The Exhibitor (Aug-Nov 1948)

THE EXHIBITOR Septemher 1, 194S Outdoor Northwest Stampede Drama ^ 75m. (901) (Cinecolor) Estimate: Good outdoor show. Cast: Joan Leslie, James Craig, Jack Oakie, Chill Wills, Victor Kilian, Stanley Andrews, Ray Bennet, Lane Chandler. Produced and directed by Albert S. Rogell. Story: James Craig, rodeo competitor, receives word from Joan Leslie, foreman of his ranch, that his father has died. Craig, joined by his friend. Jack Oakie, returns to the ranch, and, never having met Leslie, poses as a new cowhand. A white stallion has been terrorizing the vicinity, luring away horses. Craig succeeds in trapping the stallion and bringing him back to the ranch to be broken. He is thrown by the horse, and is a casualty. Leslie learns of Craig’s true identity, and releases the horse. Craig tries to fire her but learns that he must first pay her back wages. He decides to enter the Calgary rodeo, but finds he has competition in Les¬ lie. Craig wins the dough after a hard fight but Leslie, as foreman, spends it on horses. Craig then sets out once more to capture the white stallion. Leslie follows him, and captures the palamino with the stallion. Although Craig has his chance at the white horse, he lets him go, but finds he comes back into camp all by himself. With every¬ thing straightened out, Craig and Leslie are a happy twosome. X-Ray: Suggested by The Saturday Evening Post story, “Wild Horse Roimdup,” by Jean Muir, this is a pleasant en¬ tertainment for the entire family. The film couples an unpretentious, amiable story with a goodly quota of action, and the result is a show geared to satisfy all tastes. While the story encounters a few cliches along the way, the pace is generally satis¬ factory. The acting is in the better class, Craig and Leslie both distinguish them¬ selves, while Oakie comes in for some well-received comedy. Ad Lines: “An Exciting And ThrillPacked Story Of The Northwest”; “Don’t Miss ‘Northwest Stampede’ ... A Picture Which Will Thrill And Excite You”; “James Craig Was Never Handsomer . . . Joan Leslie Was Never Lovelier . . . Than In ‘Northwest Stampede’.” FILM CLASSICS Adventure Miraculous Journey Drama ' 76m. (Cinecolor) Estimate: Exploitable entry for the lower half. Cast; Rory Calhoun, Audrey Long, Vir¬ ginia Grey, George Cleveland, Jim Bannon, June Storey, Thurston Hall, Carole Donne, Tom Lane. Produced by Sigmund Neufeld; directed by Peter Stewart. Story: Flying over the heart of the Bel¬ gian Congo is a large transport plane carrying pilot Rory Calhoun, co-pilot Tom Lane, stewardess Carole Donne, blind but attractive Audrey Long, heiress Virginia Grey, racketeer Jim Bannon, night club entertainer June Storey, and a financial tycoon, Thurston Hall. During the flight. Storey recognizes Bannon, and threatens to expose him. When Lane starts to call in to the airport to be ready to pick up the gangster, Bannon kills him, and the plane’s controls go haywire. The plane crashes. Calhoun takes over the leadership al¬ though he has some trouble with Bannon. They are helped by a mysterious jungle hermit, George Cleveland. Meanwhile, Bannon attempts to force Cleveland to show him the way out, but is killed in the process. Calhoun decides to take the dangerous mission, promising to bring help if he gets through. After days of anxiety Calhoun arrives with a plane, and carts the group to safety. X-Ray: In Cinecolor, based on an orig¬ inal story by Fred Myton, this makes the most of a modest budget, and offers numerous exploitable items. As the film’s locale is the heart of the jungle, animal life is predominant in the footage. The yarn, however, is of the conventional .variety. Calhoun wins, acting honors, and is aided by a satisfactory supporting cast. The only song heard is “The Touch Of Love.” Ad Lines: “Action In The Heart Of A Jungle . . . Pulsating Excitement And Fear In The Heart Of A Man , . . Don’t Miss ‘Miraculous Journey’”; “For Breath¬ taking Action And Sheer Excitement . . . ‘Miraculous Journey’ Is The Picture For You”; “Rory Calhoun, The New Sensa¬ tion, In ‘Miraculous Journey’.” Sofia Melodrama 83m. (Cinecolor) Estimate: Exploitable program. Cast: Gene Raymond, Sigrid Gurie, Patricia Morison, Mischa Auer, John Wehgraf, George Baxter, Charles Rooner, Fer¬ nando Wagner, Luz Alra, Egon Zappert, Hamil Petroff, Peter O’Crotty, John Kelly, Chel Lopez and Jose Torvay. Produced by Robert Presnell, Sr., and John Reinhardt; directed by John Reinhardt. Story; George Baxter, who heads counter-espionage for the U.S. in the Balkans, informs one of his men. Gene Raymond, that two important scientists, experts on atomic research, are in danger of being whisked behind tbe iron curtain permanently, and it is important that they be rescued. Raymond is informed that one of them is Sigrid Gurie, with whom he worked and fell in love during the war in the OSS. Raymond and his assistant, Mischa Auer, go to work. After several thrilling narrow escapes, they succeed in rescuing Gurie and the information she can supply on research in Russia or the dominated countries. They both set out for the U.S. and a happy future together. X-Ray: Carrying suspense and in¬ trigue, this should find itself as a capable feature on the duallers. The direction is smart, and the Cinecolor comes off to advantage, while performances are in the pleasing category. Interest is held on high throughout, and Raymond makes a good lead. All in all, this should wind up as a pleasing program entry. Original screen play is by Frederick Stephani. Auer car¬ ries off his part well, playing it straight. Ad Lines: “Don’t Miss This Intrigueful Entry Of Espionage Behind The Iron Cur¬ tain”; “A Race To Free Several Atom Scientists From The Iron Curtain Makes Suspenseful Film Fare”; “There’s Adven¬ ture And. Intrigue In Mysterious ‘Sofia’.” MGM Julia Misbehaves (903) Estimate: Names will make the dif¬ ference. Cast: Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Peter Lawford, Elizabeth Taylor, Cesar Romero, Lucille Watson, Nigel Bruce, Mary Boland, Reginald Owen, Henry Stephenson, Aubrey Mather, Ian Wolfe, Fritz Feld, Phyllis Morris, Veda Arm Borg. Produced by Everett Riskin, di¬ rected by Jack Conway. Story: Stage actress Greer Garson, while out of work, has difficulty paying her bills, on top ofwhich an invitation to the wedding of her daughter, Elizabeth Taylor, arrives. Garson and her husband, Walter Pidgeon, have been separated since the first year of their marriage. With the aid of an old friend, Reginald Owen, she pays her creditors and sets off for the wedding. En route she meets Cesar Rom¬ ero, his mother and brothers, an acro¬ batic act. When Boland is incapacitated, Garson takes her place. The act is a hit. Romero asks her to join the act and marry him. She puts him off until after the wed¬ ding. On arriving, Pidgeon is attracted to his wife, and Taylor breaks down, and admits her love for her, but Lucille Wat¬ son, Pidgeon’s mother, does everything she can to get rid of Garson. Garson no¬ tices that despite the forthcoming wedding of Taylor that she and artist Peter Lawford, brought in to paint some murals on Pidgeon’s walls, are attracted to one an¬ other. Eventually, after many situations, she brings about the elopement of Taylor and Lawford, and the renewal of her romance with Pidgeon, and turns down Romero. X-Ray: This has names for the mar¬ quee, humorous situations for any audi¬ ence, and a generally fast pace, with the result a show that should accoimt for it¬ self well at the boxoffices of the nation. Based on “The Nutmeg Tree”, by Mar¬ gery Sharp, it has been directed with an eye for laughs, and succeeds in that direc¬ tion. The Garson, Pidgeon, Taylor, Law¬ ford, Romero draw is potent, and the re¬ sults should be pleasing. There is one song, “When You’re Playing With Fire”. Tip on Bidding: Higher bracket. Ad Lines: “Greer Garson Misbehaves So Walter Pidgeon Decides To Do A Little Misbehaving On His Own”; “There's Fun Galore When ‘Julia Misbehaves’ Naughtily But Nicely”; “There’s An AllStar Cast Waiting To 'Tickle Your Funny Bone In This Latest Fun-fest From MGM”. I I • #Om\COMEDY WITH MuSIC Luxury Liner (901) (Color by Technicolor) Estimate: Good entertainment. Cast: George Brent, Jane Powell, Lauritz Melchior, Frances Gifford, Marina Hoshetz, Xavier Cugat, Thomas E. Breen, Richard Derr, • John Ridgeley, the Pied Pipers, Connie Gilchrist. Produced by Richard Whorf; directed by Joe Pasternak. Story: Jane Powell, motherless daugh¬ ter of George Brent, captain of a swank liner between New York and Rio, stows away on his ship, but Brent, to teach her a lesson, makes her wash decks. Powell, with a flair for dramatizing everything, gains the sympathy of Frances Gifford, who is trying to get over a love affair with wealthy Richard Derr, also on the ship. Brent falls for Gifford, but stays away when he learns of the Derr angle. Finally, however, thanks to Powell and others, everything is straightened out, Brent getting Gifford, and Powell singing with Lauritz Melchior. X-Ray: Pleasing and engaging, made in the same pattern as other musicals from the MGM lot, this offers entertainment likely to please in any sp^t. It carves no new niches, but it is handsomely mounted. The women will love the gowns, and there is the singing of Powell and Melchior to satisfy, and Xavier Cugat and tl^ Pied Pipers to help round out the entertain¬ ment. The color adds to the lustre of the 2454 Servisection 2