Harrison's Reports (1951)

46 HARRISON’S REPORTS March 24, 1951 “Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm” with Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride (UnivAnt’l, April; time, 81 min.) This latest of the “Ma and Pa Kettle" homespun comedies should go over very well with the series’ followers if one is to judge from the hilarious laughter provoked by the picture at a New York sneak preview. The story is completely “wacky,” but its mixture of slapstick comedy and sentiment, and the riotously funny antics of Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride as “Ma and Pa,” makes for an entertainment that is, for the most part, vastly amusing. At times, the situations are so comical that many lines of dialogue are drowned out by the howls of laughter. Towards the end there is a highly comical automobile chase that is reminiscent of a Keystone Cops comedy: — Ma and Pa become grandparents when Richard Long, their eldest son, and Meg Randall, his wife, are blessed with a baby boy. Almost immediately they are visited by Ray Collins and Barbara Brown, Meg’s parents. Trouble starts when Meg’s snooty mother, a Boston socialite, insists that the baby be cared for by a private nurse and berates any one who dares come too close to the child. Deciding that their ultra-modernistic home was not big enough to hold them and Meg’s parents, Ma and Pa and their brood of fifteen unkempt youngsters move back to their old farmhouse. In the course of digging a new well, Pa dons a pair of radioactive overalls and literally becomes a human dynamo. This leads Collins, an engineer, to believe that the land contained uranium. Two crooks, learning of the discovery, gain control of the land by paying up the back taxes. But when an atomic expert hired by Collins declares that there is no uranium in the ground and traces the radioactivity to the overalls, which had been worn by a GI at Bikini, the crooks give the deed back to Pa. Shortly thereafter Long rushes in with the news that he had quarrelled with Meg and that she, her mother and the baby were on a train headed for Boston. All pile into the family car and chase the train, stopping it when Pa parks on the tracks. Long convinces Meg to come back with the baby, and her mother, realizing that she had been a fool, begs Ma’s forgiveness. All return to the farm and become one big happy family. It was produced by Leonard Goldstein and directed by Edward Sedgwick from a story and screen play by Jack Hanley. Fine for the entire family. “Insurance Investigator” with Richard Denning, Audrey Long and John Eldredge ( Republic , March 23; time, 60 min.) This is a pretty good program crime melodrama, despite the flaws in the script. Revolving around the efforts of an insurance company investigator to track down a racket involving “accidental deaths,” the story holds one pretty tense. The action is fast, and there is considerable suspense when the lives of the sympathetic characters are placed in danger. The direction and acting are fairly good: — When Audrey Long's father is found dead in his office, every one but Audrey believes that it is an accidental death, for he had apparently taken a fall while in an intoxicated condition. The insurance company suspects foul play when it learns that John Eldredge, the dead man’s business partner, had recently signed a mutual insurance policy by which either partner would receive $100,000 in the event of the other's death. Richard Denning, the company’s ace investigator, is assigned to the case. After a talk with Audrey, he wins her cooperation. She introduces him to Eldredge as her cousin from Texas and asks him to employ Denning to look after her interests in the firm. In the office, Denning soon finds a clue that links Eldredge with Reed Hadley, a notorious gambler, to whom he eventually traces a series of insurance frauds. Needing the insurance payment to settle his gambling debts to Hadley, and realizing that Denning was on his trail, Eldredge attempts to murder Denning, but the plan backfires when he instead causes the death of Hillary Brooke, his own secretary, with whom he was amorously involved. Her death breaks down Eldredge's morale completely, and Hadley’s gang, fearing that he may talk to the police, murders him and make it appear like a suicide. In the events that follow Denning obtains definite evidence when Hadley's mob engineers a car accident to kill another insurance-racket victim. Aware that Denning had the goods on them, the gang kidnaps him, but Audrey, who had witnessed the kidnapping, summons the police. They arrive in time to either kill or capture the mobsters, while Denning, rescued, embraces Audrey. William Lackey produced it, and George Blair directed it, from a story by Beth Brown and Gertrude Walker and a screenplay by Miss Walker. A picture mainly for adults. “Follow the Sun” with Glenn Ford, Anne Baxter and Dennis O’Keefe (20t h Century-Fox, April; time, 93 min.) A very good human interest drama. Biographical of the life of Ben Hogan, the champion golfer, it is a warm, in* spirational story of a man's determination to become a leading professional golfer, and of the aid and encouragement he receives from a loyal and devoted wife. The picture is in many respects comparable to MGM’s 'The Stratton Story,” and should have the same kind of appeal, for many of the situations tug at one’s heartstrings. Glenn Ford, as Hogan, and Anne Baxter, as Valerie, his wife, are outstanding; their characterizations are highly sympathetic, and for that reason one feels deeply their tragedy when Ford, at the peak of his career, is seriously injured in an automobile accident. His courageous battle to recover, and his triumphant comeback as a top golfer, despite physical handicaps, are highly inspirational. The closing scenes, where he is honored at a dinner attended by newspapermen and sports figures, will bring a lump to one's throat. The direction is excellent, and the feel and mood of professional golf tournaments have been caught in a most realistic way. Good characterizations are turned in by Dennis O'Keefe, as a happy-go-lucky golf champ who celebrates his victories with champagne, and by June Havoc, as O’Keefe’s wife. Briefly, the story traces Hogan's career from the time of his marriage to Valerie, his childhood sweetheart. Having become proficient as an amateur golfer, Hogan, long imbued with the desire to become a professional, decides to compete in golf tournaments throughout the country. He sets out with Valerie by his side and in due time becomes discouraged when he fails to place in the money in tournament after tournament, blaming his poor game on the fact that he “freezes up” every time a crowd gathers to watch his play. Valerie refuses to let him quit, despite the hardships caused by their meager funds, and by learning to ignore the gallery and concentrate on his game he begins to win. He becomes a great champion within eight years, but the golf fans, misunderstanding why he does not play up to the gallery, peg him as a grump and a grouch. Shortly thereafter he is injured severely in a motor crash. Surgical skill saves his life, but a doubt remains as to whether he will walk again. Messages of sympathy and encouragement from thousands of fans make him realize that he had no reason to fear the gallery. After a long period of convalescence he begins to walk again and, despite his unsteady legs, he determines to get himself into shape to compete in the Los Angeles Open. The fans, though glum about his chances, take him to their hearts. With the gallery rooting for him with every shot, Hogan ties Sam Snead after four days of gruelling competition and then loses to him in the play-off. But he is acclaimed by the sports world for his courage, and the follow* ing year wins the U. S. Open. It was produced by Sam G. Engel and directed by Sidney Lanfield from a screen play by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan. Excellent for the entire family. “Naughty Arlette” with Mai Zetterling, Hugh Williams and Petula Clark ( Eagle-Lion Classics, Sept.; time, 84 min.) A fine British-made light-hearted entertainment, but it is suitable chiefly for the sophisticated picture-goers, even though a number of the rank-and-file will find it entertaining because of the sex implications. It is one of the better British pictures from the point of view of production smoothness, skillfullness of direction, and artistry in acting. Mai Zetterling is superb as the wealthy but spoiled French girl who makes a male professor in an English school for girls fall in love with her. Hugh Williams, as the professor, acts with great restraint: — When Williams becomes the first male professor to join Littleton’s Girls’ Finishing School, the young ladies like the departure from tradition, but Mai is not impressed. She does her utmost to make life difficult for him and, when she boasts of her ability to deal with men, the other girls dare her to make Williams fall in love with her. She accepts the challenge and begins her task by introducing Petula Clark, Williams’ daughter, to her sophisticated friends. Williams considers Petula too young to meet such a crowd and objects. Mai uses her charms to advantage, and Williams eventually becomes putty in her hands. Having proved her boast, Mai is ready to leave the professor to his family, but, when Margot Grahame, Williams’ wife, calls on her and tells her that she is silly to play up to a man old enough to be her father, Mai becomes incensed; she redoubles her efforts until