Motion Picture Review Digest (Jan-Dec 1936)

MOTION PICTURE REVIEW DIGEST 89 straining hand to mold his performance. Adults." — Christian Science Monitor pl7 O 31 '36 "This morning I know vastly more of what goes on in the steel industry than I knew yesterday morning, thereby getting that much return for the time spent in viewing the picture even if it had failed to entertain me otherwise. . . This Universal picture strikes a sturdy, elemental note. It is excellent entertainment, deriving a great deal of its strength from its vigorous background." + Hollywood Spec pl5 O 10 '36 "The story takes on some of the 'sez-yousez-me aspects' of the old McLaglen-Edmund Lowe film feuds. But 'The Magnificent Brute' strives more for realism, less for laughs. McLaglen is an excellent choice for Big Andrews." (2 stars) Beverly Hills Liberty p61 N 21 '36 "Blast furnaces, cascading sparks and molten rivers make an effective background for a claptrap story in 'The Magnificent Brute.' It presents Victor McLaglen ... in sorry contrast to his brilliant portrayals in 'The Lost Patrol' and 'The Informer.' . . In this instance, there is more than a trace of counterfeit about the proceedings. . . It is apparent that [McLaglen] needs the sensitive and understanding direction of John Ford, who made 'The Informer,' to really act." Howard Barnes r N Y Herald Tribune plO O 24 '36 "Yesterday's new picture explored the world of steel workers. It seems to be a dramatic world, visually exciting, with photographic possibilities that [it] does not always realize. . . With Victor McLaglen to play Big Steve Andrews, the director has concentrated en character study, a clever move to make an ordinary story into an interesting picture. They had little enough to work on; but between them, Victor McLaglen and John G. Blystone have made 'Big' almost believable. . . [The film], thanks then to its chief player, is something more, but not much more, than a run-of-themill melodrama. . . [It] is fair melodrama of the he-man school." Eileen Creelman -\ NY Sun pl2 O 24 '36 "A rowdy melodrama served up rare, if not raw, it has its gusty humors, its intermittent shocks of physical conflict, its molten steel horrors and a blusteringly perfect performance by Mr. McLaglen. It probably will not appeal to the knitting ladies of Gramercy Park, but we found it almost as entertaining as a street fight. . . John Blystone has directed his melodrama as vigorously as its materials merit, and, besides Mr. McLaglen' s amiable personification of the brawny brute, there are helpful performances by Jean Dixon as the widow [and] Billy Burrud as hei hero-worshiping son." F. S. Nugent + NY Times p23 O 24 '36 "Although it displays the heartaches beneath the brawny exteriors of the steel workers throughout the country, 'The Magnificent Brute' is a feeble drama, too unsteady to stand on its own feet, or, if you prefer, too weighty for even the broad shoulders of its star, Victor McLaglen. When it explains the folk ways of these people it does so with more earnestness than gusto, an error which deprives the narrative of that magical ingredient known as entertainment. It would have been better for all concerned if the film had spied on these people in a less elderly plot." William Boehnel — NY World-Telegram p9a O 24 '36 "Life in the steel mills and Victor McLaglen are the stuff and tissue of a mild, gentle little pastime." John Mosher H New Yorker p77 O 31 '36 "Victor McLaglen is a much finer actor in defeat ('The Informer') than in victory. One can feel sorry for a brute who is easily tricked mentally. A'ictor does a swell job registering bewilderment after his ignominious beating as a wrestler. However, the preview gang at the Ritz yipped for him loudest when he was loudest, which shows that Charles Rogers knows his audiences. At least his neighborhood audiences. . . Credit Edmund Grainger with an inexpensive production that just misses the Big Stuff." Rob Wagner H Script plO O 31 '36 "In dealing with the life of a steelworker, any medium except the cinema would inevitably have found Labor v. Capital a central problem. For Universal, the sole problem herein was how to substitute overalls for the soldiers' uniforms McLaglen has worn in his recent pictures. . . [It] effects McLaglen' s demobilization with a minimum of distinction, a fair share of entertainment. Most tedious noise: McLaglen' s guffaw." -| Time p70 O 26 '36 Trade Paper Revietcs "A lusty story of hard steel and hard men provides a made-to-order spot for Victor McLaglen' s swashbuckling talent and Producer Edmund Grainger, taking full advantage of it, delivers a fast-moving, wellcast, excellently directed picture — quite hot in entertainment values and sure to be a money-maker in every situation. . . Much of the picture's merit is creditable to the sequences snowing the actual making of steel." + Box Office p27 O 3 '36 "Here is a picture for the man in the street. A rollicking story with plenty of action and comedy, and generous sprinkling of romance, plus an interesting picture of the great steel mills of this continent. Names are not lacking either, and those of Victor McLaglen, Binnie Barnes and Henry Armetta should look okay on your marquee." + Canadian Moving Pict Digest pl3 N 21 '36 "Yarn will score with star's large following, plus picture-goers generally who like redblooded heroes and their exploits. Film is spiritedly directed by John G. Blystone and has wide audience appeal in that it is he-man entertainment, likewise attractive to women, and, again, is keen picture for [children]. Latter is due to the excellent part played by young Billy Burrud who has flaming case of hero worship on McLaglen." + Film Daily pT O 24 '36 "This gusty, two-fisted comedy-drama about steel mill workers on and off shift is of chief interest in giving Victor McLaglen another of those dimwitted cock-of-the-walk roles in which he is unbeatable. The story is obviously synthetic and loaded with hokem, but it is good entertainment on a popular level. The picture may have tough going at the top but will make up for it below that level with good grosses, and should score big in industrial areas." H Hollywood Reporter p3 S 24 '36 + Motion Pict Daily pS S 25 '36 "The net result [is] program that ought to be satisfactory if not particularly outstanding." H Phila Exhibitor p40 O 15 '36 "Off to a dawdling start, the story picks up after about a reel, working for more interest until reaching a climax that really has them on their seat edges. . . Strong dual fare, but able to hold up on singles where such still exist, and where too much is not expected. Excellent secondary cast, with plenty of help from the steel mill backgrounds, and not much aid from most of the dialog, which has been slighted, particularly in the earlier scenes, where they seem to be talking to gain length." H Variety pl4 O 2S '36 " 'The Magnificent Brute' is magnificent box office. Meaty, masculine and robust, this is the type of picture that exhibitors cry for. Loaded with tried and true material, this picture has mass appeal written all over it. . . The whole family will find swell entertainment -) — f Exceptionally Good; Good; + Mediocre; Poor; Exceptionally Poor