Harrison's Reports (1951)

142 HARRISON’S REPORTS September 8, 1951 “Painting the Clouds with Sunshine” with Dennis Morgan and Virginia Mayo (Warner Bros., Oct. 6; time, 87 min.) Although not exceptional, this musical romantic comedy should entertain undiscriminating audiences fairly well, mainly because of the Technicolor photography, the snappy musical interludes and the nos' talgic melodious tunes. The story, which follows the general lines of the plots used in the numerous “Gold Digger” musicals produced by Warners in the past, is pretty trite, but the action is lively and it serves well enough as a framework for the specialty numbers. The romantic involvements of the plot result in sev' eral situations that are laugh-provoking, but the players frequently strain for laughs in an effort to overcome either a silly situation or inept dialogue. Moreover, it is developed without any surprises, and its farcical situations lack freshness: — Appearing in a Hollywood nightclub, Virginia Mayo, Lucille Norman and Virginia Gibson, a song' and'dance trio, share the bill with Dennis Morgan, a singer, and Gene Nelson, a dancer. Lucille, in love with Morgan and convinced that she had persuaded him to give up gambling, accepts his proposal of mar' riage, but she is disillusioned when she discovers that he had just won her engagement ring in a gin rummy game. She breaks with him and heads for Las Vegas with the other girls, where the act had been booked into The Golden Egg, a combination gambling casino and motel operated by S. Z. Sakall, who was having his troubles with Wallace Ford, an old sourdough, who had declared himself in as a partner. Miss Gib' son, in love with Nelson, hopes that he can join them there, and Nelson, with Lucille on his mind, shares the same hope. In the events that follow, Nelson arrives in Las Vegas and makes an immediate play for Lucille, who is receptive to him even though she still loved Morgan. It then comes out that Nelson is ac' tually a millionaire, a member of a staid family of Boston bankers. Prodded by Virginia, Lucille accepts his proposal of marriage. Meanwhile in Boston, Tom Conway, Nelson’s stuffy cousin, decides to rescue his foolish relative and the family fortune from a gold' digger. He rushes to Las Vegas, where Virginia takes him in hand to get him out of the way, but he man' ages to communicate with Morgan and arranges for him to come to Las Vegas to disrupt the romance between Lucille and Nelson. This maneuvering resuits in a series of complications that involve every' one, but it all ends with Lucille in Morgan’s arms, with Miss Gibson winning Nelson, and with Conway falling for Virginia. It was produced by William Jacobs, and directed by David Butler, from a screen play by Harry Clark, Roland Kibbee and Peter Milne, based on a play by Avery Hop wood. Harmless for the family. “The Day the Earth Stood Still” with Michael Rennie and Patricia Neal (20 th Century'Fox,Sej?t.; time, 92 min.) Very good! It is by far the best of the science' fiction pictures yet produced. It holds one’s interest undiminished from start to finish and, although the theme is admittedly fantastic, one is made to feel as if he is seeing a real-life occurrence because of the expert handling of the subject matter and the extremely fine special effects work. Favorable word-ofmouth comment is sure to help this picture at the box-office. Briefly, the story revolves around Michael Rennie, an earth-like man from another planet, who lands his space-ship in Washington, D. C., to bring a warning to the peoples of the earth that they must live in peace or face obliteration at the hands of other inhabited but peaceful planets that feared that the earth’s aggressiveness may eventually reach into outer space and threaten their security. The excitement and suspense stems from the panic created throughout the world by his visit, particularly in Washington, where his gleaming silver disc-shaped space-ship lands with a whirring roar and is immediately surrounded by soldiers with tanks, artillery and machine guns. The scenes where he first steps out of the ship are highly exciting for, despite his declaration that he had come on a viist of peace and good will, he is wounded by a panic-stricken soldier. This act of aggression causes an eight-foot robot to emerge from the ship and come to Rennie s defense by melting down tanks, guns and other objects by means of an electric eye. The rest of the story has to do with official Washington’s inability to fulfill Rennie’s request that the President call an immediate meeting of the leaders of all the nations on earth so that he might give them his urgent message, and with his deciding to mingle with the people to discover for himself what they are like. From that point on the story becomes highly melodramatic by reason of the fact that he becomes the object of a frantic search by the police. Meanwhile he settles down in a rooming house, where he meets and becomes friendly with Patricia Neal, a young widow, and Billy Gray, her young son, who leads him to the home of Sam Jaffe, a renowned scientist. It is through Jaffe, whom he convinces of his power by nullifying electricity throughout the world at a given moment, that Rennie is able to convey to the world’s leading scientists the message that the earth must live in peace or face obliteration. A brief synopsis cannot do justice to the many melodramatic incidents involving the robot, who recovers Rennie’s body after he is shot and killed, brings him back to life, and helps him to return to his home planet in the space-ship. It was produced by Julian Blaustein, and directed by Robert Wise, from a screenplay by Edmund H. North, based on a story by Harry Bates. Suitable for the family. “The River” with a special cast (United Artists, roadshow; time, 98 min.) Filmed entirely in India along the banks of the Ganges River in West Bengal, this Technicolor production offers audiences a highly interesting view of life in India. From the production point of view, it is a pictorial treat, for the camera, in documentary fashion, has captured vividly the fascinating customs, traditions and ritual beauty of that ancient land, such as the boatmen on the river with their haunting songs; the operation of the jute mills; the bazaar with its variety of shops, snake charmers, fortune tellers and holy men; and the different Indian festivals and ceremonies, each symbolic in its own way. The visual beauty of the production, however, is not matched