Motion Picture Review Digest (Jan-Dec 1936)

108 MOTION PICTURE REVIEW DIGEST PLOT THICKENS— Continued) "This is easily among the top comedy crime puzzlers of the year. It is the third of a successful series in which James Gleason leads as a hard-boiled and self-assured police inspector who can never quite And the answer without the unwelcome help of the inquisitive schoolmarm, Hildegarde Withers. The earlier pictures using this titillating combination have been highly profitable in their field and this one should top them and build up an outstanding box office property." + Hollywood Reporter p3 N 9 '36 + Motion Pict Daily plO N 10 '36 "Estimate: mild program, best for neighborhoods, twin bills." h Phila Exhibitor p31 D 1 '36 " 'The Plot Thickens' is just another class B comedy melodrama. However, the picture may turn out to be a bolsterer on dual bills due to the work of James Gleason and Zasu Pitts, who are teamed in top spots in this one. Production as it stands is poorly directed and badly edited. Cutting in some instances has been so flagrant that members of preview audience were forced to ask their neighbors just what was going on on the screen." — Variety (Hollywood) p3 N 9 '36 POLO JOE. Warner 62min D 5 '36 Cast: Joe E. Brown. Carol Hughes. Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher Director: William McGann Brown portrays a polo expert who knows nothing about polo but is forced to go through with a crucial polo match in order to win the girl. Audience Suitability Ratings "A: fairly good; Y: amusing; C: good." Christian Century pl639 D 2 '36 "Children will love this comedy, and most everyone will smile, at least, at the ridiculous antics of the horse ten goaler. Family & junior matinee." Am Legion Auxiliary "Many amusing situations and the star's singing of songs in Chinese make this hilarious entertainment. Family. Adults & 8-18: good." Calif Cong of Par & Teachers "Hilarious farce. Family." Calif Fed of Business & Professional Women's Clubs "Good. Family." DAR "Family." Nat Soc of New England Women "Plenty of hilarity for all the family." S Calif Council of Fed Church Women "Hilarious comedy, heightened by the star's rendition of songs in Chinese. Family." Mrs T. G. Winter + Fox W Coast Bui O 10 '36 "Clever direction, good casting, excellent photography, and interesting scenes of polo playing contributes much to this amusing picture. All ages. Junior matinee." + Gen Fed of Women's Clubs (W Coast) S 28 '36 "The incidents are comically absurd, and Joe E. Brown, in not forcing the comedy, sustains the humor admirably. The picture is good family entertainment. Adolescents, 12-16 & children, 8-12: good." + Motion Pict R p8 O '36 "Excellent for the family." + + Nat Council of Jewish Women O 1 '36 "General patronage." Nat Legion of Decency O 22 '36 "A, Y & C: good entertainment." Parents' M p32 D '36 "A well worked out farce, smoothly moving and filled with novel gags and a hundred laughs. Family." + Sel Motion Pict p4 N 1 '36 "Family." Wkly Guide N 14 '36 Newspaper and Magazine Reviews "Another instance in which venerable and impossible plot and situations cavort about like young things under deft handling. Created especially for Joe E. Brown fans, the nonsensical yarn . . . may also be found amusing by moviegoers in general. Family." + Christian Science Monitor pl3 N 21 '36 "Here is a picture, apparently manufactured to win laughs, that achieves its purpose. . . The narrative, obvious from the start, as a whole moves so briskly and entertainingly that while reviewing it one disregards the fact that he has viewed it several times before. . . Apparently the preview spectators found a great deal in the film to delight them, for there were not many quiet moments at the capacityfilled Forum Theatre during the showing, the audience often creating tumultuous laughter." Allan Hersholt + Hollywood Spec pl4 S 26 '36 "The new Joe E. Brown comedy is not overburdened with story, nor for that matter comedy, unless our sense of humor, as we strongly suspect, is becoming blunted. Nevertheless, of humor there is very little in 'Polo Joe,' of slapstick comedy, a smattering. . . The picture is a one-man show, light in substance, and though its closing antics may amuse you, nothing of importance will be lost should you miss seeing the new offering." Marguerite — + N Y Herald Tribune p28 N 3 '36 " 'Polo Joe.' last of the wide-mouthed star's films for Warner Brothers, is unfortunately one of his least funny. Mr. Brown depends too heavily upon his old gags, the Brown yell now used sometimes as a sneeze and sometimes as a shriek of terror, the extravagant smile, the acrobatic clowning. . . Children will probably like 'Polo Joe,' as the slapstick is frequent and furious. The more demanding may find it a faint carbon copy of better Brown comedies." Eileen Creelman 1 N Y Sun p35 N 4 '36 "[It is] an unenterprising slapstick called 'Polo Joe,' which we understand is [Brown's] farewell gesture to the Warners. A faintly pathetic gesture, it seems, with the great pantaloon laughing hollowly at the picture's little jokes and wordlessly begging the audience to forgive the sins he is being forced to commit in the name of comedy. For 'Polo Joe' isn't Mr. Brown's mistake but its script writers. Every time he opens his mouth they put their feet in it — and that isn't mere metaphor, either. . . The youngsters probably will find it clear sailing, but adults should heed the storm warnings." F. S. Nugent — NY Times p35 N 5 '36 "Whether or not you happen to like Joe E. Brown, you're bound to have a good time watching his antics in 'Polo Joe,' the frisky little film which combines polo, love and burlesque in an engaging and amusing manner. . . Although it is an intensely artificial affair, you should enjoy 'Polo Joe.' " William Boehnel + NY World-Telegram p21 N 5 '36 "Movies, just movies." John Mosher New Yorker pll7 N 14 '36 "Liberally peppered with slapstick, a familiar dish is heated over for the Joe E. Brown customers." 4 News-Wk p60 N 14 '36 Trade Paper Reviews "Comedians come and go but Joe E. Brown goes on and on. The wholesome heartiness of his pictures probably accounts for the largemouthed laugh-getter's undiminished popularity, and certainly nothing could be more wholesome or less subtle than this breezy tale. Family." + Box Office p27 O 3 '36 + + Exceptionally Good; + Good; -J Fair; \ Mediocre; —Poor; Exceptionally Poor