Harrison's Reports (1946)

November 16, 1946 183 to effect the return of the property to the Indians, but Bridge and his henchmen, using ingenious devices, sue' ceed in convincing the Indians that the town was haunted and cause them to refuse to accept the property. Aware of Bridge's trickery, Judy and Jenkins masquerade as a wealthy Mexican couple interested in investing a million dollars in the town, and, while some of the Indian leaders eavesdrop, they try to make Bridge admit that the stories about the town being haunted were untrue. Bridge, however, discovers the masquerade and brings the negotiations to an abrupt end, thus leaving the Indians still unconvinced. Eventually Judy corners Bridge and his henchmen and, mv der threat of drowning them, forces them to tell the truth. Thus Judy manages to fulfill the terms of the will, while Bridge and his followers get their just deserts. Isabel Dawn and Monte Brice wrote the screen play from the story by Richard Weil, Ted Richmond produced it, and Del Lord directed it. The cast in' eludes Guinn Williams, Charles Halton and others. Unobjectionable morally. "Boston Blackie and the Law" with Chester Morris and Trudy Marshall (Columbia, Dec. 12; time, 69 mm.) This comedy-melodrama is on a par with most of the other pictures in the series; that is, just moderately entertaining. Once again the players have been burdened with a thin and highly improbable story, and they are made to behave in so ridiculous a manner that the spectator loses patience with them. Although the film runs for a little more than an hour, it has been padedd considerably to give it that length. Most of this padding occurs in the sequences dealing with the dumb-detective type of comedy, which, in addition to being dragged out to the point of boredom, is too stupid to be funny. In general, the situations are a rehash of those used in the other pictures, and unless some originality is injected into these pictures to get them out of their unimaginative rut Columbia might do well to drop the series : — While treating the inmates of a woman's prison to a magic show, Chester Morris becomes indirectly re sponsible for the escape of Constance Dowling, who uses one of his magic devices to good advantage. Morris finds himself accused of being Constance's accomplice, and is arrested by Inspector Richard Lane. To prove his innocence, he escapes from Lane and, through newspaper files, learns that Constance was once the wife of Warren Ashe, a magician. He learns also that the two had been involved in a $100,000 robbery; that Ashe had been acquitted but Constance had been sent to prison for three years; and that the money had not yet been recovered. Morris visits Ashe at a local theatre, meets Trudy Marshall, his assistant, and learns that the two planned to marry. He arranges to impersonate Ashe, not only to trap Constance, but also to protect him from her. Shortly afterwards, despite Ashe's claim that he did not know the whereabouts of the $100,000, Morris locates the money in a safe deposit box and decides to use it as bait in an effort to trap Constance. In the course of events, both Ashe and Constance are found murdered under circumstances that point to Morris as the killer — an arrangement engineered cleverly by Trudy, who wanted the $100,000 for herself. Trudy manages to trap Morris and summons the police. While waiting for their arrival, she smugly admits to Morris that she had committed both murders but that he would pay for her crimes. When the police arrive to arrest him, Morris claims to have secured Trudy's confession as the murderess. Lane scoffs at him, but to prove it Morris turns on a phonograph and, through ventriloquism, tricks Trudy into giving herself away. Harry J. Essex wrote the orignal screen play, Ted Richmond produced it, and D. Ross Ledcrman directed it. The cast includes George E. Stone, Frank Sully and others. Unobjectionable morally. "That Brennan Girl" with Mona Freeman and James Dunn (Republic, Dec. 23; time, 95 min.) Although the story has its shortcomings, this drama, by virtue of good directing and acting, should appeal to adult audiences pretty well. The picture presents another version of the mother love theme, and because of several powerfully emotionally scenes, women in particular should enjoy it. The sympathy of the spectator is centered mainly around Mona Freeman, a sensitive girl, who is launched on a "golddigging" career by her mother, a woman of questionable morals. How the girl marries a service man out of true love, bears his child shortly after he is killed in action, then has the baby taken away from her on the grounds that she is an unfit mother, is told in an emotionally stirring way. The situations that will touch one are those in which Mona is forced to part from her child. Miss Freeman enacts her role in a believable way, and the part should do much to establish her as a first-rate actress : — Tutored by her fun-loving mother (June Dupres) , Mona progresses from a sweet 14-year-old girl to a hardened, worldly-wise 17-year-old young lady. She enters the employ of James Dunn, a racketeer specialising in stolen furniture, and one evening, in a nightclub, flirts with William Marshall, a naive naval officer, whose watch she steals. She repents later when she discovers that the watch was a gift from his mother, and returns it to him. Marshall refuses to be disillusioned and asks her to marry him. Very much in love with him, Mona consents. Shortly thereafter, Marshall is killed and Mona bears his child. She moves away from the sordid atmosphere of her mother's apartment and discovers satisfaction in motherhood, but before long she becomes dispirited and forlorn. She finds a "baby-sitter" — an irresponsible young girl — and starts going out evenings. Meanwhile Dunn, with whom the police had caught up, returns from a prison term determined to reform. He takes a great interest in Mona and the baby, and disapproves of her leaving the child with a "sitter." One night the child almost strangles to death when the "sitter" leaves it unattended and, as a result, the authorities place the baby in a children's home. Heartbroken over the loss of her baby, as well as over Dunn's refusal to have anything to do with her, Mona goes into hiding. Her pain is eased, however, when she finds another child abandoned in a church and cares for it devotedly. In the meantime, Dunn, prompted by his mother (Dorothy Vaughan) finds Mona after a long search and learns of what she had done for the motherless child. He induces her to go to the authorities, who, impressed by the conscientious care she had given the baby, permit her to adopt it and return her own child to her. With Dunn's proposal of marriage, Mona's happiness is complete. Doris Anderson wrote the screen play from the story by Adcla Rogers St. John. Alfred Santcll produced it. The cast includes Frank Jcnks, Charles Arnt, Rosalind Ivan and others. Adult entertainment, tainment.