Film and Radio Guide (Oct 1945-Jun 1946)

January 1 946 FILM AND RADIO GUIDE 37 Philip Reed carry the principal parts in the somewhat confused story. WHISTLE STOP. Melodroma. United Artists. Leonide Moguy, Director. Old-time melodrama, replete with plotting, double-crossing and murder, comes to the fore in Whistle Stop, a story of underworld life in a small town at which trains stop only on signal. George Raft and Victor McLaglen, the one as a town ne’erdo-well and the other as an exconvict bartender, play their rough parts well, but in so doing they do not elevate the tone of the film story. Even Ava Gardner, as the youthful leading woman of the story, carries the role of a young person whose past in Chicago is hinted at but not explained. Whatever realism Whistle Stop has is coarse in conception and highly melodramatic in nature. DOLL FACE. Musical comedy. 20th Century-Fox. Lewis Seiler, Director. For adults. Obviously founded upon the life-story of a certain burlesque queen who made the story of her career a best-selling book of the day, Doll Face tells about the ambitions and the success of a girl of the Gayety Follies. Incidentally, perhaps for the benefit of those persons who never see burlesque, the motion picture shows something of the nature of the stage and the audience in a burlesque house. Vivian Blaine, as the dancer and singer called “Doll Face,” has sufficient personal charm to carry the part well. As a foil to her. Carmen Miranda, with her Latin ways and forceful personality, adds piquancy to the story. Dennis O’Keefe, as Mike Hannigan, manager of a burlesque show, finding that up-town stage-managers will not accept a singer from a down-town gayety theater, seeks what he calls “culture,” and engages a rich, marriageable, and wholly unattached young author to ghost-write the life of “Doll Face.” This he does so successfully that he wins an up-town stage for the lady and all but gains for himself a wife. The story is well and pleasantly acted and, in spite of concerning the burlesque, is generally free from offense. ADDITIONAL REVIEWS THE ROAD TO UTOPIA. Comedy. Paramount'. Hoi Walker, Director. Highly recommended for all. This gay and amusing comedy makes us realize how much we have been missing those “Road” pictures for the last few years. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby are still the perfect comedy team supplying just the right blend of humor and musical romance. This time, the scene is laid in Alaska, during the Gold Rush days, and the heroes get involved in a fast and furious plot concerning gold mines, lost maps, cruel villains, and helpless heroines. The story never takes itself seriously, many of the gags and comedy situations are hilariously funny (watch for the “Put It There, Pal” and the bear sequences), and the direction keeps the plot moving at a fast pace. Dorothy Lamour is again the heroine, and one may call her and the team of Hope and Crosby a perfect blending. We may well hope that “Road” pictures will never come to the end of their road. — EMILY FREEMAN CORNERED. Melodrama. RKO Radio. Edward Dmyf-ryk, Director. Recommended. In Cornered, the new Dick Powell roars on to new deeds of derring-do. Battling sophisticated, slimy, and cold villains of an Eric Ambler thriller with the headlong foolhardiness of his first detective role in Murder, My Sweet, Powell, a discharged RCAF officer, grimly trails a reportedly dead collaborationist killer from post-war France to effetely corrupt Buenos Aires, in order to revenge the murder of his wife. By dint of luck, hunches, pig-headedness, a n d sheer courage, he finds his man and kills him. The photography, politics, settings, and acting are all superior, and the suspense is tensely maintained throughout. Good, clean, exciting adventure with a dash of anti-fascism and a hint of new implacable Monte Cristo, out for vengeance. Definitely, a superior film. — JULIUS C. BERNSTEIN BECAUSE OF HIM. Comedy drama wiHi songs. Universal. Richard Wallace, Director. Recommended. What this picture lacks in plot imagination is redeemed by the fine performances of Deanna Durbin and Charles Laughton. It is the story of a girl who prefers the theatrical stage to the public kitchen, and by the ruses of an autograph on a letter of recommendation manages to get a chance to display her talent. Of course, her apartment is too luxurious and she bursts into song without sufficient provocation, and yet Because of Hun is good entertainment. Whatever the pretext. Miss Durbin’s songs are melodious and warm and the proper type for her gifts. She portrays her role with understanding and truth. As for Charles Laughton, it is not always easy to tell when he is acting and when mugging, but since the role as “John Sheridan” calls for both — and he does both to perfection — his portrayal is delightfully spiced with chuckles and sympathy. — HELEN E. WINTER