Harrison's Reports (1943)

January 2, 1943 HARRISON'S REPORTS 3 to accept it if Anne would keep a date with him that evening. Anne returns to her office for the poHcy, unaware that a disgruntled secretary had deliberately made it out for $1,000,000. That evening Albert takes Anne to a cheap night club owned by Maude Eburne. Miss Eburne, Edward Brophy, the bartender, and Raymond Walburn, a middleaged actor, are made Albert's beneficiaries. After signing, Albert tries to kiss Anne, but she throws a drink at him and storms out. The following morning Donald MacBride, president of the insurance company, learns of the $1,000,000 policy, and orders Anne to do everything possible to get it back. Despite her efforts, Albert refuses to return it. Eventually, they fall in love with each other, but Anne refuses to marry him lest people believe that she did so because of his heavy insurance. They go to MacBride who refuses to cancel the policy, because of the tremendous business his company was receiving as a result of the publicity stunt. Meanwhile the three beneficiaries feared that Anne would replace them. Learning that Anne and Albert planned to fly to Las Vegas to be married, the three put a sleeping potion in their food in the hope that Albert would fall asleep at the plane's controls. They accompany the young couple to the airport where Albert asks them to come along as witnesses. When they refuse, Albert invites them to inspect the plane, and deliberately kidnaps them. He falls asleep during the flight, and the three beneficiaries take over the controls. After an eventful ride in which anti-aircraft guns fire at the plane, Albert wakes in time to land safely. The three wouldbe murderers are jailed. Edmund Hartmann and Art Arthur wrote the screen play, Sol C. Siegel and Burt Kelly produced it, and William Clemens directed it. Morally suitable for all. "The Yanks Are Coming" with Maxie Rosenbloom, Henry King and Mary Healy (Producers Releasing Corp., J^ovember 9; time, 68 mm.) Other than a few tuneful melodies, and a saleable title, this musical has little else to offer; it may, however, satisfy in the secondary houses as the lower half of a double bill. Produced on a very modest budget, the story is extremely thin, and little imagination has been put into the direction. The players are not popular enough to attract picture-goers; nor do they enact their roles with any particular skill. Maxie Rosenbloom and Parkyakarkus handle the comedy, but their antics do not provoke much more than a grin. Unlike the title suggests, the picture is void of melodramatic war action. Considerable footage has been given over to stock shots of the armed services: — When William Roberts, crooner with Henry King's orchestra, enlists in the army, the members of the band, including Mary Healy, vocalist, and Jackie Heller, the music arranger, wish Roberts luck. But King, a conceited individual, sneers at his patriotism. At camp, Roberts becomes buddies with Maxie Rosenbloom, a former prizefighter. Roberts is induced by Capt. Forrest Taylor to take charge of a canteen show sponsored by socialite Lynn Starr and her mother. One day Mary visits the camp while Roberts rehearses a song with Lynn. Mary resents Lynn's loving attitude toward Roberts, and leaves in a huff. Roberts tries to square himself with Mary, but to no avail. Meanwhile King finds himself without an orchestra when Heller and the band members quit because of his unpatriotic attitude. Through Roberts' influence with the Captain, the band is permitted to enlist as a group and join in the canteen show. Parkyakarkus, Roberts' agent, persuades Mary to join the USO. Thus the organization is reunited, except for King. To the surprise of every one. King enters the rehearsal hall in uniform; the death of his soldier brother had changed his attitude. When word comes that they must depart for active service, the show is dropped and the band leads the way to the barracks. Arthur St. Claire and Sherman Lowe wrote the screen play, Lester Cutler produced it, and Alexis Thurn-Taxis directed it. Morally suitable for all. "Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour" with Jimmy Lydon and John Litel (Paramount, no release date set; time, 72 min.) Fairly good program entertainment. The fans who follow the adventures of "Henry Aldrich" will find this comedy by far the best in the series, for the story is superior to that of the other pictures. This time "Henry's" troubles spring from his winning a movie magazine contest, and becoming innocently involved with a glamorous Hollywood actress. There are the usual escapades in which he shocks the townspeople, causing his family no end of grief, but it all turns out well in the last reel. As in the other pictures, most of the action revolves around teen-age youngsters: — Winner of a movie magazine contest, Jimmy Lydon goes to Hollywood where he meets and has lunch with Francis Gifford, a glamour star. Upset because the studio felt that she was too old to play Juliet, Francis pays little attention to Jimmy. After luncheon she poses with him for a photograph, but Jimmy stumbles and the picture is snapped showing them embracing. Jimmy returns to his home town where he finds that he had acquired a reputation as a "glamour" boy. Despite his protests, nobody believes that his embracing of Francis had been accidental. Jimmy's romantic escapades shock the townspeople and, as a result, the Voters League withdraws its support from John Litel, Jimmy's father, who was a candidate for a public office. Determined to lose his glamour reputation, and restore his father's name for the election, Jimmy, in the presence of his friends, telephones Francis and invites her to attend a school dance. Although Francis does not remember him, Jimmy pretends that she had accepted his invitation, hoping that his reputation as a "glamour" boy would be shattered when she did not show up. Francis, however, seizes this opportunity for a boy-girl romance to prove to the studio that she was young enough to play Juliet. Jimmy is astounded when she arrives in town and embraces him. Francis pretends to be madly in love with him, and Jimmy's reputation reaches new heights, while his father's chances for election decline. Consciencestricken because of her deceit, Francis publicly confesses that she had taken advantage of Jimmy, and informs the voters that Jimmy had been trying to help his father. Jimmy becomes a hero. Edwin Blum and Aleen Leslie wrote the screen play, Walter MacEwen produced it, and Hugh Bennett directed it. The cast includes Charlie Smith, Gail Russell, Diana Lynn and others. Morally suitable for all. "They Got Me Covered" with Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour (RKO, no release date set; time, 95 min.) Despite a good production, and hard work by the members of the cast, "They Got Me Covered" never rises much above the level of fair entertainment. It may, however, do well at the box office, because of the popularity of Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour as a team. The story is a hodgepodge of espionage nonsense, tailored to suit Hope's particular brand of humor, but its comedy never reaches hilarious proportions, and somehow it fails to measure up to the standard of previous Bob Hope pictures. In its favor is the fast action: Because of his failure to cover important news events, Bob Hope, foreign correspondent, is recalled from Russia and fired by Donald MacBride, Amalgamated News head. Hope goes to Washington to visit Dorothy Lamour, his fiancee and manager of Amalgamated's news bureau there. He is visited by John Abbott, a Roumanian agent, who offers to sell him valuable information. Realizing this story will put him back in MacBride's good graces, Hope persuades Dorothy to pay Abbott. But before he can tell his tale, Abbott is scared off by Axis gunmen. Abbott sends Hope a message, directing him to send a stenographer to a secret hideout. Dorothy gives the assignment to Phyllis Ruth, who, after getting the story, is kidnapped by Axis agents. Learning that Hope was on their trail. Otto Preminger. Axis leader, and Edward Ciannelli and Philip Ahn, his aides, scheme to discredit the reporter and to make him a national laughing-stock so that nobody would believe his story of espionage. Through Lenore Aubert, the Nazis succeed in drugging Hope, and he wakes up in Niagara Falls to find himself married to Marion Martin a buxom blonde burlesque queen. Panicky, Hope rushes back to Washington, but no one believes his explanation, except Dorothy, who knew he detested blondes. Marion learns the true reasons for her marriage to Hope, but before she can clear his name she is killed. Hope and Dorothy trace the spies to their beauty salon headquarters, and a riotous struggle follows as they seek to free the imprisoned Phyllis. The FBI arrives in time to rescue them both and round up the Axis gang. Harry Kurnitz wrote the screen play, Samuel Goldwyn produced it, and David Butler directed it. The cast includes Donald Meek, Florence Bates, Walter Catlett and others. Morally suitable for all.