Harrison's Reports (1939)

170 HARRISON'S REPORTS October 28, 1939 "Sued for Libel" with Kent Taylor, Linda Hayes, Morgan Conway and Lilian Bond (RKO, released Oct. 27; running time, 66 min.) A tair program melodrama, suitable for a double bill. Although the production values are good, the story is so-so ; it holds one's interest fairly well. Its chief asset is the spectator's difficulty to guess who the real murderer is. Because' of the iavorable testimony . of the murdered man's wife, Morgan Conway is acquitted on the charge of having murdered his partner and best friend, but Kent Taylor, reporter for a. newspaper and dramatizer of courtroom events over the radio, is given trie wrong information and announces over the radio that Conway had been found guilty. As a result, Conway instructs his lawyer to bring suit against the Bulletin for damages, laylor, determined yet to prove Conway guilty of murder, proceeds to investigate htm. He is helped by Linda Hayes, who loved Taylor. But they find it d.fiicult to pin the murder on Conway. They then start investigating the death of a girl who was supposed to have killed herself for love of him, Conway. Their invest. gations lead them to a young doctor, but when 'laylor calls on him after an appointment to interrogate him he finds him murdered. In the end, however, it comes to light that all three murders had been committed by Lilian Bond, whose purpose in testifying for Conway was nothing more than to conceal her own crime. The screen play is by Jerry Grady; the direction, by Leslie Goodwins. Cliff Reid produced it. Suitability, Class B. "Scandal Sheet" with Edward Morris, Otto Kruger and Neda Harrigan {Columbia, October 16; time, 65 min.) A fair double-bill murder melodrama, revolving mostly around the heartless editor of a tabloid paper. There is some human interest, and the action unfolds at a pretty fast pace. '1 here is no romance : — ■ Otto Kruger, heartless publisher of a tabloid newspaper, attends graduation ceremonies at a college and listens to Edward Norris, a graduating student, extoll in his valedictory the virtues of clean journalism. At the end of the ceremonies, Kruger offers Edward a job in his newspaper. Edward is elated at the offer from so famous a publisher, but he is unaware of the fact that Kruger was his father (evidently out of a love union). On his first assignment Edward has an opportunity to observe hew cruel were the methods of those who worked for Kruger's paper and resigns. He obtains a position on a rival paper. The city's reform element is hot after Kruger and he, to stop the leader in his tracks, employs an unscrupulous character to bring to light a skeleton in his closet, if there should be one. But the detective unearths evidence proving that there was something "shady" in Edward's mother's past. Kruger offers him very little for the information, but because the detective wanted an unreasonable sum there is a scuffle and Kruger kills the detective. Edward finds a murder clue and, by following it up, proves to the district attorney that Kruger was the murderer. Kruger is called to the District Attorney's office and is compelled to admit his guilt, but gives self-defense as the motive. At the trial Kruger could have cleared himself but that would ruin Edward and his mother. He keeps his lips sealed, preferring conviction. 'Joseph Carole wrote the screen play, and Nick Grinde directed it. Because of the murder and the unscrupulousness of the newspaper publisher, it is hardly suitable for children under twelve. Satisfactory for others. Class B. "Call a Messenger" with Mary Carlisle, Robert Armstrong, El Brendel and Jimmy Butler (Universal, November 3; 64 min.) A good program melodrama, with some human interest, and with action unfolding at a fast pace. The background is different; it is that of telegraph offices, with telegraph employees as the chief characters. This fact adds to the iqtere.sjt. The theme deals with the reformation of a group of tough boys, from the slums ; and it is done convincingly : While about to burglarize a Postal-Union Telegraph office, Billy Halop (a "'Dead End' Kid"), a tough boy fnoffl the slums, is captured by the police but his pals escape. At the police station Robert Armstrong, district manager for the company, before. signing the complaint against him, offi rs him a job as a messenger; he felt that Billy's reform could l>e effected better that way than in a reformatory. Billy accepts. Being the head of his gang, he compclls also all ihc others to get jobs as messengers with his company. ': ir influence of the environment, coupled with the charms of Mary Carlisle, effect immediate reform on them all. Billy's brother (Victor Jory) is released from jail and he and his sister are glad to have him back. Billy tries to make him get an honest job, but Victor persists in the old life. Victor's pals decide to rob the Postal-Union offices. After robbing some of them they decide to rob also the office where Billy was assigned. Victor breaks away from his pals and informs Billy of the contemplated robbery. Billy, armed with a gun, was awaiting. One of the robbers enters, a scuffle endues, the police are informed, and the robbers are captured, Billy's pals helping the authorities. All the boys are praised by the heads of the company for their loyalty. Robert becomes engaged to Mary. The story is by Sally Sandiin and Michael Kraikc ; the screen play, by Arthur T. Horman. Arthur Lubin directed it, and Ken Goldsmith produced it. Huntz Hall (another "'Dead End' Kid"), George Offerman, Frances O'Neil, and the "Little Tough Guys," Haly Qicster, William Benedict, David Gorcey, Harris Berger, are in the cast. Because of the moral lesson it conveys, Class A as to suitability. "Shipyard Sally" with Gracie Fields and Sidney Howard (Twentieth Century-box, Oct. 20; 79 min.) Gracie Fields is a first-class drawing attraction in Great Britain ; all the exhibitor there has to do is to announce her name in the lobby and the crowds flock to his theatre. But in the United btates Miss Fields, though a capable actress, has not gained any popularity, chiefly because of the poor story material given her — that is, poor in so far as American picture-goers are concerned. The quality of this picture is, from the point of view of Americans, poor, because the story is inconsequential. It deals with a heroine whose father, a card sharp, when stranded at Clydebank, the shipbuilding town, uses all the heroine's money for the purchase of a pub (saloon) ; he becomes sick of the stage. The heroine, when she hears the bad news, has to make the best of it. She rolls up her sleeves and decides to help her father make it a success. Shipbuilding at Clydebank is suspended and the men become so poverty-stricken that the heroine decides to undertake the mission of calling on Lord Randal, of the Admiralty, in London, to induce him to order resumption of the work. Because she is unable to get near him, she has to resort to deception ; she impersonates an American actress, who was to be the chief entertainer at the Lord's. Her identity is discovered before she had a chance to present the petition to Lord Randal and she is ordered out of the house. She flings the petition to his face and goes. When she reaches Clydebank, she is surprised by the great reception given her by the workers. She learns that Lord Randal, impressed by her petition, had ordered resumption of work. The story and screen play is by Karl Tunberg and Don Ettliuger ; it was produced by Robert T. Kane and directed by Monte Banks. Suitability, Class A. "Television Spy" with William Henry, Judith Barrett and William Collier, Sr. (Paramount , Oct. 20; 57 min.) A nice little picture. It holds the interest pretty well. Although the development of the plot is no different from the development of plots in espionage pictures, in which the villains attempt to obtain blueprints of secret inventions of great military value, the fact that this is the first time that television has been employed as the basis makes the picture somewhat refreshing : — William Henry, a young inventor, outshouts William Collier, Sr., an old wealthy "crab" and compells him to witness a demonstration of long distance television transmission which he had invented. Collier is so impressed, not only with the young inventor's courage, but also with the possibilities of the invention from a military point of view, tiiPt he allots Henry a large sum of money for perfecting it, his intention being to present it to the United States government. While conducting tests he uncovers a "bootleg" station on his own wave length but is unable to locate its position. In time he learns that his own plans had been copied without his-knowledge by persons who were trying to obtain the secret so that they might sell it to a foreign government for a large sum of money. But Hines, Collier and those who worked with them succeed, at the risk of their lives, in having the spies arrested. Thus they prevent the delivery of the plans to the agent of the foreign government. The story is by Endre Bohem ; the screen play, by Horace McCoy, William R. Lipman and Lillie Hayward. It was directed by Edward Dmytryk. Some of the others in the cast are Richard Denning, John Eldredgc, Dorothy Tree, and Wade Boteler. Suitability, Class A.