Harrison's Reports (1944)

November 4, 1944 HARRISON'S REPORTS 179 being photographed, Dix bowls over Paul Guilfoyle, a crippled peddler, to whom he gives a liberal tip. Dix's photograph is seen in the papers by John Calvert and Matt Willis, brothers, who had been searching for the man Dix was impersonating; their father, a former partner of the missing man's unscrupulous father, had been railroaded to jail, and the two brothers were determined to avenge him by killing Dix, whom they believed to be the unscrupulous partner's son. Meanwhile Dix caches his money and decides to visit a night-club. Noticing Calvert following him, Dix believes him to be a detective who had found out his fraud. He eludes Calvert and seeks the aid of the crippled peddler, who offers to help him leave town by bus. Calvert, however, traces him to the bus station and compels him to accompany him to his house, where he explains his intentions. Unable to convince Calvert that he was an imposter, Dix escapes and seeks refuge with the crippled peddler, who reveals to him that he is the missing man that he (Dix) had been impersonating. Calvert and Willis catch up with Dix at the peddler's apartment, but both are killed in a gun-fight with the police. Guilfoyle, now unafraid to assume his real identity, offers to help rehabilitate Dix. George Bricker wrote the screen play, Rudolph C. Flothow produced it, and William Castle directed it. Adult entertainment. "Dark Waters" with Merle Oberon, Franchot Tone and Thomas Mitchell (United Artists, no release date set; time, 90 mm.) Patrons who like plenty of chills and thrills in their entertainment should find this psychological murder melodrama satisfactory; but its value to the masses is doubtful, because of the depressing story and atmosphere. The artistic production, the capable direction, and the competent performances, help considerably to maintain one's interest in the unpleasant proceedings, which revolve around the diabolical machinations of four scoundrels, who seek to drive a distraught girl insane in order to gain possession of her missing uncle's plantation. The action takes place in the Louisiana bayou country, which lends itself to the atmosphere of horror. The closing scenes, where the villains are trapped and the girl saved, are dramatic and exciting: — Victim of a nervous breakdown, Merle Oberon, lone survivor of a torpedoed ship, in which her parents had been killed, is invited by her aunt and uncle, whom she had never seen, to recuperate at their plantation in Louisiana. When no one meets her at the station, Franchot Tone, a local physician, drives Merle to the isolated plantation, where she is greeted by Fay Bainter and John Qualen, her aunt and uncle, Thomas Mitchell, her uncle's business advisor, and Elisha Cook, Jr., lessee of the plantation. Unknown to Merle, or to Tone, who had never met the plantation's owners, the four were a group of imposters who had disposed of her aunt and uncle in a scheme to gain possession of the plantation. Merle's unexpected arrival interfered with their plans. Mitchell, to rid himself of Merle, resorts to numerous tricks designed to convince her that she was losing her mind; he hoped to place her in an institution. Terrorised at first, Merle soon realizes the truth when Miss Bainter reveals herself as an imposter during a conversation about Merle's mother. Merle contacts Tone and asks him to rescue her. But Mitchell, aware that the young couple had found him out, forces them to accompany him to the swamps where he and Cook intended to drown them. Taking advantage of an unguarded moment, Tone starts a fight with the two men. Cook loses his life in the quicksand, and Mitchell, fearful lest he suffer a similar fate, surrenders. With the scoundrels disposed of, Merle and Tone look forward to a peaceful future on the plantation. Joan Harrison and Marian Cockrell wrote the screen play from the Saturday Evening Post story by Frank and Marian Cockrell. Benedcit Bogeaus produced it, and Andre De Toth directed it. The cast includes Rex Ingram, Odette Myrtil, Nina Mae McKinney and others. Unobjectionable morally. "Something for the Boys" with Carmen Miranda, Vivian Blaine and Phil Silvers (20th Century-Fox, November; time, 87 win.) Based on the Broadway stage show of the same title, this lavish Technicolor musical is fairly diverting if not outstanding. Its real entertainment value lies in the musical interludes, for the story itself is rather dull. Here and there it has situations, some of them slapstick, funny enough to provoke hearty laughter, but on the whole the comedy is only moderately amusing. Phil Silvers works hard and succeeds in enlivening the situations in which he appears, but the rest of the cast is handicapped by the weak material. Musically, the picture is satisfactory; the dances are well-staged, and the songs are pleasant to the ear: — Carmen Miranda, a carborundum polisher in a defense plant, Vivian Blaine, a night-club singer, and Phil Silvers, a sidewalk salesman, all cousins, meet for the first time when they learn that they are joint heirs to a southern plantation. All go to Georgia, where they discover the plantation and its twentyroom house badly in need of repairs. Disillusioned, and without funds, all three prepare to return to New York. But Sergeant Michael O'Shea, from a camp nearby, persuades them to open the house as a home for soldiers' wives. The soldiers and their wives help redecorate the house. The romance that springs up between Vivian and O'Shea is soon shattered by the arrival of Sheila Ryan, O'Shea's society fiance, of whom Vivian was unaware. O'Shea tries to explain that he had become engaged to Sheila to better himself in civilian life, and that he did not love her, but Vivian refuses to listen. Meanwhile a secret gambling game started by Silvers in an upstairs room is discovered by the army authorities, causing them to declare the plantation "off limits." During the Blue and Red Army war games, O'Shea leads his platoon to the plantation so that he could speak to Vivian. His attempt to see her delays him long enough to be captured by the Red Army. Confined on his honor to the living room of the house, O'Shea learns that Silvers, by placing a carborundum cap over Carmen's teeth, had turned her into a human radio receiving and sending set. He utilizes Carmen to learn of the Red Army's plans and, after a series of misadventures, in which Vivian and the wives entertain the Red Army staff so as to delay them, the Blue Army, through O'Shea and Carmen, captures the Red Army and wins the games. Robert Ellis, Helen Logan and Frank Gabrielson wrote the screen play, based on the musical comedy play by Herbert and Dorothy Fields. Irving Starr produced it, and Lewis Scilcr directed it. The cast includes Perry Como and others.