The Exhibitor (1952)

COLUMBIA Montana Territory „ Outdoor /»oo\ Melodrama 64m. (Color by Technicolor) Estimate: Outdoor action meller will fit into the twin bills. Cast: Lon McCallister, Wanda Hen¬ drix, Preston Foster, Hugh Sanders, Jack Elam, Clayton Moore, Robert Griffin, Myron Healey, Eddy Waller, George Rus¬ sell, Ethan Laidlaw, Frank Matts, Ruth Warren, Trevor Bardette, George Chesebro. Produced by Colbert Clark; directed by Ray Nazarro. Story: Lon McCallister, in the Montana Territory during the gold rush, sees a miner and son killed by bandits. Later, at a stagecoach relay station run by Eddy, Waller and his daughter, Wanda Hendrix, he spots the bandits, and tries to battle it out with them, but is on the losing side until sheriff Preston Foster shows up. McCallister decides to remain in the vicinity. Foster, secret chief of the bandits, learning that McCallister saw the killings, appoi»ts him a deputy, and sends him off on a dangerous mission, hoping he will be killed. McCallister turns the tables. Foster kills Waller for tipping off McCal¬ lister, and claims it was accidental in the line of duty. McCallister believes this but Hendrix doesn’t. A vigilante committee is formed to clean up the bandits, and Foster is field for trial, while Hendrix and McCallister have romantic ideas. X-Ray: This has a reasonable amount of action, a fair story, average character¬ izations, and acceptable direction and pro¬ duction. The color by Technicolor may help things along, but, on the whole, this will wind up on the lower half. The story was written by Barry Shipman. Tip On Bidding: Low bracket. Ad Lines: “The Taming Of The ‘Mon¬ tana Territory’ “Action In The North¬ west”; “It Was A Rough, Tough Country, And Had To Be Tamed.” MONOGRAM Outdoor Gold Fever (5220) Drama 63m. Estimate: For the lower half. Cast: John Calvert, Ralph Morgan, Ann Cornell, Gene Roth, Tom Kennedy, Judd Holdren, Danny Rense, Bobby Graham. Produced by John Calvert; directed by Leslie Goodwins. Story: John Calvert grubstakes oldtimer Ralph Morgan, who claims to have a secret gold mine. Gene Roth sets an Indian, Bobby Graham, on the trail to learn the location of the mine. Later, Roth and several henchmen show up to try to kill Calvert and Morgan, and take over their diggings. Ann Cornell, ranch owner, who has aided Calvert before, learns of Roth’s intentions, and rides to warn Calvert. A battle results in the villains being killed. Morgan learns that Cornell is his long lost daughter. He leaves the pair the mine, and goes on his way. X-Ray: With an average story, fair act¬ ing, direction and production, and an unusual battle using sticks of dynamite, this will fit the lower half. The story is by John Calvert, while the screen play is by Edgar C. Anderson, Jr., and Cliff Lancaster. Ad Lines: “They Fought For The Gold Mine With Sticks of Dynamite”; “Action Out West As Men Are Driven Wild”; “They Were Looking For Gold, And Found Trouble.” Published weekly by Jay Emanuel Publications, Inc. Publishing office: 246-249 North Clarion Street, Philadelphia 7, Pennsylvania. New York office: 1600 Broadway, New York 19. West Coast Representative: Paul Manning, 428 South Mansfield, Los Angeles 36, California. Jay Emanuel, publisher; Paul J. Greenhalgh, general manager; Her¬ bert M. Miller, editor; Max Cades, business manager; George Nonamaker and Mel Konecoff, associate editors. The original Pink Section evaluation of features, short subjects. SECTION TWO Vol. 48, No. 7 JUNE 18, 1952 Wagons West (5203) West7e™ (Cinecolor) Estimate: Standard outdoor show. Cast: Rod Cameron, Peggie Castle, Michael Chapin, Wheaton Chambers, Frank Ferguson, Harry Brandon, Riley Hill, Sarah Hayden, Stanford I. Jolley, Harry Tyler, Eddie Laird, Almira Ses¬ sions, Noah Beery, Jr., Ann Kimbell. Pro¬ duced by Vincent M. Fennelly; directed by Ford Beebe. Story: Wagonmaster Rod Cameron leads a wagon train westward from Joplin, Mo. In the party are youngster Michael Chapin, sister Peggie Castle, and father Wheaton Chambers; Noah Berry, Jr., and pregnant wife; Frank Ferguson and two nephews, Henry Brandon and Riley Hill, and others. Trouble starts between Cam¬ eron and the Ferguson clan, and this is accentuated by Cameron and Castle fall¬ ing in love, with Brandon a rival for her hand. Cameron establishes that Fer¬ guson and nephews are selling rifles to the Indians. In a showdown with the Indians, Ferguson and nephews are killed, Cameron makes peace with the tribe, and the wagon train rides on. * X-Ray: With little that hasn’t been seen before, this has the Cameron name for the marquee, and, although a bit short on the action, it probably won’t matter where the outdoor shows click. This follows the expected, with no surprises in the Dan Ullman script, and the one Indian fight runs about as expected. Ad Lines: “ ‘Wagons West’ . . . Into The Indian Country”; “Terror Rode The Plains Where The Indians Lurked”; “Chicanery . . . Skullduggery . . . And Terror In The Indian Country.” PARAMOUNT Carrie (5123) Drama 122m. Estimate: Picturization of Theodore Dreiser novel should be strongest in class spots. Cast: Laurence Olivier, Jennifer Jones, Miriam Hopkins, Eddie Albert, Basil Ruysdael, Ray Teal, Barry Kelley, Sara Berner, William Reynolds, Mary Murphy, Harry Hayden, Charles Halton, Walter Baldwin, Dorothy Adams, Jacqueline de Wit, Harlan Briggs, Melinda Plowman, Donald Kerr, Lester Sharpe, Don Beddoe, John Alvin. Produced and directed by William Wyler. Story: Around the turn of the cen¬ tury, Jennifer Jones arrives in Chicago from a midwest small town, lives with her impoverished sister and brother-inlaw, and meets salesman Eddie Albert, who takes her to dinner at a cafe man¬ aged by Laurence Olivier. Albert sells her the idea of living at his apartment while he is on the road. She agrees, but eventually he moves in, and they live together without benefit of clergy. Olivier accidentally meets Albert, who invites him to dinner. Olivier is attracted to Jones. While Albert is on the road, Olivier, un¬ happily married to Miriam Hopkins, falls in love with Jones. He wants a divorce, but Hopkins won’t agree, so Olivier runs away with Jones and some money be¬ longing to his employer. In New York, a detective turns up and takes what is left of the money, but Jones still knows nothing of the theft. Months later, Olivier, who now manages a third-rate bar, learns Jones is to bear his child. Hopkins showB up with her lawyer, and tells Jones she is still married to Olivier, but agrees to give him a divorce in return for his prop¬ erty rights. The baby dies, and Jones gets a job as a chorus girl. Olivier, completely on the skids, leaves her, and, in a few years, Jones becomes a successful actress. She searches for Olivier, and finds him to be a Bowery bum. She is determined to help him but he seeks only a handout, and walks out of her life. X-Ray: This picturization of the Theo¬ dore Dreiser novel, with screen play by Ruth Augustus Goetz, is a slow-moving WERE FLATTERED • • . because we receive so few TRADE-AD QUOTES! That's the best proof that these are HONEST REVIEWS written for Service to our Theatre Readers . . . and with the courage and muscle to call 'em as we see 'em. DON'T TAKE OUR WORD FOR THIS. CHECK 'EM AGAINST YOUR PLAYOFF! 3313