKO Radio-Robert Riskin) PRODUCER: Robert Riskin. DIRECTOR: William A. Wellman. PLAYERS: James Stewart, Jane Wyman, Wallie Ford, Ned Sparks, Jimmy Crane. SMALL-TOWN DRAMA. A poll expert discovers a town which is a barometer of national opinion. He goes there to exploit it, and falls in love with a local girl. She discovers the reason for his visit, and the story about the town gets out. A boom begins, but this artificial stimulation changes the people's opinions, and presently the inflation brought about by the town's sudden publicity collapses. The pollster helps the town recover, thus regaining the girl and the people's respect. I WONDER WHO'S KISSING HER NOW (20th Century-Fox) PRODUCER: George Jessel. DIRECTOR: Lloyd Bacon. PLAYERS: June Haver, Mark Stevens, Reginald Gardiner, Martha Stewart, Reed Hadley, Gene Nelson, Harry Seymour, Lewis Russell. MUSICAL DRAMA. Based on the life of Joseph Howard, fin-de-siecle composer, this picture shows his struggles to establish himself as a song-writer. Three women are of prime importance in his career: the first, a musical-comedy star who befriends him; the second, another star with whom he becomes infatuated, but who deserts him at a critical moment; the third, the niece of his guardian, who loves him from childhood on. When at last she grows up and becomes a star in her •own right, he realizes that she is no longer a child, and he falls in love with her. THAT'S MY MAN (Republic) PRODUCER-DIRECTOR: Frank Borzage. PLAYERS: Don Ameche, Catherine McLeon, Roscoe Karnes, Joe Frisco, Kitty Irish. RACE-TRACK DRAMA. An accountant buys a thoroughbred, and gets a job at Hollywood Park in order to devote his time to training the horse, 'which he believes will be a winner. Meanwhile, he attempts other forms of gambling, at all of which he is successful. He marries and has a son. His wife disapproves of gambling, and the two are separated. The gambler is wiped out in a poker game, and decides to give up gambling. His wife enters the horse in the Hollywood Gold Cup Race. The horse wins, and husband and wife are reconciled. THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR (20th CenturyFox) PRODUCER: Fred Kohlmar. DIRECTOR: Joseph Mankiewicz. PLAYERS: Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, Richard Ney, Edna Best, Robert Coote, Natalie Wood, Isobel Elsom, Victoria Home. FANTASY. A widow in straitened circumstances rents a house on the Cornish coast, only to discover that it is haunted by the ghost of its former owner, a sea-captain. He dictates to her a book which subsequently becomes a bestseller, thus ending her financial difficulties. When the widow becomes emotionally involved with a worthless artist, the ghost breaks up the affair. Many years later, the widow dies, and joins the sea-captain in another world. MOTHER WORE TIGHTS (20th CenturyFox) PRODUCER: Lamar Trotti. DIRECTOR: Walter Lang. PLAYERS: Betty Grable, Dan Dailey, Jr., Mona Freeman, Anabel Shaw, Connie Marshall, Michael Dunne, William Frawley. MUSICAL COMEDY. Laid at the turn of the century, this is the story of the life and career of a chorus girl who marries a comedian. As their two daughters grow up, the girls are temporarily ashamed of their theatrical background, but eventually realize that the matter is of little intrinsic importance. OUT WEST (Col.) Ail-Star Comedy (8406) The Three Stooges are out in the wild and woolly West in a satire on Westerns. One of the boys has a throbbing vein in his leg, the villains of the piece think that the vein refers to a vein of gold and the story goes on from there with the Stooges capturing the outlaws just before the U. S. Cavalry arrives. Release date, April 24, 1947 \7l/2 minutes ICE SKIPPERS (RKO Radio) Sport scope (74,307) At Lake Winnebago, largest lake in Wisconsin, ice-boating is a flourishing sport during the winter months. For the Pathe cameraman the ice-boats are put through their paces by their skippers. Release date, March 7, 1947 8 minutes CUE TRICKS (Col.) Sport Reels (8806) Irving Crane and Ruth McGinnis, the world's male and female pocket billiard champions, perform trick shots for Columbia's cameras. For an extra-added attraction there is Jimmy Cattrano, eight-year-old billiard player. Release date, February 20, 1947 9 minutes BUDDY MORROW AND HIS ORCHESTRA (Col.) Thrills of Music (89S6) Buddy Morrow, his trombone and his orchestra, and Gloria King, vocalist, beat out "You Go to My Head," "Not in Front of All These People" and "Lullaby." Ronnie and Rey contribute a jitterbug routine. Release date, February 27, 1943 9yi minutes SWEET AND LOW (Paramount) Musical Parade (FF6-1) Catherine Craig and Richard Webb, in a husband and wife role, invite friends to their home for a masquerade party. During the festivities various entertainers perform for the guests during which the song, "June in January," is sung. Release date, March 28, 1947 19 minutes ZULULAND (20th Century-Fox) Movietone Adventures (7256) The customs and traditions of the Zulus, tribal people of Africa, are explained and depicted in the subject. In Technicolor, Ed Thorgersen narrates. Release date, June 6, 1947 8 minutes COMMUNITY SING (Col.) No. 5 (8655) The Song Spinners and Dick Leibert at the organ join forces to present such tunes as: "Rumors Are Flying," "Either It's Love Or It Isn't," "There's Nothing the Matter With Me that A Kiss Can't Cure," "Pity the Poor Lobster" and "Stars Fell on Alabama." Release date, January 23, 1947 10 minutes SUMMER TRAILS (20th CenturyFox) Sports Reviews (7352) The subject covers the trail of four lads through the beautiful Pocono Mountain country around Buckhill Falls in Pennsylvania. Pausing for some fishing, the trail continues to Wellsboro, the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. Release date, November 8, 1946 8 minutes HOLIDAY IN LAS VEGAS (Col.) Screen Snapshots (8857) A camera-eye view on tour of Las Vegas, Nevada. Such Hollywood stars as Brian Aherne, Belita, Cathy Carter, Ginny Simms and Joan Edwards are seen clambering about Boulder Dam. Release date, March 13, 1947 10 minutes FLICKER FLASHBACKS (RKO Radio) No. 5 (74205) Utilizing some scenes from "The Beggar's Coin," a Pathe production made in 1907, and "The Venetian's Revenge," which has to do with the eternal triangle, the subject also brings to the audience a few shots of spring fashions from Paris taken by Pathe news in 1929. Release date, February 28, 1947 8 minutes UNDER WHITE SAILS (Paramount) Sportlight (R6-7 Sailing enthusiasts will delight in seeing this Sportlight of fresh and salt water sail-boating. Ranging from dinghies to square riggers, the reel follows the activities of skippers and crews and their adventures. Release date, February 28, 1947 9 minutes HALF-WIT'S HOLIDAY (Col.) All Star Comedy (8404) On a $1,000 bet, a psychologist sets out to convert the Three Stooges into polished gentlemen. After 60 days of training, the trio make their laugh-getting debut into society. Release date, January 9, 1947 \7l/2 minutes HARVEST OF THE SEA (20th-Fox) Movietone Adventures (7203) The village of Namu in Canada's British Columbia is a community that derives its entire livelihood from fishing. Here is detailed the preparation involved in setting out to sea. Included also are scenes of the sponge-fishing boats at Tarpon Springs, Florida, where a colony of Greeks made a living from diving for sponges. Release date, July 4, 1947 9 minutes ABUSEMENT PARK (Paramount) Popeye the Sailor (£6-1) Against a carnival grounds setting, Popeye again tangles with his old rival Bluto. In a breath-taking climax, Popeye is rescued by his can of spinach. Release date, April 25, 1947 7 minutes FRIGHT NIGHT (Col.) All-Star Comedy (8405) The Three Stooges, in the guise of fight managers, are warned by Big Mike, a gangster, that their fighter, Chopper, had better lose his fight with Gorilla Watson — or else. When the Stooges_ won't cooperate, Big Mike takes them for a ride. Release date, March 6, 1947 17 minutes RESCUE DOG (RKO Radio) Walt Disney Cartoon (64,116) Far up in the snow-capped mountains Pluto plays the role of a rescue dog. He loses his keg of liquor, finds it again, loses himself through a hole in the ice, is rescued by a baby seal and is then revived by his own brandy. Release date, March 21, 1947 7 minutes MOTION PICTURE HERALD, APRIL 5, 1947 3563