The Exhibitor (Jun-Oct 1939)

ran wMm& mm DAILY,^ NEWS RAZ y Sam Houston has been 1 Kivcn a first-rate screen bio Man of Conquest." Al>ugii the film is a product of Reblic Pictures, which usually turns ► ■•quickies." there is nothing slipid about this Capitol offering. On • contrary, it is a handsome and narkably faithful historical pho,lay — the peer of any of the mo11 picture's recent researches into • burgeoning period of our West, th Richard Dix giving a solid ,1 powerful portrayal of the title e. fine supporting characterizahs and fast-paced direction, it is instructive and vastly entertain show )nc of the greatest of our pioneer iters and statesmen was not led crazy for nothing. It is to the rlasting credit of "Man of ConSst " that it makes no bones about uston's frailties, but presents him h all the contradictions of permlity that make for a man rather n a mere figure. The film intro:es him as he is enlisting in Anw Jackson's army of squirrel iters which beat the British at x Orleans, it resolutely docunts the Houston carousing which ke up his first marriage and iws him torn between personal cd for power and patriotism bee his valiant defense of Texas ich led to that state's incorporai in the Union. The narrative is vitably sketchy, but it rings curily true 'o a large extent this is due to fact that few of the principals ■e been definitely typed. The playin “Man of Conquest" fit their ;s persuasively, as they did in agecoach.” and the result is a i which really evokes the past, lead of using it as a springboard the exploitation of personalities, en Houston goes on a four-month nk after his wife leaves him. ?n he champions the Cherokee ian nation, pits his wits and titles against those of Andrew kson. or changes from an exitcr ®f Texas to the avenger of Alamo, the human texture of screen drama is not only rich color and excitement, but it is i hly convincing. [r Div reclaims all of his past own in his steady and many faci portrayal of the Tennessee n who made American expansion > the Southwest possible. He is and acts the part of “a comi man." searching restlessly for ilace to stretch his soul in a ntry of rapidly shifting frontiers, succeeds thereby in stamping production with its Individual racter and making it cohesive, s good to see him playing at the of his form again. Edward Ellis little short of triumphant as irew Jackson. Gail Patrick is nitely acceptable as Margaret . who is a romantic foil for ! iston in the latter portions of | photoplay, and Robert Barrat s a vivid impersonation of Davey ] ckett of Alamo fame. For that | ,ter, the whole company knows business and acquits itself in ex;nt manner. ’hlle tlje script spans too many i rs not to be episodic, George ids Jr. has staged it with ccnrable suspense and continuity, re are some rather obvious mon• effects, but when the action hes a genuine climax, such as battle on the banks of the San nto, when Houston whipped ta Anas superior forces, the becomes a splendid martial lant. Always the situations are d on character and authentic lent rather than the romantic leptions which Hollywood so uently employs In its reconctions of vanished eras. "Man Conquest" is a notable and inJing addition to the screen's ■ction of Americana. Richard Dix Enacts Sty* ;NVtir |jork Sinitg. | Houston W ith Gusto Man of Conquest,’ a Spectacle-Charged Biography of Sam Houston, Reminds the Capitol of the Alamo By FRANK S. NUGENT Hollywood's Good Neighbor pro¬ gram, so proudly begun by the Warners’ “Juarez” went into full retreat yesterday when Republic's "Man of Conquest” swept into the Capitol with the war cry. Remem¬ ber the Alamo' and a jubilant re¬ enactment of the rout of Santa Ana's army at San Jacinto. It is not a tactful film, but it’s a re¬ markably good one, colorful, vig¬ orous and dramatic. It is based, of course, on the life of Sam Hous¬ ton, one of the stormiest petrels in our national history, and it cun¬ ningly justifies the revolution in Texas and its subsequent annexa¬ tion by the United States as a vic¬ tory of democracy over dictator¬ ship. Even Andy Jackson is privileged to make a forward-looking com¬ ment upon that theme. “Up in Washington you said we’d buried freedom under a pile of dirty pol¬ itics.” he tells Sam Houston. “Well, just remember that America is still the land of the free— and there’s many a brow-beaten people who’d trade their dictatorships in a min¬ ute for a good dose of our dirty politics. Not that our brand of freedom ain't got its faults — couldn’t help it being run by ornery humans like Congressmen and you and me But I reckon that the United States is still the only place in the world where a man can cuss the President out loud and all the President can do is cuss back or else go fishin’. That’s what I call democracy.” Or good old homespun philosophy which sanctifies a cleverly staged land-grab and charitably ignores— or blames on white renegades— the bilking of the Cherokees and the scrapping of their treaties. But that is apart from the pic¬ ture itself and should not discredit it. For it is, in the main, an ad¬ mirably contrived biography, honest enougji to mention Houston’s sod¬ den spree among the Indians, mak¬ ing dramatic capital of his progres¬ sion from self-aggrandizing ad¬ venturer to instrument of national developmert. Houston, as Richard Dix has pUyed him, is a full-bodied portrait, earthy, human and virile. Scarcely less notable is Edward Ellis’s performance of Andrew Jackson, Houston’s political god¬ father. By a strict interpretation of the script, the film’s Old Hickory would have been combination saint and prophet Mr. Ellis, with a lift of an eyebrow or a twitch of the mouth, has managed to suggest that the halo is gilded, that Andy was the wily old rascal history proves him to be, a statesman of highly practical idealism. The picture finds Houston almost at the beginning of his astonishing career, but whisks him quickly through all its early stages and does not pause until he has resigned the governorship of Tennessee be¬ cause of the Eliza Allen scandal. It hurries forward again, through his wound-licking sojourn with the Cherokees, to the Texas cam¬ paign with the piassacre of the Alamo and, climactically, the surg¬ ing charge of the outnumbered Texans through the siesta-numbed ranks of the Santa Annans. And before the effect of the battle spec¬ tacle has had time to wear off, the picture telescopes the seven years between Texan independence and Texan annexation and ends— with a victory for Jacksonian democracy By KATE CAMERON. “Man of Conquest,’’ Republic picture, screen play by Wells Root, E. E. Paramore Jr. and Jan Fortune based on story by Harold Shumate and Wells Root, directed by George Nicholls Jr. and presented at the oitol Theatre. Capii NewYork^fe-Telegram “Man of Conquest” Called Epic Film ★ ★ ★ ★ Richard Dix as Sam Houston Comes Into His Own Again. By Salute with twenty-one guns a fine, rousing, spectacular blend of Americanism and adventure called “Man of Conquest," at the Capitol, which not only sounds the clarion call of freedom over Mexican dictatorship. Obviously, not a good-neighborly attitude, but a picture well worth seeing and hearing. William BoehneL beyond praise, of and democracy in high, resound¬ ing notes but relates its mes¬ sage of liberty and the right of man to govern himself in a vig¬ orous, colorful, thrilling manner. Salute, too, the return to his for¬ mer prestige as an actor, forth¬ right, capable . Richard Dix, who hasnt had such a meaty role as Sam Houston since the days he appeared in "Cimarron." What makes "Man of Conquest” the ?pic film it is is the simple fact that it never once sacrifices action or drama on the altar of propa¬ ganda. In its simple, direct. bea«tiful prose it restates the principles on which this nation was founded and will continue to exist, world without end, God willing, but it does so with a full realization that with¬ out dramatic conflict, without sus¬ pense and action its message, no matter how fiery or sincere, isn't worth a hoot in hell. For it is truism of the cinema that before you can preach you must first enter tain. Strong, Vibrant Stuff. WILLIAM BOEHNEL. And how “Man of Conquest" enter¬ tains! From the very beginning it is rough, strong, vibrant stuff, heroic in characterization, sweeping in scope, majestic in sentiment, for it deals with a two-fisted empire builder in a colorful and courageous era when a young but mighty nation was spreading westward and southward and when men and women thought not only of their sacred rights for the day but for the future as well. Here, then, is the very stuff of which patriotic spectacles are made and authors, director and players have made the most and best of it. This is the story of Sam Houston, soldier, politician, adventurer, man of the people and lover of liberty and Justice. It begins with Houston's unhappy first marriage to Eliza Allen, how he becomes a member of the Cherokee tribe out of disgust at the treatment he has received from the white men, how he gives up his In¬ dian allegiance in a deal with Andrew Jackson to save the redmen's land, and how, finally, he leads the Texans to victory against Mexico and mar¬ ries Margaret Lea. A Career Story. In its outline it is a career story of a pioneering American, but in its substance it is a dignified, simply stated plea for liberty and Justice as well as a rip-snorting, red-blooded siory of love and adventure, which you cannot afford to miss The cast is excellent Richard Dix, long one of the finest actors on the screen, comes into his own again as Houston, giving a performance that is matchless in its conception and execution. Joan Fontaine is prop¬ erly pretty and fragile as Eliza, Gail Patrick Is stanch and true as Mar¬ garet Lea and therfe is a truly fine characterization by Edward Ellis as Andrew Jackson. The others in the cast include Victory Jory, Robert Barrat. George Hayes, Ralph Mor¬ gan, Robert Armstrong, C. Henry Gordon, Janet Beecher and Pedro de Cordoba, and they couldn't be trn It’s good to have Richard Dix back on the screen in the kind of role he can handle with confidence and the gusto which he put into his memorable performance of “Cimar¬ ron’s” Yancey Cravat. The role of Sam Houston, in the Capitol’s “Man of Conquest,” has been made to order for him. He gives us the doughty avenger of the Alamo in ahighly sympathetic light. He is a hero of fictional proportions, but a man, for all that. He is a fighter, politician and a man of action who knows what he wants and gets it. George Nichols Jr., who directed the film for Republic Pictures, has done a fine job in catchin., the spirit and movement of the times. He keeps the story moving at a fast pace and he handles the big fight¬ ing scenes with superb generalship. A Faithful Record. The picture is a faithful outline of Sam Houston’s colorful life. It begins with his political campaign foi governor when his fellow Ten¬ nesseean, Andrew Jackson, takes the stump for him. It takes Sam through his marriage to pretty 1 7-year-old Eliza Allen, the unhappy period of drunkenness fol¬ lowing Elizas desertion and his resignation from office. It skims over the period of his service with the Cherokee Indians and follows him through his ro¬ mance with Margaret Lea and the stirring adventure in Texas when he, as head of a small army of Texans, wrested the state from Mexico by defeating Gen. Santa Anna at Jacinto. The Jacinto battle scene is thrillIngly done. Santa Anna is lured into position and, at the psycholog¬ ical moment, Houston strikes with I>iS( inferior force to the battle cry of “Remember the Alamo.” The cast supporting Richard Dix is an able one. Edward Ellis gives • n impressive picture of Jackson, as campaigner and President. Joan Fontaine is a pretty, petulant Eliza and Gail Patrick is lovely in the more sympathetic role of Hous¬ ton’s second wife. The balance of the excellent cast includes Victor Jory as Travis; Robert Barrat as Davey Crockett; George Hayes as Sam’s faithful friend, Lannie Upchurch; Ralph Morgan as the peace-loving Stephen Austin, who tried to keep the ■ Americans of Texas from open re¬ bellion against the Mexicans; Rob¬ ert Armstrong as Jim Bowie, and C. Henry Gordon as the Mexican General, Santa Anna. There is a sweep and bigness to the latter part of the picture that is tremendously impressive, and the whole historical setting, from Tenessee to Washington to Texas, is intensely interesting. This is the most important pic¬ ture that Republic has made for several years and the result justi¬ fies the time, trouble and money expended on it.