Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1944)

71 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW November 4, 1944 Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (Good) WB (1601) Melody Master 10 mins. This snappy cowboy musical revolves around the career of Bob Wills, recounting his rise to fame as a fiddler in the prairie country. Among the musical selections pleasingly rendered by Wills, his band and several feminine singers are Ride On, My Prairie Pinto, Mama Don't Allow It, San Antonio Rose and Smith's Reel. The short concludes with a Park Avenue version of the oldtime square dance. Directed by LeRoy Prinz, supervised by Arnold Albert and with the narration written by James Bloodworth, it will find particular favor in theaction houses, neighborhood and small-town theatres. Buckaroo Bugs WB (9725) Bugs Bunny (Good) 7 mins. A good cartoon, though not quite up to the high standard for laughs set by this series. Somehow the idea is there, but the solid hilarity seems lost to a degree. Despite this criticism the short will be nonetheless welcome to Bugs' millions of fans. In this rootin' tootin' western tale Bugs meets up with Red Hot Ryder, a Brooklyn cowboy. Ryder is out to "get" the notorious outlaw Bugs with both guns ready for action. Bugs gives him so much trouble in his conversational style that Ryder gets the worst of the bargain. The story by Lou Lilly was animated by "^iobert McKimson, supervised by Robert Clampett and produced by Leon Schlesinger. Puf'tin' on the Dog MGM — Cartoon (Very Funny) 7 mins. Tom and Jerry are feuding again in a dog pound where Tom, attempting the disguise of a dog, loses his head (an artificial one) and the pair become involved in an hilarious series of exciting adventures with the inmates of the canine jug. Produced in Technicolor, this is a highly amusing short for young and old alike. Return From Nowhere (Interesting) MGM — Passing Parade John Nesbitt dramatizes the science being applied to the rehabilitation of shock cases in the armed services. Tracing the shock through cause and effect, and by reproducing in a hospital room the same environmert under which the shock occurred, the patient's memory is restored through a scientifically induced dream, bringing him back to mental health. A subject that will prove both informative and entertaining. This attractive windcw in the Rand McNally store In New York was arranged by United Artists in connection with local engagements of "Global Air Routes," a recent release in the world of Action series. oddments. A film from Java just before the Japs moved in shows the orchid-growing industry which cultivate some 16,000 species. Felix Fire, St. Augustine, Florida, raises some 6000 alligators for the hides and as museum pieces. The final sequence takes the spectator behind the scenes of a Great Gildersleeve broadcast to see how the sound effects department operates. Football Thrills of 1 943 (Very Good) MGM (S-557) Pete Smith Specialty 8 mins. Pete Smith has taken a series of clips from films of last year's most sensational college football plays, and by adding several spoonsful of photographic trickery and a dash of his own inimitably humorous commentary has turned out a most entertaining short, which while being of top interest to sports fans, will equally amuse any audience. This short will be handy for timely selling during the football season. 10 mins. '^'o' Crowd (Interesting) Unusual Occupations (Interesting) Para. (L4-1) 10 mins. Another interesting lineup of topics is presented by Producer Jerry Fairbanks in this reel which opens with the solution of the gas shortage problem in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where rubber from the Amazon is plentiful and there are enough horses to go around. The answer : rubber-tired vehicles drawn by horses walking on rubber shoes. Mrs. Mildred Harris of New York makes people's names into decorative motifs. Mr. Charles Seaman, Cleveland, Ohio, makes fish lures out of auto hub caps and other Univ. (9371) Person-Oddity 9 mins. Leading off with Jim Jeffries, ex-ring chanipion who is now a Burbank, California, businessman and still idolized by the kids, this reel shows 90-year-old George Slosson of Boston, Mass., billiard champ; Dr. Jeanne S. Schwengel, Scarsdale, N. Y., sea shell collector; Mrs. S. W. Meeks, woman constable of San Antonio, Texas, and Z. H. Polacheck, New York City patent attorney with a collection of unique inventions. The subject matter is interesting and conforms to the standard average of the Abou Ben Boogie (Fair) Univ. (9231) Swing Symphony 7 mins. A jitterbug cartoon whose laughs are rather limited, with most of the animation dealing with the rug-cutting gyrations of a gent from the Orient and Miss XTC. The boogie-woogie battle of stamina is interrupted by a camel and the little lady gives Uncle Ben Boogie the gate. Produced in Technicolor by Walt Lantz, this short will be well received by the younger set. The Cross-Eyed Bull United Artists— Daffy-Dittys (Very Good) 10 mins. The first of a new series produced by Larry Morey and John Sutherland, formerly of the Disney organization, "The Cross-Eyed Bull" belongs among the top current cartoons. The figures are done in plastic before miniature sets, thus gaining a three-dimensional effect not possible by the flat drawing method. This, combined with Technicolor, offers audiences a pictorial treat. The action concerns the efforts of the cross-eyed bull to win his cow fair, which he does finally by entering the bull ring and routing the toreador after a crack on the head clears his double vision. The animation — inclined to be jerky at times — nevertheless offers the producers an opportunity to realize much more natural movement than heretofore possible, and as the series continues the jerkiness is certain to be eliminated. Recommended for all theatres. Bluenose Schooner (Excellent) WB (9513) Sports Parade 10 mins. The life of a Nova Scotian fisherman is shown here via Technicolor in all its beautiful and dramatic significance, with a bluenose schooner and the men who work her illustrating in true detail how cod are caught, cleaned, and iced until the ship is full and ready to return home. Glimpses of the crew eating and playing cards give some idea of ship comforts and various close-ups of the men themselves show the general type of personality sailing the banks. A really beautiful and satisfying number that works in your program as a change from the usual short. Has appeal for all. Nostradamus IV (Very Good) 10 mins. MGM (M-598) Miniature Carey Wilson again takes the audience into a survey of the amazing predictions of a strange 16th Century philosopher and their bearing on current historical happenings. In principal the reel deals with predictions of the downfall of Hitler and the means by which he may die. Paul Burnford and Cyril Endfield directed this fourth of the series and it certainly packs a timely selling punch. A very good short for any program. Ski Whizz (First Rate) WB (1402) Vitaphone Varieties 10 mins. The film opens at a winter resort and shows tobogganing of various sorts, then goes into skiing. Here the onlooker is taken through some of the steps of the beginner, with a willing subject on the screen taking the falls and bumps. Then the experts appear and the film follows them down the long ski course as they illustrate different phases of the sport — such as the slalom and downhill racing. A good filler that will hold an audience's interest. Let's Go Fishing (Nice Catch) WB (1001) Technicolor Special 20 mins. Fishing subjects are always good, and this one is no exception. It takes you to Detroit for muskies, to Long Island for bass, to Colorado's Gunnison River for trout, to the Gaspe penin