Harrison's Reports (1946)

186 HARRISON'S REPORTS November 23, 1946 "Cross My Heart" with Betty Hutton and Sonny Tufts (Paramount, no release date set; time, 83 min.) This mixture of murder-mystery, comedy, and music has some entertaining moments, but on the whole it is in questionablc taste. The idea behind the story is amusing; it revolves around a well-meaning chorus girl, a chronic liar, who confesses to a murder she did not commit in order to have her sweetheart, a struggling lawyer, defend her and win a reputation. But as presented it is frequently more vulgar than funny. The height of vulgarity is reached in the sequence in which the heroine is forced to fight off the lust' ful advances of a fat, sex-crazed, middle-aged producer. The total effect of this and other sequences involving the producer and the heroine, is that of disgust and a feeling of having witnessed something that leaves one with a bad taste. A considerable part of the comedy takes place in the court room during the trial, which is burlesqued to the hilt. The trial procedure will undoubtedly give American audiences many laughs, but foreign audiences might not grasp the satirical humor intended and, consequently, the dignity of the American courts may suffer in their estimation: — Betty Hutton, a showgirl, accepts a position as private secretary to Howard Freeman, a Broadway producer, on his promise to give some business to Sonny Tufts, her lawyerfiance. She leaves Freeman in a huff after he makes improper advances, and later, when she returns for her hat and gloves, discovers that he had been murdered and that she was suspected of the crime. Seeing an opportunity to benefit Tufts, she "confesses" to the murder. Tufts, a stickler for the truth, accepts Betty's story and assures her that he would gain an acquittal. Evidence of her "guilt" piles up against her, and Betty, frightened, admits to Tufts that her confession was a hoax. Although angered at the deception, Tufts basis his case on the fact that she had defended her virtue and, after a hectic trial, wins her freedom. He refuses, however, to have anything to do with her for having committed perjury. Unhappy over the separation, Betty goes to the prosecuting attorney and confesses to him that she did not kill Freeman, despite her confession and acquittal, and asks him to help trap the real killer, whom she suspected was Michael Chekhov, an eccentric actor, who had tried unsuccessfully to get the role of Hamlet in the victim's new production. Tufts, learning that Betty had lied to help his career, and that she had finally told the truth to the authorities, forgives her, and, aided by the police, he manages to trap Chekhov. Harry Tugend and Claude Binyon wrote the screen play from a play by Louis Verneuil and Georges Berr. Mr. Tugend produced it, and John Berry directed it. The cast includes Rhys Williams, Ruth Donnelly, Iris Adrian and others. Adult entertainment. "Susie Steps Out" with David Bruce, Cleatus Caldwell and Ann Hunter (United Artists, Dec. 13; time, 65 min.) This is one of those harmless program comedies with music, the sort that will serve its purpose as the lower half of a double-bill. It offers little that is novel, but undiscriminating audiences will probably find it fairly amusing for, even though the story is lightweight, the performances are engaging and the situations comical. Most of the action revolves around the adolescent pranks of an imaginative fifteen-year-old girl, whose efforts to become the family breadwinner result in mixups that raise havoc with her older sister's romance. Ann Hunter, a newcomer, is outstanding in the role of the adolescent heroine, and she has a good singing voice, too. The picture's box-office values are pretty weak, however, considering the lack of star names: — When her father is stricken with a heart attack and is ordered to take a long rest, Ann decides to get a job to help her sister. Cleatus Caldwell, support their home. Cleatus, who worked for a television advertising agency owned by Howard Freeman, was constantly pursued by David Bruce, the agency's singing star, to whom she would not admit her love. Dressed in her sister's clothes in order to appear older, Ann manages to obtain employment as a singer in a nightclub. Bruce and Freeman happen to drop into the club for a drink, and Freeman, fascinated by Ann's beauty, makes a date with her. Realizing that she was young, and that Freeman's intentions were not honorable, but unaware that she was Cleatus' sister, Bruce takes Ann to his own apartment to protect her from the older man. Meanwhile Cleatus, learning of Ann's job, rushes to the night-club to take her home. There she learns that Ann had left with Bruce. She rushes to his apartment and, without giving him a chance to explain, warns him to keep away from her sister. Matters become complicated on the following day when Freeman, whose wife suspected that he had been having dates with Cleatus, is compelled by her to discharge the girl. Cleatus believes that Bruce had brought about her dismissal, thus straining their relations even further. In the course of events, Ann takes matters in hand and, through her strategy, the lovers become reconciled, Cleatus gets her job back, and Ann herself is employed by Freeman as a singer. Elwood Ullman wrote the screen play from an original story by Kurt Neumann and Reginald LeBorg. Buddy Rogers and Ralph Cohn produced it, and Mr. LeBorg directed it. "The Return of Monte Cristo" with Louis Hayward and Barbara Britton (Columbia, no release date set; time, 91 min.) The best that can be said for this period melodrama is that it has an attractive title and that it may dr .w to the box-office patrons who will remember the good entertainment values of "The Count of Monte Cristo." But those who expect to see a rousing, swashbuckling melodrama, filled with swordplay and thrilling escapades, will undoubtedly be disappointed, for the action is unexciting, given more to talk than to movement. Although the performances are fair, the story is weak; it lacks dramatic power and credibility. Whatever excitement the material offered has been left to indirection. For instance, the hero is shown embarking on his escape from Devil's Island, and in the very next scene we find him in France, the events of his escape being glossed over quickly by means of dialogue. On the whole, the picture does not rise above the level of program grade: — Upon his graduation from medical school, Louis Hayward learns from his guardian that he was a grand-nephew of the Count of Monte Cristo, whose fortune had been kept in trust until he (Hayward) was old enough to use it wisely. Hayward travels to Marseille to present the will in court and, en route, he becomes acquainted with Barbara Britton, ward of Ray Collins, whose bank was trustee of the Monte Cristo estate. On the following day, when Hayward presents the will to Judge Ludwig Donath, Collins presents another will naming Barbara as the only heir, and declares that Hayward's will was a forgery. The judge concurs and orders George Macready, the Minister of Police, to imprison Hayward. Actually, Donath, Collins, and Macready had banded together to swindle Hayward out of his fortune, at the same time leading Barbara to believe that she was the rightful heir. Convicted of fraud and sent to Devil's Island to die, Hayward manages to escape with Steven Geray, an ex-actor, with whom he makes his way to France. They hide out in a Parisian theatre, and Hayward, taught how to wear disguises, sets out on a campaign of revenge. He makes his presence known to the swindlers but evades capture by his clever disguises. Through his impersonation of several characters, he tricks the judge into confessing his part in the crime, frightening him to such an extent that he dies from a heart attack; starts a run on Collins' bank and by exposing his frauds, causes the banker to be killed by angry depositors; and traps Macready into betraying himself to an unseen group of citizens, who drag him to the guillotine. His fortune regained, Hayward, convinced of Barbara's innocence in the plot, asks her to marry him. George Bruce and Alfred Neumann wrote the screen play from a story by Curt Siodmak and Arnold Phillips. Grant Whytock produced it, and Henry Levin directed it. The cast includes Una O'Connor, Henry Stephenson and others. Unobjectionable morally.