Motion Picture Review Digest (Jan-Dec 1936)

110 MOTION PICTURE REVIEW DIGEST PRISONER OF SHARK ISLAND — Continued of it ignorant, that ran rampant at that time. The film would have been improved by the omission of details of the hanging of Mudd's so-called fellow conspirators and the shortening of scenes in the prison, especially the attempted escape." Bks & Films Ap '36 " 'The Prisoner of Shark Island' is more than just the problem of one individual — it shows the intolerance and violence that follow in the wake of war— the misery of the Reconstruction Days in the old South after the War between the States. . . [It] is a powerful and compelling drama . . . adult screen + Bui on Current Films Ap 15 '36 "A: strong; Y: possibly; C: no." Christian Century p583 Ap 15 '36 "The details of brutality and a certain medical incident make the film entirely unsuitable for children and for anyone of a nervous disposition. Suitability: adults." Mo Film Bui p68 Ap '36 "The school classes in history do not learn about Dr. Mudd: here for once is a movie that is usefully educational. The film has great virtues and commonplace faults. . . Once the doctor is on our American Devil's Island a more theatrical element begins to creep in, not only into the story but into the manipulation of it. . . The massed shiny bodies of negroes, the lines of sharks cleaving the water like a flotilla of submarines — such things seem too obviously manufactured for effect and not done well enough to be effective. . . But for all these drawbacks, which stand out unpleasingly because they are a weakness in a fabric that is otherwise so strong and substantial, the picture is unusual and important." J. S. H. Nat Bd of R M Mr '36 "A and Y: significant historical drama; C: mature." Par M p64 Ap '36 Newspaper and Magazine Reviews " 'The Prisoner of Shark Island' will only be appreciated by a few with strong enough constitutions to stand the harrowing sight of so much brutality and suffering. Whether any play or movie of this sort is entertainment or not, depends upon one's conception of how much or how little of life the theatre should present." Canadian M p41 Je '36 Trade Paper Reviews "Strong, human interest drama wTith deep appeal admirably acted by Baxter and surrounding cast." + Film Daily p7 F 13 '36 PRIVATE NUMBER. Je 5 '36 75min 20th century-Fox Players: Robert Taylor. Loretta Young. Basil Rathbone. Patsy Kelly. Joe Lewis Director: Roy Del Ruth Based on the play, Common Clay, by Cleves Kinkead. This is a third screen version. "Loretta Young, an American girl of obviously gentle breeding, being stranded in New York, applies for a position as servant in a wealthy family. . . The son of the house, Robert Taylor, home from college, falls in love with her and persuades her against her better judgment into a secret marriage." (Hollywood Reporter) Audience Suitability Ratings "A: fair; Y: doubtful; C: no." Christian Century p855 Je 10 '36 "Family." Am Legion Auxiliary "Adults & 14-18: entertaining; 8-14: mature. Possible for family." Calif Cong of Par & Teachers "Good-mature." DAR "The story is not remarkable for originality or depth, but the screen play is shrewdly contrived to make the most of the human and dramatic values inherent in the story and arouses and holds our interest in a most convincing way. Mature." Nat Fed of Business & Professional Women's Clubs "Mature." S Calif Council of Fed Church Women + Fox W Coast Bui Je 6 '36 "Adults & young people. A tender romance, beautiful photography, and lovely outdoor settings further enhance this entertaining picture." + Gen Fed of Women's Clubs (W Coast) My 27 '36 "It is entertaining only because it is a vehicle for the ascendant Robert Taylor and lovely Loretta Young, but it chalks up nothing on their scores because it is intrinsically trashy. Motives are confused, siutations forced, direction not remarkable. Adolescents, 12-16: poor; children, 8-12: no." 1 Motion Plot R Je '36 "Mature." Nat Bd of R M Je '36 "A trite and time-worn story is so well cast and directed as to become good entertainment. Family." Nat Council of Jewish Women My 27 '36 "Adults & young people." Sel Motion Pict Je 1 '36 "The plot ... is hardly new, but the production, direction and acting are good enough to give it new life. Mature." Wkly Guide My 30 '36 Newspaper and Magazine Reviews "[It] reworks the imperishable taffy about the rich boy who marries the poor girl without telling his parents. . . Robert Taylor's quality and Loretta Young's charm lend personal interest to the unsuspensive story. Basil Rathbone thrown away on another mechanical villain part." h Christian Science Monitor pl5 Je 13 '36 "Here is something of which only Hollywood is capable. It is a magnificently acted, masterfully directed, tastefully mounted example of what the child-minds in the office consider to be a story, worthy of the money and brilliance wasted on it. Apparently starting with the forlorn assumption that, in truth, there is nothing new and that to attempt an original idea would be dangerous, 'Private Number' is just a beautifully executed rehash of the Great American Meledramer at its time-worn best. . . 'Private Number' is a peerless expression of Hollywood's tragic inability to understand the dramatic fundamentals of its medium." Paul Jacobs Hollywood Spec pl2 Je 6 '36 "The banalities that stud 'Private Number' are not likely to militate against the film's popular success. A formulized synthesis of narrative oddments, it pulls all the cinematic stops. . . Cunningly directed and ably acted, it represents a rather sorry triumph of production tricks over fraudulent material. . . Roy Del Ruth, the director, has brought the piece to the screen expertly, giving it a handsome production and guiding the players through a lot of nonsense with the illusion that they are involved in a substantial motion picture." Howard Barnes -1 NY Herald Tribune p20 Je 12 '36 "Believe it or not, the picture is well acted throughout. . . The plot, however, creaks, as the saying goes, and the two really capable juvenile leads will probably never get over + + Exceptionally Good; + Good; H Fair; \ Mediocre; — Poor; Exceptionally Poor