Showmen's Trade Review (Apr-Jun 1939)

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May 27. lO.^o S 11 O W M R N ' S R AD V. V \ V. w parison with any who remember the original. For the younger generation, the story treatment and dialog will hold it to nothing better than the second half of dual bills. Donald O'Connor, who plavs the orphan as a boy, easily takes the acting honors, with Jones and Helen Twelvetrees working hard to overcome implausible dialogue. The stock fight and football scenes are padded and tend to slow up rather than aid the action. Buck Jones' extensive popularity and O'Connor's very definite draw with the youngsters themselves are the two best exploitation features. OUTSTANDING: Donald O'Connor. Catchline: "A mug and his moll go respectable— with hilarious results." (FAMILY) Hidden Power ( H ollyz^'ood Frcvic-iv) Col. Drama 59 mins. Holt's Popularity Must Carry Picture With Less Action Than Usually Given Him (National Release Date Not Set) Cast: Jack Holt, Gertrude Michael, Dickie Moore and others. Original screenplay by Gordon Rigby. Directed by Lewis D. Collins. Associate Producer, Rudolph Flotow. Plot: Holt, a doctor-chemist, seeking an anti-burn toxemia, loses his position when an assistant disobeys orders and the plant is blown up. Purely by accident, this leads to the discovery of a new high explosive. On his refusal to allow this to be sold to kill thou>ands, his money-mad wife, Gertrude Michaels, takes their son, Dickie Moore, and moves to her brother's home. A first hospital test indicates one fault with the toxemia, so Holt continues his tests at home. The boy is severely burned in an auto crash which kills his mother. The father risks the boy's life to prove his formula is correct — and wins. SUMMARY: Jack Holt's personal popullarity will have to carry this one as a second feature, since the story robs the star of the action which has been the mainstay of his long continued popularity. Complete absence of romance will also lessen its pull with many audiences. Holt and Dickie Moore stand out among the principals, while in smaller roles Holmes Herbert, Henry Kolker, Winifred Drew, Wm. B. Davidson and Lucille Lang act well. If there are peace societies active in your city, advise them of this one and the hero's attiture towards ruthless killing. Notify local doctors and nurses of the showing with a personal letter. OUTSTANDING: Jack Holt's showing against a mediocre story. Catchline: "A hero of peace gambles his son's life." (FAMILY) Across the Plains Mono. Western 52 mins. Sharp Photography, Fisticuffs, Gunplay Will Win Favor of Outdoor, Western Fans (National Release Date, June 1) Cast: Jack Randall, Frank Yaconelli, Joyce Bryant, Hal Price, Dennis Moore, Glenn Strange, Robert Card, Bud Osborne, Rusty (the wonder horse) and others. Original screenplay by Robert Emmett. Directed by .Spencer Bennett. Associate Producer, Robert Tansey. Plot: As youths, Randall's and Moore's parents have been killed by white renegades. Moore, adopted by the renegades, blames the Indians. Randall, adopted by the In diana, sc(.'ks rcveu'ie against llic rtnegades. Aloorc, as the Kansas Kid, is a notorious outlaw, while Randall, liclicved to be part Indian, seeks his lirothcr not knowing it is Moore. They almost kill each other, until llu'ir liliiDcl rchitionsliiii is revealed just in lime. SUMMARY: Whatever implausibilities this film possesses are offset somewhat by the clear, sharp photography, which reveals the west in all its beauty and grandeur. The story of brothers whose parents are killed, the boys growing up as enemies is a situation already well known by lovers of westerns. At times the acting of the principals seems stilted and insincere, but most fans will overlook this in favor of the fisticuffs and gunplay. Randall is a likable western hero, even though he seems a bit ill at ease before the camera. Hero and villain, as usual, can be distinguished easily, since the former wears light cream-colored attire, while the latter is all decked out in black. A hero in black would have the fans guessing. If they "eat up" westerns in your situation, you need have no hesitation in booking this one. Tie up with clothing stores on ten-gallon hat window displays. Use action cutouts in your lobby and atop the marquee. OUTSTANDING: The beautiful scenic photography. Catchline: "Brothers — yet they were deadly enemies who'd shoot to kill at the drop of a hat." (FAMILY) Wolf Call (Hollyivood Previczv) Mono. Drama 61 mins. Modernized Version of Jack London Tale Satisfactory For Action Half of Dual (National Release Date, May 8) Cast: John Carroll, Movita, Peter George Lynn, Guy Usher, Holmes Herbert, George Cleveland, Grey Shadow, the dog, and others. Screenplay by Joseph West from the novel by Jack London. Directed by George Waggner. Produced by Paul Malvern. Plot: John Carroll, a New York playboy, is sent to Canada by his dad, Guy Usher, to investigate his radium mine. In Canada, Carroll meets Peter George Lynn, a priest, who knows all about the mine and the crooked men running it, but has no way of notifying Carroll's father. Lynn introduces Carroll to Movita, an Indian maid, the daughter of George Cleveland, a German chemist and his Indian wife, and through Cleveland's invention, finds a way to run the mine successfully. He notifies his father in time to save the mine from being sold. SUMMARY: Considerable elements of appeal can be found in this Jack London tale of the North, but most of it should be aimed at the juvenile trade. Though brought up to date with such new wrinkles as modern planes and shortwave transmitters, it still retains the original plot and should be satisfactory for the action half of a dual. John Carroll handles a straight role very capably, and is also given a chance for the first time, to display a lovely baritone voice. Movita sings a duet with him and looks and acts effectively. The balance of the cast is competent, especially Peter George Lynn. George Waggner's direction is well paced and Paul Malvern has done a creditable production job. Run a "Me And My Dog" photo contest, with cooperation of newspaper, with best snaps of kids and their dogs winning tickets. Arrange window displays with your local book shop on all Jack London books, using stills from the production. OUTSTANDING: John Carroll. Catchline: "A two-fisted 'Plavboy' makes the grade." "(FAMILY) Page 9 A Girl Must Live (London Trade Slioiv) 20th-Fox Comedy 93 mins. Entertaining Comedy May Be Offensive To Some Patrons: O.K. For the Adults (National Release Dale Not Set) Cast: Margaret Lockwood, Renee Houston, Lilli Palmer, George Robey, Hugh Sinclair, Naunton Wayne, David Burns, Moore Marriott and others. Screenplay by Frank Launder. Directed by Carol Reed. Plot: Margaret runs away from a Swiss finisliing school to become a chorus girl and links up with Renee and Lilli, two outspoken .gold-diggers. The latter two set their hearts on Sinclair, a peer who is just back from Malaya. However, the reserved, ladylike Margaret appeals more to him, and his mother, fearing the scandal of such a romance, invites the whole troupe to the manor so that he can see that chorines do not fit in. The girls have a great battle of wits, before Margaret finally leads him to the registry office and the other two go in search of more rich men. SUMMARY: Bright as this comedy is, showmen must be warned that it will offend many patrons. The two gold-diggers are without morals, lying and scheming whenever a rich man is about. Double entendres, a fight between two scantily clad cuties, a sanitary engineer whose line is designing toilets and the shadow of a girl undressing play a prominent part. Carol Reed, the director, keeps things moving well and has gathered a fine cast. Margaret Lockwood is an appealing heroine and Lilli Palmer, an Austrian whose accent is easy to follow, is a voluptuous gold-digger and steals the acting honors. Get a newspaper to run a competition on "How a girl can live in a big city". If you think your patrons will stand it, work on the angle that it is the naughtiest and most daring film of the year; they should not be disappointed. Catchlines: "3 Smart Girls set out after their man and they don't mean 'Maybe'." "The year's naughtiest comedy." (ADULT) The Gorilla ( Hollyzuood Preview ) 20th-Fox Comedy 65 mins. Ritz Brothers Fans Should Build This To One of Their Best Money Comedies (National Release Date, May 26) Cast: Ritz Brothers, Anita Louise, Patsy Kelly, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi, Joseph Calleia and others. Screenplay by Rian James and Sid Silvers. Based on the play by Ralph Spence. Directed by Allan Dwan. Associate Producer, Harry Joe Brown. Plot: The Ritzes from the Acme detective agency are called in by Lionel Atwill to help him find the Gorilla who has given hint warning that he is to be killed in 24 hours. Atwill's niece, Anita Louise, and her fiance, Edward Norris, arrive at his home on the same evening to find maid Patsy Kelly and butler Bela Lugosi as nervous as their master over the warning. After sailor Wally Vernon's pet gorilla has put alhrost all the inmates into hysterics, on the stroke of twelve the real murderer Joseph Calleia, who calls himself the Gorilla, is uncovered and arrested and the comic detectives come into their share of the reward for his capture. SUMMARY: Less pretentious than any of their previous offerings, the Ritzes (Continued on page 14) For Additional Exploitation Ideas on These Pictures Consult the Encyclopedia of Exploitation — See Page 14