Harrison's Reports (1951)

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14 HARRISON’S REPORTS January 27, 1951 “Call Me Mister” with Betty Grable, Dan Dailey and Danny Thomas (20th Century-Fox, February; time, 95 mm.) An entertaining Technicolor musical comedy, loosely based on the Broadway musical revue of the same name. The story, though thin, serves well enough as a means to tie in the combination of comedy, romance, dancing and music, which is of the type to appeal to most picture-goers. It does have its draggy moments here and there, but on the whole it is a satisfying entertainment, with many humorous situations, and with Betty Grable and Dan Dailey handling their singing, dancing and romantic assignments in their usual competent style. Miss Grable is as shapely as ever, and her dancing is exceptionally good, particularly in the production number in which she impersonates a sailor. Danny Thomas contributes much to the comedy, and his “Lament to the Pots and Pans" song routine is one of the film's highlights, but he does not fare so well in a monologue about basic training in the army. The Technicolor photography is exquisite, and the production values first-rate. The action takes place in Japan, after the surrender: — Like thousands of other GI's stationed in Japan after the surrender, Dailey, a former song-and-dance man, impatiently awaits shipment back home. But his desire to leave fades when, visiting Tokyo on a pass, he bumps into Betty, his wife and former dancing partner, from whom he had been separated. Betty, as a member of the Civilian Actresses Tech? nician Service, had been sent to Japan to stage a camp show for the troops. She embraces Dailey, but quickly discourages his attempt at a reconciliation when she recalls his roving eye for other women. Learning that Betty is stationed in Kyoto, Dailey angles a pass, good until midnight, to visit her. He overstays his leave because of a lingering goodnight and, upon his return to the Replacement Depot, discovers that his outfit has sailed for the States. Lest he be picked up for being AWOL, Dailey forges papers assigning him to the post where Betty is entertaining. He helps her to stage the show and becomes her leading man, but his efforts to become reconciled with her are stymied by a series of misunderstandings that make him appear irresponsible, chiefly because of the play that is made for her by Dale Robertson, commanding officer of the post. On the night of the big show, it comes out that Dailey is AWOL and had forged his papers. He is arrested and held for courtmartial, but he gets out of the mess when it is discovered that a tired clerk in the States had signed his discharge papers along with the rest of his unit, thus making him a civilian over whom the Army had no jurisdiction. It all ends with Betty and Dailey going into a final clinch. It was produced by Fred Kohlmar and directed by Lloyd Bacon from a screen play by Albert E. Lewin and Burt Styler. Suitable for the family. “Blue Blood” with Jane Nigh and Bill Williams (Monogram, Jan. 28; time, 72 min.) A pleasing horse-racing picture, photographed in Cinecolor. It is a heart-warming film, with many situations that cause emotional tears because of the kindness on the part of the characters for an elderly race-horse trainer who is down on his luck. Jane Nigh does good work; her naturalness makes for a pleasing and charming heroine. Arthur Shields is fine with his Irish brogue. Although the production end is good, the chief reason for the satisfactory results is the well-written screen play. The color photography is good in the close-ups and in the medium close-ups, but it is dull and fuzzy in the long shots: — Down on his luck, Arthur Shields, an elderly but experienced race-horse trainer, thumbs his way from Los Angeles to Agua Caliente seeking work. He is given a lift by Jane Nigh and Audrey Long, daughters of Harry Shannon, a wealthy Southern California race-horse breeder. En route, Shields spots Tanglefoot, a five-year-old he had trained, and learns that the horse is destined for a dog meat factory. Shields tries to buy the horse, but he has only twenty dollars whereas the owner wanted twenty-five. Jane, feeling sorry for Shields, makes up the difference, and Shields gives her a one-third partnership in the horse. With the help of Bill Williams, a neighboring stock man and Audrey's boy-friend, the horse is brought to Shannon’s esatte, where Jane pleads with her father to give Shields a job. Shannon, dissatisfied with his own trainer, replaces him with Shields. Meanwhile Williams, in a whimsical mood, gives Shields fifty dollars for a one-third interest in Tanglefoot. At Shields' suggestion, Jane buys Dinner Ring from Williams and, under Shields' training, the horse beats one of Williams’ entries in an important race. Williams takes the defeat like a good sport and Jane gives him a sympathetic kiss. He then realizes that he loved her and not Audrey. Dinner Ring is sold at a good profit, and Shields begins to train Tanglefoot. Despite his speed on the training track, however, Tanglefoot loses every race until Shields discovers that the animal was frightened by the color red. He enters Tanglefoot in a big race and persuades the starter to stand in a spot where his red starting flag would be inconspicuous. Tanglefoot gets off to a good start and, despite the efforts of the disgruntled former trainer to spoil his chances, wins the race. Shields’ wager on Tanglefoot nets him a tidy sum of money, and Bill wins Jane as his wife. Ben Schwalb produced it, and Lew Landers directed it from a screen play by W. Scott Darling, based on the story “Dog Meat,’’ by Peter B. Kyne. Fine for the family. “Target Unknown” with Mark Stevens, Alex Nicol and Robert Douglas ( Univ.-Int'l , February; time, 90 min.) A pretty good war melodrama. Revolving around the efforts of Nazi interrogation officers to draw out information from the captured crew of an American B-26 bomber during the last war, the story is intriguing and, in the closing reels, considerably exciting. Of interest are the suave methods employed by the Nazis to trick the crew members into making seemingly harmless remarks, which they piece together effectively to learn the vital details of a planned big -scale raid. The second half of the picture, in which two of the Americans escape and, with the help of the French underground, get word to their base that the Germans know of the flight plans, offers little that is novel, but it has enough excitement and thrills to satisfy the action fans: — Captured by the Nazis after their plane is knocked out in a raid over France, Mark Stevens, Don Taylor, Alex Nicol, James Best, James Young and Johnny Sands are housed in a magnificent chateau, where Robert Douglas, the Nazi colonel in charge, instructs his men to work on the prisoners for information. The prisoners, having been warned against talking about operations, remain tight-lipped, but Gig Young, a solicitous German captain who pretends to hate the Nazis, Joyce Holden, a German nurse who sympathetically pretends to seek information for the Red Cross, and Richard Carlyle, a German officer posing as an American prisoner, trick the captured crew members into dropping remarks that enable Douglas to figure out that two groups of American bombers planned to make a giant raid on a gasoline depot in Cambria in two days. Stevens, captain of the downed plane, is horrified when he realizes that the innocent remarks passed by himself and his crew had enabled Douglas to learn of the Cambria target. While on a train headed for a prison camp, Stevens and Nicol manage to escape. They make their way to a French farm and are aided by Suzanne Dalbert, who arranges for them to be transported to an underground group in Cambria. There, Nicol is caught by the Nazis, but Stevens manages a dash for freedom and, with the aid of an underground member, radios his base in England to warn that the Germans knew of the flight plans. He also advises his superiors of the location where the gasoline supplies had been hurriedly transferred by the Nazis. Stevens smiles happily the next morning as he sees a fleet of bombers heading for the new target. It was produced by Aubrey Schenck and directed by George Sherman from a screen play by Harold Medford. Suitable for the family.