Variety (Dec 1940)

18 FILM BEVIEWS Wetlnosclay, Pecembep ,21>, 1910 CHARTER PILO*^ (Continued from page 16) built up in their imaginations ate certain to be disappointed. If Ellery Queen is to. have a fu- ture in celluloid—and apparently he is, because Cbl just optioned a second shaving at least IQ, minutes thereof story-r-his debut should have been woul^ have helped'.. However; it's ' more auspicious. .Actually, it'.s very satisfying enough for the dualers; mild. Manfred B. Lee and Frederic Lloyd Nolkh doesn't exaiptly fit the Danhay, \K'ho write the novels and story of a suPPO.sedly crack pilot, radio scripts under the nom-cie-dc- who in only, two scenes actually gets tectiye of their prinripal character, off the ground. Wo^'ien into it in. have .turned in a plot that Ln its unimportant fashion is a serial radio program built around Nolan's cloud- hopping career; ' It remains in the background all through until the finale when an installment in the air episode is broadcast .from a plane in which Nolan is battling, an .airline, saboteur. Desci'iptioh of the fight within the ship is broadca.st by Lynn Bari, Nolan's fiancee, author and heroine of tli6 sirial; major-,outlines; is good. It misie.'y. .tompl'etiely in its minor facets, how- .cver, and screehwriter Eric Taylor was entirely unable to cope with it; In addition toithcsc dofects-in plot and \vriting, Gol hfis hardly ..done right by the fave of the radio multi-. tudes in eitlier/ ca.'Jling or direction. Ralph Bellamy aslhe detective; were he', the Ralph .Bellamy of a score, of other filni."? h^t'."? played in, would UP IN THE AIR (WlfH SONGS) MmuiKiam veioase of - UnJsIeV Paraona |ii-i»|iiL'(luii. Stai-B Frnnkle Din-rti;. fealui-PM .\l;ii-|»i-|<< RoMJold.Hi •-.Mantail' Moretantl. I>iii'i'i(><l 'iiy llowitrd ni-oilicTli>n; ^)i'lKlniil .y.-r('cri|>;iiv , liy Kdmuml Ivelso: caiucriiv ■ Kri'ir Jiichniliii, .-Jr.;; o'dltDr,' JnrH Ogllvle: kinjfu. Kilwiii-d-. Kny. Harry Tobltt."", -l.ow l*iii-t(i-. .Jiilmny l.uhgc, ' .\t Strand; Brnoki lyiii work of Dec. 12, 1!M0. Running time, 61 .viiNs;.. ■• >;.;.. ;..; Frnnkle nnrro , . v l'.. -. . .'.-Murjorle' IlPiTioldB , ; .Mnntnn Miirclniid >''rii.iik.le' Aone ........ J*>rf ......... 'IVx.- Kltd .Wilson - KiiiTfH ..... Mnrly ...... Hf(.<<llnR(> CJiiivlcy v.... ."^IPVIMtS '.',... .■..,.I.nrnB . Orcy . .'rrL-iiiim Coffin ,t"lyd9 Dllfjon nirk iSlllott .■;v..Jtihn llnllRnd , ;.i':«ripi6n ' Young. ' This is a- fair- enough little pic- ture for lower-brackiet dualtng. Set , . , , „ , , , , . „ iii a radio station background, If Previous , to the closmg scene, be perfect. But he s not He never i jjon^bines a mystery story with music which is the only ■ sequence that [get s into the role, he's always just g^d a few laughs.. Mystery,-limes manages some real accion. Nolan'li ad j a chi p floatiiit;t >ii"-top"of4tr^-Ma^PgaTot4^T^.^agS7^y grounded himself to switch over to Ljndsav_ as Nikkr Porter, is^p - .. an executive's position on the plea of Miss Bari that she wouldn't marry a flyer, that is where the film lags most Direction allows too jnuch time to', point out that Nolan hates flying behind' a desk and would rather get back into the air. {"inailly he has a, fight with the gal, hops off to Honduras to take over flying ore out of back country gold inines. Saboteur is a cog. in a ring that want*; to take-wer the job of ferry- ing the gold. Miss Bari-s emoting is inconsistent. In some scenes. she's weak and • in others, especially the isignoff broad- cast of the plane slugfest, she's vety capable. Arlecn Whelari is the boss of thte. iJbnduran airport Nolan uses as a base. She has little to. dO. Wood. BEHIND THE NEWS Ttepubllo release-of Roderl NorUi produc- tion. Directed by' Joseph Snniley.- Screen- play, Isaliei. Dawn and Boyce'. De .Ga\v; original; Dore Hchhry- and Allen Rlvkin;- camera. Jack Mavta; editor,'Ernest Xlms; 'itiuslc'al director, Cy . Feuer. Previewed ' In Proijocllon Boom, N. Y.; Dec. 10, "lO. Run-, nlng time, 75.MfNS. . Stuort Woodrow.;... Barbaiu .Shan^..... JelT Flavin Vic Archer Hardin .S. Kelly.... Nell Saunders....... Enrico 'Monroe .•••.k.4.....i Foster.............^ Reporter ........... Bessie...... Eddie ......... Lloyd .Xplan Doris Davenport" tYa'nk Albei-tRon. .... Robert ArmRtrong .........Paul Horvey. Clmrles Halton ......:.Gddie Conrnd , ...Harry Tyler ....Olck Elliott .....Archie Twltchell ..... .Vedsi Ann ; Borg ....... M.liton Parsons Hollywood for some time now has become allergic to the alcoholic type of newspaperman, the one who eventually becomes the crusader type and knocks off, the'city's crime syndicate — remember? But Re- publiCi which continues to make no attempt to appease the sophisticates, goes on about its merry way, and the result, is' another newspaper yarn . dialled 'Behind the News.' There's nothing particularly insidey about it, but it may . find some ex- citement for the local burghers in Keoka Falls for whom the film is intended. 'News' has what might facetiously be caUed a new twist, in that this time it's a journalism school's scholarship winner, who's the tilti- mate 'means to rehabilitcite the fourth-estate hack who had once been a great reporter. You guessed it—after the usual having that the kid gets from the has-been, and the other, reporters, the hack sobers up sufficiently to come to his senses, end so the two knock off the crime setup that-^f course — has been headed by no less a personage than the district attorney himself.. Lloyd Nolan is the veteran news- paperman saved from his cynicism by Frank Albertson, as the cub re- porter. The pair do as well as can be expected with the transparent situations. Doris Davenport lends plenty of s.a. and looks as Noltn's sweetie, the one who for the longest time can't either get him sufficiently sober; dir something, to get him to marry her; Another , thing—why must these daimes of B-pIcture news- papermen always be having trouble on. the aforementioned marital question—as if the ^y himself didn't actually want a loving wife, etc. pulchritude per.so.nified and . works harder, than B^llamyj biit, lacks the. sparkle the hardrfo-belieVe roleVrc:^ quires. Charley Grapewin. a.s Bel- lamy's father. Inspectpr Queen, is handed ham dialog, and deliviers it that way. James Burke; his as- sistant; emulates hirii; Story hinges on- too many incredi- ble sitiiatjons and leaves far too many loose ends to qualify as firsts class ■writing. It builds up .an excess of characters, oiie of whom is the murderer, . and' at the same tim^ eliminates them by the obviousness of their activities. Yarn finds Marsha ' Hunt: desirous of marrying the fam?, ily doctor; Michael Whaleh, but pre- vented by: her father, Fred Niblo, who thinks he is aboi^t to die. Miss Hiint disappears, and Inspector Queen is called in to find her. His son, E1-. lery, who writes the Ellery Qtieeh mystfery stories. Is hanging around the detective btireau, ovierhears the disappearance .<:tpry and\ determines to find the gal to provide hiniself with a plot Meantime,, her lather calls/ about half a dozen of his employees aroiind him and tells them he is going to change his will, eliminating them as ■well as his daughter from It. That gives everyone , a nice motive for eliminating him. before he gets the hew will in a safe place. During this conclave, EUery brings Miss Lindsay to the house, thinking she is the missing daughter. tAiss, Lind- say Is also a mystery writer and also sees in all this a plot. She thus gets herself inadvertently locked in a suite with the old man. Short time later she finds him dead in next room and naturally becomes, suspect No. 1. Ellery, inasmuch as he- got her into the mess, determines to get her out and does so by finding the real mur- derer. Much of the dialog is corny as a .Charles O. Hoyt meller, Direction by Kurt Neiamann Is In-and-out, maintaining suspense part of the time, but lapsing Into long flat pe- riods too often. H'erb. however, preventin'R the film as a whole from rising above the quickie.' madie 'Ski Chase,' 'Slalom,' and 'Storm Over Mont Blanc.' but it's doubtfiil if skiing angle will'help much at the bdxoffi'Ce... It was turned out; late in 1939, with the co- operation of French ski champs, the Paris Ski. Club's femme team, and. Louis Agnel,. French racing champ ort thie snow gliders. - While the pro- fessional skiers and the concluding ski ballet (on almost Billy.; Itose Aquacade proportions), with long: lines of male and femme' experts gliding down the long Alpine slopes, give the .production finished touch, .it's the enactment of a commonplnce love yarn by compe- tent French players that makes this, jell.. ' ■. , : ^v-- . Censors Obviously have . cut out some spicy scenes, but it does not' htirt the story, Henri Presles looks, like the ski dhampiOn he's'.supposed to be on the screen, thoiigh Champ Agnel doubled for him on^ihany occasions. . He's the. ;b'-flgtrr,e--iii--th e - faihiliar yarn - of rival Alpine innkeepers fighting. ^psotros, Lo9 Muchachos (aHgentine-mape) Buenos Aires, Dec, 18. Argentine Sono production and 'n.lea.<:e. FenlurCB .Sebastian C'hlola, Uunlel 1\>|I- lisclo,. fWcni Vnllc.clll, Ana .-Vrnoiidn,, f;ii)na (>rcy,' TKo CifyiWA, Marlon Me<U'ni)i.i, .Seiitl- llt-H, -Marcos Zuker.. Directed by Curloa BoiToaiiue. , ... .. T>- J •♦„Ai* fifr business, with his sweetheart', classiflcation. - Production, itself, is .Helene (Wissia Dina) in the rival relatively lavish and. noteworthy. I camo Frankie Darro-, who has long *^' played the 'Dead End' type to'ughie, comes .out of it this tiinc to star"as. a young know-it-all. radio; station pUjge boy who wants to get a comedy. program of his dwn. His pardner in the show he has worked up is the station porter, Mantan Moreland, an old TJegro vaude fave. The pair get every bit of comedy possible put of the. lines, doing a good job .through- out. : Marjorie R6ynolds,.as a Recep- tionist with a yen to be a vocalist-, proves herself strong as a looker; not so strong as. .a singer, but- is. more than passable. Yarn is a. rather mixed-iip. affajr. the mystery being virtually impos- sible for the audience! to. solve be- cause the killer is kept so far in the background. Gal singer at the radio station, Loma Grey, is shot dead as she standS: in front of a mike- Then a cowbdy,; Gordon Jones, is killed, Darro, with the: unwilling aid of Moreland; shows the cops ex- actly how it was all done and gets an opportunity for his friend Miss Reynolds, to take the place of the murderied singer at the .mike. :. Tunes include 'By' the Looks of Things' and 'Something or OtherVby Edward Kay and Harry Tobias, which aire sung by. Miss Reynolds; and 'Doin' the Conga,' by Kay,: Lew! Porter and Johnny Lange, sung by Miss Grey. .None of them means much. . Herb. Charpin, Assia, Max Dearly, Mila Parley and Marcel Mouloudji are familiar French cinemk:; figures who contribute worthy .supporting aicie. Miss Dina ..(but not With ;that monicker) looms as -a potcntiajiily. for American . films, ; .posSes.sing charm, looks and poise plus first- rate thesp ability. Photography by Otto Heller, Adrien Porchet aiid Albeirt Benitz, covering cldseupis as: well as distant shots of ski experts; IS topfiight. ■ •\.', yfedr, :, MANNERHEIM LINE - -liocumentary, released :by .Vrtkrno, .pro- duced ' by I,cnlnsrad Newsreel -. Studlbs. Photography, N. Blazhkov, V. Eshiirln,: V. Dobronltsky. S. Kosan, F.' Ovslni\lkov, P. Palley, O. SImonov, T, Slavin, B.. Uchltel, C. Pbmin, G. Shullatln; editors, V. Bcl- yayev, li.-Vurlnmo-va, K. Komaravtsev, Y,: ■Stoloytsevv ' mlUtary cohsuHant;'. Brigade Con-imnhder A. P. . Frenov. At MInnil, N. T., .pec. 18, ^40. kunnlng time, 7S .WINS. ("With English commentary dtid LONE STAR RAIDERS Republic release of' I.mils Gray' produc- tion. Stars Three Me."!Qull(>eTa (Robirt I,lv- PONY POST <WITH SONGS) . TTnlversal productloif^and release. ■ Stars- John Mack Brown: features Fuz^y Knight, Nell O'Day. ..Dlreeted by Ray. Taylor. Original storjf. and screenplay, Sherman Lowe; 'camera, ^'llltdm SIckner; musical director. Charles Prfevlh| conductor, H. j. .'^alt(>^; songs, .Tohnny-Bond,' Milton no.<ien, Kverett I'arler, At Tentnil.' N. Y., Dec. 11. WO; dual. Runhlrig lime: AD MINS. ','al k .......Johnny Mack Brown .Shorty.<Fu7.2y Khight Xotma ■.'..Nell O'Day .-Ulcp..;.' Dorolliy' Short Goodwin.....' ;;... .Tom Chatlerton Atkins , .Stanley Blystone Jfack nu-liards .Jdck Rockwell Claud Richards ; .Ray^Teal AVhltmorp. . -. Kermit Maynnrd Fitlrweather .Lane Chandler George Barber......'....-. .Eddie Cobb Dr. Nestet......I .LlOyd Tngraham Hamilton ..- .Charles Klnr Jimmy .Wakely and hia Rough Riders 'Pony Post- is- a mildly tiresome sagebrusher. It has John Mack ingston. Bob Steele. Rufe Diavis). Direc ted Brown as a tough scourge of the hOss by George Sherman. Screenplay, Joseph --- .. .. °.. Moncure March and Barry -..Shlpman, trom original, by Charle;) Francis Roynl. . based on characters created by William Colt Mnr- Donald; oamfra, Wtlllnm Nohle.s; editor, Tony Mnrtlnelll; music, Cy . Feuer. - Fre- vlewed' ln projection room. S'.T., Dec. 12, •40. Running'time, 87 .MINS. Stony Brooke. ...Robert filvlnwlon Tucson Smith ,... Boh Steele Lullaby Joslln. -^.Rufe Davis Linda... .June Jo.hn.'sfin Martin George Douglas Granny Sa rah J'nOden Cameron. ..i ...'.'.... .John BUIolt Dixon ........John Merton Fisher......'......,.. ..Rcit I.ense, Blake.............. 1 vpud'. Osborne Blxby: ..Tack Kirk Jones. ,......',,.. .Tom London Sherl ......'. .Hal Price Ellery |Qyeen> Master Detective ;. Columliln ))roductlon and release.--Stars Ralph Uellatny, .Margaret Lindsay; -fea. tures Charley- Grapewin, Jamea .Burke, Michael Whalen. . Directed by KUrt Neu- mann. .Screenplay by Eric vTaylor froin- orlFTlnnl .by Ellery-.Queen (Mann-ed -R. Lee and li'rederlc-.Dannuy); camera, James S. .Brown, Jr.; editor, Dwiirht Caldwell. -At Blalto, N'. Y. . week or "Dec, 18; 'lo; Riin- nthg tlnie. M .UIMS. Ellery' Que.cn. KIkkl Porter....... Ihspectur tjueen.. .- i!«rgeaht Velle..... Dr. Juinea Rogers. Barbara .Uraun.., John Braun. Dr. .Prouty: I;ydia draun.k Cornelia....... Bocliy Taylor Zauhary...,;. . A tnoa..,-..-.. ......... Valerie Nbrrls.v..:. .'... .Ralph .Bellamy' .-.Margaret Lindsay .Charley Grapewin' ....,..-James Burke ...Michael Whalen ...... Ma r.shO. Hunt Fred Nlblof .Charles Lane ....'Ahn, .Shoemaker Marlon Martin Douglas Fo.wlcy ..Mort^nn .Wallace .... nyi-on , Fbulger Katherlne DeMlMo With'one of the best: bets of the season for. a series .of profitable inys- tery films,. Columbia has registered almost a. complete missout. Knovtrn 4o millions ■via books and radio, detec- tive Ellery Queen; makes ' his screen bow-in this film. A ready-made au- dience awaits him, but. the riesults are. not going to be good because talis Ckf the great defective they have •Lone Star Raiders' is the latest^ cactus opera for thie Three Mesijui- teers; Republic's standard trio of heroes, and, the result \s cohsistent with their, standard, it's for the lower half of the duals, where " the youngsters will probably be suf- ficiently gullible to accept the film for . its few exciting values. There's a slight switch in this one, whei"eih an elderly, kindly woman hepbmes heir, to a ranch, facing dis- aster because of drought; and- dust storms killing off , its horses. ■ The equines' sale to the Army mean the .difference between success and fore- closure. - Of course, there are the usual .western equivalent of fifth oolumnists working within the ranks Of the Circle-H, in cahoots with a competitor lor the Army contract, but with the Mesquiteers. stepping in. the old lady wins the. contract, following.a horse, race whose vic- tory affords the, key to. the. entire situation. . Bob Livingston, Bob Steele and Rufe Davis continue their fight for law and, order ; as the Mesquiteers! and turn in their usually okay per'- formahces, with Davis, as usual, sup- plying the comedy. Sarah Padden, among others, do well enough, though it's Miss.Padden, as the old lady, who is most believable.. . George Sherman's direction has kept the film moving at a fairly brisk canter. Kan. and cattlenistlers, but otherwise it's pretty, inert.. Nobody expects a cac tus meller to have an original ploV— in fact, the traditional one is prefer able. But such, yarns should be crammed with action ttnd headlong pace. This one ain't. There are few slug-brawls, several tepid gun battles, a couple of Sequences with some tired Indian warriors on the loose, and. jtiot many hard-riding chases. ' Instead, it al most knocks itself . out - trying for comedy and even fumbles the simple^ little romantic pattern.. Mu- si(:al numbers are fairly ^oOd, but aren't worked into the .script, and so retard- the story. iPhotography has th(B ciastomary handful of effectr ive shots, but that'5^ . all. Fuzzy Knight's slapstick is unfunny. The two heromes fwhich' is .one. too many) are pretty and, appealing, which, merely .cornplicates things. Anyway, the villains are properly villainous; if not too robust, jkobe. THEY MET ON SKIS .(FRENCH-MADE)-. - C. L^ Irnport: (Mlk6 Mindlln) release of Henri "Sbkal .production. .- -Features AVIssla :uina, Henri Pi'esles, Charpin, Max.-De«rli'. Directed by Kenrl Soknl. Story by Fred ..Schiller.; cameramen. Otto Heller, Adrien Porchet, Albert Benll^. At Tirith St. Play- house, >?. T.. . week Dec 21, '40^ -Running time, 75,,MIN8. ) felene .v.,. Wlssla t>lha Michel .......Henri Presles IJncle Justin.....>.....;..k.Charpin (jlnette. AssIa Baraac ..;.,'..... -Max Dearly Nicole .<.,.,.;,...-..:.,..-iMlla -Parely Pierrot .;.k..., .......Marcel Houlbiidjl (In French* with English Titles) This new French romancfe of ski champs; and comely, athletic girls is daring and contains , sustained beauty of the Alps, which back- ground. Should do moderately well if exhibitors are' able to overcome picture's stodgy title and sell the idea that it is not just another skiing epic. Actual ski work is siibordi- nated to a first-rate stbry. Film was cleverly produced and directed by Hiehri SokaL He also As the only documentary .film of ^e. Soviet-Finnish war .to. reach the u. S. so far, 'Manherheim Line' is of considerable interest-^<x)nslder- able' interest in different "ways to different people. Despite that.. it hardly justifies the program blurb that it 'fully and finally explodes all the myths, rumors and fantastic stories built by innumerable propa- ganda agencies' around the conflict. It majr be true, as the . program also claims, that the film 'gives Americans the first opportunity to see the Red Army in action—an ex- perience which one will not soon forget.' Btit again, different people "will not soon foriCet' for different reasons. As enthusiastically demon- strated, by a portion of the packed, house at the Miami,. N. Y., some will not soon forget the sound-track statement. of Vipuri's fall, the an- nouncement that the Red; Army had broken through the Mannerheim Line, or shots of; Stalin's picture. Others will not soon forget their amusement at somC of the ludicrous propaganda assertions in the sound track, or the infuriating sight of the manimoth Red war machine rolling over and laying waste one of the most civilized, law-abiding and peace-loving countries in the world —tiny, gallant Finland. Although the picture is claimed to have been taken amid the actual fighting on the Karelian Isthmus (and. some of it appears to have bieen) much. of. it is more or less standard army maneuver stuff that could ha;ve been taken any^ where, except for the deep snow and the indications, of subrzero. weather. There are interminable shots of rumbling tanks, booming guns, chattering machine guns, roaring planes and running, walk- ing, crawling and skiing troops' :Much of it Is repetitious and some looks as if It mignt have been faked —or at least misrepresented in the cominentary.. Despite apparently natural and technical difficulties/the photography is surprisingly good for a Russian pictiire, but the sOiind is feeble, . Although there are ho actual shots of the fighting (the commentary says men shown cra.wlihg .in white covering through the snow are ad vahcihg under; fire, but such scenes could have been .taken nciiles back of the front), the occasional views of frozen <:6rpseS, shattered fortifica tions and . devastated towns and homes have a revolting reality. Of these latter, 'the portions showing the inside of the captured Finnish defenses are the most .enlightening and interesting.-'. . To .some, spectators,; at least,, they reveal hot (as the commentator. as serts) that Fihiand .plotted the in- vasion of the . Soviet Union, but how long ..and painstakingly' the Fihns prepared to stave off the ruthless onslaught thait ultimately eiigulfed them. For if 'Mannerheim. Lme* is evidence to some people . of the Soviet's righteous might,. It is to others a. stinging reminder of one of the. most brutal dnd outrageous crimes of this violent. age.. It will leave'few people unmoved diiie way or the. other. . Thcrelorcj it should be a boxoffice natural, ■wherevier public opinion permits its showing, It's incidentally ■ eloquent; propa- ganda for .U. S. prepariedness, which could hardly have been Soviet in tentioo. Jiobe. 'Boys Town' seemingly is. the in- ' splration for this, one, last of Sono Film's. 1940 schedule,. AlthOUjgh^get- ting no raves.: frOrh local critics, it has drawn well at the b.o. and may be sent to. the States and elsewhere : n Latin America. Film is based on life of newsboys, with'.plehty of comedy to relieve the serious background'. Central iheiiio'. is a police episode. Head of a group . of newsboys incites three.pdls :t6 rob. a jewelry store., .Caught by; the eweler, they kill him but leave, be-i lihd the belt of a wealthier lad with whom they occasionally ran around; , o mmits sUi eid c bodaur .o o f - family troubles and the fact that hi.s buddies'haVe ratted on , him: • Court judge who treats the arrested Iri with paternal kindness sees that it's, only, the baid. influence of the leader i;haf takes them to;, crime, mikes them believe the leader- has fae- trayied them and thus ,solves the af- fair. V"." .' ' - Film is a plea for tolerance and kindness from those who guicle boys and adds a message that only by work can they hope for a better fu- ture, Plot is; somewhat disjointed and lacks backbone. Though patchy, it drew praise for its sympathetic; tone, worthy' intention and fresh comedy in the dialog.. In. this and technically it is well above the gen- eral: average. Some scenes, while vigorous and cOlorfiil, are.hampered by others that .appear superfluous, work of Borcbsque, rated as one of the best S..-A. directors, is :hetter- than that of his recent pic, 'Flecha .; de Oro' ('The. Golden An-ow'). Sebastian Chiola, as the judge, tiirns in a good job. Daniel Bulltir scio, although somewhat monotonous, is satisfactory. F^nime. role."?, brief owing to the nature of the plot, are handled with aplomb by (j^loria Grey (also a local radio' commentator) and Ana ArheodO. Kid parts use most of the local 'Dead End. Kids' • from . 'Y Manaha Seran Hombres* CAnd Tomorrow They Will Bo Men'),. headed by Oscar Vallicelll and including Tito Gomez, Salvador Lotito and Mario Medrano. Script of Ramon Gomez Masia has several unusual twists. Photography good, especially location shots at the Casa Del Camillita, Newsboy's Home. ; Ray. SPEED LIMITED Regent release of George P. Ri-agnn,' Jr., production. Directed hy AI Herman. .<lory and' screenplay, . Ralph Hravps; camera, William Hyer; editor. Dun . Mlluert. ' At Central, K .Y„ Dec; U, '40; dual. Bun- nlng time: 68 MJNS. . - ; Jerry -Paley... .........Ralph Graves .Natalie....- Marjorle, >,..,..., Smitty'........... G-M(in........... Tommy........... Porter G-Man , :..Gordon Griffith Kvelyrt Brent ........ C-laudla \iP\l ......Andy I-li<-»,' Jr, ......^VaIler Worrt'en ........Vance, Ciirroll .. .Snow Plak» This action opus is terrible beyond belief. It thust have been shot off the cuff and practically On the run. From the look, of it. that must have been years ago. The wonder isn't why it was withheld so long; but why it was ever released at all. Meller about G-men and kidnap- ers, with a sickly romance between the chief sleuth and a scatterbrained heiress-divorcee, resembles a hang- over from the anaesthesia chamber. Production, direction, acting, pho- tography and even the cutting are incredible. No use speculating on the business such a misfire is likely, to draw on whatever bookings it happens to get. Incidentally, the. Current bill at the Central, N, Y,, also includes a western and a serial. 'The Green Archer,'. Latter is such a ludicrous thriller it keeps the audience in snickers. Jiobe. OLD BILL AND SON ■ ' ^BRITISH-MADE), - London, ijec. io. : •G.eherar. Flini - UlstrJlVutors - relesiFa - of L,cgeruii pi'oductldc. ■ .FoKture.x. .Morjan^- Gnihain; Ji4m .Mills; Slary t'Inrp'. Rene,* Houston., .iilrccted by. Taij'- .,T);ilrymi)le. QHglnal story,'Captain' Ri-m-c B.-ilrnsfiilher anil-Ian Dalrymplo; additional dlalof;, Ar-. thur Wlmperls; camei-a, i^nvgcs. I'erlnnl Reviewed.at (Saumontj-LSrltlsh ri'-lv.nre lUea' tro, London. Running time; 00'-.HINS. Old Bill Young Bill.,.. Maggie -.... Stella Malloy.. Sally..;....;.. Alf;...'.-'.. Bert....'....... Frapcol'se...... Colohel'..;...';, .Canuck...'.'. ..'< 'V Morland (iniham :.Ji)itn Mills . ;;. /. Mary: din e .. Reliee. lloui'lo.n ....i.:Rone -Ray .Mi'.N'<iti(:hton ..Ronald .»!hlher -. .Janine Dari-oy ..Roland fiilvcf. -.'.Donald .Sluurt Readhihg into the past for an old reliable; producers Josef Somlo and Harold Bdxall have done a nice job; 'Old Bill and SoiiVcarries a: famous tag:, plus light entertainment fash- ioned directly to the national taste. One striking point emerges via the screening of cartoonist Bruce Bairns- father's widely acclaimed character of the doughboy scamp of War One and the continued reference in pres- ent, yarn to the sentiments of that periodj and that is the unfortunate existing; condition at the b.o. these dSys. 'Old Bill* will have to play to business Ayhere it's to be .had; 1 (Continued on. page 20) .