Harrison's Reports (1946)

October 19, 1946 HARRISON'S REPORTS 167 married couple, who identify themselves as missionaries. Following up different clues, Chan finds evidence linking each of the suspects either to the murder or to the theft of the valuables. Several attempts are made on Chan's life and a few other murders are committed before he brings his in' vestigation to a successful conclusion in Pago-Pago, where, with the aid of his son and colored chauffeur, he locates the missing treasure, unmasks the wife of the missionary as a man in disguise, and proves that both headed a gang of five per' sons who stole the valuables and committed the murders. Miriam Kissinger wrote the original screen play, James S. Burkett produced it, and Terry Morse directed it. The cast includes Joseph Crehan, Willie Best, Selmer Jackson and others. Unobjectionable morally. "The Mysterious Mr. Valentine" with William Henry and Linda Sterling (Republic, Sept. 3; time, 56 min.) A moderately entertaining murder-mystery melodrama, of program grade. At times the plot becomes so involved that it is difficult to follow the story, but this will probably be over' looked by audiences that are not too concerned about a plot's logic as long as the action is fast and the doings mysterious. The usual tricks are used to obtain eerie effects, and to throw suspicion on different characters. Since several of the situations are suspenseful, and since the murderer's identity is not disclosed until the end, one's interest in the proceedings is maintained fairly well: — Experiencing a tire blowout late at night, Linda Sterling walks into a small chemical factory and asks Tristram Coffin for help. She suddenly finds herself confronted by Barbara Woodell, Coffin's jealous wife, from whom she flees. She races away in Barbara's car, almost collides with another car, and, when she comes to a stop, discovers that she had hit and killed a man. When two strangers offer to take the body to a hospital, Linda gladly accepts, unaware that they had framed her into believing that she had hit the man. On the following day, she learns that the man's body had been found on the highway; that he was Coffin's partner; and that the police were looking for the hit-and-run driver. To add to her troubles, her car is stolen and she receives blackmail notes from a mysterious "Mr. Valentine" demanding large sums of money to keep her identity concealed from the police. Linda enlists the aid of William Henry, a private detective, who soon learns that the dead man's insurance had been paid to his partner. Shortly afterwards, the partner, too, is murdered, and his wife, Barbara, is held for the crime. Through clever detective work, however, Henry solves the crimes by proving that Coffin, in cahoots with Keene Duncan, an insurance agent, as well as with the two strangers who had helped Linda, had killed his partner for the insurance money and was in turn killed by his confederates when he tried to make off with the money himself. He proves also that Duncan was the mysterious "Mr. Valentine." Her troubles over, Linda looks forward to a romantic association with Henry. Milton Raison wrote the original screen play, Donald H. Brown produced it, and Philip Ford directed it. The cast includes Virginia Christine, Thomas Jackson and others. Unobjectionable morally. "The Chase" with Robert Cummings, Michele Morgan, Peter Lorre and Steve Cochran (United Artists, no release date set; time, 85 win.) This psychological murder thriller is a grim entertainment, well produced, finely acted, and expertly directed. It is a curious picture, however, in that it is thoroughly satisfying from the point of excitement and suspense but disappointing because of its vagueness both in story and in characterizations. For three-quarters of the picture the spectator is kept intrigued by the different happenings, which give promise of building up to a tense climax, but it all ends with a dull thud when it turns out that what had occurred had been a dream — a device resorted to when a producer tries to cover up an inept script. Considerable footage is given over to building up the villain as a ruthless, sadistic killer, a sort of racketeer, yet the spectator never learns just what his racket is, nor does most of the footage consumed in building him up as vicious have much bearing on the plot. If the same care given to the rest of the picture had been given to the story, "The Chase" might have been a superior melodrama. The story opens with Robert Cummings, a penniless hungry veteran, finding a wallet belonging to Steve Cochran, a mysterious character, who lived in a magnificent home in Miami. Cummings returns the wallet to him, and Cochran, impressed with his honesty, employs him as a chauffeur. Cummings soon discovers that Cochran was a ruthless person, and that Michele Morgan, his wife, was unhappy with him. Michele and Cummings find themselves drawn toward each other and he agrees to help her escape from Cochran. He purchases two tickets for Havana and lays plans to sneak away with her that night. Their trip to Havana is fraught with fear that Cochran would somehow find them. Arriving there, they go to a night-club and, as both toast their love for each other, Michele is mysteriously stabbed to death. Cummings, charged with the crime, finds that Cochran had in some way stacked the evidence against him. Unable to prove his innocence, he escapes from the police and starts a search for the real murderer in order to clear himself. His search brings him in contact with Peter Lorre, Cochran's sinister aide, who shoots him down in a savage fight. At that point Cummings awakens in his room in Cochran's mansion and realizes that he had been having a nightmare — the result of shell-shock suffered in the war. From then on the story concerns itself with Cummings coming to the realization that Michele was still alive and that her life was in danger. He manages to make off with her, while Cochran and Lorre set out after them in a high-powered car. Both men are killed when their car is smashed at a railroad intersection, leaving Michele and Cummings free to start life anew. Philip Yordan wrote the screen play from Cornell Woolrich's novel, "The Black Path of Fear." Seymour Nebenzal produced it, and Arthur Ripley directed it. The cast includes Lloyd Corrigan, Jack Holt, Alexis Minotis and others. Adult entertainment. "Margie" with Jeanne Crain, Lynn Bari and Glenn Langan (20th Century-Fox, T{ovember; time, 93 min.) Very good mass entertainment; it is clean and wholesome, has good comedy situations and human interest. Expensively mounted and photographed in Technicolor, it is a pleasant, sentimental tale about a high school girl's "crush" on her French teacher, with the story set in the late 1920's, during the flapper age, when girls rolled their stockings and rouged their knees, and when the well-dressed high school boy sported a coonskin coat. Henry King, the director, has done a masterful job in capturing the spirit of that decade. The background music, which is made up of the popular tunes of that day, imparts to the film a pleasant nostalgic quality. Jeanne Crain, as the heroine, is completely charming. Much of the comedy is brought about by a running gag that involves the breaking of the elastic band holding up her bloomers; her embarrassment results in a number of hilarious situations, which, through delicate handling, never become offensive. It is a delightful entertainment from start to finish, and word-of-mouth advertising should enhance its box-office possibilities. Briefly, the story, which is told in flashback, revolves around Jeanne's trials and tribulations as a high school girl in 1928. Being a home girl, who lived with her grandmother, she wore plain clothes and braided her hair. Boys paid little attention to her, and she was envious of her flapper schoolmates and their handsome boy-friends. She soon becomes the envy of the other girls, however, when Glenn Langan, the handsome young French teacher, takes an interest in her. How she wins his heart and eventually marries him makes up the rest of the story. Although it is a simple tale, it is rich in humorous incidents, too numerous to mention, and filled with situations that have strong sentimental appeal. Particularly appealing, as well as humorous, are the situations that result when Jeanne finds herself without an escort to take her to the senior prom. The manner in which her grandmother, her father, and Langan come to her rescue is warm and natural. Esther Dale, as her outspoken grandmother; Hobart Cavanaugh, as her father; Lynn Bari, as the school librarian; Barbara Lawrence, as a typical flapper, who spends most of her spare time cither dancing or necking with Conrad Jam's, a bored, conceited football hero; Alan Young, as Jeanne's forlorn boy-friend; and Hattie McDaniel, as the maid in Jeanne's home, give excellent portrayals, adding much to the entertainment values. F. Hugh Herbert wrote the screen play from stories by Ruth McKenncy and Richard Branstcn. Walter Morosco is the producer.