Motion Picture Reviews (1943)

MOTION PICTURE REVIEWS Nine VICTORY THROUGH AIR POWER O O Adapted from Alexander de Seversky's book. Walt Disney. R.K.O. “Victory Through Air Power” proves the effectiveness of visual education as history comes alive on the screen. Through the use of animated maps and diagrams, it gives us a comprehensive and clarified understanding of the world at war. Not only is it a masterly exposition of de Seversky’s theory that air power will be the deciding factor in crushing our enemies, but it is also delightful entertainment, colored throughout with Walt Disney’s incomparable sense of the comic. The film begins with a deliciously humorous history of the airplane, presenting the highlights of man’s astonishing feat in conquering the air. Next maps and diagrams give a graphic picture of Germany’s use of aircraft, convoy routes of the Allies are contrasted with the compact routes of the Axis Powers, and finally Japan is pictured as a giant octopus with its tentacles drawing in material to sustain its needs. The smashing finale is de Seversky’s plea for giant long-range bombers to demolish the heart of Japan and the life centers of Germany. Adults will find the film tremendously interesting, and school children will not only delight in the comedy but will also get a clear understanding of history and the progress of the war to date. It is an outstanding production, recommended to everyone’s attention. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Excellent Excellent ❖ WATCH ON THE RHINE O O Bette Davis, Paul Lukas, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Lucile Watson, Beulah Bondi, George Coulouris, Donald Woods, Henry Daniell Donald Buka, Eric Roberts, Janis Wilson, Mary Young, Kurt Katch, Erwin Kaiser, Robert O. Davis, Clyde Fillmore, Frank Wilson, Clarence Muse. Screen play by Dashiell Hammett with additional dialogue and scenes by Lillian Heilman from stage play by Lillian Heilman. Music by Max Steiner. Direction by Herman Shumlin. Warner Bros. This superbly enacted film version of a great stage play pays tribute to the men and women whose strength is drawn from an inner spiritual fire of idealism. It is the story of a German engineer and his family who have opposed the growth of Nazism. After years of hardship and danger he brings them to the United States, only to find that even under the gracious shelter of his American mother-in-law’s home they can neither escape the Nazi terror nor relinquish the fight against it. Without disparagement to the really fine cast, the play belongs to Paul Lukas, for the role he plays so magnificently is its heart. Bette Davis subordinates her role to his beautifully. The children are amusingly foreign and Lucile Watson, as the grandmother, creates a character whose vagaries are amusing but whose sterling qualities emerge in unforgettable strength. The musical score is an impressive addition. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Mature but excellent Too mature for many ❖ WHAT'S BUZZIN', COUSIN? O O Ann Miller, Edward "Rochester" Anderson, John Hubbard, Freddy Martin, Leslie Brooks, Jeff Donnell, Carol Hughes, Theresa Harris. Original screen play by Aben Kandel. Direction by Charles Barton. This is routine musical comedy with a good deal of slapstick acting and dancing. Fortunately some of the music is good and gives backbone to a performance which might otherwise prove a bit boring. The negligible plot is concocted round the adventures of four chorus girls who, with the providential help of Rochester, Freddy Martin’s Band, and a gold rush, transform an abandoned hotel into an amusement center. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Entertaining Unobjectionable YOUNG IDEAS O O Susan Peters, Herbert Marshall, Mary Astor, Elliott Reid, Richard Carlson, Allyn Joslyn, Dorothy Morris, Frances Rafferty, George Dolenz, Emory Parnell. Original screen play by Ian McLellan and Bill Noble. Direction by Jules Dassin. M-G-M. This has an extremely sophisticated plot which, had it been handled less engagingly and with less comedy, would have been most unpleasant. It tells the story of two young people, children of a famous novelist and lecturer, who try to wreck their mother’s sudden marriage to a college professor because they are aghast at the thought of life in a small college town. The only excuse for these two precocious and unbearable youngsters is their unconventional childhood spent in hotels all over the world. That they get what they deserve and yet emerge wholesome and normal, is a tribute to the fact that their mother is a real person whom the children come to appreciate as they lose their narrow and selfish outlook. It is very well done. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 If they understand Little interest