Harrison's Reports (1945)

October 13, 1945 HARRISON'S REPORTS 163 identified man as he attempts to blackmail Irwin's mother; he had informed her that he could prove her son's innocence by revealing the murderer's name. Tracing Corsaro's activities, Baxter learns that he had camouflaged the missing painting with water colors. His investigation leads him back to Mander's studio, where he breaks in and finds, not only the camouflaged painting, but also a realistic statue of the missing model. He soon finds himself confronted by Mander, gun in hand, who explains that he had been married to the missing model, but that he had killed her accidentally. He reveals that he had murdered her girl friends and Corsaro lest they learn of his secret and expose him to the police. Mander prepares to make Baxter his next victim, but the psychiatrist is saved by the timely arrival of the police. Eric Taylor wrote the screen play, Rudolph C. Flothow produced it, and William Castle directed it. The cast includes John Abbott, Edward Ciannelli and others. Unobjectionable morally. "Kitty" with Paulette Goddard and Ray Milland (Paramount, January 25; time, 103 min.) A fascinating period drama, one that will probably do big business, particularly in metropolitan centers, but it is certainly not entertainment for the family trade; for its story about a guttersnipe's rise from the London slums to a high position in court society, aided by the machinations of a disreputable young nobleman, is one of the most sordid ever presented on the screen. It is a curious mixture of trickery, thievery, murder, self-sacrifice, romance, and sex, in which none of the characters do anything commendable, yet it holds one's attention well, for it has been presented in a skillful manner and is aided considerably by good performances. It will probably appeal chiefly to sophisticated audiences. The period depicted is Lon' don in 1870, and the sets are extremely lavish: — Kitty (Paulette Goddard) , an unkempt street waif, is employed by Sir Thomas Gainsborough (Cecil Kellaway) to pose for a painting. Her portrait, titled "An Anonymous Lady," is purchased by the elderly Duke of Malmunster, who expresses a desire to meet its subject. His remark is overheard by Sir Hugh Marcy (Ray Milland), an impoverished, unscrupu' lous nobleman, who had met Kitty in Gainsborough's studio. He promises the Duke that he will arrange a meeting, but conceals the fact that Kitty was a guttersnipe. Marcy takes Kitty into his home and, together with his gin-loving aunt (Constance Collier) , teaches her how to act like a "lady" in a scheme to marry her off to the Duke, and thus recoup his fortune. In the course of her tutelage, Kitty falls in love with Marcy despite his shabby treatment. When Marcy is suddenly thrown into debtors prison, Kitty inveigles a wealthy ironmonger into marrying her, and she steals his money to pay for Marcy 's release. The ironmonger attempts to beat Kitty for stealing, but a housemaid she had befriended kills him and then commits sui' cide herself. Shortly after the funeral, Marcy maneuvers the now wealthy Kitty into a marriage with the elderly Duke. She bears a child that had been fathered by the ironmonger, but allows the Duke to believe that the child was his own. The excitement of the birth causes the Duke to die from a heart attack, making Kitty one of England's richest noblewomen. Having been deeply in love with Marcy all along, Kitty finally becomes angered at his indifference to her and, to spite him, she becomes engaged to Brett Harwood (Patric Knowles) his best friend. Marcy, his love for her awakened, tries to break up the engagement by revealing Kitty's past, but Harwood is unimpressed. Kitty, however, assured that Marcy 's love for her was genuine, jilts Harwood and proclaims her love for Marcy. Darrel Ware and Karl Tunberg wrote the screen play from a novel by Rosamond Marshall. Mr. Tunberg produced it, and Mitchell Leisen directed it. The cast includes Eric Blore and others. Strictly adult fare. "People are Funny" with Jack Haley and Helen Walker (Paramount, January 11; time, 92 min.) Based on the radio show of the same title, this comedy with music shapes up as a passable but overlong program entertainment. The fact that the title is familiar to millions of radio listeners, who may be curious to see how the show's broadcasts are conducted, should be of help at the box-office. The story material, however, is pretty weak, the action is slow in spots, and the comedy is not of the uproarious type. Moreover, the actions of the main characters, with the exception of Jack Haley, are not edifying. The most entertaining moments in the picture are provided by the Vagabonds, a comedy musical quartette. Frances Langford appears briefly, singing one song: — Philip Reed, a radio executive, finds himself in a predicament when Rudy Valle, sponsor of his new radio show, orders him to take it off the air and to substitute a new show within a week. Reed telephones Helen Walker, his fiancee and ace writer, who was vacationing at a dude ranch, and asks her to return to Hollywood to write a new show. Meanwhile Ozzie Nelson, Reed's rival for Helen's hand, and a radio show producer himself, learns of Vallee's dissatisfaction with Reed's program ; he urges Helen to write a new show for him so that they could sell it to Vallee themselves. Helen, peeved at Reed's inattentiveness to her, fondles the idea and agrees to ride back to Hollywood with Nelson. En route, their car becomes stalled in a small Nevada town, where they attend a local radio show produced and conducted by Jack Haley, a naive, good-hearted fellow. Titled "People Are Funny," it was an audience-participation stunt show. Both Helen and Nelson realize that the show would be a hit on a national broadcast, and they agree to join forces to buy the show from Haley. Helen, however, planned to double-cross Nelson and to give the show to Reed. Haley, believing that the show belonged to the townspeople, refuses to sell, but Helen soon influences him with her charm and induces him to come to Hollywood. Haley is given a big send-off by the townspeople. When he arrives in Hollywood, he soon finds himself the pawn in a series of wild mix-ups, in which Helen, Reed, and Nelson continually doublecross each other in an effort to sell the show to Vallee. He heads for home disillusioned, and, upon his arrival, is bewildered when his neighbors acclaim him as a success. They explain that, while he was traveling, Helen, Reed, Nelson, and Vallee had agreed on a deal, and that they had broadcast his show over a national hook-up. Maxwell Shane and David Land wrote the screen play, and Sam White produced and directed it. The cast includes Art Linkletter and others. It is a PineThomas production. Unobjectionable morally.