Harrison's Reports (1948)

170 HARRISON'S REPORTS October 23, 1948 "Joan of Arc" with Ingrid Bergman (RKO, no release date set; time, 145 min.) "Joan of Arc" is a great spectacle, a truly superb feature that deserves to take its place as one of the finest ever produced in the history of the motion picture industry. Exquisitely photographed in Technicolor, the production is impressive and magnificent, and its combination of spectacularity, devout faith, and high courage has been handled with infinite care by both Walter Wanger, the producer, and Victor Fleming, the director. From the opening scene in 1427 in the village of Domremy, where Joan, a 16-year-old peasant girl, is inspired by "voices from Heaven" to go forth and lead the legions of France to victory over the English invaders, to the closing scene three years later when she is burned at the stake in the market place at Rouen, after being charged with heresy by the Church, the sweep and pageantry of the era depicted, coupled with the strong emotional appeal of the poweriully dramatic story, grips the spectator's interest throughout its 145 minutes running time. The picture has all the ingredients that make for a smash hit, nevertheless there is a possibility that it will meet with considerable resistance because of the fact that the Catholic Church is depicted as the villain in terms that are most uncomplimentary. Even though what is shown is historically true, many Catholics may be offended by the depiction of the complete lack of humaneness and justice displayed by high-ranking Catholic Church officials who resort to all sorts of political trickery and other base machinations as they put Joan to inquisition and eventually order her burned at the stake. To what extent such resentment may affect the box-office cannot be foretold, but exhibitors will do well to watch the picture's performance in the early runs. Briefly, the story depicts how Joan, heeding a heavenly command to lead the soldiers of France against the British invaders, and to bring about the coronation of the Dauphin, France's uncrowned king, makes the journey to the court of the Dauphin in Chinon, accompanied by thousands of superstitious and religious peasants who, aware of her strange mission, see in her the fulfillment of an old prediction that France would be saved by a maiden from Lorraine. She convinces the Dauphin of the sacredness of her mission and wins his support despite the opposition of his scheming counsellors. Clad in a suit of white armor, Joan wins the confidence of the army leaders and sets out to relieve Orleans, oesieged by the English and their continental allies, the Burgundians. A raging battle ensues as Joan leads the troops in an attack on Fort des Tourelles, ending in a French victory. Her army wins successive victories in other parts of France, and in due time she brings about the Dauphin's coronation at Rheims. Joan and her followers prepare to march on Paris to complete the liberation of France, but the weak Dauphin, controlled by his counsellors, accepts a bribe to sign a truce with the British and forbids her to continue the fight. But Joan, still heeding her heavenly command, continues the attacks. She is captured by the Burgundians and sold to the British, who turn her over to their tool, Cauchon, French Bishop of Beauvis, so that legally she will appear to be a prisoner of the Church. Cauchon takes her to Rouen to be tried as a heretic and burned at the stake so as to discredit the Dauphin's title to the French crown. Held in jail for two months and tormented, Joan is finally brought to trial before eighty prosecuting church dignitaries. She gallantly fights every attempt to force her to deny that she had received a command from heaven but, through trickery, Cauchon succeeds in committing her to be burned at the stake for heresy. The costumes, the colorful royal courts, the various encampments on the road to Orleans, the highly melodramatic battle sequences, the burning at the stake in the market place — all these, as well as other memorable scenes, have been beautifully staged with fine accuracy of detail. Moreover, expert use has been made of the color photography to match the mood of the different scenes. Ingrid Bergman's sensitive portrayal as the martyred maid is nothing short of magnificent. Whether she is leading her troops in battle, or seeking guidance from "the voices from Heaven," or suffering unbearable persecution both physically and mentally, she at all times makes the characterization totally believable and deeply sympathetic. In less experienced hands, the difficult role might well have been "hammed" up. The supporting cast, which includes thousands of extras, is excellent. Jose Ferrer is exceptionally good as the weak Dauphin, as is Francis X. Sullivan, as the tricky and wicked Cauchon. J. Carrol Naish, Ward Bond, Cecil Kellaway, Hurd Hatfield, Gene Lockhart, John Emery, George Coulouris, Irene Rich, Roman Bohnen, Richard Ney, Selena Royle and George Zucco arc among the other players who appear in brief but effective bit parts. Maxwell Anderson and Andrew Solt write the screen play, based on Mr. Anderson's stage play, "Joan of Lorraine." "The Red Shoes" with Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring and Moira Shearer (Eagle-Lion, no release date set; time, 133 min.) Produced in England, this beautifully conceived Technicolored romantic drama, revolving around the backstage life of a prominent ballet troupe, is an artistic achievement that should win wide critical acclaim. Its appeal, however, will be limited to cultured audiences, for it is not the sort of picture that the masses will find to their taste. The story, which has as its theme the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about a young girl whose red shoes would not stop dancing when she wanted to take them off, revolves around an exciting young ballerina who dances her way to fame only to be tormented by the conflict between her deep love for a young composer, htr husband, and her burning ambition to become another Pavlova under the guidance of her ruthless director, who demanded the complete dedication of her life to the dance. She ultimately finds peace in death by hurling herself under the wheels of a train. The story itself is rather trite and long drawn out, but it holds one's interest throughout because it is played against a fascinating background of backstage ballet life, giving one an insight on how ballets arc conceived and created, and how intense is the devotion of those who arc associated with the art. The high point of the production is "The Red Shoes" ballet, a superb, pictorially beautiful sequence that should prove to be a feast to the ballet lovers. In addition to this specially created ballet, parts of other ballets have been incorporated into the story. The magnificent settings and costumes, the rich color photography, the brilliant music score, and the inspired choreography have been blended with such artistic imagination that those who will see the picture will leave the theatre fully satisfied that they have witnessed a cinematic treat, a great step forward in the motion picture art. The cast, headed by Anton Walbrook, as the temperamental impressario, Moira Shearer, as the young ballerina, and Marius Goring, as the young composer, is excellent. It was written, produced and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Mature entertainment. "Disaster" with Richard Denning and Trudy Marshall (Paramount, Dec. 3; time. 60 min.) This is a run-of-the-mill action melodrama, undistinguished in every department — writing, direction and acting. There is nothing much to the story, which attempts to be mystifying, and which does not take shape until the picture is more than half over. Even then, it is all so ordinary and far-fetched that one loses interest in the outcome. As a matter of fact, the story is so thin that the producer had to resort to considerable padding on trivial and uninteresting incidents and dialogue to give the film its one-hour running time. It depends for its thrills on the activities of steeplejacks working on high buildings, but so much hokum has been put into these scenes, which for the most part have been staged crudely, that only the very naive among the picture-goers will find it satisfactory: — Wanted for murder, Richard Denning ducks detective Damian O'Flynn by climbing to the top of a church dome to make it appear as if he was one of the steeplejacks working there. He explains his presence to Bill Wright, the head steeplejack, by stating that he was looking for a job. Wright hires him. Denning becomes friendly with Trudy Marshall, Wright's daughter, much to the distaste of James Millican, who, too, worked for Wright. In the course of events Denning confesses to Wright that he was wanted for murder, claiming that he was framed by Jack Lambert, a fellow worker, for the killing of a construction job foreman. Lambert had disappeared, and Denning was searching for him to prove his innocence. Denning's problem resolves itself when an airplane crashes into a skyscraper, loosening the