Canadian Film Weekly (Sep 29, 1943)

Saas we $ @ —.. | THE PICK OF | THE PICTURES REVIEWS INFORMATION RATINGS Vol. 8, No, 40 REVIEWS FROM FILM DAILY, NEW YORK September 29, 1943 ‘Fired Wife’ ‘Johnny Come/*DuBarry Wasi with Robert Paige, Leutse Allbritton Universal 70 Mins. SOPHISTICATED FARCE PACKED WITH LAUGHS IS EXCELLENTLY DIRECTED AND EXPERTLY PLAYED. This offering is designed solely for laughs and wins a considerable number of them, some being of the belly variety. It co-stars a new team, Robert Paige and Louise Allbritton, giving them their best acting opportunities to date, and they acquit themselves nicely. Paige was with Paramount before joining Universal, while Miss Allbritton is a graduate of the Pasadena Community Playhouse, who has been making rapid progress in pictures. Diana Barrymore and Walter Abel are featured and do important work in the funmaking. Charles Lamont effectively handled the direction of the sophisticated farce, while Alex Gottlieb rates much credit as the producer. Michael Fessier and Ernest Pagano concocted the screenplay, based on an original story by Hagar Wilde. The supporting cast, headed by George Dolenz, 2 newcomer, Rex Ingram and Walter Catlett, does excellent work. Paul Ivano’s photography is good. Paige, an advertising agency executive, and Louise Allbritton, stage directress, marry and start on their honeymoon. Louise tries to keep the marriage secret and does not want to lose her big chance to direct a Broadway play for Walter Abel, who is a producer. The newlyweds quarrel when Louise believes Paige is too attentive to Diana Barrymore, who is starred on one of Paige’s radio programs. In a huff, Louise leaves for Reno and a quick divorce. To save his leading man, George Dolenz, a refugee, from deportation, Abel attempts to rush there with Dolenz. However, Louise still loves Paige, and there is a reconciliation, with the ex-mates deciding to try marriage again. CAST: Robert Paige, Louise Allbritton, Diana Barrymore, Walter Abel, George Dolenz, Rex Ingram, Ernest Truex, Alan Dinehart, Walter Catlett, Richard Lane, Samuel S. Hinds. DIRECTION, Excellent. PHY, Good. 20th-Fox Offers Four Reissues Tom Connors, Vice-President in charge of world-wide distribution of 20th Century-Fox Film Cor poration, has announced that four of the company’s former boxoffice successes will be reissued during the 1948-44 selling season. PHOTOGRA Lately’ with James Cagney, Grace George UA-Cagney 97 Mins. CAGNEY OUTFIT BOWS IN WITH VASTLY ENTERTAINING FILM WITH STRONG BOX OFFICE POTENTI ALITIES. In “Johnny Come Lately” William Cagney Productions fully justifies its existence. It’s a good beginning for the newcomer to the ranks of independent producers. The public will supply plenty of dollar-and-cents evidence to sustain this opinion. The Cagney outfit’s initial production is an extremely entertaining and signally satisfactory treatment of the Louls Bromfield story, ‘“McLeod’s Folly.” Into it have gone varied ingredients that have been skillfully blended into an entity that wields popular appeal. Comedy, drama, melodrama and romance have their moments in the story. The result is a picture that has something to offer everyone. The film has only one outstanding fault: it is slow in getting under way. The film is given distinction by the presence in the cast of Grace George, that grand old lady of the stage. It was quite an achievement for the Cagney outfit to induce Miss George to try her hand at film acting. The actress makes an auspicious screen debut, bringing kindness, simplicity, understanding and poise to the role of a widow trying to keep alive the newspaper inherited from her husband. The woman is at the mercy of Ed McNamara, a crook who has the town in his grasp. Miss George’s attempts at reform get nowhere until James Cagney, a tramp newspaper man, comes on the scene. Cagney gives an excellent performance. He is forceful and convincing as Miss George’s Galahad. He and Miss George have been surrounded by a fine group of players. William Cagney acquitted himself well as producer. William K. Howard's direction is commendable. John Van Druten did a fine job on the screenplay. The settings are faithful to the period of the action—1906. CAST: James Cagney. Grace George, Marjorie Main, Marjerie Lord, Hattie McDaniel, Ed McNamara, Bill Henry, Robert Barrat, George Cleveland, Margaret Hamil-; ton, Norman Willis, Lucien Littlefield,’ Edwin Stanley, Irving Bacon, Tom Dugan, Charles Irwin, John Sheehan, Clarence Muse, John Miller, Arthur Hunnicutt, Victor Killan, Wee Willie Davis. DIRECTION, Good. PHOTOGRAPHY, . Swell, A Lady’ with Red Skelton, Lucille Ball M-G-M 101 Mins. MUSICAL COMEDY OFFERS PLENTY OF CRAZY FUN; PROVIDES WELCOME RELIEF FROM DIET OF WAR FILMS. In a season marked by a deluge of war films the screen version of the Buddy DeSylva-Herbert Fields musical comes as blessed relief. The production, lavishly done in superb Technicolor, is unalloyed fun concerned solely with the mission of entertaining the public. That mission is discharged with complete success. The spirit of the fun has been well realized both in the adaptation and in the performances of a cast rich with comic talents. The funsters are headed by Red Skelton, “Rags’’ Ragland and Zero Mostel, who get assists from Donald Meek, George Givot, Louise Beavers, Gene Kelly, Virginia O’Brien. For dessert there is Lucille Ball, very stunningly garbed and photographed. Her presence in the cast will make the boys whistle. One must not forget Tommy Dorsey and his band. His name will guarantee wholehearted support of the film by the younger element. The story is a crazy affair in which Skelton, a nightclub checkroom attendant, and Gene Kelly, songsmith and hoofer, are ga-ga over the same gal, Miss Ball, ar entertainer at the bistro. The proceedings go completely nuts when Skelton imbibes a mickey by mistake and dreams he is in the court of Louis XV. In the members of the court he recognizes the characters identified with his nightclub existence, with Miss Ball among them as the Du Barry. Plenty of good-natured ribbing takes place before Skelton is jolted back to reality. At the end Gene Kelly gets Miss Ball. Skelton is allowed to have his brief day in the sun when he wins a sweepstakes prize. We say brief because by the time the film is over he hasn’t any of his winnings left, thanks primarily to the Internal Revenue Bureau. The original Cole Porter songs have been augmented by others. Roy Del Ruth directed. CAST: Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Gene} Kelly, Virginia O’Brien, “Rags” Ragland, Zero Mostel, Donald Meck, Douglass Dumbrille, George Givot, Louise Beavers, Tommy Dorsey and erchestra. DIRECTION, Good. np ti as SSS ss ren ns Sess Sp SESS ee mmm PHOTOGRAPHY, | “The Fallen Sparrow’ with John Garfield, Maureen O’Hara RKO 94 Mins. SLOW, PONDEROUS SPY MELODRAMA WILL GET BY PRIMARILY ON STRENGTH OF GARFIELD, O’HARA NAMES. The showman will have to look mainly to the marquee strength of the John Garfield and Maureen O’Hara names to put “The Fallen Sparrow” in the winning column. For the most part of the film is a confused spy melodrama that has a hard time extricating itself from the maze into which its plot leads it. One cannot quibble over the film’s suspense, but certainly one can over the use to which such suspense has been put. It is likely that the average fan will be more than a little disappointed to discover that all the fuss and all the toying with death are inspired by a Loyalist banner in the possession of Garfield. It seems that Garfield brought the banner back to the States with him following his escape from the Spanish prison into which he was thrown by the Fascists while fighting on the loyalist side. The audience is led to believe that a far more vital secret than a war-searred banner is at the bottom of the black villainy in the film. A further disappointment to the audience will be the nature of the romance between Garfield and Maureen O’Hara, who aids the Nazi ring seeking the banner because she can’t help herself. Sympathy is created for her, yet at end she’s in the hands of the FBI. Garfield hasn't been so good in a picture in a long time. Miss O'Hara handles her role well. Walter Slezak is properly sinister as the head of the spy ring. Others important to the development of the story are Patricia Morison, Martha O'Driscoll, Bruce Edwards, John Banner, John Miljan and Hugh Beaumont. Robert Fellows produced the film from a sereenplay by Warren Duff derived from the Dorothy B. Hughes novel. Richard Wallace has directed at much too deliberate a pace. Praise must be accorded the camera work of Nicholas Musuraca, CAST: John Garfield, Maureen O'Hara, Walter Slezak, Patricia Morison, Martha O'Driscoll, Bruce Edwards, John Banner, John Miljan, Hugh Beaumont, Sam Gold. | berg. DIRECTION, Fair, PHOTOGRAPHY,