Harrison's Reports (1949)

158 HARRISON'S REPORTS October 1, 1949 "Flame of Youth" with Barbara Fuller (Republic, Sept. 22; time, 60 min.) Mediocre program fare. It has a juvenile delinquency theme, but a confused plot that wanders all over the lot, the modest production values, and the unknown cast limit the picture to secondary houses. And at that, it is doubtful if even the most undiscriminating patrons of these theatres will have the patience to sit through it. There is no emotional appeal in any of the situations. The direction is poor, and the acting, in spots, amateurish. In fairness to the players, however, it should be said that there is nothing they could have done with the trite material and stilted dialogue: — What there is of the story deals with the nefarious activities of Carol Brannan, a 'teen-aged girl, who acted as a lookout in a car-stripping racket operated by 17-year-old Michael Carr, who owned a gas station jointly with his sister, Barbara Fuller, who disapproved of his association with Carol. When Carol meets Tony Barrett, a bookie who took bets from her irresponsible father (Don Beddoe), she persuades him to back her in the operation of a nickle-anddime handbook that would enable high school students to bet on the horses. Barrett agrees, and Barbara loses little time vamping Ray McDonald, a soda "jerk" in his mother's ice-cream parlor, to take the bets from the youngsters who patronized the shop. Everything works out fine until one of the youngsters wins a sizeable bet on a long-shot and there isn't enough money to cover the winnings. Afraid that the winner would go to the police, Carol persuades Barrett, who had by this time become romantically involved with Carr's sister, to join her in the hold-up of a junk dealer to whom she had sold stolen tires. Although they get the money from the man, they create a situation whereby several of the innocent youngsters become involved, resulting in all being taken in hand by the juvenile authorities. Meanwhile Barrett is shot down by the police while trying to make a getaway. It all ends with Carol being sent to a correctional institution, and with the parents of the youngsters getting a sound lecture. It was produced by Lou Brock and directed by R. G. Springsteen from a screen play by Robert Libott, Frank Burt and Bradford Ropes, based on a story by Albert DeMond. Adult fare. "Black Shadows" (Eagle'Lion, July; time, 62 min.) Although this jungle travelogue film of the Belgian Congo contains a number of interesting scenes, it is a picture that is best suited for theatres that specialize in the lurid sex exploitation of the pictures they show. It is certainly not a film for the family, not only because of the emphasis put on the scenes showing the bare-chested native women, but also because certain of the scenes are so revolting that even those with strong constitutions will be compelled to look away from the screen. For instance, one sequence, which purports to show the strange customs of a native tribe known as leopard men, depicts the cooking of a "magic brew" into which is thrown the heart, eyes and lungs of a neighboring native woman. As if being told that the brew contained these vital organs is not revolting enough, the spectator is then treated to a close-up of these organs in every gory detail. Other scenes that can hardly be termed less than nauseating include several vultures astride a dead hippo tearing away at its guts; the carving of decorative designs in the flesh of natives with sharp blades; the merciless whipping of young native men by the older ones to test their courage and make them prove their manhood; the slaughtering of a calf in a native ritual; and the killing of a huge gorilla and its mate to capture a baby gorilla, with the baby animal shown crawling all over its mother's dead body, grief -stricken. As said, there are a number of interesting scenes, but on the whole the film offers little that has not been seen in other jungle pictures. The picture is narated by Jeff Corey. Andre Cauvin produced and directed it. "Trapped" with Lloyd Bridges, John Hoyt and Barbara Payton (Eagle'Lion, October; time, 78 min.) Producer Bryan Foy has fashioned an effective melodrama in "Trapped," which deals with the eforts of the Secret Service to track down a counterfeit money ring. Enhanced by a semi-documentary treatment, it should go over well with the action fans, for it is swift-moving and filled with suspense and excitement from start to finish. The story, which has one of the Government agents masquerading as a nefarious character in order to get a line on the counterfeiters, is interesting, and the plot twists generate considerable tension. The closing scenes, where the villain engages the T-Men in a running gun-fight through a huge car barn, is highly exciting. The current news about bogus money makes the picture a natural for exploitation : — When a number of bogus $20 bills appear in different parts of the country, Treasury Department agents recognize them as coming from counterfeit plates that had been used by Lloyd Bridges, now serving a jail sentence. His gang had disappeared with the plates at the time of his arrest. The T-Men make a deal with Bridges whereby they agree to fake his escape from jail so that he might track down the members of the gang who had double-crossed him. In return for his cooperation, he is promised a reduction in his jail sentence. The T-Men soon become aware that Bridges planned to double-cross them, and they deliberately permit him to escape from their custody so that they could follow his movements without his knowledge. Bridges makes his way to the apartment of his girlfriend, Barabara Payton. The T-Men set up a recording device in the basement of the building to check on their conversations. With the knowledge thus gained, they are able to guide John Hoyt, one of their agents, who haunted a night-club in which Barabara was a cigarette girl, posing as a shady character with plenty of money. Meanwhile Bridges learns that the counterfeit plates were in the possession of James Todd, who had bought them from one of the gang. He agrees to buy a batch of counterfeit bills for $25,000 and sets out to raise the money. Barbara, having taken notice of Hoyt, suggests to Bridges that he get the money from him. Moving carefully, Bridges checks up on Hoyt's hotel room and discovers evidence that he is a "crooked" gambler. Thus assured, he proceeds to make a deal with Hoyt for the purchase of the counterfiet bills on a partnership basis. Despite the well-laid plans of the T-Men, a slip-up occurs at the last minute allowing Bridges and Todd to discover Hoyt's true identity. Hoyt is murdered before the T-Men can come to his aid. But Bridges is apprehended and sent back to prison, while Todd, attempting a getaway, is electrocuted when he touches a live wire in a chase through a car barn. It was directed by Richard Fleischer from a story and screen play by Earl Fenton and George Zuckerman. Unobjectionable morally.