Motion Picture Herald (Nov-Dec 1946)

through the gallimaufry not only with accomplishment and distinction but with zest. Chief contributor to this festival of zest is Peter Graves as the Prince of Wales. (The British appear at the moment to have a largish company of personable and promising screen lovers). Runners-up are Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth, with Francis L. Sullivan and Felix Aylmer (accomplished actors both) in close proximity. But plaudits chiefly to the Stein, Whittingham, Hans May team. For once here's a British film with a first-rate script and admirable music, plus a director who knows how to handle both. Seen at the Palace theatre, London, trade ' show. Reviewer's Rating. — Good. — Peter BURNUP. Release date, not set. Running time, 91 min. British general audience classification. Denise Anne Ziegler Andre Webster Booth Sir William Tremayne Francis L. Sullivan Prince of Wales Peter Graves Louise Chili Bouchier Sir Felrk Mountroyal Felix Aylmer Lord Mandeville Ralph Truman Charles Goldner, Jack Melford, Paul Dupuis, D. Whittingham, Hay Petrie, Frederick Burt well, John Ruddock, George de Warfaz, John Serret, Coare Lindsay, Captain Younghusband, Harry Fine, Griffiths Moss, Mary Martlew Terror Trail Columbia — Action Western With Charles Starrett in the dual role of a peace-loving rancher and the Robin Hood of the plains, The Durange Kid, "Terror Trails" is a Western story of a range war between the cattle and sheep men of Wyoming. Produced by Colbert Clark with Ray Nazarro directing, all the elements of action and excitement have been incorporated and include the usual fist and gun fights, fast riding, cattle rustling and stagecoach holdups. For additional entertainment Smiley Burnette provides the comedy and a few songs while Ozie Waters and His Cslorado Rangers present several musical interludes. Supporting Charles Starrett are Barbara Pepper, Lane Chandler and Elvin Eric Field. Reviewed at a trade screening in New York. Reviewer's Rating : Average. — George H. Spires. Release date, November 21, 1946. Running time, 55 min. PCA No. 11325. General audience classification. Steve Haverly 1 , The Durango Kid J Charles Starrett Smiley Smiley Burnette Karen Kemp Barbara Pepper Duke Catlett Lane Chandler Zon Murray, Elvin Eric Field, Tommy Coates, George Cheseboro, Robert Barron, Bud Buster, Bill Clark, Ozie Waters and His Colorado Rangers Johnny Frenchman Prestige U niversal — Fish er Folkwa y s J. Arthur Rank's Prestige Pictures have sent a delightful romantic comedy that spins a tale of rivalry between Cornish and Breton fisherfolk. Released here through Universal, the tale bristles with superb characterizations that are notable in their simplicity and realism. The two fishing factions have their routine ebb and flow of hostility until the breach is widened by the announced marriage of a Breton son to a Cornish maiden. The picture is rich in story incidents that paint a warm and authentic canvas of a little fishing hamlet. It takes the outbreak of the war to unite the factions finally against the common enemy. Francoise Rosay, remembered here for "Carnival in Flanders" and "Portrait of a Woman," offers a memorable performance as an outspoken, matriarchal fisherwoman who can hold her own with any fisherman, hard-swearing or softspoken. Other fine portraits are offered by Tom Walls, a grumpy old Cornish harbormaster, and his lovely daughter, Patricia Roc, in love with Paul Dupuis. In reviewing the film from London in Motion Picture Herald, issue of August 4, 1945, Peter Burnup said the film, "will have a com fortable passage in any neighborhood theatre; may be commended moreover to a trans-Atlantic crossing." Michael Balcon produced ; Charles Frend directed. Seen at the 55th Street Playhouse, New York, where the art patrons registered delight. Reviewer's Rating : Good. — Mandel Herbstman. Release date, October, 1946. Running time, 104 min. General audience classification. Lanec Florrie : Francoise Rosay Nat Pomeroy Tom Walls Sue Fomeroy Patricia Roc Bob Tremayne Ralph Michael Paul Dupuis, Frederick Piper, Bill Blewett, Stanley Paskin, Arthur Hambling, James Harcourt, James Knight, Richard George, Richard Harrison, Leslie Harcourt Secret of the Whistler Columbia — Crime Melodrama _ Shifting from' his usual roles of a stalwart citizen, Richard Dix herein is cast as the unfaithful artist-husband of an invalid who is tormented with the belief that her death was caused by the poison he put in her medicine, thus freeing him to marry a beautiful model. Bordering slightly on the psychological, "Secret of the Whistler" is, for the most part, a smoothly, if not swiftly, paced melodrama of the mental quirks and tortures of a guilt-crazed husband. At times there are touches of suspense and excitement as extenuating circumstances point out the fallacies of his fool-proof crime. Supporting the star are Leslie Brooks as the artist's model, Mary Currier, the wife who dies of natural causes despite her husband's attempted murder, and Ray Walker, a reporter who unwittingly nurtures the feeling of guilt within the husband. Produced by Rudolph C. Flothow and directed by George Sherman, the picture was adapted to the screen by Raymond L. Schrock from a story by Richard H. Landau suggested by the CBS radio play "The Whistler." Previewed at a trade press screening in New York. Reviewer's Rating : Good. — G. H. S. Release date, November 7, 1946. Running time, 65 min. PCA No. 11870. General audience classification. Ralph Harrison Richard Dix Kay Morrell Leslie Brooks Edith Harrison Mary Currier Michael Duane, Mona Barrie, Ray Walker, Claire DuBrey, Charles Trowbridge, Arthur Space, Jack Davis, Barbara Wooddell REISSUE REVIEWS KINGS ROW (Warner Bros.) A melodrama with psychological overtures, Warner Bros, is reissuing the 125-minute film in December. With a star-studded cast that includes Ann Sheridan, Robert Cummings, Ronald Reagan, Betty Field, Charles Coburn, Claude Rains, Judith Anderson, Nancy Coleman, Kaaren Verne and others, it was directed by Sam Wood with David Lewis as associate producer and Hal B. Wallis as executive producer. Reviewed in the December 27, 1941 issue of Motion Picture Herald, the reviewer at that time said : "the superbly mounted production has an emotional impact which few pictures have ever had. It stimulates horror, compassion, pity and kindred morbid reactions." WILD BILL HICKOK RIDES (Warner Bros.) A large-scale Western melodrama, this is being put into reissue by Warner Bros, in December. In the cast are Bruce Cabot, Constance Bennett and Warren Williams with Edmund Grainger as associate producer and Ray Enright as director. Reviewed in Motion Picture Herald issue of December 27, 1941, William R. Weaver, at that time said: "The tale contains the mortgage, the claim jumpers, the crooked sheriff, the lynching party, the dance hall acquaintances and the shooting affrays, indoors and out, which are hallmarks of the Westerners. It also contains stampedes, gun duels, a framed trial and a considerable apportionment of humor." STRANGE HOLIDAY PRC A dramatic fantasy from the pen of Arch Obler (who also directed and produced) the film was released for a limited number of engagements last year by Elite Pictures, and is now -being distributed by PRC. Starring Claude Rains, the film in a unique and entertaining way explores the consequences of postWorld War II civic apathy. Reviewed in Motion Picture Herald, issue of October 27, 1945, Mandel Herbstman said at that time : "Attempting to hammer home the fact that constant vigilance is the prerequisite of freedom, the film emerges as a sort of feature length documentary in dramatic dress . . . the picture closes with the voice of Roosevelt enunciating the Four Freedoms." SHORT SUBJECTS THE SOVIETS" NEIGHBOR (20th-Fox) March of Time (Vol. 13, No. 3) Czechoslovakia, because she is surrounded by Russia, must maintain a working alliance with Russia. But at the same time Czechoslovakia believes she need not break her traditional friendship with the Western democracies, specifically America. This is the thesis of the latest issue of the March of Time. Carefully straddling the fence on the political issue involved, the reel unwinds a documented picture of Czechoslovakia's reconstruction of her industries, points up the democratic election of a new constituent assembly which resulted in the Communists obtaining 114 of the 300 seats, and offers as a highlight scenes of the execution of Karl Hermann Frank, destroyer of Lidice. Here is a pertinent subject knowingly illustrated and too carefully handled. What March of Time needs is a good prejudice. Release date, November 1, 1946 18 minutes NORTHERN RAMPART (RKO) This is America (63,113) Alaska's wealth of natural resources and her importance as a strategic national defense are brought out in this timely short. With an area greater than the state of Texas, Alaska has a population comparable to that of few blocks in our larger cities. Interior Secretary Krug's plea for Alaska statehood and the Army's demands for greater Alaskan defenses have caused public attention to be focused on this great northern land. Release' date, October 18, 1946 18 minutes THE LAST BOMB (WB) Technicolor Special (3002) The destruction of Japan by our air force is depicted vividly in this Technicolor subject which was produced in cooperation with the U. S. Army Air Forces and supervised by Army Co-ordinator Frank Lloyd. The subject devotes most of its footage to one of the numerous attacks by General Curtis LeMay's force of B-29's from bases at Saipan, Tinian and Guam. In a final scene the atom bomb blast at Nagasaki is seen as the cameras catch the huge cloud of gray smoke and fire mushrooming skyward. Release date, November 23, 1946 20^ minutes REBIRTH OF STALINGRAD (Artkino) Russian Documentary When Nazi bombs had spent their fury on Stalingrad, the city had been reduced to a heap of charred ruin. The resurrection of Stalingrad to a city of throbbling life is graphically recorded in this subject. A running commentary accompanies the film, which unfolds in newsreel fashion. Its camera work is excellent. Release date, October 26, 1946 1 18 minutes 3286 PRODUCT DIGEST SECTION, NOVEMBER 2, 1946