Harrison's Reports (1948)

November 6, 1948 HARRISON'S REPORTS 179 "The Countess of Monte Cristo" with Sonja Henie and Olga San Juan ( Universal-Intl, T^ovember; time, 77 min.) A weak comedy with some music, bolstered by several well-staged ice-skating routines that are executed with grace and skill by Sonja Henie, but even these are not enough to lift the picture above the level of program grade or to save it from being generally tedious. Based on a mistaken identity theme, the story is a slight, fluffy run-of-the-mill affair, treated without much imagination, which for the most part merely serves as an excuse to fill in time between the skating routines. At best the comedy is only mildly amusing, with most of it falling quite flat. Not much can be said for either the direction, the acting, or the dialogue: — Sonja Henie and Olga San Juan, barmaids in Oslo, Norway, obtain bit parts in a movie being made there, with Sonja cast in the role of a countess, and Olga cast as her maid. Berated by the director for ruining a scene, Sonja, dressed in all her finery, angrily drives off the set in the movie company's expensive car, accompanied by Olga. Once on the open road, Sonja decides to head for a swanky winter resort for a fling of real living until the police catch up with them. She registers at an exclusive hotel as the Countess of Monte Cristo, with Olga posing as her maid, and is given luxurious quarters by Arthur Treacher, the hotel manager. There, Michael Kirby, a wealthy army officer and nobleman, becomes smitten with Sonja, who shivers lest her masquerade be found out. Complications set in when Hugh French, a suave jewel thief and confidence man, posing as a Count, learns the identities of the girls from newspaper accounts of their flight from the studio. He intimidates them into doing his bidding by having them file a false claim with the hotel for articles supposedly stolen from their suite, including a huge sum of money, all of which the management replaces to avoid a scandal. In the course of events, French orders th'e girls to accompany him to other resorts to try the same scheme, threatening to expose them if they refuse. He agrees, however, to wait until Sonja's participation in a skating festival. Meanwhile insur' ance company representatives come to the hotel to investigate the supposed robbery and discover French's presence. They take him into custody and prepare to do the same with Sonja and Olga, but when Kirby learns the truth about the girls he takes matters into hand and clears them, after which he proposes marriage to Sonja to prove his love. It is a Westwood picture produced by John Beck and directed by Frederick De Cordova from a screen play by William Bowers, based on a story by Walter Reisch. The cast includes Dorothy Hart, Freddie Trenkler and others. Unobjectionable morally. "The Plot to Kill Roosevelt" with Derek Farr and Marta Labarr (United Artists, October 22; time, 85 min.) This British-made spy melodrama may get by as an exploitation picture on the strength of its sensational title, but as entertainment it is a dud. The story, which concerns itself with a supposed plot to assassinate the late President Roosevelt at the time of his 1943 meeting with Churchill and Stalin in Teheran, is a poorly-written, far-fetched yarn that barely holds one's interest. As a matter of fact, the plot is so confusing that even a master mind would have difficulty trying to figure it out. Involved in the fantastic proceedings are a young British war correspondent and a glamorous Russian ballerina, his former sweetheart, who, for reasons that arc not made clear, had left him to become the mistress of an influential Persian merchant. The mixed-up story weaves its way in and out of numerous incidents involving an assortment of mysterious and sinister characters until it finally gets down to the business of how the correspondent discovers that the Persian merchant is the secret head of a spy ring, which planned to assassinate the President upon his arrival in Teheran, and of how he foils the plot at the last minute, aided by the ballerina. All this unfolds in a manner that will tax the credulity of most every spectator. It has a considerable amount of action, but there is little suspense since one loses interest in the outcome. Not only are the players unknown to American audiences, but their acting is for the most part amateurish. It is a Selected Films production, directed by William Freshman from his own screen play, written in collaboration with Akos Tolnay, and based on an original story by Dorothy Hope. The supporting cast is all-British. Unobjectionable morally. "The Snake Pit" with Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens and Leo Genn (20th Century-Fox, no release date set, time, 108 min.) A great picture! Revolving around a young woman in a mental institution who regains her sanity through modern psychiatric and psychological methods, the story is of the kind that people usually do not want to see because of its morbid and shocking nature, but this picture should prove to be an exception, tor its powerful dramatic impact, and the fascinating way in which it unfolds, will undoubtedly create word-of-mouth advertising that should put it over at the box-office in a big way. The screen play, the treatment, the direction, the acting — all are magnificent achievements. Every one in the cast, from the stars to the last extra, is most capable. But the outstanding performance, one that may very well earn her a second Academy Award, is that of Olivia de Havilland's. As the demented young bride, Miss de Havilland comes through with a pathetic portrayal that is nothing short of remarkable, for through her superb artistry she makes one feel deeply the emotional upheavals she experiences as she alternates between spells of insanity and lucidity. A highly sympathetic performance is turned in by Leo Genn as the kindly and understanding psychiatrist who brings her back to normalcy. Most of the action takes place in the mental institution, except for brief flashbacks having to do with the demented girl's earlier life as the psychiatrist probes the causes that brought about her condition. Briefly, the story shows how Olivia, an aspiring young writer, meets and falls in love with Mark Stevens, a young editor. Shortly after their marriage, she suffers from melancholia and mental lapses, at times becoming violent. Stevens reluctantly confines her to a mental institution, where, under the patient treatment administered by Genn, she slowly returns to normalcy. The horrors of life in the asylum, however, cause her to suffer numerous relapses. Probing into her past life, Genn learns that her illness was the result of a father fixation, and of a consuming sense of guilt that she had been responsible for, not only her father's death, but also the accidental death of another man who wanted to marry her. Guided by this revelation, Genn succeeds in leading Olivia out of her mental fog. It ends with her complete recovery, and with her being reunited with Stevens to start life anew. What is outstanding about the picture is the realistic manner in which life in an insane asylum is depicted. The ravings and rantings of maniacal patients; the different shock treatments they undergo to restore their unbalanced minds: the straightjackets; the irritability of nurses trying to cope with crowded conditions — all this, and more, is depicted with a realism that is grim and frequently shocking, but it is so dramatically powerful and profoundly moving that one's attention is gripped throughout every moment of its unfoldment. It is a masterpiece of picture-making, as well as a highly intelligent, sympathetic presentation of a most difficult subject. Anatolc Litvak directed it and co-produced it with Robert Bassler from an excellent screen play by Frank Partos and Millcn Brand, based on the novel by Mary Jane Ward. The fine supporting cast includes, among others. Celeste Holm, Glenn Langan, Helen Craig, Lief Erickson. Bculah Bondi, Lee Patrick, Howard Freeman, Ruth Donnelly, Minna Gomhcll, June Storey, Damian O'Flynn, and Betsy Blair. Mature screen fare.