Showmen's Trade Review (Apr-Jun 1939)

SNOW M 10 X ' S T U A I ) I'. K l'', V I I'. W The Hardys Ride High ( I ItillywtHul I'rri'icic) MCM Comedy Drama 80 mins. Antics of Mickey In Newest Hardy Film Will Keep the Family's Records Up to Par (Wilioiuil Release Dale, April 21) Cast: Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Ceiclia Parker, Fay Holden, Ann Rutherford, >ara Haden and others. Screenplay by Agues Christine Johnston, Kay Van Riper and William Liidwig, from characters created by Aurania Rouverol. Directed by Cieorge B. Scitz. Plot: When Lewis Stone is visited in Car.vcl by a Detroit attorney who tells him he is the probable heir to two million dollars, he can hardly wait to get home to tell the family the good news. After convincing them he is not delirious, they get ready for a plane trip to Detroit to claim the legacy. Son Micke}' Rooney and daughter Cecelia Parker start to go through the routines of newlj' rich kids, but when the Judge finds he can only prove his claim to the money by burning evidence which shows him not to be the rightful heir, he forfeits his claim and the family goes back to its regular mode of living in Carvel a bit sad but still happ^' in each other's usual existence. SUMMARY: Although this latest of the Hardy series doesn't quite match its two predecessors, "Love Finds Andy" and "Hardys Out West," when and if it is judiciously cut about ten minutes to quicken its pace it will more than hold its own for the grand box office results built up by the others. As usual Mickey Rooney mugs and acts his way into the hearts of all and his scenes with Lewis Stone are getting to be looked for as the highlight of each story. The balance of the cast do their chores in fine style, the newcomers to the series as well as the old standbys Cecelia Parker, Fay Holden, Ann Rutherford and Sara Haden. George B. Seitz turns in a neat directorial stint and neither he nor the writers "MAN OF CONQUEST" Let this serve as a warning to save your best playing time for Republic's "Man of Conquest." Let this be your assurance, along with the sundry other highly favorable comments you've been reading in the trade and public press, that up-and-coming Republic has turned out a bang-up historical epic, replete with every entertainment essential, to place the company right among the leaders. Producer Sol Siegel has done an outstanding job. He has had the initiative and courage to make what might otherwise have been only a fair program offering into a superlative production of which any major studio might well be proud. He has endowed it with rich, glowing production values. In "Man of Conquest" the company has given you something big — something memorable — a spectacle that perhaps more than any other film released this year emphasizes, by means of the story of Sam Houston, our crusade for American democracy. Don't regard "Man of Conquest" as just another picture from an independent company. It's more than that. It's one of the outstanding contributions of the motion picture industry to the cause of bigger and better entertainment. We congratulate Republic and Sol Siegel. —"Chick" Legion of Decency Ratings: I For Week Ending April 22) SUITABLE FOR GENERAL PATRONAGE Frontier Pony Express Kid From Texas Zenobia SUITABLE FOR ADULTS ONLY First Offender Hotel Imperial Inspector Hornleigh Man of Conquest Sweepstake Winner Lady's from Kentucky Inspector Hornleigh can rightfully be blamed for the few dragging moments in the telling of the story. For exploitation see Showmanalysis in this issue on pages 22 and 23. OUTSTANDING: Mickey Rooney and Lewis Stone. Catchline: "Mickey rides high, wide and not too handsome." (FAMILY) Stolen Life Para. (London Freiiiiere) Drama 93 mins. Fine Emotional Drama Has Strong Appeal To the Women; Could Stand Some Cutting (National Release Dale, May 26) Cast: Elisabeth Bergner, Michael Redgrave, Wilfrid Lawson, Richard Ainley, Clement McCallin and others. Adapted from K. J. Benes' novel by Margaret Kennedy. Directed and produced by Paul Czinner. Plot: Twins, one reserved, the other an adventuress, fall in love with Redgrave, an explorer. He marries the latter and the other is heartbroken. While he is on an expedition, the girls go sailing and the boat upsets. The married one is drowned and, in trying to save her, the other gets hold of her ring. In the hospital, she is regarded as Redgrave's wife and believing that here is a way of getting the man she loves, she does not deny it. The deception is not so easy. Unknown to her, her sister had a lover and there was to be a divorce. Later she confesses and everything ends happily as Redgrave realizes that he should have married her in the first place. SUMMARY: Taking some time to get going and, like most British films, in dire need of cutting, it is a fine emotional drama with a strong appeal to women. The story might well have been objectionable, but it has been so delicately handled t'nat nobody wil be offended. Elisabeth Bergner, playing the dual roles of the twins, is superb. One second gay, the next tragic, she can express more in a mere flash of an eyelid than many artists can in five minutes. She plays the two parts without the aid of any special make-up, except that they part their hair on different sides, yet each girl has a distinct personality. The support is excellent but some accents will not be accepted in the U. S. Much of it was filmed in the Tyrol and Brittany. In exploitation, Margaret Kennedy's name should be an asset. Tie-up with bookstores and travel agencies. Invite all twins in the district to the first screening and get newspaper to run a photo. You should be able to place some of the fine fashion stills in local gown stores. OUTSTANDING: Elisabeth Bergner. Catchline: "She stole her sister's life to achieve her ambition and then learned a tragic secret." (ADULT) (l.diidoii Trade Sluw) 20th-Fox. Drama 70 mins. Lack of Names in British Detective Film Limits It To Second Half of Dual Bill (National Release Date, April 21) Cast: Gordon Harker, Alastair Sim, Miki Hood, .Steve Geray, Gibb McLaughlin, Hug^h Williams. Directed by Eugene Forde. Plot: When it is learned that the British, Chancellor of the Exchequer's briefcase, containing the nation's financial secrets, may have fallen into wrong hands, two days before the Budget, Harker is assigned to the case. During his investigation, two people, who might be connected with the possilile leakage of secrets, meet untimely ends Harker has his theory and his line of inquiry leads him to an inn where he finds that McLaughlin, the porter, has "muscled in" on the crooks and gained the information which he planned to sell to city stockbrokers. SUMMARY: This, the first of a series featuring a popular British radio detective, will not mean a great deal to American audiences owing to lack of names. However, it will serve as a useful supporting feature and lay groundwork for future investigations by "Inspector Hornleigh." Gordon Harker should enlist many followers through his performance as the erstwhile Cockney detective and is aided and abetted by that grand comedian, Alastair Sim. Since it is the forerunner of a series, it will be wise to sell it in a big way. Your audiences, once they come in, will not be disappointed. Run teasers on "Who is Hornleigh?" Invite local police to see how their British contemporaries work. Display various scientific apparatus, used in crime detection, in the lobby. Also display a briefcase in the lobby with the card "What secret did the Chancellor's bag contain?" Catchline: "Britain's greatest modern detective makes his screen debut." (FAMILY) Sock Window Display Here's the left-corner of a double display effected tliroucjh a tieup zvith the Capital Neckwear Co., in conjunction, zvith the shozving of Monogram's "Gangster's Boy" in Los Angeles. The display ivas given a prominent position in the ivindow of the May Company, one of Los Angeles' largest department stores.