Photoplay (Jul - Dec 1940)

• ABE LINCOLN IN ILLINOIS-RKO-Radio It would be hard to improve, technically or artistically, on this exceptional motion picture from Robert Sherwood's Pulitzer Prize play. Raymond Massey is extraordinary as the Lincoln of prepresidential days, ably supported by t'.ene Loclchart as Stephen Douglas, Ruth Gordon as Mary Todd, Mary Howard as Ann Rutledge. (Apr.) ADVENTURE IN DIAMONDS-Paramount Superior jewel-thief story with South African mining background, in which the ingratiating George Brent and John Loder appear to advantage, but which doesn't offer much opportunity to Isa Miranda as the lady crook who goes straight against her will. (Apr.) AND ONE WAS BEAUTIFUL-M-G-M Alice Duer Miller's story casts Jean Muir a? the glamour girl who lets playboy Robert Cummings take a prison rap for a manslaughter job she committed, but it's pretty Laraine Day, her younger sister, who works for his release. If you liked the story, yuu'll like the movie. {June) • BAKER'S WIFE, THE-Marcel Pagnol She ran away with a handsome shepherd and the baker (Raimu) was so upset the villagers had to combine efforts to bring her back. It's farcical, but so true to type it seems a real slice of Provencal village life. It's French, with John Erskine's English subtitles. (Apr.) BEYOND TOMORROW-RKO-Radio Three lonely businessmen befriend a boy and a girl. The men die but remain in the scene as ghosts. The boy is lured from the straight and narrow by actress Helen Vinson. It's an enervating sermon under the guise of entertainment, with Richard Carlson, Jean Parker and others doing their best. {June) • BILL OF DIVORCEMENT, A-RKO-Radio Maureen O'Hara plays the role that sent Katharine Hepburn zooming to stardom in this somber film dealing with hereditary insanity. Adolphe Menjou. as the neurotic father who escapes from the sanitarium; Fay Bainter, as the wife who plana to remarry; and Herbert Marshall round out the principals. Well done, but not for the masses. (June) • BISCUIT EATER, THE-Paramount An unexpected treat, this charming, sentimental story of the patient efforts of little Billy Lee to make a capable pointer of the runt of a litter. Promise, the dog, and Cordell Hickman, a little colored boy, are superb. (June) BLACK FRIDAY-Universal Put Boris Karloff in the role of a doctor who transplants the brain of a criminal into the cranium of his professor-friend, Stanley Ridges, and you'll have a trend of events that will keep you enthralled. Anne Nagel. provides the spot of beauty. (May) BLONDIE ON A BUDGET-Columbia Blondie has a yen for a fur coat, Dagwood wants to join a club he can't aiford. Toss in a girl friend to make Blondie jealous and let Bahy Dumpling turn on hi-* charm. There you have the latest effort of Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Rita Hayworth and Larry Simma, (May) • BLUE BIRD, THE-20th Century-Fox Shirley Temple reveals her maturing art in a genuine characterization. ,i the rather naughty Maeterlinck heroine who setnut on a search for the fabled bird of happiness. Little brother Jojinny Russell accompanies her through a Technicolor dreamland which is, on the whole, conceived with imagination and taste. (Apr.) • BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940-M-G-M It's a dancing field day for Fred Astaire. Eleanor Powell and George Murphy — and it makes the best screen musical in some two years. Fred and George are a dance-hall team, until George gets a Broadway bid to co-star with Eleanor, and the fun — lots of it — begins. Frank Morgan provides much of the humor. (Apr.) • BUCK BENNY RIDES AGAIN-Paramount Put Jack Benny on a dude ranch where he stages a framed holdup to impress his sweetheart. Ellen Drew; toss in an honest-to-Pete robbery; add that valiant valet, Rochester, Phil Harris' music and some snappy dance routines — and there you have entertainment that will have you cheering. (June) BULLET CODE-RKO-Radio George O'Brien is still galloping over the sage brush and righting wrongs. Virginia Vale play the girl whose ranch he saves from a gang of rustlers. There's plenty of action. (May) CHUMP AT OXFORD, A-Roach-U.A. Slapstick comedy within the sacred portals of dear old Oxford, with ex-street cleaners Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy getting their English education the hard way. The humor is forced in spots, but there are some genuinely amusing bits. COURAGEOUS DR. CHRISTIAN, THE-RKO-Radio Second in the series, Jean Hersholt is a small-town philanthropist who tries for better housing conditions and meets with civic opposition. He's supported by Dorothy Lovett, Robert Baldwin, Tom Neal and other-. (June) it DARK COMMAND, THE-Republic That famous "Stagecoach" team. John Wayne and Claire Trevor, take a hand in shaping the destiny of Kansas in this film, which .. liter Pidgeon as the ruthless guerilla leader who terrorize the country until Wayne steps in. This has the rich flavor of frontier life. (June) DR. CYCLOPS— Paramount A weird tale of a mad scientist who finds a radium mine and mak. unk to the size of rabbit-. A fascinating novelty. with Albert Dekker doing a fine job in the title rule. Thomas Coley, Janice Logan and Charles Halton -upport. (May) (Continued on page 6) PICTURES REVIEWED IN SHADOW STAGE THIS ISSUE Page ALIAS THE DEACON-Unlversal 60 ANDY HARDY MEETS OEBUTANTE-M-G-M 61 CURTAIN CALL-RKO-Radio 79 OR. KILDARE'S STRANGE CASE-M-G-M . 79 GRANDPA GOES TO TOWN-Republic ... 80 I WAS AN ADVENTURESS-20th Century-Fox . 60 IF I HAD MY WAY-Universal 79 JOHNNY APOLLO-20th Century-Fox .79 LIGHT OF WESTERN STARS, THE-Paramount 80 MY FAVORITE WIFE-RKO-Radio .... 60 ONE MILLION B.C.— Hal Roach-United Artists 79 OUR TOWN-Sol Lesser-United Artists .... 61 SAFARI— Paramount 79 SAINT TAKES OVER, THE-RKO-Radio 61 SATURDAY'S CHILDREN-Warners ... 60 SON OF THE NAVY— Monogram 79 THOSE WERE THE DAYS-Paramount 79 TOMBOY— Monogram 80 TURNABOUT— Hal Reach-United Artists .60 20 MULE TEAM-M-G-M 79 TYPHOON— Paramount 61 WAY OF ALL FLESH, THE-Paramount .79 WOLF OF NEW YORK— Republic 79 WOMEN IN WAR-Republic 61 • INDICATES PICTURE WAS ONE OF THE BEST OF THE MONTH WHEN REVIEWED