Motion Picture Review Digest (Jan-Dec 1936)

MOTION PICTURE REVIEW DIGEST 43 END OF THE TRAIL. Columbia 69min S 18 '36 Cast: Jack Holt. Louise Henry. Douglass Dumbrille Director: Erie C. Kenton Based on the novel Outlaws of Palouse by Zane Grey. A western melodrama of the days after the close of the Spanish-American War. Audience Suitability Ratings "A: trash; Y and C: no." Christian Century pl374 O 14 '36 "Virile entertainment. Family." + Nat Bd of R M S '36 "General patronage." Nat Legion of Decency O 1 '36 "A, Y & C: poor." Parents' M p32 D '36 "An exceptionally good Zane Grey Western laid in the period of the Spanish American War, that includes realistic scenes of the battle of San Juan Hill and the usual quota of cattle rustling, hard riding and thrilling adventure. . . The direction is smooth, the photography excellent and the acting exceptionally good. Family." + -f Sel Motion Pict p9 O 1 '36 Newspaper and Magazine Reviews "Superior Zane Grey Western. . . Direction, acting and photography are well above par. Family." + Christian Science Monitor pl7 O 31 '36 "The producers have gone to great trouble in disguising this Western yarn of cattle stealing. . . For a simple, elemental evening in the theater — in fact, a very simple, elemental evening." (1 star) Beverly Hills Liberty p31 O 24 '36 Trade Paper Reviews "This Jack Holt vehicle finds the star in a fitting he-man role. Packing two guns, a devastating right hand punch and a sense of humor, he hurtles through danger with confidence and abandon that will exhilarate the most jaded of audiences." + Film Daily p3 O 31 '36 + Motion Pict Daily p6 S 18 '36 "Here is a Western on which to go to town. For the most part heavy drama, with some comedy intervals, ending with Holt heading toward the noose, 'End of the Trail' should give patrons practically everything they are -f ' Phila Exhibitor p34 O 1 '36 "One of the better Jack Holt Westerns. Contains some Spanish-American war stuff plus wild west drama, action, romance and laughs. Also, a couple of gay mesa tunes. Holt and Guinn Williams make a good team, and Loviise Henry is a charming love interest." + Variety pl9 N 4 '36 EVERYTHING IS THUNDER. Gaumont British 66min O 1 '36 Cast: Constance Bennett. Douglass Montgomery. Oscar Homolka Director: Milton Rosner Dialogue film produced in England. Based on the novel of the same title by Jocelyn Lee Hardy. A wartime tale of a Canadian officer's attempt to escape from prison in Germany. He is picked up by a street waif who helps him escape from a detective who is following. The detective, in love with the girl, eventually allows them to go free and kills himself. Audience Suitability Ratings "[It] will put a strain, not only upon the nerves, but also the credulity of audiences. This type of film runs so much to a pattern, with the inevitable romance between two people whose countries are at war and the subsequent conflict of loyalties, that only the brightest direction can endow it with interest and suspense. Such direction is in evidence here. . . Less circumspect in the matter of ethics than Hollywood, the producers of this film have dragged in a suicide which has not even the excuse of dramatic necessity. Such a mock heroic conclusion adds years on this already aged plot. The picture is for adults." T. J. Fitzmorris America p624 O 3 '36 "A: very poor; Y & C: useless." Christian Century pl574 N 25 '36 "There is an admirable dramatic quality to the production and while it suffers from a certain choppiness and the theme is not a novel one, the direction and acting leave nothing to be desired. Adults & young people." E Coast Preview Committee Fox W Coast Bui O 3 '36 "The story of the escape of a British Officer from a German prison camp and his encounter with a girl of the streets, who gives him shelter, has been told many times. . . The direction is somewhat choppy, numerous cutbacks obscure the development of the plot, and the ending is so abrupt that the picture seems unfinished. Adolescents, 12-16: no; children, 8-12: no interest." h Motion Pict R p6 O '36 "Mature." Nat Bd of R M S '36 "Objectionable in part. Objection: suicide." Nat Legion of Decency S 24 '36 "A: somewhat choppy spy story; Y: doubtful; C: no." Parents' M p32 D '36 "Adults & young people." Sel Motion Pict p9 O 1 '36 Newspaper and Magazine Reviews Reviewed by Laura Elston Canadian M p38 N '36 "Adults." Christian Science Monitor pl5 O 24 '36 "This came close to being a fine melodrama of the World War. It misses by a considerable margin — but it does provide Constance Bennett with her best film role in several years. . . This romance of the hunted prisoner and the prostitute is haunted by fear, but it will get you, thanks to Miss Bennett's vivid, moving performance and the adequate aid of Douglass Montgomery. The direction is excellent, for Milton Rosner catches the feeling of a wargutted city smudged over with horror and terror, with blood and hunger." (21/2 stars) Beverly Hills Liberty p43 N 28 '36 "Constance Bennett is much too good for the streets of Berlin. Douglass Montgomery has an exciting time escaping from prison and is convincing in his amatory capture. Oscar Homolka plays an unremunerative part with suitable terseness. In all, exciting and entertaining stuff." + New Statesman & Nation p257 Ag 22 '36 "Many a slipping Hollywood career has found the air of the London studios salubrious, but this over-seas melodrama does little to revitalize the fortunes of the two Americans who get top billing. A vapid piece, it leans heavily on crude dramatics that cannot stand the strain. . . Whatever possibilities the yarn possessed have been nullified by flagrantly lax direction, inept dialogue and considerable overplaying by the cast." Herb Sterne — Script pll S 26 '36 "This English film is good entertainment, very ably directed and admirably acted by two of its three international stars. . . As for Miss Constance Bennett it would be unfair to say much. I suspect that her blurred blonde per + + Exceptionally Good; + Good; -\ Fair; \ Mediocre; —Poor; Exceptionally Poor