Boxoffice (Jul-Sep 1948)

Opinions on Current Productions; Exploitips hr Soiling to the Public FEATUREiRE^IEWS A Song Is Born F (TeSiSao RKO-Goldwyn ( ) 110 Minutes Rel. Oct. '48 Selecting the cream of the jive world to run interference for star Danny Kaye, Producer Samuel Goldwyn herein sets to music one of his former comedy hits, "Ball of Fire." The result is an ingratiating hodgepodge of mirth and melody which will please most customers gnd will have the jivesters jumping in their seats. Dyed-in-the-wool Kaye fans may be a trifle disappointed because the carrot-topped comic isn't afforded an opportunity to utilize the long string of fun-making tricks he has displayed in previous pictures. In fact, his performance is overshadowed by the contribution of Virginia: Mayo as the mobster's moll who starts all the trouble. The film is mounted with characteristic Goldv^rynian opulence and its appeal is further enhanced through the use of Technicolor photography. Smartly merchandised, the offering can be parlayed into top money in all bookings. Howard Hawks directed. Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Sjeve Cochran, Esther Dale, Felix Bressart, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, C. Barnet. Comedy With Music One Touch of Venus F Univ.-Int'l (870) 82 Minutes Rel. Aug. '48 Enough of those ingredients which established this as a top Broadway musical hit of a few seasons back have been retained to produce a picture with strong potentialities as a top-of-the-profit-sheet entry. A good musical comedy plot, a name-heavy cast and an abundance of delightful comedy situations are all dished up with sufficient tongue-in-cheek humor to keep the proceedings moving at a fast clip. The screen's popular fantasy theme and the old Cinderella twist are combined to spin a modern fairy story about a $40-a-week window trimmer, Robert Walker, who falls in love with a beauteous statue of Venus, come to life in the person of Ava Gardner. Moviegoers who look for lush production numbers and tune-packed sequences may be disappointed, however, in the picture's lack thereof. Directed by William A. Seiter. Robert Walker, Ava Gardner, Dick Hcrymes, Eve Arden, Olga San Juan, Tom Conway, James Flavin, Sara Allgood. The Betrayal A ° Astor Pictures 183 Minutes Rel. Sincerity of purpose is practically the only redeemingfeature of this all-Negro feature. The three-hour length seems interminable, the dialog is so stilted that patrons burst into laughter at the most dramatic moments and most of the acting is either amateurish or downright bad. If properly exploited, the picture might do good business in Negro theatres. It has no value elsewhere. Oscar Micheaux, who wrote the original novel on which the film is based, also wrote, produced and directed the picture and probably hated to cut any of his lengthy dialog stretches. The characters stand around and discuss topical Negro problems until audiences become restless at the lack of action. LeRoy Collins impresses as a personable young actor who would do a good acting job with better material and Yvonne Machen makes a realistic litle hell-cat Harris Gaines, Verlie Cowan, LeRoy Collins, Yvonne Machen, Myra Stanton, William Byrd, Lou Vernon. Murderers Among Us A Artkino ( ) 98 Minutes Rel. Aug. 18, '48 A brooding, psychological film set in shell-shattered Berlin. It was made by Defa In the Soviet zone of occupation, and is the third Defa production to be released here by Artkino. "Razzia" and "Die Feldermaus". were the other two. It is an attack on war in general, and on Nazi mass mur • derers in particular. The film was made to impress the German people with their war guilt. In this country its appeal will be limited to art audiences and to German-speaking patrons interested in product from their former homeland. The picture hammers home its messages through the chief character, an ex-army doctor oppressed by the war ruins of his city and by a thirst for revenge against his superior officer who ordered mass killings in Poland. Ernst Borchert, the doctor,^ finally finds release in his love for Hildegard Knef, an artist. Wolfgang Staudte directed. Hildegard Knef, Ernst Borchert, Arno Paulsen, Erna Sellmer, Fobert Forsch, Albert Johann. F Drama (Technicolor) Rel. Sept. 25. '48 Rope Warner Bros. (802) 80 Minutes Herein Alfred Hitchcock, long celebrated as the master director of marrow-freezing suspense, undertakes his first venture under his own production banner — and simultaneously takes a radical step from formula. Just how the ticket buyers will react to that departure from established convention probably will be dependent upon communities and tastes. The picture certainly cannot be expected to exercise the universal appeal which was the lot of many preceding Hitchcock thrillers. Stage technique, with but slight variation, is employed in presenting the film, all of which is photographed on one set, thereby posing the thought that the extra cost of Technicolor photography was not used to best advantage. The story leans rather heavily toward the macabre — it concerns a thrill murder by two young intellectuals — and may prove a bit too grim for many rank-and-file theatre patrons. James Stewart, John Dali, Farley Granger, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Constance Collier, Douglas Dick, Edith Evanson. The Secret Land F Documentary (Technicolor) MGM ( -) 71 Minutes Rel. An authentic film of "Operation Highjump," the U.S. navy's Robert Montgomery and Lieut. Robert Taylor of the navy and Lieut. Van Heflin (Ret.), AAF. Photographed in Technicolor by cameramen of the navy, marine corps, coast guard and army. The recording director was Douglas Shearer. No finer views of polar regions have ever been offered. Both the grandeur of the scene and the perils facing the three simultaneous expeditions commanded by Admiral Byrd are depicted. Ships are rescued from crushing ice floes by the ice-breaker, a man falls 50 feet into icy waters when a breeches buoy lipe snaps, two planes crash and the engine of another conks out over jagged mountains and a warm water lake and mountains of solid coal are discovered. Penguins, whales, seals, huskies supply local color. Joe Palooka in Winner Take All F Drama Monogram (4802) 85 Minutes Rel. Sept. 12. '48 Few indeed will be the exhibition situations where audiences don't rousingly receive the latest and by all odds the best so far in the prize ring series adapted from the Ham Fisher comic strip. Into its compact running time have been jammed so much in the way of comedy, action, melodrama and a touch or two of pathos that any showman can rest assured his patrons will get their money's worth. Producer Hal E. Chester preformed some miracles with his budget to give the offering the polish of a high-cost entry and the handpicked cast turns in a solid job under Reginald Le Borg's deft directorial hand. Wherever there are fans of the "Palooka" pictures there can be little doubt that this one will draw, please and show a tidy profit. Joe Kirkwood, in the title role, continues to improve Thespically and one cast change, not for the worse, finds William Frawley subbing for Leon Errol. Joe Kirkwood, Elyse Knox, William Frawley, Stanley Clements, John Shelton, Mary Beth Hughes, Sheldon Leonard. Drama With Music BOXOFFICE La M arena de Mi Copla F Azteca Films, Inc. 105 Minutes Rel. Houses which play to Spanish-speaking audiences will find this a pleasing addition to the type of film which mixes action, romance and music in true Latin fashion. There is a bullfight in which the toreador is injured so badly he may never fight again, and so he attempts to give up his sweetheart. Seven popular songs are included, with the lovely Conchita Martinez singing many of these. Then there are guitar choruses under balconies and humorous touches to add to the entertainment value. There is also the continental tenor, Pedro Vargas, who has an enjoyable style and pleasing voice. While the plot varies little from other romantic dramas of this type, there are some new faces as well as old favorites of the Spanish language films and it should please those patrons at whom it is aimed as well as the student crowd. Fernando A. Rivero directed. Conchita Martinez, Abel Salazar, Agustin Izunsa, Alberto Galan, Florencio Costello, Agustin Irusta. Pedro Vargos. ‘August 28, 1948 00^ 964