Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1949)

SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, October 15, 1949 17 Christopher Columbus' When this J. Arthur Rank Technicolor costume drama was reviewed from London (STR, June 18, p. 12), Jock MacGregor reported that while it was "heavy going in places," it was "gripping entertainment on the whole." "Inevitably, there are slow, deliberate passages," MacGregor wrote. "Producer Sydney Box and Director David MacDonald have successfully overcome these difficulties with spectacular settings and expert casting. Fredric March seems to live the title role and dominates the picture with his sincerity and enthusiasm. It is an impressive characterization. He is supported by his wife, Florence Eldridge, as Queen Isabella, and American audiences will have no difficulty recognizing the generously-proportioned Bodadilla as Francis L. Sullivan. Other important roles are played by Derek Bond, Nora Swinburne and Edward Rigby. The voyage to the New World has been enthrallingly staged. Here is a subject which obviously lends itself to the American market and offers many tieups for smart showmanship." (Of which the alert Universal-International advertising, publicity and exploitation departments have been taking full advantage— STR, Oct. 1, p. 16). Running time, 104 mins. Jory and Jane Nigh, partners in a saloon. Comment: Here is another of Producer Nat Holt's entertaining outdoor action films. Here again he proves that his know-how in picture-making pays off, for he has apparently allowed nothing to stand in the way of this production's entertainment worth, giving the fihn authentic-looking locations, Cinecolor photography and all-around production values that are in keeping with this colorful era in American history. The direction by Edwin Marin is fine, the acting convincing, the gunplay and action thrilling and exciting, and in several sequences the suspense is almost overpowering. Excellent performances are so numerous as to almost defy selection, without slighting others whose work is equally as good. 'Biut Randolph Scott, Victor Jory, Bill Williams and Jane Nigh, in particular, stand out in convincing, thoroughly satisfying jobs of acting, with Scott as the outlaw-turned-straig'ht, giving strong evidence of why he is constantly increasing his stature on the star list. Another important asset to the picture, and one that the producer has been playing up, is the introduction of a newcomer, Dale Robertson. He makes quite an impression in the role of Jesse James and though he is only seen in two sequences, his looks and ability impress and he shows promise of being called on to do bigger and better things. "Fighting Man of the Plains" is excellent entertainment for all classes of audiences and should do better than average business if properly exploited. Tokyo Joe Columbia Drama 88 mins. AUDIENCE SLANT: (Adult) Fine performances, top production values and the skilful direction of a theme that should interest most audiences, makes this absorbing, action-packed entertainment for everyone. BOX-OFFICE SLANT: With the draw of the Bogart name and the quality of production, this has splendid box-office possibilities. So get behind it with showmanship. Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Alexander Knox, Florence Marly, Sessue Hayakawa, Jerome Courtland, Gordon Jones, Teru Shimada, Hideo Mori, Charles Meredith, Rhys Williams, Lora Lee Michel, Kyoko Kamo, Gene G'ondo, Harold Goodwin, James Cardwell, Frank Kumag-ai, Tetsu Komai, Otto Han, Yosan Tsuruta. Credits: Directed by Stuart Heisler. Screenplay by Cyril Hume and Bertram Millhauser. Adaptation by Walter Doniger. From a story by Steve Fisher. Photography, Charles Lawton. Produced by Robert Lord. Associate Producer, Henry S. Kesler. A Santana Production. Plot: A young cafe owner in partnership with a Japanese deserts his wife to return to America, join the Air Force and fight for his country after the attack on Pearl Harbor. When the war ends he goes back to take up his old life again, but runs into a great deal of difficulty and is finally killed by subversive Japanese. Comment: "Tokyo Joe," as its title imples, is a story about subversive activity in Japan. It is typical of the kind of entertainment the average moviegoer can expect to find in a Humphrey Bogart film: gangster stuff, with its associated killings and action-packed thrills, and a romance that has a man fighting to get back a wife won by another man. The double-dealings of the Japanese who still want to gain control of their country and the naive help given them by the innocent "little" man is convincingly told and gives the picture a tremendous amount of suspense. Production values are authentic and the direction of Stuart Heisler holds to a firm, steady pace as Bogart first a guy trying anything to win, and then working with American Military Intelligence eventually traps the operators. He does a capable, job as the American who returns to Japan after the war to take up his old life, and newcomer Florence Marly makes an attractive and realistic character of the young white Russian wife he deserted. Alexander Knox gives a forceful, smooth interpretation of the other husband, and Sessue Hayakawa and Teru Shimada are excellent as the double-dealing Japanese and the kindly friend, respectively. The strong supporting cast, consisting in a good part of Japanese, are all very effective. The theme is one that should interest most audiences, and with the expert handling of Director Heisler, has been turned into absorbing screenfare. Top production in all departments was given the picture by Producer Robert Lord. Intruder in the Dust MGM Mystery-Drama 87 mins. AUDIENCE SLANT: (Adult): A superior screen achievement that ranks with the best to come from Hollywood in a long time. It has a documentary quality that puts the stamp of super-reality on every scene, and it is tense, suspenseful and exciting. In a remarkable performance, Juano Hernandez brings to the screen one of the most sincere and impressive characters in years. BOX-OFFICE SLANT: Because there is an absence of star values, the box-office possibilities of this picture are difficult to preduct. But it is so unusual in most respects that a great deal of controversial word-ofmouth is certain to be generated, and this should reflect itself at the box-office. Cast: David Brian, Claude Jarman, Jr., Juano Hernandez, Porter Hall, Elizabeth Patterson, Charles Kemper, Will Gear, David Clarke, Elzie Emanuel, Lela Bliss, Harry Hayden, Harry Antrim. Credits: A Clarence Brown Production. Produced and directed by Clarence Brown. Screenplay by Ben Maddow. Based on the novel by William Faulkner. Photography, Robert Surtees. Art direction, Cedric Gibbons and Randall Duell. Plot: A crowd around the jail is waiting for the arrest of Lucas Beauchamp, a free negro, for the murder of Vinson Gowrie, local luniljer man, with whom he had been seen under suspicious circumstances. Lucas knows the identity of the real murderer but refuses to tell his name. Chick Mallison, a teen-ager who admires Lucas since the latter befriended him two years before, gets his uncle, John Stevens, to defend him. Lucas persuades Chick to dig up Vinson's body to prove he was shot by someone else's gun. and proves his innocence when the grave is found empty. But the sheriff refuses to let him leave the jail until the real murderer is caught. The sheriff spreads a rumor that Lucas has been freed, then sets a trap which catches the murderer. Comment: Declared by those who have read the book to follow the William Faulkner novel closely, "Intruder in the Dust" is a superior screen achievement that ranks with the best to come from Hollywood in a long time. The production and direction of Clarence Brown have avoided the usual "slick" treatment and have endowed this film with a genuine realism that few manage to attain. Almost wholly photographed on location in Oxford, Miss., the picture has a documentary quality that puts the stamp of super-reality on every scene. It is fictional, of course, but it seems true to life. There is tension from the opening scene, wherein a crowd of poor whites and sensation seekers are gathered around the county jail to await the arrival of a negro suspected of murder while the solid citizenry go to church. And this tension continues throughout the suspenseful events that follow. Except for the opening titles and the conclusion, the picture is entirely without a score, which is all to the good, for a musical background would detract from its "real-life" realism. Unlike previous films dealing with the negro problem, "Intruder in the Dust'' does not seem to propagandize or preach for tolerance. 'But the accusing finger, ever so subtle but effective, is still there as it points to a Southern community which turned out to make a holiday of a negro lynching only to return shamefacedly home when the guilty culprit had been apprehended. The performances of two of the picture's leading" characters, Claude Jarman, Jr., and David Brian, suffer in contrast to the other members of the cast. Young Jarman seems to strive a little too much to make his role believable, succeeding only in making it theatrical, while Brian's characterization never seems sharply delineated. As a consequence, therefore, they are vastly overshadowed bj^ the remarkable performance of Juano Hernandez. He is little short of magnificent. His Lucas Beauchamp is one of the most sincere and impressive characters the screen has presented in j'ears; it is well nigh unforgettable. And the supporting players — including Porter Hall, Charles Kemper and W^ill Geer. to mention the most important — are splendid. "Intruder in the Dust" should hold anj audience in its spell from beginning to end. Because there is an absence of so-called star values, the box-office possibilities of this picture (Continued on Page 20)