The Exhibitor (1951)

September 12, 1951 EXHIBITOR name kept out of the publicity. Although Clift believes he didn’t want to kill Win¬ ters, the jury finds him guilty. He says goodbye to Taylor, and goes to his death in the electric chair. X-Ray: This new. version of Theodore Dreiser’s “An American Tragedy” is bound to create discussion, and, backed by the triple name draw, it has the stuff which keeps the ticket registers busy. Ably di¬ rected and produced by George Stevens, it is tensely handled throughout, with no letdown, reaching its climax at the trial scene. Clift gives a good performance in a role written to bring him sympathy while Winters, Taylor, and the others acquit themselves well. For the selling, this has angles which usually make for strong returns, and it offers merchandising opportunities for all types of houses. Word-of-mouth will be an important factor. Production, direction, etc., are of the best, and the results will be up to the showmen. Tip On Bidding: Higher bracket. Ad Lines: “Theodore Dreiser’s ‘An American Tragedy’ Comes To Life”; “The Screen’s Great Drama . . . With Montgom-_ ery Clift, Shelley Winters, and Elizabeth Taylor”; “He Loved One Girl . . . But Had To Marry Another . . . What Would You Have Done?” Rhubarb (5103) Co™ Estimate: Amusing comedy should land in the better money. Cast: Ray Milland, Gene Lockhart, Jan Sterling, Elsie Holmes, Taylor Holmes, James Hayward, William Frawley, Wallard Waterman, Henry Slate, Anthony Radecki, Leonard Nimoy, James J. Grif¬ fith, Struther Morton, Roberta Richards. Produced by William Perlberg and George Seaton; directed by Arthur Lubin. Story: Eccentric Gene Lockhart, owner of the Brooklyn baseball team, takes a liking to a cat, Rhubarb, because it is full of fight. When he dies, Lockhart leaves his fortune to it, with Ray Milland, publicity man for the club, as guardian. Lockhart’s daughter, Elsie Holmes, warns Milland she will break the will. Milland is in love with Jan Sterling, daughter of manager Wil¬ liam Frawley, but Sterling is allergic to the cat. When the team, afraid of being ridiculed, decides to lay down on the job, Milland shifts its viewpoint so that the players accept Rhubarb as a mascot. The team starts to win, headed for a pennant. Holmes then charges in court that Milland has substituted another cat for Rhubarb, but Milland balks this since Sterling is allergic only to Rhubarb. The team cops the pennant, and starts winning the world series. However, gamblers kidnap Rhu¬ barb, but instead of killing the cat, make a deal with Holmes to pay them for the privilege of doing away with it. Finally, . Milland finds out where the cat is, and it finds its way back to the ball park, where the players come through to win the pennant. X-Ray: Strictly for laughs, this has plenty of funny moments, the baseball angle, and other elements for the boxoffice. Production and direction are topnotch, and the players go through their paces as if they enjoyed it. Some side¬ lights are worthy of mention. Whenever TV is shown in the film, it is presented in a manner that should bring roars from patrons, pointing up TV deficiencies. Paul Douglas, husband of Sterling, is used for a punch belly laugh at the film’s con¬ clusion. Milland, Sterling, Frawley, and others are good, and Rhubarb, as ex¬ pected, steals the show. This is the type of merchandise that shouldn’t be difficult to sell. There is one song. The story was written by H. Allen Smith. Tip On Bidding: Higher bracket. Ad Lines: “Meet ‘Rhubarb’ . . . The Cat With $30,000,000”; “Move Over You Brook¬ lyn Fans . . . And Let ‘Rhubarb’ Win The Pennant For You”; “When Your Boy Friend Is Guardian To A Cat . . . And You’re Allergic to Them . . . How’s A Girl Gonna Make Love?” Submarine Command (5107) Action Drama 87m. Estimate: Good program. Cast: William Holden, Nancy Olson, William Bendix, Don Taylor, Arthur Franz, Darryl Hickman, Peggy Webber, Moroni Olsen, Jack Gregson, Jack Kelly, Don Dunning, Jerry Pris, Charles Mere¬ dith, Philip Van Zandt. Produced by Joseph Sistrom; directed by John Farrow. Story: In the final days of World War II, a submarine, the Tiger Shark, com¬ manded by Jack Gregson, is patrolling the Japanese waters with the executive officer William Holden, new to the craft. The sub picks up aviator Don Taylor, and en¬ counters some Jap ships, and sinks two, but is attacked by a Jap plane. Gregson is hit, and Holden then orders the' sub down. This is resented by Chief Torpedo¬ man William Bendix, who thinks Holden should have put finding Gregson ahead of the safety of the crew. The war ends, and Holden marries Nancy Olson, but he broods over the Gregson incident. The sub is then placed into mothballs, and Holden is given monotonous shore duty. When the ship is ordered back into service, Ben¬ dix joins the crew putting it into shape. A fire breaks out, and Holden, supervising, stops Bendix from rescuing a man until he takes the proper precautions. Bendix re¬ sents this. Meanwhile, Olson arranges for Holden to get an offer for a job in private industry. They quarrel, and Holden is ordered into the Korean fight as com¬ mander of the sub. They take part in £ maneuver to rescue some American pris¬ oners, with Taylor participating. Despite perils, the mission is a success, although Holden loses the sub, and Bendix is con¬ vinced that Holden has guts. X-Ray: Including elements of World War II plus the Korean fracas, this action drama should register nicely. It has the sub angles for the selling, the war, and names for the marquee, and the returns should be okeh. While the story is not out of the ordinary, it holds interest, and Holden and Olson make a nice combina¬ tion, with an assist from Bendix. The story is by Jonathan Latimer. Tip On Bidding: Good program price. Ad Lines: “The Story Of The Tiger Shark . . . Famous Sub Of World War II”; “William Holden And Nancy Olson . . . Reunited In ‘Submarine Command’ ”;.i‘The Thrilling Action Story Of A Sub In The Korean War.” When Worlds Collide Fantasy (5106) 8lM (Color by Technicolor) Estimate: Well-made science fiction film is packed with selling angles. Cast: Richard Derr, Barbara Rush, Larry Keating, Peter Hanson, Stephen Chase, John Hoyt, Frank Cady, Hayden Rorke, Jimmy Congden, Judith Ames, Sandro Giglio, Mary Murphy, Laura Elliot. Directed by Rudolph Mate; pro¬ duced by George Pal. Story: In a South African observatory, scientist Hayden Rorke discovers, a star, “Bellus,” and planet, “Zyra,” rushing to¬ ward the earth. He sends his findings by Richard Derr to Larry Keating in New York City for checking. Keating confirms the Rorke discovery, but everyone else ridicules it. Crippled tycoon John Hoyt however, helps finance a project to build a huge rocket, capable of carrying 40 people to “Zyra” as it comes near the earth, to start life anew on “Zyra.” Mean¬ while, Keating’s daughter, Barbara Rush, and Derr have fallen in love. “Zyra” rushes on, and causes earthquakes, fires, floods, etc., killing most of the population. Nineteen days later, “Bellus” is due. The building goes on. Almost at the last second, as “Bellus rushes to the earth, the rocket ship takes off, but Keating stays behind, forcing the greedy Hoyt to remain with him, declaring that the new world is for the young people. The rocket ship lands on “Zyra,” with Rush, Derr, and others among them. X-Ray: A strong exploitation show, this follows the pattern of “Destination Moon,” also made by George Pal, and approaches its values. It should attract science-fiction followers, young folks, and anyone inter¬ ested in how the end of the earth may come some day. The production can be sold as a modem Noah’s Ark, for that is what it is. Technical angles are well handled, although the film could have stood more of them, with the story, in¬ cluding romantic and melodramatic phases, more or less routine. Obviously, this is something to be sold to the hilt. The screen play, by Sydney Boehm, is based on a novel by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer. Tip On Bidding: Good program price. Ad Lines: “Can This Be The End Of The World?”; “Is The World Headed For De¬ struction? See ‘When Worlds Collide’”; “What Will Become Of Love ‘When Worlds Collide’?” RKO Alice In Wonderland (292) Feature Cartoon 75m. (Disney) (Color by Technicolor) Estimate: High rating. Credits: With the voices of Ed Wynn, Richard Haydn, Sterling Holloway, Jerry Colonna, Verna Felton, Pat O’Malley, Bill Thompson, Heather Angel, and introduc¬ ing Kathryn Beaumont. Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, Wilfred Jaxon; a Walt Disney production. Story: This combines “The Adventures Of Alice In Wonderland” and “Through The Looking Glass”, both Lewis Carroll stories, with some Walt Disney touches, telling how Alice fell into a deep well, and how she met The Mad Hatter, The Cater¬ pillar, The Cheshire Cat, The March Hare, The Queen Of Hearts, The Walrus And The Carpenter, Dee and Dum, The White Rabbit and Dodo, and others. The voice of Alice is Kathryn Beaumont, while other voices are as follows: The Mad Hatter, Ed Wynn; The Caterpillar, Richard Haydn; The Cheshire Cat, Sterling Holloway; The March Hare, Jerry Colonna; The Queen of Hearts, Verna Felton; The Walrus, The Carpenter, and Dee and Dum, Pat O’Mal¬ ley; The White Rabbit and Dodo, Bill Thompson, and Alice’s Sister, Heather Angel. Finally, Alice wakes up from her dream. X-Ray: Proving once again that there is only one Walt Disney, this long-awaited feature cartoon has been preceded by a gigantic ballyhoo and a tremendous amount of merchandising tieups. As such, it is a natural for every theatre to sell but the film, while tops in the mechanical and creative line, does not appear to have the warmth of “Cinderella”, “Snow White”, and other Disney creations. There is no question but that there is a vast audience waiting for this, but the Disney version of the classic may come as a surprise to many who have read the stories. One comes away with a feeling that while this is tops from every angle, the overall result falls short of what may be expected by some. On the other hand, this has the tremendous buildups and tieups which will probably be the deciding factor in the selling. Songs include: “In A World Of Servisection 5 3149