Harrison's Reports (1952)

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14 HARRISON’S REPORTS January 26, 1952 “The First Time” with Robert Cummings and Barbara Hale ( Columbia, no rel. date set; time, 89 min.) An amusing domestic comedy, revolving around the trials and bickering that enter the lives of a young married couple with the arrival of their first baby. The story is a flimsy affair, patly tailored to formula, but most of the situations are very comical and audiences should respond with appreciative laughter. As the agitated new father who is plagued by such problems as earning more money to meet all sorts of bills, getting less attention from his wife, baby sitters and the like, Robert Cummings comes through with another good comedy portrayal. Some of the predicaments he gets himself into are extremely mirth-provoking. All in all, it is a light and improbable farce, but one cannot help laughing at the whacky situations. Briefly, the story has Cummings, quitting his job as a draughtsman to earn more money selling washing machines after Barbara Hale, his wife, presents him with their first baby. Troubled over his inability to sell the machines because of their inferior quality, despite the pep talks from his boss, Cummings be' comes even more disturbed by Barbara’s inability to care for the baby and still keep house, cook for him and keep herself looking right. This leads to a number of quarrels and reconciliations between them, with each practicing recriminations against the other. Mat' ters come to a climax when he quits his job after a row caused by his demonstrating publicly the faults of the machine. This results in another quarrel with Barbara, and this time Cummings decides to leave home. As he drives away, he remembers that Barbara was eating a banana and recalls that the fruit was her preriaby “crave.” Realizing that this meant another baby, he rushes back home for a reconciliation. It is a Norma Production, directed by Frank Tash' lin, who collaborated on the screenplay with Hugo Butler, Jean Rouverol and Dane Lussier. Suitable for the family. “Bend of the River” with James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy and Julia Adams (Univ'Int’l, February; time, 91 min.) The combination of beautiful Technicolor photog' raphy, expert story treatment, taut direction and fine characterizations, makes “Bend of the River” a topnotch outdoor pioneer mlodrama, the kind that is destined to win wide audience acceptance. Revolving around the trials and tribulations of a wagon train of Missouri farmers seeking to form a settlement in the Oregon country, the story is tense and excitmg from start to finish. James Stewart turns in a top perform' ance as the soft'spoken but fearless wagon-train guide, a reformed Missouri raider who practically single' handedly overcomes the forces of evil that threaten the settlers’ existence. An interesting characterization is provided by Arthur Kennedy, another reformed raider, who cooperates with Stewart but who becomes a vicious enemy when the opportunity to gain a for' tune presents itself. The struggle between them in the closing reels result in many thrilling scenes of brawls, gunplay and chases. Not the least of the picture’s assets is the eye-catching outdoor scenery: — While guiding the wagon train in the shadow of Mount Hood, in Oregon, Stewart comes upon Kennedy and saves him from a hanging party. Kennedy joins the wagon train and, that night, helps Stewart to repel an Indian raid and at the same time saves his hfe. Julia Adams, daughter of Jay C. Flippen, leader of the settlers, is intrigued by the newcomer but is unaware that Stewart was secretly in love with her himself. Arriving in Portland, the settlers contract with Howard Petrie for supplies to carry them through the winter, and then travel upstream as far as possible on Petrie's river steamer. Julia, to ill to travel, remains behind, as does Kennedy, who joins Petrie in a gambling venture. After settling down in the back country and passing the summer, the settlers become concerned over Petrie’s failure to deliver the supplies. Stewart and Flippen return to Portland to investigate the delay, and find that it had been turned into a boom town because of a gold rush. Petrie refuses to give them the supplies because he could now get many times what they had paid for them. Stewart pulls his gun and, aided by Kennedy and Julia, sueceeds in holding of Petrie and his men until the supplies are loaded on the steamer. When he learns that Petrie’s men were racing to cut them off at the landing point, Stewart unloads the supplies before reaching the landing point and sets off across the rugged mountain terrain. The party is stopped by a pair of miners who offer them a fabulous fortune for the supplies, but Stewart and Flippen reject the bid. Kennedy, tempted by the offer, turns on Stewart and, leaving him stranded, takes command of the wagons and heads for a mining camp. Stewart doggedly trails the wagons and, after managing to obtain a rifle, overtakes Kennedy and has a showdown fight in which Kennedy loses his life. Stewart delivers the supplies to the settlers, and in the process wins Julia’s love. It was produced by Aaron Rosenberg, and directed by Anthony Mann, from a screenplay by Borden Chase, based on Bill Gullick’s novel, “Bend of the Snake.” Fine for the entire family. “This Woman is Dangerous” with David Brian, Joan Crawford and Dennis Morgan (Warner Bros., Feb. 9; time, 100 min.) This gangster-type melodrama will have to depend on the marquee value of the players, for as entertainment it is quite ordmary. The story is synthetic and never strikes a realistic note. Even the characterizations are unreal; they seem to be the kind that exist only in the imagination of a fiction writer. As a gang member who finds herself torn between love for a young surgeon who had saved her failing eyesight, and loyalty to the gang leader, her lover, whose jealousy erupted in homicidal tendencies, Joan Crawford puts a great deal of dramatic mtensity into her part, but her dilemma packs only a very weak emotional punch because of the unbelievability of her role. There are moments when the proceedings are tensely exciting but in the main the story is long drawn out and lacking in strong melodramatic action: — On the day she plans to help David Brian, her lover, and his gang in the robbery of a New Orleans gambling casino, Joan learns that she is losing her eyesight. Nevertheless, she helps Brian to commit the robbery, and then tells him that she is going to Indianapolis to see Dennis Morgan, a famous specialist, about her eyes. Unable to understand that she is going blind, Brian voices his suspicion that she is running off with another man. In Indianapolis, Morgan performs a successful operation on Joan’s eyes and confines her to the hospital. Meanwhile FBI agents, investigating the robbery, trace Joan to the hospital but withhold questioning her in the hope that her accomplices will show up. Not having heard from Joan, Brian, accompanied by Philip Carey, his