Motion Picture Review Digest (Jan-Dec 1936)

90 MOTION PICTURE REVIEW DIGEST MAGNIFICENT BRUTE— Continued) in 'The Magnificent Brute,' and exhibitors will be able to ballyhoo this one without fear of empty tills." -f Variety (Hollywood) p3 S 24 '36 MAKE WAY FOR A LADY. RKO 74min N 13 '36 Cast: Herbert Marshall. Anne Shirley. Gertrude Michael. Margot Grahame Director: David Burton Based on the novel Daddy and I by Elizabeth Jordan. "Anne Shirley is the romantic young girl who decides to save her father from a lonely old age by choosing a wife for him. She selects the wrong woman, thereby proving the unreliability of feminine intuition. In the end, however, the publisher finds true love right under his daughter's nose in the person of her teacher." (America) Audience Suitability Ratings "Yet another treatment of the resourceful adolescent who attempts to solve the problems of her elders, this film manages to be quietly amusing in spite of a dragging action." T. J. Fitzmorris H America pl92 N 28 '36 "The daughter's character is overdrawn, and the picture as a whole is just average entertainment. Family." Am Legion Auxiliary "As a whole, the story is too long drawn out, with too much attention given to the emotional and sentimental side of the characters portrayed. Adults & 8-18: good." Calif Cong of Par & Teachers "The humor of the picture is of the sort that brings smiles and chuckles and therefore may not appeal to audiences who like broad comedy and livelier action. Family." Calif Fed of Business & Professional Women's Clubs "Good. A light, pleasant story, capably acted. Mature -family." DAR "A light story has been given light and pleasant treatment, with the happy relationship between father and daughter perhaps the pleasantest part of it. Family." E Coast Preview Committee "[It is] a very amusing and unique social drama, with a wholesome atmosphere. Credit is due the direction and cast for their natural and fresh presentation. Family." S Calif Council of Fed Church Women Fox W Coast Bui N 28 '36 "[It is] delightfully refreshing. Thoughtful, sensitive direction, artistic settings and good photography added to the excellent work of the able cast give this picture interesting and high entertainment value, leaving one with the warm glow of having enjoyed something pleasingly dear and sweet. Mature audience." + Gen Fed of Women's Clubs (W Coast) N 17 '36 "Dependent entirely for its entertainment value on the charm of Herbert Marshall and Anne Shirley cast as father and daughter, this is a slowly paced, thin little story. . . It is leisurely, w^ooden, unimpressive. Family." h Nat Council of Jewish Women N 16 '36 Newspaper and Magazine Reviews "Though it all ends happily enough [it] turns out to be a long cinematic detour dotted with dull entanglements and uninspired comedy. Anne Shirley (who photographs indifferently) pirouettes through the role of the daughter. . . Herbert Marshall looks embarrassed. So should RKO. Family." — Christian Science Monitor pl7 N 14 '36 "As a moon-struck adolescent . . . Miss Shirley is positively the problem of the growing girl personified. Her callowness, however, is almost too pure to be good, and the little misunderstandings on which the plot hinges seem very nearly deliberate. An unfortunate resemblance between Gertrude Michael and Margot Grahame, moreover, may leave some members of the audience a bit confused as to which one it is that Mr. Marshall really wants to marry." B. R. C. N Y Times pl2 D 12 '36 "[It is] an unassuming little film that one may attend without any greater calamity than a trifling loss of time. . . The film is really adolescent stuff that can be seen without too much fault-finding." William Boehnel 1 N Y World-Telegram p7a D 12 '36 " 'Make Way for a Lady' is a resounding contribution to the Five Little Peppers school of cinema. . . Implicit in the writing, acting and direction of it, a conviction that the picture is completely charming helps to obliterate any trace of charm which it might otherwise have possessed." — Time p26 N 23 '36 Trade Paper Reviews + Motion Pict Daily pll O 30 '36 "[It is] pleasing comedy drama that has the benefit of more names than the usual Anne Shirley production. . . Neighborhood audiences, small towns should find entertainment in it." + Phila Exhibitor p52 N 15 '36 THE MAN I MARRY. Universal 79min O 18 '36 Cast: Doris Nolan. Michael Whalen. Chic Sale. Nigel Bruce Director: Ralph Murphy Based on a novel of the same title by M. Coates Webster. "[It is a tale] about a wealthy young man who seeks seclusion to write a play, and a girl who is running away from marriage. Both wanting to be alone they seek the same deserted house and the fun starts." (Wkly Guide) Audience Suitability Ratings "A & C: hardly; Y: perhaps." Christian Century pl670 D 9 '36 "Chic Sale's easy comedy redeems a long, drawn out tale. Adults." Am Legion Auxiliary "Some clever and amusing situations. Good comedy for Chic Sale. Unnecessary drinking on the part of the two reporters. Adults: fair; 8-18: no." Calif Cong of Par & Teachers "Some may find this mildly amusing and entertaining, but because of the steady flow of liquor and the use of a church for unpleasant comedy sequences it cannot be recommended for young people. Mildly amusing farce comedy. Adults." Calif Fed of Business & Professional Women's Clubs 'Mature audience. Mediocre. DAR "Cleverly amusing comedy in which a slight and often used plot has been built into excellent entertainment through the expert acting of a well selected cast. Family." E Coast Preview Committee "Some good photography, a great deal of drinking and much ado about nothing by a bewildered cast. Adults." Nat Soc of New England Women "A silly love story, presumably comedy, in which most of the humor, if any, is supplied by two drunken reporters. Mediocre and waste of time." S Calif Council of Fed Church Women Fox W Coast Bui O 24 '36 "Fairly well cast and directed with Doris Nolan, a newcomer, appealing. Unusually effective photography, especially the storm scenes. Mature." -j Gen Fed of Women's Clubs (W Coast) O 14 '36 + -f Exceptionally Good; + Good; -| Fair; \ Mediocre; — Poor; Exceptionally Poor