Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1939)

Page 12 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW November 25, 1939 ( Coiiliinu'd jroin j^iuic 7) Heroes in Blue Monogram DRAMA 59 mins. (Prod. No. 3919— Nat'l Release, Nov. 7) Credits: Dick Purcell, Charles Quigley, Beriiadene Hayes, Frank Sheridan, Edward Keane, Julie Warren, Lillian Elliott. Screenplay by C. B. Williams. Based on the story "Detective, First Class," by Charles Curran and C. B. Williams. Directed by William Watson. Produced by T. R. Williams. Plot: Purcell is a policeman, while his brother, Quigley, works with a gang of racketeers headed by Keane. In a fight with one of the gangsters, the gangster is killed and Quigley is accused of his murder. He hides out for a time, but Purcell brings him in, and he is sentenced to prison on a second-degree murder charge. Meanwhile, Sheridan, the boys' father, has been forced by the gang to permit them to rob wholesale houses in his beat as a night watchman. During a holdup, Purcell interrupts the gangsters, and in the gun battle his father is killed. Keane, also mortally wounded, gives a detailed confession that exonerates Quigley. Comment: This little melodrama is for family night in the average small town. It isn't distinguished in any way, and yet on the other hand it isn't bad entertainment at all. The folksy, homespun appeal in the story of the Irish family will please mom and pop ; and the gangster skullduggery will please the action fans. No performances stand out, but all are generally acceptable, and William Watson's direction keeps the story moving along. Invite local police and detectives to an advance screening of the film. For newspaper publicity, get the police to escort the print to your theatre. Display police equipment in the lobby. (FAMILY) Catchline: "Heroes in the face of death . . . heroes in blue." AUDIENCE REACTION: WHERE THE MASSES ARE CONCERNED, IT WILL BE LIKED. BOX OFFICE SLANT: LACK OF NAMES NECESSITATES THE SUPPORT OF A STRONGER FEATURE FOR SATISFACTORY RETURNS. City In Darkness (Hollywood Preview) 20th-Fox MYSTERY 85 mins. (Prod. No. 21— Nat'l Release, Dec. 1) Credits: Sidney Toler, Lynn Bari, Harold Huber, Pedro de Cordoba, Dorothy Tree, Douglas Dumbrille, Noel Madison, Richard Clarke and others. Screenplay by Robert Ellis and Helen Logan, based on a play by Hina Kaus and Ladislaus Fodor. Directed by Herbert I. Leeds. Associate producer, John Stone. Plot: Chan (Toler) is in Paris for a World War anniversary dinner given by Gordon, prefect of police, when the freedom of Czecho-Slovakia is threatened. Dorothy Tree represents Germans buying arms, with Dumbrille and Madison making the arrangements to get them out of the country. Clarke, Dumbrille's former secretary, has threatened to expose him unless he ceases annoying Lynn Bari, his wife; and has been accused of theft. She buys a steamer ticket and false passport, the latter costing so much that she has to appeal to Dumbrille for more funds. When she returns, he has been killed and she joins a list of suspects including de Cordoba, the butler; Madison, Dorothj' and a trio of house robbers. Huber, protege of Gordon, takes charge of the case, blunders his way tlirough many false leads with Chan correcting him and the k'iller is finally uncovered in time to hold tlie arms shipment just before news arrives there is to be no war. Comment: This one will appeal only to the rabid Charlie Chan fans, being tlie weakest of the series. There are several reasons. An effort to inject timeliness by using Czecho-Slovakia backfires when actual events moved too fast and went opposite to the screened story, likewise the non-declaration of war. What this really is, is a French mystery farce, with the lead actually belonging to Huber's comedy assistant, and Chan injected for far too few scenes and without his No. 1 'Son. Huber does good work, if we are to consider the story as a farce; for those who take their Chan seriously, he spoils it. Audience reaction, especially to the current war news clips, was audibly negative, and the picture could be shortened and tightened by dropping these. The script gives de Cordoba as the butler, the best straight role, and he handles it very well, with Gordon as the prefect. Dorothy Tree and Madison as the spies and Leo Carroll as the passport-forger, also show well. Use a montage of headlines for a lobby board. Get out heralds showing Charlie Chan mixed up in European politics. (FAMILY) Catchline: "Blackout! Paris In Wartime! Chan solves his most baffling case!" AUDIENCE SLANT: CHAN REGULARS WILL RESENT THE COMPARATIVELY SHORT SCREEN TIME GIVEN CHAN: OTHERS WILL FIND THE RAPID JUMPS FROM HUBER'S FARCE TO CHAN S LINES CONFUSING. BOX OFFICE SLANT: SECOND FEATURE ON DOUBLES ONLY. Legion of The Lawless (Hollywood Preview) RKO-Radio WESTERN 57 mins. (Prod. No. 82— Nat'l Release, Jan. 5, '40) Credits: George O'Brien, Virginia Vale, Herbert Heywood, Norman Willis, Hugh Sothern and others. Screenplay by Doris Schroeder from story by Berne Giler. Directed by David Howard. Produced by Bert Gilroy. Plot: O'Brien, two-fisted young lawyer, moving west ahead of the railroad, settles in Ivestown. He finds it divided by a river, with a prosperous, and a "poor white" side, policed by the Vigilantes organized by Sothern. The leader's brother, Willis, is fostering illegal activities by his own gang within them, so O'Brien tangles with them despite his fondness for the leader's daughter, Virginia Vale. When the railway surveyors locate the right-of-way through the poorer side of town, Willis seeks to gain control of land there through his gang. He has his brother killed and leads the Vigilantes on a raid, but O'Brien organizes the citizens, proves Willis a killer and is named the town's first sheriff. Comment: Missing none of the standard features of George O'Brien's pictures, and putting the hero back on the horse which he practically deserted in his last picture, this tale of how law was brought to part of the west will hold its own on a bill for houses where action pictures are wanted. Both music — from the players — and humor have been sacrificed for action, with the result that an easily guessed plot races right along to the expected battling finish. Backing the star's usually spirited performance are Nor man Willis' better than average heavy, Edwin Waller's character work as a persecuted townsman and Virginia Vale's capable presentation of the short leading lady's role — all standing out. David Howard has never allowed the pace to slacken and Bert Gilroy's direction is up to standard. A good school exploitation stunt for this one is to award prizes for the students who dig back into local history and write the most interesting report of local controversies which followed the coming of the railroad to town. (FAMILY) Catchline: "He'd have law — if lie iiad to fight for it." AUDIENCE SLANT: PLENTY OF ACTION TO MAKE UP FOR THE LACK OF COMEDY OR MUSIC. BOX OFFICE SLANT: GOOD FOR THOSE DAYS WHEN ACTION-LOVING FANS PREDOMINATE. Torfure Ship Producers DRAMA 57 mins. (Nat'l Release, Nov. IS) Credits: Lyle Talbot, Irving Pichel, Jacqueline Wells, Sheila Bromley, Anthony Averill, Eddie Holden. Russell Hopton, Wheeler Oakman, and others. .Screenplay by George Sayre. Suggested by the story "A Thousand Devils" by Jack London. Directed by Victor Halperin. Plot: Pichel is a doctor who is experimenting with endocrine glands which he believes cause certain individuals to develop criminal tendencies. He buys a yacht and with his nephew, Talbot, as skipper and accompanied by two young assistants, he sets out on a voyage with a passenger list of desperadoes. They become alarmed when he tries to operate on them and there is much shooting and fighting. The doctor is killed and Talbot rescues one of the girl "criminals," who it turned out was innocent after all. Comment: The story of this is weird and about half way into itself gets very much involved. But the production is good judging by independent standards and this can be classed as one of the better States Righters. The performances of the cast are about average and direction has been careful except for too evident dragging in of comedy bv the heels. One can almost feel that after a time the producers felt the strain of drama had been too great so they said, "Now's the time for a comedy scene." Use clippings from medical journals regarding the endocrine glands as a lobby display. Make a tieup with a bookstore on the Jack London books. (ADULT) Catchline: "They sneered at a hangman, yet a doctor's needle sent them screaming to their doom." AUDIENCE SLANT: IT'S RATHER A GRUESOME STORY AND IS BEST PLAYED ON A BILL WITH SOMETHING LIGHT AND FROTHY. BOX OFFICE SLANT: STRICTLY FOR THE DOUBLE BILLS AND BEST PLAYED WHERE AUDIENCES LIKE HORROR PICTURES. Outpost of the Mounties Col. WESTERN 63 mins. (Nat'l Release, Sept. 14) Credits: Charles Starrett, Iris Meredith, Stanley Brown, Kenneth MacDonald, Edmund Cobb, Bob Nolan, Lane Chandler, Dick Curtis, Sons of the Pioneers. Original screenplay by Charles Francis Royal. Directed by C. C. Coleman, Jr. Plot: MacDonald and Cobb have pretended that the trading post in Caribou belongs to a big company and they plan to steal the money which the post accumulates. When Brown fights with the factor, who is about to leave they see their chance and For Additional Exploitation Ideas on These Pictures Consult Encyclopedia of Exploitation — See Back Cover