Showmen's Trade Review (Jul-Sep 1942)

SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW 23 Mexican Spitfire's Elepliant { Coiitiiuicd from Page 18) of Leon Errol as an actor as well as a comedian. The laughter-provoking adventures of Lord Epping, with Enrol doubling in brass, will have the customers rolling in the aisles. Lupe Velez and the balance of the cast give able support. It is fast-moving entertainment, and halts on the edge of slapstick, a restraint which is both commendable and will please most customers. Credit for a speedy and entertaining handling of the story must go to Leslie Goodwins, who not only directed, but assisted in writing the screenplay. The production and story values call for substantial acclaim to Producer Bert Gilroy. Give it the selling activities that have proved successful in putting over its predecessors, adding new tieups suggested by the picture, such as the Air Raid Warden service and Women's War Relief Association. Catchline: An hilarious pink elephant riot. Tlie War Against M, Hadiey MGM Drama 84 mins. AUDIENCE SLANT: (Family) It won't bowl them over but it may prove interesting from the angle that it illustrates the effects of the war on the "irresponsibles" of the higher social strata. BOX-OFFICE SLANT: Will need good support and a selling job to do better than par. Cast: Edward Arnold, Fay Bainter, Richard Ney, Jean Rogers, Sara AUgood, Spring Byington, Van Johnson, Isobel Elsom, Frances Rafferty, Dorothy Morris, HalHwell Hobbes, Connie Gilchrist, Horace McNally, Miles Mander, "Rags" Ragland, Mark Daniels, Carl Switzer. Credits: Produced by Irving Asher. Directed by Harold S. Bucquet. Original screenplay by George Oppenheimer. Photography by Karl Freund. Plot: Mrs. Hadiey, a wealthy Washington society matron, finds her frivolous, self-centered world disrupted with the announcement of the Jap attack on Pearl Harbor. With her servant staff affected, her daughter serving in a U.S.O. canteen, her son drafted and her circle of friends all engaged in some form of war effort she refuses to grasp the seriousness of events and is resentful of the demands that conflict with her self-indulgence and break down the social barriers she has so long observed. She is unforgiving when her daughter marries an Army sergeant, venomously distraught when her influence fails to remove her son from war duty and pettily pugnacious about her intimates mixing out of their social class in performing war work. When her formerly dissolute son is decorated for heroism mother pride gets in its licks and she undergoes a change of character that sends her wholeheartdly into the ranks of workers; to the bedside of her child-bearing daughter; and to the arms of a patriotic admirer. Comment: It is this writer's opinion that Mrs. Hadiey is a character quite beyond the understanding of the average picture audience, and the attempts of the makers to create an atmosphere of sympathetic understanding for her result only in implausible situations in which she is made to appear moronishly silly. It is too difficult to envision a lifelong resident of the nation's capitol being so far out of step with customary precedure and remaining totally aloof, over a 10 month period, from the patriotic tempos that have inserted themselves so forcibly into all walks of life. So much for the basic principals of the film. Fay Bainter, in the title role, does a fine job and manages to inject some moments of genuine feeling into the difficult part. Jean Rogers. as the daughter, and Richard Ney, as the son, perform expertly and contribute good dramatic punch on occasion. Spring Byington and Sara Allgood are outstanding in parts that call for comic relief and are responsible ror many chuckles. Van Johnson, as the sergeant, does a swell job and Edward Arnold lends conviction to the part of a lifelong admirer who holds that his responsibility as a Government department head demands sacrifice of his personal and heart affairs. There are many side issues in the film that contain much more in the way of genuine picture entertainment than the principal trend, and the film would be much improved from an audience standpoint if these were elaborated upon at the expense of the redundant footage devoted to Mrs. Hadley's personal moods and social disappointments. The picture is excellently mounted and the technical departments well handled. Sell it from the angle of the war playing no favorites and how it breaks down social barriers to make bedfellows of ricli and poor alike. Catchline: The blast of war bugles blows down society's playhouse. Wings And Tlie Woman RKO-Radio Drama 90 mins. AUDIENCE SLANT: (Family) A picture that will entertain everyone, especially the women, for it concerns Amy MoUison, a woman trail-blazer in aviation. BOX-OFFICE SLANT: With the exception of Anna Neagle, cast is unfamiliar to American audiences; but the film's timely topic should, with the right exploitation, gat it a warm reception at the box-office. Cast: Anna Neagle, Robert Newton. Edward Chapman, Joan KempWelch, Nora Swinburne, Charles Carson. Brefni O'Rorke, Muriel George, Martita Hunt, Anthony Shaw, Ian Fleming. Eliott Makeham, Ronald .Shiner, David Horne, George Merritt, Charles Victor, Miles Malleson, Arthur Hambhng. Aubrey Mallalieu, Hay Petrie, Charles Maxwell. Credits: Produced and directed by Herbert Wilcox. Story by Lord Castlerosse. Scenario and screenplay by Miles Malleson. Director of photography, Mutz Greenbaum. Made at D. & P. Studios, Denham, England. Plot: The story of Amy Mollison, the woman flyer, who blazed the trail for aviation — how she dreamed it, planned it, lived it; of her meeting with the man she married, who was her professional rival, and of her tragic death as a member of the Air Transport Auxiliary. Comment: This is certainly one of the most timely pictures of the day, for with women taking such an active part in the war effort and our own newly formed WAAC creating so much interest, a picture about a woman trail-blazer in aviation is bound to attract considerable attention. As such, it should get a warm reception at the box-office, from one end of the country to the other. It has loads of entertainment for everyone, for there's suspense, action, an interesting love story and some wonderful air shots. W'ith the exception of Anna Neagle, who has become familiar to our American audiences, the cast will mean little at the box-office. Its members however, essay excellent performances, particularly Robert Newton, Joan Kemp-Welch IITED STATES WAR BOIDS and STAMPS and Edward Chapman. It is strong enough to hold its own on any bill, wherever enterprising showmen heed the selling possibilities inherent in the story. The bulk of exploitation activities must be based on the film's timeliness, which suggests newspaper tieups; tieups with aviation schools and lobby display of pictures of the ferry bomber service led by intrepid and courageous women. Catchline: Thrilling, exciting story of the first woman to make a solo flight from England to Australia. Sabotage Squad Columbia Drama 64 mins. (National Release, August 27) AUDIENCE SLANT: (Family) Average melodrama should prove satisfactory to the action fans. BOX-OFFICE SLANT: A lower dual entry, except in those small-town situations where action pictures are relished. Its title and timely plot provides wise showmen with seat-selling ammunition. Cast: Bruce Bennett, Kay Harris, Eddie Norris, Sidney Blackmer, Don Beddoe, John Tyrrell, George McKay, Robert Emmett Keane, Eddie Laughton. Credits: Produced by Jack Fier. Directed by Lew Landers. Screenplay by Bernice Petkere, Wallace Sullivan and David Silverstein. Story by Bernice Petkere and Wallace Sullivan. Director of photography, Franz F. Planer. Art direction, Lionel Banks. Musical direction, M. W. Stoloff. Plot: Gambler Eddie Norris decides to serve his country, but is rejected when he tries to enlist in the army. When he comes into possession of a condor-and-dove medal, identification tag for the chief Axis agent in the U. S., he runs into complications with the F.B.I. He is released, however, in the hope that he will lead the G-men to the agent, Sidney Blackmer. Norris finds Blackmer, prevents him from wrecking an airplane plant; but in doing so, he loses his own life. Comment: This action drama, although timely, is just another entry for the lowerhalf of a dual bill except in those small-town situations where week-end action pictures are relished. Despite its comparatively short running time, there are several stilted moments until the "chase,'' which provides the excitement the fans have been waiting for, finally gets under way. Performances are fair. The picture will prove satisfactory to the aforementioned action fans and should, therefore, be booked on "action" davs. Regardless of its entertainment value, however, it has a title and a timely plot that provides wise showmen with seat-selling ammunition. Catchline: Action and thrills aplenty as Uncle Sam cracks down on a vicious sabotage ring. Journey into Fear RKO Drama 70 mins. AUDIENCE SLANT: (Adult) Suspense and intrigue dished up in generous, spellbinding portions. Strictly adult entertainment. BOX-OFFICE SLANT: Orson WeUes' name should guarantee good business. Cast: Orson Welles, Dolores Del Rio, Joseph Cotten, Ruth Warrick, Agnes Moorehead, Jack Durant, Everett Sloane, Eustace Wyatt, Frank Readick, Edgar Barrier, Jack Moss, Stefan Schnabel, Hans Conreid, Robert Meltzer, Richard Bennett. Credits: Produced by Orson Welles. Directed by Norman Foster. Screenplay by Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten from the novel by Eric Ambler. Photography by Karl Struss. Special photographic effects. Vernon L. Walker. Plot: A naval expert, representative of a United States munitions company, is being recalled from an assignment in Turkey. All of his technical plans and special information have been memorized, and he is marked for destruction by Nazi agents anxious to delay the work he intends doing for the Turks. The efforts of the Turks to protect his life bring about separation from his wife and a series of adventures where the Nazi agents present a (Continued on Page 36)