The Exhibitor (1950)

September 13, 1950 EXHIBITOR Story; When New York hospital interne Hugh Reilly is mysteriously murdered, Richard Conte, a member of the confiden¬ tial squad with some medical training, is assigned to the case. He starts as an in¬ terne, working with nurse Coleen Gray, former sweetheart of the murdered man. When interne Alex Nicol is also murdered, Conte finds hospital elevator operator Richard Taber is in on the goings-on. Taber lends money to gullible internes. When payment can’t be made, Taber takes Mrcotics in return. At the windup, Taber is killed as the top man in the ring, work¬ ing with Gray. She tries to deny every¬ thing, but Conte takes her in, closing the case. X-Ray: Here is a good, suspensive, fastmoving meller, with on-the-scene tech¬ niques helping. Conte is able as the de¬ tective-interne, while Taber, as the nar¬ cotic ring head, also turns in a competent performance. The presence of Gray and Peggy Dow should also help on the mar¬ quee, the hospital background adds to the interest, and actual shots of New York City lend authenticity. The story was written by Joe Eisinger. Tip On Bidding: Good program price. Ad Lines: “Grim Terror Behind The Shadow Of A Great Hospital”; “What Was The Mystery Of The Hospital?”; “Behind Her Smile Was The Threat Of Death.” WARNERS Alcatraz Island (003) (Reissue) Estimate; Exploitation should help re¬ issue. Cast: John Litel, Ann Sheridan, Gordon Oliver, Mary Maguire, Dick Purcell, Vladimir Sokoloff, Addison Richards, Ben Weldon, George E. Stone. Directed by William McGann. Story; John Litel, racketeer, is sen¬ tenced to five years in Leavenworth on income tax charges. Criminal enemy Ben Weldon, in the same prison, picks a fight which results in Litel’s removal, as in¬ corrigible, to Alcatraz. Weldon gets him¬ self transferred to Alcatraz. Someone murders Weldon with Litel’s knife, and Litel goes on trial for the murder. Mean¬ time, his finishing school daughter, Ann Sheridan, in love with district attorney Gordon Oliver, who helped send Litel up, h^ retained him to help the defense. As Litel seems about to be convicted, Oliver produces testimony implicating a prison mate of Litel as the actual murderer. Litel goes back to serve out his sentence, a chastened racketeer. X-Ray: First reviewed in November, 1937, this is apparently being reissued for the Sheridan draw, as the cast doesn’t otherwise have marquee lure. Crane Wil¬ bur wrote the screen play. This will fit into the lower half where reissues are being played. Tip On Bidding: Lowest bracket Ad Lines: “Charged With A Murder In Alcatraz That He Didn’t Commit”; “A grilling Prison Drama”; “A Racketeer Has The ‘Starch’ Taken Out Of Him In Alcatraz.” The Breaking Point Melodrama (005) 97m. Estimate: Names should help fair melo¬ drama. Cast: John Garfield, Patricia Neal, Phyllis Thaxter, Wallace Ford, Juano Hernandez, Edmond Ryan, Ralph Dumke, Guy Tomajan, William Campbell, Sherry ^ckson, Donna Jo Boyce, Victor Sen Brocco, John Doucette, James Griffith. Produced by Jerry Wald; directed by Michael Curtiz. Story: John Garfield, World War II vet, has a tough time making a living as the operator of a small boat in a west coast port, and wife, Phyllis Thaxter, wants him to give up his job, and work as a farmer. Garfield gets Ralph Dumke and girl friend, Patricia Neal, as passengers on an extended fishing trip to Mexico, but Dumke loses all his money, leaving Gar¬ field, who needed the fare, and Neal stranded. Wallace Ford, a shady lawyer, arranges ^ for Garfield to smuggle some Chinese into the U. S., but the deal back¬ fires, Garfield kills one Chinaman in self defe^e, and leaves the other Chinese in Mexico, with Neal his passenger all the time. Back in port, Garfield’s boat is im¬ pounded by the Coast Guard pending an investigation. The Coast Guard never learns tfie truth. Thanks to Ford, Garfield gets his craft back. Meanwhile, Neal makes ^ a play for him, but Garfield loves his wife. Finally, needing dough more than ever, Garfield arranges through Ford to let his boat be used by a group of gunmen who are to hold up a racetrack. The holdup comes off. Ford is killed, and the gunman start for a rendezvous in the open sea after killing Juano Hernandez, Garfield’s friend. Garfield battles it out with the gunmen, killing them all, but he is shot. The Coast Guard saves him. He loses his arm but still has his wife and two kids, and is due to get a reward for his heroism. X-Ray; This has melodramatic scenes and plenty of action, but in the final analysis the marquee draw will depend on the Garfield-Neal draw. The role is a typical one for Garfield, while Neal has to share feminine honors with Thaxter as the loose-morals dame. Ford shines, and other parts are well played, particularly that of Hernandez. The windup will hardly prove satisfactory but for the thrill trade this has plenty of appealing angles. Neal sings one song. The story was written by Ernest Hemingway. Tip On Bidding; Fair program price. Ad Lines; “He Had Nothing To Peddle But Guts”; “The Story Of A Hard Luck Guy”; “He Was A One Woman Man Until He Reached ‘The Breaking Point’.” Pretty Baby Romantic Comedy (004) 92m. Estimate: Amusing screwball comedy. Cast; Dennis Morgan, Betsy Drake, Zachary Scott, Edmund Gwenn, William Frawley, Raymond Roe, Ransom Sherman, Sheila Stephens, Eleanor Audley, George Chandler, Barbara Billingsley. Produced by Harry Kurnitz; directed by Bretaigne Windust. Story; In the advertising agency oper¬ ated by Dennis Morgan and Zachary Scott, Betsy Drake, employed as a mimeograph machine operator, is enamored of Morgan. In order to get a seat on the subway, she devises the scheme of taking an ad display doll to work with her. Edmund Gweim is the head of a baby food corporation whose all-important account is slated for the Morgan-Scott firm. When Gwenn fires his chauffeur, he is forced to take the subway. He meets Drake after overhearing her claim to having named the baby after kindly” Gwenn. She thinks him a watch¬ man, but he traces her, and has Morgan and Scott keep her happy. They raise her to the copy writing department, and Mor¬ gan revamps an entire campaign on her say-so with her aid. She is sent by the partners to show Gwenn the new campaign, but upon discovering his true identity, she refuses to do so. Morgan convinces her other employes depend upon her continuing the hoax. Scott is invoked into romancing Drake when Gwenn recog¬ nizes his baby picture, which had been passed off as the illegitimate son of Drake. Drake discovers Scott’s true intentions, and walks out on everybody. Gwenn hires a private detective who reveals the plot, and accidentally finds Drake, who marries Morgan. X-Ray; This screwball comedy is broadly aimed at providing laughs for the mass audience with small regard for subtlety or plot, and it is often mirthful. Scott and Gwenn contribute zestful por¬ trayals in the comedy department, while Morgan and Drake do well with the ro¬ mantic angle. No comedy situation has been left unmilked, and the pace is rather helter-skelter. Everett Freeman and Harry Kurnitz wrote the screen play from a story by Jules Furthman and John Klorer. Tip On Bidding: Good program price. Ad Lines; “She Couldn’t Do Her Job At All But She Did Everyone Else’s Just Fine”; “Dennis Morgan, Betsy Drake, And Zachary Scott Get In A Mess Over A ‘Pretty Baby’ That Wasn’t Born”; “She Fell In Love With Her Boss But Had To Fight Off His Partner Till He Awoke.” San Quentin (002) Melodra^ (Reissue) Estimate: Names should help rerelease. Cast: Pat O’Brien, Humphrey Bogart, Anne Sheridan, Barton MacLane, Joseph Sawyer, Veda Ann Borg, James Robbins, Joseph King, Gordon Oliver, Garry Owen, Marc Lawrence, Emmett Vogan, William Pawley, A1 Hill, Max Wagner, George Lloyd, Ernie Adams. Directed by Lloyd Bacon. Story: An army captain is assigned to the task of bringing convicts into line through army methods of discipline. Pat O’Brien, yard captain, falls for Anne Sher¬ idan, sister of Humphrey Bogart, unruly first offender. Prisoners create the im¬ pression O’Brien is just leading her along. Bogart falls in with the plan to escape, and lepns that O’Brien is really in love with his sister. Mortally wounded, he re¬ turns to prison, and, before he dies, tells the other convicts that O’Brien is a right guy. X-Ray: Obviously being released for its name values, this is woven to the standard pattern of prison dramas. It may appeal to action and thrill seekers but has little to distinguish it from the regu¬ lar big house formula. This was first re¬ viewed in April, 1937. It was written by Robert Tasker and John Bright. Tip On Bidding: Lowest bracket. Ad Lines: “Brought Back For Your Reenjoyment”; “Prison Melodrama In The Raw”; “It’s Tough, It’s Rough, It’s Bogart.” Tea For Two Romantic /nni\ Musical Comedy 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. P’roduced 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, Servisection 7 2929