Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1954)

"The Miami Story" I^CUCH^ O O O Tight crime melodrama will go best in action situations. Suspenseful situations, insight into racketeering and gambling. Special appeal for family trade in parental relationship. Should register well in any location where exploitables are capitalized. Sam Katzman turned out a taut little crime melodrama that rates a step above its type. Unusual twist, a former racketeer using his past experience as a wedge to break up a lawless empire, gets expert treatment in direction and performance. Barry Sullivan, as the reformed gangster, enlists audience sympathy as he works against the murder organization. Faced with loss of his kidnapped son if he continues on the side of the law, the e.x-gangster outsmarts the syndicate in a clever denouement. Robert E. Kent's screenplay reveals a credible detailing of gangland operations, while maintaining a j)ersonal tone. Fred F. Sears' direction paces the film briskly, running through the brief 76 minutes with wiretight rein. Performances by Sullivan, Luther Adler, Adele Jergens and Beverly Garland are on a much higher ])lane than those ordinarily contributed on programmer plane. Lurid aspects are stressed in pressbook — "How (lang Rule Was Smashed in Miami". "Racket-Girls Beware!'' Action and sex elements spotlighted. Phil Columbia. 74 min. Barry Sullivan, Luther Adler, John Baer. Adele Jergens, Beverly Garland. Producer Sam Katzman. Director Fred F. Sears. "Lucky Me" (CinemaScope) Su^CHC^ IRcUcKf O O O Routine musical comedy must lean heavily on exploitation value of CinemaScope. Early runs will be helped by strong WB campaign, but just average on lukewarm wordof-mouth in sub-runs. Boxoffice values on Doris Day, Phil Silvers, Warnercolored production numbers. .\() fresh angles have been added to a familiar musical comedy plot about a burlescjue troupe stranded in Miami Beach ; nothing, that is, except CinemaScope. which is an asset. Doris Day handles tunes and perforjnance in usual vivacious manner that will score with her fans. Involved in a familiar rocky-rcjad romance, Robert Cummings suffers the same tough-going in the scri])t. l-'ntertainment is at its brightest when IMiil .Silvers pilots the situation comedy in his well-known boisterous style. Screenplay — clinging to hoary formula — deals with trials and tribulations of show folk down on their luck, trying to con angel into backing show. It is during plot twists that interest lags, but this is i)artly offset by numbers like "Tlir Sii])erstition Song" ( Day I and ".Men" ( Silvers ). I're^sbook j)lays uj) the ultra-hapi)y angles with. "The FastestI'aced I'leasure That Fver Spread a W ide Smile Acros.*. the Face of the .Screen." Neil W4rn«r Bros. 100 min Oor'n Day. Robert Cummings. Phil Silvers, Eddie Foy, Jr. Producer Henry Blank*. Director Jack Donohu*. "Prince Valiant" (CinemaScope) S«4cKe44 l^atuu^ O O O Loaded with spectacle and action, should register strongly with comic strip element. Plenty of exploitation values. Problem will be selling it to adults. Mason, Leigh names will help and, of course, a story tailored to CinemaScope. Action-packed, spectacular production takes full advantage of CinemaScope, Technicolor and elaborate settings for rousing costume melodrama. Taken from the syndicated comic strip, story follows the same fantastic pattern. There's never a static moment. The screen careens with movement, be it a joust, a clash of armies, one-man stands against overwhelming odds. Broad swashbuckling that pauses only momentarily for a breath. Story excitement is engendered when a deposed A'iking king, given sanctuary by King Arthur, sends his son. Prince \'aliant (Robert \\ agner ), on a mission to overthrow the usurper. Valiant becomes a knight in Arthur's court, finally rescues his parents in an incredible foray against hordes of evil Mkings and restores his father to the throne. It's done with a flourish and scope that should make all but the most discriminating forget the triteness of the story. Pressbook spotlights spectacle and action : "The Golden Age of Adventure Comes .Alive!". Exploitation via the comic strip i>rototype is also featured. Phil 20th Century-Fox. 100 min. James Mason, Janet Leigh, Robert Wagner, Debra Paget, Sterling Hayden, Victor McLaglen, Donald Crisp, Brian Aherne. Producer Robert L. Jacks. Director Henry Hathaway. Inem Sc(444ee^ 1^€UcK^ O O O Rating based on exploitables in science-fiction thriller that will have them talking it up. Documentary style presentation sure to excite all audiences, should be smash in action houses. Bodes good grosses wherever exploited, despite marquee weakness. W arners has a real spine-chiller in "Them," one that should equal or surpass the returns on "Beast from 20,000 Fathoms." Picture keeps audiences on tenterhooks as it unreels in pseudo-scientific fashion horror tale of man-killing monstrosities spawned by atomic blasts. Tale begins in New Mexico with discovery of a brutal murder, a child in a state of shock and a huge insect-like footprint as the only clue. As story mounts in suspense, state troopers call in entomolygist Fdmund Gwenn, who suspects a monstrous mutation of insects 10 feet tall caused by radiation from atomic blasts. After a desperate search, their nest is located in the Los .\ngeles sewers and martial law is declared as the "li'itary moves in on the horrors with flame throwers, bazookas, and other instruments of death to end the terror. David W'eisbart's production and Gordon Douglas' direction are first-rate, and Ted Sherveman's screenplay makes the incredible proceedings shiveringly realistic. Big exploitation camjjaign is a 'must'. W'ord-of-mouth i is sure to l)uild. Ham \ Warner Bros. 94 min. James Whitmore. Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, Jamti Arness. Producer David Weisbart. Director Gordon Douglas. ^u4iHt4A ^etUstf O O O O TOPS O O O GOOD Q Q AVERAGE O POOR Page 14 FILM BULLETIN April If. lfS4