Harrison's Reports (1940)

May 25, 1940 HARRISON'S REPORTS 83 "Turnabout" with John Hubbard, Adolphe Menjou, Carole Landis and William Gargan (United Artists-Roach, May 17; 83 mm.) The first third of this fantastic picture is quite amusing, not on account of any striking situations or brilliant dialogue, but on account of skilful handling by Mr. Roach, an expert at comedy work. Immediately after the transposition of the hero's and heroine's natures, however, the picture goes sour. The reason for it is the fact that the sight of a man acting like a woman, or that of a woman talking and comporting herself like a man, is not pleasant to the members of either sex. Some of the comedy is provoked by slapstick situations, occurring in a lavish background: a bear cub, upsetting everything in the household, and frightening everybody, is introduced. The story deals with a quarreling married couple. During one of the tiffs, the hero expresses a wish that he were in the heroine's place, and the heroine retorts that she, too, wished that she were in his place. The Egyptian idol god overhears them and, suddenly coming to life, informs them that he was going to answer their wishes by doing that little favor for them. Thereupon he transplants the wife's nature into the man, and the man's nature into the wife. The friends of the heroine are amazed at hearing their friend talk in a manly voice and comport herself like a man, and the office force is shocked at seeing the hero talk Hke a woman and act like one. After each had had his "fill" at being the other, they go back to the idol god and plead with him to restore them to their former states. He obliges them. After the restoration, the hero is still informed that he was to give birth to a child. The plot has been founded on the Thorne Smith novel. The screen play is by Mickell Novak, Berne Giler and John McClain, with additional dialogue by Rian James. Class B for children and adolescents, Class A for adults. If shown to capacity houses, the picture should provoke considerable laughter ; but there is no doubt in this critic's mind that most people will feel that the story was in bad taste. "Lillian Russell" with Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Henry Fonda and Edward Arnold (20th Century-Fox, May 24; time, 2 hrs. and 5 min.) For all its lavishness of production and array of star names, this drama with music is only fair entertainment. Considering the advance publicity the picture has had and the drawing power of the stars, it will probably draw well at the box-office, but the action is slow-moving, the story lacks dramatic power, and the events in the life of the famous actress, as depicted here, are not particularly exciting. The picture is at its best when it goes into musical numbers. Some of the tunes are old and should be enjoyed by those who remember them. A few new numbers have been added. One of the most amusing scenes is that in which appear the old team of Weber & Fields : — Helen Leonard (Alice Faye), daughter of a suffragette mother and of a newspaper-writer father, has a charming singing voice and is determined to go on the stage. W hile riding home with her grandmother from a music lesson, Helen's horses are frightened and run wild. They are stopped by a young man, Alexander Moore (Henry Fonda) ; he and Helen become ftiends and confide their ambitions in each other. Helen "tracts the attention of Tony Pastor (Leo Carrillo), owner of a famous theatre. He decides to give her a chance but, not liking her name, changes it to Lillian Russell. She is an immediate success and becomes a famous star. Men like Diamond Jim Brady (Edward Arnold) and Jesse Lewisohn (Warren William) shower expensive gifts on her, each one hoping that she would accept his proposal of marriage. But she marries Edward Solomon (Don Ameche), a young composer, and with him goes to England. His hot-tempered outbursts against producers and her approaching motherhood bring a sudden end to Miss Russell's career. After the birth of her baby they continue living in England. Solomon dies from a sudden heart attack. Miss Russell goes bark to the stage and again becomes popular. She returns to America to new triumphs, and again she is pursued by Brady. Eventually she marries Moore, by this time a successful newspaper owner. William Anthony McGuirc wrote the screen play, Irving Cummings directed it, and Gene Markey produced it. In the cast are Helen Westley, Dorothy Peterson, Finest Trucx, Nigel Bruce, Claude Allister, Lynn P.ari, and others. Suitability, Class A. "Waterloo Bridge" with Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor (MGM , May 17 ; running time, 108 min.) That this picture will prove popular at the box office no exhibitor need have any doubt — with two popular stars in the leads, and with some of the situations stirring one's emotions deeply, no different results could be expected ; what may be doubted is the wisdom of having the heroine degrade herself for dramatic purposes : she becomes a prostitute in order that she might make a living. When this Sherwood play was first produced (in 1931) by Universal, it was a drama of a heroine's regeneration — she had given up her life of shame because of love. This picture would have been infinitely more moving had the producers adhered to the original plot development ; the Universal version was much more moving than the present version, for in that version the heroine had made a great sacrifice — she, realizing what she was, decided to give up the hero, whom she loved passionately. One could not help feeling deeply at her sacrifice. One other blemish in the present version is the fact that the heroine takes her own life in the end ; in the Universal version she had died when a bomb, dropped by a Zeppelin, had fallen near her. The MGM version has followed the Universal version in one particular — in introducing in the story the hero's family ; no family was dealt with in the stage play. The picture has been produced much more lavishly than was the Universal version, and the leads are, of course, incomparably more popular : — Vivien Leigh, a ballet dancer, meets Robert Taylor, a captain in the British army, and soon the two fall in love with each other. Robert obtains the permission of his regiment's commanding officer to marry Vivien, but before marrying her his regiment is ordered to the front. She soon reads in the papers that he had been killed. Unable to obtain employment she sells herself to make a living. Months later she is at a railroad station to pick up some soldier when returning Robert, who had not been killed but merely made a prisoner, sees her at the station. His joy is indescribable, for he had thought that she had been waiting for him. He takes her to his home in the country and introduces her to his family. Their engagement is announced, but Vivien, realizing that she could never be happy as his wife, leaves secretly and returns to London. She kills herself by throwing herself in the path of a speeding military truck. Mervyn LeRoy directed it and Sidney Franklin produced it from a screen play by S. N. Behrman. Hans Rameau and George Frocschel. Not a picture for family days — Class B. "Men Without Souls" with John Litel, Barton MacLane and Rochelle Hudson (Columbia, March 14; time, 60 min.) A minor program offering. It is a rehash of the typical prison story ; the surroundings are sordid since all the action takes place in the prison. Women will find very little in it to entertain them, for there is just a hint at a romance, and only one brief appearance of the heroine, who is the only woman in the cast. The plot is so familiar that it is doubtful if the average picture-goer will have the patience to sit throughout the entire picture. Two attempted prison breaks are the only exciting occurrences : — John Litel, newly appointed chaplain at an ill-condiu ted prison, tries his best to win the friendship of the inmates. But they resent him because, on the first day of his arrival, he had foiled an attempt by Barton MacLane, the toughest prisoner, and a few other prisoners, to escape. Glenn Ford, a new prisoner, is warned by MacLane not to be friendly with Litel. Ford had purposely committed a crime so as tp be sent to the prison, his punxise being to kill Cy Kendall, a brutal guard, who had been the cause of the death of Ford's father, while a prisoner there. But Litel. with the help of Rochelle Hudson, Ford's sweetheart, convinces Ford that he should abandon his plans. MacLane plans another break and insists that Ford go with him. When Ford refuses, he feels certain that he would give his plans away. Noticing that Kendall talked confidentially to Ford. MacLane suspects the worst ; he kills Kendall and places the blame on Ford. Ford is tried and sentenced to death. On tinday of his execution, MacLane starts his preparations for escape. In blowing up the boiler room to aid his escape, he is injured. Sorry lor what he had done. MacLane confesses and clears Ford ; he then dies. Harvey Gates wrote the story, and Robert D. Andrews and Joseph Carole, the screen play ; Nick Grinde directed it. In the cast are Don Beddoe, Fddie Liughton, and others. Not for children. Suitable for adolescents and adults. Class B.