Harrison's Reports (1948)

86 HARRISON'S REPORTS May 29, 1948 "Easter Parade" with Judy Garland, Fred Astaire and Peter Lawford (MGM, July 8; time, 102 min.) A highly satisfactory Technicolor musical. Its blend of comedy, romance, song, and dance, backed up by an Irving Berlin score that includes no lesss than seventeen of his songs, seven of which are new, makes for a show that is generally pleasant and musically exciting. The story itself is light, but this is not important since it is so completely overshadowed by the tuneful music and by the plentiful and extremely lavish production numbers, featuring the superb dancing of Fred Astaire and Ann Miller, and the listenable singing of Judy Garland, who proves to be pretty expert in the dance department herself. Every one of the production numbers is brilliant, but the outstanding one is where Astaire and Miss Garland, dressed as tramps, sing and dance to the song, "A Couple of Swells." The film reaches its highest point of comedy with this novelty number. The story takes place in New York in 1912, and the strikingly-colorful sets and costumes are enhanced considerably by the excellent photography : — In love with Ann Miller, his dancing partner, Fred Astaire breaks with her when she runs out on her contract with him to star in a Broadway show. Bitter, Astaire informs his friend, Peter Lawford, a wealthy collegiate, that he can make a glamorous star to outshine Ann of any chorus girl he chooses and, to prove his statement, he selects Judy Garland, a chorus girl in a cheap cafe. He drives her unmercifully to satisfy his boast, but fails to notice her growing affection for him because of the torch he still carried for Ann. Meanwhile Lawford falls in love with Judy. Under Astaire 's expert handling, Judy soon becomes a polished entertainer and, after a highly successful tour, they are starred in a Broadway revue. They score a huge success on opening night, after which Astaire takes Judy to a night club where Ann entertained. There, Ann persuades Astaire to join her on the floor in one of their old numbers. Judy, who had hoped that Astaire had forgotten about Ann, leaves in a huff. Realizing that he loved Judy and that he had hurt her, Astaire rushes to her hotel, but she refuses to talk to him. On the following day, Easter Sunday, Lawford, who had given up hope of winning Judy for himself, steps into the breach by telling her that Astaire planned to train a new partner. This fabrication causes her to rush to Astaire for a reconciliation, and it all ends with their joining the Easter Parade on the march up Fifth Avenue. Arthur Freed produced it and Charles Walters directed it from a screen play by Sidney Sheldon, Frances Goodrich, and Albert Hackett. The cast includes Jules Munshin, Clinton Sundberg and others. Morally suitable for all. "The Big Punch" with Wayne Morris and Lois Maxwell (Warner Bros., June 26; time, 80 min.) Not a bad melodrama, but it does not rise above the level of program fare. Its story about a young minister who brings about the reformation of a crooked pugilist, whom he helps clear of a trumped-up murder charge, is not as logical as it might be, but it has enough human interest and melodramatic action to hold one's attention fairly well. There is suspense in some of the situations, and the pugilist, portrayed by Gordon MacRae, a newcomer who does very well in his screen debut, arouses the sympathetic interest of the spectator because of his predicament and of his sincere desire to lead an honest life. As the young minister, Wayne Morris makes the characterization creditable. Worked into the plot is a mild romantic triangle involving Wayne, MacRae, and Lois Maxwell:— When Wayne Morris, an athlete and divinity student appears in the office of Anthony Warde, a crooked fight manager, to deny reports that he will give up the ministry for the boxing ring, his sincerity and honesty make a deep impression on Gordon MacRae, a pugilist, who deliberately lost fights so that Warde could win by betting on his opponent. He decides to reform and double-crosses Warde by knocking out his next opponent. Knowing that Warde would seek revenge, MacRae leaves town. But Warde takes advantage of his departure by murdering a "nosey" detective under circumstances that point the finger of guilt at MacRae. Learning that he was wanted for murder, MacRae heads for a small town where Morris had just arrived as the new minister. Informing him that he was in trouble with Warde but withholding information of the murder change, MacRae asks and receives refuge from Morris in the parish house. Morris obtains a job for him at the local bank through the efforts of Lois Maxwell, a disillusioned girl in whom he (Morris) had taken an interest. Mary Stuart, MacRac's former New York girl friend, learns of his whereabouts and, as her price for silence, demands that he join her and several other accomplices in a plot to rob the bank. MacRae decides to leave town and confesses his reasons to Morris. The minister persuades him not to run away and, employing an ingenious scheme, in which he uses Lois as bait, he captures the blackmailers and compels one of them to admit that Warde had committed the murder. Cleared, MacRae leaves town, determined to start a new way in life. Saul Elkins produced it and Sherry Shourds directed it from a screen play by Bernard Girard, based on a story by George Carleton Brown. Unobjectionable morally. "The Vicious Circle" with Conrad Nagel (United Artists, no release date set; time, 77 min.) Those who do not mind the complete lack of action in a motion picture should find this courtroom drama highly interesting. Produced on a modest budget and based on a racial intolerance theme, it grips one's interest from start to finish, in spite of the fact that practically the entire action is confined to a courtroom setting. The story, which is supposedly based on events that actually happened in Hungary in the year 1882, revolves around the trial of five Jewish farmers, victims of a Jew-hating aristocratic landowner, who, to drive them from the community, frames them for the murder of a young servant girl. The dramatic excitement flows from the conflicting testimony that is offered by different witnesses, and from their cross-examination by the defense counsel, who brilliantly tears down, not only the perjured testimony of the state's witnesses, but also the arguments of the corrupt prosecuting attorneys who, in league with the landowner, were using the trial as a springboard to further their political ambitions. In the end, the defense attorney wins an acquittal for the defendants by proving that the dead girl had committed suicide, and his expose of the prosecution's case as a complete and dishonest fabrication results in the court holding