Harrison's Reports (1952)

10 HARRISON’S REPORTS January 19, 1952 “Just This Once” with Janet Leigh, Peter Lawford and Lewis Stone (MGM, no rel. date set; time, 90 min.) Movie-goers who are looking for amusing recreation will find it in abundance in this breezy romantic comedy. Revolving around a rich young spendthrift who is taken in hand by a pretty female attorney with absolute legal authority to curb his spending habits, the story is fast and funny, and punctuated by rapid-fire laughs throughout Both Janet Leigh and Peter Lawford turn in sprightly performances in the leading roles, and Don V*/ eis expert direction extracts the maximum of fun from the amusing though somewhat improbable plot. The tricks employed by Lawford in an effort to make Janet resign as the keeper of his purse should elicit plenty of laughs. All in all, it is a mirthprovoking picture, one that is decidedly easy to enjoy: — Although he has an income of one million dollars a year, Lawford spends quite a bit more. Lewis Stone, a Supreme Court judge who was executor of his estate, decides to curb Lawford's spendthrift tendencies by appointing Janet, a pretty but struggling lawyer, to handle his affairs. Janet wades into the job with enormous spirit, much to Lawford’s amusement, but he changes his tune when she stops his charge accounts, attaches his bank balances, and puts him on a fifty.-doliar weekly allowance. He seeks to discharge her, but cannot because of the authority vested in Stone. When she lets his home and furnishings go to the creditors, Lawford, quoting a court order that says he must be provided with food and adequate lodging, moves into Janet’s apartment, upsetting not only Janet but also Richard Anderson, a construction engineer who planned to marry her when his raise came through. Lawford, who owned the company that employed Anderson, secretly arranges for him to get a fabulous raise, hoping that he will marry Janet and get her off his neck. But Janet sees through his scheme and makes Anderson decline the raise. In the events that follow, Janet and Lawford fall in love, but she refuses to marry him because she could not respect a man who did not work. Lawford supposedly finds a job as a chemist, and bores her stiff every night by constantly talking about his work. He gets away with it until she learns that he played golf all day and that his knowledge of chemistry came from a text book. She throws him out of the apartment, but rushes to him when the N a v y calls him back to service. He reassures her by telling her, with a glint in his eye, that he will be stationed in Washington to take charge of naval expenditures. It was produced by Henry Berman, and directed by Don Weis, from a screenplay by Sidney Sheldon, based on a story by Max Trell. Fine for the family. “The Wild North” with Stewart Granger, Wendell Corey and Cyd Charisse (MGM, no rel. date set ; time, 97 min.) A good piece of exciting entertainment is offered in this rugged adventure melodrama, which has been photographed in Ansco color, a new color process that adds much to the scenic beauty and frozen wastes of the Canadian north. The story is an engrossing cat-and-mouse thriller revolving around the hunt by a Canadian Mountie for a trapper who had killed a man in self defense, and around the hardships both endure after the Mountie "gets his man” and tries to bring him in, despite adverse weather. Their battle against the elements, and the clashes between themselves are highly exciting, with a most thrilling situation being the one in which they and their dog team are attacked by a vicious pack of hungry wolves. The vigorous portrayals of Stewart Granger, as the trapper, and Wendell Corey, as the Mountie, both men of daring and courage, add much to the entertainment values. Cyd Charisse is charming as a halfbreed girl who falls in love with Granger, although her part is comparatively brief: — Arriving in a small Canadian town for his annual contact with civilization, Granger becomes friendly with Cyd, a saloon entertainer, whom he saves from being annoyed by Howard Petrie, a drunken bully. Cyd decides to accompany Granger back up the river. As they prepare to leave, Petrie, apologizing for his behaviour, asks for a lift in their canoe. Once aboard, Petrie threatens their lives by heading the canoe towards the rapids. Granger is forced to shoot him to stop his mad scheme. Feeling that his story of selfdefense would not be believed by the authorities, Granger leaves Cyd with some friendly Indians and heads for one of his cabins in the frozen north. Corey is put on Granger’s trail soon after Petrie’s body is found, and he succeeds in tracking him to the cabin, despite a raging blizzard. Handcuffing Granger, Corey sets out on the return trip, ignoring Granger’s warnings that it is madness in such weather. Corey soon becomes lost in the blinding blizzard, and Granger, despite the fact that their food supply was dwindling, refuses to guide him to their destination. Matters come to a head when they are attacked by a pack of hungry wolves. Corey, badly mauled, becomes a victim of shock, seeing and hearing nothing. Foregoing his chance to escape. Granger manages to get the injured Corey to a remote outpost where, aided by Cyd, he nurses him back to health. To snap Corey out of his trance, Granger puts him into a canoe and heads for the rapids, hoping that the sudden shocks of impending doom will bring some reaction. Corey reacts in the same way Granger did when he was forced to shoot Petrie. Later, when Granger stands trial for Petrie’s death, Corey’s testimony of his own experience wins him an acquittal. It was produced by Stephen Ames, and directed by Andrew Marton, from a screenplay by Frank Fenton. Good for the family. “Here Come the Nelsons” with Ozzie, Harriet, David and Ricky Nelson ( Univ'Int'l , February; time, 77 min.) A fairly entertaining comedy with some thrilling melodramatic situations. The comedy is of the domestic brand, and is patterned pretty much after the popular “Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” radio program. There are some thrills caused by the chase of crooks, who had stolen the admission receipts from the fair grounds and had taken along a small boy to use him as a shield. The method by which the crook’s speeding car is stopped is far-fetched, but since it is a comedy it ought to get by. The popularity of the Nelsons on their radio show should help the picture’s draw. The direction and acting are good: — The tranquility of the Nelson’s home is upset when Barbara Lawrence, who was in love with Ozzie when she was a child, arrives in town to attend a Centennial celebration and is invited by Ozzie to stay at his home. Shortly thereafter, Harriet, Ozzie’s wife, invites Rock Hudson to stay at the house, mistaking him as an old friend of Ozzie's when he was merely the friend of a friend. Complications arise when Hudson wins the admiration of Ricky and David, the Nelson’s children, with tall tales of his prowess, and sets Harriet a twitter with flattery, while Barbara openly shows her adoration for Ozzie. Further complications arise when Paul Harvey, a girdle and corset manufacturer arrives in town, and Ozzie’s boss, head of an advertising agency, orders Ozzie to come up with a new ad campaign for Harvey’s products. Ozzie stays at the office late into the night, arousing Harriet’s suspicions because Barbara happened to stay out late that same night. To combat the dashing Hudson and redeem himself in eyes of Harriet and the children, Ozzie enters a bucking bronco contest in the Centennial’s rodeo to prove his manliness. He does not do so well in the contest, but in the complicated events that follow, during which two crooks rob the fair grounds of the admission receipts and take Ricky along with them as a shield, Ozzie proves himself by heading a posse that captures the thugs and rescues Ricky. The fact that Ozzie had strung a number of girdles and corsets across the road to stop the crook's speeding car, furnishes Harvey with the advertising idea he wanted and wins Ozzie a handsome bonus. Meanwhile his domestic tranquility is restored when Barbara and Hudson fall in love. Aaron Rosenberg produced it, and Frederick de Cordova directed it, from a story and screenplay by Ozzie Nelson, Don Nelson and William Davenport. Good for family audiences.