The Exhibitor (1951)

ALLIED ARTISTS I Was An American Spy (AA-19) Documentary Melodrama 85m. Estimate: Okeh exploitation bet. Cast: Ann Dvorak, Gene Evans, Douglas Kennedy, Richard Loo, Leon Lontoc, Chabing, Philip Ahn, Marya Marco, Nadene Ashdown, Lisa Ferraday, How¬ ard Chuman, Freddie Revelala. Produced by David Diamond; directed by Lesley Selander. Story: When Pearl Harbor is bombed, and the people of Manila are warned that the Philippines will be next, Ann Dvorak, night club entertainer, and Nadene Ash¬ down, her small daughter by her deceased husband, await anxiously Douglas Ken¬ nedy, her soldier sweetheart, who has promised to marry her. They are separated but are rejoined, and married. Hiding in the woods, Dvorak meets Gene Evans, now in command of guerrilla outfit. They see Kennedy brutally murdered by the Japs. Dvorak swears revenge, returns to Manila, under Jap martial law, and as¬ sumes the identity of Lisa Ferraday, her entertainer friend, killed in an air raid. Dvorak is able to supply information to the hidden guerrillas, who relay it to the U. S. forces. Finally, she is trapped, tor¬ tured by the Japs, and sentenced to death. When invasion goes into full swing she is rescued, and decorated for her bravery. X-Ray: Interesting all the way, this has been given an okeh production and has a creditable performance by Dvorak, and while Evans, seen in “The Steel Helmet,” does not have too big a role his name can be used for added marquee appeal. The documentary facts can be exploited, and while discriminating fans may find it not up to the standards, of more expensively mounted spy dramas, in the general run this should get by nicely. The film is based on a story by Claire Phillips and Myron B. Goldsmith. Two songs are heard, “Be¬ cause Of You” and “Tokyo Ondo.” Ad Lines: “The Philippine Guerrillas In Action”; “See War In The Raw — The Death March Of Bataan — Jap Atrocities”; “The Thrilling Story Of A Real American Heroine.” COLUMBIA Whirlwind (354) Western 70m. Estimate: Good Autry. Cast: Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Gail Davis, Thurston Hall, Harry Lauter, Dick Curtis, Harry Harvey, Gregg Barton, Tommy Ivo. Produced by Armand Schaefer; di¬ rected by John English. Story: Postal Inspector Gene Autry, also known as the “Whirlwind,” meets Smiley Burnette to investigate rancher Thurston Hall, suspected of running a crime syndi¬ cate. Autry antagonizes Hall but later tries to get closer to him through Hall’s niece Gail Davis. Autry also tells Hall that he has $50,000 to spend for a ranch, and clinches his case against Hall when Bur¬ nette finds part of a postal bond, from a recent holdup, on Hall’s ranch. Hall learns Autry’s true identity, and sends some of his men to kill him, and after a wild stage¬ coach ride the two killers crash, and are mortally wounded. Before one of them dies, he tells Autry that Hall killed Davis’ father, and that the ranch really belongs to her. Autry rounds up Hall and the gang, and leaves, knowing that Davis now owns the ranch. X-Ray: In addition to the usual amount of western action, a good script and some Published weekly by Jay Emanuel Publications, Inc., Publishing office: 246-48 North Clarion Street, Philadelphia 7, Pennsylvania. New York office: 1600 Broadway, New York 19. West Coast representative: Paul Manning, 9628 Cresta Drive, Beverlywood, Los Angeles, California. Jay Emanuel, publisher; P. J. Greenhalgh, general manager; Herbert M. Miller, editor; Max Cades, business manager; G. F. Nonamaker, Mel Konecoff, associate editors. SET.CB APRI1 1951 character development make this one of the better series entries. There are some excellent outdoor shots aided by sepia. Songs heard include: “Whirlwind” and “Tiddle O Twill.” This was written by Norman S. Hall. Tip On Bidding: Usual series price. Ad Lines: “Gene Autry Battles The Largest Crime Syndicate In The West”; “On Which Side Of The Law Was The Dreaded ‘Whirlwind’?”; “The U. S. Mail Rode With Death As A Passenger.” MONOGRAM The Lion Hunters adventure Drama (5109) 72M Estimate: For the lower half. Cast: Johnny Sheffield, Morris Ankrum, Ann Todd, Douglas Kennedy, Smoki Whit¬ field, Robert Davis, Woodrow Strode. Pro¬ duced by Walter Mirisch; directed by Ford Beebe. Story: Morris Ankrum, daughter Ann Todd, and ruthless Douglas Kennedy hunt lions. Jungle boy Johnny “Bomba” Shef¬ field warns the hunters to leave the jungle. Kennedy becomes angry, and attempts to kill Sheffield. When the native porters run off, the hunters go to the next village for help, and see the chiefs son being mauled by a lion. They shoot, and Kennedy acci¬ dentally kills the boy. Afraid to tell the chief, they convince him that the lion was the killer. After the party leaves, the chief learns the truth, and is about to send his warriors aften them when Sheffield arrives, and says that he will remove all the hunters’ weapons, and force them to leave the jungle. After Sheffield takes the guns, the chief, still seeking vengeance, has his men drive a number of lions directly through the hunters’ camp. Ken¬ nedy is killed, but Sheffield arrives in time to save the others. X-Ray: This “Bomba” story has the usual amount of tree swinging, natives, and animal fights. Regular fans of this series should find enough here to be sat¬ isfied. The screen play is by Ford Beebe. Ad Lines: “Trapped In The Jungle With No Weapons By Furious Natives”; “ ‘The Lion Hunters’ Soon Became The Hunted”; “Johnny Sheffield As The Jungle Boy, ‘Bomba’.” RKO They Got Me Covered (Goldwyn) (Re-release) Estimate: Re-release has names to help. Cast: Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Lenore Aubert, Otto Preminger, Edward Ciannelli, Marion Martin, Donald Meek, Phyllis Ruth, Philip Ahn, Donald MacBride, Mary Treen, Bettye Avery, Mar¬ garet Hayes, Lary Byrne, William Yetter, Henry Guttman, Florence Bates, Walter Catlett, John Abbott, Frank Sully. Pro¬ duced by Samuel Goldwyn; directed by David Butler. Story: Bob Hope, news correspondent in Russia, is fired. At the Washington agency, he gets Dorothy Lamour to give him company money to pay John Abbott, foreign agent, for a scoop on Axis sabot¬ age. Abbott is pursued by Gestapo aides. Hope, Lamour, and a chum, Phyllis Ruth, become involved, and Ruth gets the story in her own type of shorthand. Gestapo aides grab the book. Ruth .is kidnapped. Hope chases, Lamour lending an assist. Axis heads, Otto Preminger, Edward Cian¬ nelli, and Philip Ahn, assisted by Lenore Aubert, attempt to discredit Hope, but he gets wise, leams what is what, and eventually the whole crowd is rounded up, and Hope becomes a hero. X-Ray: When first reviewed in The Servisection in January, 1943, it was said: “Backed by the name draw and plenty of laughs, this will get into the higher grosses. It isn’t always as hilarious as it ought to be, but the customers won’t mind, for the show has all the angles for the boxoffice. Hope has his usual type of gag comedy, and, although the story by Leonard Q. Ross and Leonard Spigelgass and screen play by Harry Kurnitz are not as good as it might be, there is no question about this one’s ability to click. One song, ‘Palsy Walsy,’ is sung by Martin.” Tip On Bidding: Usual reissue price. Ad Lines: “One Of Bob Hope’s Greatest Laugh Hits Brought Back For Your Re¬ enjoyment”; “Gags, Laughs, Thrills In One Of The Craziest Pictures Of All Time”; “A Cast Of Favorites In A Laugh Riot.” Comedy Musical 105m. (Goldwyn) (Color by Technicolor) Estimate: Reissue has names to sell. Cast: Danny Kaye, Dinah Shore, Dana Andrews, Constance Dowling, Louis Calhern, George Mathews, Benny Baker, Elisha Cook, Jr., Lyle Talbott, Walter Cat¬ lett, Richard Powers, Margaret Dumont, Donald Dickson, Charles Amt, Charles Halton, Tom Dugan, Sig Amo, Harry Hay¬ den, Charles D. Brown, Maurice Cass, Fred Essler, Rudolph Friml, Goldwyn Girls. Produced by Samuel Goldwyn; as¬ sociate producer, Don Hartman; directed by Elliot Nugent. Story: Danny Kaye, hypochondriac, is drafted along with his pal, Dana Andrews. Constance Dowling thinks that Kaye is a Up In Arms 3053