Motion Picture Review Digest (Jan-Dec 1936)

32 MOTION PICTURE REVIEW DIGEST FOLLOW YOUR HEART — Continued career, it might be expected that her first picture would follow tne same trite formula. "Follow Your Heart's' chief asset is that it does not. . . Definitely wooden as an actress.. [Miss Talley] displays a Midwestern twang when speaking, is at ease only when singingarias from 'Mignon' and 'Les Huguenots, beside which the popular concoctions written for the film are apt to seem unusually hollow." Time p31 S 14 '36 Trade Paper Reviews "The most lavish production ever attempted by an independent, this musical extravaganza, introducing Marion Talley' s nightingale notes to screen audiences, and carrying dance numbers breath-taking in their beauty, will give box office grosses a pleasant boost." + Box Office p31 Ag 15 '36 "It is a feast for the eye and ear. . . Marion Talley and Michael Bartlett play the leading roles and their solos and duets will be a delight to lovers of music." + Film Daily plO Ag 11 '36 "The most ambitious effort ever recorded by an independent producer has been rung up by Republic with its production of 'Follow Your Heart.' It is the tops of class entertainment from an independent and should bring to Republic plenty of shekels for its effort and satisfy exhibitors that big pictures can be made by the little fellows if they have the desire (and the money) to go after them. . . Marion Talley in her screen debut and Michael Bartlett sing their way to brilliant success in both solos and duets and their musical support is of high quality. Both received big rounds of applause from the preview audience after each number." + Hollywood Reporter p3 Ag 7 '36 "Here is Republic's most lavish offering to date. The real showmanship employed in its production makes it a class attraction that will hold its own with all but the most elaborate specials. . . Endowed with both mass and class appeal, the picture should click generally." + Motion Pict Daily p3 Ag 8 '36 "Republic shot the works on its No. 1 show on the 1936-37 schedule, with the result a creditable production that will depend on the Talley-Bartlett click for its grosses. Production is A-l, best from the company. Miss Talley is a new name in pictures, though getting an air plug; Bartlett' s success with a previous company was not overwhelming. Regardless, Republic can well be proud of its achievement. Estimate: creditable job; deserves strong selling." + Phila Exhibitor p36 Ag 15 '36 "Most pretentious and ambitious of Nat Levine's Republic efforts, 'Follow Your Heart' has superb tonal quality and pictorial beauty and sets a new high for the organization which compares well with the best of major musical productions. It has high entertainment calibre and will unquestionably justify its showmanly labors at the box office, with especial indication of hit returns in the class houses. . . Miss Talley is in fine voice and utilizes to the fullest the wide range provided by combination of classics and modern songs." -f Variety (Hollywood) t>3 Ag 7 '36 FORGOTTEN FACES. Paramount 72min My S '36 Players: Herbert Marshall. Gertrude Michael. James Burke. Robert Cummings. Jane Rhodes Director: E. A. Dupont See issue of June 29, 1936 for other reviews of this film Audience Suitability Ratings "E. A. Dupont's direction is a good job of work wasted: Herbert Marshall, in turn gambler, convict and butler, is easy to watch; Gertrude Michael is not convincing as a thoroughly disreputable character. Robert Cummings and Jane Rhodes, as the delightful young couple, supply the few bright moments in this depressing spectacle. Suitability: adults." h Mo Film Bui pl03 Je '36 "A: stark drama of hate between husband and wife; Y: sordid; C: no." Parents' M p44 Jl '36 Newspaper and Magazine Reviews "[It] is so perfect a blend of visual effectiveness in its direction and hokum in its story that it is noteworthy, especially since it provides such captivating entertainment. . . Herbert Marshall and Gertrude Michael seem like strange puppets of destiny, sealed in a vacuum from which they cannot escape. Their actions and behavior are fascinating because they are so patently fiction, and pulp-magazine fiction at that. Yet never does one's attention stray from them and the working out of their lilliputian problems. It is not alone their performances, poignant as they are, which makes for this illusion: it is Mr. Dupont's uncanny use of the screen to tell a story absorbingly. . . Mr. Marshall is excellent. . . Miss Michael as the worthless woman gives a marvelous performance. While there are faults in the piece, it remains a fascinating melodrama." Marguerite Tazelaar + NY Herald Tribune p6 Jl 4 '36 "Mr. Marshall gives one of his usual ingratiating, almost overly polished and somehow spinally weak characterizations. A thoughtful and sincere performer, he nevertheless does not impress you as being sufficiently involved emotionally to shoot his wife's lover the way he does. . . [It] makes a passable though, alas! more than thrice-told tale." B. R. C. H NY Times pl8 Jl 4 '36 "Nothing startling, to be sure, is this drama of a murderer . . . but good enough in every respect to keep you engrossed from beginning to end. . . There is nothing sensational about the film, but it has enough moments of suspense and excitement to lift it above-, the average run of pictures." William Boehnel + NY World-Telegram pll Jl 6 '36 "A minor melodrama, 'Forgotten Faces,' though somewhat smudgy in treatment, has its points." John Mosher h New Yorker p55 Jl 11 '36 Trade Paper Reviews "This is the second try for Herbert Marshall and Gertrude Michael as a picture team, and once again the results are far from satisfactory. . . 'Forgotten Faces' could easily have been first rate. But, for several reasons, it isn't. It won't amount to much at the box office." — Variety pl5 Jl 8 '36 FRANKIE AND JOHNNIE. Republic 67min My 1 '36 Players: Helen Morgan. Chester Morris. Lilyan Tashman. Florence Reed Director. Chester Erskine See issue of June 29, 1936 for other reviews of this film Audience Suitability Ratings 'A: hardly: Y and C: no." Christian Century pl071 Ag 5 '36 -f + Exceptionally Good; -j-Good; -{ Fair; f Mediocre; — Poor Exceptionally Poor