Harrison's Reports (1946)

126 HARRISON'S REPORTS August 10, 1946 "Caesar and Cleopatra" with Vivien Leigh and Claude Rains (United Artists, Aug. 16; time. 126 min.) From a production point of view, this screen version of George Bernard Shaw's famous play is one of the most lavish spectacles ever filmed. Photographed in Technicolor, the costumes of ancient Egypt are magnificent and the settings breathtaking. As entertainment, the picture is best suited for class audiences, who will have a better appreci' ation of the subtle Shavian dialogue, which will undoubtedly go "over the head" of the average picture-goer. But, in spite of the fact that the story seems more suited to the classes, the popularity of the leading players, coupled with their good acting and with the fact that the production is spectacular in the extreme, should put it over also among the masses, particularly in large cities. Its success in small towns will depend largely on the type of patrons you serve; the more discriminating they are the better the picture's chances. Briefly, the story, which takes place in Alexandria, deals with Caesar's coming to Egypt in pursuit of his defeated rival, Pompey, and with his discovering that Cleopatra was a youthful, fretful queen, kept off the Egyptian throne by a court faction supporting her younger brother, Ptolemy. Caesar takes Cleopatra in hand to teach her how to become a ruling queen and, through power politics, deposes her brother and places her on the throne. Under Caesar's guidance, Cleopatra discards her fretful ways and learns to rule with an iron hand. Meanwhile Caesar, in an effort to strengthen his hold on Alexandria, attempts to seize the city's strategic points. His strategy is foiled by the Egyptian forces, and he, his remaining soldiers, and Cleopatra, find themselves besieged in the palace, waiting for a relief force to come to their aid. The seige is marked by Cleopatra's scheming to use Caesar to further her own interests, only to have him learn of her treachery from Pothinis, leader of the Egyptians, who was Caesar's prisoner. Cleopatra, angered, has Pothinis assasinated, provoking the enraged Egyptians to attack the palace, but Caesar's reinforcements arrive in time to defeat them. Victorious, Caesar departs for Rome, leaving Cleopatra on the throne, but under the rule of a Roman governor. Vivien Leigh, as Cleopatra, gives an outstanding performance, her moods ranging from the innocent and petulant to the cunning and sadistic. But Claude Rains, as the affable, 55-year-old Caesar, with an agreeable sense of humor, walks off with the acting honors. The other players in the cast lend excellent support, but none are known to American audiences. The story is lacking in human interest values, offers little in the way of romance, and is short on comedy, but it holds one's interest throughout and at times is quite amusing. Mr. Shaw wrote the screen play, and Gabriel Pascal produced and directed it. Unobjectionable morally. "G.I. War Brides" with Anna Lee and James Ellison (Republic, Aug. 12; time, 69 min.) In spite of the fact that the story is thin, this program comedy-drama offers a pleasant hour's entertainment, for it revolves around likeable characters. It is a human interest story about an English girl who masquerades as a British war bride in order to obtain passage to the United States to join her American sweetheart. It has a number of touching situations, particularly the one in which she learns from her sweetheart that he no longer loved her, a fact he had made known in letters she had not received. But her newfound romance with the man who befriends her and poses as her husband is charming and pleases one. Most of the comedy is strained, but there are a few good laughs provoked by the presence of a lone bridegroom among several hundred war brides sailing to the United States; he had married an American WAC: — Seeking to join William Henry, her American sweetheart, Anna Lee secures passage on a ship bringing British war brides to the United States by trading places with Carol Savage, who sought to avoid the trip because she was no longer in love with her husband, James Ellison. Anna's trip from England to Los Angeles is marked by a number of narrow escapes in which her identity is almost discovered, as well as by incidents that arouse the suspicion of Robert Armstrong, a newspaper reporter assigned to the ship. Upon reaching her destination, Anna is met by Ellison, who, despite his surprise to find that another woman was impersonating his wife, cooperates with her lest her masquerade be detected by army officials. Ellison, after hearing her explanation, takes Anna home and introduces her as his wife, at the same time arranging for her to meet with Henry. Disillusioned to learn that Henry's love for her had cooled, Anna decides to give herself up to the immigration authorities, who had been put on her trail by Armstrong. Faced with deportation unless she married an American citizen, Anna prepares to return to England. But Ellison, learning of her predicament from Armstrong, saves the situation by gaining Anna's consent to marry him after informing her that his wife in England was obtaining a divorce. John K. Butler wrote the original screen play, Armand Schaefer produced it, and George Blair directed it. The cast includes Harry Davenport, Stephanie Bachelor, Doris Lloyd, Joe Sawyer and others. Unobjectionable morally. "The Black Angel" with Dan Duryea, Peter Lorre and June Vincent (Universal, Aug. 2; time, 80 min.) A bcttcr-than-average program murder-mystery melodrama, good enough to top a double bill. Being somewhat sordid, the story is rather unpleasant, but it holds one's interest well and should please the followers of mystery pictures, for suspense is sustained throughout. The discovery that the hero is the murderer comes as a surprise since he himself was unaware that he had committed the crime while in a drunken state. What makes the ending all the more unexpected is the fact that, throughout the action, the hero endangers his life to search for the murderer. Some of the situations are quite exciting, particularly those that involve Peter Lorre, a sinister night-club operator, who appears to be the logical suspect only to be proved innocent: — Deserted by Constance Dowling, his worldly wife, Dan Duryea, a one-time vaudeville headliner, attempts a reconciliation with her. She bars him from her apartment, causing him to go on one of his periodic drinking sprees. Later that evening, Constance, who had many men enmeshed in her blackmailing schemes, is found murdered by John Phillips, who had gone to her apartment to retrieve incriminating love letters that Constance had threatened to show his wife, June Vincent. Phillips is arrested for the murder, tried and sentenced to death. June, believing in his innocence, determines to save him. A few meager clues lead her to Duryea, and she induces him to join her in the search for the murderer. Duryea recognizes Peter Lorre as a mysterious man who had visited Constance on the night of the murder, and he and June, using assumed names, obtain an engagement to sing in his night-club. Their efforts to pin the murder on Lorre end in failure when they discover that he, too, was one of Constance's blackmail victims and that he was innocent of the crime. Duryea, by this time in love with June, tells her that the evidence indicated that her husband was guilty and he asks her to marry him to start life anew. June turns down his proposal. Dejected over her refusal, Duryea takes to drink and, while in a drunken stupor, recollects the events that took place on the night of the murder and comes to the realization that he himself had committed the crime under the influence of liquor. He notifies the police of his guilt in time to save Phillips. Roy Chanslor wrote the screen play based on a novel by Cornell Woolrich. Tom McKnight and Roy William Neill produced it, and Mr. Neill directed it. The cast includes Broderick Crawford, Wallace Ford, Freddie Steele and others. Adult entertainment.