Motion Picture Review Digest (Jan-Dec 1936)

112 MOTION PICTURE REVIEW DIGEST RAMON A— Continued) "An absorbing, highly dramatic, well directed picture which will hold the interest of the entire family." S Calif Council of Fed Church Women "This film is decidedly worth seeing. Family." Women's Univ Club, Los Angeles Fox W Coast Bui O 3 '36 "A poetic and artistic achievement. Family." + -f Gen Fed of Women's Clubs (W Coast) S 16 '36 "Family." Jt Estimates S 15 '36 "The incredible 'happy ending' is not a matter of great moment. What is memorable and arresting about the film is its pictorial beauty. The 'new perfected Technicolor' is a joy to the eye. Suitability: adults & adolescents." + Mo Film Bui pl75 O '36 "The pastoral beauty of California and the picturesque costumes and action of the period are ideal subject matter for color photography and add immeasurably to the charm of this picturization. . . The ending seems too abrupt, promising too sudden a release for the heroine. Those familiar with the story will have to add in imagination the steps which give her ultimate contentment. . . It is a charming story, always fresh and always worth seeing. Adolescents, 12-16: excellent; children, 8-12: depends on maturity." + Motion Pict R p8 O '36 "Some of the outdoor scenes are superb, among the best color sequences that have yet appeared. Family." + Nat Bd of R M S '36 "[It] is visually so beautiful that it stands as an artistic achievement in color photography. . . Perfect choice in casting and sensitive direction are important factors in making this moving story into a lovely picture. Family." + Nat Council of Jewish Women S 21 '36 "General patronage." Nat Legion of Decency S 24 '36 "A, Y and C: excellent." Parents' M p44 N '36 "Family." Sel Motion Pict p3 O 1 '36 Neivspaper and Magazine Reviews "Tints are much less shrill in 'Ramona' than in some of its Technicolor predecessors, but the camera's obvious prideful concern with realism is inclined to slow up the story. . . The plight of the dispossessed Indians is not brought out until just before the end of the picture resulting in a solid jam of unrelieved tragedy, in contrast to the sort of travelogue effect of the earlier part." M. E. P. H Boston Transcript p7 O 17 '36 "Adults." Christian Science Monitor pl3 O 10 '36 "Here are stirringly depicted the early-California injustices inflicted by the incoming whites on the Indians. . . There are many shortcomings in story and dramatic values, but these are amply balanced by the artistry of scenic grandeur." J. P. Cunningham Commonweal p20 O 30 '36 "This lovely production, done in warm Technicolor, is marked by the finely restrained direction of Henry King. It will move you in some of its dramatic moments — and move you, oddly enough, because it pulls its punches." (3 stars) Beverly Hills Liberty p30 O 24 '36 "Only one worth-while scene — the expropriation of the Indians from their lands. Mark another failure for Technicolor. Film estimate: you could do worse." h New Theatre p35 N '36 "Because of the tenderness Loretta Young puts into her performance as Ramona, the girl whose mother was an Indian squaw, the film has an emotional quality, that is often touching. Its color, too, lends pictorial decoration, but as entertainment, the long, dull stretches, pompous speeches and lack of climax, leave much to be desired. While Mr. King's direction is too slowly paced, the trouble seems to lie more with the colorless adaptation and the uninspired writing." Marguerite Tazelaar 1 N Y Herald Tribune p21 O 8 '36 "Technicolor's strides have been swift; too swift, it would seem, for Hollywood's story departments. In 'Ramona,' as in the earlier color films, the photographic technique runs ahead of its interference. Receiving but little aid from its writers and players, the photoplay is stopped with only a slight gain to Broadway's entertainment seekers." F. S. Nugent f N Y Times p32 O 7 '36 "Since Mr. Zanuck is a skilled student in devices fertile at the box office, I hope he will forgive me today my failure last night to find his latest film very entertaining. Although it is a gallant attempt to revive a literary antique with some stirringly beautiful technicolor photography as a pulmotor, the film lags in movement and speech and is commonplace in characterization." William Boehnel 1 N Y World-Telegram p35 O 7 'S6 "Increasing excellence of technicolor photography is sufficient reason for resurrecting the semi-historical heroine of Helen Hunt Jackson's novel. Though too leisurely in pace, the familiar tragedy . . . survives its fourth pictorialization thanks to a fine cast and some of the most satisfying color yet photographed." + News-Wk p29 O 17 '36 "As beautifully acted and directed as it is, I still think 'Ramona' lost more than it gained in color. . . That the picture is entertaining is due to incidental business by Lamar Trotti (screen play), direction by Henry King, and acting by a fine cast." Rob Wagner Script plO S 26 '36 "It is the fourth edition of this 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' of the redskin, and a little late to do those worthy people any good. It will, though, advance the technicolor argument a healthy notch, for the effects are subdued and properly apportioned. . . There is beautiful photographic composition throughout the picture, and intelligent pacing. Unless you are an incurable black and whiter, you will see lots of good in this." ■] Stage p26 O '36 "Ramona herself is half -historical, halffictional, half-white and half-Indian, but there is nothing half-way in the manner in which Twentieth Century-Fox has handled her biography. It has used the simple framework as a bitter disquisition on the traditional white methods of dealing with Indians, civilized or raw. In addition, the cinemagoer gets a memorable love story, a handsome technicolor picture gallery of California's southern highlands. . . The attempt to froth a happy ending over Ramona* s widowweeds is not a major flaw. The picture is so pictorially arresting it might almost do without a story." + Time p28 O 5 '36 Trade Paper Reviews "Helen Hunt Jackson's widely-read, tragic romance comes to the screen as a formidable contender for top honors among current productions. An ever popular story, intelligently adapted, superbly produced and directed, and magnificently photographed in technicolor, it will undoubtedly command record-establishing grosses in all of its showings. Family." + Box Office p65 S 19 '36 "For sheer beauty alone, 'Ramona' should win a blue ribbon. . . It contains scenes that are breath-taking in color and composition, living paintings which accentuate the charm and flow of the story. But 'Ramona' has everything besides— romance, tragedy, comedy, a flawless cast, direction par excellence. . . 'Ramona' + + Exceptionally Good; + Good; -\ Fair; \ Mediocre; — Poor; Exceptionally Poor