Word: films
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Dates: during 1930-1939
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...Quiet on the Western Front (Universal). When Carl Laemmle Jr. produced this picture in 1930, critics hailed it as one of the few great U. S. films. When Nazis burned the book by Erich Maria Remarque from which the picture was made, the film was revived, again stirred U. S. audiences with its simple record of why men go to war, how they kill, how those who survive spend the time until their turn comes...
...must seem somewhat of a disappointment. The fault, however, lies not with Miss Rogers, but with the producers, who have furnished her with a hackneyed story of family misfortune and bickering among New York's upper crust. Although devoid of the sparkling dialogue and unusual situations of the earlier film, "Fifth Avenue Girl" does have numerous entertaining moments, particularly the scenes of nocturnal love in Central Park. Excellent acting by the leading players also contributes towards making up at least in part for the weak plot; Miss Rogers is as luscious and lovely as ever and receives able support from...
...cinema's most eloquent preachment against war, All Quiet on the Western Front, that nine-year-old picture played to packed houses. Last week Universal, producers of All Quiet and of Author Erich Maria Remarque's equally tragic sequel, The Road Back, announced plans to reissue both films. To All Quiet will be added a new commentary, fore & aft, and some of the 3,000 feet snipped from the film after it left the hands of Director Lewis Milestone. Universal will also restore to The Road Back controversial footage on Nazi rearmament which was eliminated to spare German...
Stars there are in profusion, for Hollywood's largest flesh stable has sunk all its featured fillies in this production. Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard, and Mary Boland are all mixed up in some capacity or other in the film. Of the above, Miss Russell, Miss Boland, and Miss Goddard are all excellent. As for the other gilded lillies, their names appear first in lights, but their acting falls far below the supporting cast...
...ninety minutes these human cats scratch and claw each other, and while it is quite amusing throughout, the length of the film and the constant repetition of the one and only idea make the picture a trifle boresome. Go to see it, by all means, though, for if you don't you'll be missing one of the treats of a lifetime...