Motion Picture Review Digest (Jan-Dec 1936)

124 MOTION PICTURE REVIEW DIGEST STAGE STRUCK. Warner-First national 90min S 12 '36 Cast: Dick Powell. Joan Blondell. Warren William. Frank McHugh. Jeanne Madden Director: Busby BerkeleyMusic & lyrics: E. Y. Harburg. Harold Arlen Music director: Leo F. Forbstein See issue of September 28, 1936 for other reviews of this film Audience Suitability Ratings "This one looks and sounds just like all the others you have seen — or, happily, missed. . . This is, in short, only the leaden echo of an overworked musical comedy cycle. If you concentrate very hard, you will probably be able to keep this picture distinct from '42d Street' and others." T. J. Fitzmorris h America p552 S 12 '36 "A and Y: inane but amusing-; C: probably good." Christian Century pl270 S 23 '36 "A trivial and stereotyped bit of backstage nonsense which attempts to be different from the usual picture of this sort by omitting the lavish and spectacular effects which such a story usually includes. The attempt is unsuccessful because the story is not of sufficient moment to carry interest and the disjointed manner in which it is presented discourages even the most rabid Powell-Blondell fans. Adolescents, 12-16: depends on taste; children, 8-12: no." — Motion Pict R p8 S '36 'A, Y and C: entertaining." Parents' M p43 O '36 Newspaper and Magazine Reviews Reviewed by Laura Elston Canadian M p46 O '36 "Faces familiar in previous Warner Brothers' 'backstage' musical spectacles do not make this the same familiar spectacle. It's well below par." \ Christian Science Monitor pl3 S 19 '36 " 'Stage Struck,' the new song and dance photoplay is so lean in comic inventiveness that its pleasant score and lively chorus numbers do no more than make a palpably false front for a tedious show. . . This latest reworking of the backstage formula [is performed] in something less than entertaining fashion. . . It is a dull and muddled screen musical." Howard Barnes — NY Herald Tribune plO S 28 '36 "It's cut from the same cloth that made 'Forty-Second Street' and all the Warner musicals which followed that hit. 'Stage Struck,' however, is funnier than most of the recent ones. . . This is certainly Miss Blondell' s best performance in a long time. . . The plot is none too new. . . The "Warners . . . have intrusted the chorus girl role, the romantic lead, to a girl who has never been in pictures before. This is Jeanne Madden, whose eyes are the merriest on the screen, but whose high soprano voice has not been flatteringly recorded." Eileen Creelman + NY Sun p29 S 28 '36 " 'Stage Struck' ... is a backstage item: a rather moldy slice off the loaf which produced '42d Street' in better days. . . There are a few redeeming features: The Yacht Club Boys, who have two numbers — 'The Body Beautiful' and 'The Income Tax' — through which they gyrate with their usual energy and the brave pretense that they are not crusaders in a lost cause. . . Miss Madden, the newcomer of the picture, is a pert little ingenue with a slight but pleasant voice, but she speaks as though she is remembering every word her elocution teacher told her." F. S. Nugent h N Y Times pl4 S 28 '36 "[The cast] seem more or less unhappy in a venture which seldom lifts its audience out of a state of philosophic neutrality. Perhaps I shouldn't be so blunt about it so soon, because 'Stage Struck' has several reasons for suspecting that it might have been a potentially amusing and entertaining musicale. But its desperate want of something approaching a reasonably fresh plot, and its lagging pace in the midst of so much good talent, reduce the latest costly song and dance entertainment from the Warner studios to blank and routine second-ratedness." William Boehnel h N Y World-Telegram pl3 S 28 '36 Stage p26 O *36 Time p25 S 21 '36 Trade Paper Reviews "Even though it makes an attempt to poke fun at the show-must-go-on thing, 'Stage Struck' is cut from the same old pattern, gravitating between moments of sizzling comedy and long stretches of dull palaver. But coming on the heels of the Joan Blondell-Dick Powell marriage, and the attendant publicity, it's enough to help the box office generously. Otherwise it likely won't account for much over average takings. . . Jeanne Madden does okay for a starter. Some fans may find it hard to connect the shirley-templeish face, manner and smile with the mature tonal quality of this ingenue's voice, but she makes a neat and natural fit for the part." -1 Variety pl7 S 30 '36 STAR FOR A NIGHT. 20th century-Fox 75min Ag 28 '36 Cast: Claire Trevor. Jane Darwell. Evelyn Venable. Arline Judge. J. Edward Bromberg Director: Lewis Seiler Music & lyrics: Harry Akst. Sidney Clare Music director: Samuel Kaylin See issue of September 28, 1936 for other reviews of this film Audience Suitability Ratings "The acting of all is good, especially that of Jane Darwell as Mrs. Lind. The three chorus girls are great fun and relieve the film from too much pathos. Suitability: adults & adolescents." + Mo Film Bui pl77 O '36 "This is an appealing story. . . The dialogue rings true, and all parts are sincerely taken. Adolescents, 12-16: yes; children, 8-12: probably mature." -i Motion Pict R p8 S '36 "A and Y: pleasant sentimental comedy; C: little interest." Parents' M p43 O '36 STRAIGHT FROM THE SHOULDER. Paramount 65min Ag 28 '36 Cast: Ralph Bellamy. Katherine Locke. Andy Clyde. David Holt Director: Stuart Heisler See issue of September 28, 1936 for other reviews of this film Audience Suitability Ratings "A mediocre picture that may appeal to David Holt fans. Family-mature." Am Legion Auxiliary 'Good. Family. DAR + + Exceptionally Good; + Good; -j Fair; 1 Mediocre; —Poor; Exceptionally Poor