Harrison's Reports (1951)

May 19, 1951 HARRISON’S REPORTS 79 fuses. As a result, Carey dies in an “accidental” explosion the day before he is to be released. This brings on a fight between Brian and de Corsia, with the warden revoking all the prison reforms started by Brian. Meanwhile Cochran decides on an immediate jail break and, through an ingenious scheme, he over' powers a guard, opens the cells, and sets up a siege in the cell block, holding the guard as hostage. He sends a convict out to talk terms with de Corsia who, ignor' ing the demand that the convict be returned safely, dons the convict’s uniform and returns to the cell block himself. He opens fire on the convicts only to be shot dead by Cochran. Brian takes command and, through his intelligent handling of the situation, saves the convicts not involved in the break. The escape group, realizing the hopelessness of their position, set off a blast of dynamite that kills them all. It was produced by Bryan Foy and written and directed by Crane Wilbur. Adult fare. “The Man with My Face” with Barry Nelson ( United Artists, June 8; time, 79 min.) This crook melodrama, based on a mistaken idem tity theme, is farfetched in the extreme, but it should serve as an adequate supporting feature in double' billing situations where patrons are not too con' cerned about a story’s lack of logic. Most picturegoers, however, will find it difficult to swallow the idea of an innocent man’s identity, home, wife and business being taken over by a crook who is his perfeet double. The one thing that may be said for the picture is that there is no lack of melodramatic events before the crook is exposed, even though these events fail to hit a realistic note. Barry Nelson, playing a dual role, does fairly well with both parts, but not much can be said for the acting of the others in the cast. Another shortcoming is the choppy editing. The picture, which was produced in Puerto Rico by Ed “Archie” Gardner, of radio’s “Duffy’s Tavern,” offers some interesting actual backgrounds: — Nelson, an American accountant living in Puerto Rico, returns home from work one evening and finds another man, his perfect double, claiming to be he. When Lynn Ainley, his wife, and John Harvey, her brother, claim that he is an imposter. Nelson calls the police. But through a clever switch of identity cards and other pre-arranged details, the conniving trio prove that Nelson is the imposter and that he is wanted for a one million dollar bank robbery. As the police take Nelson to jail, the imposter communicates with Jim Boles, a nefarious dog trainer, who had trained his savage Doberman to kill people. The dog attacks the police and Nelson in front of the station house and, in the excitement, Nelson escapes. He communicates with Carole Matthews, his former sweetheart, and Jack Warden, her brother, and after hearing his story they realize that Nelson’s wife, her brother and the crook had concocted a clever plan by which they could share the bank loot while Nelson paid for the crime. In the events that follow. Nelson, aided by Carole and her brother, is forced to hide from the police while trying to prove his innocence. Meanwhile he is constantly trailed by Boles and the savage dog, and is finally captured and taken to a hideout to be killed. Carole, learning the location of the hideout, notifies the police. Just as the police arrive, Nelson escapes and is chased by the dog and the crooks. Boles becomes confused and sends the dog after the imposter, thinking him to be Nelson. The dog catches the crook on a steep parapet and, after a savage tussle, both fall to their deaths on the rocky shore below. It ends with Nelson re-establishing his identity, divorcing Lynn and marrying Carole. It was directed by Edward J. Montaigne from a screenplay by Samuel W. Taylor and T. J. McGowan, based on a novel by Mr. Taylor. Adult fare. “Francis Goes to the Races” with Donald O’Connor and Piper Laurie (Univ.'Int’l, July; time, 88 min.) Universal-International has fashioned another highly amusing comedy in this sequel to their successful “Francis.” As in the first picture, the comedy stems from the fact that the hero’s close pal is a talking mule, and that the hero gets himself into all sorts of predicaments because of his reluctance, lest he appear ridiculous, to tell people that vital information he had received came from the mule. In this instance, the action takes place in and around a race track, with the not-too-bright hero baffling everyone by his ability to pick winning horses, the result of information given to him by the mule. The story, of course, is preposterous, but the treatment is clever and the situations comical. Those who are willing to accept the story for what it is should have themselves a right good time, for it keeps one chuckling throughout: — Having lost his job in a bank, Donald O’Connor takes to the road with Francis, his talking mule. He becomes involved with Cecil Kellaway, owner of a horse training farm, and Piper Laurie, his daughter, when Francis makes friends with one of their thoroughbred horses and goes to live in his stable. Not wishing to be tied to Donald any longer, Francis advises him to bet his last few dollars on Mary’s Lamb and to use the winnings for bus fare home. Francis assures Donald that the other horses had agreed to let Mary’s Lamb win by six lengths. Piper and her father scoff at Donald when he places the bet on the following day and advises them to do the same, but, when the horse wins by exactly six lengths, Kellaway and Jesse White, the track detective, become suspicious. Donald is questioned but he refuses to reveal how he got his information. Deciding that Donald has an uncanny knowledge of horses, Kellaway hires him. In the events that follow Kellaway loses his horses to a racketeer for non-payment of a loan, and Piper gives Donald $25,000 of her own money to buy back Gallant, Kellaway ’s prize horse. Donald makes a mess of the deal by buying another horse, causing both Piper and her father to suspect that he is crooked. To help Donald square himself, Francis gives him a sevenhorse parley that wins enough money to repay Piper. His phenomenal luck not only increases White’s suspicions, but it brings into the picture the racketeer who forces Donald to pick winners for him on the following day. But without Francis’ help, Donald causes the racketeer to lose $200,000. As a result of this mishap, Donald finds himself threatened on all sides, but after many complications, Francis comes to the rescue by calling the police when the racketeer tries to harm Donald. Moreover, to patch matters up between Donald and Piper, Francis psychoanalyzes the horse Donald bought, learns her troubles, and then fixes matters in a way that permits her to win an important race. It was produced by Leonard Goldstein and directed by Arthur Lubin from a screen play by Oscar Brodney and David Stern, based on a story by Robert Arthur. Fine for the family.