Harrison's Reports (1948)

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178 HARRISON'S REPORTS November 6, 1948 "When My Baby Smiles at Me" with Betty Grable and Dan Dailey (20th Century-Fox, November; time, 98 min.) Good mass entertainment. Lavishly produced and photo* graphed in Technicolor, the story is an adaptation of the stage play, "Burlesque," dealing with the rise, fall and rerise of a talented burlesque-show comedian, whose troubles stem from his addiction to drink. The story is not new, having been put into pictures several times, but the expert direction and the good acting of Dan Dailey, as the comedian, and Betty Grable, as his faithful wife, put it over. Moreover, it has enjoyable music, dancing, and singing, and some very good comedy. Basically, however, it is a dramatic talc, with moments of deep appeal. Most of the human interest is aroused by the love and loyalty that Betty shows for Dailey. despite his faults. Jack Oakic, James Glcason, and June Havoc, as close show-friends of the couple, contribute much to the picture's entertainment values : — Although very much in love with Dailey, Betty's happiness is marred by his addiction to drink and his devil-maycare attitude towards improving himself. When a New York agent offers Dailey a part in a Broadway show, he prefers to remain in burlesque with Betty, but she persuades him to accept the offer even though the thought of parting made them both unhappy. Dailey wins rave notices in New York, but success goes to his head; he drinks and carouses at all-night parties, and neglects to communicate with Betty. When she learns that Jean Wallace, a chorus girl, was his constant companion, Betty files suit for divorce. Dailey, feeling that she deserved to be rid of him, docs not contest the divorce. Betty becomes engaged to Richard Arlen, a millionaire rancher, who was deeply in love with her. This news so disheartens Dailey that he takes to drink in earnest, ruining his career and becoming a physical wreck. James Glcason. a close friend and veteran showman, offers Dailey the comedian's spot in his new burlesque show in the hope that it would give him a fresh start. Grateful, Dailey solemnly promises to give up drink. But the urge persists so strongly that opening night finds him in no condition to take his place on the stage. Betty, summoned by Gleason, rushes to the theatre. Shaken and ill, Dailey breaks down when he sees her. She undertakes to put him in condition despite his protests that he was unable to go on. Gently whispering words of encouragement, she joins him in the act and adroitly covers up his faltering steps as he struggles to steady himself. But when she whispers to him that she had not married Arlen, and that she wanted to come back as his wife, Dailey, gloriously happy, becomes his old self and finishes his singing and dancing in an inspired way. George Jesscl produced it and Walter Lange directed it from a screen play by Lamar Trotti, based on the play by George Manker Watters. Unobjectionable morally. "High Fury" with Madeleine Carroll and Ian Hunter (United Artists, ?\(ov. 19; time, 71 min.) A passable program melodrama, produced and photographed in Switzerland. Revolving around the travails of a Swiss innkeeper whose strong attachment for a displaced French orphan displeases her philandering husband, the story, though contrived, has considerable human interest and manages to hold one's attention fairly well. An interesting feature about the picture is the authentic backgrounds, particularly the picturesque scenery showing the towering peaks of the Swiss Alps. The mountain climbing sequences, especially the one where the husband sacrifices his life to save the youngster after both are injured in a fall, are thrilling. The performances are capable, with Madeleine Carroll highly sympathetic in the role of the innkeeper: — Having become deeply attached to Michael McKeag, a 14-ycar-old war-orphaned French boy, Madeleine seeks to adopt him to save him from a French orphanage. But her husband. Michael Rennie, a shiftless, philandering fellow, resents the boy's presence and refuses to sign the adoption papers. Compelled to board a special train with other French evacuee children who had been sheltered in the village during the war, the boy jumps from the train as it pulls out of the station and makes his way, unseen, back to the inn. Madeleine conceals the lad, but her husband eventually discovers him. She renews her pleas to Rennie, and he finally agrees to sign the adoption papers, provided she deed title of the Inn to him. Rennie celebrates the acquisition with an ostentatious party and, in his drunken magnanimity, even shows a liking for the boy. The youngster, anxious to dispel Rcnnic's belief that he was a coward, persuades him to take him on a climb of a nearby peak. The proposed ascent makes Madeleine fearful for the boy's safety, but Ian Hunter, the village doctor, who was secretly in love with her, convinces her that the climb was essential to the lad's happiness. During the climb, young Michael misses his fooling and falls to a ledge. Rennie rushes to his aid, but is himself injured by falling rocks and finds himself dangling in space from a rope tied to the youngster's waist. Realizing that the boy did not have enough strength to hold him indefinitely, Rennie cuts the rope and plunges to his death. The boy is rescued by Hunter and Madeleine, and all return to the village to find new happiness, united in the belief that Rcnnic's last selfsacrificing gesture had more than wiped out his past misdeeds. Ivor McLaren produced it and Harold French directed it from his own story and screen play, written in collaboration with Lesley Storm. The supporting cast is made up of European players unknown in this country. Unobjectionable morally. "The Plunderers" with Rod Cameron, Ilona Massey and Adrian Booth (Rf public. December 1: time, 89 min.) Photographed in Trucolor, "The Plunderers" is a good Western melodrama, the sort that should go over very well with the action fans, for it abounds in exciting action, suspense, and thrills. The story idea — that of an undercover army officer posing as a desperado in order to track down an outlaw, is not new, but it has enough novel twists to hold one's attention well throughout the fast-paced proceedings. There is plenty of hard-riding, gunplay, and fisticuffs, with most of the excitement taking place in the closing reels where hostile Sioux Indians launch a vicious attack on an isolated frontier fort. It has considerable comedy, too. The direction and performances are good, and the Trucolor photography enhances the production values: — Determined to capture Forrest Tucker, a notorious outlaw, Rod Cameron, an army officer, poses as a desperado with a price on his head and. after a fake duel with Sheriff George Cleveland, "escapes" into the hills. Having thus established his "wicked" reputation, Cameron has no trouble locating Tucker and winning his confidence. He agrees to enter into a scheme whereby he marries Adrian Booth, Tucker's dancehall sweetheart, in a fake ceremony, in order to reunite her with Tucker. In the process, he falls in love with Ilona Massey, another dance-hall queen. Cameron and Tucker save each other's lives on several occasions, and Cameron finds it difficult to dislike the good-natured outlaw, with whom he remains associated in order to learn the identity of his confederates. Tucker is eventually captured for horsestealing and taken to Fort Jefferson for trial. There, a furious mob, incited by Taylor Holmes, a banker and Tucker's secret partner, attempts to hang Tucker, but Cameron, his identity now revealed, halts the hanging just as the Sioux Indians attack the fort. In the absence of the fort's cavalry, Cameron organizes the civilians for a defense of the outpost, but the overwhelming power of the Indian forces makes their position precarious. Eager to enter the fight. Tucker pleads with Cameron to release him so that he may go to a building nearby and trap the Indians in a crossfire. Cameron agrees, joining him on the dangerous mission. Together, their bravery heads off the attack until the Cavalry arrives to the rescue. Tucker loses his life in the effort, saving Cameron the painful duty of delivering him to the law. Joe Kane produced and directed it from a screen play by Gerald Geraghty and Gerald Adams, based on a story by James Edward Grant. Unobjectionable morally.