Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1944)

D»cember 16, 1944 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW 33 "^Ue Bo^'O^ce Slant The Three Gaballeros {Continued from Page 13) to him by his friends in South America. The story relates all the happenings that occur to him as he opens the individual presents. Comment: Walt Disney tries something new in this full-length musical feature in Technicolor: a combination of live action personalities and cartoon figures on the same screen. It is a dazzling, swiftly-moving comedy starring his three cartoon characters, Donald Duck, Jose Carioca and Panchita, paced with songs and the dancing of Aurora Miranda, Carmen Molina and Dora Luz, three of Latin America's most famous musical stars. There's a flying donkey, Pablo, a comic Penquin and a Magic Flying Serape (carpet). Many colorful regions of Brazil and Mexico are portrayed as Donald and his two friends travel in quest of adventure and romance. Their travels are interspersed with many sequences of kaleidoscopic coloring and design during which Donald experiences several catastrophies. These sequences increase as the picture unfolds, until by the time it ends one gets the feeling, from the constant shift in color and design, of a rapidly firing gun and target. For those patrons who always enjoy Disney films, this one has plenty of entertainment with its magic color and the many different cartoon characters created by Disney. They Shall Have Faith Monogram Drama With Music 83 mins. (Nat'l Release, Jan. 27th) AUDIENCE SLANT: (Family) Music, singing, dancing and laughter provide entertaining relief for a somber, well-performed and directed story. BOX-OFFICE SLANT: A major production with an outstanding cast that rates top spot in many situations. Cast: Gale Storm, Sir Aubrey Smith, John Mack Brown, Conrad Nagel, Mary Boland, Frank Craven, Johnny Downs, Catherine McLeod, Selmer Jackson, Matt Willis, Maurice St. Clair, Leo Diamond and His Harmonaires. Credits: Directed by William Nigh, Screenplay by William Nigh and George Wallace Sayre. Original story by William Nigh, Neil Rau and George Wallace Sayre. Photography, Harry Neumann. Produced by Jeffrey Bernerd. Plot: A society girl who spends most of her time looking after the entertainment of crippled children is stricken with infantile paralysis. Her father and grandfather, both doctors, are powerless to help her. One of her father's friends, a young medical officer who has been experimentirtg with paralyzed nerves, persuades him that he can cure the girl, in whom he is also romantically interested. When the operation is a success, the girl's childhood sweetheart steps aside in favor of the young doctor. Comment: With a cast of outstanding players and a well-presented story Monogram here offers a picture that should rate top spot in many situations. . There's music and dancing and many light moments, with gay dialogue and laughter via the Frank Craven type of handling. However, the mood of the picture, with a background of infantile paralysis is somber and may blunt the widespread word-of-mouth sale that a lighter and gayer story would stimulate. In the matter of sets, production and background, Monogram need take no back seat to any major production. In the portrayal of the char acters assigned to them, most of the cast and the way they work are so well-known to the exhibitor and the public that comment about them is unnecessary. The two outstanding player reactions are, first, the beautiful characterization which Gale Storm gives. This is the finest thing she's done and shows definitely that she is a top-ranking performer. She is sensitive in her understanding of the role, and shows unusual talent in her dancing and singing. The second outstanding player reaction is over the transfer of Johnny Mack Brown from the obscurity of western roles to a very promising leading man. It is obvious, almost from the beginning, that he has the looks and talent, plus the seasoning which most new leading men require before they can handle a top role. Production is by Jeffrey Bernerd, who again jumps the gun on a subject which has great topical importance. Newsreel Synopses {Released Saturday, December 16) MOVIETONE (Vol. 27, No. 30)— Bombing Japs in Burma; General Mud in Italy; Moscow conference; 4-H Club picks champion; New liberator bomber named "Winged Victory"; Fashions in hats; Football: Giants vs. Redskins; Lew Lehr at the Zoo. NEWS OF THE DAY (Vol. 16, No. 228)— Captured films made behind Nazi lines; Mud and flood slow Allied push in Italy; Churchill confers with Stalin in Moscow; Navy honors film star; Japs in Burma blasted; Four hundred million eggs are sent to Britain; Robots harvest cotton; Center for veterans; Football: G.ants vs. Redskins. PARAMOUNT (No. 31)— Football: Giants vs. Redskins; Winter sets style for hat fashions; Behind the Swastika. RKO PATHE (Vol. 16, No. 33)— Flood and mud slow 5th Army in Italy; U. S. bombs blast Jap Burma bases; Churchill and Stalin meet in Moscow; Dehydrated potatoes for overseas; FFI members honored in London ; Show mechanical cotton pickers. UNIVERSAL (Vol. 17, No. 354)— Army needs must be met NAM is told; Allied drive bogs down in Italy; Nazi view of the war; Churchill holds talks with Stalin; Robot cotton picker; 4-H Club picks champion; Football; Giants vs. Redskins. {Released Wednesday, December 13) MOVIETONE (Vol. 27, No. 29) — Soviet attack on Warsaw; French Army in Alsace; U. S. strafing in Germany; U. S. needs nurses' aides; Somervell calls for speed-up of arms production; New hospital dedicated at Des Moines; U. S. Navy carrier task force hits Japs at Manila. NEWS OF THE DAY (Vol. 16, No. 227)— First films of attack at Manila; Yanks battle on the Rhine; Red Army hammers at gates of Warsaw; Red Cross calls for nurses' aides; Hospital dedicated. PARAMOUNT (No. 30)— Basketball takes over; S.O.S. for nurses' aides; Jap dive bomber attacks U. S. carrier; Arms crisis threatens Allied advance. RKO PATHE (Vol. 16, No. 32)— Siege of Warsaw; Allies drive deeper into Germany; Nurses aides for home front duty; U. S. carrier force hits Japs. UNIVERSAL (Vol. 17, No. 353)— Allies tighten in on Rhineland; Carrier force hits at Manila; Somervell calls for material; Nation needs nurses' aides; Basketball season in full swing, ALL-AMERICAN (Vol, 8, No. 112)— Santa Claus host to tiny tots; National Bar Association convenes; Wounded veterans given banquet in Washmgton, D. C; Raging fire perils thickly settled Chicago area; State colleges clash at Petersburg, Va. ; 969th Field Artillery shells Luxembourg. 0^ y<Hi l[}C}f.>( CiJuiitiyts ! here's A BOMANZA THE SURPRIZE MONEY SHOW OF !t4 DANNY EAYE The %zte&n's Newest Sensation — A Riot "The BIRTH of y A STAR A Streamlined Feature REUAStD THRU A5T0R PfCnHtiS COffP. > Z o o m O o 5 -n » > z ^ CD 3 o CD C/9 / z: 130 WEST 46th STREET NEW YORK, N. Y.