Screenland (Nov 1945-Oct 1946)

* Smart new ^fyles inihese New f abrics LATON i jCELATONE JSWANTONE * ^DOUBLETONE Tfc^OTONE TWINiCiETONE SUE DETONE*1? ALSO IN 'Reg. U.S. Pat, Oft. At your favorite store! )ct&&*£ MILLS A DIVISION OF McKAY PRODUCTS CORPORATION EMPIRE STATE BUILDING • NEW YORK 8 Centennial summer— 20th Century-Fox With Jerome Kern's music, this gloriously Technicolored film based on Albert I dell's popular novel about Philadelphia's centennial is everything you expect — but it doesn't quite touch the lilting qualities of "State Fair." The pace is leisurely, as well it might be with the cast dressed in the fol-de-rols and furbelows of 1876 costumes. There's time for enchanting romance between Jeanne Crain, lovelier than ever, and Cornel Wilde, as a very dashing Frenchman, with complications by Linda Darnell and William Eythe. Dorothy Gish and Walter Brennan are fine as the girls' parents, Constance Bennett adds gaiety as continental aunt. TILL THE END OF TIME— R/CO Whether this film will help your boy to settle down to civilian life again is a moot question. But after all, everyone is an individual, isn't he? So here we have three ex-Marines — Guy Madison, who does remarkably well as the former school boy, whose parents' affection shows too much; Robert Mitchum, Texan cowhand, Bill Williams, an ex-boxer who finds his way back painfully on man-made legs. Camaraderie is theirs alone, excluding all civilians except Dorothy McGuire, as the war widow — until the fadeout when all but Jean Porter, the jitterbug, see the light. She can't dig anyone liking title tune, based on Chopin's "Polonaise." SMOKY — 20th Century-Fox Across the panoramic beauty of Utah's scenic glory races a black beauty by the name of Smoky, and when that happens you'll settle back ready and willing to witness the finest film yet produced in which a wild animal plays the central character. Based on Will James' classic story, it also provides some excellent roles for Fred MacMurray, as the horse's trainer and best friend; Anne Baxter, the pretty ranch owner; and Burl Ives, a newcomer to films but certainly not to concert and record listeners, as a singing blacksmith — definitely a treat. But it's Smoky who'll win applause for his almost human reaction and animal wisdom. OF HUMAN BONDAGE — Warners Mildred has done it again. Back in 1934 she took Bette Davis from insignificant roles and started her on the road to stardom. Now she is doing the same thing for Eleanor Parker in this version of Somerset Maugham's widely known book, with Paul Henreid as the clubfooted, frustrated artist whose unwanted attraction to the mean and tawdry Mildred, tea-room waitress, wreaks havoc in his life. Except for brittle flashes of Mildred's tempestuous, brutal personality, the picture lacks dramatic punch, wallowing tediously in the slumps. Only other bright spots are the scenes with the Anthelnys, arrestingly played by Edmund Gwenn and Janet Paige. CANYON PASSAGE — Universal Rugged pioneering in 1856 Oregon gives this Technicolor film plenty of that kind of plot material Western fans are demanding these days. The cast, too, leaves nothing to be desired, headed by stars Dana Andrews, as a stout-hearted business man, proprietor of the general store and operator of his own freight line; Susan Hayward and Patricia Roc, the women in his life; and Brian Donlevy, local banker with a fatal weakness for gambling. Cabin-raising scenes, Indian warfare, sadly missing from modern horse operas, and a murder trial at kangaroo court, are interesting highlights. Never a dull moment. (More Reviews on page 10) SCREENLAND