Motion Picture Reviews (1943)

MOTION PICTURE REVIEWS Eleven SPITFIRE O O Leslie Howard, David Niven, Rosamond John, Roland Culver, Ann Firth, David Horne, J. H. Roberts, Derrick DeMarne, Rosalyn Boulter, Erik Freund. Produced and directed by Leslie Howard. Samuel Goldwyn-English. RKO. Americans will join British audiences in sad regret that this will be Leslie Howard’s last film. It is a picture which you will wish to see, not only because of Howard’s sensitive performance, but because it is the fine biography of a great Englishman, the inventor R. G. Mitchell, who designed the famous Spitfire plane which saved England in the summer of 1941. It is a story of idealism rewarded by achievement. In following the life of Mitchell, we learn of the history of aviation from the last war to the present and of Mitchell’s dream of an improved plane, a swift, powerful, gull-like instrument of war, also of the obstacles presented by the Government opposed to consideration of war as even a remote possibility. Finally on a holiday trip to Germany, Mitchell sees the rising might of Naziism, and he returns determined to transfer his dream into reality. Through crucifying days of work the design is finished and planes come from the assembly line just in time to meet the challenge of the Luftwaffe. Mitchell sacrificed his life for his country as certainly as though he had been in the front fighting lines. The title under which the picture was released in England is “The First of the Few,” a fitting tribute to the planes as well as to the pilots, which inspired Winston Churchill’s famous words of praise. Leslie Howard’s performance is beautiful, and he is supported by a fine cast. The plot is rich in human values and quiet humor, but underneath is the solemnity of coming events. The film is definitely worth seeing. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Excellent Excellent SQUADRON LEADER X O O Eric Portman, Ann Dvorak, Fredric Richter, Barry Jones, Henry Oscar, Martin Miller, Beatrice Varley, Walter Fitzgerald. English film released by RKO. A Nazi ace impersonates a British Squadron Leader and allows himself to fall into the hands of the Belgians with the sole purpose of stirring up antagonism against the British. The loyal Belgians, however, protect him and arrange to have him sent safely to England. There justice takes its toll, for the Nazi dies in agony just when he thinks that he has fooled the English too. It is an absorbing plot made arresting because of the brilliant acting and personality of Eric Portman. The story is logical, the characters well drawn, and the action full of suspense. Photography is frequently superb, and an impressive musical score lends atmosphere. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Good Exciting STAGE DOOR CANTEEN O O Cheryl Walker, William Terry, Marjorie Riordan, Lon McAllister, Margaret Early, Michael Harrison, Dorothea Kent. Many stars of the screen and stage. Bands of Count Basie, Xavier Cugat, Benny Goodman, Kay Kyser, Guy Lombardo, and Freddy Martin. Original screen play by Delmer Daves. Direction by Frank Borzage. Produced by Sol Lesser in association with the American Theatre Wing. Sol Lesser-United Artists. Perhaps the chief importance of “Stage Door Canteen” lies in its record of what is being done to entertain the enlisted men in the armed forces, and it will remain as a permanent tribute to our current stars of stage and screen. The picture is typically American, offering the type of entertainment in vogue today, especially at soldier’s camps, with gay and joyous fun. There is a very human story about several soldiers and the girls they meet at the New York Canteen, made all the more realistic because these roles are not played by well-known personalities; they are just the sort of people one meets at any U.S.O., not glamorous, but fine American youths. Frank Borzage has given the tender, sympathetic touch in which he excells. The long list of stars precludes individual mention, but each definitely adds something to the picture. Although tastes may differ, one of the finest bits for many will be the sequence in which Katharine Cornell, while serving sandwiches, speaks the beautiful lines of the balcony scene from “Romeo and Juliet” with a boy who tells her he once played Romeo in a high school play. One of the boys dances with Helen Hayes: Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne make sallies at each other in the kitchen; Edgar Bergen puts on an act with Charlie McCarthy; Yehudi Menuhin holds the audience spellbound with “Ave Maria.” And so it goes. Most of the best known bands give excellent performances. It is a long film, packed with rousing entertainment, which should have wide appeal. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Very good Good but possibly too long