Boxoffice-December.02.1950

Los
SHORTS REVIEWS
Opinions on the Currtnf Short Subjects-
—
Pirates of the High Seas
(15-episode serial)
First episode 27 mins.
Columbia
Others average 16 mins.
Good. Made to order for the serial devotees
and the youngsters, this is an actionpacked
chapter-play about modern day pirates.
The husky acquatic star, Bu.ster
Crabbe, supplies marquee value and is ideally
suited to the role of a two-fisted commander
of a little schooner in the South Seas. While
the first episode devotes too much time to
introducing the characters and setting the
stage for later developments, it winds up
in a blaze of flaming action. The second
episode starts off at a fast pace and will
keep its audiences on the edge of their seats.
Lois Hall adds a touch of romance and Gene
Roth and Hugh Prosser are among the
double-dyed villains.
The Versailles
(Cavalcade of Broadway)
Columbia 10 Mins.
Good. Latest entry in the series devoted
to Broadway nightclubs is an entertaining
musical short even if some audiences may
expect to see Edith Piaf. the current smash
hit at the Versailles. However, Johnnie
Johnston, popular radio and recording star,
scores with his rendition of "La Vie En Rose,"
which Miss Piaf introduced and made famous.
He also sings "You Can't Take It
With You When You Go." Danton Walker,
Broadway columnist, also introduces Copsey
and Ayres, who satirize oriental dancers.
Casper's Spree Under
the Sea
Paramount (Casper Cartoon) 8 Mins.
Good. Imaginative, well drawn and should
be especially appealing to women and children.
Little Casper, the ghost, is cast out by
the other ghosts because he doesn't scare
anybody. He finds friends at the bottom of
the sea. visiting a fish fair and meeting a
pretty little goldfish. Goldie and the other
fish are trapped in a net. Casper rescues them
by scaring the wits out of the fishermen.
Desert Hi-Jinks
(Grantland Rice SportUght)
Paramount
9 Mins.
Good. Interesting scenes of unusual sports
in the Arizona and California deserts. They
include skiing and tobogganing on the desert
sands, and skiing on an irrigation canal
pulled along by an automobile. Especially
good are scenes of a variation of polo in
which lariats are used, and a tortoise race.
The Magnetic Tide
20th-Fox (Documentary) 21 Mins.
Good. This Cinecolor film produced and
directed by Dorothy Silverstone tells the
dramatic story of the new nation of Lsrael.
It shows people at work and play, new arrivals
from distant countries and many
world-famous landmarks in both the Arab
and Jewish sections of Jerusalem. There
are also .shots of Haifa and Tel Aviv. Those
of children are especially appealing. Unfortunately,
some of the photography Is below
par.
Letter to a Rebel
RKO (This Is America) 16 Mins.
Very good. A reissue of an outstanding
short, originally released during the 1947-48
season. An excellent appeal for real unadulterated
Americanism, it is more timely_
now than when it was first shown. It visualizes
a letter sent by an editor of a small
town newspaper to his son, who has expressed
some so-called "liberal" ideas in a college
editorial. He shows the boy how important
the democratic belief in free enterprise is in
comparison with the liberalism which considers
all people "as a corrupt tool of a
depraved economy."
Crocodile Hunters
RKO (Sportscope) 9 Mins.
Good. An unusual and educational short
dealing with the rivers of northern Australia,
where native and white hunters seek
the cunning crocodile. The aborigines harpoon
the reptile as it hides at the bottom of
the river while the professional white hunters
use more modern equipment, such as snare
traps. There are some frightening closeups
of the ferocious reptiles struggling to escape
from the hunters.
Waiting for Baby
RKO (Comedy Specials) 17 Mins.
Good. An attractive and engaging pair of
young players, Robert Neil and Suzi Crandall,
are teamed as a couple who go through
some of the usual newlywed troubles in the
first of a new series. The young husband
oversleeps each morning so his bride tells
him that she has a surprise that will wake
him up without fail. He takes it for granted
she is going to have a baby so he buys toys
and baby supplies until she thinks he is
going crazy. It turns out that she has only
bought an alarm clock which cries like a
baby instead of ringing a bell.
Grandma Moses
AF Films (Art Short) 25 Mins.
Very good. One of the finest educational,
as well as inspirational, shorts. Dealing with
the life and paintings of this most-talkedabout
artist, it is ideal fare for the art
houses, as well as regular theatres in key
cities and in college towns. The 90-year-old
Grandma Moses proves herself a natural
actre.ss, one who is never conscious of the
camera. Splendidly photographed in Technicolor,
it shows the old lady in her farm
house, in the fields and at her painting.
Many closeups of her huge paintings, with
their myriad details are also shown. Commentary
and narration are by Archibald
MacLeish and music is by Hugh Martin. AP
Films is at 1600 Broadway, New York City.
Future Releases
Will Appear Next Week
On This Page
In the Newsreels
Movietone News, No. 94: Winter joins War
in Korea as Allies push on to border; Greek
battalion sails for Korea: Purple Heart decorations;
58 die in Alpine plane crash; helicopter
lands in Vatican City; prince marks
second birthday; women marines at boot
camp; football—Illinois-Ohio State, Princeton-Yale.
News of the Day, No. 224: GIs in Korea
face bitter winter; Texas honors heroic Nisei
ex-GIs; UN aids Arab refugees; "talking"
elephants; Illinois up,sets Ohio State; Army
tops Stanford.
Paramount News, No. 27: Korea makes
world headlines; elephant says a trunk-full;
recover bodies of 58 victims in French Alps;
football highlights—Illinois meets Ohio State,
Los Angeles Rams collide with the New York
Yankees.
Universal News, No. 406: Korea; plane
crash; UN aids Arab refugees; football
Illinois-Ohio State. Princeton- Yale ; Angeles
Rams vs. New York Yankees.
Warner Pathe News, No. 29: UN troops near
China border: Norwegian crown prince visits
U.S.; Warner Bros, honored for "Breakthrough";
UN aid force for 750,000 Arab
refugees; Germany—Nellie, the "talking" elephant;
Army-Stanford game; Princeton-
Yale; Los Angeles Rams-New York Yankees.
•
Movietone News, No. 95: All- American football
team; flood in California; USS New
Jersey recommissioned; Will Rogers memorial;
Long Island railroad wreck.
News of the Day, No. 225: Long Island
railroad wreck; floods in the west; silks in
fashion; New Jersey back in service; turkey
for the Trumans; salute to Will Rogers;
ECA chief in Korea.
Paramount News, No. 28: First pictures of
Russian troop training; school for turkey
carving opens; hospital drive salutes Will
Rogers; stockings in high fashion; Long
Island train disaster stuns nation.
Universal News, No. 407: Long Island railroad
wreck; floods in the west; ECA administrator
in Korea; Will Rogers memorial
hospital; new star in Hollywood; Reds Bagnell
ail-American material.
Warner Pathe News, No. 30: Long Island
railroad crash; California—floods rage on
west coast; Washington—President gets first
atomic dog tag; New York—Will Rogers hospital
drive begins; Korea—ECA chief on
mission to Korea; Hollywood—Ruth Roman
opens marines' drive for toys for tots; new
Episcopal bishop of New York is installed;
navy's new skyshark has two-way propeller.
•
All American News, No. 423: Holiday season
decorations; Missouri state teachers convention
in Kansas City; sorority presents
books to Carver university in Topeka during
National Book week: New York university
trampoline stars; Joe Louis trains
for comeback.
•
Telenews Digest, No. 47 A: Korea—battle
in the sky: people in the news—Maurice
Thorez, Lewis Douglas. Otto Diehls and Kurt
Alder: arms for the west; France—plane
cra.sh; Philippines—105 Communists arrested;
Israel—election brings big gains for Rightists.
Telenews Digest. No. 47B: Report on rearmament
in Germany; Korean civilians rebuild:
Mayor Impellitteri vacations in Cuba;
Germany—Perlon goes into production; New
York—toy train mystery.
14
BOXOFFICE BookinGuide Dec. 2, 1960