The Film Daily (1946)

10 m (UULY Monday, July 22, 1946 ^ flLfn DfllLV REVIEUIS Of nEUI PICTURES ^ "Home Sweet [ Homicide" I with Peggy Ann Garner, Randolph Scott, ] Lynn Bari 20th-Fox 90 Mins. PLEASANT COMEDY IS CHARMING ENTERTAINMENT WITH STRONG APPEAL TO FAMILY TRADE: ACTING HELPS A LOT. In "Home Sweet Homicide" 20th-Fox has produced a comedy that should be warmly welcomed by those who crave a change from the usual comedy fare. Its divergence from routine will bring a grateful public trooping to see it. There is nothing big about the film, to be sure; but it is capable of giving more pleasure than many a pretentious and costly production. It is human all the way through, and there is a warmth and an intimacy about it that make it irresistibly appealing. One may even go so far as to credit the film with charm. The comedy is not boisterous but heartcaptivating. The film, consistently amusing, is sure-fire Stuff for the family trade. The appeal is not limited solely to those in search of a laugh. Its picture of a household dominated by a group of youngsters is manna for the femmes, while the melodrama that has befen injected into the plot gives the film added weight where the meller crowd is concerned. The children in the case are Peggy Ann Garner, Dean Stockwell and Connie Marshall. Their mother, Lynn Bari, a writer of crime fiction, is too busy with her scribbling to give much time to the running of the household; so the kids take over. Inspired by their mother's writing, the youngsters undertake the job of solving a murder committed next door. Their childish meddling gets them in the hair of the police investigators headed by Randolph Scott. Eventually the crime is solved with their help. The youngsters also take upon themselves the task "of engineering a romance between mom, a widow, and Scott. The Craig Rice novel has been well adapted to the screen by F. Hugh Herbert. The film has been produced praiseworthily by Louis D. Lighten, while Lloyd Bacon has contributed able direction. The success of the picture is due in large measure to the work of its cast. CAST: Peggy Ann Garner, Randolph Scott, Lynn Bari, Dean Stockwell, Connie Marshall, James Cleason, Anabel Shaw, Barbara Whiting, John Shepperd, Stanley Logan, Olin Howlin, Marietta Canty, Pat Flaherty, Phillip Morris. CREDITS: Producer, Louis D. Lighten; Director, Lloyd Bacon' Screenplay, F. Hugh Herbert; Based on novel by Craig Rice; Cameraman, John Seitz; Art Directors, James Basevi, Boris Leven; Set Decorators, Thomas Little, AI Orenbach; Film Editor, Louis Loeffler; Musical Score, David Buttolph; Special Effects, Fred Sersen; Sound, E. Clayton Ward, Harry M. Leonard. DIRECTION, Good. PHOTOGRAPHY, Good. Fink Heads Outdoor Theaters Chicago — Frank Fink was elected president of Outdoor Theater Co., and Irving Gandall, secretary-treasurer. Company's first house opens next month at Irving and Harlem Aves. Show "Two Guys" July 29 National tradeshowing of WB's "Two Guys From Milwaukee," musical starring Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson and Joan Leslie, has been set for July 29. "Black Beauty" with Mona Freeman, Richard Denning, Evelyn Ankers 20thFoxAlson 74 Mins. SCREEN VERSION OF SEWELL CLASSIC IS ENTERTAINMENT OF SPECIAL INTEREST TO FAMILY AUDIENCES. The simplicity and unaffectedness with which the Anna Sewell classic has been brought to the screen are important considerations in judging the attitude of the filmgoing public toward the film, produced by Edward L. Alperson's Alson Productions. Although the story of "Black Beauty" falls into a familiar groove in its screen form, it cannot be denied that it possesses human qualities that will win it immediate acceptance by the family patronage. There is about the picture an air of tenderness that will strike a spark especially in the feminine heart. Not the least factor to be considered in gauging the boxoffice value of the film is the reputation enjoyed by the Sewell book. An enthusiastic reception on the part of the young is to be expected. Directed unassumingly by Max Nosseck, the film doesn't strain to impress an audience. It tells its story quietly with as little fanfare as possible. While a number of pictures dealing with the same theme have somewhat taken the edge off "Black Beauty ", the film still is capable of commanding the attention of the average individual, especially if he has a warm spot in his heart for animals. This is the story of an English girl's attachment for one of her father's horses. She brings up the animal to be her particular pride and joy. It is a sad day when the horse is taken ill, but the sun shines again for the girl when the animal is restored to health. Worked into the script is a romance between the girl (Mona Freeman) and an American visitor in England (Richard Denning). An obstacle that has to be removed is Evelyn Ankers, who also has her eye on the lad. Miss Freeman gives a sensitive performance. CAST: Mona Freeman, Richard Denning, Evelyn Ankers, Charles Evans, J. M. Kerrigan, Moyna Macgill, Terry Kilburn, Thomas P. Dillon, Arthur Space, John Burton, Olaf Hytten, Leyland Hodgson, Clifford Brooke. CREDITS: Producer, Edward L. Alperson; Associate Producer, Zion Myers; Director, Max Nosseck; Screenplay, Lillie Hayward, Agnes Christine Johnston; Based on novel by Anna Sewell. DIRECTION, So-So. PHOTOGRAPHY, Okay. Seidelman to Europe To Tour PRC Exchanges Sam L. Seidelman, PRC's foreign sales manager, leaves tomorrow via Air France plane for Europe, where he will spend four to six weeks touring the PRC offices abroad and investigating conditions with a view toward instituting the most efficient overseas distribution of the company's product. First stop for Seidelman will be London, where he will confer with PRC British sales manager Lou Kalker. Following his London talks, he will proceed to Paris for the first leg of a survey of major continental outlets. "Night Train to Memphis" with Roy Acuff, Allan Lane, Adele Mara Republic 67 Mins. MUSIC, ROMANCE AND MELODRAMA MIXED ACCEPTABLY IN FILM FOR FAMILY TRADE. "Night Train to Memphis" is a melange o( music, romance and melodrama that will win the pleasure of those whose entertainment demands are simple. There is about the production a hayseed quality that invariably finds acceptability with family patronage. The following that Roy Acuff and his Smoky Mountain Boys enjoy among the radio fans will work to the picture's advantage. The homespun flavor of Acuff's work will go over well with many audiences. Admirers of the type of harmony he represents will not be disappointed. Acuff and his boys do their stuff in a big way in "Night Train to Memphis," "Sally Goodin". and "That Glory Bound Train." Dorrell and Stuart McGowan have come up with a frail yet serviceable story which Lesley Selander has directed with no inspiration. The yarn has Allan Lane returning home after his release from jail, where he served time for a crime committed by another. Promptly he falls for Adele Mara, the daughter of the president of a railroad who, under the pretext he wants it for lumbering purposes, buys up all the land along a river with the idea of diverting the stream and using the river bed for a railroad short cut. Acuff, Lane's brother, also is in love with Miss Mara, but he nobly withdraws from the field. The citizenry, cast down by Miss Mara's father's duplicity, is made happy at the finale when pop suffers a change of heart and gives the land back to the people. Oh, yes. Lane learns the identity of the guy who framed him and gives him the business. The film, produced by the McGowans, has been routinely acted. CAST: Roy Acuff and Smoky Mountain Boys, Allan Lane, Adele Mara, Irving Bacon, Joseph Crehan, Emma Dunn, Roy Barcroft, Kenne Duncan, 'LeRoy Mason, Nicodemus Stewart, Nina Mae McKinney, Francis McDonald. CREDITS: Associate Producers, Dorrell and Stuart McCowan; Director, Lesley Selander; Screenplay, Dorrell and Stuart McGowan; Cameraman, William Bradford; Musical Director, Morton Scott; Film Editor, Tony Martinelli; Sound, Victor Appel; Art Director, Fred A. Ritter; Set Decorators, John McCarthy, Jr., George Milo; Special Effects, Howard and Theodore Lydecker. DIRECTION, Fair. PHOTOGRAPHY, Good. Buy Thomson Corp. Stock Chicago — ^Domestic Finance Corp. of Maryland's Chicago headquarters reports it and Standard Capital Co. of Los Angeles have bought the outstanding capital stock of the Thomson Corp. which will produce "Cry Wolf" with Errol Flynn and Barbara Stanwyck. The company also owns "Never Say Goodby," another Errol Flynn starrer, both to be released through Warner exchanges. Nelson Agency Moves Raymond E. Nelson, Inc., new advertising and production agency, is now located at 341 Madison Ave., consolidating its temporary uptown and downtown offices. New telephone number is Murray Hill 5-1762. SHORTS "rilTakeMilk" (Leon Errol) RKO 15 Mins. Okay This one has Leon Errol involved in a jewel robbery with Claire Carleton, a sexy blonde. Errol is about to hand over a diamond necklace to her which he accidently found in his pocket, in the belief she would return it to the rightful owner. Dorothy Granger, Errol's wife walks in on the scene takes the necklace to give to her cousin Myrna Dell as a wedding present, when the latter walks in with her husband Phil Warren. Errol spends the night trying to get the stolen property back from Dell, creating scenes with Warren. The cops enter the picture clearing Errol of the crime as they capture Carleton and her real accomplice. "Frank Duck Brings 'Em Back Alive" (Walt Disney) RKO 7 Mins. Excellent Donald Duck and Goofy are featured in this one. Donald is skirting through the jungle looking for wild men for his circus. He gets tangled up with Goofy who enjoys himself in the jungle swinging on monkey vines and acting generally like a mad Tarzan. Donald chases him with a cage. They both run into a lion's den, and the film ends with Donald acting like a wild man in Goofy's clothes and Goofy escaping from the jungle island in Donald's motor boat. Delis Sees U. S. Gifts Aiding Democracy Abroad Canton, O. — The United States is winning the European nations over to democracy through its generous donations of food and clothing to the needy, (j«orge A. Delis, district manager of the A. G. Constant theater circuit, reported on his arrival back in Canton after a six-week tour of Greece. "There are many people hungry in Greece, but few are starving," he said. "There are many poorly clothed but few are naked. This is because of UNRRA and United Greek Relief, and they will remember us for these gifts." Although, the main purpose of Delis' trip was to visit relatives whom he had not seen for 23 years, he also went as a representative of the Greek War Relief Association to inspect conditions there. Delis was welcomed back to the city with a homecoming party at the Belden Hotel. Ii-win Solomon, manager of the Ohio Theater presided and Delis was presented a desk set and a cigaret lighter from the 125 friends and motion picture associates present. A buffet luncheon followed a brief talk by Delis.