The Exhibitor (Aug-Nov 1948)

September 1, 1948 THE EXHIBITOR there are no names of marquee strength in the cast. This will fit into the lower half. Screen play is by Catherine Strueby. Musical numbers include: “Mendelsohn Concerto” and Schubert’s “Ave Maria.” Ad Line: “Blackmail That Paid Off In Murder — When A Man Has A Secret Like This, He’ll Do Anything To Keep It!”; “One Man Shared The Secret Of His Past —One Man Too Many!”; “A Thrilling Tale Of Blackmail And Murder.” SCREEN GUILD The Prairie (4705) Historical Drama 68m. Estimate: For the lower half. Cast: Lenore Aubert, Alan Baxter, Russ Vincent, Jack Mitchum, Charles Evans, Edna Holland, Chief Thundercloud, Fred Coby, Bill Murphy, David Gerber, Don Lynch, George Morrell, Chief Yowlachie, Jay Silverheels, Beth Taylor. Produced by George Moskov; directed by Frank Wisbar. Story: Charles Evans, along with his wife and five sons, travels from Kentucky with intentions of crossing into the terri¬ tory of the Louisiana Purchase. During the trip, part of the group rescues Lenore Aubert from Indians, and she is taken along with the party. After many hard¬ ships, they run into Alan Baxter, gov¬ ernment map maker, who aids them, and then falls in love with Aubert. However, Jack Mitchum, Evans’ eldest son, and Baxter have a fight. When Mitchum is later found dead, the blame naturally is placed on Baxter. After Baxter, Aubert and a friendly Indian, Chief Thunder¬ cloud, are captured by Sioux Indians, Evans and his sons rescue the trio, and want to lynch Baxter. However, Thun¬ dercloud proves Baxter innocent, and an uncle, Russ Vincent, who quarrelled with Mitchum over Aubert, is the guilty party. Vincent hangs himself, is buried by the rest of the family, while Baxter and Aubert ride off together. X-Ray: Based on James Fenimore Cooper’s novel of the same narne, this has little to recommend it even in a lower half spot, with stilted dialogue and unin¬ spired thesping resulting in a rather lag¬ ging pace. However, due to the historical nature of the film, tieins with schools are a definite possibility. Ad Lines: “Straight From The Thrill¬ ing Pages of James Fenimore Cooper’s Exciting Novel”; “A Spectacle As Big As The Great Midwest”; “Six Men Risked Their Lives To Win Her Love.” The Return Of Wildfire ^es^rn (4801) 79m. (Sepiatone) Estimate: Pleasing program. Casx: Richard Arlen, Patricia Morison, Mary Beth Hughes, James Millican, Reed Hadley, Chris-Pin Martin, Stanley An¬ drews, Holly Bane, Highland Dale. Pro¬ duced' by Carl K. Hittleman; directed by Ray Taylor. Story: Wildfire, outlaw stallion, has been luring mares from Stanley Andrews’ ranch. James Millican, Andrews’ foreman, owes a sizeable gambling debt to Reed Hadley, who plans to buy Andrews’ horses to corner the market. He forces Millican into his scheme. Andrews is mur¬ dered, leaving the ranch to his daughters, Patricia Morison and Mary Beth Hughes. Richard Arlen, newly hired hand, senses the scheme, and attempts to aid Mori¬ son, when Hughes, nudged on by Milli¬ can, and jealous of Arlen’s attentions to Morison, sells the horses to Hadley only to find that before his death, Andrews had committed the horses to another buyer. Attempts to buy the horses back fail, and they are forced to capture a new herd, and break them before the fast approach¬ ing delivery date. Hadley, seeing his scheme failing, decides to get tough, but, after a series of exciting events, Hadley Millican, and their gang are subdued, the horses saved, and Arlen and Morison clinch. X-Ray: Based on a screenplay by Betty Burbridge and Carl K. Hittleman, and filmed in Sepiatone, this has all the in¬ gredients necessary to satisfy the western fan. Thrilling wild horse fights well lensed plus a slambang fist fight add to the action. This should fill the lower half nicely in most situations with perhaps top billing in some special spots. Ad Lines: “ ‘The Return Of Wildfire’ Filmed In Golden Sepiatone”; “The Outlaw Of The Range . . . Beautiful, Wild, And A Killer!”; “ ‘Wildfire’, Proudest Stallion In All The West.” 20th CENTURY-FOX Blood And Sand Melodrama (834) 125m. (Reissue) Estimate: Reissue has names to sell. Cast: Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Rita Hayworth, Nazimova, Anthony Quinn, J. Carrol Naish, John Carradine, Lynn Bari, Laird Cregar, Vicente Gomez, Wil¬ liam Montague, George Reeves, Pedro de Cordoba, Fortunio Bonavona, Victor Kil¬ lian, ^ichael Morris, Charles Stevens, Ann Todd, Cora Sue Collins, Russell Hicks, Maurice Cass, Rex DoAvning, John Wal¬ lace, Jacqueline Dalya, Cullen Johnson, Larry Harris, Ted Frye, Schuyler Standish. Directed by Rouben Mamoulian. Story: Illiterate Tyrone Power desires, above all else, to be a bull fighter, and a great one, like his father before him. He marries Linda Darnell, his childhood sweetheart, and quickly rises to the posi¬ tion of Spain’s top matador. Temptress Rita Hayworth comes into the picture, causing Power to forget Darnell until he has slipped as a bull fighter, and Hayworth throws him over. Darnell forgives and comes back to him, but he is killed by a bull in what was to be his last encounter in the ring. X-Ray: When first reviewed in The Servisection of May 28, 1941, it was said: “This has been well mounted and pro¬ duced. It has marquee names, a good title, and the publicity attached to the fact that it is a remake of an old Valentino hit. The story, however, is hackneyed, and a drawback is ’^he lengthy running time. However the film should prove a money entrant, and pick up as it moves along.” There are many songs, all Spanish. When first released this was in Technicolor, but the reissue is in black and white. The story is by Vicente Blasco Ibanez. Tip On Bidding: Average reissue price. Ad Lines: “Their Love Burned All The Brighter Because It Flamed In The Shadow Of Death”; “Romantic Ecstasy When The Irresistible Temptress Was In His Blood And His Dreams”; “Brought Back For Your Reenjoyment With A Stel¬ lar Cast Of Favorite Stars.” I Wake Up Screaming Melodrama (835) 82m. (Reissue) Estimate: Reissue has the names to sell. Cast: Betty Grable, Victor Mature, Carole Landis, Laird Cregar, William Gargan, Alan Mowbray, Allyn Joslyn, Elisha Cook, Jr., Chick Chandler, Cyril Ring, Morris Ankrum, Charles Lane, Frank Orth, Gregory Gaye, Mae Beatty. Produced by Milton Sperling; directed by H. Bruce Humberstone. Story: Victor Mature spots Carole Landis, and decides to give her a build-up. A great success, she suddenly tells Mature and Betty Grable, her sister, she’s going to Hollywood. Later, Grable enters their apartment, and finds Mature bending over Landis, who has been murdered. Mature and Grable receive a police grill¬ ing with Laird Cregar, sinister, cruel de¬ tective, who loved Landis, riding Mature particularly hard. Each time Cregar meets Mature, he gloats over new evidence pointing to him as killer. Mature escapes. Grable is released as bait, since the cops now know they love each other. Mature finally proves the guilt of Elisha Cook, Jr., a ratty hotel clerk. Cregar knew Cook was guilty, but wanted Mature’s life be¬ cause it was he who took Landis away from him. Cregar suicides, and Mature and Grable clinch. X-Ray: When first reviewed in The Servisection of Oct. 29, 1941, it was said: “This is a high-grade programmer graced with top names, a best seller novel by Steve Fisher, highly-absorbing plot, and good production. There are numerous sell¬ ing angles which, properly pushed, should result in pleasant grosses.” Tip On Bidding: Average reissue price. Ad Lines: “Three Exciting People In A Picture That Keeps The Screen Sizzling”; “Circumstantial Evidence And The Plot¬ ting Of A Love-Crazed Detective Genius Spin A Web Of False Guilt Around A Pair Of Lovers”; “Brought Back For Your Re¬ enjoyment With A Cast Of Favorites — ‘I Wake Up Screaming’.” Night Wind Melodrama 68m. (Wurtzel) Estimate: Okeh dog meller for the duallers. Cast: Charles Russell, Virginia Chris¬ tine, Gary Gray, John Ridgely, Deanna Woodruff, James Burke, Konstantin Shayne, William Stelling, Guy Kingsford, Charles Lang, Flame. Produced by Sol M. Wurtzel; directed by James Tinling.# Story: John Ridgely, William Stelling, and Guy Kingsford pose as huntsmen to spy on Konstantin Shayne’s rocket build¬ ing activities. They fool everyone except Flash, ex-war dog, who remembers these Nazi espionage agents as the killers of his master, dead war hero father of Gary Gray, who now lives with his mother, Virginia Christine; his step-sister, little Deanna Woodruff, and step-father, Charles Russell. Shayne lives with this family, while Ridgely, Stelling, and Kingsford are in a lodge nearby. Flame kills two of the spies, with Ridgely pressing for the dog’s death when, after the second kill¬ ing, evidence definitely points to Flame. Finally, Shayne and Russell unearth a clue that exposes Ridgely and the others as spies. An FBI agent arrives to take him in tow, just as sheriff James Burke was about to execute Flash, despite Gray’s persistent protestations of his innocence. X-Ray: A satisfactory dog story for the lower half, this has human performers coming off second best, with most of the footage given over to the canine star. The story by Robert G. North will be easy for even juveniles to follow, and the direc¬ tion, while well paced, keeps the melodramatics to a minimum. Tip On Bidding: Lowest bracket. Ad Lines: “The Moan Of The ‘Night Wind’ — The Howl Of A Dog; Ominous Prelude To Drama That Strikes In The Dark”; “Drama That Fills The Night With Terror”; “Out Of The Darkness Springs Breathless, Menacing Adventure,” Servisection 7 2459