Screenland (Nov 1937-Apr 1938)

Sub D-l Warners Take a dive in an undersea craft the easy way ! You'll come up smiling after experiencing some thrills but even more laughs from this tale about some boys who belong to the submarine corps of the U.S.N. The fresh lad who makes good is Wayne Morris, dynamic newcomer who proves he belongs by holding his own in such fast company as that of Pat O'Brien, Frank McHugh and George Brent. Worth seeing. M-G-M Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell come in out of the shadows to the sunshine of irresponsible comedy romance, and we know you'll like them for it. It is a sort of "Animal Kingdom" about an artist, Bob, who gets caught in the social whirl, and nearly loses his bride, who quit society for the more soul-satisfying life of a Greenwich Village Bohemian Robert Benchley and Helen Vinson also rate bows. Dr. Syn A colorful costume thriller with George Arliss playing a lusty character role. It's about pirates, smugglers, and such intone of England's sea coast towns. There's a Conan Doyle flavor to it, with the ex-pirate iwsing as a clergyman and being brought back to his past by a mulatto who, in punishment for his crime against the pirate's wife, was left to die on an island. Very well acted, this makes pretty good entertainnient. Trie Bride Wore Red M-G-M Scenically this is a treat, and Joan Crawford, in some striking Adrian creations, adds to its visual splendors. Add also uniformly good acting by Joan. Franchot Tone, Robert Young, Billie Burke and Reginald Owen, and you have all there is to this saga of a Cinderella who, on a brief vacation as a fine lady, finds such beauty as she never knew as a bar-maid in a waterfront cafe in Trieste. Passive romance. AGGING TALKIES Delight Evans' Reviews on Pages 26-27 Heidi 20th CenturyFox Just about perfect as a vehicle for the Shirley Temple of today, and something the adult as well as the juvenile population will find as enjoyable as it is fitting to this holiday season. The translation of a favorite classic about the little girl who brings joy to the life of her grandfather, an embittered hermit of the Alps, makes grand entertainment as played by Shirley, Jean Hersholt and a splendid cast. Excellent. Sec it ! Madame X M-G-M Hardy perennial of stage and screen, and in this new edition a still potent tearjerker, but perhaps still more interesting as an example of fine emotional acting by Gladys George in the name role. In addition to this striking star performance,_ there is good direction and a nice production to make this an interesting remake of a familiar story. Warren William. Henry Daniell, and John Beal, are all notably good. Lancer Spy 20th CenturyFox George Sanders turns star, Gregory Ratorf turns director, and 20th CenturyFox turns out one of the best thrillers of the season, a war spy story that is meaty, compact, and superbly, acted. Sanders is the British officer who impersonates a German captured by the English, gets to Berlin and is in constant risk of detection there. Dolores Del Rio was never prettier. Joseph Schildkraut, Peter Lorre and others, fine. Double Wedding M-G-M Going all the way in nonsense, this is something to carry you to the peaks of lunacy for laughing purposes only. William Powell and Myrna Loy, John Beal and Florence Rice, Jessie Ralph, Edgar Kennedy and others do an expert job of their acting assignments. They'll have you chuckling most of the time, even if the picture as a whole doesn't come close to "My Man Godfrey" as capricious comedy. M erryGoRound of 1938 Universol Like seven acts of vaudeville reeled off in one film. Such headliners as Bert Lahr and Jimmy Savo, and Billy House, all of the stage, reinforce Hollywood's own humor brigade, consisting of Alice Brady, Mischa Auer and Louise Fazenda. It is a series of farcical episodes strung together on a thread of romance concerning Joy Hodges, newcomer, who sings pleasingly, and John King. It is mighty amusing in spots. Alcatraz Island Warners One of those more than welcome films that come along quietly, with no outstanding stars to give them glamor, but plenty of good sound acting, a substantial melodramatic yarn, and good suspense to make your evening entertaining. The famous Federal prison is the "come-on" for most of the interest you take right from the start. You'll like John Litel. Mary Maguire, Ann Sheridan, and Gordon Oliver. West of Shanghai Warners ' Boris Karloff veers from horror to humor, playing a Chinese bandit who is general of his own army. It is an interesting change and Boris himself seems to enjoy it immensely. His fellows in this "Good Bad Man" of the Orient melodrama are Gordon Oliver. Beverly Roberts, and Ricardo Cortez. in the more prominent parts. This is pretty fair entertainment of the purely fictional sort. Capital, Mr. Karloff! 64