MFB: February 1934

Newcomers might want to read the Introduction for a brief history of the Monthly Film Bulletin (MFB), and for an overview of this blog's intentions.

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The first few years of the MFB did not represent the magazine as it is now fondly remembered. In fact, an editorial in the very first issue makes it clear the magazine was primarily concerned with educational and documentary films not intended for general exhibition, and reviews of such material made up the bulk of the premiere edition (riveting examples include Lancashire at Work and Tropical Ceylon).

At first, so-called 'entertainment films' were relegated to the back of the magazine, and were afforded no more attention than a cursory sentence or two. But this section appears to have caught the attention of readers from the outset, since the length of the reviews expanded over the course of the first year until they formed an integral part of the overall publication. However, the entertainment section would retain its second-class status until finally moved to a dominant position at the front of the magazine in January 1939. Full coverage of 'educational' items continued until 1950, at which point the number of such reviews was greatly diminished in favour of the magazine's new primary purpose - reviews of commercial film productions.

Here, month by month, are every one of those feature-length 'commercial' items, beginning with the very first issue of MFB, published a lifetime ago:

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Monthly Film Bulletin
February 1934
Vol. 1 No. 1

Aunt Sally
(USA: Along Came Sally)
UK - 1933 - 85m - bw
Gaumont-British (A) (cut)
D: Tim Whelan

The Bowery
USA - 1933 - 92m - bw
United Artists (A) (cut)
D: Raoul Walsh
Also reviewed: Feb 1947.

The Constant Nymph
UK - 1933 - 97m - bw
Gaumont-British (A) (cut)
D: Basil Dean

The Deserter
Дезертир
USSR - 1933 - 105m - bw
The Film Society (Banned)
D: Vsevolod Pudovskin
Rejected by the BBFC in 1934, but made available for private bookings.

General John Regan
UK - 1933 - 74m - bw
United Artists (U)
D: Henry Edwards

The Kennel Murder Case
USA - 1934 - 73m - bw
Warner (A)
D: Michael Curtiz
Series: The Canary Murder Case (1929).

Kuhle Wampe
Kuhle Wampe oder: Wem gehört die Welt?
(aka: Kuhle Wampe, or To Whom Does the World Belong?)
(aka: Whither Germany)
Ger - 1931 - 80m - bw
The Film Society
D: Slatan Dudow
Also reviewed: Jul 1978.

Lady for a Day
USA - 1933 - 96m - bw
Columbia (U) (cut)
D: Frank Capra

La maternelle
(aka: Children of Montmartre)
Fr - 1932 - 89m - bw
The Film Society
D: Jean-Benoît Lévy, Marie Epstein
Also reviewed: Feb 1948.

Morning Glory
USA - 1933 - 74m - bw
RKO Radio (A)
D: Lowell Sherman
Also reviewed: Jul 1977

Mutter Krausen
Mutter Krausens Fahrt ins Glück
(aka: Mother Krause's Journey to Happiness)
Ger - 1929 - silent - bw
The Film Society (A)
D: Phil Jutzi

Night Flight
USA - 1933 - 84m - bw
MGM (A)
D: Clarence Brown

One Sunday Afternoon
USA - 1933 - 85m - bw
Paramount (A)
D: Stephen Roberts

Před maturitou
Czech - 1932 - 91m - bw
The Film Society
D: Svatopluk Innemann, Vladislav Vancura

Reifende Jugend
(USA: The Growing Youth)
Ger - 1933 - 115m - bw
The Film Society
D: Carl Froehlich
Also reviewed: Feb 1936.

A Simple Case
Простой случай
(USA: Life is Beautiful)
USSR - 1930 - 96m - bw
The Film Society
D: Vsevolod Pudovkin

S.O.S. Iceberg
USA/Ger - 1933 - 95m - bw
Universal (A) (cut)
D: Tay Garnett
Also filmed in a German version, S.O.S. Eisberg (1933), shot on the same sets, with cast members exclusive to each edition.

This is the Life
UK - 1933 - 78m - bw
British Lion (U)
D: Albert de Courville

Three-Cornered Moon
USA - 1933 - 77m - bw
Paramount (U)
D: Elliott Nugent

Turn Back the Clock
USA - 1933 - 79m - bw
MGM (A)
D: Edgar Selwyn

The Way to Love
USA - 1933 - 80m - bw
Paramount (A)
D: Norman Taurog