Motion Picture Review Digest (Jan-Dec 1939)

6 MOTION PICTURE REVIEW DIGEST ANOTHER THIN MAN— Continued serious a business and provides as light an entertainment as any holiday-amusement seeker is likely to find. This still does not mean that we are willing to surrender to it completely. Some of the bloom is off the rose. A few of the running gags are beginning to show signs of pulling up lame." Frank S. Nugent + NY Times p29 N 24 '39 " 'Another Thin Man' doesn't seem as spirited somehow as the first of the series. Perhaps too much happens too suddenly. So many shootings, so much skulduggery, and so much repartee may merely bewilder us early in the business." John Mosher H New Yorker pll3 D 2 '39 "While Another Thin Man' is an entertaining chapter in a popular series, it may prove disappointing to the faithful who, during Powell's illness and subsequent salary dispute with M-G-M, refused to countenance another actor as the father of Nick Jr. In comparison with their two previous efforts in Nick and Nora's behalf, Adapters Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich have turned out a slapdashiell Hammett carbon copy, lacking in verbal zip and spontaniety." -\ Newsweek p33 N 27 '39 "This title is a synonym for another sparkling picture, of course. . . The hows and whys of the mystery are impossibly involved, and you may be left in a fog, doubting that even William Powell could have unraveled the mystery without help from the director and scenario writers. But that's a trifle. The film's a honey." + Photoplay p59 Ja '40 "It had the 'Thin Man's' pace, bounce and snappy dialogue, exciting murder and air of amiable dipsomania. . . But the spontaneity seems a little forced, the pace, jokes and charm a little grimly predetermined." + Time p78 D 11 '39 Trade Paper Reviews "We do not need to be the seventh son of a prophet to tell you that there is a vast cash audience awaiting the return of William Powell to the screen, that this audience wishes for nothing more than his return in a 'Thin Man' vehicle with Myrna Loy at his side. That's the cash situation. It is as sure as shootin.' So now we can add that the entertainment values are also there. It measures up in full stride with the other 'Thin Man' episodes." -f + Box Office Digest p6 N 15 '39 "While the humor is more on the broad side, the transition from subtleties should tend to widen rather than restrict the picture's appeal. . . Hunt Stromberg has endowed the film with the best in production values and W. S. Van Dyke's direction contributes its crisp share toward making the offering one of the current sure bets at the turnstiles." -r Boxoffice p25 N 18 '39 "Swell mystery comedy should enjoy marked box-office popularity." + Film Daily p7 N 14 '39 "The return to the screen of William Powell, teamed with Myrna Loy in another 'Thin Man* yarn, is enough to spell heavy boxoffice. But when, as in this instance, the combination is supported by a story which measures up to the original 'Thin Man,' a sparkling script, splendid performance in every role under the most facile and deft of direction, it means a smash hit and that's what Another Thin Man' is. Both the exhibitors and the audiences are going to have a swell time." + Hollywood Reporter p3 N 10 '39 Reviewed by Roscoe Williams + Motion Pict Daily pi N 14 '39 "Third of the series, Another Thin Man' fails to measure up to the high entertainment standard set by its predecessors, but still retains enough ingredients to make it profitable boxoffice. . . It provides hefty marquee dressing. Picture's main drawback for top bracketing is a script that lacks spontaneity, and which is inclined to several by-paths and detours that are not clearly drawn. These serve to confuse rather than develop the plot structure. The sparkling dialog and laugh situations of its predecessors are also missing here." -\ Variety pl8 N 15 '39 "William Powell and Myrna Loy once again don the screen's Nick and Nora make-up, and zoom to new historic honors in 'Another Thin Man.' Picture marks Powell's return to the screen after a long absence, and, to commemorate occasion, Metro has provided him and his silversheet helpmeet with a Dashiell Hammett 'Thin Man' yarn that tops either of the two previous mystery comedy vehicles provided the pair." + Variety (Hollywood) p3 N 10 '39 ARIZONA KID. Republic 61min S 29 '39 Cast: Roy Rogers. George 'Gabby' Hayes. Stuart Hamblen Director: Joseph Kane Original story: Luci Ward Screen writers: Luci Ward. Gerald Geraghty Western melodrama. The scene is the Civil War where Roy Rogers joins the Confederate Army as a scout and succeeds in cleaning up the activities of a gang masking in uniform. Audience Suitability Ratings "General patronage." Nat Legion of Decency O 5 '39 "A, Y & C: good Western." + Parents' M p62 D '39 Trade Paper Reviews "Not one of the better Roy Rogers' efforts, but it is no fault of his. The musical interludes are spotted poorly, tending to slow up the action. Best portions of the film occur during the outdoor sequences when the men are riding and the camera gets a chance to roam over the terrain. Rogers deserves a decent script." h Boxoffice p27 O 7 '39 "Roy Rogers' steady advance toward popularity as a cowboy star receives a set-back in Arizona Kid,' a poorly-directed Western which is only intermittently entertaining. . . The film will pass muster with youngsters or rabid Western fans, but will gain no new admirers for Rogers." Frank Leyendecker h Film Bulletin p21 N 4 '39 "Starting off with a bang, this new Roy Rogers starrer fails to sustain its opening pace, and the action lags in several sequences in the picture. However, the Rogers fans will undoubtedly like it, as Rogers sings pleasingly and gets his man after the customary amount of setbacks and difficulties." H Film Daily p6 O 3 '39 Reviewed by Edward Greif Motion Pict Daily p8 S 29 '39 "It is one of Republic's better Westerns. Rogers, who lilts a tune with an abandon equal to his dexterity with a six-shooter, makes the film a natural dualer for the children. It's a Civil War background, made more credible than the usual yarns about the conflict of emancipation because of historically authentic incidents developed to form the crux in this story." + Variety pl3 O 11 '39 AT THE CIRCUS. MGM 85min O 20 '39 Cast: Marx Brothers. Kenny Baker. Florence Rice. Eve Arden. Margaret Dumont. Nat Pendleton Director: Eddie Buzzell Screen writer: Irving Brecher Comedy. Kenny Baker must have $10,000 to pay off a loan or he will lose his circus. The lunatic Marx Brothers in their incredible ways aid him in getting the money. Harpo gives a harp solo and Chico plays the piano. Audience Suitability Ratings "A: hardly; Y & C: probably funny." 1 Christian Century pl487 N 29 '39