Film and Radio Guide (Oct 1945-Jun 1946)

January, 1946 FILM AND RADIO GUIDE 35 showing vacillation, doubt, and almost chance arrival at decisions, he has produced strong sense of reality. In particular, through use of unusually beautiful Technicolor shots of lake and mountain scenery, he has produced something that corresponds to musical accompaniment throughout the picture. In many respects Leave Her to Heaven rises far above the average. THE SEVENTH VEIL. A story of psychoanalysis. Universal Pictures. Compton Bennett, Director. Strongly recommended. Just as Edgar Allan Poe loved to probe the mysteries of the mind, as in The Fall of the House of Usher, so some modern writers for the screen love to develop plays concerning the subconscious. Today we have The Picture of Dorian Gray, Spellbound and now The Seventh Veil. That “seventh veil” hides the very ultimate of personality, the deep inner secret that one does not show to the world. With great skill, scientific accuracy, and strong personal appeal, the new British-made film tells a fascinating narrative of narco-hypnosis, that combination of narcotics and hypnotism that makes a person lay bare his inmost self. According to the story, an internationally known pianist, injured in an automobile accident, makes a desperate effort to commit suicide. Why? A narco-hypnotist probes deep into the young woman’s memory of her past. A series of enthralling flash-backs tells the entire story, from her childhood to the present. Then, knowing the cause of her despondency, the physician finds a way to effect a complete cure. The dignity and seriousness of the production, the freedom from all buffoonery, and the slow application of recogniz able scientific procedures, give the picture a gripping quality that immediately interests and pleases. In England this motion picture attracted crowds. It should make strong appeal here. THE BELLS OF ST. MARY'S. Humanint'eresi' comedy. RKO Radio. Leo McCarey, Director. Enthusiastically recommended. “An invited audience loved every minute of the picture and left the auditorium brushing unabashed tears from happy eyes,” said a reviewer in the Motion Picture Herald. In its second week in New York, at nine in the morning, over 4,000 persons stood in long lines hoping for admission. Certainly the success of Going My Way, to which The Bells of St. Mary's is a kind of sequel, or the popularity of Ingrid Bergman and Bing Crosby, or the nature of the subject, or the excellence of the picture itself, or all these together, account for such instant success. Without having either the inimitable Barry Fitzgerald or the close human touch of Going My Way, The Bells of St. Mary’s stands fully on its own as an unusual picture. It is the story of a tactful priest, a devoted sister superior, a school, and a rich man. Incidentally, it is also the story of a little girl, waif of a broken family. These far-reaching lines of interest unite in making a tenderly appealing picture-story. Bing Crosby once again is Father O’Malley, this time tactfully suggesting procedures for the school over which Sister Benedict (Ingrid Bergman) presides. A millionaire, whose property adjoins the school, plots to have the school buildings condemned as unsafe and thus gain possession of the land ; the nuns pray that somehow the millionaire will be led to give his land to the school and to erect new school buildings. The entire story is managed with delicacy, humor and understanding. Best of all, scores of deft touches throughout the production give life, sparkle and spirit. Producer-Director McCarey shows remarkable skill in covering the dry bones of narrative with the reality that comes from all the little incidents that make life. Here is a picture that everyone wishes to see — and that everyone should see. BURMA VICTORY: THE ALLIED CAMPAIGN IN BURMA. British Army Film-Unit Production. Distributed by Warner Brothers. Captain Roy Boulting, Director. Recommended. In Burma Victory an entire chapter of recent history appears on the screen for the interest of the present and the instruction of the future. Made by British, Indian, and American combat cameramen, all the pictures of persons, scenes, and events are strictly authentic. In an hour of running time, the film shows the entire history of the desperate fighting in the dense jungles, high mountains, and wild gorges of the vast region between China and India. Without any single group of leading characters, and without including any story other than that of the complete overthrow of the Japanese in the wild Burma region, Burma Victory has the unity of a military campaign conducted under almost impossible conditions and leading through three years of gigantic effort and bloody fighting to full victory. In spite of the difficulties that the combat cameramen had to overcome, all the shots are clear, interesting in nature, and thrilling in their unplanned sequence. Such a record has high value for the future.