Showmen's Trade Review (Apr-Jun 1945)

34 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW May 5, 1945 THEATREMEN AT KAYE COMEDY PREVIEW. Several theatremen were among those who attended the trade screening of Samuel Goldwyn's "Wonder Man" held last week by RKO Radio at the Astor Theatre on Broadway. Some of them are seen here, along with studio writer Don Hartman and Danny's brother, Larry Kaye. Left to right: Jack Harris, Walter Reade circuit; Bernie Meyerson, Fabian Theatres; Harold Rinzler, Randforce Circuit; Hartman; Lucille Tanenbaum, Century Circuit booker; Kaye (Larry). Kickapoo Juice (Amusing) CoL (6602) Li'l Abner Cartoon 7 mins. Lonesome Polecat and Hairless Joe are as amusing as any two characters which have come out of the inkpot into the cartoon world. Into this Technicolor adventure of Li' Abner, Mammy Yokum enters the lists on Daisy Mae's side hoping to get the elusive Abner to marry the poor girl. The fun really gets under way when Mammy starts mixing dynamite with the drinks of Dogpatch's two bachelors, Polecat and Hairless Joe. It helps some, but it does not solve the problem of tieing the knot between Abner and Daisy Mae. When Gl Johnny Comes Home (Exceptional) Paramount (P4-3) Noveltoon 8 mins. This should send audiences out humming and whistling. Well done in Technicolor, the cartoon screen song is an up-to-the minute adaptation of the popular song When Johnny Comes Marching Home, and has been given a rollicking treatment with the aid of the bouncing ball which accents the words and rhythm. The original melody has been embellished with modern lyrics, with the cartoon animation tying in with the words of each verse of the song. It's a natural for a tieup with local music stores. The Iron Masters (Excellent) Col. (6807) Sport Reel 9^ mins. Narrated by Bill Stern and featuring Jug McSpadden and Byron Nelson, this cinematic golf lesson will prove interesting and entertaining even to those who don't play the game. The ease with which these two masters smack a ball right up to the pin will cause envy to spring in the heart of every duffer and amazement from every other moviegoer. The Master Key (Good Action) Universal Serial — 13 Chapters 17-20 mins. each Based on the activities of a group of Nazi spies in America in 1938, "The Master Key" develops, chapter by chapter, the devious, unbelievable but interesting means by which a plan for control of American business was attempted. There is nothing, if not action, in each chapter winding up each time with the usual death defying climax in which a sympathetic character is involved. The audience knows, of course, that somehow or other the hero or heroine will have been saved by the time the next chapter rolls around. There is the usual mumbo-jumbo of a mysterious voice from an invisible "Master Key" directing the Nazi agents to do their worst or suffer death at the hands of their colleagues. Considerable exploitation can be essayed to put this into a top week-end draw for the juveniles. Jan Wiley and Milburn Stone have the two main leads, while the balance of the cast includes Dennis Moore, Maris Wrixon, Alfred La Rue, Addison Richards and Russell Hicks. Magica-Lulu (Amusing) Paramount (D4-3) Little Lulu 8 mins. The latest adventure of Lulu in this Technicolor short finds her easing her way into the magic show for free in "typical Lulu fashion" as the press release designates, and then follows her innocent exposition of the magician who finds that his hardest trick is to keep the terrible infant from gumming up his act. The film is amusing from start to finish. . . NEWSREEL (Released Saturday, May 5) MOVIETONE NEWS (Vol. 27, No. 70)— San Francisco Peace Parley goes to work; Italian patriot forces execute Mussolini ; World's mightiest carrier named for Roosevelt; Army asks more fat salvage; Fierce battle rages for Okinawa. NEWS OF THE DAY (Vol. 16, No. 268)— Last days of war in Europe; Battle ordeal for Americans in grim fighting on Okinawa ; World security spotlight on Soviet Commissar Molotov; Mightiest U S. aircraft carrier named for Franklin Roosevelt; Fisherman's paradise for veterans ; Appeal to Mrs. America. PARAMOUNT (No. 71) — Security Conference tackles first problem; Mussolini is caught by Italian patriot forces and executed ; Army calls for more waste fat ; New carrier honors Franklin D. Roosevelt. RKO PATHE (Vol. 16, No. 73)— Delegates from every part of the world attend the United Nations Conference ; Nevr U. S. warship is christened the Franklin Roosevelt; Army asks waste fat salvage; Marines blast Japanese caves. UNIVERSAL (Vol. 17, No. 394)— World Parley gets down to business; Mussolini is executed; Carrier is narned for Franklin D. Roosevelt; Yanks advance on Okinawa; Major General Hardigg urges fat salvage. {Released Wednesday, May 2) MOVIETONE (Vol. 27, No. 69)— Generals Eiaen THE GAY SENORITA (Columbia) Comedy-Drama. Principals: Jinx Falkenburg, Jim Bannon, Thurston Hall, Steve Cochran. Director, Arthur Dreifuss. Plot: A wealthy American contractor plans to destroy an entire block of the Mexican quarter, and build a warehouse on the site. His plans are thwarted when his nephew falls in love with the granddaughter of the Mexican's leader and they connive together to save the historic old street from destruction. RUSTY (Columbia) Drama. Principals: Ted Donaldson, Conrad Nagel, Margaret Lindsay. Director, Paul Burnford. Plot: Story of a boy who finds an ex-German war dog, who was brought to America by a discharged soldier, and is determined that the ferocious animal shall take the place of his beloved pet who was killed by a car. His efforts to keep the dog for his own lead to the arrest of two German secret agents and also re-unite his father and his step-mother. TOMORROW IS FOREVER (RKO) Drama. Principals: Claudette Colbert, Orson Welles, George Brent. Director, Irving Pichel. Plot: Believing her husband to have been killed in World War I, a young woman remarries. Twenty years later, the supposedly dead husband returns to America, only to discover that he has a son and that his wife has remarried. Keeping his secret from everyone, he helps the boy to enlist and it is not until after his death that his identity is revealed. Cast as Theatrical Agent William Halligan, character actor and former New York theatrical agent, has been cast as a New York theatrical agent in B. G. DeSylva's "The Stork Club," starring Betty Hutton. Jones to Produce 'Break-up' Paul Jones has been assigned by Paramount to produce "Break-up," an original screenplay by Richard Flournoy, co-author of "The More the Merrier" and writer of the screenplay of "The Affairs of Susan." SYNOPSES . hower, Bradley and Patton visit captured prison camp where the Nazis killed thousands of enslaved laborers; United Nations gather to form an organization which will prevent future wars at Peace Conference at San Francisco. NEWS OF THE DAY (Vol. 16, No. 267)— OfBcial U. S. Army films offer horrifying proof of Nazi bestiality— scenes that General Eisenhower wants every American to look upon, lest we forget the ghastly brutality that has shocked the world ; President Truman opens Peace Conference in San Francisco. PARAMOUNT (No. 70) — United Nations Conference on International Organization opens in San Francisco with grim and difficult task ahead; Eisenhower visits concentration camp liberated by the 3rd Army. RKO PATHE (Vol. 16, No. 72)— Allied troops advancing inside crumbling Germany, uncover evidence of horrible, organized German atrocities; To help formulate the plan for peace, men of good will from forty-six United Nations gather for the San Francisco Conference. UNIVERSAL (Vol. 18, No. 393)— Real-life horror picture revealing the unbelievable brutality committed by the Nazis in their murder camps; San Francisco Conference of 46 United Nations is officially opened by Secretary of State Stettinius. ALL-AMERICAN (Vol. 3, No. 132)— Mrs. Bethune off to San Francisco Conference; Harlem Boys' Club picks most popular kids ; Air hero is laid to rest in St. Louis; Chicago pupils join the broom brigade; "Y" jury selects "Best Built Man"; Nefro dercyman mad* Bishop by E^scepal Church.