Focus: A Film Review (1950-1951)

237 BANDIT GENERAL Starring: Paulette Goddard, Pedro Armendariz, Gilbert Roland. Producer: Bert Granet. Director: Emilio Fernandez. Distributors: International. Certificate: A. Category: C. Running time: 74 minutes. Beginning with a crash in a glass factory owned by the heroine’s father, this film fails at any time to get up momentum. Though the crash is to announce the arrival of tjie Bandit General himself (Pedro Armendariz), Maria Dolores (Paulette Goddard) and her father refuse to be intimidated. A very wet scene among the aristocrats, torn between tears and prayer gives place to shows of brutality on the part of the General, who however recognises a long lost pal in the local priest. This strong silent individual continues to appear, warning the heroine not to come to Mass or go out alone and telling the General who she is and why he cannot marry her. Meanwhile, her American lover, who is a doctor in his spare time, goes off, conveniently, to get supplies, and Maria meets the attentions of her new suitor, the General, first with her beefy face-slapping tactics, but later with hidden tears. The only amusing incident is when she dislodges the General’s dignity with a firework-. However, a well-timed plague sweeps the city, and prevents Maria and her father from escaping, her American lover turns up to tend the sick, bodies are carted here and there and the priest unconvincingly prays for the dead. Maria meanwhile has been continuing to go to Mass regularly and when the opposing forces arrive to drive out the Bandit General, she appears ready for the wedding, which surprisingly seems to be happening in the best Hollywood style round the table in the front drawing-room. It is even more surprising to see the priest leaning against the door-post in an unconcerned way while they sign the register. However, the departure of the Bandit General with a fanfare of trumpets seems to have more effect in preventing this irregular marriage, as Maria Dolores suddenly decides to follow them and is seen disappearing at the stirrup of her new hero-lover. In fact this is a thoroughly bad film, with little excitement, no appeal to emotion that would stir even the most sensitive, and a very wild, ill-advised idea of Catholic ceremonial. Only the fact that I took someone with me to the showing prevented me from leaving much earlier than the end. H. HAPPY GO LOVELY Starring: David Niven, Vera-Eilen Cesar Romero. Producer: Marcel Heilman. Director: Bruce Humberstone. Distributors: Associated British-Pathe. In Technicolor. Certificate : U. Category: B. Running time: 90 minutes approx. I cannot quite make out why the events portrayed( in this film are supposed to take place during the Edinburgh Festival : this supposition provides us at the outset with some quite enchanting but all too brief technicolor views of that delectable city, turns Mr. David Niven into a vScottish multi-millionaire (I doubt if such exist) and produces a crop of amazing Caledonian accents. But really, it might have all happened anywhere. The essential is that it does happen, for it is light entertainment at its best. The scenes are sumptuous, the technicolor good, the dialogue amusing, the dancing excellent, the music if not brilliant at least gay and tuneful, while the story is as light, farcical and impossible as anyone could wish. Miss Vera-Ellen as Janet Jones, the chorus-girl, who by a series of delightfully ridiculous events becomes the multi-millionaire’s wife, dances and sings charmingly, supposing, that is, that the voice is really hers (in these days one can never be quite sure of this) ; Mr. Niven as the multimillionaire is — well, Mr. Niven; Miss Diane Hart gives a most entertaining performance as Mae, Janet Jones’ intimate friend ; and the rest of the cast are all good. Go and see it, it will make you laugh and forget life’s worries. T. C. F.