Variety (December 1950)

Wednesday, December 6, 1950 FILM REVIEWS 15 P^JO^TY Kim (COLOR) Hollywood, Dec. 5. Metro release of Leon Gordon produc- tion. Stars Errol Flynn; features Dean Stockwell. with Paul Lukas, Robert Doug- las, Thomas Gomez, Cecil KeUaway, Ai'nold Moss, Laurette Luez. Directed by Victor Savllle. Screenplay. Leon Gordon. Helen Dcutsch. Richard Schayer. from Rudyard Kipllnjf novel: camera (Techni- color), William Skall: editor, George Boemler; music. Andre Previn. Trade- shown Nov. 27. *50. Running time, lU MINS. Mahbub Ali, the Red Beard.. .Errol Flynn Kim Dean Stockwell Lama Paul Lukas Co. Creighton Robert Douglas Emissary Thomas Gomez Hurree Chunder Cecil Kellaway Lurgan Sahib Arnold Moss Father Victor ........... .'Reginald Owen Laluli Laurette Luez llassun Bey Richard Hale The Russians 5Roman Toporow ( Ivan Triesault Metro has quite n spectacle, but not much else, in this version ol Rudyard Kipling’s “Kim.” The story of youthful adventure in In- dia comes to the screen as rambling, oveiTength, spotty enter- tainment. However, there are suf- ficient exploitation angles to give it importance in fast playdates. Entertainment possibiiiities would be decidedly sharpened by 'drastic trimming of the present 112 min- utes of footage. Cutting would heighten story values to be Jound in the account of a young orphan who plays at being a native and encounters derrin-do adventures while aiding British intelligence ferret out a dastardly Czarist Rus- sian plot to seize India. Miniature Reviews “Kim” (Color) (M-G), Film, spectacle based on Kipling’s tales of youthful adventures in India. “For Heaven^s Sake” (20th). Clifton Webb, others, in com- edy fantasy. Generally okay entertainment for average biz. “Storm Warning” (WB). Tough melodrama built around Klu Klux Klan terrorism. Good names and biz prospects. “The Killer That Stalked New York” (Col). . M e 11 e r based on N. Y.’s smallpox scare of several years ago; okay for duallers. “The Great Missouri Raid” (Color) (Par). Good outdoor actioner with familiar Jesse- Frank James plot. “The Sound of Fury” (UA). Gripping melodrama of mob violence, cause and effect. Ex- ploitable. “Revenue Agent” (Col). Good program melodrama built around work of income tax agents. Actionful. “Lightning Guns” (Songs) (Col), Fast-paced Charles Star- rett western. “Short^ Grass” (Mono). Rod Cameron in western feature for general action bookings. erally okay reception, although in- . dications are for just average Chimerical aspects of the yarn gross&s^ An added marquee bol • •i j t* e* n_ A ^ i ^ i. ^ ^ ^ ^ - . are solid stuff for the screen, and had a straight-line format been used to put them on film general public acceptance would have been strong. Footage has been cloaked in lush Technicolor, and the location shots blend expertly with the s^tudio-filmed sequences. Visual dressing helps somewhat to carry the' episodic plot line and story does have its appealing mo- ments, particularly when young Dean Stockw'ell is on screen enact- ing the title role. He captures the charm of the Kipling character in firstrate style, slotting it exactly for accept- ance by the young ticket buyers. , His sly, knowing native ways in urchin street life, his daring in plunging into danger, and rebel- lion against strict school life are all phases that will please the moppets. All of the adults do not come off as fortunately. Errol Flynn Is the star, playing with flamboyant gusto the wily and amorous horse- trader who aids the government and Kim foil the Russians. Role permits Flynn a few side excur- sions into romance, and the only one of these developed is with Laurette Luez, sultry femme spy, in an episode more ludicrous than flaming. For the part, Flynn is bedecked in flowing robes, red beard and crew haircut. The lama sequences, in which Paul Lukas plays the holy man who advises young Kim, are much too long and slow. Robert Douglas is in an out of the footage as the British intelligence head. There are good characters contributed bv Thomas Gomez, Cecil Kellaway, Arnold Moss and Reginald Owen. Leon Gordon produced and did the script with Helen Deutsch and Richard 3chayer. He gave it a fancy, costly-looking production dress, but both supervision and writing fall short of the mark. Victor Saville’s direction hits some high spots of action, but m the main is too measured for siicn an adventure story. The excellent photography was done by v/illiam Skall. and the Andre Previn musi- cal score has a native flavor. Brog. Fin* Ileavoii*’® Sake Hollywood, Dec. 1. Twcnticlh-Fox release of Wmiarn Perl- ber« production. Stars Clifton W ebb, Joan Bennett. Robert Cummings, Edmund Gwenn: fe.Tturcs Joan Elondell, Gigi reau. Jack La Rue. Harry Von my Rcttig. directed and ^^litten by George Seaton, from pla.v by JJ^^ry Se gall: camera, Lloyd Ahern; ^tlitor. Rob- ert Simpson; music. , Alfred .Newman. Tradeshown Nov, 29. '50. Ruhnmg time, Ch iHes^’ Cilfton Webb Jciv Bolton' Arthur EdmUnd Gwenn D.aphne . V.V. Joan Blondell itmn . - • -Giei , Tony • i ster is the teaming of Edmund Gwenn with Webb, also in the same baby-sitting capacity. Aim of the angelic team of Webb and Gwenn is to see that unborn moppets Gigi Perreau and Tommy Rettig get together with the parents they have picked out. j Emphasis is on moppet Perreau’s troubles, since she has been wait- ing for seven years for the marital team of Joan Bennett and Robert Cummings to switch a little of the time they devote to legit produc- tions to becoming parents. To bring it all about, Webb ma- terializes to act out a rich west- erner who wants to angel the next Bennett-Cummings production. He gets in trouble when he finds he likes earthy desires, such as play- I wright Joan Blondell, champagne and the power of money. How he is saved from a complete ^11 from grace and little Miss Perreau's parents finally get together so she can be born is told with engaging and witty moments that help over- come earlier sags in the footage. Young Tommy Rettig also gets his wish when angel Gwenn inspires Robert Kent to write the story that will give him the money to get married. Webb and Gwenn are rather un- orthodox angels, the former a worldly creature willing to test himself against earthly pleasures. George Seaton’s scripting, from a play by Harry Segall, gives them both humordus lines to toss off in the sophisticated setting, and former’s direction pegs the chuckles. Miss Bennett and Cummings neatly realize the footlight char- acters, more wedded to the stage than to each other. Miss Blondell has been absent from the screen too long; she’s that good. The two moppets register strongly in completely natural portrayals. Jack La Rue belts over a carica- ture of screen gangsters who carry film roles into real life. Harry Von Zell, a breiizy westerner; Charles Lane, income tax agent, and the others are good. William Perlherg has furbLshed the production with excellent sight values, and Lloyd Ahern’s camera displays them neatly. There is a minimum of trick photography, merely that of the angels passing through doors. Brog. lineup of names, should rate it at- tention in most playdates. Story points a probing finger at Klan activities and the reign of terror that goes with the sheeted bigots. However, the well-written script by Daniel Fuchs and Rich- ard Brooks never lets itself go overboard on the moral side, pre- ferring to emphasize the lesson by devoting itself to a soundly estab- lished, melbdramatic tale about an innocent bystander who becomes involved in violence. Ginger Rogers, model, stops off in a small town, presumably southern, to visit overnight with her married sister. She finds the streets strangely ‘ deserted and while walking them inadvertently witnesses the brutal slaying of a newspaperman by Klansmen. Ter- rified and sick by the experience, she finds her sister and then dis- covers the husband is one of the killei's. To spare her sister, she lies at the inquest, as do all other possible witnesses. Later, the drunken brother-in-law tries to rape her and then takes her to a Klan meet- ing for trial. A determined county prosecutor braves the meeting, saves the model, but in the ensu- ing melee the sister is accidently killed by her husband, himself shot down by police, and justice finally gets in its licks. The Jerry Wald production is presented in a matter-of-fact man- ner that strengthens J)oth the melo- drama and the moral it poses. Stuart Heisler handles direction and cast in a way that insures a punchy, grim yarn, getting excite- ment and suspense in the telling. Miss Rogers does well as the model, and the county prosecutor is . given a lot of sock by Ronald Reagan, portraying a character who beats his head against the stonewall of»prejudice and fear. Unexpected and very good is the offbeat assignment of the sister, as done by Doris Day, and Steve Cochran scores soundly as the stupid, killer husband. Hugh Sand- ers, Klan leader; Raymond Green- leaf, Ned Glass, Paul E. Burns, Stuart Randall and the others con- tribute capably to the story. Low-key lighting in keeping with the meller mood, tight editing and a good score register among the expert technical credits. Brog. The Blue Angel “The Blue Angel,” German- made film originally reviewed in Variety, April 30, 1930, in the English-dubbed version and currently being rereleased in the U. S. by Classic Films in the original (^rman with Eng- lish subtitles, emerges after 20 years as one of the standout films produced since the ad- vent of sound. Starring Mar- lene Dietrich and Emil Jan- nings, this pic moves to a shattering climax through a progression of brilliantly ex- ecuted sequences. Pic’s story of the stiff-laced professor who falls in love with a music hall hussy is pre- sented with the standard European approach to such questions. From the bluenosc viewpoint, it is not any more objectionable than the current flock of Continental films which, as a whole, are a hit more relaxed in dealing with sex than U. S. films. Even the profusion of cheesecake shots of Miss Dietrich’s legs legitimately used in develop- ing the film’s tragedy. From every angle, pic is a powerful b.o. entry in the art house cir- cuit. the casting lines up nicely to give it some marquee worth, and the chase and gunplay action has been filmed in Technicolor. Script gives a believable ex- planation of the forces that put the James boys outside the law. There’s plenty of sympathy for the outlaws, but it is developed logi- cally and doesn’t go maudlin. Motivation hangs on the death of a Union soldier, killed while bru- tally questioning the James par- ents as to the whereabouts of Frank, a Quantrell Raider. The soldier’s brother, a Union officer, swears himself to a lifetime chase to bring the James boys to justice, setting off a web of circumstances that sees the brothers, the Young- ers and others taking to a life of j banditry after being hounded away ; from a respectable existence. I Wendell Corey and Macdonald : Carey, as Frank and Jesse, play I their roles very well, looking and ; acting the part of farmboys turned i outlaws as they run through the ! fast, often furious action. Ward i Bond is good as Major Trowbridge, ! whose personal vengance sets up ! the development. Ellen Drew and i Lois Chartrand are believable as the girls who marry Jesse and Prank, respectively. Romance flavor comes through excellently. Gordon Douglas’s direction 4 .* 1 1 • - AT I swings the footage through many as the authentic-looking N. y* j exciting moments. The bank hold- background, the part played m ^ ^pg follow the personally- i..— campaign by the vaccination N. i The Killer That Stalked IVcw York - ~ , inspired raids against the Jameses, Y. s mayor, etc., but they re only j train robberies, the flights the sugarcoating to a trite tale ] through rugged terrain, the more about a coi^le^ of jewel smugglers i intimate family and romance in- trying to cheat each other out ot clients are all told most accept- the loot. I ably. Evelyn Keyes is the “smallpox | Anne Revere and Edgar Buciia- Mary” of the story. She had i nan enact the mother and step- picked up the virus in Cuba, where ! father of the outlaws capably, she went to get the jewels and ■ Bruce Bennett, Bill Williams and unknowingly, of course, brought it, Paul Lees expertly portray the back to the States. While she is i Younger boys. Loui.s Jean Hepdt ill, her lover and confrere, Charles i-and Whit Bissell are the Ford Korvin, swipes the stones, leaving j brothers, the latter the Judas who her to die. Meanwhile, everyone guns Jesse in the back, with whom Miss Keyes has come On the technical side, Holt’s in contact has contracted the | production has firstrate support, disease, and the city authorities' through Ray Rerinahan’s color are frenziedly trying to find the I lensing, the editing musical score carrier. Rest of the yarn deals with Miss Keyes' chase of Korvin and the city’s chase of her. After finally catching up with her doublecrossing partner, she gives herself up to the cops and. meciicos. and other contributions, Brog. The Soniiil of Fury Hollywood, Dec. 5. :tion. Stars Evelyn Keyes. Charles. Kor-I makeup (she walks arOUnd with a A^'y. Previewed Dec. 1, '50. , W^illiam Bishop; features Dorothy j fpvp'p of thp tirnp) turns in time, 91 MINS, lone. Lola Albright. Barry KoUey. Di- | TorvS ha " little ' F.-b Columbia release of Robert Cohn pro duction vin Malone, Lola Albright rected by Earl McEvoy. Screenplay. Harry Essex, based on magazine article by Mil- ton Lehman; camera, Joseph Biroc; editor, Jerome Thoms; score, Hans Salter; Trade- shown, N. Y., Nov. .29, '50. Running time, 79 MINS. Sheila Bennet Evelyn Keyes Matt Krane Charles Korvin* Dr. Ben Wood William Bishop Alice Lorie Dorothy Malone Francie Bennet Lola Albright Johnson Barry Kelley Commissioner Ellis.... Carl Benton Reid Dr. Cooper... V......... Ludwig Donath Moss Art Smith Andy Bennet Whit Bis.sell Mayor Roy Roberts Belle ' Connie Gilchrist Skrip Dan Riss United Artists release of Robert Still- man production. Stars Frank Lovejoy,' Apfincr i-c PYfrpmplv cnnttv no . JCathlcen Ryan, Richard Carlson; features Acung ts exiremeiy S'PVLJ'y. ^ Uoyd Bridges, Katherine Locke. Adele directed by Egrl McEvoy, with the Jergens, Art Smith, Renzo Cesana, Irene tendency to overdramatize being ; Vemon. Directed by Cyi-il Endne>ld. the chief fault. Miss Keyes, sub- Scr^npiay, Jo Pag^^ jecting herself to unflattering music, JHugo Frledhofer: edhor. G<jorge Running chance as the heel, and Charles Bishop is just another juvenile as the young doctor who first diag- noses the illness and then leads ank Lovejoy Judy Tyler Kathleen Ryan Gil Stanton Richard Carlson Jerry Slocum Lloyd Bridges Hazel Katherine Locke \^lma Adele .Jergens Hal Clendennlng .. Art Smith Dr. Simone Renzo Ce.sana the chase. Dorothy Malone, Lola Hj;*, „ v,.rnon Albright and Barry Kelley top an sheriff Demig ciiff Clark undistinguished supporting cast. ! Donald MiUer Carl Kent Production mountings furnished Oohn fare better. Jo- j violence provides the spring- seph Biroc s low-key lensing is board for the melodrama to be good, and Jerome Thoms has done! found in "The Sound of Fury,” It a neat editing job to retain what- jg g shocking, but gripping, ac- . o.„ suspense is in the story. Hans I count of lynching, socked over in as melodramatic, j^his independentlv-made Robert Waida Kowalski Beverly Washburn , 3S me sioiy. oiai. iStillman production for United Art- Mrs. Kowalski Celia Lovsky | — ) ^gj-g release.- Critically, it is soli(l. Owney Richard Egan Danny Walter Burke J‘oe Dominic Peter Virgo Dr. Penner Arthur Space Ted James Don Kohler Willie Dennis Jim Backus Tom P<^er Brocco Jerry The “killer” in Columbia’s Thc^ Groat Missouri Raid I Boxoffice-wise, its chances are un- (COLOR) I predictable; it definitely has to be Hollywood, Nov. 29 | strongly explmted. Paramount release of Nat Holt produc- The hysteria that U.Sually gOCS tion. Stars Wendell Corey, Macdonald with the telling of SUCh a theme Tommy Ivo Carey, Ward Bond; co-stars Ellen Drew, jg absent from Jo PaLG')fin’s soreon rinrkA Ronnnf* BUI WUliams, Annc Re- ^ Edgar Buchanan, Lois adaptation of his novel, “The Con- Jean Heydt. Barry Kei- demned.”' It is a thoroughly of- ley. James Miiiican. Directed by Gordon fective, forthright Statement‘of a Mrs." Dominic ............. Angela Clarke Bruce Bennett, Bill Williams, Anne Re • vcrc* fc&turcs — Chartrand, Louis Jean Heydt, Barry Kel- dcmncd.’’ $f;oriii Wariiiiij§ Hollywood, Dec. 5. Warners release of Jerry Wald produc- tion. Stars Ginger Rogers, Ronald Reagan, t, u Doris Day, Steve Cochran; featur^es Hugh ; ggQ. Twentieth - Fox, however, - ■ “ • - o "Killer That stalked New York” is ! Involving'ifself just enough the smallpox epidemic that struck' nahan; editor. PhUip Martin; music. Paul with cause and effect to document the city several years ago, which ; Sawteii, Trade^own Nov. 28, '5o. Run- ^be plot development and make it created a mild furore at the time.'! w n ^ hard-hitting melodrama for the In trying to avoid presenting a ] ^ seeker of offbeat .screen fare. mere clinical story. Col has come, Major Trowbridge Ward Bond There’s much punch gained by up with a melodramatic yarn that i Bee Moore EUcn Drew tbe use of cast facc’.s that are not is nothing more than a cops-’n’-1 familiar to the melodrama robbery story with a twist. As , Mrs. Samuels Anne Revere scene, and the performance.s do a such, it’s okay for duallers and j Hr. Samuels .Edgar Buchanan lot to belt over the story. Cyril similar exploitation-based book-' Endfield’s direction is a strong as- ings, but hardly has the stuff Sn Bauer . . sist in making story points and neces.sary for anything more im-j sgt. Trowbridge...........James Mjiiican performances count. Working with portant. ! eood script that quietly goes v^as completed and ' JimiCummings Ethan Laidlaw about the effective hiiildup to the tradeshown more than six months ! 13-minute sequence of extreme Sanders, Lloyd Gough. Raymond Green- leaf, Ned Glass, Paul E. Burns. Walter Baldwin. Lynn Whitney. Stuart Randall. Sean McClory, Directed by Stuart Heisler. Written by Daniel Fuchs, Richard Brooks, camera, Carl Guthrie; editor, Clarence Kolster; music, Damele Amfitheatrof. Tradeshown Dec* 4, *^50. Running timCi brought out its “Panic in Streets,” which bore a marked similar theme, several weeks be- fore Col was ready with its film. Latter company, as a result, Shelved “Killer” until the 20th pic had run its course. Audiences who Joe ’ * * Tommy Rettig 93 MINS. MichaeV !!!!’.!.! Hick Ryan , Marsha MUcheii Reagan i remember “Panic” will be almost •Tax Agent I ‘‘ Doris Day ! certain to notice the resemblance. Joe’s Father Robert Kent fwhit'Bi;«u' (Ashmead Scott Lucy Ric6 . Horis Day Hank Rice • • • . Steve Cochran ChJrt" Bair.'. Hueh Sander. Rummel • *' « Raymond Greenleaf Western Union Woman Horothy Neumann | ;* * Ned Glass Dowager Esther Somers House Detective Elevator Boy • Bob Harlow Doormen fPerc Launders 7 Richard Thorne Clifton Webb is still baby-sit- ting, this time as a celestial being who watches over children waiting to be bom. That’s the setup in “For Heaven’s Sake,” and, as a fantasy, It haff a good measure of , rmrauee chuckles and should meet a gen- its points, and a good marquee Bledsoe Walter Baldwin Cora Athens. Walters Stuart Randall Shorr® Sean McClory Warners has a tough melodrama in “Storm Warning,” a feature that weaves a hard-hitting plot aroun(i violence, murder and the Ku Klux Klan. A semi-factual presentation that avoids shouting and Col has lost whatever ad- vantage might have resulted from getting its version to the screens first. Basic idea of a smallpox epi- demic running rampant through the biggest city in the world in this era might have had in jt the makings of something much bet- ter. But Harry Essex, who penned the screenplay from a magazine article by Milton Lehman, chose .instead to give it the flamboyant treatment. There are some -ex- cellent documentary touches, such T®"?r!5v rnob violence^ that climaxe.s the picture, Endfieid unfolds it with Jack L*dd .James Grifdlh sOCk. DiifLiddii . The plot is simple. Frank Love- Bob Ford Whit Bissell jo.v, just an average citizen, has a wife, a son, another child on the Those early-day outlaws, the James brothers, have made many screen appearances, so there is much that is familiar in “The way, and no job. His path crosses with that of Lloyd Bridges, a cheap paranoic stickup man. To obtain money, Lovejoy teams with Great Missouri Ra^ However, I Bridges. After a few holdups they none of the previous appearances!Bridges wanton- has been any better, most of them not , as good, so the display of action in this Nat Holt prpduction for Paramount" release has a- good chance in the outdoor market. A sound script by Frank Gruber deals sympathetically, with Frank and Jesse James, the slightly lesser-known Younger brothers ly kills the victim, a deed that 1 stuns Lovejoy and arouses the pub- lic. Lovejoy . breaks. Implicates Bridges and, when both are in jail, the townspeople are stamp^ed into a thirst for blood by the emo- tional newspaper reporting of the case by Richard Carlson, a column- troubled period just following the war between the states. Enactment of the varied characters is good, tremely sinister, excitement- pitched sequence and deal out mob (Continued on page 20)