Motion Picture Review Digest (Jan-Dec 1936)

MOTION PICTURE REVIEW DIGEST 127 game hunter in Africa in order to be placed on display in England. He escapes by calling out the elephants who break his cage. His mate who was returning to England for a legacy decides to remain with him in the jungle. Audience Suitability Ratings "A & Y: no value; C: no." Christian Century pl574 N 25 '36 "This next episode in the highly exciting life of the white ape, Tarzan, holds many thrills, fine jungle scenery, interesting shots of African native animals, and the thread of story which delights a young audience. Family & junior matinees." Am Legion Auxiliary "Were it not for the prolonged death scene of Captain Fry, it could be recommended for family, otherwise adults." Calif Cong of Par & Teachers "An interesting film, very well produced. Any audience." Nat Soc of New England Women "[It] presents the rather improbable situation of the ape-man, Tarzan, and his white mate, far from civilization in Africa. . . The terrifying sequences of the picture make it unsuitable for young children, but due to the popularity of the Tarzan stories, it may be rated as a family film." S Calif Council of Fed Church Women "By all means, family." Mrs T. G. Winter Fox W Coast Bui N 7 '36 'Well cast and pleasingly entertaining. Family & junior matinee." + Gen Fed of Women's Clubs (W Coast) O 26 '36 "Good. Family-mature." + Motion Pict Guide D '36 "In a picture of this kind which uses an extremely fantastic plot and an impossible hero, it seems a pity that the producers should introduce the shocking realism of death scenes, vividly pictured in all their horrid details. As either fairy stories or adventure tales the 'Tarzan' books have a large following of children and adults who like to be transported out of the world of reality by swift action and imaginative events, but the thrills of 'Tarzan' s' amazing feats do not need actual horror to increase their appeal. Several scenes in this picture unfit it for the audiences with which it should have the greatest popularity. Adolescents, 12-16: not recommended; children, 812: no." — Motion Pict R plO N '36 "There are some moments of beauty, some inconsistencies in this tale of adventure; but unfortunately some gruesome deaths mar its otherwise exceptional value as juvenile entertainment." Nat Council of Jewish Women O 28 '36 "Too exciting for very young children. General patronage." Nat Legion of Decency N 5 '36 "A, Y & C: good adventure story." Parents' M p46 Ja '37 "[It is] an engrossing sequel to the Tarzan films. Family." + Sel Motion Pict pll D 1 '36 "[It is] a thrilling and exciting adventure story. Family." + Wkly Guide O 31 '36 Newspaper and Magazine Reviews "Just who the devotees of Tarzan may be is open to perplexing speculation. On the one hand, they may all be the normal persons who pass the thirteen-year-old intelligence tests with flying colors; again they may be escapists whom the Afr'can landscape captivates, or they may simply be poor wretches who find in the fabulous conjurings of M-G-M and Edgar Rice Burroughs a sedative. In any case, the Capitol Theater was thronged yesterday with spellbound patrons who laughed like children. . . Maureen O' Sullivan brings such conviction to her role that at any minute this reviewer may pack up and leave for the South Seas." Marguerite Tazelaar + NY Herald Tribune p23 N 20 '36 " 'Tarzan Escapes' was two or three years in the making. Completed at last, it emerges as a super-thriller for juveniles — and quite a lot of fun for the grown-ups, too. . . It's got thrills enough, this 'Tarzan..' all well photographed, ingeniously concocted. There is real imagination in this fantasy of adventure, and plenty of comedy. Herbert Mundin contributes many of the laughs." Eileen Creelman + NY Sun p30 N 20 '36 "From the adult viewpoint, if there is such a thing, where Tarzan is concerned, it is Africa that really saves the picture. The flavor and the monstrous spell, the strange and horrifying beauty of the Dark Continent are all there, carefully processed and sound-tracked, to offset the comical ululations of the ape-man. . . In its wealth of animal sequences, Metro has slyly propitiated the sentimentalists and zoolaters with shots of cunning lion cubs, cute fawns, &c, while withholding nothing from the lovers of savage scenes of tiger-shooting, native-spearing, war dances, sacrificial ceremonies." B. R. C. + NY Times p29 N 20 '36 "Whatever else you may think of 'Tarzan Escapes' — and you'll probably be able to think up a lot of unk.nd things to say about it if you've a mind to — you'll have to admit that it makes no pretense about being something it isn't. It neither solves, nor pretends to solve anything — but simply says 'here is some good fun; take it or leave it.' Frankly, this department prefers to take it. . . [It is the] sort of engaging adventure-comic-strip entertainment that completely disarms reviewers who sometimes like to boast that the cinema has reached the age of long trousers and discretion. . . The cast ... is in every way suitable to the demands imposed upon it and helps to make 'Tarzan Escapes' fun, if not art." William Boehnel -| NY World-Telegram p31 N 20 '36 "It satisfies all the demands made of these classics. . . In this particular film, considerable precedence is given Cheetah, the chimpanzee, and you shouldn't miss the cave monsters of* the climax." John Mosher New Yorker p85 N 28 '36 News-Wk p20 N 28 '36 " "Tarzan Escapes' has one striking difference from its predecessor, 'Tarzan and His Mate.' Mate Maureen O'Sullivan, who once frolicked through the jungle almost nude, now wears a tunic far more modest than most bathing suits. Despite the Legion of Decency, however, Tarzan' s mate is still 'Miss Jane Parker' to the whites who journey into Africa to find her. . . Cinemaddicts with good memories of MGM's two previous Tarzan pictures, though they may feel that they have seen 'Tarzan Escapes' before, will find it richly entertaining." + Time p41 X 30 '36 Trade Paper Reviews "Here is adventure supreme. Retaining all the thrills and spectacle of the earlier Tarzan productions, Metro has topped them with a lavishly produced, coherently directed story of the jung-le and its ruler, Tarzan, king of the apes. The appeal of 'Tarzan Escapes' to the juvenile audience throughout the country will be tremendous, and its drawing power for adults should not be under-estimated. Family." + Box Office p31 O 31 '36 "The latest Tarzan version should be enthusiastically welcomed by his followers. It is one of the best Tarzans yet. For the [juvenile] trade especially it is great stuff, and anyone who goes for this fantastic sort of thing should like it." -4 Film Daily pl3 O 27 '36 + + Exceptionally Good; -4 Good; H Fair; (-Mediocre; Poor; Exceptionally Poor