I thought these were neat. They are quick one-line review excerpts culled from Appendix II of Ted Sennett’s 1971 book Warner Brothers Presents. This appendix actually includes reference to every Warner Bros. film reviewed by the Times and Variety from 1930 – 1949. The Times reviews are actually available in complete form through their online archives, I haven’t come across the Variety reviews anywhere else.
These are just the Warren William titles from Warner Brothers, as this is a Warner’s centered book. The dates note when the review was published, which I’d guess is right around the time each film enjoyed theater release. Enjoy:
September 1931 – Expensive Women – “Mild drama suffering from weak plot and incongruous situations” from Film Daily
October 1931 – Honor of the Family -“Mildly Diverting” from Andre Sennwald of T
December 1931 – Under 18 – “Routine presentation” from Variety
January 1932 – The Woman from Monte Carlo – “A silly story” from Variety
February 1932 – Beauty and the Boss – “Grade B stuff” from Variety
May 1932 – The Mouthpiece – “Few screen performances have equaled Warren William’s superb characterization” from Mordaunt Hall of the New York Times
June 1932 – The Dark Horse – “Okay, if exaggerated, film fare” from Variety
October 1932 – Three on a Match – “Both tedious and distasteful” – from Mordaunt Hall of the New York Times
December 1932 – The Match King – “Good entertainment, unusually well-acted” from Variety
January 1933 – Employees’ Entrance – “A fine piece of screen entertainment” from Variety
April 1933 – The Mind Reader – “A rather lame but frequently ingenious production” from Variety
June 1933 – Gold Diggers of 1933 – “Imaginatively staged, breezy show … More than once the audience applauded the excellent camera work and the artistry of the scenic effects” from Mordaunt Hall of the New York Times
September 1933 – Goodbye Again – “Perfect for audiences of quick wit, but too slick for others” from Variety
March 1934 – Bedside – “Its deviations from the formula are too wild-eyed to be classed as dramatic virtues” from Andre Sennwald of the New York Times
June 1934 – Dr. Monica – “Not especially suspenseful … It moves apace and the acting is excellent” from Mordaunt Hall of the New York Times
August 1934 – The Dragon Murder Case – “A poorly paced detective yarn with several incredible sequences” from Variety
October 1934 – The Case of the Howling Dog – “A well-knit story, swiftly paced” from Frank S. Nugent of the New York Times
February 1935 – The Secret Bride – “Fast-moving melodrama” from Variety
March 1935 – Living on Velvet – “It is not the fault of the cast that the picture does not merit unqualified praise” from Frank S. Nugent of the New York Times
April 1935 – The Case of the Curious Bride – “Good whodunit entertainment” from Variety
July 1935 – Don’t Bet on Blondes – “Good original idea, victim of too much hoke” from Variety
November 1935 – The Case of the Lucky Legs – “A gay, swift, and impertinent excursion into the sombre matter of murder” from Frank S. Nugent of the New York Times
May 1936 – Times Square Playboy – “Alternately amusing and dull” from Thomas M. Pryor of the New York Times
July 1936 – Satan Met a Lady – “A cynical farce of elaborate and sustained cheapness” from B.R. Crisler of the New York Times
August 1936 – The Case of the Velvet Claws – “Felonious photoplay” from John T. McManus of the New York Times
September 1936 – Stagestruck – “A rather moldy slice off the loaf which produced 42nd Street in better days” from Frank S. Nugent of the New York Times
February 1942 – Wild Bill Hickok Rides – “Will only be remembered as the one in which a Bennett sister slummed” from Bosley Crowther of the New York Times
Comment/Conclusion: It seems that once Warren William caught on with “The Mouthpiece” reviewers would have at least something nice to say about his films at Warners. I’ve seen that “Three on a Match” review before and it still surprises me to read.
Available on Amazon for just $2.99 -
[…] up short. Besides a showing on TCM, it looks like it's been unavailable for quite a while. One Warren William fan site (trust me, the man has– and deserves– more than one) has a quote from Variety that I thought was […]