Variety (Jan 1949)

58 Flf^M BKVIKWS Forty, third P^RIETY Annivertary WedtuAdof, Januaiy S, I949 The $un CoinvN Up (SONGS-COLOR) Hollywood. Metro releas* of Robert Sisk produc- tion. Stars Jeanette MacDonalcI. Lloyd Molan. Claude Jarman. Jr., .Las?'^' 'f?" lures Lewis Stone, Percy Kilbride, m- leuted by Richard Thorpe.- . *>";reenp<ay; William Ludwig, - Margaret; ifittsi based on novel by Marjorie Rinnan Rawlujgs; camera (Technicolor), Ray June;, musical score. Andre Previn; editor. Irvine War- burton. Tradeshown in Hollywood, Dec. ; 28i ■48. Hunning Ume. 93 M'Jfs. . Helen Lorfield Winter Jeanette MacDonald Tlvjiiias I. Clumdler Lloyd Nolan JcirV .... : Claude Jarman, Jr. Arthur Norton ^ . „ I-^wi^ Stone Mr. Willie B Williegoode Percy Kilbride Victor Alvord... .. ,.. ■ ■ rJitholas Joy Ml.'. Golightly Margaret Hamilton Mrs Pope ......>...-.■ ■ Hope Lanain Su.san .. Esther Somersi and Lassie -. "The Sun Comes Up" is one of those frankly sentimental tearjerk- ers that usually fare rather well in family situations outside the more cosmopolitan areas; It has beautiful color to dress up its mountain locale and Jeanette Mac- Donald's smart wardrobe and a number of songs completely in keeping with its general mood; Rer turns should be okay in the family market. Picture gets a decided lift from Percy Kilbride's expert comedy. His rube role is by now type-cast- ing, but is a hefty assist in supply- ing a welcome break in the senti- mental. hokum. Lassie, too, will rate strong kiddie and family attsntion as a canine crutch for the familiar role. Miniature Reviews "The Sun C«mes Up" (Songs) (Color) (M-G). Senti- mental filrtifare for family audiences. "The Flehtinr O'Flynn" (U). Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., in ac' tionful, romantic thriller; flrst- rate grosser. ^*Wake of the Bed Witch'' (Rep). South Seas saga replete With adventure, action and drama; a strong grosser. "Parole, Inc." (EL). Well- paced crime pic for dualers. "Secrets of a Ballerina" (French). Pierre Blanchar and Micheline Presle in mild ver- sion of Balzac novel. "Elizabeth of Ladymead" (BL). Anna Neagle in average British^made period drama; limited appeal. O'Flynn" shapes as a firstrate grosser-^a picture that could be built into a real coin-getter with a little exploitation effort. Fairbanks plays the Irish Robin Hood who, upon returning front serving as ' a soldier ; of fortune, thwarts a holdup of Helena Car- ter, who is enroute by stagecoach to her father, the Viceroy of Ire- land (Lumsden Hare). She, is for solid business in firstrun situa- tions. . . Its entertainment' aspects might have been increased if less of the hammy love scenes had been in- serted. Story is a gripping account of deadly rivalry between two men. Struggle between John Wayne, an impetuous sea captain, &nd his em- ployer—shipping tycoon, Luther Adler, should have been stressed more fully. , As master of the square rigger, "Red Witch," Wayne has a score to settle with the ship's owner, Adler. He chooses to do it by scut- tling the bullion-laden vessel on an uncharted reef. Origin of the quar^ rel is outlined by several flashbacks which show the shipping magnate winning out in a race- for the hand of Miss Hussell. daughter of a French governor. Wayne proves a good choice, as a sadistic master whose physical at-: tributes include a rare aquatic prowess. His performance not only is versatile but generally believa- ble. Matching his portrayal is Adler's interpretation of the greedy, vindictive trader-shipper. Gail Russell appears miscast amongv the South Pacific flora and fauna. Her romantic scenes with Wayne never achieve an aura of realism. Gig Young, as Wayne's mate, is thoroughly credible. Adele Mara does a competent job. Others who lend capable support are Grant bearing a vital letter to her pater telling him about Napoleon's I withersT another sea-captain;1oen machinations to gain a foothold in | Hoey, a British naval officer; ir>j.iAuA . . , I ma xiucy, €i unLiaii naval vii*vci. Miss MacDonald aptly fits thellreland so he can invade England. , pguj , mate, and Henry Daniel, .. .... T^= T,....,= u The O'Flynn (Fairbanks) is on , ^ j.je„gj, goygj-njjj. Irish castle ^ff^^^ scope of the plot fdr the M::rjorie Kinnan Rawlings charac .ter of a concert singer, already widowed, who loses her young son in an accident. She takes to the hills to forget, meets young Claude Jarman, Jr., who keeps the memory of her son alive while the script jockeys the situation back and forth to delay the obvious conclu- sion as long as possible. Everything comes off with a pot- boiler patness that allows for no story surprises, but it's dean, wholesome, sobby stuff to offset the run of heavy drama. Film is not without a number of good thrills for its market, either. Di- rector Richard Thorpe sharpens the more tense situations, such as a battle between Lassie and a snake, with Jarman coming to the rescue, and the hangup orphanage fire finale in which Lassie rescues young Jarxnan. - Comedy elements^ too; come through strongly under Thorpe's guidance. Dialog is best in these sequences with, as mentioned; Kil- bride socking over a rural store- keeper-philospher character. Lloyd Nolan's star billing will mean something on the marquees but he is completely wasted in a role that's not much more than that of a spear-carrier. His footage is only in the final 30 minutes, and even ■his ability- can't give .It niuch pur- pose; Lewis Stone is another familiar face with only two scenes. Hope Landin gives something to her small part as an orphanage matron. Nicholas Joy and others walk through as the story concen- trates on Miss MacDonald, Jarman and: Lassie.. Musical score by: Andrfe Previn Is adequate. With the exception of the aria from "Madama Butterfly," Miss MacDonald's vocals please. She does "Tes Jolies Yeux." "Ro- mance," "Songs My Mother Taught Me" and joins with a group of youngsters on "Ccusin Ebenezer," a bucolic, hillbilly ditty. Robert Sisk's production super- vision of the script by William LudwiR and Margaret Fitts dres-sed I the tale up in eye-appealing gaib. willed him by his late uncle. He finds only debts and a crumbling I most part is ably 'brought out by the direction; of Edward Ludwig. stonepile but this serves as superb ; His treatment of the action backgrojind for some fancy slides and pole . vaults by Fairbanks as he defeats: the. robbers in the pay of Napoleon; From then on the plot becomes more of an instrument for point- ing up FairbankS' feats of daring. He fits the character neatly, re- vealing himself as an ingratiating rogue: and lover. Of course, he un- covers the French spy rin-^ d almo.st single-handedly d e f e a t s landing of troops on Irish sou. Besides : the outstanding per- formance by Fairbanks, Miss Car- ter shows up in fine fashion. Richard Greene does very well as important aide to the Viceroy, al-< though cast in an unsympathetic role because of his spy connee- tions; Patricia Medina is excellent as his mistress, who finally is per- suaded to remain loyal to Ireland. Arthur Shields contributes a whimsical part as a money-lender and collector of bad debts. Hare gives .his usual fine performance as the Viceroy. Heading the strong support are J. M. Kerrigan, Lud- wing Donath and Otto Waldis. Fairbanks and Robert Thoeren have done a skillful job of script- ing while Arthur Pierson's direc- tion points up the suspense. Ar- thur Edeson has done a neat pho- tography job. Russell Schoen- garth's editing leaves little to be desired. Wear. I quences is particularly good. I There's, a wealth of production pol- l ish by associate producer Edmund 1 Grainger. Camerawork of Reggie I Lanning is expert lensing, while I Nathan Scott's score . and other technical credits measure up. Giib. Miranda "Miranda," J. Arthur Rank (Sidney B»x) production being tradeshown in New York Thursday (6), waa reviewed in Variety from London, April 14, 1948. Pic, which relates an amusing yarn about a mer- liiaid in London, was felt, by Variety's reviewer to be a good bet for the U. S. if re- leased here before "Mr. Pea- body and the Mermaid" since this type fantasy tends to wear thin very quickly. Acting and direction were considered good. heirs many years later, when they uncover a genuine skeleton-in-the- closet in a' routine inspection of the ancestral mansion. Through generous use of the flashback tech- nique, it develops the bones are those of a suitor who pursued the dancer before her marriage, then later turned to blackmailing her. As the ballerina,, Micheline Presle is quite listless and unre- alistic. Playing the husband, Pier- re Blanchar devotes most of his time to making threatening:, gri- maces. He also handles the direc- tion—none too proficiently. Rob- ert Vattier does a fair job in playing the blackmailer, while Julien- Bertheau is dryly matter- of-fact as the heir. Gtlb. are well to the fore in the first three sequences. Of her four hul bands only Nicholas Phipps reallv comes to life, and of the various characters who play the part «? Major Wrigley. the next-doSi- neighbor with a facility for appear, ing at the wrong moment, Ken Warrington tops the lot. It's an ornate, effectively .staeed production with colorful settines and excellent costumes. It is als» firstrate Technicolor, but all these qualities don't make it U. S. box- office; _____' Mj/ro. I.a llelle Mnnniere (The Pretty Miller Girl) (FKENCH) (COLOR) .r, . , Paris. Gjumont release of Ste Du Fi|n, nr«. ductlon. Directed by Marcel Pamol Features Tlno Hossi. Jaquellne Pa?SoI Kao«l MaicQi Raphael Paternl. Lilia vim" Music adapted by Tony Aubin; script liv Pagnol. At the Madeleine. Paris Bun. ning time, 110 .WINS. Parole, Inc. Eagle Liun release of Orbit (Coniitantin J. David) production. . Stars : Michael O'Shea, Turhan Bey; Evelyn Anicers. Dirt^cted by AHred Zeisler. Screenplay. Sherman L. Lowe; original story. Lowe and Royal K. Cole; editor, John D. Faure; score, Alexander Laszlo. . Tradeshown in N. Y.. Dec. 30, '48. Running- time, 11 W11S8.: Richard Hendricks . Barney Rodescu .... Jojo Dumont . Glenda Palmer... .. Harry Palmer .... Police Commissioner Kid Redmond lllllzalieili «f Xatiyinead (Color) (BRITISH) London. British Lion release. o£ M.G—Herbert Wilcox production. Stars Anna Ncagle, Hugh Williams, Michael Laurence. Di- rected by Wilcox. Original story and screenplay by Frank Harvey; additional :dialog by Nicholas Phipps;.camera. Max Greene. Robert Walker, Ken Gray; music, Robert Farnon. At Rialto. London, Dec. 22, .'48. : Running time. Ill MINK. Elizabeth ,.....;........ Anna Neagle John (1946) ; ; .1 ...;.....: Hugh Williams .lohn (1919)..;..;...;;..Michael Laurence .John (1903).....;.«... ~ " " John (1854V . Mother (1946) . .Mother (190.1) ........ Mother VlBTAy , .... Ma,ior Wrijjley (1946),. Ma.1or WrlBley (1919) . Major Wrigley 0903), Major Wrigley (1»54); , Bernard I,ee Nicholas Phipps .,, Hilda Baylcy . . Isabel Jeans , Catherine Paul . .. Jack Allen Ken Warrinf^ton Michael Shepley , , Claude Ballcy The beautiful Technicolor lensing t Harmens?.ooil'van Seiir'eeven^""'*'^ Wak« of ihe Rod WUvh Republic release of Edmund Groinier production; Stars John Wayne, Gail Ilus- sell; teaturcs Gig Young, Adelc Mara, I Luther Adler. Directed by Edward Lud- wig. Screenplay, Harry Brown. Kenneth Oamet, based on Garland Roark's novel; I ciniem, Reggie Lanning; special cllects (undor-water; sequences). Howard and ] llieodore Lydccker; music, Nathan Scott; . editoi:, Richard L. Van Enger. Trade- I '/,Jj"'C„5{s^" Kunnins time, I Captain Ralls ; ......;.John Wavrie , Angelique Desaix Gail Russell I Sam Ro.sen ......;.....;;... Gig Voun" Tcleia Van Schreeven , Adele Mara Mayrant- Ruysdaal Sidheye ~ " Lavish settings and ornate Tech- nicolor can't disguise the fact that "Elizabeth of Ladyittead''is only an average production. It's by no means in the traditional Herbert Wilcox-Anne Neagle class and al- though the stag's popularity Will undoubtedly insure its success in the home market, it's unlikely to make the grade with American au(liences. The story of the demure little woman who istays behind in war- time and who wants to assert her independence at the end of the war . is told four times. On the first pc- punchy casion, at the end of the war which has just passed, it is a sincere, mov- ing episode. Oh the secohd occa- sion it still remains: interesting; On the third it's inclihed to hie some- what tedious, and lastly when the little woman is depicted as a' painted hussy it is little short of tiresome. ■ It's a. case of history going full circle, in which the major charac- ters repeal themselves not only in . . action but also in dialog. One has of his accomplices I sympathy for the wife,, who in 1946 and almost . undoing I is still expected to play the part of Also admiration : . , Michael O'Shea ;... , Tiirhaa Bey ;; V Evelyn Ankers ,'; -Virginia' Lee Charles Bradstreet : .;, Lyle Talbot Miehael Whalin larles JWilliamr, Duke VisUl ,., James Cardv^ell I Charley Newton.. ...... .. Paul Bryar r Blackie Olson :, Noel Cravat I Monty Cooper ,,. Charles Jordan I "Parole, Inc." is a well-paced I crime meller that'll give nice sup- I port in dual situations. Produced with a minimum of trimmings: film unfolds in direct, style. Although not marked by finesse, screenplay, thesping, di- relction and backgrounds are ade- quate to sustain interest. Yarn has a standard crime-does- not-pay angle pegged onto the op- eration of a parole racket in an unnamed state. Michael O'Shea, Government agent, masquerades as a: yegg in order to break into the gang, which is springing hardened criminals from the state pen. After getting one bumped off another by his sleuthingi O'Shea j the little 'woman finally springs the trap, that rounds I for the wife, who, when her herd up the varmints in low and high!returns after the Crimean War, places; Plenty of holes crop up in [ wants to share his life on her own the telling but these are plugged terms, and contempt for the bus- This is unlikely for the U. S. What may bring the French to the theatre is the magic name of Mar- cel Pagnol, and the curiosity over the color process known as Roux- color. Pagnol had practically finished making this flicker in black and white.. Then he saw the Roux- color process and refilmed the pix in color. This was Unfortunate be- cause Bouxcolor deserves .a' better break. Tino Rossi plays Schubert, and Jaquellne Pagnol a miller's daughter. The main interest cen- ters around the revolutionary color, whereby black and white film is used with a special lens that shoots the color on the screen. In.stead of' one image on the film there are four. , When the light passes through the lens they fuse and make one picture. There are. still a ;lot of bugs to be worked out with the process. Some of the color is very beautiful,- but the interiors i^re bad as are the closeups; In many scenes the faces are unnatural and in others the colors don't fuse properly. In order to see Rouxcolor, Pag- nol- has sacrificed everything else, and in doing so he has also sacri- ficed Rouxcolor. Buck. was expertly done by Ray June". Responsible for Miss MacDonald's tasteful costumes was Irene. ... : ■ Brog. TlM> Fighling O'Flynn Universal release o£ Fairbanks'Co, pro- dut tioii. Stars Douglas Fairbanks, :ir , Helena Carter. Rich.ird Greene; features Patricia Medina, Lumsden Hare, Directed by Arthur Pierson. Screenplay bv Fair- banks. Robert Thoeren from novel. 'The a'Flynn;" by. Justin Huntlv McCartliv; camera; Arthur Edeson; editor, Russell Scliocngarth; special camera eiVccts, Davui S. Horsley. Previewed in N, Y., Dt'f,..')0. '48, Running time. !»» »1I\S; The O'Flynn, .,,, Douglas Fairbanks; Jr. , _ , . ,. Eduarrt Franz : Captain Wilde Youngucr ,, Grant Withers I .Tacqiles Desaix ,... - I "Ripper" Arrezo:Paul Fix I Captain Munsey Dennis Hoey I JJ""; ."'"""K Jell Corey Doktcr Van Arken Er.skine Sanfoid I Ua Nuka.,,,; Duke Kahanamoku with hard action stuff, O'Shea does nicely in a routine law-and-order role. Turhan Bey, as Henry^ D.jnicii j the inside parole fixer, plays with slight over-polish as the heavy. Femrae interest is sparked by Evelyn Ankers, as Bey's gal, and Virgirtia Lee, as a convict's wife, both of whom turn in: acceptable performances. Lyle Talbot; as the Lady Benedetta Ivr>!-d Scdgemouth,,. Fancy I'Yee Doolev ,, ..,,,,,,,. . Tiinotiiv' Hendrigg The Viceroy General Van Drnnk L'c'iUenant Carpe,. Pal ■ J;« k M,iior Steele Tlie Tavernkeeper, The Colonel The Subaltern.., . Helena. Carter '. Richard Greene Patricia Medina .. Arthur, Shields . J. M. Kerrigan . .IfU'dwig Donath , Lumsden: Hare .. 'Otti> Waldis . Henry Brandon ,, Harry Coi'ding . . John Doiu'ctte i Pat O'Moore | ,.. Tom Moore j ,. Leslie. Denison I .. James Craven ■ bling with boxoffice values this sea story with its Polynesian locale is replete with action, drama and adventure. These, exploitable elements, coupled With the name of John Wayne as a marquee dress- Wair I to find , his bard-drinking, dancing wife gajUivantihg with vvar , ., profiteers. It's a scene entirely out Foi'i V the supporting pKiyers also are of key with the remainder of the okay. Herm. — ' " "Wake of the Red Witch" will churn up a frothy backwash bub- P"!''^^ commissioner, and the rest band, who won't admit at the end of the Bo^ War that the Africans had some rights and fought to de- fend their, own homes and ,their own land. But the last incident leaves a bad taste and there can be nothing but sympathy for the hus- band who comes home from World ScfCrets of a Ballii^riaa ■ ■(PRB-NCH)-:''. pistiiiguiidied Films release of Gaumont I . - .- , Stars Pierre Blanch;ir, ins, is a guarantee to pxhihitrtrs IS''^'"*"",* "'""ected by Blanchar. »H6, <a >» eudidiiiti u) exniBllors .Screenplay, Bernard Zimmer, from I production, I Miss Neagle, who plays the wife I in each of the four seqflences, un- I doubtedly dominates the picture, and her natural, charm and grace Interlude Justin Huntly McCarthy's novel, I "The O'Flynn," makes a stalwart j •pic for Douglas Fairbanks. Jr. Yum is an Irish "Musketeers" or "Robin Hood" fable, with Fair-• banks dashing from one daring i deed to another, climbing walls, • leaping around roofs in. a manner reminiscent of his father's cine- ■ matic efl^orts. Picture must lean '< mostly on the Fairbanks name for | marquee pull but the fact that i It is based on the McCarthy; novel Sliould help. "The Fighting ■ "Interlude," Swedish-made five-language film was re- viewed in Variety from Stock- holm July 31, 1948 under its original title "I Dodens Vantrum." Pic, which was in- strumental in securing a War- ner Bros, contract for Viveca Lindfors, is "a sentimental story with little to offer ex- cept some wonderful eloseups Of the Swiss mountains.'' Per- formances by Stig Jaerrel and Miss Lindfors were com- mended, but ; Variety's re- viewers felt film's chances in the U.S. were slim. Picture opened at the Little Carnegie Saturday (1). Mulvey, Goldwyn SS Continued from page 9 position of forcing harsher terms and even less, equitable advertising deals on the'producers of .quality entertainmentt and at the same ; time, demanding, better product to - lure. back our diminishing audi- ences. It is a policy that in its mathematics alone, apart from the -simple morals and fairness, is doomed to drive out of busine.ss the few remaining independent producers. How lean it end in any- thing except failure — failure for the theatre as well as the produ- cer? ^, I repeat what we have said for 20 years: Let us renew our devo- tion to the making of better pi(S tures, and, one: they are made, let us give them a fair chance in terms, in playing time, in adver- tising arrangements,: in all the pub- licity and exploitation that will help motion pictures to get their attention and affection of the pa\h lie. Honoie de Balzac's novel, "Un Seul Amour;" music. Artliur Hoiiegger. At Midtown : tlieatre, N, Y„ Dec. 2U, "48 Running time, Rt JilNS. ' i Cerard^de Clerfiuc ,, Pierre Blanchar I Clara Blondi , ,., . Micheline Presle I Conlran de la Townelle Julien Bertheau James de Poulet ,,,Robert Vattier I ( Iti French; Bii.g!i,5/i Titles) i Honore de Balzac's tale of a ( jealous husband who entombs his ; fancied adversary in a closet 'comes oft' only tepidly in Gau- mont s film version of the novel- ^ ist's tome, "Un Seul Amour." Im- ported by Distinguished Films, the picture is a period piece that's marred by poor direction and un- even continuity. Its American b.o. prospects are limited to what it jean glean as an average 1 grammer in the art houses. Tragic love story of a once-fa- mous ballerina is revealed to her pro- This Wa* n Woman "This Was a Woman," British-made, tradeshown in N. Y. Wednesday (29), was re- viewed in Variety from Lon- don Feb. 11, 1948. Reviewer Cane felt the "pic's appeal is limited; but can do for U. S. art houses," Based upOn the play by Joan-Thomas, the story is that of a woman who lusts for power. "A good all-around cast" supports star Sonia Dresdel who has the same role on the screen as she did in the stage version. Actress "dominates the film as .she did the play" but retains "certain annoying stage mannerisms." Produced by Marcel Hell- man's Excelsior Films, the pic is being distributed in' the U. S. by 20th-Fox. By SAIML GOLDWYN Hollywood. I have been in this industry for many years but I have never seen it facing so serious a situation as confronts it today. The most im- portant lesson that can be learned from 1948 is that unless 1949 sees the beginning of the end of theatre circuit monopolies all over the country, motion picture production will be in Worse straits. than even now. The, strangle-hold of these ex- hibition monopolies with their abiJ-' ity to dictate playing terms on a "take it or leave it" basis for pic- tures which have been made und(;r highly competitive conditions is forcing down the standards of all. picture-making. . It is almost impos-. sible to make good pictures at to- day's costs when the theatre;ChainS refuse to do business on a ba.sis which permits recoupment of those costs. Mere divorcement of theatre holdings from production will n(>t . solve the problem. Unless the ex- hibition market is opened up to • real competition so that pictures can play—and be paidr--on their merits, I foresee conditions in H()Ir lywood becoming progressively worse. ■ , „ If "the dead hand of monopoly is not lifted. Hollywood will «oo° be » dead duek.