Motion Picture Review Digest (Jan-Dec 1936)

MOTION PICTURE REVIEW DIGEST 49 "This well known romance . . . seems remote from present day problems. . . Scenes of the desert are breathtakingly lovely and the hubbub of exotic life in the native bazaars is vividly presented. Family./' Nat Soc of New England Women "[It] is brought to the screen in beautiful glowing colors. The story seems, however, to be only a secondary issue as the high dramatic points are conspicuous by their absence. The silences of the melancholy pair convey little of their inner struggle, except when Boris witnesses the seductive movements of the dancing girl. Joseph Schildkraut . . . gives an excellent portrayal of those picturesque characters and relieves the monotony. . . From a pictorial standpoint it will interest the mature." S Calif Council of Fed Church Women Fox W Coast Bui N 21 '36 "Pictorially this production is a magnificent achievement in color. Mature audience. . . The direction is superb, in the skilful hands of Mr. Boleslawski, who has been mindful of every detail necessary to the perfection of cinema art and highest commendation merited by sound and camera men. A picture of rare beauty, charm, and high entertainment value." + -4 Gen Fed of Women's Clubs (W Coast) N 2 '36 "Color photography has never appeared to greater advantage than in this picture. . . The story is dated. Twenty years ago it seemed daring romance. Today, audiences may find it difficult to be emotionally stirred because a Trappist monk breaks his vows, ventures into the world, samples its joys and then returns to the monastery for penance. The desert idyll is too far removed from modern life to seem real or important. Charles Boyer has a role in which an harrassed conscience makes him constantly serious and darkly introspective. Miss Dietrich photographs to advantage in the medium, but a more emotional actress might have made the • plot seem more vital. Adolescents, 12-16: no value; children, 8-12: no." H Motion Pict R p9 N '36 "This well known and loved book comes to the screen — this time in color so beautiful and effective as to be breath-taking. . . Marlene Dietrich is superb and the Boris Androvsky of Charles Boyer is most touchingly presented. . . The entire cast is outstanding and each portrayal is perfect in itself. The direction of Richard Boleslawski is masterly, the photography exquisite and the massive stage sets introducing native life bring with them authenticity and reality. A treat for mature audigiicgs. ' ' + + Nat Council of Jewish Women N 3 '36 "Adults." Nat Legion of Decency N 19 '36 "A & Y: romantic tale of the desert; C: no interest." Parents' M p46 Ja '37 "The plot of this play has longer whiskers than some of the old Algerians who wander in and out of the picture. . . It's too bad to waste two such actors as Marlene Dietrich and Charles Boyer on such an ancient vehicle, to say nothing of all that sand and the excellent color photography. Miss Dietrich, as expected, is even more beautiful in color, and, if possible, even more expressionless." Ernestine Taggard h Scholastic pl7 N 21 '36 "Outstanding. . . The musical accompaniment is noticeably good. Mature." + + Sel Motion Pict p3 D 1 '36 "Done in Technicolor, and with a noticeable advance in the use of color photography on the screen. Mature. Outstanding." + + Wkly Guide N 14 '36 Neivspaper and Magazine Reviews "Subdued tones . . . clothe a moving if slowpaced story which deals with inner conflicts of character. Adults & young people." -) Christian Science Monitor pl9 D 5 '36 "The subject is a daringly unusual theme to be undertaken by the motion picture in its capacity of serving mass theatricals. But even the most intimate scenes have been accorded the utmost respect and delicateness. Unfortunately, however, on one occasion a jarringnote is injected in the performance by a Tilly Losch troupe of a sensuous dance of such fiery passion that the spectacle of "torso-twisting' might even make Minsky's 42nd Street burlesque queens blush with shame. Photographic results represent the most astute and most tasteful use of natural color cinematography to date. Here, too, is the perfect example of the extent to which the craftsmanship of expert staging can give importance to a limited plot." J. P. Cunningham + Commonweal pl34 N 27 '36 "Once again Technicolor enthralls us with the beauty of the animated scenes it spreads upon the motion picture screen. . . As a salesman for Technicolor, as a demonstration of its attainments to date, [it] is a brilliant success. . . However, the color process leans on the picture production almost to the point of the latter's extinction. . . All the applause of the audience was accorded it as a spectacle; none was given it as a motion picture drama. The screen play is done in monotone and Marlene Dietrich and Charles Boyer seem to be in a daze. All Boleslawski's great skill as a director was unequal to the task of making'the picture dramatically alive. . . The story, although a couple of decades behind the thought processes of today, has inherent strength, its tragic romance being psychologically sound, but in its telling it becomes more intellectual diversion than picture entertainment. . . Its slow, placid pace, added to the distraction of color, will keep it from doing well at the box office." H Hollywood Spec p6 N 7 '36 "You and I can remember when 'The Garden of Allah' was a seven-day shocker. Well — I can, anyway. Today, for all the beauty and lovely coloring of this expert production, [it] seems not a little dated. And there's nothing so flat as yesterday's shock. . . The whole story is told in exquisite Technicolor tints. Maybe there's too much loveliness; maybe the gorgeous hues hush the drama. To me there are too many shots of the lovelorn caravan pushing along the Sahara horizon. . . Richard Boleslawski's direction seems too concerned with sky lines, too little interested in close-up drama." (3 stars) Beverly Hills Liberty p43 D 19 '36 "The cinema's most astute and tasteful use of natural color photography to date is found in 'The Garden of Allah.' . . This time an ancient and always somewhat befuddled story achieves importance and beauty as a result of stunning performance and precise, planned use of Technicolor. . . W. P. Lipscomb and Lynn Riggs took no liberties with the plot structure of the story, but must have sprayed their typewriters with an astringent before writing the dialog. It is restrained, notes the dramatic handicaps of the feeble old story and relies on subtleties of feeling. Boleslawski joined them in shying from lush direction, relying instead on the performances of Marlene Dietrich and Charles Boyer. . . Miss Dietrich's debut in color appears to have loosed talents heretofore kept in reserve. She never has put more power into a role. Nor, satisfying to those who ignore performance values and look only for eye-appeal, has she ever been lovelier. Mr. Boyer' s portrait of the Trappist monk . . . probably will renew for him cinema contacts that were beginning to be frayed." + + Lit Digest p21 N 14 *36 " 'The Garden of Allah' is a screen work of surpassing visual beauty. . . It makes magnificent use of color photography, mixing rich blues, browns and reds in a succession of lovely compositions. . . What conviction the almost static plot has depends in large measure on your susceptibility to the spiritual and emotional catharsis experienced by the principals. The ill-fated romance . . . seems to me to be singularly lacking in compulsion. . . [It] dem + + Exceptionally Good; -f-Good; -\ Fair; 1 Mediocre; — Poor; Exceptionally Poor