Harrison's Reports (1954)

January 16, 1954 HARRISON’S REPORTS 11 other, but they have several quarrels that stem from Jean’s jealousy over his attentions to several local girls, and from the disrupting effect that some of her gifts have on the town. Pandemonium breaks loose one day when each person in town receives an anonym mous letter with $1,000 in cash. The judge and sheriff resign, the people stop working, and the general effect is to disrupt the town’s economy. To make matters worse, the story is given national prominence and within hours hundreds of people begin to flock into the town in search of easy money. Alarmed, Jean reveals her identity, explains that it was not her inten' tion to disrupt life in the town, and pleads with the visitors to go back where they came from. Furious at being denied some of the free money, the crowd be' comes unruly, but Mitchum brings them to their senses by explaining that, if they remain, there will not be enough food or water to take care of their needs. Before leaving the town herself, Jean visits Mitchum to apologize, but he persuades her to remain as his bride. It was produced by Robert Sparks, and directed by Lloyd Bacon, from a screenplay by D. D. Beauchamp, William Bowers and Richard Flournoy. Family. ‘‘Riders to the Stars” with William Lundigan, Herbert Marshall and Richard Carbon (United Artists, Jan. 29; time, 81 min.) A pretty good science-fiction adventure melodrama, photographed in color by the Color Corporation of America. It is one of the better pictures of its kind, and revolves around the efforts of a group of scientists to capture a meteor in upper space so that the mole' cure structure of its outer hull may be studied before it is burned away by friction with the air. The depic' tion of the intense preparations for the flight into space in rocket'ships is most interesting, as is the flight itself, during which the hero supposedly travels at a speed of 18,000 miles per hour at a height of 150 miles and scoops up a meteor into a special compart' ment in the rocket. It is all quite fantastic, but it has been presented in a fascinating way and should more than please the followers of this type of entertain' ment. The miniature work is very good, and so is the photography: — Tests conducted at a rocket proving ground by Government scientists headed by Herbert Marshall prove conclusively that a strong concentration of coS' mic rays in upper space weakened the hardest metals known to man. The scientists decide that, to make space travel possible, it was necessary to devise a metal that could resist the cosmic rays, and that the answer to their problem could be obtained by capturing a meteor in upper space. To accomplish this feat. Mar' shall calls upon military intelligence to select six of the country’s leading young scientists and bring them to the Snake Mountain proving grounds in the Cali' fornia desert. Of the six, only three prove their ability to withstand the tremendous pressure of gravity in upper space, including Richard Carlson, Robert Karnes and William Lundigan, who turns out to be Marshall’s son. All three agree to make the dangerous flight in separate rocket'ships in an effort to trap a meteor. They go through an intense training period, during which Lundigan falls in love with Martha Hyers, his father’s assistant. At the appointed time, the three rockets take off within seconds of each other and are propelled to a height of 150 miles. Karnes spots a meteor and goes after it, but he misjudges its size and, upon contact, it explodes and disintegrates his rocket'ship. Karnes’ fate so unnerves Carlson that he becomes delirious, releases himself from the rocket, and dies as he shoots out into space. These mishaps upset the carefully calculated plan and Lundigan is ordered to return to earth immediately lest he nm short of fuel. Just then he spots a meteor and, against orders, goes after it and traps it. His descent to earth is a hair'raising experience, but he manages to accom' plish it without Idlling himself, and without losing the meteor that provides the scientists with the infor' mation they need. It was produced by Ivan Tors, and directed by Richard Carlson, from a screenplay by Curt Siodmak. Suitable for the family. “It Should Happen to You” with Judy Holliday and Peter Lawford (Columbia, no release date set; time, 87 min.) This is a gay romantic comedy that should keep audiences amused throughout. Tailored to fit Judy Holliday’s “dumb blonde’’ brand of comedy, the story deals with her determination to make a name for her' self in New York and with the comphcations that arise, romantic and otherwise, when she rents a huge billboard and has her name emblazoned across it. The humor is a bit strained in spots, but on the whole it offers many laugh'provoking situations, with Miss Holliday making the most of the comedy potentiahties of the script. Peter Lawford is suave as a soap firm executive who uses his charms to induce Miss Holliday to relinquish her choice billboard space. Jack Lem' mon, a newcomer to the screen, is good as a handsome young photographer who wins her heart and brings her to her senses: — Depressed over her failure to find fame and fortune in New York, Judy gets the bright idea of investing her savings of $1,000 to rent a huge billboard in Columbus Circle and has her name put on it in huge letters. A soap company, emxious to obtain the choice bilboard rented by Judy, offers to buy her lease and give her a profit, but she declines the offer, despite the pressure put on her by Lawford, the company’s top executive. Meanwhile a romance develops between Judy and Lemmon, a new acquaintance who had moved into the same rooming house, and Judy’s hfe is further complicated when Lawford begins to woo her. She finally agrees to give up her billboard in exchange for several other billboards strategically lo' cated about the city. This added space brings her name to the attention of millions of people and she becomes a celebrity. She is taken in hand by Michael O’Shea, a shrewed promoter, who arranges for her to endorse commercial products, make appearances on TV and participate in many publicity gimmicks. Lemmon openly shows his disgust for this senseless furore and, after a quarrel with Judy, motivated somewhat by her dates with Lawford, moves out of the rooming house and leaves no clue as to his whereabouts. His disap' pearance brings Judy to the reaHzation that she was deeply in love with him, and she rebels at the series of cheap exploitation stunts that had become a part of her life. Alone and lonely, she hires a sky'writer to smoke a message to Lemmon across the heavens in the hope that he will see it. Lemmon sees the message, and it all ends with his marrying Judy after she as' sures him that she no longer wanted fame and was quite content to be just a wife. It was produced by Fred Kohlmar, and directed by George Cukor, from a story and screenplay by Garson Kanin. Adults.