Motion Picture Review Digest (Jan-Dec 1937)

MOTION PICTURE REVIEW DIGEST BANJO ON MY KNEE— Continued '•Audiences will enjoy this bit of true American folk lore dealing with the rapidly disappearing clan of shantyboat fishermen. Good. Adults & young adults. ' + Motion Pict Guide Ja '37 "Understandingly and well directed, and with an excellent cast, all members of which contribute line performances, this picture is most appealing with its realism on the one hand and simple but hectic love story on the other. . . The pnotography is outstanding, with many breathiakingly beautiful shots. Family." + Nat Council of Jewish Women D 9 '36 "A: elemental melodrama; Y: doubtful; C: no." Parents' M p40 F '37 "Adults." Sel Motion Pict p6 Ja 1 '37 Newspaper and Magazine Reviews "Like the Ol' Man River on which its shanty boat characters dwell, this story of an errant husband and his long-suffering wife 'don't say nothin' but just keeps rollin' along.' If the producers had eliminated the melodrama and presented the piece as a down-to-earth musical, the results would have been happier." h Christian Science Monitor pl3 D 26 '36 "We never have liked Barbara Stanwyck on the screen as much as we like her in the role of the primitively emotional Pearl. Joel McCrea is adequate as the recreant river buck Ernie, but the film is stolen, lock, stock, and barrel, by "Walter Brennan. . . Into the rhythm and color of the story are worked a number of melodies with the flavor of the muddy Mississippi. This musical background catches the elusive allure of folk melody." (3% stars) Beverly Hills Liberty p55 Ja 16 '37 "There's something carefree and pleasant in general about 'Banjo on My Knee.' It's one of those Mississippi river-folk affairs, and though technically, of course, as smooth as any film, it has yet that rather lackadaisical, casual note which we are told characterizes the worthy people of the region. . . There are scenes on a sort of houseboat on the river, and some down in New Orleans, and none are very startling. It's all so successfully inconsequential that only after an hour or so do you begin to think that you have had enough of it." John Mosher H New Yorker pll6 D 19 '36 "There are moments in 'Banjo on My Knee' that prove there is material for a fine picture in the shanty towns of the lower Mississippi; if this one misses being that picture, it is nevertheless colorful and entertaining." H News-Wk p23 D 19 '36 "Never an organized piece of story-telling, the film benefits by John Cromwell's understanding direction and the acting of a flawless cast. Barbara Stanwyck brings honesty and direct appeal to the girl who tires of waiting. . . Walter Brennan is sensational as the grandpappy. . . Here's star material. . . Buddv Ebsen is great in a droll part, while Anthony Martin lends his excellent voice to a brace of Jimmy McHugh's songs that are certain hits." Herb Sterne + Script pl2 D 12 '36 "If, say, your soul should thirst for the epic drama of an earlier day, and you find yourself viewing the folk antics of 'Banjo on My Knee,' be not dismayed. . . There is an easy-going, healthfully blasphemous quality about the picture that associates it, however remotely, with 'Tobacco Road.' . . The film is set to music in a rather ingenious fashion, and so unpretentiously evolved that it makes the pleasantest sort of evening." Katharine Best + Stage p76 Ja '37 Trade Paper Revieios "If there was anything left out of this picture, it's only because those concerned with the production couldn't think of it. Runs the gamut of emotions, never quite settles down with any one of them, and takes too long a time telling its story. As a business getter, it looks only moderate, with the starring combination of Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea probably counting most at the wicket. . . As paced in its present form, it's jerky, there's too long a pause between laughs and the human interest angles (of which there are too many) are lost in the shuffle." -] Variety pl4 D 16 '36 BATTLE OF GREED. Crescent 65min Ja 18 '37 Cast: Tom Keene. Gwynne Shipman. James Bush Director: Howard Higgin This is the third of a series of Westerns based on historical incidents and starring Tom Keene. "The period is 1857 and the locale Virginia City, Nevada, the site of the Comstock lode silver strike. Mark Twain, then a young newspaperman, and Comstock are among the characters introduced, with Twain an important figure in the story." (Film Daily) Audience Suitability Ratings "A, Y & C: good adventure yarn." Parents' M p46 Ap '37 Trade Paper Reviews "Again Producer B. B. Derr turns to an interesting period and the result is a production that will satisfy the action fans. It provides Tom Keene with an ideal vehicle." + Film Daily p5 Ja 4 '37 "For its limited budget the picture shows good production values and will not be found lacking in the situations for which it is aimed. For this picture the story has been laid in the period directly following the discovery of silver at Virginia City, and, while the usual horsechase stuff has been minimized, the picture nevertheless has plenty of action to suit the small town and neighborhood audiences where rugged western drama is the piece de resis + ' Hollywood Reporter p3 D 30 '36 + Motion Pict Daily pl2 D 31 '36 "As an action picture for the houses that play Westerns, and for other independent circuit releases, 'Battle of Greed' is an entirely satisfactory production. . . Picture maintains standard of this type of product set by the previous releases. However, this one is less of an 'outdoor' film with most of the action taking place indoors, but there is sufficient shooting and fighting plus the usual Western stuff." + Variety (Hollywood) p3 D 30 '36 BELOVED ENEMY. United artists 85min D 25 '36 Cast: Merle Oberon. Brian Aherne. Karen Morley. Jerome Cowan. David Niven. Henry Stephenson. Donald Crisp Director: Henry C. Potter "Its story ... is of the tragically foredoomed romance between Dennis Riordan, rebel leader, and Lady Helen Drummond, niece of the English representative, come to study the Irish situation, report and, later, attempt to reach a basis for peace. It is a tragic romance because it was, and might have continued to be, an ideal one." (N Y Times) Filmed with two endings, one tragic and the other a conventionally happy one. + + Exceptionally Good; + Good; -| Fair; p Mediocre; — Poor; Exceptionally Poor