Motion Picture Review Digest (Jan-Dec 1936)

MOTION PICTURE REVIEW DIGEST 83 the story and as a result stresses comedy much to the benefit of all concerned." H Film Daily p8 S 15 '36 "This is an elaborately gagged mystery yarn and provides fairly amusing pandemonium in a department store over a couple of murders. It is cluttered with stock characters and its humor is aimed at the immature but it moves with such speed and piles up its laughs with such irresponsible verve that it will serve well in dual support, especially as it has the name and presence of Robert Young for box office bait." -\ Hollywood Reporter p3 S 11 '36 h Motion Pict Daily p2 O 19 '36 "This is program that generally entertains although one of the shortest features of the season." -\ Phila Exhibitor p35 O 1 '36 "It took two producers to turn this one out, Lucien Hubbard and Samuel Marx. That was hardly enough, judging by what they have produced in 'The Longest Night,' which in its release form has been shorn to 50 minutes. They seldom come from that or other major studios with as little to offer, either. Feature will take the place of two shorts, if preferred to shorts, or act as a weak No. 2 feature on duals." Variety pl7 O 21 '36 "Loaded with hilarity, hokum and humor, 'The Longest Night' is a classy little comedy. Compact and swift-moving, the picture romps along with some swell kidding of the [mystery story] theme. Obviously it is very timely, since the audience went for the works. . . Combination of clever dialog and good direction puts 'The Longest Night' in real entertainment class, despite the fact the picture never presumes to aim at the big time. Any exhibitor who knows his cinema will go for this one, as it is constructed on the good old principle of action, and the film never drags." + Variety (Hollywood) p3 S 11 '36 LOVE BEGINS AT TWENTY. Warner-First national 60min Ap 22 '36 Cast: Warren Hull. Patricia Ellis. Hugh Herbert. Hobart Cavanaugh. Dorothy "Vaughan Director: Frank McDonald See issues of June 29 and September 28, 1936 for other reviews of this film Audience Suitability Ratings "A: hardly; Y: not the best; C: no." Christian Century pl095 Ag 12 '36 "A: relaxation for an idle hour; Y: possibly amusing; C: unelevating." Parents' M p47 Ag '36 Newspaper and Magazine Reviews "Adults." Christian Science Monitor pl3 S 26 '36 "Under the rather misleading title 'Love Begins at Twenty,' this amiable little farce [becomes] not so much a picture of young romance as it does a story of middle-aged rebellion." (2 stars) Beverly Hills Liberty p46 Jl 4 '36 "It is lightweight entertainment. . . The film has its moments of slight amusement, but the theme was far from original when Mr. Flavin treated it and it has whiskers down to here now." F. S. Nugent 1 N Y Times p20 S 19 '36 "[It is a] moderately amusing little trifle. . . Since Mr. Herbert has a genius for playing stuttering, cowed underlings, it would be pleasant to say that 'Love Begins at Twenty' is first-rate farce. Unfortunately, it is done in such a stereotyped manner that even his expert playing seems forced and labored." William Boehnel ^ H N Y World-Telegram p9a S 19 '36 "[It] is a cinema trifle. . . The story is rather trite and fragile but Tom Reed and Dalton Trumoo have brightened it up with amusing business and Frank McDonald has directed with lively tempo and fine regard for light and shade." Rob Wagner -\ Script plO Ag 8 '36 Trade Paper Reviews "Domestic comedy that owes more to its director and scenarist than to the author and is beholden to the cast for its further effect. . . Pretty surefire on a dualer to get audience good humor, but a soloist only where thev respond emphatically to the fireside stuff. . . it makes for pleasant entertainment of better than average in its class." + Variety pl6 S 23 '36 LOVE IN EXILE. Capitol 78min N 15 '36 Cast: Clive Brook. Helen Vinson. Mary Carlisle. Ronald Squire. Cecil Ramage Director: Alfred Werker Based on the novel, His Majesty's Pajamas by Gene Markey. Dialogue film produced in England about a year ago and recently released in this country. The story concerns the efforts of schemhng foreign industrial leaders to remove a Runtanian king and replace him with a dictator. In the end the king returns from exile through the aid of a countess who loves him. Audience Suitability Ratings "Clive Brook returns to us in rather a jumbled tale. In spite of his finished performance, the film is only fitfully interesting. . . Helen Vinson and Mary Carlisle offer adequate performances in vague characterizations but there are not enough good points to raise the production above the routine level. And there are enough bad points to place the film in the adult-audience class." T. J. Fitzmorris h America p216 D 5 '36 "A: fair; Y: good; C: no interest." Christian Century pl670 D 9 '36 Newspaper and Magazine Revieios "Timeliness must be the New Criterion's reason for showing 'Love in Exile.' . . The picture was made in England, where life now seems to be following fiction to a most uncomfortable extent. The striking topical quality of the plot is its greatest asset. The film itself is decidedly second-rate, even with such handsome and experienced players as Helen Vinson and Clive Brook in the leading roles. It would be interesting to know how the film would be received today in London, where it was manufactured." Eileen Creelman h N Y Sun p33 D 10 '36 N Y Times p35 D 10 '36 Trade Paper Reviews "With the best will in the world, it is impossible to say much in favor of this picture. The story is inept, the dialogue follows close behind in its stiltedness, and the thinness of the story is made up for by the quantity of dialogue. In fact, far too large a part of the film consists of medium close shots of static conversations, in which the artists seldom move and the camera stance not at all. Stock shots of plane flights and newspaper inserts for time lapses are made use of unnecessarily and awkwardly, and even the photography is thin and washed-out in appearance." Hollywood Reporter p8 Je 1 '36 H Motion Pict Daily p7 My 26 '36 + + Exceptionally Good; + Good; -| Fair; \ Mediocre; —Poor; Exceptionally Poor