Harrison's Reports (1951)

October 6, 1951 HARRISON’S REPORTS 159 “My Favorite Spy” with Bob Hope and Hedy Lamarr ( Paramount , December; time, 93 min.) This latest Bob Hope comedy should go over well with most audiences, for its mixture of slapstick and typical Hope gags is just silly enough to be funny. This time Hope plays the dual role of a sinister European spy and an American burlesque comedian, and the zany story has him drafted by the government to pose as the spy. His madcap adventures when he gets involved with an international spy ring in Tangier, and with Hedy Lamarr, another spy, keep the proceedings percolating at top speed, and even though the comedy situations teeter on the brink of absurdity one cannot help laughing at them. All in all, it is a brisk romp, tailored to fit Hope’s brand of clowning and those who will see it will be rewarded by a mirthful session of entertainment:— Eric Augustine (Hope), a foreign spy who was the only link to a German scientist who possessed a piece of microfilm containing a short cut to the hydrogen bomb, is cornered by government agents on the eve of his departure for Tangier but manages to elude capture. Hope, a burlesque comic who looked exactily like the spy, is picked up by the police who mistake him for the spy. When word comes that the spy had been captured, the government agents induce Hope to pose as Augustine and go to Tangier, where he was to contact the scientist and buy the microfilm for a million dollars. Arriving in Tangier, Hope promptly finds himself involved with Hedy Lamarr, Augustine's sweetheart, who was a member of an international spy ring headed by Francis L. Sullivan. Hope meets the scientist and obtains the film, but he soon finds himself plagued by the machinations of Sullivan and his henchmen, who were determined to acquire the film from him. Matters become even more complicated when Augustine, who had escaped from the United States, arrives in Tangier. After many mix« ups, during which Augustine is shot and killed, Hope confesses his masquerade to Hedy. She joins forces with him and helps him to save the film and to bring about the arrest of Sullivan and his gang for the murder of Augustine. It all ends with the usual clinch. It was produced by Paul Jones, and directed by Norman Z. McLeod, from a screenplay by Edmund Hartmann and Jack Sher, based on a story by Edmund Beloin and Lou Breslow. Good for the family. “The Man with a Cloak” with Joseph Cotten, Barbara Stanwyck and Louis Calhern (MGM, October; time, 81 min.) This period melodrama can boast of names that should mean something at the box-office, but it is doubtful if the general run of audiences will find it more than mildly entertaining. Set in the year 1848, the story is somewhat different and several of the characterizations are unique, but the proceedings on the whole lack an effective dramatic punch. Moreover, the pace is slow and the atmosphere moody. A feeling of brooding terror pervades the action as a result of the machinations of several of the characters who wait around for the senile old employer to die so that they might inherit his wealth, but there are only a few sequences in which suspense is built up to any appreciable degree. More than anything else, it is the good acting that keeps one's interest in the film alive: — The story casts Cotten as a strange poet, who spends most of his time in a neighborhood tavern. One day he meets and befriends Leslie Caron, a newly-arrived French miss, who was seeking the home of Louis Calhern, a wealthy, bombastic invalid, who drank to excess. In the course of events it develops that Leslie had come with a message from Calhern’s nephew, a French idealist, who needed funds to help the leaders of the new French Republic. Invited by Calhern to remain as a guest in his home, Leslie finds Barbara Stanwyck, his housekeeper, Joe De Santis, his butler, and Margaret Wycherly, the cook, resented her presence, and that all were three trying by devious means to hasten Calhern’s death so that they might inherit his millions. Leslie appeals to Cotton for aid. Interested in her problem, Cotten visits the house and wins Calhern's friendship. Barbara, sensing that the mysterious Cotten was on to her game, tries to bribe him with money and her love, but Cotten cleverly keeps her on a string while he succeeds in persuading Calhern to change his will and leave his wealth to the nephew. Barbara tries to kill Calhern with poison before he can sign the new will, but fails when the poison is drunk by Calhern's attorney. The attorney’s sud-. den death shocks Calhern, however, and he dies from a stroke. To complicate matters, Calhern's pet raven picks up the will and secretes it. The rather confusing though exciting climax has Cotten locating the will in time to prevent Barbara and her cohorts from stealing the inheritance from the rightful owner. It ends with Cotten, a man of mystery to the others, being revealed as Edgar Allen Poe. It was produced by Stephen Ames, and directed by Fletcher Markle, from a screenplay by Farnk Fenton, based on a story by John Dickson Carr. Adult fare. “Drums in the Deep South” with James Craig, Barbara Payton and Guy Madison (RKO, no rel. date set; time, 87 min.) The attraction offered by this picture, insofar as the exhibitor is concerned, is the presence of Barbara Payton as one of the stars. The recent notoriety connected with her name undoubtedly will draw many curious people to the box-office. As entertainment, the picture, photographed by Supercinecolor process, is a rather routine Civil War melodrama with romantic overtones; it does not rise above the level of program fare. The chief fault with the story is the lack of clearly defined characterizations and motivations. On the credit side, however, are some fine action sequences depicting the shelling of the Northerners’ railroad supply line by a Confederate artillery squadron entrenched on a mountain top. Exciting also are the scenes showing the struggle involved in bringing guns to the top of the mountain through caves within the mountain, as well as the scenes in which the Union soldiers and the Confederates stage an artillery duel. Not much can be said for the Supercinecolor photography, which has been seen to better advantage in other pictures. In this case, many of the scenes are made dull and fuzzy by a predominant purpleish tinge: — James Craig, Guy Madison and Craig Stevens, former roommates at West Point, are holding a reunion in Steven’s Georgia home when word comes that the North and South are at war. Madison, a Northerner, leaves to join his regiment, as do Craig and Stevens, who were officers in the Confederate army. Barbara Payton, Steven’s wife, who had once been in love with Craig, watches the men depart. After three years of war, Craig is assigned to mount three guns atop Devil's Mountain to blast away the railroad tracks and halt Sherman’s march to the sea. Barbara, whose plantation was nearby, guides Craig and his men to the mountain top through caves in the interior of the mountain. Shortly after Craig’s squadron shatters the tracks and seve-. ral trains with the help of Barbara’s signals, Madison arrives on the scene with a Union regiment to blow the Confederates off the mountain. But Craig, with Barbara's secret help, manages to destroy the only Union gun capable of reaching the mountain top. Madison then decides to mine the caves and blow the mountain up. Barbara, to save Craig, pleads with Madison to let her persuade Craig and his men to surrender. He gives her a limited time to accomplish her mission. On her way up, Barbara is shot by a Confederate who mistakes her for a Union soldier and, though fatally wounded, she manages to reach Craig. He orders his men to surrender, but remains with the wounded Barbara and meets death with her when Madison blows the mountain to bits. It was produced by Maurice and Frank King, and directed by William Cameron Menzies, from ascreenplay by Philip Yordan and Sidney Harmon, based on a story by Hollister Noble. Unobjectionable morally.