Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1963)

Opinions on Current Productions Feature reviews Symbol © denotes color; © CinemaScope; ® VistaVision; © Technirama; (§) other anamorphic processes. For story synopsis on each picture, see reverse side. Love With the Proper Stranger Drama Paramount (6312) 100 Minutes Rel. Feb. ’64 Alan J. Pakula and Robert Mulligan, who made the acclaimed “To Kill a Mockingbird,” score again with this warm and intensely human drama about New York life which gives strong roles to Natalie Wood and Steve McQueen, two of today’s top younger stars. Miss Wood, playing a Macy’s salesgirl who craves romantic freedom, , ! and McQueen, who plays the itinerant musician who gets us 1 . her in trouble, will attract the teenagers, as well as their 1 elders and Edie Adams will be an additional draw for TV regulars. Mulligan, who directed from Arnold Schulman’s screenplay, has inserted some wonderful human interest touches and delightful family moments into an essentially dramatic tale, which has one frighteningly realistic scene of an attempted abortion, this last not for the kiddies. But the rest is thoroughly enjoyable with the off-again, on-again love affair between two Italians, whose families help as well as hinder, being filled with chuckles. Miss Wood is appealing and often touching and McQueen is extremely likable, just as he was in “The Great Escape.” Tom Bosley makes his film debut as a bashful Italian suitor and Herschel Bernardi, Nina Varela and a half-dozen more contribute amusing characterizations of Italian-Americans. Natalie Wood, Steve McQueen, Edie Adams, Tom Bosley, Herschel Bernardi, Penny Santon. 7| An„ Ratio; Biographical Wilt? 1.85-1 Drama Warner Bros. ( ) 110 Minutes Rel. April ’64 The late Moss Hart’s biography of his early success as a playwright was an absorbing best seller and producerdirector Dore Schary has faithfully reproduced the latter portions of the book to make a fascinating film of Broadway in the late 1920s. With George Hamilton, who is popular with the teenagers, doing a fine acting job as Hart, and Jason Robards jr. in an amazingly faithful portrayal of the famed playwright George S. Kaufman, the picture is sure-fire for class patrons in the key cities and, if heavily exploited on its real-life content, should also please general audiences. Schary, who also wrote the screenplay, has concentrated entirely on Hart’s first attempt at writing a comedy, after turn-downs of his dramas; his collaboration with the shy, nervous Kaufman and their eventual Broadway triumph with “Once in a Lifetime,” a satire on the early talkie days in Hollywood. There is never any suggestion of romance and the only important feminine character is Mrs. Kaufman, played by Ruth Ford. Other real characters are well played by Bert Convy, as the struggling actor who became Cary Grant, and Sammy Smith as producer Sam H. Harris. Schary filmed the entire picture in actual Manhattan backgrounds. George Hamilton, Jason Robards jr., Eli Wallach, Jack Klugman, Ruth Ford, Sam Levene. Ladybug , Ladybug ^ Drama United Artists (783) 84 Minutes Rel. Dec. ’63 Frank Perry, who directed the highly acclaimed, modest-budget film about mental illness, “David and Lisa,” from a script by his wife, Eleanor, has selected another off-beat subject for his latest effort. While this is also splendidly acted by a cast composed entirely of offBroadway actors, the majority of them children, the story of a false nuclear alert in a rural school is unnecessarily grim and frightening, has few lighter moments or human interest touches and thus has little entertainment value for general audiences. It will chiefly interest serious-minded patrons in the art houses where the unknown cast and documentary approach may not be a handicap. Mrs. Perry based her screenplay on a reallife incident which took place in California and, while the subject is certainly topical, the importance of home .‘^i bomb shelters has been minimized in the past year and VEi | the story has inconsistencies such as the teachers’ neglecting to listen to news on the radio. The finale, with one girl locked in an abandoned refrigerator and a boy clawing the earth in a frantic attempt to escape the planes overhead is too harrowing. Nancy Marchand is outstanding as a worried teacher. Nancy Marchand, William Daniels, Jane Hoffman, Kathryn Hays, Marilyn Rogers, Christopher Howard. Ladies Who Do Continental 85 Minutes Rel. Nov. ’63 A typically British farce comedy dealing with cleaning women who “do” the offices in London’s buildings, this George H. Brown production for Bryanston is good fare for the art houses, where Robert Morley is a strong favorite. Except for the provocative title, Morley is the only selling angle in general situations, the picture having no romantic angle or even young people in the cast. The screenplay by Michael Pertwee, based on a very original idea by John Bignell, is primarily a starring vehicle for Peggy Mount, the horse-faced comedienne who is little known here, and three other character actresses, Avril Elgar, Dandy Nichols and Miriam Karlin, with Morley relegated to a secondary role. However, his portly frame and bluff manner are amusing, as always, T while Miss Mount muggs and shouts in her broad comedy I3 y i Portrayal to fair laugh returns. The other three women W are quieter and thus more effective, all playing cleaning women who get stock market tips from discarded notes in the wastepaper baskets they empty nightly. Later, the ladies, who are about to be evicted from their lodgings for a new apartment development, rally forces and obstruct the bulldozers and demolition trucks for a riotous climax. Directed by C. M. Pennington-Richards. Robert Morley, Peggy Mount, Harry H. Corbett, Miriam Karlin, Ron Moody, Avril Elgar, Nigel Davenport. The Sound of Laughter Comedy Union Films 75 Minutes Rel. Dec. ’63 A compilation of comedy sequences from pictures of the 1930s, this has some funny moments, but apparently the best footage of the era was not obtainable or was overlooked. Wearing a scholastic cap and gown, Ed Wynn provides the narration in the manner of his “Perfect Fool” characterization of his stage days. The sequences run from about a minute to 12 minutes and include a very young Milton Berle, Bob Hope, Danny Kaye and even Shirley Temple at the age of four in what is said to be her very first picture. Perhaps the most hilarious scenes are those with the zany Ritz Brothers from a nonidentified feature, although there are some sparks from pictures featuring Buster Keaton, Bert Lahr, Bing Crosby, Will Mahoney, Joe Cook and others. The Crosby bit apparently was from a short subject in which he is pursued by a lion. The feature was screened in a cold projection room. In a theatre, there could be a much better reaction because laughter begets laughter. The feeling was that there must have been brighter comedy episodes in the 1930s. On the other hand, nostalgia is a common trait and that should be a magnet. John O’Shaughnessy directed and Barry B. Yellen and Irvin S Dor f man produced. Fury at Smugglers Bay Si Acti0" Drama Embassy Pictures 92 Minutes Rel. Dec. ’63 With Hollywood making fewer program pictures suited to the supporting spot on neighborhood dualers, England continues to turn out black-and-white action films which will satisfy the youngsters and avid film fans who demand a lengthy film program. This period adventure drama, produced and directed by John Gilling, has riding, shooting and gunplay aplenty and the cast has several familiar British players, headed by Peter Cushing, who has starred in “Dracula”-“Frankenstein” roles in Hammer Film epics. John Fraser, who was featured in “El Cid,” is a handsome, dashing hero while Michele Mercier, June Thorburn and Liz Fraser, the latter a regular in the “Carry On” series, look attractive in the 19th Century costumes. Gillings also wrote the original story and screenplay dealing with pirates and British fishermen who are part-time smugglers themselves. The local squire’s son, played by Fraser, falls in love with a smuggler’s pretty daughter and thus aids in routing the vicious pirates who lure ships onto the rocks to loot the cargo. The rocky seacoast scenic backgrounds are authentic. As dual program fare, this will fill the bill. Peter Cushing, John Fraser, Michele Mercier, Bernard Soe; Lee, June Thorburn, George Coulouris, Liz Fraser. . Ho The reviews on these pages may be filed for future reference in any of the following ways: (1) in any standard three-ring loose-leaf binder; (2) individually, by company, in any standard 3x5 card index file; or (3) in the BOXOFFICE PICTURE GUIDE three-ring, pocket-size binder. The latter, including a year's supply of booking and daily business record sheets, may be obtained from Associated Publications, 825 Van Brunt Blvd., Kansas City 24, Mo., for $1.00, postage paid. 2790 BOXOFFICE BookinGuide :: Dec. 23, 1963 2789 I