Motion Picture Reviews (1943)

Twelve MOTION PICTURE REVIEWS mother (Una O'Conner), is a pitiable figure who rises to a height of great spiritual strength at the end. Laughton is splendid; Miss OConnor equally fine. Walter Slezak plays the Nazi Major, who quotes the classics and is charmingly sophisticated so long as his orders are obeyed. Philip Merrivale does a fine bit as the Head of the school. Kent Smith, George Sanders and Maureen O Hara are excellent. The picture is an exceptional medium for expressing the philosophy of resistance, and Laughton's final message to his pupils, read from the preamble of the First French Constitution, the original Bill of Rights, is a magnificent interpretation of the meaning of liberty. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Excellent Excellent but mature TONIGHT WE RAID CALAIS <> O Annabeila, John Sutton, Lee J. Cobb, Beulah Bondi, Blanche Yurka, Howard Da Silva, Marcel Dalio, Ann Codee, Nigel de Brulier, Robert Lewis, Richard Derr, Leslie Denison, Billy Edmunds, Reginald Sheffield, John Banner. Screen play by Waldo Salt from original story by L. Willinger and Rohama Lee. Direction by John Braham. Produced by Andre Daven. 20th Century-Fox. The title of this picture seems rather misleading, but if Calais is not bombed another location is, and it is another story of heroic courage and sacrifice by people in an occupied country who are willing to give their lives if by so doing they can harass the enemy. Interest is held chiefly by the character actors who emerge as individuals, each motivated by his or her own philosophy of life; and by the beautiful photography of several scenes which are remarkable for their quality and composition. Musical background is also excellent. The plot tells of an English Commando who is sent into France near the coast in order to locate a secret munitions plant and to attempt to identify it for a night attack by the R.A.F. This he accomplishes with the cooperation of the villagers. While some of the action is not always entirely credible, the film is timely and exciting melodrama. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Matter of taste Very exciting TWO WEEKS TO LIVE O O Chet Lauck, Norris Goff, Franklin Pangborn, Kay Linaker, Irving Bacon, Herbert Rawlinson, Ivan Simpson, Evalyn Knapp, Rosemary La Planche, Tim Ryan, Oscar O'Shea. Original screen play by Michael L. Simmons and Roswell Rogers based on radio characters "Lum and Abner." Direction by Malcolm St. Clair. R.K.O. A comedy created for Lum and Abner in the same vein as their radio script provides a type of humor which in spite of its “corny” quality appeals to many. The technical valuues are more than adequate with emphasis on photographic composition. In the story Abner’s uncle leaves him a railroad, and with Lum’s help he adds a spur line to Pine Ridge which proves to be worthless, jeopardizing the investors’ money. In the midst of financial difficulties, Abner gets the mistaken idea that the doctor has given him “two weeks to live,” whereupon follows a series of wild schemes to recoup the townspeople’s losses with Abner willing to risk his supposedly worthless life. The film is pure “Lum and Abner.” Whether it entertains or not will be a matter of taste for any age. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 All right All right THE YOUNGEST PROFESSION <> O Virginia Weidler, John Carroll, Marta Linden, Agnes Moorehead, Edward Arnold, Ann Ayars, Dick Simmons, Jean Porter, Raymond Roe, Dorothy Morris, Scotty Beckett, Marcia Mae Jones, Sara Haden, Jessie Grayson and Lane Turner, Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Robert Taylor, William Powell. Screen play by George Oppenheimer, Charles Lederer and Leonard Spigelgass based on book by Lillian Day. Direction by Edward Buzzell. M-G-M. The youngsters in this story demonstrate the outrageous hysteria of autograph “hounds” and unless you have a phobia against this obsession you will enjoy their absurdities which are enlivened by the appearances of such notables as Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Lana Turner, Robert Taylor and William Powell. The girls and their dialogue are priceless. Unfortunately the plot involves a domestic crisis which is particularly unpleasant and badly motivated. It detracts from what otherwise would have been an original and delightful comedy. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Matter of taste Not recommended