Harrison's Reports (1944)

200 HARRISON'S REPORTS December 9, 1944 "Night Club Girl" with Vivian Austin, Edward Norris and Billy Dunn (Universal, January 5; time, 61 min.) Just a minor program comedy with music. The story is hackneyed and the production values are ordinary. Moreover, the players lack box-office drawing power. The musical numbers, which are of the popular variety, are its main attractions, but even these present nothing unusual and they are not enough to hold one's interest throughout. In addition to the singing and dancing of Vivian Austin and Billy Dunn, others doing specialty numbers include the Delta Rhythm Boys, a colored quartet, the Mulcays, an harmonica team, Judy Clark, a "Betty Hutton" type of singer, and Paula Drake, a "torch" singer: — With the help of their home town chamber of commerce, Vivian Austin and Billy Dunn, sister and brother, go to Hollywood to seek fame and fortune with their song-anddance act. In Hollywood, they soon find themselves broke and hungry. Edward Norris, a columnist, learns of their plight and arranges for them to appear that night in a night-club owned by Maxie Rosenbloom. But the youngsters, having overeaten on "hot dogs," are unable to complete their act. Rosenbloom orders them out, but the employees of the club, feeling sympathetic towards the young couple, promise to help them put on their act once again. On the following night, while the employees and Norris trick Rosenbloom into leaving the club for the evening, Vivian teaches Leon Bclasco, the chef, her recipe for "soupy hash," a Missouri dish. Just as Vivian and Billy prepare to do their act, Rosenbloom returns unexpectedly. The employees lock him in the ice-box to give the youngsters an opportunity to do their routine. Meanwhile a wealthy food manufacturer, visiting the night-club, becomes enthused over the "soupy hash." It all ends with the young couple scoring a huge success with their act, and with their concluding a deal with the food tycoon to manufacture the "soupy hash," with the factory in their home town. Henry Blankfort and Dick Irving Hyland wrote the screen play, Frank Gross produced it, and Eddie Cline directed it. The cast includes Minna Gombell, Andrew Tombes, Clem Bevans and others. Unobjectionable morally. "Nevada" with Bob Mitchum, Ann Jeffreys and Nancy Gates (RKO, no release date set; time, 62 min.) A slightly better than average program Western melodrama. Although the story is not different from the usual type of Western story, it should please those who enjoy this type of entertainment, for it has exciting horse riding, a few good fist fights, and some comedy. There is some suspense throughout because of the danger to the hero in bucking up against the villains. The plot developments are obvious, but the action fans may overlook that fact since the story moves at a pretty good pace: — After winning $7,000 from a crooked gambler, Bob Mitchum, an adventurous cowboy, and his two pals, Guinn Williams and Richard Martin, find themselves pursued by the gambler's henchmen. The three men separate and agree to meet in Gold Hill, a gold-mining town. Meanwhile in Gold Hill, Craig Reynolds, a respected citizen, learns that huge deposits of blue clay, thought by the miners to be worthless, were rich in silver. He keeps this discovery to himself, planning to buy the miners' claims at low prices. Learning that Larry Wheat, a miner, planned to have the clay assayed, Reynolds and his henchman, Harry Woods, kill Wheat from ambush. Mitchum, on his way to town, discovers the body just as a sheriff s posse arrives. Since the $7,000 in his pocket was precisely the amount the dead man was known to have been carrying, Mitchum is accused of murder and robbery. Reynolds and Powell stir up the miners to lynch Mitchum, but Williams and Martin arrive in time to rescue their pal through a clever ruse. Mitchum clears himself of the murder charge by decoying the crooked gambler to Gold Hill and compelling him to state that he had lost the $7,000 to him in a gambling game. Determined to track down the killer, Mitchum tries to force a confession from Powell. Reynolds, fearing that his henchman may talk, kills Powell and publicly lays the blame on Mitchum. Meanwhile Mitchum learns that the blue clay was rich in silver, and that Reynolds had tricked Nancy Gates, the murdered man's daughter, into selling her property to him. Learning that Reynolds was on his way to Carson City to legalize the claim, Mitchum pursues and captures him after a gun battle. Reynolds is held for the murder, and Mitchum and Nancy plan a new future together. Norman Houston wrote the screen play based on the Zane Grey novel, Herman Schlom produced it, and Edward Killy directed it. Unobjectionable morally. "Hollywood Canteen" with an all-star cast (Warner Bros., December 30; time, 124 min.) Good popular type entertainment, somewhat similar to "Stage Door Canteen." Blending comedy, music, and romance, it depicts Hollywood's generosity in providing recreation for the thousands of servicemen who pass through the Dos Angeles area. The star-studded cast, which includes most of the Warner Brothers stars, as well as stars from other major and independent studios, assures the picture's box-office success. Many of the outstanding personalities appear very briefly, speaking just a few lines, while others are given more of an opportunity to display their particular talents, but all have been presented in a skillful manner, keeping one's interest alive throughout the proceedings. Those doing specialties include Eddie Cantor and Nora Martin in a singing duet; Jack Benny matching his talent as a violinist against the talent of Joseph Szigeti, famed violin virtuoso; Jane Wyman and Jack Carson in a song and dance routine; Roy Rogers, his horse, Trigger, and the Sons of the Pioneers in a Western song routine; Dennis Morgan and Joe E. Brown singing "You Can Always Tell a Yank," a stirring tune; Joan McCracken in a sensational comedy ballet dance; the Andrews Sisters singing a number of "swingy" tunes; Kitty Carlisle singing a ballad; Rosario and Rosita in a gypsy dance; and the Golden Gate Quartet singing a number of songs. A few of these specialty numbers are outstanding, while the others are highly entertaining. Jimmy Dorsey and his Band and Carmen Cavallaro and his Rhumba Orchestra furnish the music. Winding its way through the different specialties is a human, appealing story concerning a young soldier (Robert Hutton) and his buddy (Dane Clark) who, after being wounded in the South Pacific, find themselves in Hollywood on a short leave. Visiting the Hollywood Canteen, Hutton hopes to meet Joan Leslie, his favorite actress. John Garfield and Bette Davis, learning of Hutton's desire, arrange for him to meet Joan. On one of his nightly visits to the Canteen, Hutton finds himself hailed as the millionth guest and, as a prize, he is given an expensive hotel suite, the use of a shiny limousine, and his choice of an actress for a week-end date. Of course, he selects Joan. The rest of the story is devoted to their falling in love and, towards the finish, a slight misunderstanding leads Hutton to believe that his romance with Joan was just a publicity stunt. As he prepares to leave Hollywood, however, Joan sees him off at the train and convinces him that her love was genuine. Joan Leslie and Hutton make a very appealing romantic couple, while Dane Clark is exceptionally good as his buddy; his misadventures at the Canteen with the different stars provoke considerable laughter. Delmar Daves wrote the screen play and directed it. Alex Gottlieb produced it. The cast includes Julie Bishop, Joan Crawford, Helmut Dantine, Faye Emerson, Victor Francen, Mary Gordon, Sydney Greenstreet, Alan Hale, Paul Henreid, Peter Lorre, Ida Lupino, Irene Manning, Eleanor Parker, Joyce Reynolds, John Ridgely, S. Z. Sakall, Zachary Scott, Alexis Smith, Barbara Stanwyck, Donald Woods and many others.