Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1944)

November 11, 1944 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW 31 Flicker Flashbacks No. 2 {Qood) RKO Pathe mins. This is top quality for the series in entertainment rating. Three old super-dupers — "Fate of An Artists Model" (1903), "Pull Down the Curtain, Susie" (1904) and "The Sealed Room" or "A Ghastly Revenge" (1909), the latter starring the youthful Henry B. Walthall — are included in the reel. Good repartee heightens the laughs provoked by the old-time dramatics involved. Produced by Richard O. Fleischer and narrated by Harry Von Zell, this is an ideal variety-novelty short for any program. Lili Marlene (Engrossing) Universal 21 mins. This interesting film, produced by the Crown film unit for the British Ministry of information, tells the story about a German song, Lili Marlene, which became vastly popular, not only with the German soldiers on the African front, but also with the troops of the British 8th Arrny who made their famous stand at El Alamein. The British Broadcasting Corporation then cooked up a version with lyrics that damned Hitler and threw the song back at the Nazis, using a German anti-Nazi singer. Carried along with a careful narration by Marius Goring, the film effectively presents the song in several orchestral and voice treatments, with the words sung in English. It's a good song and a good little picture. Triple Trouble (Good Hokum) RKO Radio — Leon Errol Comedy 17 mins. Leon Errol, an employer jealous of his wife, attempts to straighten out domestic relations between his pretty secretary and her jealous husband. His well-meaning intentions embroil him in their tii¥, and his wife is also brought into the mixup. This is good hokum, and there are enough laughs for the enjoyment of ,any average audience. Produced by George Bilson and directed by Harry D'Arcy, the cast includes Claire Carleton, Lee Trent, Dorothy Grainger, Harry Harvey and Emory Parnell. Junior Jive Bombers (Good) WB (9609) Melody Masters 10 mins. There is a clever idea in this film of juvenile jive. The high-schoolers are first seen practicing the old-time war horses like William Tell with their growing dislike for this stufif in favor of modern swing. They get together and soon have a band, complete with singers and dancers. They do five numbers before various backgrounds, ending at the Junior Prom. Nice filler for all type houses. Once Over Light-ly (Good) Warner iBros. (1103) Featurette 20 mins. Arranged from old Mack Sennett comedies and narrated by George O'Hanlon, this is a rehash of scenes from old comedies, showing such favorites as Charlie Murray, Ben Turpin, Phyllis Haver, Louise Fazenda, Snub Pollard, Larry Semon and the Keystone Cops. If you look sharp you can identify some others. There is ADV. Can't Get It? Joe Hornstein Has It no plan to the sequences, but they manage to offer some good laughs based on tried and true gags. The self-consciously kidding narration is no help at all, for the Sennett stuff still holds its own. Oldsters will love this one, and the newer generation may get some guffaws. Two Gun Rusty (Very Good) Para. (U4-2) Puppetoons 7^^ mins. George Pal has come through with another of those very human and highly entertaining divertissements for which he is famous. This time, through a dream, he has cast Rusty as a bronco-riding, guitar-strumming, two-gun cowboy of the old West with its saloon and dance hall known as the Lollypop Bar. Rusty battles it out with Pistol Packin' Pete in a barroom brawl, pursues him on hobby horse and finishes the fight on the brink of a cliff in good old Western fashion. The Technicolor photography is excellent and the subject can be rated with the best of the series for general audience pleasure. It's Nifty to Be Thrifty (Good) Para. (D3-6) Little Lulu 8 mins. Lulu, seeking to borrow money from her dad with which to buy candy, is told the story of the thrifty ant and the spendthrift grasshopper. She is confronted by the ant cast as an industrious Scot and the grasshopper as a goodtime Charlie, after earning some money which is burning her pockets as she passes a sweets shop. The grasshopper's appeal to spend the money wins out over the Scot's plea to save it, and Lulu returns home loaded with candy. She appeases her irate dad by explaining that she is putting it in the safe for the Winter like the thrifty ant. Produced by Famous Studios in Technicolor, this is a cute story idea which starts out with a good juvenile moral that backfires. Rates about average for the series. Monkey Business (Excellent) Para. (Y3-6) Speaking of Animals 9 mins. For sheer all-around fun, this is about the last word in shorts. It rates as one of the very best of the series, and will find equal welcome from adults and children. The entire reel is built around the talented antics of a group of monkeys of the St. Louis Zoo. The gags are sure-fire, and the entire production is certainly a credit to Producer Jerry Fairbanks. The monkeys run the gamut of vaudeville entertainment, trained skillfully as dancers, acrobats, comedians, bareback riders, singers and musicians. The monkey band sequence is particularly hilarious. This short just can't miss in any situation on any program. It's super. Booby Hatched (Very Good) Warner Bros. (9717) Looney Tune 7 mins. This is the story of a duck egg that rolled away from its nest, and of its adventures while it tried to get back to mama. Only the duckling's legs get through the egg and this humorous figure provides some moments of first class comedy. In Technicolor, the film is all right for all theatres, and especially where there are children. 0^ yoci i\}CY.y CiJuMots / 4<ERE'SA S»x-0^^ B0MAM2A THE SURPRIZE MONEY SHOW OF '44 DANNY EAYE The Screen's Newest Sensation — A Riot The BIRTH of A STAR A Streamlined Feature it ^odaefi RtUAStD THRU ASTOR PiCJURiiS CORP. 130 WEST 46th STREET NEW YORK, N. Y.