FilmIndia (1946)

May, 1946 F1LMINDIA tionally good performance, succeeding in making the audience understand her every thought, although she does not utter a single word until the final scene, where she regains her voice. The closing situations, where Miss McGuire is pursued by the murderer, narrowly escaping death, are terrorizing. The setting is a small New England town in 1906: — Following the murder of a crippled girl, the third unsolved killing in town, Dorothy is warned by Ethel Barrymore, her aged invalid mistress, to leave the house. The croche.y old woman spoke often of her late husband, who admired strength and despised weakness, claiming that he would have been disappointed in his two sons, Profes sor George Brent and Gordon Oliver, both occupants ol the house. Oliver, who was infatuated with Rhonda Fleming, Brent's seductive secretary, quarrels with her, and later, when she goes to the cellar to get her suitcase 10 leave the house, she is strangled to death. Dorothy finds her body under circumstances that convince her of Oliver's guik and. through a ruse, she succeeds in locking him in a closet. She rushes to Brent for aid, but the professor, coolly revealing himself to the murderer, informs her that there was no room in the world for the weak and imperfect, and prepares to kill her. Terror-stricken, Dorothy manages to elude him tor a time, but he eventual y corner, her. Miss Barrymore, having overheard the commotion, comes out of her room and shoots him dead, only to collapse and die herself. The shock causes Dorothy to regain her voice, enabling her to go away with Kent Smith, a young doctor, who had long been in love with her. Rased on the novel "Some Must Watch," the screen play was written by Mel Dinelli. Dore Schary produced it, and Robert Siodmak directed it. The cast includes Elsa Lanchester, Sara Allgood, Rhys Williams, James Bell and others. Too terrifying for children. "ADVENTURE" (MGM, no release date set; time, 130 min.) Fortified with the combined drawing power of Clark Gable and Greer Garson, "Adventure", a romantic melo drama, is sure to bring the masses to the theatres, and they will probably enjoy it because of the many emotional situations. But the story itself is antiquated and episodic, and at times too lalky. Occasionally the different charac ters spout dialogue in which each expounds his own philo sophy of life, but their meaningful words will probably remain vague to most spectators. Gable plays the part of a swaggering merchant-marine sailor, handy with his fists, and with a cynical outlook on life. It is a virile role, the sort his admirers will enjoy. Miss Garson, as a diminutive librarian who finds in Gable the adventuresome spirit she had been missing in life, is very effective, and always sympathetic. Though Gable displays tender characteristics, he is just fairly sympathetic; his constant cynicism begins to wear on one's nerves, and his easy way with women does not endear him to the audience. Some of the situation^ provide good comedy, while others, particularly the closing scenes, where Gable instills life into his still-born baby, are highly dramatic. The supporting cast headed by Thomas Mitchell and Joan Blondell, is very good: — Arriving in San Francisco after his ship had been torpedoed, Gable, to humor his friend, Mitchell, who had Surraiya looks attractive in "Parwana" produced by Jit Productions. become convinced that he had lost his soul because he broke a pledge to lead a cleaner life, accompanies him to a library to obtain information on his state of mind. There Greer, the librarian, treats Mitchell sympathetically, but Gable scoffs at the philosophy presented by her books. While he argues with her, Joan Blondell, Greer's roommate, arrives. Joan, attracted to Gable, accepts his invitation to a night-club date but insists that Greer come along. At the club, Gable riles Greer by constant reference to his unworldly ways, and goads her into starting a free-for-all brawl. On the following day, he accompanies both girls to Greer's home in the country, where, after constant quarrels with Greer, both realize that they were in love. Greer, fascinated by his adventuresome spirit, agrees to an immediate marriage. After an idyllic three-day honeymoon, Gable announces his intention to go off to sea. Crushed, because she felt that their marriage would make him settle down, Greer, in keeping with his philosophy that both should feel free, decides to divorce him. Gable accepts her decision and sails away. His voyage is marked by a conflict with Mitchell, who accuses him of marrying Greer for a lark. Meanwhile Greer, expecting a baby, secures her divorce. When Gable returns, he learns from Joan that Greer expected to give birth that day. He rushes to Greer's bedside and, after helping to bring his still-born baby to life, reunites with her. Frederick Hazlitt Brennan and Vincent Lawrence wrote the screen play, Sam Zimbalist produced it, and Victor Fleming directed it. The cast includes Lina Romay, Tom Tully, John Qualen. Philip Merivale and others. Unobjectionable morally. 67