The Exhibitor (Aug-Nov 1948)

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THE EXHIBITOR September 1, 1948 Donald, a vicious character, who has promised Chaney to jam up the worl« on the first trip, and ruin Feldary. MacD^onald’s handiwork causes the tragic under¬ water death of Moore. Caught in the act, he confesses. Loaded with a prize catch of deep water sponges, they return to port in time for the auction. Confronting Chaney with the charges, Feldary tangles with him, and the deadly fight is ®^ded when Chaney, hurled to the ground, falls on a sharp sponge rake, and rolls into the waters of the Gulf to his death. X-Ray: Taken from the story, lb Fathoms Under,” this colorful adventure picture, also highly educational, should appeal to a wide audience. Action should appreciate the outstanding under¬ water scenes, filmed in attractive AnscoColor. The story is simple, in keeping wil^ the habits and customs of the sponge fish¬ ing fleets. All sequences are filmed on authentic locations, with photography and production' values adding to the film s appeal. While the lack .of marquee lustre indicates necessary exploitation problems. the film has angles. Ad Lines: “Monsters Of The Deep At¬ tack Fearless Divers”; “For Thrilling, Startling Adventure, Don’t Miss ‘16 Fathoms Deep’”; “A Truly Great Under Water Thriller.” PARAMOUNT Isn ^ WITH Music (4802) 87m. Estimate: Fair program. Cast: Veronica Lake, Mona Freeman, Mary Hatcher, Billy De Wolfe, Roland Culver, Patric Knowles, Richard Webb, Kathryn Givney, Larry Olsen, Pearl Bailey. Produced by Daniel Dare; directed by Norman S. McLeod. Story: Although living in Indiana, Ro¬ land Culver still upholds the tradition of the south, and is fighting the Civil War. His pride refuses to allow him to take a job, and his three daughters, Veronica Lake, Mona Freeman, and Mary Hatcher, urge him to find employment with wealthy Kathryn Givney, who has a crush on him. The situation seems to be at a stand¬ still until a handsome con-man, Patric Knowles, begins to make a play for Lake. Lake finds him charming but when he sends her a pair of silk stockings. Culver sees red, and promises to thrash him. In¬ stead, Knowles talks Culver into acting as a salesman for some phony oil stocks with the promise of a presidency in the cor¬ poration when the necessary money is raised. Culver proceeds to collect dough from most of the townfolk, and hands the dough over to Knowles. When he learns that the stocks are phony, he locks for Knowles, and finds he has skipped town. It remains for Lake to follow the thief, and grab the dough back. With the money recovered, all are happy. X-Ray: Based on a story by Jeannette Covert Nolan, this is a routine program¬ mer which may benefit from a marquee wise cast. The film is aimed at the family trade but entertainment wears thin, and a rambling screen play doesn’t help. The comedy is unsustaining and the story moves at a tardy pace. The acting is okeh, De Wolfe coming in for the bulk of the laughs. Musical numbers spotted through¬ out the footage include “Wonderm’ When,” “Miss Julie July,” “Indiana Dinner,” “At The Kjiickelodeon,” “I Should Have Quit While I Was Ahead,” and the title song. Tip On Bidding: Program price. Ad Lines: “Veronica Lake And Billy De Wolfe In The Season’s Brightest Musi¬ cal Fun-Fest . . . ‘Isn’t It Romantic?’ ”; “You Will Agree That It Is Romantic When You See ‘Isn’t It Romantic?’ ”; “For Laughs, Music, And Romance . . You Will Want To See ‘Isn’t It Romantic? Night Has A Melodrama Thousand Eyes (4803) Estimate: Absorbing entry. Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Gail Rus¬ sell, John Lund, Virginia Bruce, William Demarest, Richard Webb, Jerome Cowan, Onslow Stevens, John Alexander, Roman Bohnen and Luis Van Rooten. Produced by Endre Bohem; directed by John Farrow. Story: Edward G. Robinson, star of a mind-reading •vaudeville act, with Vir¬ ginia Bruce as his partner, and Jerome Cowan as his manager, starts to receive hunches that pay off, and becomes en¬ dowed with a power that makes him able to see into the future. He runs away from Bruce. Meanwhile, Cowan gets rich on one of Robinson’s hunches, and marries Bruce, and they have a daughter. Twenty years later, the daughter, GaU Russell, comes into contact with Robinson, who begs her to get Cowan to call off a plane trip or else he will perish. They are too late, and Cowan dies. Russell sees him again against the advice of her fiancee John Lund, who thinks Robinson is a faker, and the mystic forsees her death. The police are called in. The events all work out as Robinson predicted, and a business partner tries to kill Russell, but he is foiled by Robinson, who is, himself, killed. X-Ray: Containing a slightly different yarn, one that is well played for its suspenseful possibilities, this should fit well as a programmer with its competent performances, direction, etc. It holds up well from start to finish, and is based on a novel by Cornell Woolrich. Robinson is convincing in the role, and walks off with whatever acting honors are present. Tip on Bidding: Fair program rating. Ad Lines: “He Tried To Change Des¬ tiny, And Save A Life”; “He Could Peer Into The Future, And What He Saw Frightened Him”; “He Saw His Best Friend Die Before It Happened, And Could Do Nothing.” Sorry, Wrong Number Melodra^ (4801) Estimate: Names will make the differ¬ ence. Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lan¬ caster, Ann Richards, Harold Vermilyea, Leif Erikson, Ed Begley, Wendell Corey, William Conrad, John Bromfield, Jimmy Hunt, Dorothy Neumann, Paul Fierro. Produced by Hal Wallis; directed by Anatole Litvak. Story: Barbara Stanwyck, daughter of a drug store tycoon, confined to her bed by a heart condition, overhears a conversa¬ tion between two men arranging the mur¬ der of a woman. Actually, she is the intended victim, and, as the story unfolds, in flashback form, the reason for her in¬ tended death is apparent. Taking advan¬ tage of her ailment, the result of a mental condition, she rides roughshod over her father, gets Burt Lancaster, a boy from the other side of the tracks, to marry her, and then tries to keep him confined to a post as a vice-president in her father’s firm. Lancaster wants to make good on his own, but is afraid to aggravate her condi¬ tion by leaving his job. However, he finds out the truth, and then decides to go in for illicit money-making. Teaming up with Harold Vermilyea, a chemist em¬ ployed by the firm, Lancaster steals drugs, and sells them to gangsters. Eventually, he ditches the combine, and goes on his own, but the gangsters catch up, and threaten him with death unless he delivers $20,000. Lancaster is broke, so the deal is to kill Stanwyck, for insurance money. She was supposed to die of a heart attack within a few months, anyway. To present an alibi, Lancaster leaves town, but, un¬ known to him, the police round up the gang. However, the killer keeps his ap¬ pointment to murder Stanwyck, and, as he does so, Lancaster is arrested by the police while phoning to her from a nearby city. X-Ray: Based on a celebrated half-hour radio play by Lucille Fletcher, the prob¬ lem here was to stretch the basic theme to feature length. In doing so, many threads have to be introduced, and the story often gets involved. The start and windup follow the radio pattern, how¬ ever. Stanwyck and Lancaster add mar¬ quee lustre, which will be a factor, and there are melodramatic moments which will hold any audience. The ending, with Stanwyck dying, and Lancaster being arrested, finishes the picture on a par¬ ticularly solid dramatic note. Competent support comes from the able cast, and director Anatole Litvak has attempted to get movement into the show, which isn’t often easy due to the fact that it is generally tied to use of a telephone. This has star strength, the radio publicity, and a yarn packed with selling angles, so the returns should be okeh, subject to the angles mentioned above. Tip on Bidding: Worth above average program price. Ad Lines: “Now , . . Radio’s Most Cele¬ brated Play . . . Gripping, Melodramatic”; “Barbara Stanwyck . . . Burt Lancaster . . . In ‘Sorry, Wrong Number’ . . . The Year’s Thrill Sensation”; “She Listened To Her Own Death Warrant ... In The Strangest Picture In Years.” RKO The Pearl (903) Drama 77m. (Mexican-made) Estimate: Powerful drama for class and specialty houses. Cast: Pedro Armendariz, Maria Elena Marques, Fernando Wagner, Charles Rooner, Alfonso Bedoya, Gilberto Gon¬ zales, Juan Garcia, Maria Caudros. Pro¬ duced by Oscar Dancigers; directed by Emilio Fernandez. Story: Pedro Armendariz and wife, Maria Elena Marques, are happy until he discovers a valuable pearl during one of his diving sessions. Considered rich, Ar¬ mendariz is made the target for thieves and gangsters. The town buyer tries strategy, and then sends a couple of thugs after Armendariz to take the pearl by force. Armendariz kills them, and decides to leave town. With his baby and wife, he begins the march to refuge. The town buyer, with two guides, begins the chase. Finally, the buyer corners the trio, and the search ends with the murder of the baby. Armendariz realizes that the pearl has brought him ill -fortune, and throws it back in the sea. X-Ray: Based on the novel by John Steinbeck, this contains power and ines¬ capable force. Bearing a heavy, somber theme, and relying heavily on its sensi¬ tivity, with nary a humorous note in the entire footage, the film’s artistic qualities and foreign origin will probably limit its commercial value to the class and specialty houses. Aiding considerably are the stir¬ ring musical score and spectacular photog¬ raphy. Filmed in Mexico, the film has* striking scenic landscapes and darkig camera work. All in all, this is a fine 2456 i .j Servisection 4