Motion Picture Review Digest (Jan-Dec 1936)

128 MOTION PICTURE REVIEW DIGEST TARZAN ESCAPES— Continued "[It] has all the box office attractions of the others with the added advantage of a human and humorous treatment which gives promise of an even wider public appeal. With these pictures always popular with adolescents, foreign audiences, and with the legion of Edgar Rice Burroughs fans, the current opus will be certain also to annex new enthusiasts wherever shown." + Hollywood Reporter p3 O 24 '36 "Metro spent time, money in remaking 'Tarzan Escapes,' but the result proves it was worth it. In the best Tarzan tradition, this is plenty hokem but it will more than satisfy folks who liked the first Tarzan offerings." + Phila Exhibitor p33 N 1 '36 "Two years of ribbing between the last 'Tarzan' feature and this one, has left its mark on the subject. With the constant kidding having accentuated the absurdity of the highly imaginative jungle doings, the tree-totree stuff has worn pretty thin for adult consumption. Appeal of 'Tarzan Escapes' will be mostly for the [children,] and that's not likely to mean more than mediocre returns. While at first the sight of Tarzan doing everything but playing pinochle with his beast pals was a novelty, it's all rather silly now. Derisive laughter greeted the picture too often at the Capitol and it probably will run into similar difficulty most everywhere." ( Variety pl4 N 25 '36 "Production has size and appearance of much care in its making. Once under way, it keeps moving with enough interesting wild animal life to tighten the interest. Smash scene is a stampede of elephants. Good sound effects heighten the illusion. . . Weissmuller stayed within the definition of the character which he has originated. He did one bit of very beautiful underwater swimming. Leading woman again is Maureen O' Sullivan, who looked attractive and acted with spirit. . . Film is answer to the question how to get the children off the streets at matinee time." + Variety (Hollywood) p3 O 24 '36 TATTLER. See Here comes Carter TEXAS RANGERS. Paramount 90min Ag 28 '36 Cast: Fred MacMurray. Jack Oakie. Jean Parker. Lloyd Nolan. Edward Ellis Director: King Vidor See issue of September 28, 1936 for other reviews of this film Audience Suitability Ratings "Good entertainment for all except young children." Calif Cong of Par & Teachers "Scenic beauty, spirited music and action, and historical interest combine to make good entertainment. Family." Calif Fed of Business & Professional Women's Clubs "Good. Family-mature." DAR "Family, exclusive of young children for whom it is too exciting." Nat Soc of New England Women "The change of motives of the leading characters gives ethical value to picture certain to please the family." S Calif Council of Fed Church Women "Too exciting for children. Otherwise, family." Mrs T. G. Winter + Fox W Coast Bui S 12 '36 "The morals of this story are very mixed. There is a noticeable romantization of the Bad Man; while the tactics of the supporters of law are sometimes rather doubtful. In any case Fred MacMurray, good actor though he is, can never for a moment make us believe in him as an outlaw — he simply does not look the part. . . The virtues of the film are its excellent outdoor photography (though the action is at times too static, through overdoses of dialogue), and the vigour of the various scenes of fighting and shooting on a large scale. Suitability: adults & adolescents." A. V. H Mo Film Bui pl77 O '36 "The picture is exceptionally well cast. The direction is most skillful, and scenic backgrounds and action are beautifully photographed. The story is dramatic, logical, without sentimentality. Adolescents, 12-16: yes; children, 8-12: exciting." + Motion Pict R p9 O '36 "A and Y: good; C: possibly too tense." Parents' M p44 N '36 "The story is neither exceptional nor new but it is far better than the usual exaggerated Western. The film is sustained wholly by the acting of the principal characters and the capable direction of King Vidor." -| Scholastic p32 O 3 '36 Newspaper and Magazine Reviews "This is not a perfect picture, but it is a perfect example of how lively and exciting a cowboy film can be when it receives the same consideration in dialogue, direction, and playing that is usually reserved for only less vigorous themes." (4 stars) Beverly Hills Liberty p51 O 3 '36 "It [is] one of those pictures . . . which Hollywood produces so well. Everyone concerned in the picture seems to have been dealing with something he understood, if only emotionally. The result is not only vigour but naturalness. . . These characters take their place in a picture full of sweeping action, brilliantly photographed. The riding is fast, the fighting furious, and scene after scene reminds us that it was in depicting active adventure and simple heroism of this nature that the cinema first came into its own. 'The Texas Rangers,' however, revives as well as reminds. It makes the screen seem no longer tired." R. H. -f Manchester Guardian p20 O 2 '36 "Paramount wastes still another distinguished director in this one. Vidor admitted grinding it out to 'reestablish his box-office value.' We liked Nolan's performance. Film estimate: you could do worse." h New Theatre p34 N '36 "King Vidor has turned from the social problem of feeding America in 'Our Daily Bread,' to a vigilante saga of the Southwest in his latest production, 'The Texas Rangers.' To say that it is disappointing is meant only in the larger sense, for with his flair for showmanship, he naturally offers a colorful, and at times epical canvas. . . Despite its great length, the result is an absorbing picture. Yet, one cannot help but wish that, with his high talent, experience, and skill, a less stereotype, even commonplace, theme might now, in the full tide of his oustanding career, flow from Mr. Vidor' s cameras." Marguerite Tazelaar -1 NY Herald Tribune pl9 S 24 '36 " 'The Texas Rangers' is a Western, oldfashioned, as most Westerns by necessity are, but a pretty good Western at that. It is housed at the Paramount, which usually doesn't show Westerns. This new one, however, has a cast headed by Fred MacMurray and Jack Oakie, and its director is King Vidor. This combination, along with a prologue and epilogue delivered by an invisible narrator, may have fooled Paramount into thinking the film an epic, whatever an epic may be. That delusion is unfortunate. The picture, as well as the audience, would be much happier without those educational and quite uninspired monologues. A good Western needs no excuse, even when cut strictly to formula." Eileen Creelman -\ NY Sun p29 S 25 '36 -4 + Exceptionally Good; + Good; -| Fair; J Mediocre; —Poor; Exceptionally Poor