The Exhibitor (Nov 1948-Feb 1949)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

TNI IXNIIITNR SCREEN GUILD Musical Biography 90m. The Mozart Story (4805) (Austrian-made; dubbed in English with added sequences made in Estimate: Fair entry for the art houses. Cast: Hans Holt, Winnie Markus, Irene Von Meydendorff, Rene Deltgen, William Vedder, Wilton Graff, Carol Forman, thony Barr, Walther Janssen, Rosa Albach-Retty, Anita Rosar, Thea Weiss, Curt Juergens, Paul Hoerbiger, John Siebert, Richard Eybner, Eric Nicowitz, Theo Danegger, Fred Imhoff, Carl Bluhin. Produced by Abraham Haimson; directed by Karl Hartl. U. S. sequences directed by Frank Wisbar. Story: Wilton Graff, musical director of the Imperial Court in Vienna during the 18th century and a jealous rival of com¬ poser Hans Holt (Mozart) is visited by composer William Vedder (Haydn) , who accuses Graff of purchasing all of the de¬ ceased Holt’s compositions to have them destroyed. Graif admits he hated Holt from the first when the youthful Holt was a child prodigy giving concerts tlmoughout Europe at the age of six. In flashback, Holt’s life is shown, including his love for singer Irene Von Meydendorff, his en¬ tanglement with her sister, Winnie Markus; his failure to obtain court recognition; his meeting with Thea Weiss, his inspirations for various operas, other musical compo¬ sitions, etc., and his final work and death as he was still unrecognized by the court due to the plottings of Graff. X-Ray: The feature here, of course, is the music, and heard are such Mozart composi¬ tions as “To Her Beloved,” “The Abduction,” “The Marriage Of Figaro,” “Don Giovanni,” “The Magic Flute,” “Requiem,” along with Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata,” and other numbers. Director Frank Wisbar has at¬ tempted, with added Hollywood footage, to give scope to a pre-war Austrian-made film. Engli^ dialogue has been dubbed in, and is, for the most part, unfortunately realized with anachronistic American slang. Holt lacks subtlety in the Mozart portrayal, but Winnie Markus is less crude, and sulks sufficiently in the wronged wife scenes. The Vienna Philharmonic Or¬ chestra conducted by Alois Melichar is excellent. The film is a fair entry for the art houses. Ad Lines: “The Life and Loves Of A Master Composer”; “The Darling Of The Musical Gods — And Many Women — The Private Life Of Mozart”; “The Saga Of A Genius, Who Lived, And Died, For Music.” S. O. S. Submarine (4803) Documentary 71m. (Italian-made; dubbed in English) Estimate: Interesting documentary. Credits: Made in Italy with the cooper¬ ation of the Italian Navy. Production supervisor, C. Zanetti. Written and di¬ rected by F. DeRobertis. Story: Italian submarine A-103, while on operational maneuvers, is rammed by a battleship, and goes to the bottom with all communications severed. Unaware of the accident, the warship continues on its way. Hours later, the Navy Department notices that the sub is missing, and launches a search by sea and air, but is handicapped by heavy fog, which settles down over the accident area, and hides from visibility the buoy which the stricken sub has released to the surface. Proceed¬ ing along modem submarine escape tac¬ tics, a life craft is sent to the surface, and two radio men leaye the trapped sub via the escape chamber. Radio con¬ tact is established with the main rescue fleet, and within a matter of hours, a plan ^r raising the sub is put into operation. Deep sea divers, working in time saving relays, repair the gash in the sub’s side, and air is pumped in. One of the sub’s crew gives up his life to enter a gas filled compartment when the diver is unable to open a stuck air valve from the outside. Finally, the arduous task is completed, and the sub rises to the surface amid the cheers of the rescue fleet. X-Ray: This is a very interesting im¬ port. With the full resources of the Italian navy available, a high degree of authen¬ ticity is injected into the story, which is aided by the dubbing of Engliah dialogue to synchronize as close as possible with the lip movements of the Italian-speaking actors. The film should prove okeh filler for the lower half. Ad Lines: “Tragedy Under The Sea”; “Stark Drama Of Men Who Gamble Against The Sea And Who Sometimes Lose”; “For A Thrilling Experience, You Will Never Forget ‘S.O.S. Submarine’.” loth CENTURY-FOX Belle Starr's Daughter (846) (Alson) Estimate: Okeh western. Cast: George Montgomery, Rod Cam¬ eron, Ruth Roman, Wallace Ford, Charles Kemper, William Phipps, Edith King, Jack Lambert, Fred Libby, Isabel Jewell, J. Farrell MacDonald, Cris-Pin Martin, Kenneth MacDonald, William Perrott, William Ruhl, Frank Darien, Larry Johns, Harry Harvey, Charles Stevens, Paul E. Burns, Lane Chandler, Mary Foran, Henry Hull, Bill Kennedy, John Cason. Pro¬ duced by Edward Alperson; directed by Lesley blander. Story: When Rod Cameron and William Phipps, outlaws, venture into Antioch, and kill the marshal, they break the truce that exists between the town and the outlaws at Cherokee Flats. Isabel Jewell, queen of the outlaws, orders the pair brought be¬ fore her to turn them over to the authori¬ ties. Cameron shoots down Jewell, and the pair make a break for safety. Wallace Ford, another outlaw, is suspicious of Cameron, and decides to string along with them for awhile. Meanwhile, the towns¬ people, under the leadership of George Montgomery, new marshal, wipe out the outlaws. Ruth Roman, Jewell’s daughter, thinks Montgomery is responsible for her . mother’s death, and, later, when she gets a job in Antioch, she tries to brush off the marshal whenever possible. Cameron shows up one day, and talks her into com¬ ing along with him and his gang. They ride out of town after Cameron kills Ford, fearing he would talk about the Jewell killing. Montgomery and his deputy, Charles Kemper, trail the outlaws to their town, where Kemper is wounded. The outlaws escape, and Montgomery wires for aid. Phipps finally is left to die at a farm¬ house. Meanwhile, Roman learns Cam¬ eron’s true and dangerous nature, and flees from their camp back to Phipps. The latter, knowing he is dying, tells her that Cameron killed her mother. Montgomery shows up, but is wounded. Roman offers to go back for a trial, and Montgomery offers to wait for her, his true love. X-Ray: Loaded with action and gimplay, this should please western fans. Per¬ formances are competent, the story holds interest, and the direction is in the capable class. 'The screenplay Is an original by W. R. Burnett. Tip On Bidding: Fair program price. Ad Lines: “She Rode The Range With Outlaws, But Her Heart Was With The November 10, 1948 •> Marshal Who Vowed To Capture Or Kill Them All”; “She Was Tom Between Love And Adventure Until An Outlaw Made Up Her Mind For Her”; “Thq Marshal Vowed To Get His Man, And The Results Are Excitement, Adventure, And Ro¬ mance.” The Snake Pit Psychological Drama 108m. Estimate: Outstanding drama deserves special selling attention. Cast: Olivia de Haviland, Mark Stev¬ ens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Glenn Langan, Helen Craig, Leif Erickson, Beulah Bondi, Lee Patrick, Howard Freeman, Natalie Schaefer, Ruth Donnelly, Kather¬ ine Locke, Frank Conroy, Minna Gombell, June Storey, Lora Lee Michel, Damian O’Flynn, Ann Doran, Esther Somers, Jac¬ queline de Wit, Betsy Blair, Lela Bliss, Queenie Smith, Virginia Brissac, Grayce Hampton, Dorothy Neumann, Jan Clay¬ ton, Isabell Jewell, Victoria Home, Tamara Shayne, Grace Poggi, Syd Saylor, Angela Clarke, Mae Marsh, Marion Marshall, Ashley Cowan, Minerva Urecal, Helen Servis, Celia Lovsky. Directed by Anatole Litvak; produced by Anatole Litvak and Robert Bassler. Story: Writer Olivia de Haviland and Mark Stevens meet when she submits a manuscript to the publishing house which employs him. They get better acquainted, and things run smoothly imtil one day she suddenly leaves him to go to New York. He follows, gets a job with a hotel, and eventually meets her again at a concert. This leads to their marrying. Shortly thereafter, she suffers a nervous break¬ down, and is committed to a state asylum. She remembers only snatches of her past life from time to time, and it takes the efficient ministering of doctor Leo Genn to restore some semblance of order. He tries both “shock treatments” and the ad¬ ministration of “truth serum,” and brings back from the recesses of her memory incidents in her childhood which, when combined with other isolated circum¬ stances and incidents in later life, all effected the nervous breakdown. Event¬ ually, she regains her footing, and is re¬ stored to normalcy. X-Ray: Perhaps a more authentic film on the processes involved in the treat¬ ment and care of the mentally sick has never been seen outside a medical school. This tends to get away from the usual sugar-coated t3qDe of entertainment film, and, instead, presents a phase of life as it really exists, as testified to by experts. It is by no means a pretty picture but one that wiU grip audiences tightly in its grasp, and refuse to let go until the very end unless, of course, the subject and its treatment prove too shocking to certain types of mentalities. It leaves spectators limp with its portrayals, pace, direction, and production. Word-of-mouth should be the result, which, in turn, should prove a valuable factor at the boxoffice. de Havi¬ land is to be commended for the quality of her performance, and she certainly re¬ ceives more than adequate support from Stevens, Genn and others. Director Ana¬ tole Litvak can add this film to his other fine efforts. It is based on the novel by Mary Jane Ward. Tip On Bidding: Higher bracket. Ad Ldstes: “A Great Book Brought To The Screen”; “A Great Emotional Experi¬ ence Awaits All Who Witness One Of The Great Films Of The Year — ‘The Snake Pit’ ”; “This Will Be Remembered As One Of The Really Great Pictures To Emerge From Hollywood.” For Real Coverage Of Happenings In Your Area, Read The Exhibitor. 2504 S#flViMction 4