Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1957)

"It Happened in the Park" GcC4i*C44 7Z*tc*$ O O O RaHng is for art houses. Five intriguing episodes in Continental film which can be sold in better class houses in U.S. An Italian film performed in French and decked out with English subtitles, "It Happened In The Park" is another one of those continental delights in the fanciful and frivolous tradition of "La Ronde" and "Gold of Naples". Set against the fabulous gardens of the Villa Borghese in Rome with its majestic and provocative beautv and directed by Gianni Franciolini with all the intriguing airs of a precocious schoolboy on a lark, this Ellis Films import seems assured of a hearty welcome from art film audiences, and as a novelty attraction in better class houses. The screenplav by Serio Amidei concerns itself with five short sketches, each one detailing an episode as it happened within the famous garden and park. To interpret this potpourri a delightful cast of European stars has been assembled, the most famous being Gerard Philipe, Micheline Presle, Francois Perrier and the current king of savoir jaire, Vittorio De Sica. Signor De Sica does his bit with some expert humorous devices as he conveys the befuddlement of a dandyish lawyer hell bent on making hay with a young signorita when the boy friend and the mama arrive on the scene. What follows is a superb example of explosive Italian hilarity. Mile Presle and Philipe play lovers who expose their own illicit affair with wry detachment and a shining skepticism. They perform exquisitely, as do Perrier as a professor and young Anna Maria Ferrero as one of his students. The lovely Signorita Ferrero plots with her schoolmates the sexual compromise of Perrier but at the decoy rendezvous with him learns of his unhappy life and refuses to continue the subterfuge. The last two vignettes concern a charming tale of romance between two shy yeung things and their embarrassment with a marriage broker and a wonderfully raucous and lowdown spoof on beauty contests as seen through the eyes of two ladies of the evening. The roles of these tradeful ladies are played to the hilt and with fetching candor by Eloisia Cianni and Franca Valeri. As you can gather, this is a multifarious treat of the first order, a bright and bountiful show. Ellis Films. 96 minutes. Vittorio De Sica, Gerard Philipe, Micheline Presle. Produced by Astoria Film. Directed by Gianni Franciolini. "Perri" IRatCHf O O O Delightful Disney adventure depicting the first year of a squirrel. Should charm young and old alike. The incomparable Walt Disney has a new and blessed screen event in his Buena Vista production of Felix Salten's "Perri '. Those who fondly remember these same talents at work in the enchanting "Bambi", will have no trouble imagining the magical import of the current opus. But while "Bambi" told its story thru animated cartoons, "Perri" uses the documentary style employed in the True-Life Adventure series. Disney is dealing here with the first full year in the life of a squirrel, our titular heroine, in such a way as to move out of the orbit of just animal study, so much so that he has dubbed his undertaking True-Life Fantasy. If such a labeling seems a trifle paradoxical, it must be remarked that "Perri" is a very rare exhibit. No one can be exact in describing what it is categorywise. Suffice to say its achievement is like no other, a work almost dream-like in its perfection. This is not to intimate that we have here a great work of art; nothing in "Perri" is that profound or that powerful. However, as the omniscient Disney cameras wander through the forests of I'tah and Wyoming, exploring the dazzling realm of natural beauty and the like, and doing all this as it follows the whole gamut of our herbivorous heroine's feelings and adventures, one feels a very privileged beholder, in the presence of something strange and wonderful. And quite a gamut there is, too. Perri is not exempt from the human condition; her year has its maturing share of fear and sorrow as well as humor and good fellowship. Not to mention the piece de resistance of a touching, if somewhat tempestuous, romance with another gallant little nut lover. Every department is superb, most especially the lucent narration of producer Winston Hibler and the breathtaking photography of director Paul Kenworthy and his crew. W ithout doubt Mr. Disney's "Perri" is one of the season's most glowing gifts. Disney fans throughout the world should be quite grateful for it. Buena Vista. 75 minutes. Produced by Winston Hibler. Directed by Paul Kenworthy and Ralph Wright. "Tip Dn A Dead Jockey" 3ci4utete fcatitf O O Plus Robert Taylor, Dorothy Malone give this b.o. lift. Engrossing story of flier who regains courage under odd circumstances. Irwin Shaw's sleek and saucy New Yorker tale of a World War II pilot w ho becomes one of those American irresponsibles abroad, arrives in black-and-white CinemaScope with few elisions of its sophisticated veneer, but with the addition of manifold M-G-M melodramatics. The professionalism of director Richard Thorpe and screenplayw right Charles Lederer always manages to keep things interesting and, in the latter portions, quite eventful. Starring Robert Taylor as the pilot who has lost his flying nerve and Dorothy Malone as his estranged but loving wife, this Edwin Knopf production set against some sultry and scenic backgrounds of Madrid should attract the adult audience, especially in metropolitan areas. Everything about this film with the odd title has a smooth and sensuous sheen, from the smart dialogue to the cool and calculated pace and the generally expert histrionics of the performers. In fact, the only flaw is the major and at times over-riding one of plot, in which character is rather cavalierly relegated to situaiton, and situation is allowed to rear its contrived head much too often. Be that as it may, the plot finds man-w ith-a-past Taylor living in neurasthenic dalliance with wartime buddy Jack Lord and Lord's wife, Gia Scala, for whom, incidentally, Taylor fancies a grand but frustrated passion. To complicate matters. Miss Malone arrives in Madrid and tells Taylor she has given him the divorce he requested. But the reverse is true: Miss Malone seeks to win back her husband and discover the psychological block that caused his defection from flying. Shady stranger Martin Gabel overseers the on-track murder of a jockey on whom Taylor has pocketed his last farthing, in order to force him to fly contraband English currency out of Egypt. Taylor first persuades Lord to take the job, but then decides to do it himself. He goes through a paroxysm of fear at the thought of taking to air again, but in the end agrees to chance his fate. Later, aboard the plane he discovers he is smuggling narcotics and dispatches the information to the authorities, who arrest Gabel. Taylor regains his self-respect, courage and wife. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. 129 minutes. Robert Taylor. Dorothy Malone, Gia Scala. Produced by Edwin Knopf. Directed by Richard Thorpe. Film BULLETIN September 2, 1 957 Page 11