Motion Picture Review Digest (Jan-Dec 1939)

MOTION PICTURE REVIEW DIGEST ALLEGHENY UPRISING— Continued that started out as an epic historical drama and got tangled up in romance." H NY Herald Tribune p20 N 10 '39 "For a picture which roots around in some of the most lively pages of American history, it is surprising and downright incredible that 'Allegheny Uprising' should be as stiff and unexciting as it is. . . You would think that P. J. Wolfson and his collaborators at RKO could have come along with something better than a screen translation of a research worker's notes. Yet that is what 'Allegheny Uprising' gives the disquieting impression of being. . . It is a sprawling, confused costume picture which just seems like a lot of actors dressed up in coonskin caps, leather jerkins and soldier suits, wandering around on location." Bosley Crowther h N Y Times p27 N 10 '39 "The Pennsylvania pioneers seem rather inconsequential in 'Allegheny Uprising.' " John Mosher New Yorker p85 N 11 '39 "Handicapped by too much talk and a mawkish romance, this fictionization of long-rifle activities makes only for a moderately rousing melodrama." f Newsweek p37 N 20 '39 "Recommended with reservations to audiences who always go to see historical Alms, good or indifferent." -\ Photoplay p59 Ja '40 Trade Paper Reviews "It is only too bad that Producer-Scripter P. J. Wolfson laid down on his aids and did not give them a screenplay that would have lifted it to higher rating. . . Will give general satisfaction to mass audiences, though not as big as theme and advance talk had made us anticipate." H Box Office Digest pll O 25 '39 "An interesting but obscure incident from pre-Revolutionary American history furnishes the plot on which this feature is constructed. Its greatest assets are production scope, spectacle and action, which indicates its best market will be among that sizeable contingent which still relishes cowboys and Indians — regardless of era — in its screen fare. John Wayne and Claire Trevor are starred, but find themselves considerably handicapped through a rather heavy-handed screenplay and dull dialogue." -| Boxoffice p35 O 28 '39 "There is sufficient material in 'Allegheny Uprising' to satisfy action fans, but beyond this division the film's appeal is somewhat dubious. 'Allegheny' will not gain the first run attention and grosses accorded 'Jesse James', 'Stage Coach' and other recent outdoor epics. The story consists of a series of incidents, loosely strung together without respect for dramatic or entertainment value." David J. Hanna h Film Bulletin p6 N 4 '39 "Swell action offering telling the story of 'the first rebel' should click easily." + Film Daily plO O 24 '39 "What might have been stirring film drama of a milestone in American history is just an unimportant incident that will soon be forgotten. Producer-writer P. J. Wolfson apparently neglected to inject entertainment value into the picture in his effort to present the actual facts in this historical epic. . . It is extremely doubtful whether 'Allegheny Uprising' will cause the least bit of uprising at the boxoffice in this country, but it is certain that the English, in whatever English market there is left in these times, will turn thumbs down on this picture." h Hollywood Reporter p3 O 21 '39 Reviewed by Roscoe Williams + Motion Pict Daily p8 O 24 '39 "Dealing with contraband and illicit commerce, there may be some timeliness in the theme, but any substantial cash-and-carry at boxoffices is extremely remote. Except in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh territories it does not rate better than average allocation. In its favor is the novelty of a brief stretch of early Colonial happenings which antedate the Revolutionary War. There is evidence of careful research in the settings and costumes, and the film fits a groove, heretofore neglected, in the screen compilation of historical fiction. . . From what was apparently a mass of story material P. J. Wolfson in the joint capacity of scenarist and producer has turned out a routine screenplay, long on horsemanship and action, and short on romance and suspense." H Variety pl4 N 8 '39 "Picture's text and treatment fits in timeliness with major concerns of today as one of the elements for good general entertainment on the majority of programs." + Variety (Hollywood) p3 O 21 '39 ALLERGI MASNADIERI. Pullini films 72min O 27 '39 Cast: Assia Noris. Mino d'Oro. Camillo Pilotto. Calisto Beltramo Director: Marco Elter Musical film. Produced in Italy with Italian dialogue and no English subtitles. A beautiful Spanish orphan is sent to America to marry an unknown suitor. On the way pirates take over the vessel and she finds her fiance is also on the pirate ship. Also called Make-Believe Pirates. Neiospaper and Magazine Reviews "It is strangely reminiscent of one of those incredibly elaborate costumes one sees draped upon a plaster dummy in a dusty Venetian palazzo. . . As one might imagine without much effort, it is everything that a highly romantic foreign costume film is likely to be — ornate, excessive, sacchariferous, vacuous and just plain dull." Bosley Crowther — NY Times p29 O 28 '39 Trade Paper Revieios "This might have been a class musical film. As it is, it is a fair offering for the ItalianAmerican market." H Film Daily p7 O 20 '39 AMAZING MR. WILLIAMS. Columbia 80min N 23 '39 Cast: Melvyn Douglas. Joan Blondell. Clarence Kolb. Ruth Donnelly. Edward S. Brophy Director: Alexander Hall Music director: M. W. Stoloff Original story: Sy Bartlett Screen writers: Dwight Taylor. Sy Bartlett. Richard Maibaum Comedy. Third in the series of which the first was There's Always a Woman and the second, There's That Woman Again. Melvyn Douglas, ace detective, plans to marry Miss Blondell, secretary to the mayor. Douglas finds he is about to send the wrong man to his death for a murder. In his efforts to save the innocent man, Douglas becomes a fugitive. Audience Suitability Ratings "Mediocre. After the audience solves the puzzle of the theme, this comedy becomes amusing and believable. Mature-family." DAR "This is an illogical, inconsequential, diverting comedy which trips gaily through a series of adventures to a hilarious ending. Family." Nat Council of Jewish Women Fox W Coast Bulletin N 25 '39 "Adults." Nat Legion of Decency D 7 '39 "Family. A good comedy." + Wkly Guide D 2 '39 Newspaper and Magazine Reviews "It is as bubbling a mystery story as has graced the screen since Nick Charles was fresh. This current comedy offering is surely the best in the Douglas-Blondell tradition. It is gay without being forced; it is funny and spontaneous — a state of affairs that will not be found in every mystery-comedy that comes out of the studios." Robert Joseph + Hollywood Spectator plO N 25 '39 Trade Paper Reviews "It is one of the best of the zany detective Melvyn Douglas-Joan Blondell yarns from