Harrison's Reports (1951)

82 HARRISON’S REPORTS May 26, 1951 “Pier 23” with Hugh Beaumont, Ann Savage and Richard Travis (Upper t, May 11; time, 57 min.) This program melodrama is suitable for the lower half of a double bill. It consists of two short stories, intended for television after its picture-theatre run, but it has been put together so skillfully that no picture-goer will know that it is two stories. As to its entertaining quality, it is good, thanks to William Bcrke's effective direction. One's interest is held fairly tight from start to finish. There are, of course, faults to find, as is usually the case with melodramas produced on so low a budget. The photography is clear: — Hugh Beaumont is persuaded by Johnny Indrasano, a referee, to pick up a $1000 “pay-off" from Peter Mamakos, a wrestling arena owner, and deliver it to his apartment. At the arena, Beaumont sees Bill Varga die from a heart attack while wrestling Mike Mazurki. Later, when he arrives at Mamakos' apartment, Beaumont finds Margia Dean, Varga’s widow, and Mazurki. When he refuses to give Margia the money, she has Mazurki knock him out to get it. Beaumont is awakened by police lieutenant Richard Travis, and learns that Indrasano’s body is in the room. He discovers that Margia knew of her husband's weak heart, and that she and Mamakos planned to marry after disposing of him legally through Mazurki, with whom she pretended to be in love. When Beaumont finds Harry Hayden, a physical examiner, murdered, Margia and Mamakos realize that he knows too much and plan to kill him. At that moment Mazurki arrives on the scene and Beaumont tells him that Margia planned to doublecross him. Enraged, Mazurki strangles Mamakos and turns to kill also Margia, only to be shot down by the dying Mamakos. As Beaumont returns to his shack on the waterfront, he is visited by Raymond Greenleaf, a priest, who asks him to meet Joe Harmon, an escaped convict, at Pier 23 in San Francisco, and to bring him to him. He agrees, after ascertaining that the priest sought to prevent the convict from committing murder. The convict agrees to go with Beaumont to the priest, provided they first call on Ann Savage, his sister. There, the convict knocks Beaumont out. When he regains consciousness, Beaumont finds the convict’s body on the floor. He notifies the priest and learns from him that the dead man is not Harmon but a buddy of his. Travis arrives and informs Beaumont that Harmon had just killed a policeman at a night-club. Beaumont learns through Ann that Harmon had forcibly collected a $2,000 debt from David Bruce, the night-club owner. Later, when Harmon, too, is found murdered, Beaumont, Travis and Eve Miller, Harmon’s other sister, go to her apartment and find Ann and Bruce looking for the money. Through information gathered by Edward Brophy, a pal, Beaumont informs Bruce that Ann had doublecrossed him and her brother to collect the $2,000. After a fight, Bruce confesses to the murders. It was produced and directed by William Berke from a screenplay by Julian Harmon and Victor West, based upon stories by Louis Morheim and Herbert Margolies. Adult fare. “Night Into Morning” with Ray Milland, John Hodiak and Nancy Davis (MGM, June; time, 87 min.) This is a strong drama, well enough, but hardly a good entertainment. If anything, it is extremely depressing, for the wife and young son of the hero perish in his burned home, set afire by a gas-furnace explosion. Throughout the entire action the spectator is never allowed to forget the tragedy, for the hero himself is shown constantly brooding. This makes for an unhappy atmosphere, never relieved until the last few scenes — after he is prevented from committing suicide. The scenes where he breaks down and sobs are deeply moving. The direction and acting are very good: — Ray Milland, a college professor, finds his happiness shattered when a gas-furnace explosion wrecks his home and kills his wife and son. John Hodiak, a junior, member of the faculty, and Nancy Davis, a war widow in love with Hodiak, try to make Milland forget the tragedy. They and other friends suggest that he take a leave of absence to recover from the shock, but Milland refuses their advice and continues to work; he maintains a grim, unemotional attitude, and refuses to "break down," but takes to drink to forget. Chief victim of Milland's bitterness is Jonathan Clott, a student, brilliant on the gridiron but not so in the classroom. Clott, in love with Dawn Addams, another student, is most anxious to pass, for failure would mean the loss of a promised job, without which he could not marry Dawn. But Mib land, inflexible, marks Cott’s papers low, despite Nancy's plea that he help the young man. Milland continues to brood, pays regular visits to his burned-out home, and increases his drinking. Nancy, remembering her own grief when her husband was killed in action, does her utmost to snap Milland out of his self-imposed torture. Her solicitude is misunderstood by Hodiak, who begins to suspect that she has more than a sympathetic interest in Milland. When Milland fails to pass Cott after an English examination, Nancy visits him at his hotel, but her pleas are in vain. Milland, intoxicated, insists upon driving her home. On the way he has an accident, and the realization that he might have killed Nancy sobers him. He permits Cott to re-take the examination and passes him. He then clears up his business affairs and calls on Nancy and Hodiak to bid them farewell, saying that he is leaving on a trip. His manner, however, frightens Nancy. She follows him and arrives at his hotel in time to prevent him from committing suicide. Something snaps inside Milland and for the first time he breaks down and gives way to his grief. Later, he convinces Hodiak that Nancy had been acting only as a friend, and leaves for a trip abroad. It was produced by Edwin H. Knopf and directed by Fletcher Markle from a screenplay by Karl Tunberg and Leonard Spigelgass. Unobjectionable for family audiences. “Skipalong Rosenbloom” with Maxie Rosenbloom and Max Baer ( United Artists, Apr. 20; time, 72 min.) This shapes up as a fairly amusing program comedy that pokes fun at western melodramas in general and television commercials in particular. There is nothing subtle about the comedy, which is played in the broadest slapstick style. Many of the gags and situations are so forced that they fall flat, but there are others that are genuinely funny and should provoke hearty laughter. The picture, which lampoons practically every western-feature cliche, is presented as a television-sponsored film, with a bubbling television announcer breaking into the action at intervals to plug the sponsor’s products with fantastic claims. These claims provide the film with some of its choicest gags. The story itself is a hodge-podge of nonsense and, as such, will probably tire the more discriminating patrons. On the whole, however, it should get by as a supporting feature in secondary theatres. Briefly, the story has Max Baer, head of a gang of outlaws, terrorizing the town of Buttonhole Bend, and making his headquarters in a saloon owned by Hillary Brook, the brains behind the gang. When Raymond Hatton, an old rancher, is fleeced in a crooked poker game, Hillary threatens to take over his property, which supposedly contained a lost gold mine. Hatton sends for Maxie Rosenbloom, his nephew, to help him. The gang, knowing Rosenbloom to be a fearless fighter, make several attempts to ambush him but fail. Jackie Coogan offers to help Rosenbloom and, together, they locate a map of the lost mine. The map, however, is stolen by Baer’s gang, and Rosenbloom is appointed sheriff to recover it. Meanwhile he falls in love with Jacqueline Fontaine, the local schoolteacher. After much dirty work on the part of the outlaws, Rosenbloom cleans up the gang and saves the mine for his uncle. He then prepares to marry Jacqueline, only to learn that Coogan had done so first. It was produced by Wally Kline and directed by Sam Newfield from a story by Eddie Forman, who collaborated on the screenplay with Dean Reisner. Suitable for the family.