The Exhibitor (1950)

EXHIBITOR June 21, 1950 X-Ray: Geared to make the boxoffice registers resound, garbed in eye-caressing Technicolor, and featuring the heavy mar¬ quee lure of Williams and Johnson, this has the fast pace, snappy songs, and bright dialogue that make for sure-fire hot weather entertainment. In addition, there are several swimming sequences, with Williams in fine form, and ample footage at Sun Valley. The aforementioned are ably abetted by the pretty Raymond and the handsome Lund as well as the sharply sarcastic Sundberg and guest stars Lena Horne and Eleanor Powell. This was writ¬ ten by Dorothy Cooper and Jerry Davis, and songs heard include: “Let’s Choo Choo Choo To Idaho,” “You Can’t Do Wrong Doin’ Right,” “Of All Things,” and “Baby, Come Out Of The Clouds.” Red Skelton comes in for an unbilled bit. Tip On Bidding: Higher bracket. Ad Lines: “Esther Williams And Van Johnson At Their Sparkling Best In ‘Duchess Of Idaho’ “He Was A Playboy Who Fought Off Pretty Women Until He Found One Who Could Cook — And Fight Off The Others”; “Gay Songs And Gay Comedy And Beautiful Girls.” The Next Voice You Hear . . .Dr8™ Estimate: Fine drama. Cast: James Whitmore, Nancy Davis, Gary Gray, Lillian Bronson, Art Smith, Tom D’Andrea, Jeff Corey. Produced by Dore Schary; directed by William A. Wellman. Story: James Whitmore, who works in an aircraft plant in California, brings home an average wage. He drives in a pre¬ war car, lives in a small house, has a wife, Nancy Davis, who is expecting a child, and a son, who has a newspaper route, and who also attends school. Things go along normally until one night, while Whitmore is listening to the radio, he hears a mys¬ terious voice purported to be that of God, cutting in on a regular program, and say¬ ing that he is among the people on earth, and for them to have faith. At first, there is a tendency to scoff at the voice as a big hoax or radio show buildup until it is heard a total of six nights running in all parts of the world and in all languages. After the fifth night, things come to a climax in the Whitmore household with a false alarm for Davis and the coming baby. Fear causes them to quarrel, Whitmore to get drunk, Gray to rim away, etc. The voice, however, brings about calm and peace and a desire for better relations with one another. Finally, Davis is rushed to the hospital, and a baby girl is born on the seventh day, when the voice is not heard again. All is well with the Whitmore family, and, presumably, with others who heard the voice. X-Ray: A different type of film, one that dwells on an average family and its home life, and of the effect on the family and its individual members when the voice of God is heard, this is fine dra¬ matic entertainment lightened by humor, and bolstered by heart-warming and touching scenes as performed by an ex¬ tremely capable cast under the fine direc¬ tion of William Wellman and the super¬ visory reign of producer Dore Schary. Audiences should enjoy it, and many should attend if only out of curiosity’s sake. The story was by Charles Schnee, suggested by a story by George Sumner Albee. Tip On Bidding: Higher bracket. Ad Lines: “You’ve Never Seen A Film Like It”; “The Voice That A World Has Been Waiting To Hear”; “An Average American Family And Its Reaction To The Voice.” MONOGRAM Bomba And The Melodrama Lost Volcano (4905) 75^M Estimate: Satisfactory series entry. Cast: Johnny Sheffield, Donald Woods, Marjorie Lord, Elena Verdugo, Tommy Ivo, John Rigdely, Grandon Rhodes, Don Harvey, Jack Clisby. Produced by Walter Mirisch; directed by Ford Beebe. Story: Explorer guide Donald Woods is enroute to his home with wild animals bound for zoos, but Johnny “Bomba” Sheffield frees them. Woods reaches home to be greeted by his wife, Marjorie Lord, and their son, Tommy Ivo, and decides to rest. Woods is told that Ivo plays with Sheffield but refuses to believe that there is such a person as “Bomba,” and thinks it high time that Ivo be sent out to civi¬ lization and a proper school. Dr. Gran¬ don Rhodes arrives to investigate reports that there is an active mysterious volcano in the vicinity. Ivo relates that he and Sheffield visited it, but Woods marks it down as more imagination, and agrees to send the child to school with the two guides, John Ridgely and Don Harvey, who brought Rhodes in. Maid Elena Ver¬ dugo goes along as well. They force Ivo to lead them in the direction of the vol¬ cano for the gold and diamonds supposed to be buried there. Verdugo escapes, and Woods and the others set out in pursuit. Meanwhile, Sheffield rescues Ivo but is himself captured, and then escapes. The two crooks reach their objective, with Ivo captured again. The erupting volcano catches up with the greedy crooks while Sheffield saves Ivo. The family is reunited. X-Ray: With some good volcano se¬ quences, this has an interest-holding plot, okeh performances, and adequate direc¬ tion. It stacks up with the better numbers in the series, and should get similar reac¬ tion and results. The screen play, by Ford Beebe, is based on the famous fic¬ tional character, “Bomba,” created for children. Ad Lines: “Another Thrilling ‘Bomba’ Adventure Brought To The Screen”; “Evil Men Seek Gold Near ‘The Lost Volcano’ ”; “ ‘Bomba’ Guards The Jungle.” Sideshow (4924) Estimate: Okeh for the Melodrama 67m. lower half. Cast: Don McGuire, Tracey Roberts, Eddie Quinlan, Jimmy Conlin, John Ab¬ bott, Ray Walker, Dick Foote, Iris Adrian, Jack Ingram, Dale Van Sickel, Tristram Coffin, Stephen Chase, Bret Hamilton, Kathy Johnson, Frank Fenton. Produced by William F. Broidy; directed by Jean Yarbrough. Story: Don McGuire, a Treasury agent, is on the trail of diamond smugglers, and it leads to a carnival. He joins it as a handy-man, and soon suspects Jimmy Conlin, candy peddler; John Abbott, sculptor, and operator of a wax museum, and others. Tracey Roberts, an enter¬ tainer, is admired by Ray Walker, owner of the carnival, until she convinces him that she is innocent, and helps him track down the real criminals. Conlin is jailed, and reveals the methods used to smuggle the jewels although he claims he doesn’t know the higher-ups. Investigation re¬ veals that the gang leader is Walker, as¬ sisted by Abbott, and a fight is in order before the crooks are either killed or captured. X-Ray: An ordinary entry with perhaps the novelty being the carnival back¬ ground, this should find its proper spot on the lower half. The story is fairly inter¬ esting, the cast average, and the direction and production equal to the overall effort. The original story is by William Broidy. Ad Lines: “A Carnival Draws All Kinds Of People, Even Crooks And Treasury Agents”; “Action And Adventure On The Carnival Lot”; “A Treasury Agent Sets Out To Find Jewel Thieves On A Carnival Lot.” Six Gun Mesa (495 1 ) Western 54m. Estimate: Fast-moving series entry. Cast: Johnny Mack Brown, Gail Davis, Riley Hill, Leonard Penn, Marshall Reed, Milburn Morante, Carl Mathews, Bud Osborne, George DeNormand, Stan Blystone, Steve Clark. Produced and directed by Wallace Fox. Story: Leonard Penn’s outlaw gang has murdered a rancher and crew except foreman Riley Hill in its attempts to take over a town of Redblade. Penn frames Hill for a murder, and as Hill is about to be hanged, Johnny Mack Brown, in to claim a hotel he has inherited, frees the prisoner, and hides him in the hills. Brown posts the hotel as Hill’s bond, and, with the help of dance hall girl Gail Davis and hotel clerk Milburn Morante, proves Hill’s innocence. Penn’s gang recaptures Hill, but Brown again frees him, and the gang is brought to justice. Brown turns over the hotel to Morante, and moves on, leaving Davis and Hill free to marry. X-Ray: A taut story and fast-paced direction make this an exciting item which should go over with western fans. Pro¬ duction values are good, and the cast is above average. The screen play is by Adele Buffington. Ad Lines: “Outlaws War On Trail Herd”; “Johnny Blasts Outlaw King Of Gun-Ruled Frontier Town”; “ ‘Lynch Law’ Smashed By Flaming .44’s!” RKO Armored Car Robbery Melodrama (025) 68m Estimate: Okeh for the lower half. Cast: Charles McGraw, Adele Jergens, William Talman, Douglas Fowley, Steve Brodie, Don McGuire, Don Haggerty, James Flavin, Gene Evans. Produced by Herman Schlom; directed by Richard Fleischer. Story: Crook William Talman plans to pull an armored car robbery with the aid of three others, and practices until every¬ thing is near perfect. The others in on it are Douglas Fowley, married to burlesque dancer Adele Jergens, whom Talman goes for in a big way unbeknownst to Fowley, Steve Brodie, and Gene Evans. The rob¬ bery takes place under the cover of a smoke bomb, with the unexpected arrival of Lieutenant Charles McGraw and his partner, James Flavin. In the ensuing gun play, Flavin is killed, and Fowley is wounded. Fowley is killed by Talman, and Evans is killed by the police when they close in, and Brodie and Talman have to separate. Jergens is questioned, and watched, and recording equipment is planted. Brodie shows up at the burlesque theatre and is arrested. Detective Don Mc¬ Guire then poses as Brodie, and sees Jer¬ gens, but Talman is not far away. With the police hot on the trail, McGuire is wounded as the pair try to escape via plane. Talman is killed, and Jergens arrested. X-Ray: A well-made detective type film, this has a good pace, able perform¬ ances, fast-paced direction, and an inter 2870 ■3 Servisection 2