Showmen's Trade Review (Apr-Jun 1942)

Page 12 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW April 18, 1942 Tarzan's New York Adventure (Contitiucd from Page 9) a circus attraction, takes him to New York. Tarzan and his mate immediately set out in pursuit, and on arrival in America encounter the red tape of law that threatens to interfere with their regaining the youngster. Tarzan finally decides to pursue jungle tactics to accomplish his end and finds the animals of the circus to be willing and helpful assistants. Tarzan is forgiven his law infringements by an understanding judge, and the trio return to their jungle paradise. Comment: The standard theme of usual Tarzan stories is pleasantly elaborated upon in this latest release, and Tarzan's encounters with the legal entanglements of civilization are such as will strike a note of sympathy with the average moviegoer. A comedy vein is fully explored by the pet chimpanzee that accompanies Tarzan and his mate to New York and plays havoc with the accepted manners of conduct. Elaborate hotel suites, night clubs, court rooms, the Brooklyn Bridge, skyscrapers, taxicabs, and the sawdust arena, provide backgrounds for action that is exciting, thrilling, and well sustained throughout. The locale is about evenly divided between the jungle and the metropolis but throughout the film animals, wild and trained, furnish an exciting complement to the work of the principals. Tarzan's dive off the high point of the Brooklyn Bridge to escape the police is a real thriller. This one won't put them on the edge of their seats, but it will please mightily, as all of the players perform well and the animal action is cleverly woven into the story. Jungle atmosphere for the jobby and all of the old tried and proven Tarzan stunts are in order. Catchline: Tarzan scales the skyscrapers to give you sky-high entertainment. The Spoilers Universal Action Drama 87 mins. (Prod. No. 6048— Nat'l Release, April 10) AUDIENCE SLANT: (Family) Wherever audiences want red-blooded action-packed entertainment teaming with essentials that pull them up on the chair-edges, here's their picture. BOX-OFFICE SLANT: It's been a topflight attraction twice before, and no matter what competition it faces this time, even if only the title and rousing fight are publicized, it can excel its previous successes. Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Randolph Scott, John Wayne, Margaret Lindsay, Harry Carey, Richard Barthelmess, George Cleveland, Samuel S. Hinds, Russell Simpson, William Farnum, Marietta Canty, Jack Norton, Ray Bennett, Forest Taylor, Art Miles, Charles McMurphy, Charles Halton, Bud Osborne, Drew Demorest. Robert W. Service. Credits: Directed by Ray Enright. Produced by Frank Lloyd. Lee Marcus, Associate producer. Based on story by Jack London. Screenplay by Lawrence Hazzard and Tom Reed. Jack Otterson, art director. Photographed by Milton Krasner. A Charles K. Feldman Group Production. Plot: Claim-jumping is the curse of Nome, Alaska, around 1900. Glennister (John Wayne) and Dextry (Harry Carey) are determined to hold on to their valuable gold mine. Almost immediately Glennister and McNamara (Randolph Scott), outwardly a square-shooting but actually a double-crossing gold commissioner, come into violent conflict — with Cherry Malotte (Marlene Dietrich), queen of rip-roaring Nome, and the mine as bones of contention. Through legal shennanigans, McNamara, aided by crooked Judge Stillman (Samuel S. Hinds), but unwillingly abetted by Helen Chester (Margaret Lindsay), grabs the claim. To set himself in right with Cherry, McNamara tells her Glennister will be permitted to escape jail. But she learns that McNamara is plotting to kill him. Cherry gets Glennister out of jail safely. The mine is recovered in a crackling gun battle and then, the climax — an abysmal-brute fight between Glennister and McNamara. Comment: Here's one of the screen's most valuable entertainment properties. A great title. A red-blooded story portrayed with vivid realism. A legendary fight in which no punches are pulled; in which Wayne and Scott set a new standard for fistic conflict. Primarily, it's a man's story, but Marlene Dietrich and Margaret Lindsay endow it with the qualities that appeal to women. With the memory of Jack London's yarn fresh in the memory of oldsters, plus the fact the younger generation has always heard of it as one of the great action dramas of all time, this version of "The Spoilers" is a box-office natural. Additionally there are the tangible values of the drawing power of Dietrich, Scott, Wayne, Harry Carey, Dick Barthelmess, Margaret Lindsay and that of William Farnum who staged the first great brawl with Tom Santschi, to exploit. Old showmen will know what to do to sell the picture. Those who never had the experience of handling it may understand it's wide open for every trick in the book of showmanship. Catchline: Everything that expresses virile excitement, thrill-packed action, nerve-tingling suspense and dangerous life the way bold men and women live it. My Gal Sal (Technicolor) 20th Century-Fox Musical Romance 103 mins. (Block No. 10— Nat'l Release, May 8) AUDIENCE SLANT: (Family) Gay and airy entertainment. Lots of music, dancing, romance and comedy and just enough human interest drama. BOX-OFFICE SLANT: Punchy title, and with Rita Hayworth to lure the men and Victor Mature the women, the picture should prove strong attraction. Cast: Rita Hayworth, Victor Mature, John Sutton, Carole Landis, James Gleason, Phil Silvers, Walter Catlett, Mona Maris, Frank Orth, Stanley Andrews, Margaret Moffat, Libby Taylor, John Kelly, Curt Bois, Hermes Pan, Gregory Gaye, Andrew Tombes, Albert Conti, Charles Arnt. Credits: Directed by Irving Cummings. Produced by Robert Bassler. Screenplay by Seton I. Miller, Darrell Ware and Karl Tunberg. Songs by Paul Dresser. Dances staged by Hermes Pan and Val Raset. From story by Theodore Dreiser. Photographed by Ernest Palmer. Technicolor director, Natalie Kalmus. Alfred Newman, musical director. Plot: With liberal theatrical license taken, this is the biography of song composer Paul Dresser. Intended for ministry. Dresser (Victor Mature) joins medicine show, but is attracted to and follows glamorous actress Sally Elliott (Rita Hayworth) to New York. Under shrewd guidance of Wiley (James Gleason), Dresser writes many songs while his romance with Sally pops and cracks, flames and cools. Fame comes to both, but worldly-wise Sally plays cat and mouse game with polished but still yokelish Paul. He has his ideas too, but when he writes his famous My Gal Sal for her, the days of battling end. Comment: A bare story outline by no means can reveal all the entertainment and showmanship values of this picture. Directly it is one of the line of musical biographies, started by this studio with "Alexander's Ragtime Band" and which included "Swanee River" and "Lillian Russell." While Dresser is not as widely known as were the other notables, some of his music, especially My Gal Sal, On the Banks of the Wabash and You Don't Belong to the Regulars — You're Just a Volunteer, are still popular numbers. It is evident that in making the film, the studio was determined to capitalize to the limit on the popularity of Rita Hayworth and Mature. They are on the screen, singly or together almost all the time. Consequently the personal exploitation angle should be vigorously pushed in tieups with radios, local dance orchestras and other musical outlets to get across full realization and appreciation of the show's musical content. Colorful spectacle of the lavish settings, dance routines and costumes, picturesquely enhanced by smart Technicolor photography also is an element that should not be overlooked. But a most important point to emphasize is the basic entertainment content. Film's release, coming at a time when the news from war fronts probably will be far from encouraging, makes it possible to invite patrons to see a show that will take their minds off all cares and worries for a while. In selling the show, it might be a good idea to remind the customers of the previous pictures noted above, even though name value might seem the best asset upon which to concentrate. Catchline: Beautiful music to charm you; romance to thrill your heart; comedy to make you laugh and flashing spectacle to please your eyes. Forget your cares and troubles; see the season's liveliest musical picture. Suicide Squadron Republic Drama 83 mins. (Prod. No. 119— Nat'l Release, April 20) AUDIENCE SLANT: (Adult) The title promises thrills for action audiences, who may be disappointed at their absence. On the other hand, it may keep away intelligent audiences and thereby cause them to miss a genuinely moving and persuasive story. It's a Class A picture with a Class B title. BOX-OFFICE SLANT: How it will fare at the box office depends on the study theatremen give their situations before launching campaigns. Cast: Anton Walbrook, Sally Gray, Derrick De Marney, Cecil Parker, Percy Parsons, Keneth Kent, J. H. Roberts, Guy Middleton, John Laurie, Frederick Valk. Credits: Produced by William Sistrom. Directed by Brian Desmond Hurst. Original story and screenplay by Terence Young. Director of photography, Georges Perinal. Art direction, John Bryan. Music composed by Richard Addinsell. Musical direction, Muir Mathieson. Plot: In a hospital where physicians have provided Polish flyer Anton Walbrook with a piano in hopes of restoring his memory, the once-famous concert pianist's wife, Sally Gray, talks to him, turns away in despair when she realises she isn't reaching him. As he plays, his mind goes back several years: In Poland, Walbrook, a flyer in the Polish Air Force, meets Sally, and the two fall in love. They are separated when he is sent to a neutral country and she returns to the United States. Later, in New York, they meet again as he is starting on a concert tour, become man and wife. Walbrook soon becomes famous, but knowledge that a new Polish Air Force is forming in England fills him with the desire to return. Sally's efforts to hold him are fruitless ; he returns to England. Shortly before an alert, he learns that his estranged wife is coming to join him. He leaves to intercept the enemy, fights a grim battle, deliberately plunges into his foe when his ammunition runs out. He crashes to earth. Sally has almost given up, when a smile comes across Walbrook's face as he finishes playing his famous Warsaiv Concerto. His memory has returned, and the tzvo are re-united. Comment: "Suicide Squadron' may be something of an enigma for its distributors, for that which should be its virtue may turn out to be its drawback. When compared to many other so-called "war" pictures, it stands above most of them in story and production treatment. But the title is an indication of action, and what little action there is lacks realism, so that those expecting hair-raising thrills will find them conspicuously absent. In their place, however, is as genuinely moving a story as has ever been