Screenland ((Jan–Jun 1947))

CURRENT FILMS 1W IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE Can you blame a girl for feeling elated on the day she discovers Tampax? On the day she really proves to herself how easy and neat this kind of monthly protection can be — worn internally, invisible in use and not even felt when in place . . . "What a blessing!" You can say this and say it again, every time that you remember the discarded belts, pins and other external rigging! Perfected by a doctor, Tampax is modern and streamlined in every respect. Its absorbency is provided by pure surgical cotton contained in smooth, slim applicators. Your hands need not even touch the Tampax, for daintiness is the motto. No odor; no chafing; easy dis posal. No embarrassing bulges or ridges under the clothing. . Tampax is comfortable at all times. fust think of the difference as compared with older, more familiar methods. A whole month's quota will slide into your purse. ... At drug stores and notion counters in 3 absorbencies (Regular, Super, Junior) to suit personal needs on different days. Tampax Incorporated, Palmer, Mass. Liberty Films— RKO * TILLTHECLOUDSROLLBY MCM 13 RUE MADELEINE Accepted for Advertising by the Journal of the American Medical Association 10 20th Century-Fox * LADY IN THE LAKE MCM Screens and Selected 2?y You can always count on Frank Capra giving a warm human touch to his films, and with Jimmy Stewart, back from the Army for his first movie role, to enact this fascinatingly contrived story, you can't lose. "They" say it's an Oscarworthy performance, and you'll probably agree. It all started when Philip Van Doren Stern wrote the essay, "The Greatest Gift." That also can be applied as a critique. Jimmy plays the small-town boy, forced to take over his father's business when he longs to see the world. Donna Reed joins his struggle to provide for their small family and to combat the miserly, power-seeking dealings of the town's wealthiest man, Lionel Barrymore, at his "Scroogiest" best. When all hope disappears Jimmy s ill-expressed wish he had never been born comes true. Mammoth musical based on the life and ballads of the late composer, Jerome Kern, this great big Technicolor production features just about every star on the Metro lot in lavish specialties: Sinatra sings, June Allyson, Van Johnson, Lucille Bremer dance, Judy Garland, Kathryn Grayson, Tony Martin, Dinah Shore and Lena Home warble— it's a long and glittering list. Though the film is top-heavy with talent, it really cries for a comedian of Red Skelton's calibre. More laughs and less glamor would have resulted in a better show. As it stands "TTCRB" is a somewhat stodgy biography, with Robert Walker working hard to humanize the sketchily written role of Kern. Van Heflm contributes the keenest performance as Kern's faithful friend and arranger. Best number in film: "I Won't Dance. The trio, Producer deRocherriont, Director Hathaway and Writer Monks, who inaugurated the newsdrama technique so successfully in "The House on 92nd Street " collaborates on this exciting film based on the activity of the O.S.S. They use no painted Hollywood sets when they put stars James Cagney, instructor on espionage, Annabella, Frank Latimore and Richard Conte members of Group 77, through their paces. An added fillip to interest audience is the f act that one ot them is a phoney, known only to Cagney and the U.b.b. director Walter Abel. But there are more thrills per minute when Cagney takes over the mission, completes it and just at the point of departure from danger falls into the brutal hands of the Gestapo, What happens then? That's what you'll want to see for yourselt. For mystery fans, and those who like a new approach, Robert Montgomery's direction of Raymond Chandler s Marloive, private detective, will meet with avid interest But for others, not so hep, his new technique, which you read about in the February Screenland, will take a bit of getting used to— it's as strange to the eyes as the talkies were to our ears back in 1929. There s room for improvement, but, as is, it's engrossing film fare Let's give Audrey Totter a hand, too, for helping Bob carry through his idea with such remarkable success. Throughout the entire film she is required to play directly to the camera, and that's not easy. Leon Ames, Jayne Meadows, Lloyd Nolan and Tom Tully play the important roles in the case of the missing woman.