The Exhibitor (1950)

EXHIBITOR June 21, 1950 Ad Lines: “See The Rollicking Frolick¬ ing ‘Midnight Frolics’ “Sunny Knight And Other Beauties Star In The Burlesque Show You Want To See”; “Lots Of Gals And Gags And Legs And Laughs In ‘Mid¬ night Frolics’.” Riders Of The Pony Express (Screencraft) (Color) Western with Music 61m. Estimate: Fair western. Cast: Ken Curtis, Shug Fisher, Cathy Douglas, Billy Benedict, Billy Hammond, Eddie McLean, Truman Van Dyke, John Dehner, Lou Marcelle, Rod Redwing, Flicka, Zane. Produced by Richard Kay and D. A. Anderson; written and directed by Michael Salle. Story: Ken Curtis shoots a man in selfdefense, and flees to the desert, where he meets Billy Benedict, Billy Hammond, and Eddie McLean, on their way to join the Pony Express. After the four sign on with the Pony Express, Curtis gets into a fight with district supervisor John Dehner, later revealed to be a half-breed Indian, planning with a band of renegade Indians to stop the Pony Express. Curtis and his friends, including express manager Tru¬ man Van Dyke, and his niece, Cathy Douglas, are ordered to the dangerous desert station. Curtis foils an Indian at¬ tack engineered by Dehner and several more attempts. When Douglas and Blair are captured by the Indians, Curtis goes to the rescue, killing henchman Lou Mar¬ celle, and bringing Dehner to justice. Word comes through that Curtis has been freed of the murder charge. X-Ray: While sub-standard color pho¬ tography generally detracts from this otherwise adequate offering, the story is fairly good, and the plot unfolds with enough action to hold interest. Curtis, with his singing, fighting and trick riding, performs competently, supported by an acceptable cast. Several traditional west¬ ern songs are heard. Ad Lines: “Danger And Heroism In The Days Of The Pony Express!”; “Recapture The Thrills Of The Pony Express Days!”; “The Pony Express Thunders To The Screen.” FOREIGN Daybreak In Udi Documentary 90m. (Made in Africa) (Brill) Estimate: Topnotch documentary for class and art houses. Cast: E. R. Chadwick, Fanny Elumuze, Josef Amalu, Joyce McBaronye, Harford Anerobi, Oso Anibhebe, Clement Emehel. Produced by John Taylor and Max An¬ derson; directed by Terry Bishop. Story: E. R. Chadwick, district officer of Udi in Nigeria, West Africa, dispenses judicial advice and aid to the natives. The tribes make an advance toward civi¬ lization by education and cooperative work, and one particular tribe desires a maternity home. Josef Amalu, influential and superstitious man, opposes the plan strongly, but the others are swayed by Chadwick, who gets Amalu’s wife’s sup¬ port, and the work commences. Communal labor and spirit completes the home, and a native returns to have her baby in the hospital. Amalu’s last effort to doom the venture is foiled by teacher Fanny Elumuze, and the home is a success. Chad¬ wick tells of a neighboring tribe building a road, which they watch and learn. X-Ray: This documentary won a spe¬ cial Oscar in 1950, and it has a good deal of integrity and sincerity although some crudeness in production. The photography is first rate as F. F. Carnage has deftly caught the natives at ease and thoroughly spirited in labor and at dance. A good musical score by William Alwyn flavored with native tunes is included, and this should do well at art and class houses. Montague Slater wrote the scenario. Ad Lines: “See The Gropings Of A Tribe Of Natives Toward Civilization And A Higher Standard Of Living”; “Don’t Miss This Academy Award Winner, ‘Day¬ break In Udi’ ”; “They Discovered Their Power In Numbers And In Cooperation.” His Wife's Lover Comedy Drama 77m. (Jewish Films) (English titles) Estimate: Mediocre Jewish offering. Cast: Ludwig Satz, Isidore Cashier, Lucy Levine, Michael Rosenberg, Jacob Frank, Lilian Feinman. Directed by Sid¬ ney M. Goldin. Story: Actor Ludwig Satz wagers wo¬ man-hating, once-jilted wealthy uncle Isidore Cashier that not all women are false. With $10,000 in the offing, Satz adopts an old man’s disguise and manner, and proposes to one of Cashier’s factory girls, Lucy Levine. Family pressure and a strike in Cashier’s factory cause Levine to capitulate and Satz to lose the bet despite her lack of love for the old man. Satz then wagers Cashier $25,000 that despite the loveless marriage, Levine would be faithful to her “aged” husband. He doesn’t realize Levine truly loves Satz, the actor, having once seen him in person, etc. Satz, as his youthful self, then successfully woos Levine, but she remembers her marriage responsibilities, and terminates the affair. Satz then wins his wager, reveals his true self, and all ends happily. X-Ray: This somewhat aged entry has newly added English titles but it is doubt¬ ful if the addition will overcome the ex¬ ceedingly thin and contrived story. The performances are in the very broad man¬ ner, and the late Ludwig Satz, a star for Jewish patrons, is quite zestful, but it should be noted this is a reissue. Ruth Samkoff wrote the scenario, and among the songs heard are “I Hate All Women,” “Ah! Good Wifey,” and “The Still Night.” Ad Lines: “See The Late Ludwig Satz At His Best In ‘His Wife’s Lover’ ”; “He Had To Test Her Love By Having A Younger Man Woo Her”; “Would Your Husband Be Like He Was To ‘His Wife’s Lover’?” The Shorts Parade THREE REEL Documentary DRUMS FOR A HOLIDAY. Brill. 33m. Made in Africa, in Technicolor, this is a good documentary for the art and class houses. Produced by Anglo-Scottish Films, and directed by A. Taylor, with narration by Leo Genn, the procession to the Durbar or conclave of chieftains on the Gold Coast, West Africa, is viewed in full detail. The chieftains are carried by their peoples and all eventually gather with the governor of the British colony. Seen, too, are the making of a special jungle grain substance and the assembly-line-like sys¬ tem of gathering and transporting it. The famed longshoremen are then seen hust¬ ling huge loads of stuffs down to their small ships. An intelligent and informa¬ tive narration is eloquently and simply spoken by British film actor Leo Genn, and his name may carry some weight at the art houses. The title and the vivid Technicolor are aids. GOOD. TWO REEL Documentary BEAUTY AT WORK. 20th Century-Fox — The March Of Time. Vol. 6, No. 4. 17m. A revealing, interesting behind-the-scenes story of a young model striving for suc¬ cess in New York is told in this fine series issue. Patricia Kugleman, the girl in ques¬ tion, leaves her parents, boy friend, and friends in Oklahoma to commence the struggle. She lives on a tight budget, sees modelling and advertising agency heads continually, keeps strict routine socially, and eventually is lucky enough to get a steady income from it, as few of the girls have perseverance and the search is always for the new face. The pitfalls in the field in the way of over-amorous executives, tech¬ nicians, etc., are clearly outlined as well as other shortcomings of the job. Eventu¬ ally, she realizes her limitations, doubts she could rise to the eminence of former models who succeeded in other fields (and viewed here), and goes back to Oklahoma. EXCELLENT. PLAY BALL. RKO — This Is America. 13m. The American pastime, baseball, is handled in the usual thorough manner. Red Barber does an objective narration, which compares some of the elements of the game, color, action, etc., to that of the fascinated throngs who populate the ball¬ parks. Particular note is taken of opening day, a “must” on the fan’s calendar, and, in much detail, the behind the scenes story of diamond and catering preparation is told. The Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, N. Y., is viewed, as are some of the game‘s greats. Current games and players at Ebbets Field are glimpsed too, as well as the late Judge Landis, Ford Frick, Wil¬ liam Harridge, and A. Chandler. EXCEL¬ LENT. (03109). ONE REEL Color Cartoon BOOBY HATCHED. Warners— Blue Ribbon Hit Parades Reissues in Techni¬ color. 61/2m. When first reviewed in The Servisection of October, 1944, it was said: “During a blizzard, the duck hen is hav¬ ing trouble hatching her eggs. After they are finally hatched, she proudly takes them for their first swim in the ice-filled pond. Little ‘Ralph Pierre,’ so cold he is only half hatched, gets separated from the rest while looking for a warm spot. Just as he is cuddling under the warmth of a sleepy bear, a wolf kidnaps him, but in the end his mother gets him back. This is cute and charming, with the drawing tops.” GOOD. (6311). THE MINER’S DAUGHTER. Columbia — Jolly Frolics. 6m. With “My Darling Clementine” as the musical background, this shows how the Harvard grad-pros¬ pector scorns the daughter of the veteran miner until he succumbs to some Boston baked beans. The art is out of the ordi¬ nary, but the laughs are few. FAIR. (2504) . PRIMITIVE PLUTO. RKO— Walt Dis¬ ney Cartoon. 7m. Pluto, snoozing in Mickey Mouse’s cabin retreat in this superior issue, is confronted by a pint( Continued on page 2877) 2874 Servisection 6