Showmen's Trade Review (Apr-Jun 1944)

\une 3. 1944 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW 71 I 'able Tennis Topnotchers {Time-Passer) Columbia (5808) Sports Reel 9 mins. 'I Some folks are sure to say it looks silly to jee a couple of men spending so much skill and ffort to knock a ping pong ball around — well, : does look silly. Nevertheless, Coleman Clark nd Allan Thomas, who are tops in their peculiar leld, put on an exhibition remarkable in its ray that helps to fill in during the break. For able tennis enthusiasts, of course, it is very nteresting, but you can't count up your local ling pong players in advance. The Dream Kids (Very Good) Columbia (5753) Fox and Crow 7^/^ mins. The Crow is out in the cold because he heeded jhe Government's plea not to go South for the A^'inter season and because the Fox won't let lim stay in his house. To get even, Mr. Crow )arks like a dog when the Fox sleeps. This fives the Fox a nightmare, and from then on he picture runs back and forth between reality iind dreams until both characters and the audience are deliriously mixed up, with a train ushing back and forth through the house to top )fif the zany dish. For all audiences, although <ids might get a bit jittery. (Very Good) 8 mins. Lulu Gets the Birdie •paramount (D3-3) Little Lulu j The third of the Lulu series stacks up well Iwith the first two, and makes clever use of .'Technicolor when Lulu's cat upsets differentfcolored paint all over the place. The episode J:omes about because Little Lulu is trying to do jjaway with the birdie who told on her. A noticejjable change in this number is that Lulu appears jto be a sweeter child than heretofore — a change |aot altogether good for audience appeal. Let's ihave that schemer again. This series is for lall audiences and holds to a high standard. llFun Time (Excellent) jjParamount (FF3-5) Musical Parade 20 mins. Here is the fifth of Paramount's featurette series, which have won so much success as mall features to run with an extra long main picture. "Fun Time" is as good as the others, jiwith a credible little story on which to build tmusical numbers, some comedy and a bit of romance. Nice formula, expertly carried out jin luscious Technicolor. The cast includes |Eddie Foy, Jr., Noel Neill, Mabel Paige, Oscar O'Shea, Yvonne de Carlo, and Ronnie Rondell. That Fay is an ingratiating personality and plays with the sureness of touch his theatrical background and experience make possible, while Noel Neill is cute and capable as his future bride. Fun time for all. Popular Science No. 4 Paramount (J3-4) (Interesting) 10 mins. A centralized traffic control device in Las \ egas for the Union Pacific railroad shows how the greatly increased wartime freight service is handled twice as fast as formerly. A girl model , illustrates the bed of the future, which contains radio, lights, electric blankets, arid finally slides out to the sleeping porch. The , Canadian Agricultural Department develops ^Little Lulu Charms B-26 Crew According to an OWI dispatch from a USAAF Medium Bomber Station, England, "Little Lulu," screen star of Paramount's Technicolor animated cartoons, is playing a starring role in the destiny and lives of the combat crew members of a B-26 at this Marauder station, commanded by Col. Wilson R. Wood, of Chico, Texas. "Little Lulu" has been adopted as a good-luck token by the crew and her likeness has become a permanent adornment on the nose of the Marauder she now rides. The combat crew members of her plane will swear to you that she wards off trouble. They will swear that she has carried them safely through such notorious hot spots as the heavily defended airdromes at St. Omer, France; Schipol, Amsterdam, Holland, and the Pas De Calais area in Northern France. With unconcealed pride they will tell you that she is the winner of the DFC for extraordinary achievement for participating in more than 25 raids over enemy targets. The famous cartoon character's flying and battle experience is the result of 1st Lt. Francis E. Noyes' whim to name his plane after the prankish youngster. He felt she would bring him luck. And for 28 raids, he will tell you, the luck has held ICQ per cent. Crew members of the Marauder, who have adopted "Little Lulu" as their good-luck token are: S/Sgt. Harold J. Murphy, Wollaston, Mass., radio gunner; Sgt, Charles R. Laudie, Amsterdam, Mo., bombardier-navigator; 1st Lt. Francis E. Noyes, pilot, Georgetown, Mass.; Sgt. Allan E. Gerlach, engmeer-gunner, International Falls, Minn., and Sgt. Albert C. Mollett, tail gunner, Tacoma, Wash. a parasite to destroy the sawfly which has threatened Canada's pine forests. The closing sequence shows how our Grasshopper plane pilots train to become the eyes of the artillery at Fort Sill, Okla. A good, solid short for all audiences. Tick, Tock, Tuckered Warners (9705) Merrie Melodies (Fair) 7 mins. Porky Pig and Daffy Duck, attempting to get a good night's sleep so as to be prompt at work in the morning run into nightmarish difficulties and are late as usual. Next morning. Johnnieson-the-spot at the plant, they discover it is Sunday. Produced in Technicolor by Leon Schles Crazy Like a Fox (Low I.Q.) Columbia (5422) All-Star Comedy ISy^ mins. Billy Gilbert, supported by Esther Howard and Jack Norton, perennial film-drunk, put on a little story in which Gilbert, a taxi driver, substitutes for an Indian rajah so that Norton may keep his press-agent job, with complications that include a bevy of girls, slamming doors, and the usual farcical and slapstick material. The gags are done almost in slow motion so that the audience won't miss anything. If your patrons respond to the simpler kind of humor this is their dish — and the kids should like it. (Interesting) Past Performances RKO (44,309) Sportscope 9 mins. With the motion picture industry currently celebrating its 50th anniversary, this Sportscope would be an appropriate subject for a program comprised of old-time films. In this one-reeler, the clock is turned back in the sporting world. Some of the events of yesteryear : Grand opening of Belmont Park Race Track, 1905 ; Harvard-Penn football game, 1903 ; Jack Johnson vs. Jim Flynn heavyweight championship bout, 1912; Women play basketball at Missouri Valley College, 1904 ; Faust family of acrobats, 1901 ; Hammer throw, 1903 ; Vanderbilt Cup Race, 1903 ; Tommy Burns vs. Bill Squires heavyweight championship bout, 1907. Sports lovers, especially those past middle age, will probably find themselves embraced by a feeling of nostalgia as they see these sporting events recreated for them, and average audiences will be well entertained. The subject was produced by Frederic Ullman, Jr., and supervised by Jay Bonafield. Albert Grobe is the narrator. Varga and His Beauties (Attractive) Universal (8379) Person-Oddities 9 mins. The popular pin-up girl artist is shown in his studio working on a new canvas (he doesn't use models). A number of his art girls are shown to intrigue the audience. Fred Treeselt's goldfish farm, George Zimmer's wood carvings, the soap-makers of Elkhart, Ind. prison, and Bill Zmerzel, blind golfer, complete the personalities. A good filler to round out the time schedule. Wells Fargo Days (Good) Warners (9111) Santa Fe Trail Western 20 mins. Directed by Mack V. Wright in color with Dennis Moore, Louise Stanley, Karl Hackett, Ed Cassidy, Lafe McKee and Eva McKenzie this stacks up as a good western short, short story. While it is by no means the best of the series, it is none-the-less a welcome type program builder. T-he color is only fair and the scope of action quite limited. Jungle Thrills (Good) Warners (94053 Vitaphone Varieties 10 mins. Michael and Helen Lerner, big game hunters, are seen in a pre-war expedition through the African wilds shooting lion and elephant en route. Plenty of wild life in its native haunts are caught by the camera. Well made jungle short with commentary by Lou Marcelle. Community Sing No. 11 Columbia (5661) (Average) 10 mins. Dick Liebert at the organ and the Song Spinners this time weave through a melange of songs that offer considerable invitation to the audience to get in a few licks, without being in any way unusual. The numbers are : Yes Sir That's My Baby, On Moonlight Bay, Ridin' for a Fall. When I Get Back, and Shoo Shoo Baby. Funny thing about these songs, the betting is 10 to 1 that the audience sings lustiest for Aloonlight Bay — the old favorites get 'em. ADV. Caji't Get It? Joe Hornstein Has It