Motion Picture Review Digest (Jan-Dec 1936)

MOTION PICTURE REVIEW DIGEST 99 It is obvious that she is worthy of much better fare. As the waitress, her diction and deliveryare too uptown to be convincing'. . . Weak spot is Gordon Jones, who tries too hard to be charming. He is sadly miscast." \ Variety (Hollywood) p3 N 3 '36 NIGHTINGALE. Amkino 93min N 2 '36 Cast: V. Ivasheva. Z. Kashkarova. I. Lavrov Director: Nikolai Ekk Russian dialogue film produced in Russia. Xo sub-titles but occasional synopses of the action. This is the first all-color film produced in the Soviet Union and commemorates the tenth anniversary of Soviet films in America. "The scene is a large china factory, supposed, presumably, to represent Russia of the imperial days. . . In order to obtain money with which to build a new factory the owner deliberately has his henchmen set fire to the old wooden shack, thereby causing the death of many of his employees. It is not until the uncle of one of the workers learns the truth and tells the women employed in the factory about it that these toilers arise and vent their wrath on the foreman and the troops who are sent to subdue them." (N T World -Telegram) Newspaper and Magazine Reviews "From a technical standpoint [it] is a considerable success, but better subject matter might have been selected for the experiment. Even when the pigmentation is beautifully harmonized and modulated, it seems curiously out of place in a savage study of provincial working-class revolt. Except for one strikingly effective sequence of a burning factory . . . Tit] would have had far more compulsion, I believe, in the stark blacks and whites that the Russians know so well how to photograph. . . It has interludes of terrific dramatic impact, but, on the whole, it is overlong and badly paced. . . With a more strict selection of incident, 'Nightingale' might have proved a notable screen drama. It proves that the Soviet cinema should have no real trouble with the technique of color photography, even though it does not become this theme." Howard Barnes h N Y Herald Tribune p28 N 3 '36 "At first we were inclined to be bitter about it, but it really does not deserve one's indignation. The blunt and unpleasant fact is that 'Nightingale' is pretty bad. . . Unless you look at it through red-tinted glasses and have a Russian interpreter by your side, it is likely to bore you pink. The picture is a rather amazing anachronism in one respect, combining that newest attribute of the cinema — color — with an editing technique characteristic of the silent films of the pre-war era. . . It still is a dullish item and merits consideration only as a cinema curiosity." F. S. Nugent NY Times p41 N 4 '36 "I'd scarcely recommend it, either for its color photography, its propaganda or as entertainment. Although it was directed by Nikolai Ekk, who made the memorable 'Road to Life,' this 'Nightingale' is among the least interesting of the Soviet films — cumbersome, artless and gauche and almost entirely lacking in all the qualities that go to make superior films." William Boehnel NY World-Telegram p37 N 4 '36 "Movies, just movies. [It is] not the film to prove that color has come to stay." John Mosher New Yorker pll7 N 14 '36 Trade Paper Reviews "[It is a] mildly interesting story of revolt. . . The color employed shows only nominal advance as used by Russian technicians. Film technically and from story standpoint has little appeal for American audiences." r Film Daily p!3 N 6 '36 "The film is of value here mainly as an experiment in color. The story is dull and hard to follow, due to sluggish direction and the necessity of using narrative inserts as in silent films, instead of the usual superimposed titles." H Hollywood Reporter p4 N 9 '36 — Motion Pict Daily p8 N 5 '36 "The Soviet's first all-color film is a mediocre job. . . [It] is a tedious entertainment, sometimes good, more often bad, produced in poor, embryonic color. . . The camera stuff is sparingly good. Everybody is good in the closeup shots on serious expressions, for in facial work perhaps Russian actors excel all others." 1 Variety p!5 N 11 '36 NINE DAYS A QUEEN. Gaumont British 78min S 1 '36 Cast: Sir Cedric Hardwicke. Nova Pilbeam. John Mills. Sybil Thorndike. Desmond Tester Director: Robert Stevenson See issues of June 29 and September 28, 1936 for other reviews of this film. The film is titled Lady Jane Grey in the June 29 issue. A Photoplay Study Guide to Nine Days a Queen has been prepared by Daniel C. Knowlton. The Guide is obtainable from Educational and Recreation Guides, Inc, 125 Lincoln Avenue, Newark, New Jersey at fifteen cents a copy. Audience Suitability Ratings "This is a splendid addition to the pictorial history of Tudor days but one glaring omission must be noted. The religious aspect of the period has been totally ignored and it must be obvious to the informed that no attempt at historicity can be wholly successful which refuses to consider that profoundly important element. That British producers are most unwilling to mention religion in any picture is evident and inexplicable. In such cases as this, their selective treatment of history smacks of dishonesty and places them in a bad light." T. J. Fitzmorris America p480 Ag 22 '36 "A and Y: excellent; C: too strong." Christian Century pl270 S 23 '36 " 'Nine Days a Queen' is one of the pleasantest ways we can think of learning a history lesson. . . Nova Pilbeam as Jane does a remarkable job for a girl of her age. . . The play borrows little or nothing from fiction; it is well cast, and beautifully played." Ernestine Taggard + Scholastic pl7 N 21 '36 Newspaper and Magazine Revieics "Family." Christian Science Monitor pl3 O 10 '36 "If the accuracy of the film is not a fault — lending perhaps a little coldness to what in more reckless hands could easily have grown overheated — then it has no fault. It is serious and convincing, and intelligently respectful of its material; one of the best historical films, indeed, among the many now to be seen; and without question superior to 'Mary of Scotland.' " Mark Van Doren + Nation p502 O 24 '36 "Historical costume affair of a better grade than one is accustomed to from the English studios. Slow and stodgy from the American viewpoint, the film possesses the merits of an earnest if not animated production and comparative historical accuracy. Film estimate: you're doing all right." H New Theatre p34 N '36 "Historical events have rarely been recaptured in such dramatic, powerful and moving terms as they are in 'Nine Days a Queen.' . . It is an absorbing and hauntingly beautiful companion piece to 'The Private Life of Henry -f + Exceptionally Good; + Good; -| Fair; 1 Mediocre; — Poor; Exceptionally Poor