Motion Picture Review Digest (Jan-Dec 1936)

MOTION PICTURE REVIEW DIGEST 111 better for a saccharine film than the good old happy family reunion in the last reel, there is a limit to the amount of sugar-coated jpap that one can reasonably stand. This one overdoes it to such an extent that it becomes exasperating rather than effective." William Boehnel — NY World-Telegram p24 S 8 '36 Trade Paper Reviews "Here's a picture tailor-made for all the :mothers in the country. While it has all the tears and pathos of the usual mother film, it has enough bright comedy, furnished by three wise cnorus girls, to keep it out of the weepy class. Family." -| Box Office p25 Ag 29 '36 Canadian Moving Pict Digest plO S '36 "This beautifully handled sentimental piece should make program fare of the better type. Not only does it have fine emotional qualities, but it has a lot of laughs, singing, dancing, and other back stage ingredients. It should make very good entertainment for all types of .audiences." + Film Daily p6 Ag 14 *36 "This sentimental comedy of devotion between a mother and her grown family, with .a backstage episode and a stage show with music logically included for good measure, is bright and wholesome entertainment. Its sweetness and light are sometimes laid on rather thick, but it has strong general audience apjpeal and promises prosperity in the neighborhoods." -r Hollywood Reporter p3 Ag 6 '36 "An appealing combination of sentimental drama, gay comedy and lively backstage action, this should be enjoyable entertainment for any kind of audience. The film contains familiar elements, which are nevertheless presented m .novel fashion and offer wide opportunity for exploitation by the showman." + Motion Pict Daily plO Ag 7 *36 "Pleasant comedy drama that ought to please family, neighborhood audiences, this is short •on what the marquee needs, but otherwise nice entertainment. . . Well played, nicely handled, this shapes up as best for small towns, neighborhoods, pleasant for all." -\ Phila Exhibitor p36 Ag 15 '36 "It's not a bell-ringer, but will suffice for .measuring off a dual program." -\ Variety p20 Ag 26 '36 "Packed with heart appeal, developed with honest and moving emotional wallop and smartly made to offer a variety of elements for practically all tastes, 'Star for a Night' is highclass entertainment which will stand sturdily on its own anywhere — a box office honey." -f Variety (Hollywood) p3 Ag 6 '36 STRAIGHT FROM THE SHOULDER. Paramount 65min Ag 28 '36 Players: Ralph Bellamy. Katherine Locke. Andy Clyde. David Holt Director: Stuart Heisler Based on a short story, Johnny Gets His •Gun, by Lucien Carey. The young son of a commercial artist feels himself dislodged from first place in his father's heart when he learns that his father plans to marry again. The father is a witness against a band of crooks who come to kill him and find only the boy at home. How the youngster foils the crooks and becomes reconciled to his step-mother forms the plot of the film. Audience Suitability Ratings "Family." Gen Fed of Women's Clubs (W Coast) S 2 '36 "Although the story is trite and hackneyed the picture is much better than might be expected because of the fine portrayals given by a carefully chosen cast." H Nat Council of Jewish Women S 2 '36 "General patronage." Nat Legion of Decency S 3 '36 "A capable cast ably directed, does full justice to a cleverly developed plot, always interesting and at times exciting. Adults & young people." + Sel Motion Pict S 1 '36 "Family." Wkly Guide Ag 29 '36 Newspaper and Magazine Reviews "Sweeping suddenly into one of the finest examples of progressively sustained suspense any audience has this year witnessed, 'Straight From The Shoulder' offers the cinematic student enticing fare. Handicapped almost throughout by the 'just boy' antics of David Holt, the story movement drags often in the beginning, but the plot, fortunately, is made of strong dramatic threads which capably weather the irrelevancies clogging the tempo and delaying the interest. . . Had film editor Everett Douglass weeded a twenty minute total of meandering, 'Straight From the Shoulder' would be outstanding." Paul Jacobs -\ Hollywood Spec plO Ag 29 '36 "A mild and unpretentious bit of gangster lore, 'Straight from the Shoulder' builds up to one of the most suspenseful sequences on current view." (2y2 stars) Beverly Hills Liberty p35 S 26 '36 Trade Paper Reviews "This one has so many smart angles that it will please every type of entertainment sicker " + Box Office p31 Ag 22 '36 "Here is a warm, human appealing picture that is tailor-made for the family trade. . . David Holt is the boy and gives his best performance to date." + Film Daily p6 Ag 14 '36 "An eight-year-old boy is the hero of this pleasant and suspenseful program picture and the boy is going to put it over for above-average B class returns in the neighborhoods as it is first-class [juvenile] and parent fare." + Hollywood Reporter p3 Ag 11 '36 "Estimate: program for neighborhoods, twin bills." Phila Exhibitor p40 S 1 '36 "Homespun entertainment qualities make it a natural for the family trade, and it is neatly enough contrived and so well played by young David Holt and his fellow troupers as to fit in as good program complement almost anywhere." + Variety (Hollywood) p3 Ag 11 '36 SUZY. MGM 95min Jl 17 '36 Players: Jean Harlow. Franchot Tone. Cary Grant. Lewis Stone Director: George Fitzmaurice Based on the novel of the same title by Herbert Gorman. "In London, Jean Harlow, a title hunting show girl, marries Franchot Tone. He is shot by a woman on their wedding day. Fearing a murder charge, Miss Harlow flees to France as the war starts. An entertainer in a cafe, she meets Cary Grant, ace flier, and following a war-menaced romance, they marry. Grant goes to the front . . . and gets mixed up with another woman. It is revealed that Tone is not dead, and when he shows up as Grant's pal, Miss Harlow finds herself in the predicament of being married to two men." (Motion Pict Daily) + + Exceptionally Good; + Good; -\ Fair; \ Mediocre; —Poor; Exceptionally Poor