The Exhibitor (1950)

COLUMBIA Rogues of Sherwood Forest (243) Romantic Adventure Melodrama 80m. (Color by Technicolor) Estimate: Okeh adventure program. Cast: John Derek, Diana Lynn, George Macready, Alan Hale, Paul Cavanagh, Lowell Gilmore, Billy House, Lester Mat¬ thews, William Bevan, Wilton Graff, Don¬ ald Randolph, John Dehner, Gavin Muir, Tim Huntley, Paul Collins. Produced by Fred M. Packard; directed by Gordon Douglas. Story: In 1214, with King Richard and Robin Hood dead, the latter’s son, John Derek, suffers the unjust wrath of king George Macready, who attempts to have Derek killed in a joust with foreign expert John Dehner. Derek kills Dehner, and mistakenly flouts king’s ward Diana Lynn, who was ignorant of the plot. Macready desires to have a Flemish army fight under him and in order to get the necessary funds raises and levies taxes. Derek is captured, and sentenced to be hung but escapes with Lynn’s aid. He and aide Alan Hale then round up the old Robin Hood gang, and continually sabotage the king’s program. Macready plots to gain a tighter rein over the barons by killing three of the most powerful, and Lynn informs Derek of the plot, but the barons dis¬ believe it, and two are killed. The other escapes, and gets Derek’s aid. Macready then promises Lynn’s hand in marriage to the Flanders’ representative, Lowell Gilmore, instead of the money, but Derek detours the ceremony, and then defeats the soldiery in a battle. The barons then force Macready to sign the Magna Charts, and Derek and Lynn are married. X-Ray: There is ample battling in this swashbuckler to satisfy the younger audi¬ ence element, and the bright color by Technicolor enhances the proceedings. Derek and Lynn are ably supported by Macready, Hale, and others, and pace and interest are evenly maintained. George Bruce wrote the screen play from a story by Ralph Bettinson, and the title should aid. Tip On Bidding: Fair program price. Ad Lines: “The Son Of Robin Hood Metes Out Justice With The Aid Of The ‘Rogues Of Sherwood Forest’ “She Was The Kind Of Woman Who Stopped At Nothing To Aid The Man She Loved”; “See The Battling ‘Rogues Of Sherwood Forest’ Bring About The Magna Charta Signing’.” LIPPERT Fast on the Draw (4929) WeS55™ Estimate: Routine western. Cast: Jimmy “Shamrock” Ellison, Rus¬ sell “Lucky” Hayden, Raymond Hatton, Fuzzy Knight, Betty Adams, Tom Tyler, George Lewis, John Cason, Stanley Price, Stephen Carr, Dennis Moore, George Cheseboro, Bud Osborne, I. Stanford Jol¬ ley. Produced by Ron Ormond; directed by Thomas Carr. Story: Afraid of guns since his father, a U. S. Marshal, was killed years before by an outlaw known as “The Cat,” Jimmy “Shamrock” Ellison is made the U. S. Marshal of a town in which Raymond Hatton, father of Betty Adams, is lead¬ ing citizen. The bad ’uns are subdued until finally, in a showdown, Ellison re¬ calls his past, and how “The Cat” killed his dad, thereby clearing away the veil which prevented him from using guns. Published weekly by Jay Emanuel Publications, Inc., Publishing office: 1225 Vine Street, Philadelphia 7, Penn¬ sylvania. New York office: 1600 Broadway, New York 19. West Coast representative: Paul Manning, 923 Alandele Avenue, Los Angeles 36, California. Jay Emanuel, publisher; Paul J. Greenhalgh, business manager; Herbert M. Miller, editor; James A. Dalton, advertising manager; George F. Nonamaker, Mel KonecofF, associate editors. SECTION TWO Vol. 44, No. 7 JUNE 21, 1950 Fuzzy Knight is exposed as “The Cat.” His work completed, Ellison, along with his sidekick, Russell “Lucky” Hayden, travels on. X-Ray: This is routine, with plenty of stock shots and lots of gunplay. Ellison and Hayden fight and shoot their way through the familiar story, while the romantic angle is minor. The story was written by Ron Ormond and Maurice Tombragel. Ad Lines: “What Was The Mystery Of His Past?”; “He Wanted To Be A Law¬ man But Couldn’t”; “ ‘Fast On The Draw,’ He Came Through When Needed.” MGM Crisis Drama 95m. Estimate: Well-made adult drama has names to help. Cast: Cary Grant, Jose Ferrer, Paula Raymond, Signe Hasso, Ramon Novarro, Antonio Moreno, Teresa Celli, Leon Ames, Gilbert Roland, Vincente Gomez. Produced by Arthur Freed; directed by Richard Brooks. Story: Famed American brain surgeon Cary Grant and his wife, Paula Ray¬ mond, are vacationing in a tropical coun¬ try ruled by dictator Jose Ferrer. Ferrer, immensely disliked by his people, is suf¬ fering from a brain tumor but as surgeons and hospitals from other countries refuse their services, Ferrer has military Colonel Ramon Novarro bring Grant to him. No¬ varro doesn’t ask Grant, but takes him at gun point. Grant agrees to operate as he has little choice but insists on per¬ sonal freedom. While dining with Ameri¬ can oil executive and unofficial tourist welcomer Leon Ames, Grant is propo¬ sitioned by opposition leader Gilbert Ro¬ land to let Ferrer die. Ferrer aides enter the cafe, and assert their authority but Grant rebukes them, and earns the grati¬ tude of the Roland entourage. Ferrer’s wife, Signe Hasso, later puts flowers on the grave of a martyred opposition pro¬ fessor, and Raymond accompanies her but is physically shaken up when the opposi¬ tion angrily demonstrates against Hasso’s false gesture. Grant has Raymond leave the country, but she is taken off the train when the opposition army captures it. Roland has a member, actually a Ferrer spy, take an ultimatum to Grant threaten¬ ing Raymond’s death should the operation succeed, but Hasso destroys the letter. Grant operates, and Ferrer is okeh, but the people don’t know. Roland then checks with Grant about the spy, the people start a revolt which the army supports, and Ferrer overexerts himself, hemorrhages, and dies. Grant gets Raymond back. New leader Roland is shot, and asks, and gets, Grant’s help. X-Ray: Bearing the polish of an adroit production, this thoroughly interesting entry packs considerable power in exam¬ ining the topical problem of freedom and the strivings and abuses of various types of men about it. The off-trail device of featuring the mentaliy-ill dictator is uti¬ lized to the utmost in maintaining a steady and large amount of suspense, and while Grant is fine as the doctor, Ferrer stingingly portrays the dictator to the hilt. Raymond, Hasso, Roland, and Novarro lend good support, and the direction makes the most of this incisive screen play. The title is an asset, and this adult entry should be aided by word-of-mouth. This is based on a story by George Tabori. Tip On Bidding: Better program price. Ad Lines: “The Picture That Dares To Examine The Conflict In Men’s Souls For Power . . . ‘Crisis’ ”; “Cary Grant star¬ ring In One Of His Most Important Roles In ‘Crisis’ ”; “They Wanted Power.” Duchess Of Idaho _ Romantic Comedy Musical (33) 97V2M. (Color by Technicolor) Estimate: Entertaining musical is packed with selling angles. Cast: Esther Williams, Van Johnson, John Lund, Paula Raymond, Clinton Sundberg, Connie Haines, Mel Torme, Amanda Blake, Tommy Farrell, Sig Amo, Dick Simmons, The Jubalaires, Lena Horne, Eleanor Powell. Produced by Joe Paster¬ nak; directed by Robert Z. Leonard. Story: Roommates Esther Williams and Paula Raymond are dissatisfied with the taken-for-granted attitude of Raymond’s secret heart throb, John Lund, a playboy businessman, who is her boss. Raymond, by acting as his fiancee is continuously extricating Lund when his romances get too involved. He reneges on his promise of a reward for her latest performance of taking a joint vacation in Sun Valley so the angered Williams, star of a swim¬ ming show, goes up for a vacation with the idea of cornering him romantically so Raymond can get him while she’s saving him again. Williams also meets band leader Van Johnson on the train, and, since he plays at the hotel, proceeds to play him off against Lund. However, Williams be¬ comes enamored of Johnson, but the com¬ plications set in when she doesn’t tell him about the Lund-Raymond angle. Lund goes to a business conference, discovers his love for Raymond, but discovers Williams’ part upon his return, so he and the mis¬ understanding Johnson swear off women. They later pursue the pursuers for the happy finale. 2869