Variety (Sep 1942)

to PICTURES W«diieBd>y, September 16. 1942 March of Time's ^FBI Front', 'Midway' Point Up Stronger Drop of Shorts Br MIKE WEAR Marked lift in the quality of shorts during the last few weeks is regard- ed as forecasting a strong lineup of one, two and three-reel pictures for the 1942-43 season. Many of these shorts are on the old 1941-42 proauct schedule, but some are on the cur- rent year's sked. Topped by "The FBI Front,' first March of Time issue for 1942-43, and 'Battle of Midway,' befng released through the WAC of the film indus- try (20th-Fox doing physical dis- tributing), shorts previewed in the projection room this week constitute the strongest all-round array shown In months. The Battle of Midway' (Navy sge- cial in color, WAC-20th, 20 mins., produced and photographed by John Ford, U.S.N.R. and navy cameramen, Sioken narrative, Jane Darwell, enry Fonda, Irving Pichel, Donald Crisp)—Rated the first battle to be made in Technicolor and closeup of perhaps the greatest naval engage- ment in world history, this is the most gripping documentary to come from the U. S. side of the present World War. Photographed in June when the Japs attacked Midway Is- land, the U. S. Navy saw fit to re- lease this American naval victory as a documentary rather than as a newsreel. Hence, the delay (time being needed to make it a well- rounded production) in getting the epic story to the public. 'Midway' is a thrilling account by the battle cameras which looked closely on the assault and the devastating counter blows. These cameras, crouched in the sands of Midway beside the gun emblace- ments, were 16 mm., with Tech- nicolor film, now blown up to stand- ard size for the nation's screens. One sees them shake and shudder with the rocking concussions of the nearby bomb explosions, the fire of the defending batteries, the pom- poms aboard the steaming cruisers and carriers. Audiences get the feel of the deadly action from the stand- point of the men who fought it. The swift kaleidoscope of attack and defense, of hurtling planes and swinging guns, of blazing buildings and fuel tanks, of assaulted ship, of men concentrated on their deadly chores, of exploding Inkspota in the ' sky searching for the charging pilots —these scenes made without {Ime foi setups and filmed at crazy angles b/ Lt Col. John Ford and his cam' eramen of the Navy, have been as- sembled In orderly sequence, with explanatory narration where needed. The reel has sound and music; the Bongs of the Navy and the Marines, the roar of fierce and complicated action. The sound is possibly the most remarkable part of the picture, Scene opens on Midway, the low, lonely coral reef with its Marines base, serene before the Jap attack, sparkling in a vivid sea as viewed from a plane. Marines march along the pier behind a color guard. Then comes the alarm—from patrol planes. The big U. S. bombers trundle out along the runways. The fighting men go almost leisurely to their sta- tions, in the gun pits, in the bom- bardier wells of the ships. They roar away ... and the hair lifts on ycur scalp, if you're a civilian look Ing at the film ... a tension at the pic of the stomach. Suddenly a swarm of fighters take off. Amidst the noisy clatter, you hear the narrator's voice, shouting, There go the Marines!' Another ehout, "Here come the Japs." Japs dive smoking into the sea. Several smack into the dunes. A great hangar gets it with a bomb, starts to blaze. An oil tank is hit, raising a black plume. The Yanks are beginning the terrific toll of enemy planes which rose to 300 officially credited by the Navy before the battle of Midway ended. In this bedlam of sound and fury, the camera swings often to watch for a few seconds the fighting style of two young Marines in a gunpit close by. They are tense but not afraid. One thing will strike the beholder: on all the faces of the young Americans he will see in the picture, not one wears the look of fear. Several even grin at the cameras, in the thick of action—rgood American youngsters' grins. Yes, even the wounded coming in finally from rescue at sea. The Stars and Stripes runs up an empty flagmast on Midway In the smoke of battle, There are quiet scenes of the fiag draped heroes going down to the sea for the last time—not many—and the national anthem for requiem .. . and then, finally, the Navy's official enu- meration of what the engagement Current Short Releases (PRINTS IN EXCHANGES) (Compiled by Besa Short) 'At the Dog Show' (Par, 9 mins., reviewed In this week's 'Variety'). 'Speaking of Ani- mals' novelty. 'Indian Temples* (Par, 11 mins., reviewed in this week's 'Variety'). Travelog of India. 'The Early Bird Dood It' (M-G, B mins.). Color cartoon com- edy. 'The Spirit of Annapolis' (WB, 13 mins.). U. S. Naval Academy song, music session. 'I Am a Blue Jacket' (U. S. Navy, 8% mins.). Recruiting subject. ■Sweeny Steps Out' (WB, 11 mins.). Comedy. •Sniffer Soldiers' (WB. 9 mins.). Training dogs for U. S. Army war work. *Alona of the Sarong Seas' (Par, 7 mins., reviewed in this week's 'Variety'). Popeye car- toon comedy. ■KlH and Wake Up' (Col, 19 mins.). Johnny Downs comedy. 'Even As IOC (Col, 16 mins ). Three stooges comedy. The Greatest Gift' (M-G, 12 mins.). Dramatic short. cost the Japs: four Jap carriers sunk; 28 Jap cruisers and destroyers sunk; 300 Jap aircraft destroyed. 'The FBI Fronf (March of Time, 20th, 20 mins.)—Something refresh- ing has been added—possibly it's more semblance of a plot in this one. Anyway, this new March of Time is fL. and away the best issue to come from Louis de Rochemont's pro- duction mill in many months. Starts off the new releasing deal with 20th- Fox. Inner workings of the Federal Bureau of Investigation have been on the screen before, but never as inter- estingly. The FBI that the M. of T. preseins la as vital as tomorrow's newspaper headlines. After a brief resume of the general FBI setup as a modem Intelligence service working under wartime conditions, subject develops into a forthright tale of the technique under which espionage and counter-espionage operates. Yarn concentrates on machinations of Nazi stooges in the U. S. Centers on a typical restaurant operator, suspected of aiding the enemy. How the FBI manages to ferret out his part In Nazi sabotige operations and to place a U. S. operative in an escaped Nazi prisoner's garb (identi- fication and all) brings the tale to a cleancut climax, well photographed, including Intimate closeups of J. Edgar Hoover, FBI chief, issue is smartly directed and cut. A must. 'Alona an the.Sarong Seas' (Pop- eve cartoon comedy. Par, 7 mins.)— Oaa of beat and funniest in this familiar seri^ Strong-man sailor and his pal, Bluto, court a skinny Princess Alona (Olive Oyl) but situa- tions and orlgiAal business never has been topped in these cartoons. Aver- age audience will howl. 'At the Dog Shew* (Speaking of Animals, Par, 9 mins.)—Probably the strongest of these subjecta in which animals are made to speak Elngllsh. Monotony of having a string of animals spiel Inane remarks has been reduced to a minimum. Affairs at do<> show are worked in with dog comments mostly witty. They'll go for this one. •Hedda Hopper's Hollywood' (No. 6, Par, B mins.)—Home of Mar; Pick- frrd and Buddy Rogers, caUed the V.ulte House of Hollywood these days, forms the scene of a fashion snow for visiting service men, guests Including Boris Karloff, Reginald Denny, Adolphe Menjou, Rudy Val- lee, Joan Davis, Lola Lane, Anita Liuise, Claudette Colbert and Mary Pickford. Miss Hopper has large fol- lowing and series is getting nice exploitation breaks, this one living up to the series' earlier promise. The Japoteors' (Superman cartoon Lt color. Par, 8 mins.)—Vastly im- proved Superman subject but -still leaning heavily on the incredible. Kids will love it Indian Temples' (Travelog, Par, 11 mins.)—Shows Hindu temples in India plus Shiva dance. Color and scoring are superb, but overboard in length. Timber Athletes' (Grantland Rice, P.^r, 10 mins.)—Starts out to shov various sports depending on wood of vast tlmberlands; then switches over to depleting the athletic lads needed to procure this wood in action. An 1 isual sporta topic. 'How to Play Baseball* (Walt Dis ney color cartoon comedy, RKO. 7 mins.)—Another laugh hit from Dis- ney. Supposed to be sort of builder- upper for 'Pride of Yankees,' this one stands on its own for bright ideas, speedy action and laugh-com- pelling scenes. As with Disney's comedy on the art of boxing, this starts out as strictly Instructional- then swinging into clowning. Goofy is the star hurler in the crucial world series game, with all terms of the national pastime given funny treat- ment This is a cinch in any spot. ■Mall Trouble* (Leon Errol com- edy, RKO, 18 mins.)—It's not mall trouble, but script trouble that mars this. Errol is a funny comic given proper material. Large supporting cast fails to overcome trite story. After one especially corny gag, Errol remarks: 'That won't do.' Applies to whole film. •Two for the Money* (Edgar Ken- nedy comedy, RKO, 17 mins.)—Vast improvement over recent Kennedy comedy efforts. Has a plot, even if a bit weird, and it's well filled with comedy business. 'Record Breakers* (Sportscope. RKO, 8 mins.)—All about track ath- letes, with recent meet in Randall's stadium highlighted. Trim all-round production job by Frederic Ullman. Jr. Time recited on 440-yard dash seems a bit garbled, probably being intended for 100-meter race. One of better subjects in series. •Life With Fldo' (Terrvtoon color cartoon comedy, 20th. 7 mins.)— Long-eared dog, reminiscent of Pluto, befriends a black duckling. The good-guy dog's mannerisms are fai'.hfully depicted. Action and clever gags help this to a high rating for Paul Terry color cartoon series. Okay for most accounta. •The Big Bnlld-Up' (Terrytoon cartoon comedy, 20th, 7 mins.)—One of those dog versus cat scraps with occasional laughs, and plenty of g,- :s. Trouble is that too many gags art either familiar or forced. 'Valley of Blossoms' (Magic Carpet in color, 20th, 9 mins.)—Merely goes to show how interesting and color- ful a simple story of apple blossoms can be when skillfully done. Th^e is that the remarkable blossoms bloom in arid desert country because of painstaking irrigation. Story also shows the bountiful apple crop of the British Columbia valley region. Lowell Thomas' deft narrative and fine color help make the subject wort), while. Film Reviews ; Continued from page □ ing situations and fast-moving, al- though somewhat theatrical, dialog will keep them interested. There is a dash of double entendre but it's nicely handled. Story deals with a factory owner who wanta to prevent his daughter from getting married to his secre- tary. Pop wanta the jal to marry his partner so that their tangled financial affairs can be straightened out. Gal and secretar;^ dream up the bright idea pretending they are parenta of an infant, but even when the supposed offspring is presented, pop doesn't give in. Instead, he tries to shoot the secretary. An old-maid aunt finally solves the problem, and it develops the kid has been loaned to the gal as part of an extortionist scheme. The aunt adopts the child, daughter and secretary marry, and he becomes manager of the factory, Francisco Alvarez Is good as the father, and Zully Moreno, as the leading femme, has plenty of eye appeal, although nj.h. as an actress and badly costumed. Gladys Rizza, as a cabaret singer, is not particu- larly photogenic and her diction Is sloppy. Pedro Quartucci, as the sec- retary, is okay. Little coin has been spent on the seta, which are mostly interiors. Amadori keeps the show going, but could have used his camera better. Ray. LOS CHICOS CRECEN ('The Kids Grow Up*) (ABGENTINE-MAOE) Buenos Aires, Sept. 1. Lumlton producUon and releaM. Featana Atturo Qarcla Buhr, Peplta Serrador, Uarla Duval, Santiago Oomec Con. Maruja QU Quesada, Miguel Gomez Bao, Aurella Fer- rer. Mariana Marti, Quico Moyano, Edgar- do Morula. Roberta Soria, Irli Martorelll. Story, Dartliefl and Danel: adapted by Darthen. Damel and Julio Porter; photog- raphy by Alfredo Traverso: directed by Carlos Hugo Chrletenaen. Reviewed at the Broadway. Buenos Alrea. Running time, W MINS. FILM BOOKING CHART (For <n/orjnallon 0/ theotr« and fltm axchanff* boofcefs VaBiErY presents a compute chart 0/ fenfurs releases o/ oH the American distributinff com- panies /or fhs current Qtiarferltf period. Dote o/ review* <u given In Vabiett and the runntoijr time of prints are included.) Key to Type Abbre»iaftons: M—Melodrama; C—Comedv; CD—Comedy- Droma; W—Western; D—Droma; RD—Romantic Drama; MU—Musical. Fipures heretuifh indicate date of Variett's rewieto ond running time. Blondle For Victory (Col) Crossroads (M-G) 8/24 Smart Alecks (Mono) 8/9 Klondyke Fniy (Mono) 7/lS Can of the Canyon (Bcp) 8/18 Happened In Flatbnsh (2«th) Pardon My Saropg (U) 8/S This is by far the best pic young director Carlos Hugo Christensen has produced. A neat story made without stars. Its youthful characters and pop approach are likely to make it a strong grosser throughout Latin America. Story is somewhat artifi- cial but relieved by smooth charac terization. Dialog is over-wordy and, at times bombastic, but all in all it stands up well. Story is about a lawyer who re' marries but tries to hide his pre vlous marital life and his three chil- dren. He hands over the kids to a friend, and years later, when the lawyer becomes a widower, he seeks to Join his youngsters. There are plenty of complications on this point and it ends with the realization by the attorney that the adopted father is really the true poppa. Work of Buhr is outstanding and gives every indication that the young player is due for stardom. Three child stars add much interest to the film, especially Mariana Marti. Peplte Serrador doesn't do too well, but Maria Duval, a new starlet In a small role, attracts attention. Mu sic by George Andreanl is above average. Ray </S G RD C W W CD G 71 8« 83 P. singleton-R. Lake W. Powell-H. Lamarr R. Pryor-M. Rosenblooa B. Lowe-L..Falrbanks O. Antry-S. Bnrnett L. Nolan-C. t■«■■*<■ Abott ft Costello WEEK OF BELEASE—a/13/42 Bad Men of the Bills (Col) Mrs. Miniver (M-G) 5/13 HlUVUly BUtikreIg (Mono) 9/16 Timber (D) 8/12 The Old Homestead (Rep) 8/26 W C. Starrett-L. Walters D 133 O. Oaraon-W. Pldgeon G 63 B. Dnncan-E. Eennedy G IS L. Garrlllo-A. Dlvlaa C 68 Weaver Bros. Spirit of Stanford (Col) CD Ide of Missing Men (Mono) H 67 Yonth on Parade (Bcp) W Snnset Serenade (Bep) 8/9 W S8 Bells of Capistrano (Rep) 9/16 W 73 Mexican Spitflre*! Elephant (RKO) 8/S G 63 Berlin Correspondent (26th) 8/13 M 79 Give Out Bisters (U) 9/2 MU 6S F. Albert-M. H. Boward-O. J. Bobbard-M. Ol . R. Rogers-H. Parrlsh O. Antry-8. Burnett L. Velex-L. Errol V. GUmore-D. Andrews Andrews Sisters WEEK OF BELEASE 9/17/42 King of the Stallions (Mono) Somewhere IH Find Ton (M-G) Wings and the Wonun (RKO) Careful, Soft Shonlder (29th) 8/12 Halfway to Shanghai (U) 9/9 One of Onr Aircraft Is Missing (U) W Thnndarelond-D. 0*BrleB 8/S RD 197 c. Gable-L. Tnmer M 92 A. Neegte-B. Ne#toB M 70 V. Bmce-J. BSlson M 61 L Hervey-K. .Taylor M O. Tearle-i. " " WEEK OF BELEASE—9/24/42 My Sister Eileen (Col) 9/16 CD 97 Police Bullets (Mono) H Bandit Ranger (RKO) W Jnst OH Broadway (20tb) 8/12) CD 66 Sin Town (U) M Desperate Jonmey (WB) 8/19 D 107 R, RnsseU-B. Aheme J. Marsh-J. AAher T. Holt-G. Edwards L. Nolan-M. Weaver C. Bennett-B, Cnwiord E. Flynn-B. Began WEEK OF BELEASE—10/1/42 Lucky Legs (Col) Phantom KlUer (Mono) Highways by Night (RKO) Iceland (20tti) 8712 Get Hep to Love (U) Moon and Sixpence (U) ' MU J. Falkenbnrg-K. Harris M D. PoreeU-J. Woodbnf^ M 63 R. carlion-J. Bandolitt MU 79 S. Henle-J. ^yne MU G. Jean-J. Frazee D G. Sanders-H. Mars! TBAOESHOWN AND FOB FUTURE BELEASE Night In New Orleans (Par) 8/6 Once Upon a ThnrsiUy (M-O) S/M Yankee Doodle Dandy (WB) 6/3 Holiday Inn (Par) 6/17 Eagle Squadron (U) 6/17 Tombstone (Par) 6/17 I Live In Danger (Par) 6/17 Apache Trail (M-O) 6/24 United We Stand (20th) 7/1 The Tonng Mr. Pitt (20th) 7/1 FootUght serenade (20th) 7/8 The Pride of the Yankees (RKO) 7/ls Flying Fortress (WB) 7/15 War Against Mrs. Hadley (M-G) 8/S Jonmey Into Fear (RKO) 8/5 Tales of Manhattan (20th) 8/5 Cairo (M-G) 8/12 Wake Island (Par) 8/12 A Tank at Eton (H-G) 8/12 Secret Enemies (WR) 8/19 Now, Voyager (WB) 8/19 Here We Go Again (RKO) 8/28 WUdcat (Par) 9/2 The OUss Key (Par) 9/2 The Major and the MUior (Par) 9/2 Between Us Girls (U) 9/2 Eyes In the Night (M-G) 9/9 Me and Me Gal (M-O) 9/9 White Cargo (M-G) 9/16 The Omaha Trail (M-G) 9/16 D. Lamonr-R. Denning M. Bimt-R. Carlson J. Cagney-J. Leslla B. Crosby^ Astalr* R. Stock-D. Barrymor* R, DIx-K. Taylor C. Morrls-J. Parker L. Nolan-D. Reed (Doemnentory) R. Donat-R. Horley J. Payne-B. Grable G. Cooper-T. Wright R. Green*-C. Lehman E. Amold-F. Balnter J. Cotton-D. Del Bio (AU star cast) J. MacDonald- B. Tonng B. Donlevy-B. PresUm M. Rooney-E. Oweim C. 8tevens-F. Emersdfa B. Davls-P. Henreld E. Bergen-HcGee ft MoUl* R. Arien-A. Judge B. DOnlevy-V. Lake G. Rogers-R. MUland D. Barrymore-C. commlngs B. Amold-A. Harding J. Garland-G. Murphy H. Lamarr-W. Fldgeon J. Cralg-P. BUka