Harrison's Reports (1951)

September 1, 1951 HARRISON’S REPORTS 139 “Angels in the Outfield” with Paul Douglas and Janet Leigh (MGM, September; time, 102 win.) Excellent! It is a comedy-fantasy that movie-goers will relish to the last scene, for it is one of the most original and delightful pictures to come out of Hollywood in a long time. It just can't miss, for its story of an explosive big-league baseball manager who is rewarded by the angels for toning down his blasphemous langauge, and of a little orphan girl who sees the angels helping his team, is at once warm, human, and highly amusing. Word-of-mouth advertising should make it one of the season’s biggest business-getters. Paul Douglas is just right as the obstreperous, loud-mouthed manager whose reform is brought about by the little girl’s prayers, and Donna Corcoran, as the orphan, is a lovable tot whose charm and winsomeness endear her to the audience. Janet Leigh, too, is outstanding as a newspaper reporter with whom Douglas falls in love, and there is much comedy in Keenan Wynn’s portrayal of a biased sports announcer who is determined to run Douglas out of baseball. Although the story has a baseball bacckground, it should be stressed that it will be enjoyed as much by women as by men because of its undeniable heart-appeal. Producerdirector Clarence Brown deserves great credit for his masterful handling of the subject matter, no easy task in view of the fact that it is a fantasy and deals with religion. The imaginative script depicts Douglas as a tyrannical, foul-mouthed manager of a seventh place team, a man who abuses umpires and whose rough tactics on and off the ballfield are condemned by the sportswriters, particularly Wynn, who had been beaten up by Douglas several times. Alone in the ball park one night, Douglas hears an unseen angel who castigates him for his blasphemous epithets and promises to have the Heavenly Choir Nine assist his losing team if he reforms his ways. To seal the bargain, the angel promises to perform a miracle in the third inning of the following day’s game. The miracle happens, enabling the team to win, and from then on Douglas becomes a polite and civil person, with the result that his team, making seemingly impossible plays, soon becomes a pennant contender. Complications arise when little Donna, attending one of the games with a group of other orphans, insists that she sees angels behind Douglas and each of his players. Janet interviews the tot and prints the story. Douglas, too, visits the child and becomes attached to her, but he refuses to comment on her claims. One day, however, he is accidentally hit on the head by a line drive and, while in a dazed condition, admits to the press that the angels are helping him. The sportswriters make capital of this admission, and Wynn, casting doubts on Douglas’ sanity, brings about an investigation by Lewis Stone, the baseball commissioner. With the aid of a psychiatrist, Wynn builds a strong case against Douglas, but Donn’a testimony, supported by a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi, and a Protestant minister, impels the commissioner to dismiss the charges. It ends with Douglas' team winning the pennant, and with his marrying Janet and adopting Donna. A most touching angle to the story is the winning of the crucial game by Bruce Bennett, a washed-up veteran pitcher, who had been chosen by Douglas over the objections of the fans because the angel had told him that Bennett's days on earth were numbered. Lack of space does not permit a recounting of the picture’s many other fine dramatic and comical highlights. Suffice it to say, however, that it is worthy of an exhibitor’s unqualified endorsement to his patrons. Dorothy Kingsley and George Wells wrote the screenplay, based on a story by Richard Conklin. Excellent for all types of patrons. “Journey Into Light” with Sterling Hayden, Viveca Lindfors and Thomas Mitchell (20th Century-Fox, Oct.; time, 87 min.) This is a rather depressing drama of an ordained minister who renounces his faith in man and God because of a personal tragedy. Being a cheerless type of entertainment, despite its happy ending, and since the main action is set amidst the squalor of Los Angeles’ skid row section, its reception at the box-office is doubtful. Most people, particularly those who are religious, will find the sight of a minister renouncing his religious beliefs inexcusable, even if he does so at a time of emotional stress, and for that reason the spectator does not follow with too much sym pathy his degeneration as he sinks to the depths of a tramp. Still another handicap is the excessive talk. No fault can be found with the acting; Sterling Hayden does good work as the misguided minister, and Viveca Lindfors is warm and appealing as a courageous blind girl, daughter of a skid row missionary, who wins Hayden’s love and brings about his regeneration: — When his wife, an alcoholic, commits suicide because of her rejection by his congregation, Hayden, a small-town minister, furiously condemns the church leaders as hypocrites and renounces his belief in God and prayer. He takes to the road and becomes a wanderer. He finally winds up on Skid Row, where he meets Thomas Mitchell, a wayward character who lives by obtaining jobs for bums and exacting a fee from them. Recognizing Hayden as a man of intelligence, Mitchell decides to make a confidence man out of him. But Hayden, knocked unconscious in a street brawl, is taken in hand by Ludwig Donath, who ran a slum mission with the aid of Viveca, his blind daughter. Donath, unaware of Hayden's background, tolerates his anti-religious utterances and persuades him to accept a job as the mission’s janitor. He falls in love with Viveca and helps her by tricking Mitchell into herding the Skid Row unfortunates into the mission. He eventually declares his love for Viveca but tells her that he had no right to marry her because he was an exminister who had renounced God. When Viveca is injured critically in an accident, Hayden mounts the pulpit at the mission, asks God’s forgiveness and prays for her recovery. Viveca does recover and she and Hayden are married at the mission. Hayden’s bishop invites him to return to his former church, but he elects to remain at the mission. It was co-produced by Joseph Bernhard and Anson Bond, and directed by Stuart Heisler, from a screenplay by Stephanie Nordli and Irving Shulman, based on a story by Mr. Bond. Best suited for adults. “Submarine Command” with William Holden, Nancy Olsen and William Bendix ( Paramount , October; time, 87 mtn.) A moderately interesting melodrama that is much too long for what it has to offer. The action for the most part is slow-moving, and the story itself is moody because of the constant brooding of the hero, who is tormented throughout by doubts as to whether or not he did the right thing in ordering his ship to submerge quickly during a Jap attack rather than linger on the surface to rescue two wounded men trapped on the bridge. How these doubts plague him and nearly wreck his marriage make up the rest of the story, but it does not come through with any appreciable dramatic force, mainly because it unfolds in a series of manufactured situations that have a familiar ring. There is some excitement in the closing reels, where the hero and his crew help save several hundred American prisoners during the Korean war: — Patrolling the South Pacific during World War II, the U.S. submarine Tiger Shark is attacked suddenly by a Jap Zero. Jack Gregson, the commander, orders the ship to dive but, before he and the quartermaster can scramble down the hatch to safety, both are machine-gunned. William Holden, the executive officer now in command, finds himself faced by a split-second decision — to countermand the order and rescue the two men at the probable cost of more men and the ship, or to take the sub to a safe depth. He chooses the latter course, earning the contempt of William Bendix, the chief torpedoman, who felt that Holden lacked the guts to take a chance. Upon his return to the base at the end of the war, Holden is assured by Gregson’s widow and by his superior officers that he had done the right thing, but he is constantly tormented by doubts. He marries Nancy Olson, and though the marriage is successful he becomes moody from time to time thinking about Gregson's death. His old doubts return to plague him in a serious way when Bendix arrives at the base and is assigned to duty under him. His brooding makes him so testy that it leads to a quarrel and break with Nancy. When the Reds invade Korea, the Tiger Shark is among the naval units rushed to the Far East with Holden in command. He finds the answer to his doubts and wins Bendix’s friendship when he undertakes a dangerous mission and saves four hundred American prisoners, sacrificing the ship in the operation. Upon his return to the States, Holden finds Nancy waiting for him. It was produced by Joseph Sistrom, and directed by John Farrow, from a story and screen play by Jonathan Latimer. Suitable for the family.