Harrison's Reports (1951)

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May 12, 1951 HARRISON’S REPORTS 75 editing, which adds to the confusion, and the inexpert manner in which the English dialogue has been dubbed in. Dramatically, it is ineffectual because the motivations of the characters are not made clear. The story, which takes place in 313 A.D., has as its principal characters Michel Simon, a Roman nobleman, Michele Morgan, his daughter, and Henri Vidal, a gladiator in the service of the Emperor Constantine, who had been ordered to go to Rome and secure information about the movements of the pagan aristocracy, which opposed the Emperor’s plans to free the slaves and accept Christianity. Michel and Vidal fall in love at first sight. Simon’s belief in Christianity results in his murder by the pagan aristocracy. The Christians are accused of the murder and they become subject to endless persecutions until finally condemned to die in the Coliseum. Meanwhile Michel, sympathetic to the Christians, suspects that Vidal is one of the men responsible for her father’s death because he had joined the forces of her father's enemies. She was unaware, however, that he had joined them to secure the information needed by the Emperor. But he proves himself to her at the finish when he joins the Christians taken into the arena and heroically fights the enemy gladiators in a defensive action that delays the slaughter until Constantine enters Rome at the head of his armies and puts an end to the bloody massacre. It is a Jules Levy presentation, directed by Alessandro Blasetti. The English language adaptation was written by Marc Connelly and Fred Pressburger, based on the novel, “Fabiola,” by Nicholas Wiseman. Unobjectionable morally, but it is doubtful if children will understand it. “Ace in the Hole” with Kirk Douglas and Jam Sterling (Paramount, July 4; time, 112 min.) “Ace in the Hole” is by no means a pleasant entertain' ment, for its story about an unscrupulous newspaper re' porter who, for personal fame and gain, builds up a minor mishap involving a cave-in victim into a major tragedy is grim, brutal, sorid and shocking. But though it is not a pretty tale it is, nevertheless, a superior melodrama that, under the brilliant handling of producer-director Billy Wilder, moves across the screen with tremendous emotional and dramatic impact. Briefly, the original story depicts Kirk Douglas as an unemployed New York reporter whose dishonesty and unreliability had caused him to be blackballed by every major newspaper. Broke, he talks himself into a $40-perweek job on an Albuquerque, New Mexico, newspaper and lives in the hope that he will one day get an exclusive story that will reestablish his national prestige. The opportunity presents itself about one year later when he stops for gas at a desolated desert hamburger joint and learns that Richard Benedict, the proprietor, had become entombed in a cavern nearby while searching for old Indian relics. Recalling the Floyd Collins disaster, which had won a Pulitzer Prize for its reporter, Douglas determines to capitalize on this minor mishap. He phones in a sensational story that dramatizes the accident falsely, then makes a quick deal with a crooked sheriff, whom he promises to reelect through appropriate publicity, to delay the rescue of the entombed man even though he could be freed in twelve hours. Both persuade the engineer directing the rescue oprations to pretend that it is necessary to dig a rescue shaft from the top of a cliff. They are joined in this nefarious scheme by Jan Sterling, the victim's wife, a woman of loose morals, who is convinced by Douglas that she could make a small fortune by acting the part of a suffering wife. In the next five days, the desolate desert spot assumes circus proportions as thousands of curious people come to the site and pay an admission fee to watch the rescue operations, while Jan lines her pockets with dollars selling food to them. Meanwhile Douglas’ clever handling of the story had given it national prominence, and representatives of major wire services and radio networks are dispatched to the scene. But Douglas, aided by the sheriff, sees to it that the other reporters are kept from the victim so that he could get exclusive coverage of the news, which he sells to the wire services for a fabulous fee. He also uses his position to compel his former New York editor to reemploy him. Complications ensue when the entombed victim, after five days in dampness and dust, becomes ill with pneumonia. Douglas becomes remorseful and decides to end the hoax, but Benedict dies before he can be freed. The story ends on a grim note with the crowd dispersing after Douglas announces the death over a loudspeaker, and with Jan running off with her money after stabbing Douglas in self-defense during a quarrel. Mortally wounded, Douglas returns to the Albuquerque newspaper to write an exclusive story of how he and his pawns had murdered the entombed man, but he falls dead before he can do so. The story is taut and absorbing from start to finish, and the morbidity of a crowd that flocks to the scene of a tragedy has been caught in a most realistic manner. The terse, rough dialogue is exceptionally good. No measure of sympathy is felt for either Kirk Douglas or Jan Sterling in their respective roles, but their performances are excellent. A most pathetic angle to the story is the trust shown in Douglas by the entombed man’s elderly parents, a devout couple, who believe him to be sincere and look upon him as a savior because of his bravado in leading the “rescue” work. As said, the story is most unpleasant, but those who can take a grim depiction of man’s inhumanity to man will find that the picture has undeniable holding power. The original screen play was written by Mr. Wilder, Lesser Samuels and Walter Newman. Bob Arthur, as a young photographer assigned to Douglas, Porter Hall, as the Albuquerque publisher, and Ray Teal, as the crooked sheriff, are among the supporting players who do outstanding work. Adult fare. “When the Redskins Rode” with Jon Hall and Mary Castle (Columbia, May; time, 78 min.) Photographed by the Supercinecolor process, this melodrama, which takes place at the time of the French and Indian Wars in 1753, should satisfy the juvenile trade as well as the undiscriminating adult action fans. Not much can be said for the picture insofar as the story and acting are concerned, and those who are the least bit discriminating probably will find it either laughable or a bore. The youngsters, however, should find plenty of thrills in the skirmishes between the whooping Indians and the militiamen, with bows and arrows and flintlocks as the weapons. The color photography is good in the interior scenes, but the outdoor scenes are spotty: — Although peace has settled temporarily on the American colonies, the French still conspire with several of the Indian tribes to conquer the English colonists. The colonists realize that their only hope for peace is to secure an alliance with the Delaware Indians headed by Pedro de Cordoba. James Seay (as Col. George Washington) and John Ridgely, leaders of a group of Virginia militiamen, cultivate the friendship of Jon Hall, de Cordoba’s son, who favors the alliance. He agrees to take them to his father’s camp to seek his aid. Mary Castle, a secret French spy, lures Hall into a romance, thus hoping to swing the Delawares to the French side. In the complicated events the follow, Mary’s machinations keep matters stirred up between the unfriendly Indian tribes and the colonists, and she even goes so far as to have de Cordoba murdered and tries to make it appear as if the colonists had committed the crime. But in due time her treachery is discovered, and the colonists, aided by Hall and his Delawares, beat off the French and their allies, thus saving the colonies. It was produced by Sam Katzman and directed by Lew Landers from a screen play by Robert E. Kent. Suitable for the family.