Harrison's Reports (1946)

34 March 2, 1946 "From This Day Forward" with Joan Fontaine and Mark Stevens (RKO, no release date set; time. 95 min.) A very good human-interest drama, with strong emotional appeal. The story, which has a veteran rehabilitation angle, is an inspiring one, for it shows the determination and courage of a young couple, in the face of hardships, to establish a home and family. It is the type of picture that should get considerable word-ol -mouth advertising, for it will be appreciated by the masses, who will understand and sympathize with the young couple's heartaches and joys, which are depicted with so much realism that one feels as if the affairs of a real couple were unfolding. It has deep human appeal and a charming romance, and some comedy that is brought about in a natural manner. Mark Stevens, a newcomer, displays unusual talent and should make a strong impression; and Joan Fontaine confirms the fact that she is a fine actress. At all times the actions of the different characters seem real and natural. The story is set against a New York slums background, which has been reproduced with great care to details. Unfolding in a series of flashbacks as Stevens, a returned veteran, awaits an interview at a U. S. Employment Office, the story opens in 1937 when Joan, Stevens' sweetheart, takes him to visit her sister (Rosemary DeCamp), who lived in the slums with her two children and her husband (Henry Morgan), a shiftless but good-natured fellow. Pointing to her squalid home, Rosemary warns Joan that marriage can be a dreary expanse of monotonous poverty, but when Stevens asks her to marry him Joan consents in the belief that their love could overcome all obstacles. Joan, following her marriage, continues working in a bookshop, while Stevens works in a factory. He loses his job within six months and seeks employment desperately but without success. They barely manage to make ends meet until one day Joan persuades her employer, who was preparing a book for publication, to buy a few of Stevens' sketches, a hobby at which he was adept. Their joy is shortlived, however, when the book is confiscated as obscene and both Stevens and the employer are arrested. Stevens, though innocent, is advised to plead guilty by Wally Brown, one of Joan's distant relatives and a "tin-horn" politician, who arranges for him to get a suspended sentence. Matters brighten up for the young couple when war is declared and Stevens secures a night-shift job. Shortly afterwards, he is drafted into the army. His thoughts returning to the present, Stevens secures assurance from the employment office that he would be given a job on the following day, and he returns home to Joan. There he learns that she was going to have a baby. Confident that they had survived too much to be defeated now, both face the future resolutely. Hugo Butler wrote the screen play from the novel, "All Brides Are Beautiful," William Pereira produced it, and John Berry directed it. Jack Gross was executive producer. The cast includes Arline Judge, Renny McEvoy, Mary Treen, Queenie Smith, Bobby Driscoll and others. Unobjectionable morally. "Little Giant" with Abbott and Costello (Universal, Feb. 22; time, 91 min.) Fair. Unlike the previous comedies in which Abbott and Costello have appeared, this one contains a minimum of slapstick and concentrates mostly on the antics of Costello, as a meek farm boy, who, after completing a correspondence salesmanship course, goes to the big city to seek a career. The story, of course, does not make much sense; but that is immaterial since the individual situations, despite their silliness, are comical, and the action is well paced. Costello s fairly good as the shy salesman, provoking considerable laughter with his familiar brand of humor and even winning the audience's sympathy: — Upon completion of his salesmanship course, Lou Costello leaves his farm home and his girl (Elena Verdugo) to seek a career in Los Angeles. He secures a job as a vacuum cleaner salesman through George Cleveland, his uncle, bookkeeper for the firm. His first assignment is such a dismal failure that the general sales manager (Bud Abbott) fires him. Cleveland, feeling sorry for Costello, induces the branch manager (also Bud Abbott) at Stockton, Cal., to hire him. There the salesmen make him the victim of a mind-reading gag, leading him to believe that he possessed the power to read one's thoughts. His new-found confidence enables him to outsell the other salesmen and, because of his exceptional record, he is sent back to the Los Angeles office. Mistakenly believing that Costello really was a mind-reader, the general manager, who had been stealing from the firm, arranges with Jacqueline De Wit, his secret bride, to flirt with Costello to learn just how much he knew. As a result, Costello becomes involved in a situation that leads both his sweetheart and the manager to believe that he and Jacqueline had been unfaithful to them. The manager cleverly uses the incident to chase Costello back to the farm. When he arrives home, Costello finds Pierre Watkin, the firm's president waiting for him. Watkin informs him that the manager had been exposed as a thief, and that as a reward for his (Costello's) outstanding salesmanship, he had been appointed a branch manager. Walter De Leon wrote the screen play, Joe Gershenton produced it, and William A. Setter directed it. The cast includes Brenda Joyce, Mary Gordon, Donald Macbride and others. Unobjectionable morally. "Junior Prom" with Freddie Stewart, June Preisser and Judy Clark (Monogram, no release date set; time, 69 min.) This first of Monogram's new "Teen Ager" series is one of those program comedies with music that should find favor mostly with luvenile audiences, for the songs, dances, and music, are of the "live" variety. The story, which revolves around a group of high school students and around the rivalry between two factions over a school election, is extremely thin, and its treatment follows a well-worn pattern. Moreover, it has an overabundance of "jive" talk, which is more annoying than amusing. But on the whole the story serves well enough as a framework for the musical highlights, which arc the picture's main assets. Abe Lyman and his orchestra appear briefly in the proceedings: — Freddie Stewart and Jackie Moran, students, are rival candidates for the office of class president. When Moran's wealthy father threatens to withhold his annual donation to the school unless his son is elected, Stewart withdraws from the campaign, but he re-enters it when Moran tries to date June Preisser, his girl-friend. Frankie Darro, Moran's campaign manager, gains the support of Noel Neill, June's sister and editor of the school paper, causing violent arguments between the two girls, because the school paper backed Moran. Stewart finds himself faced with certain defeat, but his friends decide to conduct a musical campaign in his behalf and their efforts win the election for him. Later, at a dance to honor the winner, Moran learns for the first time that his father had tried to swing the election. He persuades his father to make the donation and offers his congratulations to Stewart. Erna Lazarus and Hal Collins wrote the screen play, Sam Katzman and Maurice Duke produced it, and Arthur Dreifuss directed it. The cast includes Eddie Heywood and his band, Harry Gibson and others. Unobjectionable morally. "Strange Impersonation" with Brenda Marshall and William Gargan (Republic, release date not set; time, 68 min.) A fair program entertainment. Despite a somewhat farfetched plot, as well as a lack of fast action, it manages to hold one's attention fairly well because of the sympathy one feels for the heroine, whose romance is dissolved and whose face is horribly disfigured due to the machinations of a jealous rival. It is not a cheerful entertainment. It ends, however, on a happy note, for it is revealed that what had happened had been a bad dream. This dream "device," which has been employed rather frequently in recent pictures, may disappoint some patrons, for the story loses most of its punch: — Having discovered a new anesthesia, Brenda Marshall, a chemist, arranges to perform the first experiment on herself that evening, attended by Hillary Brooke, her assistant. Meanwhile William Gargan, her fiance and co-worker, learns that he must leave for France immediately; he asks Brenda to marry him and make the trip with him. She promises to give him an answer on the following day. That afternoon, Ruth Ford, an intoxicated woman, falls into the path of Brenda's car but is unhurt. Brenda, after taking the woman home, goes to her own apartment to prepare for the experiment. She instructs Hillary to take notes of her reactions and injects the anesthesia into herself. As soon as Brenda falls asleep, Hillary, who was in love with Gargan herself, causes the anesthesia fluid to explode in an attempt to burn Brenda to death. The explosion does not kill Brenda, but it disfigures her face. While Brenda lies in the hospital, Hillary maneuvers matters in a way that leads both Brenda and Gargan to believe that neither wanted to see the other. After several weeks in the hospital, Brenda, badly scarred, returns to her apartment. There she is confronted by Ruth, who tries to rob her at gunpoint. In the ensuing struggle the drunken woman topples over a balcony to her death,