The Movies ... and the People Who Make Them (1940)

"The MOVIES 1940” LADY WITH RED HAIR: Produced and distributed by Warner Brothers Director: Kurt Bernhardt Screenplay: Charles Kenyon, Milton Krims Story: N. Brewster Morse, Norbert (Based on the memoirs of Mrs. Leslie Carter) Photography: Arthur Edeson Editor. J ames Gibbon Caroline Carter Miriam Hopkins David Belasco Claude Rains Lou Payne Richard Ainley Mrs. Dudley Laura Hope Crews Mrs. Frazier Helen Westley Charles Bryant John Litel Mrs. Brooks Mona Barrie Semi-factual biography bringing to the screen the important years in the life of actress Mrs. Leslie Carter who won fame in 1890 under David Belasco. The story structure is episodic, and the film’s appeal arises chiefly from its re-creation of the theatrical world of the turn of the century. (Adults & Young People) (Running time, 78 minutes) Lady With Red Hair unfolds the more dramatic events in the career of Mrs Leslie Carter, the glamorous Chicago socialite who turned actress and crashed the show world some fifty years ago by bearding the fabled David Belasco. The drama takes liberties with actual facts, and though the characters of Mrs. Carter and Belasco are strongly etched, the picture is best as the nostalgic revival of an interesting theatrical period. Following her divorce from the mayor of Chicago in 1889, Mrs. Leslie Carter travels to New York, determined to regain custody of her son and to win the fame which will force her fair-weather friends to humble themselves before her. Armed with a letter of introduction, she bursts in on David Belasco, who promises to write a starring play and then promptly forgets about it. Three months pass and Mrs. Carter tries again. This time her determination impresses the wizard. Despite his attempts to coach her to the heights however, the first play fails. Mrs. Carter then decides to marry actor Lou Payne and retire to stock. Upon Belasco’s insistence, she postpones the marriage, rehearses for a new play which later clicks for a full year’s run. Triumph follows triumph after that, but the Lady With Red Hair becomes somewhat embittered when she learns that she cannot regain her son and in disappointment she seeks out and marries Payne. Belasco breaks with her, angry because she had not revealed her plans. After the tempestuous actress has wasted her fortune on a succession of failures, Payne persuades Belasco to direct her again for the rehearsals of a play which scores and thus reunites master and pupil. Claude Rains as David Belasco provides the firmest characterization and the one which does most to maintain interest, although Miriam Hopkins is entirely convincing, and at times brilliant, as Mrs. Leslie Carter. Laura Hope Crews as Mrs. Carter’s mother, Helen Westley as a capable boarding house mistress and several others muster solid support. Richard Ainley’s role as Lou Payne is a weak one which allows him no opportunities to star. Miriam Hopkins “LADY WITH RED HAIR” TIME IN THE SUN: World release of Marie Seton production Director: Sergei M. Eisenstein Photography: E. Tisse Editors: Marie Seton, Paul Burnford Semi-historical documentary based on Eisenstein’s “Que iva Mexico,” a study of the native Mexican’s heritage and aspirations. This second assemblage of the Russian’s uncompleted material is loosely edited by Marie Seton, but E. Tisse’s photography is the picture’s chief asset. (Adults 8C Young People) (Running time, 56 minutes) In 1931 Sergei M. Eisenstein, the renowned Russian director, tired of Hollywood methods and went to Mexico apparently determined to complete an epic study of the native Mexican Indian. After shooting some 300,000 feet, he for various reasons returned to Russia without completing the picture. Upton Sinclair in 1933 released the work after scrapping much of it and caused a heated controversy. A number of persons insisted angrily that he had distorted Eisenstein’s original intention. And now the material has been prepared again by Marie Seton, who is said to have received an actual outline from Eisenstein. The film depicts the primitive lives of the people, the arrival of the cruel Conquistadores, the effects of the new Christianity tempered by the ancient pagan heritage. The most absorbing sequences are those which reveal the fate of a peon couple under the regime of Diaz. Although some may discover an abstract continuity in the material, most of the sequences seem to lack any deliberate outline. E. Tisse’s photography however, is often magnificent. In spite of its technical faults, the film has much to offer mature audiences. THE GREAT PLANE ROBBERY: Produced and distributed by Columbia Director: Lewis D. Collins Screenplay: Albert DeMond Story: Harold Greene Photography: James S. Brown, Jr. Editor: Dwight Caldwell Mike Henderson Jack Holt Frankie Toller Stanley Fields Helen Carver Vicki Lester Joe Colson Noel Madison Jom Day Granville Owen Rod Brothers Theodore von Eltz Homer Pringle Hobart Cavanaugh Krebber Milburn Stone Eddie Lindo Paul Fix Nick Harmon Harry Cording Dr. Jamison John Hamilton Mrs. Jamison Doris Lloyd Bill Whitcomb Lane Chandler THE GREAT PLANE ROBBERY— Mediocre melodrama casting Jack Holt as an insurance investigator who captures a gang of crooks after they kidnap an exconvict. (Adults 8C Young People) (Running time, 53 minutes) Crime chaser Jack Holt is back on the job in this release, but it’s a feeble affair in spite of the square-jawed ace. Jack, an insurance detective, is assigned by his company to guard a former gang chief who is released ftom prison shortly before his half million dollar policy expires. Both ex-convict and detective are kidnapped while traveling on the same plane. Taken to a hideaway ranch by the crooks, along with the other passengers and the crew, Jack poses as a gangster himself until he finds opportunity to trap the whole criminal ring, thus saving the life of the heavily insured gang lord. The yarn is monotonous most of the way dut to a slow-footed script. Jack isn’t allowed to slug anyone and there are only a few shots fired throughout the business. The cast deserves credit for trying however. Jack carries on with his usual masculine resourcefulness, aided by Stanley Fields as the crook leader and Noel Madison as the ex-convict. WHO KILLED AUNT MAGGIE: Produced and distributed by Republic Director: Arthur Lubin Screenplay: Stuart Palmer Photography: Reggie Lanning Editor: Edward Mann Kirk Pierce John Hubbard Sally Ambler Wendy Barrie Sheriff Gregory Edgar Kennedy Aunt Maggie Elizabeth Patterson Bob Dunbar Onslow Stevens Cynthia Lou Joyce Compton Dr. George Benedict Walter Abel Eve Benedict Mona Barrie Andrew Willie Best Bessie Daisy Lee Mothershed Mr. Lloyd Milton Parsons Trooper Leroy Tom Dugan Trooper Curtis William Haade Coroner Dodson Joel Friedkin Suspenseful crime-with-comedy about a radio advertising man and a feminine radio script writer who cease quarreling on the verge of their marriage in order to investigate mysterious occurrances at a spooky family mansion. (Adults & Young People) (Running time, 69 minutes) This is a comedy-mystery of the reaching-hand, secret-room type which achieves 59