Showmen's Trade Review (Jan-Mar 1947)

44 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, February 22. 1947 BOX-OFFICE SLANTS Seven Were Saved {Continued from Page 29) army sergeant, the co-pilot and the officer in charge of the prisoner. It is their various relationships, jheir privation aboard the raft during five days at sea and their eventual rescue by the air-sea rescue service, in a ship piloted by another officer who wants to marry the army nurse, that comprise the story. Comment: The story of "Seven Were Saved'' is rather thin on which to base sufficient action to sustain the picture. The fact that almost all of the sequences take place in mid-ocean, aboard a small rubber raft, stultifies whatever action the picture might have contained. The players are good, however, although they are required to take part in far-fetched sequences simply to provide an opportunity on which to hang the processes by which the air-sea rescue service worked so efficiently during the war. That part is particularly interesting, showing as it does, the mapping of territory to be searched for survivors of air or sea mishaps, and the equipment used in rescue work, which includes an air-borne life boat and a seaplane taking off from a choppy sea with the aid of jet propulsion. As a dramatic vehicle however, the picture is too static to sustain interest throughout its running time. It has good exploitation possibilities, and for that reason is suitable for double-bill situations. The Sin of Harold Diddlebock United Artists Comedy 89 mins. AUDIENCE SLANT: (Family) This will send all types of audiences into screaming, roaring, howling and sometimes hysterical laughter. It's undoubtedly one of the funniest comedies ever made and ranks very favorably with Harold Lloyd's previous ef (Released Saturday, February 22) MOVIETONE (Vol. 29, No. 50)— Byrd finds food he left 15 years ago in the Antarctic; Crisis continues in England; Italians protest treaty; President Truman visits mother; Weddings on ice in Holland; Western Canada snowbound; Ft. Myers parade hails centennial of Thomas Edison; Opera is theme of Mardi Gras night parade; Ocean storm drives sea lions into caves; Skiiing in Colorado; Campbell to try again; Drive for American Brotherhood starts. NEWS OF THE DAY (Vol. 18, No. 248)— Italians protest peace treaty; Films of spectacular blizzard in Canada; Forging tools of peace; Carnival in New Orleans; Newest in fire fighting; Brotherhood Week starts; Snow sculpture; Babe Ruth out of hospital; Seeking Miss Brevity at Miami Beach. PARAMOUNT (No. 51)— "Dear Babe, please get well again"; Italians protest peace treaty; So you want to be a model; Army begins new training experiment; Snowbound Canadians dig out. PATHE (Vol. 18, No. 53) — Voice of America beamed to U.S.S.R. ; Chile President's hears problems; President Truman visits mother; Babe Ruth leaves hospital; Laurel and Hardy; Top U. S. skiiers in Olympic test; Brotherhood Week in New York. UNIVERSAL (Vol. 20, No. 14)— New Orleans Mardi Gras; Pirate carnival at Tampa; Dartmouth winter carnival; Babe Ruth returns home from hospital; Canada digs out of severe snowstorm ; Auto races on ice in New Hampshire; Spanish and Italian teams compete in roller skating hockey ; Aquatic frolics at Miami Beach. (Released Wednesday, February 19) NEWS OF THE DAY (Vol. 18, No. 247) — British forts. Surpasses anything Preston Sturges has done before. BOX-OFFICE SLANT: Harold Lloyd has been away from the screen for a long time, and whether or not the younger generation knows him or about him as a great comedian may affect initial grosses. The picture is so good, however, that word of its excellence is bound to spread — and therefore it should do very well indeed. Cast: Harold Lloyd, Jimmy Conlin, Raymond Walburn, Rudy Vallee, Edgar Kennedy, Arline Judge, Franklin Pangborn, Lionel Stander, Frances Ramsden, Margaret Hamilton, Frank Moran, Torben Meyer, Victor Potel, Jack Norton, Arthur Hoyt, Oeorgia Caine, Gladys Forrest, Max Wagner and Jackie, the Lion. Credits: Produced, directed and written by Preston Sturges. Cameraman, Robert Pittack. Music director, Warner Richard Heymann. Presented by California Pictures Corporation. Plot: After being fired from his job a bookkeeper takes his life's savings and goes on a spree. When he wakes up he discovers he has bought a circus, which he decides to sell to a banker. Taking a lion with him he goes on a selling tour. The lion escapes from the office of a bank president and raises a furore before he is captured, and the bookkeeper lands in jail. Ringling Bros., buys the circus, the man gets his job 'back as a partner and learns that during his spree he had found enough courage to marry the girl he had adored from afar. Comment: This is a screamingly funny comedy that is a cinch to almost literally rock audiences into the theatre aisles. And just how much credit can be given to whom for its results is almost impossible to decide. The story itself is delightful — credit Preston Sturges. The production values are superb — credit Preston Sturges. The direction shows touches of genius — credit Preston Sturges. B'ut then there is Mr. Harold Lloyd, whose stature as a comedian was for years way, way up on top and whose work in this picture is certain to reestablish him as one of the best, if not the best comedian of our time. There are others in support of Lloyd start Palestine exodus; Churchill's daughter weds; Battle of the Governors; O'Dwyer on subway fare; Boy movie star honored: Washington spotlight; Army's Operation Frigid; Canine champs; Tough bob sledding. MOVIETONE (Vol. 29, No. 49)— Task force "Frost" tests U. S. Army winter equipment; Georgia judge rules Herman Talmadge is legal governor; President Truman gets a Greek decoration ; Assay commission tests U. S. coin; Churchill wedding draws huge crowds; Carnival time on the Riviera ; Four-H western lamb show and sale at Des Moines ; California outdoor styles, and at the Grand Canyon; Dog show at Westminster Kennels; Surf carnival in Australia. UNIVERSAL (Vol. 20, No. 13)— Army in arctic tests; Carnival in Viareggio, Italy; Lighthouse rescue in England; Westminster dog show; French bobsled races; Swede wins ski jump. PARAMOUNT (No. 50) — World's biggest dog show; Durant accused in jewel theft; Truman receives Greek honors; Amir Saud winds up U. S. tour; Report from Palestine; Famous carnival revived in Nice; Fuel crisis paralyzes all Britain. PATHE (Vol. 18, No. 52) — British families flee Palestine ; Army task forces in unmapped Arctic ; Open Colonel's trial in Hesse jewel case; Truman, nation mark Lincoln's birthday; Changeable "hands" to aid war wounded; Gay carnival takes over Nice; Jap firemen stage annual show in Tokyo. ALL AMERICAN (Vol. 5, No. 226)— Life begins at 83 ; African Academy buys building ; Alvin Rucker appointed Washington representative for Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands; Clay animals made in Atlanta; Miss Sinah E. Kelley. chemist; Four-H Clubs honored at Tuskegee. who nearly reach the comic heights of the great man himself, and prominent among these are Jimmy Conlin as a broken-down horse player who becomes Lloyd's bosom pal during a two-day spree; Edgar Kennedy as a bartender whose artistic, creative urge comes to the fore in concocting a new drink in honor of the man who had never taken one before, and others who flit in and out of short scenes, each adding comedy touches that bring the entire picture near the pinnacle of greatness. Lloyd, Jimmy Conlin. Jackie the Lion and Sturges combine their creative talents in one of Lloyd's most successful devices for comedy — action along a ledge high above city streets. But, although the device is old, there is nothing old about it as contained in the new picture. This sequence alone is guaranteed to raise the roof of any theatre with hysterical laughter. A young lady enters the picture, too, in the person of newcomer Frances Ramsden, who has a sort of "sweet" quality that should start her on the way to the top. She does a couple of touching sequences with Lloyd that must have been difficult for a comparatively inexperienced actress, but she does them so well that audiences will love her. Altogether "The Sin of Harold Diddlebock" is the kind of picture exhibitors wait for. And from the standpoint of thorough entertainment for every member of the family, in addition to grosses "that should make diowmen rub their hands with glee, it should be welcomed with open arms. The Farmer's Daughter RKO Radio Comedy-Drama 97 mins. AUDIENCE SLANT: (Adult) Delightful, satisfying, romantic comedy-drama that should please all types of adult audiences. BOX-OFFICE SLANT: Three top marquee names, plus good exploitation possibilities, should head this for better than average grosses. Cast: Loretta Young, Joseph Cotten, Ethel Barrymore, Charles Bickford, Rose Hobart, Rhys Williams, Harry Davenport, Tom Powers, William Harrigan, Lex Baxter, Harry Shannon, Keith Andes, Thurston Hall, Art Baker, Don Beddoe, James Aurness, Anna Q. Nilsson. Credits: A Dore Schary Production. Directed by H. C. Potter. Written by Allen Rivkin and Laura Kerr. Photography, Milton Krasner. Music by Leigh Harline. Musical direction, C. Bakaleinikoff. Plot: A farm girl goes to the city to study nursing, loses her money and takes a job as a maid to a Congressmen. They fall in love. When the Congressman frefm the next district dies, the girl challenges the replacement the Party selects. She is named a candidate by the opposition. An attempt to defeat her by scandal is beaten, and the two lovers go to Congress together. Comment: This has a quality of earthy frankness, of directorial and production finesse and of such splendid, satisfying characterizations by Loretta Young, Joseph Cotten, Ethel Barrymore and Charles iBickford from a fine script, as to deliver thoroughly satisfying entertainment to all types of adult audiences. There are directorial touches and evidences of outstanding production supervision that could not possibly be contained even in such a good script as this, that add immeasurably to the picture's charm and to its ingenious presentation of the body politics haphazard acceptance of venal candidates for high public office. While this is primarily, a love story and should not be . . . NEWSREEL SYNOPSES . . .