Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1963)

"Savage Sam" JSu4iH€44 1£*u«$ O O Pius New Disney boy-dog entry should satisfy family trade, especially the kids. Will gross well as summer release. "Savage Sam" is no "Old Yeller", not by a country mile. It has a dog and a boy, but it lacks the heart-interest and the suspense that made that prior Walt Disney film one of the best of its type. "Sam", nevertheless, will have the support of a Disney promotion campaign, and that means youngsters everywhere will be waiting to see it. In the summertime, especially, that spells above average grosses wherever the family trade abounds. The kids and their parents will find enough hard riding and slam-bang brawling between the whites and the Apaches to satisfy them. Kevin Corcoran does well with the key role of the high-spirited boy, owner of Sam. A minor teenage romance involves his older brother, Tommy Kirk, and young Marta Kristen. Brian Keith is rugged and leathery as the boys' wise uncle. And Sam, the blue tick hound, may lack the appeal of his sire, "Yeller", but he acts well enough, particularly when he has to do his trailing on three legs because of a chewed-up paw. The direction of Norman Tokar concentrates more on the chase than on characterization. The Technicolor photography is impressive. Set in the Texas of 1870, the story centers on the capture of brothers Corcoran and Kirk and their neighbor, Miss Kristen, by a band of Apaches. Sam, after shaking off the effects of a clubbing by the Indians, takes off in pursuit. He finds Kirk, left behind by the Indians, and they resume the chase together, later are joined by Keith and a posse. In a climactic battle, the youngsters are freed. Buena Vista. 110 m'nutes. Brian Keith, Tommy Kirk, Kevin Corcoran. Produced by Walt Disney. Directed by Norman Tokar. Tall Me Bwana" %>u4ute4& 'Rating Q O Fair Bob Hope vehicle will do OK as summer release. Has some fun for youngsters in animal sequences. After a promising beginning, this new Bob Hob vehicle drops off too a much lower level of comedy and will provide his fans with only occasional pleasure. On the other hand, as a summer release it does have the possibility of attracting the youngsters, since it features jungle scenes involving a friendly lioness and a baby elephant which mistakes Hope for one of the family. All in all, "Call Me Bwana" shapes up as a fair grosser in the general market. The Eastman Color production by Albert R. Broccoli has been directed with reasonably good pace by Gordon Douglas. Anita Ekberg and Edie Adams add some marquee luster, as does the presence of Arnold Palmer who is thrown in briefly to attract the golfers. The yarn, written by Nate Naoaster and Johanna Harwood, starts brightly enough, with Edie Adams, a comely, voluptuous CIA agent, accompanying Hope, an African explorer who's never been to Africa, on safari to retrieve a space capsule. Miss Adams is attracted to Hope — and Hope, well. Miss Ekberg a Russion anthropologist and spy, arrives and gleefully pushes her subordinate out of a second-story window. Miss Adams rescues Hope from a series of murder attempts, while her seductive rival works her wiles on the unsuspecting Hope. Then the spy weakens and the plot does likeswise, falling into the old "Ninotchka" routine. Finally, Miss Ekberg reforms, defects from Russia and gets her man. This could be accepted, but not when the girl who has the audience sympathy, Miss Adams, is left waiting, safe but unmated, in the bushes — with not even a Bing Crosby around the bend. United Artists. 103 minutes Bob Hope, Anita Ekberg, Edie Adams. Produced by Albert R. Broccoli. Directed by Gordon Douglas. "The Nutty Professor" 'SutlKCU "Rating O O Plus Lewis doing a comic Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde bit. Has fair share of laughs. Technicolor and Stella Stevens help. At one point in "The Nutty Professor" Jerry Lewis swallows a potion that changes him from a mild, bumbling chemistry prof into a brash, flashy, lower-case don juan. Yes, it's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde again, and this schizo aspect is about the only way to view a Lewis film. As far as boxoffice potential is concerned, its a Dr. Jekyll. There is still a Lewis audience. Lewis is mugging to his fans, singing to 'em and stumbling all over the screen. Filmed in Technicolor, "Professor" has plenty of beautiful gals, led by a stunning Stella Stevens packaged in an array of sexy outfits, to form a backdrop for the frenetic star. For any audience that desires comedy imaginative and cliche-free, this film is a Mr. Hyde. The Lewis antics, as he goes from Professor Julius Kelp to hipster Buddy Love, begin to look and sound familiar, and the repetition will wear down all but the devoted Jerry Lewis devotees. The comic, who insists upon writing his own material (with Bill Richmond), and directing his films, could do better by employing others. He goes in for shopworn gags "Dr. Kelp, do you know who Newton was?" — "A, I believe he had something to do with figs." And he gives himself too much footage. Paramount. 105 minutes. Jerry Lewis Stella Stevens. Produced by Ernest G. Glucksman. Directed by Jerry Lewis. "Corridors of Blood" Su4cne4d /£<ntt*# Q Q Well-made drama of doctor's research in drugs. This British import has considerable merit. It is being coupled with "Werewolf in a Girls Dormitory," as part of M-G-M's "Nervo Rama" exploitation show. Despite the lurid title, it is really not a true horror picture. Realism and integrity are sustained throughout the John Croydon production by director Robert Day. The literate script by Jean Scott Rogers is rooted in fact and the setting of London, 1840, is authentically reproduced in the black-and-white framework. Boris Karloff will draw the horror addicts, but this unusual film might have been better suited for the art houses. Karloff virtually monopolizes the film as an idealistic surgeon dedicated to developing an anesthetic to relieve the tortures of patients undergoing operations. Francis Matthews and Betta St. John provide romantic interest. Finlay Currie and Christopher Lee are effective in small roles. The story concentrates on Karloff's research and ultimates failures, during which he becomes addicted to experimental drugs and finds his surgical ability impaired. Forced to leave his hospital post, he is reduced to falsifying death certificates for underworld assassins in order to obtain drugs with which to continue his experiments. When Karloff is no longer useful to the underworld he is murdered. His name is vindicated when anesthetics are perfected a few years later. M-G-M. 84 minutes. Boris Karloff, Betta St. John, Finlay Currie. Produced by John Croydon. Directed by Robert Day. WANTED: Experienced Theatre Manager for an expanding theatre circuit ■ Many benefits, including retirement plan Apply immediately WALTER READE / STERLING THEATRES Mayfair House, Deal Road Oakhurst, N. J. Page 24 Film BULLETIN June 10, 1963