The Exhibitor (1950)

I'tovemoer iifou e A n I a I I u K his wife, Claudia Barrett, reclaim the ranch, and the settlers begin to move into the territory. X-Ray: The emphasis here is on action, and, with gunplay, fisticuffs, and hell-forleather chases aplenty, this maintains a galloping pace throughout, unimpeded by a romantic angle or long stretches of dialogue. While performances are stand¬ ard, they are competent, with Lane as in¬ domitable as ever. The screen play is by Richard Wormser. Ad Lines: “The West’s Toughest Mar¬ shal Rides Again!”; “Fast-Paced Adven¬ ture Filled With Western Thrills”; “ ‘Rocky’ Rides Against Outlaw Raiders!” 20TH.FOX American Guerilla In The Philippines (032) Action Drama 105m. (Color by Technicolor) Estimate: Picturization of war book should ride into the better money. Cast: Tyrone Power, Micheline Prelle, Tom Ewell, Bob Patton, Tommy Cook, Juan Torena, Jack Elam, Robert Barrat, Carleton Young. Produced by Lamar Trotti; directed by Fritz Lang. Story: In1942, the PT boat of Ensign Tyrone Power is sunk off the Philippines by the Japs. He reaches shore with his sidekick, Tom Ewell, and with other sur¬ vivors and American soldiers, they at¬ tempt to sail to Australia. However, their craft is wrecked, and they are saved by friendly Filipinos. Still seeking to reach Australia, Power and Ewell team up with guerilla Filipinos, and later. Power is put in charge of radio operations on Leyte on General MacArthur’s orders. Mean¬ while, Power has become friendly with Micheline Prelie, French wife of planter Juan Torena. The Japs kill Torena for aiding the guerillas, and Prelle then be¬ comes a refugee. As the months pass, the guerillas’ strength becomes evident, and the Japs are harassed. Finally, the big day comes when MacArthur returns, and Power clinches with Prelle. X-Ray: This picturization of the Ira Wolfert best-seller is marked by some exciting episodes even if the overall pace is uneven. However, for boxoffice purposes, the material is there, and an effort has been made to emphasize the romantic angles for the women’s trade. Perform¬ ances are rather subdued, with not too much of the heroics or warfare usually associated with this type of film, but there should be enough action for thrill-lovers. The Technicolor heightens the scenes, with the on-the-scene production getting added value from the authentic back¬ grounds. Naturally, this looms as a mer¬ chandise potential, and, with the proper selling, it should account for itself at the ticket windows. Tip On Bidding: Higher bracket. Ad Lines: “The Greatest Personal Story To Come Out Of The Pacific”; “A Diary Of Love Under Fire”; ‘‘From Fallen Corregidor To The Isle Of Enchantment.” UNITED ARTISTS Jerry Paris, Robin Hughes. Produced by Stanley Kramer; directed by Michael Gordon. Story: Jose “Cyrano de Bergerac” Fer¬ rer is renowned in France for his nose and his skill with his sword. Virginia Farmer, duenna to beautiful Mala Powers, distant cousin to Ferrer and his one and only love, makes an appointment for the pair at the shop of baker Lloyd Corrigan. The latter tells Ferrer that his life has been threatened because he wrote some verses making fun of Comte Ralph Clan¬ ton. Ferrer escorts the baker home, beats off a score or more of ruffians, kills eight, and saves the day. At the meeting with Powers, he learns that she loves a new¬ comer to Ferrer’s company, William Prince, and she exacts a promise that he look after him. Ferrer agrees to provide Prince with words and letters to woo Powers. The two are more and more in love, with Ferrer trying not to show his heartfelt misery. Powers and Prince get married despite Clanton’s desire to wed Powers, and, in a rage, Clanton orders the regiment, including Prince and Ferrer, to the front. Ferrer writes Powers every day in Prince’s name. As the regiment is surrounded. Powers arrives to be with Prince. She tells him that his letters have ripened her love, and she would love him if he were ugly. Prince realizes that she is really in love with Ferrer so he sends Ferrer to her while he volunteers for a scouting mission, and is shot. Ferrer doesn’t speak to him of his love for Power in the hour of tragedy. The battle is won. Fifteen years later. Powers is in a convent, counting on a weekly visit from Ferrer for news and gossip. With his life still threatened because of his sharp tongue and writings, Ferrer is trapped by his enemies. Dying, he staggers to Powers, and causes her to realize that he has loved her through the years, and he dies at her feet. X-Ray: A fine stage attraction through the years, the screen version surpasses the stage production in breadth, depth, scope, and all-around brilliance for it emerges as a warm, finely entertaining film that should stand shoulder to shoulder with the best dramatic productions. Ferrer is excellent in the ^ad, transforming “Cyrano” into a live, human being. The balance of the cast is also uniformly good but they live in Ferrer’s shadow. Direc¬ tion and production are tops and it looks again as though “the Stanley Kramer touch” has not been underrated. From the strict commercial angles, it would appear that this will benefit best from the type of handling given “The Red Shoes,” “Hamlet,” “Henry V,” and similar super¬ ior films. There is a definite audience for this type of entertainment, and this could be a boxoffice success handled along those lines. The screen play from Edmond Ros¬ tand’s play with the translation by Brian Hooker was written by Carl Foreman, and is a creditable job. The effort as a whole deserves a “well done” for all concerned. Tip On Bidding: High bracket. Ad Lines: “Another Great Stage Classic Brought To The Screen”; “The Greatest Love Story Of All Ages”; “The Producer Of ‘Champion’ And ‘Home Of The Brave’ Brings His Public ‘Cyrano’, A Story Of Love And Sword Play.” Cyrano de Bergerac (Kramer) Estimate: Fine production. Cast: Jose Ferrer, Mala Powers, Wil¬ liam Prince, Morris Carnovsky, Ralph Clanton, Lloyd Corrigan, Virginia Farmer, Edgar Barrier, Elena Verdugo, Albert Cavens, Arthur Blake, Don Beddoe, Percy Helton, Virginia Christine, Gil Warren, Philip Van Zandt, Eric Sinclair, Richard Avonde, Paul Dubov, John Crawford, WARNERS The West Point Story (009) Musical Comedy Drama 107m. Estimate: Pleasing entertainment has the angles for the selling. Cast: James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Gene Nelson, Alan Hale, Jr., Roland Winters, Raymond Roe, Wilton Graff, Jerome Cowan, Frank Ferguson. Produced by Louis F. Edelman; directed by Roy Del Ruth. Story: James Cagney, Broadway musi¬ cal director, going steadily downhill, has a spat with his partner-girl friend, Vir¬ ginia Mayo, who threatens to leave him. Cagney gets an offer of a job from pro¬ ducer Roland Winters to go to West Point to help out with the annual show. Win¬ ters’ nephew, Gordon MacRae, has writ¬ ten the music, and stars in the show, and Winters wants Cagney to lure MacRae to Broadway away from the army. In order to keep Mayo as well as to get some money, Cagney agrees. He arrives to see that MacRae is good. Later, during re¬ hearsal, he blows up, and slugs one of the cadets. Cagney is about to be dismissed but is given one more chance if he agrees to become a cadet, and abide by their rules. Cagney takes it all in stride. He offers MacRae a Broadway show and stardom but he turns it down for an army career. Cagney then gets movie star Doris Day to come up to a dance, and MacRae falls in love with her. He offers to leave West Point for her but she refuses, and he leaves to see her in New York. Cagney and MacRae’s pal. Gene Nelson, bring him back but MacRae is placed under arrest, and the show is cancelled. Finally, a visiting foreign dignitary comes to the Point, and requests amnesty for all con¬ cerned. The show goes on. Day shows up in time to take a part in the show and to become eventually an army officer’s wife. In appreciation for all he’s done, Cagney is presented with the script, music, and rights to produce the show on Broadway. X-Ray: This has name values, pleasing tunes, a gay spirit, and the West Point atmosphere to help at the boxoffice. It cries for Technicolor, which it could have used to advantage. Regardless, it pos¬ sesses a suitable mixture of songs, comedy, and military background, plus the Cagney personality, singing and dancing, some of which is a trifle forced but adding to the general entertainment. The title should be an asset, as well. Among the tunes heard are: “You Love Me,” “It’s Raining Gum Drops,” “Ten Thousand Sheep,” “By The Kissing Rock,” and “Military Polka.” The screen play is by John Monks, Jr., Charles Hoffman, and Irving Wallace, based on a story by the latter. Tip On Bidding: Higher bracket. Ad Lines: “Song And Dance Man James Cagney Is Back, And Everybody Is Happy”; “There’s Loads Of Fun When James Cagney Signs On As A Cadet At West Point”; “Gay Tunes, Sparkling Comedy, And Dances By James Cagney.” FOREIGN Bullet For Stefano Melodrama (Lux) (Italian-made) (English titles) Estimate: Average import for the art spots. Cast: Valentina Cortese, Rossano Brazzi, Carlo Ninchi, Carlo Campanini, Lillian Laine, Bella Starace Sainati, Camillo Pilotti. Produced by Giovanni Laterza; directed by Duilio Coletti. Story: Rossano Brazzi is in love with Valentina Cortese but her uncle, priest Carlo Ninchi, objects, and she is press¬ ured into marrying another. On the day of the wedding, Brazzi and the prospec¬ tive bridegroom get into a fight, and Brazzi’s opponent dies. Brazzi escapes, organizes a band of ruffians, and becomes a famous and feared bandit. Cortese begs him to go away with her. He promises to do this but she sees that he is beginning to enjoy the power and riches that he Secvisection 3 2971