Harrison's Reports (1945)

January 13, 1945 HARRISON'S REPORTS 7 Kelly, who by this time had fallen in love with her. Meanwhile the police receive an anonymous letter stating that Virginia had poisoned her grandfather. Jealous relatives, seeking to invalidate the will, encourage an investigation. While Barrat's coffin is unearthed and Fix's body discovered, a mysterious assailant tries to murder Virginia, but Kelly saves her life. Arsenic is found in Barrat's body, and suspicion against Virginia is doubled. Kelly, believing her innocent, deduces that the person who had tried to murder her had also poisoned Barrat. Through a clever scheme, in which Virginia cooperates, Kelly succeeds in trapping Elisabeth Risdon, Virginia's aunt, the only relative who had been kind to her. Miss Risdon, in an effort to get her part of the inheritance so that she could send her pretty daughter to Hollywood, had poisoned Barrat. She then tried to murder Virginia so that part of the money would revert to her. Muriel Guy Bolton wrote the screen play, Walter H. Goetz produced it, and John English directed it. Unobjectionable morally. "She Gets Her Man" with Joan Davis and William Gargan (Universal, no release date set; time, 74 min.) A fairly amusing program comedy, suitable for houses that cater to non-discriminating audiences. Built around a series of mysterious murders that take .place in a small town, the story is a hodge-podge of nonsensical action, a good part of it slapstick, in which Joan Davis, as a would-be detective, fumbles her way into the solving of the crimes. Some of the situations are genuinely funny, but most of the comedy is so forced that it fails to arouse much laughter. Joan Davis is the mainstay of the picture, and her antics will undoubtedly amuse her fans. Her current popularity on the radio should be helpful : — When two leading citizens are murdered mysteriously in the town of Clayton, Donald McBride, the local newspaper editor, sends William Gargan, a re' porter, to find Joan Davis, whose deceased mother had been one of the town's famous police chiefs. On her arrival, Joan is appointed special investigator to solve the murders, and Leon Errol, a policeman, is assigned as her assistant. The killer tries to frighten Joan out of town, but Errol shames her into remaining. That night, at a cafe, the Chamber of Commerce president falls dead, a needle in his heart. Joan finds cause to suspect Russell Hicks, the Mayor, but he, too, is murdered in the same manner. Joan's failure as a sleuth disappoints McBride, and he makes arrangements to hire another detective. Meanwhile Errol loses his job because of Joan's bungling. Crushed by this turn of events, Joan is further depressed when she learns that Gargan, with whom she was smitten, was engaged to Vivian Austin, an actress. As Errol bids Joan goodbye at the railroad station, the killer strikes for a fifth time, killing a disreputable stage play producer. Joan, seeing Vivian snatch a piece of paper out of the dead man's pocket, follows her to the victim's theatre. While she and Errol search the theatre for clues, they are attacked by a gang of roughnecks. Joan escapes and, by a series of antics, infuriates a number of citizens who pursue her back into the theatre, where they get into a free-for-all fight with the gangsters. During the battle, Joan recovers the paper filched by Vivian and, through it, tracks down the town coroner as the murderer; he and the dead pro ducer had worked together on shady deals. Errol is restored to the force with honors, and as Joan prepares to leave, she receives a telegram from her home town begging her to remain in Clayton. Warren Wilson and Clyde Bruckman wrote the screen play, Mr. Wilson produced it, and Erie C. Kenton directed it. Unobjectionable morally. "Mr. Emmanuel" with Felix Aylmer and Greta Gynt (United Artists, Jan. 19; time, 92 min.) Based on Louis Golding's successful novel, "Magnolia Street," this British-made melodrama is one of the better pictures to have come out of England. The strength of the picture lies, not so much in the story, which to many may seem outdated (the action occurs in 1935) and somewhat implausible, as in the excellent performance by Felix Aylmer, as "Mr. Emmanuel," who gives a convincing and sensitive portrayal of an elderly, humble Jew, who stout-heartedly defies the bestiality of the Nazis in his determination to find the missing mother of a German refugee boy. The story unfolds at a slow pace, but it has deep human interest, and its dramatic impact is very forceful. Some of the situations stir one deeply. In view of the fact that the players are unknown to American audiences, the picture will undoubtedly require extensive exploitation to put it over. The popularity of the book, however, may prove helpful : — Aylmer, a retired Jewish widower in England, helping to look after a group of German refugee boys, is touched by the grieving of Peter Mullins, the youngest boy, who attempts to commit suicide when he fails to receive letters from his mother in Germany. The boy's father, a nonAryan, had been murdered, and he feared for his mother's safety. To keep the boy from destroying himself, Aylmer promises to go to Germany to learn what happened to his mother. Despite his friends' pleas to remain in England, Aylmer departs for Berlin, secure in the thought that his British passport would protect him. In Berlin, his quest for information about Peter's mother proves fruitless; those who could give him information dared not. The Gestapo, considerably annoyed by Aylmer's persistent search, arrest and falsely charge him with the assasination of a Nazi official. Because he was held on a criminal, not political, charge, his British passport could not help him. Tortured daily by the Gestapo, which sought to force a "confession" from him, Aylmer steadfastly refuses to admit to the assassination. Meanwhile Greta Gynt, daughter of an old Jewish friend and a popular night-club star in Berlin, becomes concerned about the old man's plight; she uses her influence with Reichminister Walter Rilla, her lover, to gain Aylmer's release. Given a few hours to clear out of the country, Aylmer informs Greta that he would rather die than not fulfill his promise to Peter. Through her, Aylmer learns that Peter's mother had married a Nazi official and, lest she be persecuted, she refused to acknowledge her half-Jewish son. Aylmer returns to England and informs Peter that his mother had "died" nobly. Louis Golding and Gordon Wellesley wrote the screen play, William Sistrom produced it, and Harold French directed it. Unobjectionable morally.