Motion Picture Review Digest (Jan-Dec 1937)

90 MOTION PICTURE REVIEW DIGEST SAN QUENTIN— Continued drab in theme and so authentically presented is a question the box-office will have to answer. But those who can derive entertainment from witnessing an exceedingly capable . cinematic job will find [it] very much worthwhile." Hollywood Spec pl5 Ap 10 '37 Trade Paper Reviews "Sensible scripting and direction manage to give the feature a sufficiently convincing atmosphere of grimness without going off the deep end into moroseness, the result being what is very probably the best prison picture since 'The Big House.' Family." + Box Office pll Ap 10 '37 "Topnotch melodrama against an authentic prison background, 'San Quentin' is packed with the fast action that makes for surefire popularity. The story is strong adult fare, performed and directed with conviction. Preachments, so common in convict stories, are praiseworthily avoided, and there is a chase guaranteed to bring audiences to the edges of the seats." + Hollywood Reporter p3 Mr 23 '37 + Motion Pict Daily p8 Mr 24 '37 "Woven to the standard pattern of prison dramas, this will appeal to action, thrill seekers but has little to distinguish it from the regular big house formula." H Phila Exhibitor p28 Ap 1 '37 "[It] kicks up a good deal of tumultuous physical action but not much dramatic excitement. . . The picture should strike fire but fails to elicit more than passing response. Beyond the fact that it boasts authentic scenes made within the walls of California's state penitentiary, it has little to distinguish it from a long succession of prison pictures." h Variety (Hollywood) p3 Mr 23 '37 "A & Y: exciting melodrama; C: best." Parents' M p61 My '37 not the Newspaper and Magazine Reviexos "As such things go, 'Sea Devils' is good movie fare." + Cue pl8 Mr 20 "37 "It begins with a fine fire at sea and ends with a magnificent wreck; but the intervening rough comedy and fisticuffs between "Victor McLaglen and Preston Foster is heavily artificial. Moderate entertainment of rather forced heartiness." 1 Film Wkly p28 Ap 3 '37 Reviewed by Pare Lorentz Judge p21 Je '37 "McLaglen and Foster are adequate to the necessities of their feud; Ida Lupino is pleasant enough as the bos'n's mate's daughter." (1 star) Beverly Hills Liberty p52 Ap 4 '37 "Starting out conventionally enough ... it soon turns into a good fast thriller of the sea. . . 'Sea Devils,' with its sailor comedy and sailor melodrama, should continue to do all right at the Rialto for quite a while." Eileen Creelman + NY Sun pl8 Mr 22 '37 "This picture might have been an interesting inside look at how the Coast Guard works, in the manner of a Grantland Rice Sportlight with dramatic trimmings. Instead, it's a seagoing version of 'What Price Glory?' . . The big rescue at the end (gotta have a rescue in a picture about the Coast Guard) could have been nail-biting bait if the sequence hadn't been so obviously filmed in one of those infernally adaptable Hollywood bathtubs. It's all pretty wet." Stage pl6 Ap '37 SANTA FE BOUND. Reliable 56min Ag 15 '36 Cast: Tom Tyler. Jeanne Martel. Richard Kramer Director: Henri Samuels A western melodrama. Trade Paper Reviews "This is a fast-moving horse-opera. Estimate: okay." + Phila Exhibitor p53 N 15 '36 "Getting away with a bushwacking start which nets a couple of killings, 'Santa Fe Bound' doesn't let down at any time in its short hour and has entertainment provision in enough quantities to satisfy." + Variety p28 My 12 '37 SEA DEVILS. RKO 85min F 5 '37 Cast: Victor McLaglen. Preston Foster. Ida Lupino. Donald Woods Director: Ben Stoloff "Story relates the efforts of McLaglen to get one of the ordinary seamen under his command, Donald Woods, to marry his daughter, Ida Lupino. McLaglen takes a great interest in Woods, but his plans are frustrated by the intervention of Preston Foster." Variety (Hollywood) See issue of March 29, 1937 for other reviews of this film Audience Suitability Ratings "Suitability: adults & adolescents." Mo Film Bui p61 Mr '37 Trade Paper Reviews "It indicates nice box office, with Victor McLaglen heading a strong cast. . . Bulk of bigger grosses probably will come from double bills in larger houses where it easily rates being the top feature. And it will get business in solo spots that appreciate more vivid subjects. The picture, too, is apt to prove a sleeper for exhibitors not aware of its potentialities." -f Variety pl4 Mr 17 '37 SEVENTH HEAVEN. 20th century-Fox lOOmin Mr 26 '37 Cast: Simone Simon. James Stewart. Jean Hersholt. Gregory Ratoff. Gale Sondergaard Director: Henry King Based on the play of the same title by Austin Strong. This is a remake of a film produced in 1927. A girl ready for suicide in the gutters of Paris finds faith and love in a boastful sewer cleaner whose two burning ambitions are to have a beautiful wife and to rise in the social scale by becoming a street cleaner. Audience Suitability Ratings "This production of a moderately appealing story out of some very unlovely ingredients is a triumph of sentimentality. . . The film suffers slightly from inflexible dialogue and sugary situations. . . The vagueness of certain relationships, some querulous lines and occasional religiosity make the film suitable for adults only." T. J. Fitzmorris 1 America p24 Ap 10 '37 "A: excellent; Y: mature but good; C: be3Tond them." Christian Century p502 Ap 14 '37 "Highly emotional and tense, it is excellent fare for adults." Am Legion Auxiliary -}+ Exceptionally Good; -fGood; -{ Fair; 1Mediocre; — Poor; Exceptionally Poor