Harrison's Reports (1951)

98 HARRISON’S REPORTS “Kind Lady” with Ethel Barrymore, Maurice Evans, Angela Lansbury and Keenan Wynn (MGM, July; time, 78 min.) An engrossing melodrama, distinguished by fine acting, but it is not a pleasant entertainment. Produced once before by MGM in 1935, the story revolves around the activities of a gang of suave crooks who worm their way into the home of Ethel Barrymore, a wealthy woman, and by brutal methods hold her prisoner, murder her devoted maid, and proceed to dispose of her art treasures. One feels much sympathy for Miss Barrymore because of her pitiable plight and of the indignities she suffers. Several of the siuations hold one in tense suspense, particularly in the second half in which the crooks try to wear Miss Barrymore down to the point of signing papers that would enable them to sell her home. The closing scenes, in which Miss Barry*! more contrives to outwit the crooks and bring about their capture, are exciting. Maurice Evans, as the sly but polished leader of the crooks, is effective, as are Angela Lansbury and Keenan Wynn, as his confederates. The action takes place in London at the turn of the century: — Evans, posing as a struggling artist, cleverly cultivates Miss Barrymore’s friendship. She invites him into her home to see her valuable art collection, and on the way out he steals her exquisite cigarette case. He returns the case several days later, explaining that he had pawned it to buy food for his frail wife (Betsy Blair) and their baby. Shortly thereafter she sends him a check for a painting he had left in her home, and he calls to thank her. He asks her to look out the window to see his wife and child; as she does this, the wife pretends to faint. Miss Barrymore has the woman brought into her home, and a passing “doctor,” in league with Evans, warns that she must remain there until fully recovered. Several days later, Angela and Wynn, posing as Evans’ relatives, come to “visit” his wife, and within a few hours Miss Barrymore realizes that she is a captive in her own home, at the mercy of psychopathic killers. Evans, posing as her nephew, systematically sells her art treasures to dealers and spreads the word that his “aunt” had suffered a complete mental collapse. Meanwhile he keeps Miss Barrymore and Doris Lloyd, her maid, incommunicado, while Angela and Wynn pose as the new maid and butler. Almost a year passes with no help in sight for Miss Barrymore until Evans overplays his hand; he needs her signature to sell her house, and he brazenly calls in her bank representative to bring the necessary papers. Suspecting that something is wrong, the bank representative notifies the police. Meanwhile Miss Barrymore manages to effect her maid’s release, but the poor woman is strangled by Wynn before she can escape. Through a clever ruse by which she bluffs Wynn into hurling the maid’s body from an upper window when he attempts to kill her, too, Miss Barrymore draws attention to her plight, saving herself and apprehending the crooks. It was produced by Armand Deutsch and directed by John Sturges, from a screen play by Jerry Davis, Edward Chodorov and Charles Bennett, based on the play by Mr. Chordorov, who took it from a story by Hugh Walpole. Adult fare. “According to Mrs. Hoyle” with Spring Byington ( Monogram , May 20; time, 60 min.) This could have turned out to be a much better program picture with a simple alteration of the plot: the heroine should not have been built up so high. Because of this, the spectator finds it hard to believe that so prominent a woman could have been accused of having been an accomplice to a robbery. In real life this would have been unbelievable. Another improvement that could have been made is if the nice things said about the heroine at the beginning of the picture by men she had reclaimed as boy-hoodlums had been said by them later in court, when she was in trouble; their lauding of her would then have had greater effect. As it June 23, 1951 is, the picture will undoubtedly please because of Miss Byington s fine work and because of the human interest situations. The acting is good, except that of the district attorney; he seems to bitter in his cross-examination of Miss Byington, loved and respected in the town: — Miss Byington, a retired school teacher, is honored at a reception at which she is acclaimed as a humanitarian by prominent business and professional men she had reclaimed as youths. Shortly thereafter, the cheap hotel she had resided in for years is bought by Anothony Caruso, a gangster who had decided to reform and had so informed his followers. Among them is Brett King, Miss Byington’s son but unknown to her; years previously, her husband, a thief, had run out on her, taking the boy with him. Brett falls in love with Tams Chandler, a dancehall girl but a nice person, who, too, lived in the hotel. Defying Caruso’s edict, Robert Karnes, one of his henchmen, plans to commit a payroll robbery and asks Brett to help him. Having recognized in Miss Byington his own mother, and having fallen in love, Brett objects, but he agrees to help because Karnes had once saved him from being caught in a holdup. After the robbery, Karnes hides the money in Miss Byington’s room without her knowledge. A night watchman identifies Karnes as one of the robbers through photographs shown to him by the police, who search the hotel and find the stolen money in Miss Byington’s room. They arrest her. Meanwhile Karnes is shot and killed when he attempts to escape, and Brett is wounded seriously. When Brett regains consciousness, he learns the Miss Byington is being tried as an accomplice to the robbery. He asks to be taken to the courtroom, where he tells his story and exonerates her. The case is dismissed, but Brett is sentenced to a term in prison. Miss Byington, appy to have found her son, gives him encouragement, while Tanis promises to wait for him. It was produced by Barney Gerard and directed by Jean Yarbrough, from a screenplay by W. Scott Darling and Mr. Gerard, based on the Good Housekeeping novelette by Jean Z. Owen. Harmless for children because of the regeneration of the son. “Father Takes the Air” with Raymond Walburn and Walter Catlett ( Monogram , June 17; time, 61 min.) No better and no worse than the other pictures in this family comedy series, starring the same leading players. It should get by on the lower half of a double bill wherever the previous pictures have proved acceptable. The story is weak and so is the comedy. There is not much excitement, despite the bank robbery twist. The photography is clear: — When the owner of a Southern California flying school is called into the Service, M'Liss McClure, daughter of Raymond Walburn, a prominent attorney, volunteers to operate the school, for she had considerable experience in that business. She receives assistance from her father and Walter Catlett, the town’s mayor, who both had been flyers in World War I. M’Liss engages James Brown as a pilot instructor, and the two quickly fall in love. With election time nearing, Catlett fears that, unless he does something outstanding, he might be defeated. Meanwhile a robber holds up the town’s hank and kills one of the tellers. A widepsread search is instituted for the capture of the thug. While Brown is away from the airport, a stranger arrives and offers $500 for an immediate flight to Las Vegas. Walburn and Catlett offer to pilot the plane. En route, the gas runs out and Walburn is compelled to make an emergency landing. In the meantime, Joan Valerie, whom the killer had ditched, informs the airport that the man who had chartered the plane was the robber-killer. Walburn radios his plight to the airport, and the police, informed, reach the landing place in time to capture the robber. Walburn and Catlett are acclaimed as heroes, insuring Catlett’s re-election. Peter Scully produced it, and Frank McDonald directed it, from a screenplay by D.D. Beauchamp. Harmless for the family.