Motion Picture Review Digest (Jan-Dec 1936)

38 MOTION PICTURE REVIEW DIGEST DODSWORTH— Continued ousness of an author who has studied his work long. . . Mr. Goldwyn has had the wisdom to accept his judgment; William Wyler, the director, has had the skill to execute it in cinematic terms, and a gifted cast has been able to bring the whole alive to our complete satisfaction. . . [It is] a work which already has attained something of the stature of an American classic. The film version has done more than justice to Mr. Howard's play, converting a necessarily episodic tale, interrupted by fourteen curtains, into a smooth-flowing narrative of sustained interest, well-defined performance and good talk." F. S. Nugent + + N Y Times p29 S 24 '36 "Here is a brilliantly acted, thoroughly absorbing film of the first order. I could, I suspect, tell you at length of the film's excellent acting by Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton and Mary Astor, of the superior screen translation Sidney Howard has made, of the fine direction by William Wyler and the quite magnificent production Mr. Goldwyn has given it. But why waste words. Instead I shall simply advise you to see it at once and enjoy its many virtues to the full." William Boehnel + + N Y World-Telegram p23 S 24 '36 "It would have been an inexcusable accident had Walter Huston's 'Dods worth' not been fine. But there hasn't been any accident, and the Huston 'Dodsworth' should please people who saw the play and people who didn't. . . Paul Lukas and Odette Myrtil have worked together to give us the Lewis story and the Lewis idea. Apparently, Miss Chatterton alone had opinions of her own. I feel that Miss Chatterton has looked upon things and seen them in a different light. . . The result is confusing again and again. . . With everybody else working definitely to present Sinclair Lewis's idea, Miss Chatterton has managed to blur only occasional scenes with her majestic performance, and the whole survives, really, more as Sinclair Lewis's conception than as Ruth Chatterton' s." John Mosher + New Yorker p77 O 3 '36 "Crowded houses last week proved that Miss Chatterton is cast in a hit and that Miss Astor still has plenty of supporters. Both actresses register their best performances of recent years. . . Well directed by William Wyler, 'Dodsworth' is a film to break a date for — and its ending will leave most date breakers grimly content." + + News-Wk p34 O 3 *36 "Will Wyler's direction is nothing less than superb. Not one 'movie' cliche or 'sure-fire' gag. Such naturalness has rarely been seen on the screen." Rob "Wagner + Script plO O 3 '36 " 'Dodsworth' is a very well-made and wellacted film, with an essentially trivial subject. . . Mr. Walter Huston is admirable as the devoted and uncultured husband. . . Like 'These Three,' another realistic film produced by Mr. Goldwyn, 'Dodsworth' is a little marred by almost incessant music, a relic of the small orchestras which used to accompany silent films. . . No one, I think, will fail to enjoy Dodsworth,' in spite of its too limited and personal plot, the sense it leaves behind of a very expensive, very contemporary, Bond Street vacuum flask. Naturalness is so rare on the screen that it is difficult not to over-praise any picture which possesses it, but more than naturalness is needed for deep enjoyment." Graham Greene + Spec p808 N 6 '36 "That terrifically engrossing study of a retired tycoon and his first pleasure trip has at last reached the screen, where we are inclined to believe it should have been all the time. . . When a perfectly satisfying drama finds means of improvement, we don't know the word for it, except 'Dodsworth. ' . . This, toe think, is excellent Dodsworth." + + Stage pl4 N '36 "[It is] directed with a proper understanding of its values by William Wyler, splendidly cast and brilliantly played." + Time p31 S 28 '36 Trade Paper Reviews "A superlatively fine picture. Flawless in every department, this Samuel Goldwyn production will be a smash hit from Broadway to Main Street. Adults." + Box Office pl9 S 26 '36 "The picture is decidedly one for a mature audience, and not for children. The picture is not offensive in any way, but would have no appeal for the juvenile mind. Already established as a box-office champion in the big cities, it should draw equally well in small towns. This picture is Box-Office." + Canadian Moving Pict Digest p8 O 17 "36 "Here is a Class A picture that should do excellent business at every box-office. It has ingredients that will appeal to all types of audiences and ranks with the best of the Samuel Goldwyn offerings. The picture follows the play faithfully and the screenplay is by Sidney Howard, who dramatized Sinclair Lewis' famous novel." + Film Daily p3 S 19 '36 "Samuel Goldwyn triumphs with this superlative production of Sinclair Lewis' noteworthy best-seller as translated to the stage and thence to the screen by Sidney Howard. A distinguished aggregation of talent contributes to making this penetrating study of late married life a vivid dramatic document. It will win the unstinted plaudits of a very wide audience and, with the names of the author, the book, the play, the dramatist and the players, it can be counted on for big boxoffice returns, especially in class houses." + Hollywood Reporter p3 S 16 '36 + Motion Pict Daily plO S 17 '36 "Literate drawing room drama enlivened by nice settings, excellent action, this is best for the older folks, class trade, but a production that will find approval everywhere. Estimate: well done throughout." + Phila Exhibitor p38 O 1 '36 " 'Dodsworth' is a superb motion picture which yields artistic quality and box office in one elegantly put together package. It rates maximum enthusiasm. It is one of the best pictures of this or any year and a golden borealis over the producer's name. Word-ofmouth should be terrific and for that reason exhibitors might well single it out for special babying." -f + Variety pl7 S 30 '36 "[It] seems certain to gross handsomely from the keys down to the subsequents on the strength of its many entertainment elements plus marquee allure. For several of the players it spells new tops. Walter Huston is Dodsworth to the core. . . Ruth Chatterton adds new laurels to her list of screenings. To many, including this reviewer, this will seem her best performance. . . Mary Astor contributes a performance so vivid and appealing and of such fine artistic merit that she seems now to be just coming into full screen maturity." + Variety (Hollywood) p3 S 16 '36 DON'T TURN 'EM LOOSE. RKO 66min Ag 28 '36 Cast: Lewis Stone. James Gleason. Bruce Cabot. Louise Latimer. Betty Grable Director: Ben Stoloff See issue of September 28, 1936 for other reviews of this film + + Exceptionally Good; + Good; -\ Fair; \ Mediocre; —Poor; Exceptionally Poor