Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1950)

24 r\cademy awards in the offing may be responsible. But, whatever the reason, the bumper crop of sterling products currently on view is due cause for jubilation. Amateur producers are urged to see and study these superior examples of fine film making. — D.C. RICH IN REALISM Three Came Home: Agnes Newton Keith's novel of her experiences as a P.O.W. in Jap-occupied Borneo during the recent war is the source of this Darryl F. Zanuck production for 20th Century-Fox. Borrowing from similar European films of the past three years, notably the grimly realistic The Last Stop, director Jean Negulesco has put together an admirably honest drama of war, women and children. Contrasted with pre-war propaganda efforts, the production is almost heretical in its realism. The Japanese are recognizable as human beings, and even the studio sets reflect the pains taken to achieve authenticity. The newsreel type of photography and the low key lighting are especially well suited to the theme. SLOW MOTION TECHNIQUE Fallen Idol: A foreign embassy in London is the scene of a taut drama produced and directed by Carol Reed, England's premier movie maker, from an ingenious screenplay by Graham Green. Star of the proceedings is talented young Bobby Henrey as the ambassador's son, who contributes unwittingly to the evidence of murder by the embassy butler, a man whom he idolizes. All comes Selznick Releasing Organization DRAMATIC LONG SHOTS, from both low and high camera positions, mark the English Fallen Idol for study by amateurs. Aids for the amateur cameraman, to be seen in current theatrical films right in the end, however, and the ambassador returns to find no hint in his household or his son's face of the violence they had witnessed but a few hours before. A daring camera technique, first developed in experimental films, helps establish mood and pace in the first sequence. In it accelerated camera speeds slow the carefully choreographed movements of the players, with the boy's actions alone remaining normal. Exceptionally distant down-angle shots aid the illusion. A film of outstanding merit from every aspect, Fallen Idol provides solid substance for amateur study. SOUND-AND SILENCE Intruder in the Dust: The issue of racism receives further examination in this Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production of William Faulkner's novel of the Deep South. Not just another variation on a theme, however, the film is a forceful study of inter-racial relationships, removed from actual reality only by the fact of being dramatized. For Clarence Brown, producer and director, filmed ninety percent of the picture in Faulkner's home town of Oxford, Miss., with many of the local residents taking part. The picture provides for the amateur effective examples of the dramatic uses of sound — and silence. Ironic juxtaposition of the choir's singing, for example, with the screech of the sheriff's siren builds suspense to an exciting climax. Using only such sounds as are natural to the scene, the film eschews the usual musical background. This silence often contributes more in dramatic power than a full blown score. BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY Fame Is the Spur: From England's Two Cities studios comes a documentary-type drama of the growth of a politician, from his humble slum beginnings to a peerage and a position in the cabinet. It is also a history of Britain's brand of socialism and some of its exponents. The portrait and the man bear more than a coincidental likeness to Ramsay MacDonald, while Neville Chamberlain's unlamented spirit hovers nearby. Keen direction and incisive editing create a clear story development, into which there is woven a considerable period of modern history. Countless natural settings give the film the credibility we have come to expect from the English. PACE AND POLISH Whirlpool: What might have become another trite melodrama in less able hands is here molded into a polished and exciting tale of modern life. Psychiatry, kleptomania, blackmail and murder are the ingredients, with all of them kept credible by the matchless acting of Jose Ferrer, the suave writing of Ben Hecht and the dramatic camera work of Arthur Miller, ASC. The low key lighting is especially effective for Ferrer's evil doings, while a tight pacing adds the final touch to this first rate mystery.