Canadian Film Weekly (Apr 26, 1961)

; April 26, 1961 THE OSCARS (Continued from Page 1) UA’s Elmer Gantry, the same film in which Shirley Jones’ acting won her the best supporting actress accolade. Best supporting actor was Peter Ustinov for his work in Empire-Universal’s Spartacus. Best directing honors went to Billy Wilder for The Apartment. The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award was given to Sol Lesser, producer, and special honorary awards went to Stan Laurel and Gary Cooper, with a juvenile honorary award to Hayley Mills. Other winners were: _ Documentary feature—The Horse With the Flying Tail, Walt Disney. Documentary short—Giuseppina, Schoenfeld Films (British). Special effects—The Time Machine, MGM, Gene Warren and Tim Baer. Costume design (b&w) — The Facts of Life, UA, Edith Head and Edward Stevenson. Costume design (color) — Spartacus, Valles and Bill Thomas. Sound achievement—The Alamo, UA, Samuel Goldwyn sound department, Gordon E. Sawyer. Short subject (cartoon)—Munro, Rembrandt Films, Wm. L. Snyder, producer. Short subject (live action)—Day of the Painter, Little Movies, Kingsley-Union Films, Ezra R. Baker, producer. Foreign-language film—The Virgin Spring, A. B. Svensk Filmindustri (Sweden). Film editing — The Apartment, Daniel Mandell. Art direction (b&w)—The Apartment, Alexander Trauner; set decoration—Edward G. Boyle. Art direction (color)—Spartacus, Alexander Golitzen and Eric Orbom; set decoration — Russell A. Gausman and Julia Heron. Cinematography (b&w) — Sons and Lovers, 20th-Fox, Freddie Francis. Cinématography (color) — Spartacus, Russell Metty. Score of a musical—Song Without End, Columbia, Morris Stoloff and Harry Sukman. Score of a drama or comedy— Exodus, UA, Ernest Gold. Best Song — Never on Sunday from the film of that name, UA, music and lyrics by Manos Hadjidakis (Greece). Screenplay from another medium — Elmer Gantry, Richard Brooks. Original story and screenplay— The Apartment, Billy Wilder and I, A. L. Diamond. Fox' 'A Star In The West' Andy Griffith has been signed to star in 20th-Fox’ A Star in the West. 1 Stewart, Wayne In Ford Film James Stewart and John Wayne» will star in John Fofd’s next for Paramount, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. ~ CANADIAN FILM WEEKLY Reviews OPERATION EICHMANN with Werner Klemperer, Ruta Lee, Donald Buka. Allied Artists 93 Mins. A POWERFUL PRESENTATION OF THE PRIME INCIDENTS IN THE ATROCIOUS CAREER OF ADOLF EICHMANN IN THE NAZI UNIFORM DURING WORLD WAR II AND IN GARMENTS OF DISGUISE BETWEEN THEN AND HIS CAPTURE IN BUENOS AIRES. Producers Samuel Bischoff and David Diamond tell bluntly and with the tragic impact of dreadful truth the terrible story of Adolf Eichmann’s methodical murder of six million men, women and children in merciless application of Adolf Hitler’s ‘‘final solution of the Jewish problem’ in this tightly constructed, swiftly paced film. Bischoff and Diamond tell it starkly, forthrightly, graphically, and without shrinking from or over-emphasizing the unthinkable brutality, the inhuman motivation and the unimaginable misery which are basic elements of the official record closely adhered to by the producers. Their production is a professional achievement of outstanding merit. ; The grim story of Eichman opens on his meeting with Rudolf Hess and other Nazi brass after his return from a meeting at which, he says, Hitler has instructed him to eliminate the Jewish population of Germany and notifies his fellow officers that he has devised suitable means. From this point on to the collapse of Germany the picture depicts the progressive outrages perpetrated upon the helpless prisoners. At midpoint the producers have interpolated official films showing the stacked bones of the dead, the rows of burned bodies, © the, indescribable end-result of the Eichmann program of decimation. The second part of the picture (no actual separation is made) picks up Eichmann after his escape and takes the audience along to his capture in Buenos Aires. In this section of the picture, and in an explosive pre-title utterance to the audience by the actor portraying Eichmann, the picture makes and reiterates steadily the point that Nazism still exists and still operates unseen in the world. Werner Klemperer, portraying Eichmann, gives such a powerful performance that many excellent players in principal and supporting roles remain in audience memory only as collectively excellent actors. The picture is, in its very special and possibly circumscribed way, a supreme professional attainment. CAST: Werner Klemperer, Ruta Lee, Donald Buka, Barbara Turner, John Banner, Hanna Landy, Lester Fletcher. CREDITS: Producers, Samuel Bischoff and David Diamond; director, R. G, Springsteen; written by Lewis Coppley; photography, Joseph Biroc. DIRECTION: Excellent. PHOTOGRAPHY: Dramatic. (From The Film Daily, NY) THE WHITE WARRIOR with Steve Reeves, Georgia Moll, Renato Baldini. Worner Bros. (Technicolor) 86 Mins. OUTDOOR ACTION SPECTACLE BASED ON LEO TOLSTOY NOVEL. SOLID, STANDARD EXCITEMENT, The fierce resistance of independent Caucasian tribes to the tyranny of Czar Nicholas forms the narrative basis of this film, made in Italy and dubbed in English. The story is based on a novel by Leo Tolstoy and stars the mighty “Hercules” man, Steeve Reeves, and Georgia Moll. For action elements and spectacle scenes the film is very good. There are battles, intrigue and displays of strength and courage. The story however is fashioned along routine lines and credulity is frequently strained. The setting of the film is in the 19th Century, with Czar Nicholas bent on bringing the wild tribes of the Caucasus under his sovereignty. Leader of the fighting tribes is Reeves who is determined to keep his people free of the Russian yoke. He fights heroically and gloriously when not taking time out for romantic interludes with the maiden he loves, Miss Moll. In the screenplay designed by Gino DeSanctis and Akos Tolney, an officer of the Czar, Gerard Herter, is ordered to make Reeves negotiate peace. Reeves is captured through the treachery of one of his own following. He is wounded, tortured and almost made to sign the peace treaty. However, he escapes, organizes a new band of men, and in the grand finale, deals personally with the treacherous, power-hungry henchman who betrayed him. CAST: Steeve Reeves, Georgia Moll, Renato Baldini, Gerard Herter, Nicola Popovic, Scilla Gabel. CREDITS: Directed by Richard Freda; Screenplay by Gino DeSanctis and Akos Tolney, from a novel by Leo Tolstoy; Director of photography, Mario Bava. DIRECTION: Good. PHOTOGRAPHY: Fine (From The Film Daily, NY) "The Sword And The Stone' Walt Disney’s next animated cartoon feature will be The Sword and the Stone, taken from the life of King Arthur. MGM Acquires ‘Raditzer' MGM has acquired Peter Matthiessen’s novel, Raditzer. UA 1960 Earnings Up United Artists Corporation’s net earnings for 1960, after provision for income taxes of $3,476,000, amounted to $4,295,000 ($2.58 per share) as compared with net earnings for 1959 of $4,111,000 ($2.47 per share). World-wide gross income reached $108,531,000 for 1960 as compared with $95,068,000 for 1959. Page 7 Short Throws ENDOWMENT of £10,000 has been made by Sam Spiegel, Hollywood producer, to the Variety Club of Great Britain for the building of one of the ten boys’ clubs the British showmen’s organization plans to erect in London in the next two years. Spiegel’s donation will go to the club to be erected in the White City district, which will be the most costly one, entailing an expenditure of £40,000. ERECTION of a luxury hotel and two motor hotels in the heart of NY by Loew’s Theatres, Inc. was announced last week by Laurence A. Tisch, head of the company. It is understood the hotel, which will be on Park Ave. and be “the most luxurious hotel ever built in New York,” will cost about $25,000,000 and the motor hotels about $4,500,000 each. The theatre chain now has under construction in NY the 800-room Summit and the 50-storey, 2,000-room Americana and is planning a plush 600-seat movie theatre on the site of the old Loew’s 72nd St. Theatre, as well as a hotel in San Juan, to be called the Americana of Puerto Rico. FOUR Canadian Government agencies will participate in the equipment exhibit at the May 7-12 convention in Toronto’s King Edward Hotel of the Society of Motion Pictures and Television Engineers, states Ken Oakley, Exhibit Committee chairman. The CBC, the NFB, the RCAF and the National Research Council of Canada will be among the 36 exhibitors. GROSS income and net revenue of MGM, Inc. for the quarter ended March 16 were the largest since the company’s separation from Loew’s in March, 1959. It put the six-month figures ahead of the same period last year, with $2.65 per share being earned compared to $1.47. MGM has 50 per cent of the new Broadway hit, Carnival, which is based on its hit, Lili, and it has become an equal partner with the Kalvar Corp. in a new process in the production and development of film which eliminates the use of chemicals, states Joseph Vogel, president. Light forms the photographic image and heat develops it. PROVISIONAL grant of $7,500 has been made by the Canada Council to the Montreal International Film Festival to permit the Festival to hold an_ international seminar on the creative aspects of film making. The award is conditional on an equal amount being raised from other sources and it is expected that film-makers from 14 countries will be invited to participate.