Harrison's Reports (1951)

March 3, 1951 HARRISON’S REPORTS 35 her. He takes her to Virginia City and arranges for her to sing at the local opera house. Vera follows to watch over her sister's welfare. Chase chooses this time to start a fire in the mine, and as a result Carroll finds himself faced with financial ruin because of his inability to meet a note held by Chase. Vera comes to his aid by lending him a million dollars. Outmaneuvered again. Chase incites the miners to lynch Carroll by stating that the fire, which had killed several miners, had been started by Carroll as part of a stock manipulation scheme. But before harm can come to Carroll, Vera accidentally shoots Chase, who confesses that Carroll is blameless before he dies. It all ends with Carroll realizing that Vera is his kind of woman, while Muriel is left to her career. It was produced and directed by Allan Dwan from a screen play my D. D. Beauchamp, based on a story by Peter B. Kyne. Adult fare. “Missing Women” with Penny Edwards (Republic, February 23; time, 60 min.) A passable program murder melodrama, revolving around the murderous activities of car-stealing racketeers. The spectator is held in pretty tense suspense by reason of the fact that the heroine's life is in danger when she joins the crooks, her purpose being to apprehend the murderer of her husband. Penny Edwards is a nice looking girl and a good actress; given suitable parts, she might go places. There is no comedy relief. The direction is fairly good; and so is the acting: — En route on a honeymoon, Penny Edwards and John Hedloe stop in a lover's lane to remove the “just married’’ sign tied to their car. They are accosted by James Millican and John Alvin, two car-stealing racketeers. Hedloe protests when Millican attempts to kiss Penny, and Millican shoots him down. Just then a police car approaches and, while Alvin conceals Hedloe’s body, Millican forces Penny to pretend that she is his wife. The two crooks eventually release Penny, and when she returns to the scene of the crime she learns for the first time that her husband is dead. Her meager description of the crooks leaves the police helpless, but while being questioned she learns that car thieves liked to work with women to ensnare their victims. She immediately goes to a beauty parlor, where her personality is altered completely, and by posing as a woman just released from prison she makes contact with a car-stealing gang headed by Robert Shayne. He pairs her on a job with Alvin, who fails to recognize her. Meanwhile Penny’s parents become alarmed over her disappearance and notify the police. The police eventually track her down, but when she tells them of the part she is playing they agree to let her continue in the hope that she will find Millican, who was hiding out in the gang’s garage. Complications arise when Penny’s picture, which had been publicized by the Missing Persons Bureau, comes to the attention of the gang and they realize her motive. They take her to the garage and are about to kill her, but she is saved by the timely arrival of the police who had been trailing her. It was produced by Stephen Auer and directed by Philip Ford from a screen play by John K. Butler. An adult picture. “Raton Pass” with Dennis Morgan, Patricia Neal and Steve Cochran (Warner Bros., April 7; time, 84 min.) There is no question that this western melodrama will go over fairly well with those who love fast action, shooting and killings, for there is a plentiful quantity of these ingredients. But the story is unpleasant in that the action is at times brutal and cruel, and there seems to be almost no one worthy of sympathy. Dennis Morgan is good as the hero, and Patricia Neal is effective as the conniving woman who brings tragedy to others by her inordinate ambition. Steve Cochran is realistic as the cold-blooded murderer. As to the others, Dorothy Hart is pleasing, Basil Ruysdael is “hammy,” and Scott Forbes is a most unfortunate selection for his part, for he neither seems to be a good actor nor has he a pleasant face: — Shortly after her arrival in the New Mexico Territory, Patricia sets her cap for Dennis Morgan, co-owner of a vast ranch with his father (Basil Ruysdael). He soon marries her and gives her a half-interest in the ranch. When Scott Forbes, a wealthy Chicagoan, comes to inspect the ranch for the purpose of granting a loan, Patricia, seeing a chance to better herself, makes a play for him. Morgan’s ranch is divided by a streak of lava land on which homesteaders, embittered against the ranch owners, eke out an existence. Morgan and his father compel the homesteaders to lease the strip at their own terms, and Louis Jean Heydt, their leader, protestingly signs the agreement. Morgan comes upon Patricia and Forbes in an embrace, and Patricia, to appease him, tells him that Forbes wants to buy the ranch. Embittered over her unfaithfulness, Morgan agrees to sell his one-half interest in the ranch. It was his plan to close the lava strip and thus prevent his wife and her lover from enjoying the use of the water nearby. The homesteaders agree to go along with the plan. To protect her interests, Patricia hires Steve Cochran, a killer. A three-way range war soon develops, with many killed. In the events that follow, Cochran cold-bloodedly murders Heydt and wounds Morgan. Forbes, horrified at the wanton killings, becomes a willing hostage of Morgan's followers and the homesteaders while Patricia elects to fight it out on Cochran’s side. In a final showdown fight between both forces, Cochran is killed, but before he dies he shoots at Morgan^ and accidentally hits Patricia instead. She dies in Morgan’s arms. With peace reigning on the ranch once again, Morgan turns his attention to Dorothy Hart, Heydt’s niece, who had long been secretly in love with him. It was produced by Saul Elkins and directed by Edwin L. Marin, from a screen play by Tom W. Blackburn and James R. Webb, based on a novel by Mr. Blackburn. An adult picture. “Inside Straight” with David Brian, Arlene Dahl and Barry Sullivan (MGM, April; time, 89 min.) A fairly good melodramatic entertainment, revolving around a man who, by fair means and foul, succeeds in his burning desire to become rich, but who finds much unhappiness along the way. The story itself is lacking in appreciable dramatic force, mainly because it unfolds in a series of erratic flashbacks and is episodic. Moreover, the characterizations are skin-deep and do not ring true. Despite its shortcomings, however, it holds one’s interest well because of the colorful 1870 San Francisco background and of the expert manner in which the lusty excitement of that era has been captured on the screen. The story opens with David Brian being approached by Mercedes McCambridge for a loan of $3,000,000 to save her bank from going under— a condition brought about by Brian’s manipulations. Brian deals a hand of open poker and challenges Mercedes to wage her bank against his $3,000,000 on whether or not his closed card completed an inside straight. Barry Sullivan, John Hoyt and Lon Chaney, friends of the pair, warn Mercedes to think carefully about Brian’s past life before accepting his challenge. As each relates his past experiences with Brian, it is revealed by flashback that Brian, as a youngster (played by Claude Jarman, Jr.), had determined to acquire great wealth when his parents had died and an unsympathetic undertaker had refused to give them a decent burial because of Brian’s inability to pay. He had become friendly with Chaney, a miner, and after saving several thousands of dollars he had come to San Francisco, where he had charmed Mercedes, a widow, into selling her small hotel to him, giving her worthless stock as part payment, and cheating her on the cash transaction. By saving Roland Winters, a wealthy stock broker, from a scandal because of his affair with Arlene Dahl, Brian had been given an opportunity to make a fortune in some mining stocks. Meanwhile Mercedes’ stock had turned out to be valuable, giving her a fortune. Brian had eventually stolen Arlene from Winters and had married her. She had given him a son, but had left him after five years, frankly admitting that she had married him for his money. He then had married Paula Raymond, whom he had first hired as a governess for his son, but he had been so obsessed with the business of making money that he neglected her completely. Paula had fallen in love with Sullivan, a writer, but she remained faithful to Brian. When his wealth had disappeared in a stock market crash, Paula had proved her loyalty by helping him to recoup his fortune, but he neglected her once again and, when she had died in childbirth, he had realized too late where his happiness had been. The recounting of his past life brings Brian to the realization that he had been a rotter, and that he must learn to help others as well as himself; he sees to it that Mercedes gets the required funds to save her bank. It was produced by Richard Goldstone and directed by Gerald Mayer from a screen play by Guy Trosper. Adult fare.