Harrison's Reports (1945)

August 25, 1945 HARRISON'S REPORTS 135 that he was in jail at the time of the murder, but he fails to allay Fraser 's suspicions. Actually, Leigh had bribed his jailer (Barry Bernard) to free him for one hour, long enough to return home, strangle his aunt, and return to jail to establish his alibi. While Fraser persistently continues his investigation, Leigh finds himself blackmailed by the jailer. He murders the man, taking pains to once again establish an alibi. Fraser, however, aided by Evelyn, comes across. evi' dence indicating that Leigh had committed both crimes. Lacking proof, Fraser, recalling that Leigh was unusually superstitious, determines to trick him into a confession. He arranges for an actress to play Miss Everest's ghost at a dinner party in Leigh's home, and cautions the guests to pretend that they do not see the "ghost''' as it hovers over Leigh. When the "ghost" appears, and the guests pretend not to see it, Leigh becomes unnerved and confesses. Fraser turns to congratulate the actress only to find that she had disappeared. He learns that the actress, ill at home, had not been present, and realizes that Miss Everest's ghost had actually visited the party. Jerry Sackheim wrote the screen play, Rudolph E. Abel produced it, and Lesley Selander directed it. Unobjectionable morally. "Abbott and Costello in Hollywood" (MGM, no releseae date set; time, 84 min.) This latest Abbott and Costello comedy, the final one to be made on the MGM lot, should more than satisfy those who respond easily to their particular brand of slapstick humor. As is usually the case with comedies featuring this pair, the story is completely nonsensical, but there are enough laughs in this one to keep one amused throughout. Some of the situations should provoke hilarious laughter; as, for instance, the one in which Costello, after "crashing" a studio gate, is mistaken for a dummy on a movie set and is given a terrific mauling by the studio workers. Another hilarious sequence is the one in which Costello battles the villain during a wild ride on a rollercoaster. Some music and dancing are woven into the plot, but it does not retard the action : — Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, barber and porter, respectively, in a Hollywood tonsorial parlor, are sent to the office of Warner Anderson, an actors' agent, to give him a haircut and a shine. While performing their duties, the boys overhear Anderson offer Bob Stanton, an unknown singer, a leading role that had been refused by Carleton Young, a fading star. Later, Young informs Anderson that he had decided to accept the role, and orders him to dispose of Stanton. Abbott and Costello, impressed by the lucrative deals Anderson made as an agent, decide to become agents themselves, and they induce Stanton to become their first client. The boys determine to obtain for Stanton the leading role Anderson had offered him. They drive to the studio to see Donald McBride, the picture's producer, only to antagonize him by crashing into his new car. McBride orders the studio police to keep them off the lot. Undeterred, the boys crash the gate. This leads to a riotous chase. Meanwhile Young once again declines the leading role, and McBride offers to sign Stanton, but the young singer refuses to negotiate without his agents' approval. By the time Abbott and Costello are found, Young stops the deal by accepting the role once again. Determined to clinch the deal for Stanton, the boys decide to get rid of Young. Their plan leads them into a series of wild complications, during which Abbott leads Young to believe that he had murdered Costello. In the interim, however, the picture is filmed with Stanton in the lead. Nat Perrin and Lou Breslow wrote the screen play, Martin M. Gosch produced it, and S. Sylvan Simon directed it. The cast includes Frances Rafferty, Jean Porter, "Rags" Raglund and others. Unobjectionable morally. "Love Letters" with Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten (Paramount, no release date set; time, 99 min.) Fairly good. It is a strong romantic drama, with a particular appeal for women. The story, which concerns itself with the unusual romance between an honorably discharged British officer and his best friend's widow, an amnesia victim, is slow-moving and somewhat involved, and at times not too convincing, but it manages to hold one's attention throughout, mainly because of the fine performances. A number of the situations are warm and appealing, and others are strongly emotional. The main characters are sympathetic, and the love the hero and heroine have for each other is so genuine that one is moved deeply by their unhappiness. The direction is intelligent, and the settings are good : — As a favor to Robert Sully, a gay, irresponsible fellow officer in Italy, Joseph Cotten reluctantly writes beautiful love letters to Jennifer Jones, a girl in England, signing Sully's name to them. Sully, granted leave, returns to England and marries Jennifer, who believed him to be the author of the letters. Months later, Cotten, wounded, returns to England to recuperate. There he learns that Sully had been murdered under mysterious circumstances. Cotten meets Jennifer at a house party and learns that she was an amnesia victim, the result of her husband's murder. Checking through newspaper files, he learns that her marriage to Sully had been an unhappy one, and that Sully had been stabbed to death while in a drunken mood, during which he had tried to beat Jennifer. The shock had caused her to lose her memory, and because she could not testify in her own behalf she had been sentenced to a one year prison term for manslaughter. The only other witness to the murder had been Gladys Cooper, her foster mother, but a paralytic stroke suffered at the time of the murder had left her speechless. Cotten and Jennifer fall in love. He marries her, fully realizing that she might one day regain her memory, and that her love might turn to hate when she learns that he had written the love letters that had brought tragedy into her life. They lead an idyllic life together, but different incidents soon cause Jennifer's amnesia to recede. She eventually regains her full memory, but is disturbed by her inability to recall if she had stabbed her husband. Her foster mother, who had by this time regained her speech, confesses that she had stabbed Sully to death to stop him from beating Jennifer. Her innocence proved, Jennifer looks forward to a happy life with the man whose love letters she held dear. Ayn Rand wrote the screen play from the novel by Chris Massie, William Dicterle directed it, and Hal Wallis produced it. The cast includes Ann Richards, Anita Louise, Cecil Kcllaway and others. Unobjectionable morally.