Motion Picture Review Digest (Jan-Dec 1937)

50 MOTION PICTURE REVIEW DIGEST THE GIRL SAID NO— Continued cast and story set to different tunes. (Hollywood Reporter) See issues of June 28 and September 27, 1937 for other reviews of this film Audience Suitability Ratings "The story opens at a good pace in an atmosphere of cynical wisecracks but ends slowly in a plethora of pathos. The emotional climax, however, is well built up and wellhandled, although the last minute intervention of the pressmen and Dillon praising the opera is slightly ludicrous. Suitability: family." A. " H Mo Film Bui p221 O '37 "You'll have to take a pink pill of a plot to get the choice morsels of music; but it's worth it." + Scholastic p36 N 6 '37 Neiospaper and Magazine Reviews "[It is] a second rate picture. . . The results, neither in music nor in story, are altogether happy. Savoyard addicts will fret through the first part of the film." Jesse Zunser H Cue p42 O 16 '37 "It is an odd story, this mingling of a tough dance-hall instructor and Gilbert and Sullivan. Yet, curiously enough, the result is fairly entertaining. . . A freak entertainment — with Miss Hervey recommended for your attention." (2V2 stars) Beverly Hills Liberty p58 Jl 10 '37 "It is an ingenious show, sneaking in the minor classics almost before one is aware that they are being performed, but it is likely to disappoint the Gilbert and Sullivan fans as much as the straight seekers after screen entertainment. . . Excerpts from the famous operettas are not done well enough to hold their own." Howard Barnes h N Y Herald Tribune plO O 18 '37 "It's a much better film than the Globe has seen and heard for many months. [It] is an unpretentious film, evidently made at much less cost than pictures far inferior to it in amusement value." Eileen Creelman + NY Sun pl8 O 18 '37 "[It] is a most implausible, a most insubstantial and a most charming picture, full of delightful Gilbert and Sullivan people. . . Its total effect persists, through a haze of contradictory impressions, as one of the better entertainment investments of the season." B R C ' +'+ N Y Times pl4 O 18 '37 "[It is] a thoroughly charming and altogether satisfactory screen entertainment. . . It is Grade A film fare for any fan and particularly for Gilbert and Sullivan enthusiasts. . . Frankly, in spite of its flaws, I thoroughly enjoyed this film and felt a real affection for all the characters concerned." William Boehnel + NY World-Telegram pl4 O 18 '37 "This film is an absurd little trifle, and has trollopy freshness about it that makes it quite entertaining. The Gilbert-and-Sullivan cult may not feel that 'Patience' and 'The Mikado' get due attention, but on the other hand the racketeer set may feel just the opposite. Amateurs in both wall probably be thoroughly satisfied." John Mosher H New Yorker p87 O 23 '37 Trade Paper Reviews "A simple story, admittedly, but well acted, capably directed, and with much that is pleasant entertainment, this stacks up with the best of the B pictures." + Canadian Moving Pict Digest p6 S 18 '37 A GIRL WITH IDEAS. Universal 65min N 7 '37 Cast: Wendy Barrie. Walter Pidgeon. Kent Taylor. Dorothea Kent. George Barbier Director: S. Sylvan Simon Music director: Charles Previn Screen writers: Bruce Manning. Robert T. Shannon An heiress wins a huge settlement in a libel suit and is given the newspaper which libeled her. The former owner hopes to regain his property after she has mismanaged it but instead she makes a success after a fictitious kidnapping, fist fights and other excitements. Based on the short story of the same title by William Rankin. Newspaper and Magazine Revieios "A film rather devoid of [ideas.] There are some laughs but only die-hard newspaper story fans will find it entertaining. Adults and young people." r Christian Science Monitor pl7 N 6 '37 "Any attempt to put new life into an old theme deserves hearty commendation. A placque, then, for S. Sylvan Simon and his first directorial job. Mr. Simon shows all the skill and ability of an old hand at the game." Robert Joseph + Hollywood Spec pl4 N 6 '37 "A good programmer. Even if it weren't the picture would rate sparkling notices due to one bantering sequence that hits straight to the hearts of all pressmen. . . Pleasantly screwy all the way, there are laughs richly embroidered on a not-too-novel fabric." Herb Sterne -f Script p21 N 20 '37 Trade Paper Revieios "An amusing comedy, suited for the nether end of the de luxe dualers and able to carry the top spot in subsequent run houses, this packs more entertainment than many recent more pretentious efforts on the same subject — newspapers and newspaper folks. Family." + Boxoffice pl9 N 13 '37 "Your reviewer has seen several Universal pictures, classified as B product, that are infinitely better in entertainment value than many self-styled A pictures, and 'A Girl With Ideas' is just another of those swell little features that packs a real entertainment punch, and will set your cash-registers clicking merrily and your patrons laughing heartily." + Canadian Moving Pict Digest pl2 N 13 '37 "Universal has worked out something different in the way of a newspaper yarn. It may be screwy, wild and a thing that could hardly happen, but it furnishes a lot of laughs and makes very enjoyable program fare." + Film Daily p8 N 5 '37 + Motion Pict Daily pl3 O 29 '37 "Here is a breezy, laugh provoking comedy that fits nicely into the top dual bracket or better where the names mean anything. . . Net result is a pleasant programmer." + Phila Exhibitor p43 N 15 '37 "Bright and original comedy, briskly directed and acted [it] is a better than average B film and suitable for the more important first runs which pair their features." + Variety pl4 N 3 '37 "A trim, amusing comedy is 'A Girl With Ideas,' geared entirely for infectious entertainment and of a quality to grace any well ordered program." + Variety (Hollywood) p3 O 30 '37 + + Exceptionally Good; + Good; -J Fair; 1 Mediocre; —Poor; Exceptionally Poor