The Exhibitor (1950)

August 30, 1950 EXHIBITOR up their differences after learning the truth, and McCrea marries Hendrix, set¬ tling down with the four boys. X-Ray: In the usual western pattern, with less action than usual, however, this is a generally pleasing open airer, en¬ hanced by Technicolor, that has a new note, McCrea as the “father” of four boys. This will help attract the family trade, but the film is short on the hard riding and shooting side, although it ends on a fight¬ ing note. McCrea falls into the central character pleasingly, and Hendrix adds to the marquee lure. Lesser roles, the boys, Mclntire, Moreno, and others, are well played. In situations where the west¬ erns haven’t worn out their welcome, this should do okeh. In others, it will depend on the selling. The story is by Harold Shumate. Tip On Bidding: Fair program price. Ad Lines: “He Was A ‘Saddle Tramp’ Who Became The Father Of Four”; “Joel McCrea And Wanda Hendrix ... In The Story Of A Man Who Suddenly Has Four Sons”; “The Year’s Liveliest Western . . , In Striking Technicolor.” Tales of the West Musical Western (Number One) 56m. (A Two-Story Feature Comprising “Cactus Caravan” and “South Of Santa Fe”) Estimate: Okeh western compilation. Cast: “Cactus Caravan” — Tex Williams, Smokey Rogers, Deuce Spriggens, Leslie Banning, Tristram Coffin, Marshall Reed, Franklin Parker, Steve Clark. “South Of Santa Fe” — Tex Williams, Smokey Rog¬ ers, Deuce Spriggens, Donna Martell, Wil¬ liam Tannen, Kenneth MacDonald, Ethan Laidlaw, Harry Galkin. Produced and directed by Will Cowan. Stories: “Cactus Caravan.” Rancher Tex Williams is feuding with neighboring rancher, Steve Clark, both of whose ranches are desired for sheepherding pur¬ poses by saloon owner, Tristram Coffin. Coffin has aide Marshall Reed kill a Clark ranch hand, and frame Williams. Reed then tries to kill Clark, but is jailed by Williams. Coffin contrives Reed’s death to insure no damaging confession but the dying Reed informs Williams, and the out¬ laws are disposed of in a gun battle showdown. Songs include: “Roundup Time,” “Coin’ Courtin’,” and “The Bad Man.” “South Of Santa Fe.” Williams turns up after the opening moments establish that his father was an outlaw who escaped hanging, and that the child was adopted by ranger head William Tannen 16 years later. The outlaw, Kenneth MacDonald, is foreman of the ranch owned by Donna Martell and also contact for a gang of train robbers. Williams has money, and passengers moved off a train, but the trick is seen, and doesn’t succeed in stopping the outlaws, who later lure Williams into a trap. MacDonald wounds Tannen in a showdown battle, but learns of his par¬ enthood of Williams, and saves the lat¬ ter’s life while giving his. Songs include: “When The Job’s Well Done,” “Green Fields Far Away,” and “So Long Old Pal.” X-Ray: This combines two three-reel musical westerns, previously released as such. Linking the two shorts are various short sequences. Williams, and his pals, Rogers and Spriggens, are featured in both stories. Tip On Bidding: Usual western price. Ad Lines: “Frontier Badmen Stopped By Tex In Two ‘Tales Of The West’ ”; “Ac¬ tion, Music, And Drama In These Two ‘Tales Of The West’ ”; “A Two-Story West¬ ern Feature.” The Servisection Is the Only Service of Its Kind Giving A Full Coverage, Listing and Reviews Of All Features and Shorts Released In the Domestic Market. WARHERS Tea For Two Romantic i \ Musical Comedy (001) 97^m. (Color by Technicolor) Estimate: Highly entertaining musical. Cast: Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Gene Nelson, Patricia Wymore, Eve Arden, Billy De Wolfe, S. Z. Sakall, Bill Goodwin, Vir¬ ginia Gibson, Crauford Kent. Produced by William Jacobs; directed by David Butler. Story: Some kids at a modern-day party rummaging among some late 1920 gar¬ ments cause their uncle, S. Z. Sakall, to recall 1929 when he was rich, Doris Day was his stage-struck daughter, and Bill Goodwin his lawyer. Via flashback Day is seen being taught singing and dancing respectively by Gordon MacRae, composer, and Gene Nelson. Producer Billy De Wolfe, in search of an angel, tries romance and all other methods to procure Day’s backing. Unknown to Day, Sakall is near bankruptcy, but she promises De Wolfe money after being set for the show’s lead. Sakall refuses the money but offers her $25,000 provided she answer “No” to all questions and propositions for 24 hours, with her failure causing her foregoing luxuries for a year. Day keeps the prom¬ ise only to have Goodwin announce no backing because Sakall is broke. De Wolfe assigns his interests to Nelson but Eve Arden, Day’s secretary, saves the show and the Day-MacRae romance by getting highly-solvent Goodwin to marry her to provide the backing for the show, which is a success. X-Ray: An extremely pleasant, highly entertaining musical, packed with popular songs and laugh-provoking comic dialogue and situations, this should make a dent in the boxoffices as a solid musical. Direc¬ tor David Butler has skillfully provided the proceedings with pace, and has kept the comedy crackling. Day, MacRae, and Nelson handle the songs and dances with polish and zest but it is Sakall and Arden at their best plus De Wolfe and Goodwin who supply the meaty humor. Songs heard include: “Tea For Two,” “I Want To Be Happy,” “Do, Do, Do,” “Oh Me! Oh My,” “No, No, Nanette,” “I Only Have Eye^ For You,” “Crazy Rhythm,” “I Know TTiat You Know,” “Charleston,” “Put Them In A Box,” “The One Girl,” “Take A Little One Step,” “Bambalina,” “Where Has My Hubby Gone Blues,” and “Call Of The Sea.” Harry Clork wrote the screen play, suggested by “No, No, Nanette,” by Frank Mandel, Otto Harbach, Vincent Youmans, and Emil Nyitray. Tip On Bidding: Higher bracket. Ad Lines: “Songs And Dances Sparklingly Performed By Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, And Gene Nelson In The Tech¬ nicolor Musical, ‘Tea For Two’ ”; “Hear Some Of The Most Popular Songs Of The Last Two Decades In ‘Tea For Two’ “The Gay Musical Comedy About The Girl Who Had To Say ‘No’ Fpr 24 Hours.” FOREIGN Arshin Takes A Wife Romantic Musical Comedy 92m. (Artkino) (Russian-made) (English titles) Estimate: Mediocre offering for the Russian houses. Cast: L. Beibutov, M. Kalantarly, L. Abgulayev, I. Efendiev, A. Gusian-Jade, L. Djevanshirov, R. Mustayava, F. Mekhraliev. Produced by Resa Takhmasiv and Nikolai leschenko; directed by I. Efendiev. Story: Merchant L. Beibutov desires to get married but rebels against the custom of not seeing his wife before the marriage so determines to find a bride by disguis¬ ing himself as a peddler. L. Djevanslurov, daughter of A. Gusian-Jade, desires to get married but rebels against the cus¬ tom of not seeing the groom before the marriage. Peddler Beibutov eventually finds his way to Gusian-Jade’s home, and falls in love with Djevanshirov, who re¬ ciprocates but Gusian-Jade refuses to allow a peddler to woo her. I. Efendiev, a mutual friend of both males concerned, informs Gusian-Jade, a wealty merchant. Gusian-Jade agrees to have his unwilling daughter kidnapped. All ends happily as the true lovers are thus united, and all other males and females concerned pair off. X-Ray: Made in Azerbadjan in 1945, this import is suitable for the tastes of the most avid Russian house patrons and few others. S. A. Bit-Rakhman wrote the scenario, and Uzair Ghdjibekov is cred¬ ited with the music. Ad Lines: “Folk Songs And Dances Of Azerbadjan Shown As Performed By The Natives In ‘Arshin Takes A Wife’ ”; “Both Rebelled Against The Marriage Laws”; “Before ‘Arshin Takes A Wife’ He Looks Around.” Beasts of the East Drama 60m. (Classic) (Made in Philippine Islands) Estimate: Fair exploitation offering. Cast: Robert Neil, Erlandes Cortes, Fer¬ nando Royo, Ramon Tellio, Jorge Santos. Produced by Mario David; directed by Fermin Bava. Story: U. S. Air Corps pilot Robert Neil, shot down over Japanese occupied territory, is sheltered by the Filipino fam¬ ily of English-speaking Erlandes Cortes. Cortes and Neil fall in love, and her fam¬ ily’s members help fight the Japanese via a guerilla army. Neil recovers from his wounds, aids in an attack on the Japs, is helped to keep a rendezvous with an American submarine, and vows to return to true love Cortes. However, she is cap¬ tured, and attacked by Japanese, and is dead upon Neil’s return after American victory. X-Ray: This is best suited for transient city houses as the story and treatment are of a thoroughly familiar pattern. The title and the few atrocity scenes included are exploitation angles for this type of situation. The story is by Don Rocas. Ad Lines: “See The Atrocities Per¬ formed By The ‘Beasts Of The East’ “He Was A Man Of A Different Race But He Fell In Love With Her”; “Side By Side They Fought For Freedom.” The Dancing Years Roman™ (Stratford) (English-made) (Color by Technicolor) Estimate: Entertainment import. Cast: Dennis Price, Giselle Preville, Patricia Dainton, Anthony Nicholls, Grey Blake, Muriel George, Olive Gilbert, Martin Ross, Gerald Case, Carl Jaffe, Jeremy Spenser. Produced by Warwick Ward; di¬ rected by Harold French. Story: In 1911, unrecognized musiciancomposer Dennis Price is saved from evic¬ tion by the arrival of a group of carous¬ ing army officers and famed opera singer Giselle Preville. Preville saves his piano from being hocked to pay the rent by buying a waltz. A romance ensues with Preville getting former suitor Prince An¬ thony Nicholls to provide Price a studio, Servisection 3 2913