Harrison's Reports (1946)

208 HARRISON'S REPORTS December 28, 1946 ARE EXHIBITORS AS EXHIBITORS QUALIFIED TO GIVE ADVICE TO PRODUCERS? According to a recent issue of Film Daily, a Detroit exhibitor suggested that a practical exhibitor be sta' tioncd at each studio as a production consultant, because such an exhibitor has felt the pulse of the public and his opinions would help the producers. Such an idea has been proposed at different times, but it is apparent that the studio heads have paid no attention to it, and properly so, for an exhibitor is just as qualified to advise the producers how to make pictures as a layman is to perform a surgery operation. Production is a specialised business, and, before any person can be placed into a position that will enable him to render competent advice, that person would require special training. The fact that such a person is an exhibitor docs not qualify him for the task, unless, of course, he has had dramatic training. How much fitted arc exhibitors to advise producers on what stories to adopt and what to reject may be determined by the following incident: Several years ago, Motion Picture Herald sent an inquiry to many exhibitors as to what stories, books or plays they thought should be made into pictures and the answers proved conclusively that they are not, as exhibitors, qualified to make selections, for the recommendations made, if they had been adopted by the producers, would have bankrupted every company. "The Lone Wolf in Mexico" with Gerald Mohr and Eric Blore (Columbia, no release date set; time, 69 mm.) Second of the new "Lone Wolf" series starring Gerald Mohr, this murder-mystery melodrama, like its predecessor, is only mildly entertaining program fare. It has little to recommend it, for the story is thin, boresome, and long-drawn out, is given more to talk than to action, and the spectator is never really in doubt as to the murderer's identity. Even the performances are barely passable, but this is probably due to the fact that the players were unable to cope with the material on hand. All in all, it has the earmarks of a picture that was made in a hurry, with little or no regard paid to the story's implausibilities. Visiting Mexico City with Eric Blore, his valet, Gerald Mohr, a reformed international jewel thief, runs into Jacqueline De Wit and Bernard Nedell, a pair of crooks he had met in Paris. Nedell, a croupier at a gambling casino operated by John Gallaudet, asks Mohr to meet him there to discuss an important proposition. At the club, Mohr makes the acquaintance of Sheila Ryan, whose husband was a wealthy jewelry merchant. Sheila had been losing heavily, and she had left her jewels with Gallaudet as security for her losses. Later, when Mohr keeps his appointment with Nedell, the croupier is shot dead mysteriously. On the following day, Sheila, through trickery, blackmails Mohr into agreeing to steal her jewels from Gallaudet 's safe. Mohr discovers that her diamonds had been replaced with imitation stones. Sheila, however, gives the jewels to her husband then arranges for Mohr to re-steal them and return them to Gallaudet 's safe. On the following day Sheila, after attempting to blackmail Gallaudet because of the stolen jewels, is killed under circum stances that make it appear as if Mohr was the murderer. Compelled to clear himself of the murder charge, Mohr, aided by Nestor Paiva, the police chief, investigates Gallaudct's gambling operations and discovers that he fleeced rich women in order to gain custody of their jewels, which he smuggled into the United States after matching them with imitation stones. He tricks the gambler into admitting the thefts and discovers that Jacqueline, who was in league with him, had murdered Sheila and Nedell to stop them from exposing both Gallaudet and herself. Maurice Tombragel and Martin Goldsmith wrote the screen play from a story by Phil Magee, Sanford Cummings produced it, and D. Ross Ledcrman directed it. Adult entertainment. "Alias Mr. Twilight" with Lloyd Corrigan Michael Duane and Trudy Marshall (Columbia, Dec. 24; time, 69 min.) A moderately entertaining program melodrama. It is demoralizing, however, in that it glorifies a criminal — a confidence man. The producers have attempted to build up sympathy for him by showing him to be an affable man, whose chief concern was the welfare of his six -year-old granddaughter, whose parents had died. Whatever sympathy one feels for him, however, is neutralized by the criminal acts he commits. A particularly demoralizing feature of the picture is that it goes into minute detail in its depiction of the manner in which he carries out his different swindle schemes. As a matter of fact, the picture serves to make crime attractive because of the ease with which the swindler carries through his nefarious deeds: — Lloyd Corrigan, an affable confidence man, leaves his granddaughter (Gi-Gi Perreau) in the care of Trudy Marshall, her nurse, while he makes frequent "business" trips. Michael Duane, Trudy's boy friend, who was a detective assigned to the Bunco squad, becomes suspicious of Corrigan's business trips when he discovers that Corrigan, who claimed to have been in San Francisco, had visited instead San Diego, where several swindles had been committed during his absence. Duane secures conclusive evidence of Corrigan's connection with the crimes and advises Trudy to leave his employ. But Trudy, concerned over the granddaughter's welfare, informs Corrigan of Duane's plan to arrest him. Meanwhile Rosalind Ivan, Corrigan's unscrupulous cousin, was attempting to blackmail him by threatening to expose his activities and thus cause him to lose custody of his granddaughter. Corrigan decides to commit one more crime, the smuggling into to the country of counterfeit money, as a means of solving his problems. Aware that Duane was watching his every move, Corrigan smuggles in the money and gives part of it to Rosalind as blackmail money. As planned by Corrigan, Rosalind is caught with the money and is accused by Duane of being Corrigan's confederate. Corrigan "admits" her complicity in the crime, and it all ends with Rosalind joining him on the trip to jail, and with Trudy and Duane gaining custody of the granddaughter, with Corrigan's blessing. Brenda Weisberg wrote the screen play from a story by Arthur E. Orloff, John Haggott produced it, and John Sturges directed it. Definitely not for children.