Harrison's Reports (1937)

"22 HARRISON'S REPORTS February 6, 1937 "Stolen Holiday" with Kay Francis, Claude Rains and Ian Hunter (First National, February 6; time, 79l/z min.) The producers tried to bolster up a weak story with a lavish production ; but the results have been only fair. As it stands, its appeal will be directed mostly to women, for there are shown displays of beautiful clothes, worn by Miss Francis and models. The plot is thin and lacks dramatic power ; and there is little action, most of the story being developed by dialogue. One is in sympathy with Miss Francis, when she willingly sacrifices her own happiness in order to stand by a friend. Even the romance is developed in the routine manner, with misunderstandings, partings, and final reconciliation. The background is Paris : — Miss Francis, a fashion model, becomes acquainted with Claude Rains, a crooked stock broker, whom she believes to be a brilliant but honest business man. By accompanying him at important meetings with wealthy people, she helps him out ; in turn, he sets her up in a gown shop. In a short time she becomes the leading fashion designer. Her faith in Rains is unshaken, though she refuses to marry him. While on a holiday, she meets Ian Hunter, an attache of the British Embassy ; they fall in love. But her dream is shattered when Rains asks her to marry him in order to save him from financial ruin. She marries him, only to learn that he had swindled people out of millions of dollars, and that his sole purpose in marrying her was to hide behind her influential friends. Rains is killed by the police when he tries to escape. Miss Francis sells all her belongings and turns over the cash to Rains' creditors. She then marries Hunter, who had been waiting for her. Warren Duff and Virginia Kellogg wrote the story, and Casey Robinson the screen play. Michael Curtiz directed it and Harry Joe Brown produced it. In the cast are Alison Skipworth, Alexander D'Arcy, Betty Lawford, and others. It will bore children and adolescents. Adult entertainment. Class B. Editor's note: This is really the Stavinski affair, in which French investors were swindled out of millions of francs, and which brought about the fall of at least one French government. "Men Are Not Gods" with Miriam Hopkins (London Film-United Artists, January 22; time, 81 min.) Fairly good class-audience entertainment. The production and acting are of the highest order, but the story lacks mass appeal. Audiences may not be in sympathy with the heroine, because she falls in love with a married man; one is not touched by her suffering. There is one dramatic situation that may be considered the most powerful : this is where the hero plans to kill his wife. Aside from that one scene nothing particularly exciting occurs. Class audiences should enjoy the insertions of parts of the Shakespearean play "Othello." The affair between the hero and the heroine has been handled so discreetly that it cannot possibly offend any one: — Miriam Hopkins meets and falls in love with Sebastian Shaw, an actor whose performance in "Othello" had made him the rage of London. His devoted wife (Gertrude Lawrence) was his leading lady. Shaw tells Miss Hopkins that his wife's jealousy was driving him frantic, and that he needed her (Miss Hopkins). At first she resists him, but later succumbs to his pleas. Miss Lawrence, by telling Miss Hopkins that she was going to have a baby, induces her to give up Shaw. He is frantic when he receives Miss Hopkins' note telling him that their affair is over. He plans to kill his wife during the performance in which he, as "Othello," is supposed to kill Desdemona, his wife. Miss Hopkins, who had gone to the theatre to see Shaw once more, senses his thoughts, screams and becomes hysterical. The performance is stopped, and Miss Hopkins is carried to Miss Lawrence's dressing room. Shaw enters and learns about his wife's condition ; he is remorseful. He bids Miss Hopkins farewell. Walter Reisch wrote the story, and C. B. Stern and Iris Wright the screen play. Walter Reisch directed it and Alexander Korda produced it. In the cast are Rex Harrison, A. E. Mathews, Val Gielgud, and others. Not for children or adolescents. Adult entertainment. Class B. "The Great O'Malley" with Pat O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart and Sybil Jason (Warner Bros., February 13; time, 70 min.) A good human-interest picture of program grade; it should go over best in neighborhood theatres. It was made by First National in 1925, under the title of "The Making of O'Malley"; there are just a few changes in the present version. Pat O'Brien, in the role of the law-enforcing policeman who knows every city ordinance, is a pleasant character. His actions in the beginning, when he insists that the citizens follow the letter of the law, provoke laughter. But once he unbends and shows that he has a heart, the spectator is in deep sympathy with him. His friendship with little Sybil Jason is portrayed humanly ; at times the things she says to him touch the spectator's emotions. The romantic interest is subdued : — O'Brien, a policeman on the New York City force, angers Donald Crisp, the Captain, because of the many summonses he had given to honest people for the slightest infractions of ordinances which no one even knew had existed. In line with his duty, he stops Humphrey Bogart, to give him a summons for having a noisy car. Despite Bogart's plea that he was on his way to a job, the first he had been offered in years, O'Brien delays him, causing Bogart to lose the job. In desperation, he holds up a pawnbroker; he is arrested and sent to prison. Crisp embarrasses O'Brien by transferring him to a school district to direct traffic for the safety of school children. O'Brien becomes fond of crippled Sybil and learns that she is Bogart's child. She makes a changed man of him. He interests a famous doctor in Sybil's case ; he asks the doctor not to let any one know that he had anything to do with it. The operation is successful. Through O'Brien's influence Bogart is paroled. When Bogart arrives home and hears that O'Brien wanted to see him, he thinks that he was going to hound him. When O'Brien arrives at the apartment Bogart shoots him, only to learn later that O'Brien wanted to see him to give him toys for the child and to tell him that he had a job for him. O'Brien refuses to press charges against him, asserting that he had shot himself accidentally. Bogart gives his blood for a transfusion. O'Brien recovers and every one is happy, particularly Ann Sheridan, a school teacher, who had fallen in love with him. Gerald Beaumont wrote the story, and Milton Krims and Tom Reed the screen play. William Dieterle directed it and Harry Joe Brown produced it. In the cast are Frieda Inescort, Henry O'Neill and others. Suitable for all. Class A. "They Wanted to Marry" with Betty Furness and Gordon Jones (RKO, February 12; time, 59 min.) This romantic comedy has been given a better production than the material warrants. It is just an ordinary program picture which suffers from a silly story and poor dialogue. The leading players put up a hard fight to make something of their respective parts, but they were hampered by the poor material. There are times when the action lags considerably. The romance is developed in a breezy manner : — Gordon Jones, a newspaper photographer, is ordered to take pictures of Henry Kolker's daughter's wedding, which was taking place at Kolker's home. He manages to get into the house, but his identity is soon discovered. In attempting to hide he enters the room of Betty Furness, the bride's sister. Attracted by his gay and silly manner, she runs away with him, whom she had taken to be one of the guests. But she soon learns that he is a poor newspaper man, for he cannot pay the hotel bill for food and drinks. They get into an argument and land in jail. Kolker comes to his daughter's rescue and warns her not to see Jones again. But she disobeys him, for she had fallen in love with him. Jones tries to go into the advertising business for her sake, but dislikes it and is soon back at his old job. This separates them for a time, but eventually they become reconciled and win over Kolker, obtaining his consent to their marriage. Larry Bachmann and Darwin L. Teilhet wrote the story, and Paul Yawitz and Ethel Borden the screen play ; Lew Landers directed it and Zion Myers produced it. In the cast are E. E. Clive, Patsy Lee Parsons, Frank M. Thomas, and others. Suitable for all. Class A.