Harrison's Reports (1948)

162 HARRISON'S REPORTS October 9, 1948 "The Creeper" with Ralph Morgan, Janis Wilson and John Baragrey (20th CenturyFox, September; time, 64 min.) Fair for those who like horror melodramas, but much below the average for those who don't. The action, which centers mostly around the fright Janis Wilson feels from visions of a cat's enlarged paw that appears before her when she is awake as well as asleep, is considerably confusing. Many of the situations will give people, particularly children, the shivers. There is no comedy relief. The direction is fairly good and the acting realistic. The photography is dark and the atmosphere somber, in keeping with the subject matter: — When a shipment of vials from the West Indies containing a serum that would enable scientists of a foundation to perfect it by means of phosphorous so that operations might be facilitated by lighting the insides of the persons to be operated on arrives in New York smashed, the nerves of scientists Ralph Morgan and Onslow Stevens become frayed. Morgan suggests that the experiments be dropped, but Stevens refuses. Janis Wilson, Morgan's daughter, pleads with Stevens not to import any more experimental cats from the West Indies, for she had an unaccountable fear of them. Stevens, however, ignores her plea. June Vincent, assistant to scientists John Baragrey and Eduardo Ciannelli, hopes that Baragrey will marry her and resents his interest in Janis. An attempt by Ciannelli to put the laboratory's cat into Janis' lap sends her into hysterics. Morgan is found murdered under circumstances that cause suspicion to fall on June, but she is released for lack of sufficient evidence. Janis, upset by her father's death, is visited by Stevens who tries to induce her to give him her father's secret laboratory notes necessary for his experiments, claiming that Morgan had promised to turn the notes over to him. But Janis calls him a liar, for she had overheard Stevens and her father quarrelling. In the course of events, two more murders are committed, including that of June's. Stevens eventually admits that he had committed the three murders. He tries to kill Baragrey, too, but only succeeds in wounding him. Unable to continue his experiments, Stevens injects the serum into his left arm, which turns into a huge cat's paw. He becomes a madman and attacks Janis. Baragrey regains consciousness in time to shoot him down before he can claw Janis to death. Bernard Small produced it and Jean Yarbrough directed it from a screen play by Maurice Tombragel, based on an original story idea by Don Martin. Unsuitable for children and many women. "Hills of Home" with Edmund Gwenn, Tom Drake and Janet Leigh (MGM, December; time, 96 min.) A good family entertainment. Set in Scotland and photographed magnificently in Technicolor, its heartwarming story draws considerable strength from the fine performance of Edmund Gwenn, as an aged Scottish country doctor who devotes himself to the care of neighboring sheep farmers, eventually sacrificing his life to answer a call of distress. The fact that the dog "Lassie" plays a major role in the proceedings gives the picture added box-office appeal. It has many situa tions that appeal to the emotions deeply, but there are also nice touches of gentle humor. Gwenn's devotion to and patience with Lassie, whom he changes from a weakling to a courageous dog, as well as his earnest desire to be of aid to his fellow-man, makes his characterization extremely sympathetic: — Angered at Lassie because the dog had not been alert while tending his sheep, Rhys Williams, a farmer, almost drowns the animal in punishment then cannily trades her to Gwenn, the only doctor in the isolated hills of Glen Urtach. Gwenn's temper flares when Lassie shows cowardice towards water, but aided by Tom Drake, Williams' son, who was secretly studying medicine under Gwenn against his father's wishes, he sets about to teach Lassie how to swim. Undecided between following his desire to study medicine or his father's demand that he become a farmer, Drake's mind is made up for him by his sweetheart, Janet Leigh, when Gwenn saves her mother's life in a delicate operation. She urges Drake to prepare to carry on for the aging Gwenn. But convincing Williams is another matter, until Drake, stricken with appendicitis, requires an emergency operation to save his life. Williams refuses to allow Gwenn to use chloroform, a new anesthetic, without which Gwenn dared not operate. In desperation, Gwenn successfully tests the chloroform on Lassie, after which Williams gives his consent. The operation is successful, and Gwenn, in accordance with a promise he had extracted from Williams, sees to it that Drake goes to Edinburgh to study medicine. With the passing years, Gwenn's health begins to fail and, despite the efforts of his friends to keep him inactive, he insists upon answering a call from a distant neighbor in the midst of a severe storm. He meets with an accident and, though Lassie courageously succeeds in bringing help, he dies shortly afterwards from his injuries. He is buried with great honors by his many friends, after which Drake returns from Edinburgh to take his place as doctor of the Glen. Robert Sisk produced it and Fred M. Wilcox directed it from an original screen play by William Ludwig, suggested by the Ian MacLaren sketches, "Doctor of the Old School." The cast includes Donald Crisp, Reginald Owen, Alan Napier and others. Suitable for the entire family. "No Minor Vices" with Lilli Palmer, Dana Andrews and Louis Jourdan (MGM, "Hpvember; time, 96 min.) This is a gay, sophisticated comedy, the sort that should go over pretty well in big-city theatres, particularly with class audiences. It probably will have scant appeal to audiences in small-town theatres and action houses, for the smart and witty dialogue, as a matter of fact the idea behind the story, has a subtlety that may go over their heads. There are many laughs in the cleverly written screen play, which has Louis Jourdan, as a completely uninhibited, Bohemian-like artist, raising havoc with the orderly professional and married life of a prominent doctor, played by Dana Andrews. Jourdan handles a comedy role very well. His efforts to prove that Andrews' wife, Lilli Palmer, was leading a tragic life although seemingly happy result in an amusing triangle from which most of the comedy stems. All in all it is quite mirthful, and