Harrison's Reports (1949)

10 HARRISON'S REPORTS January 15, 1949 "Miranda" with an all-British cast (Eagle-Lion, no rel. date set; time, 79 min.) A gay, sophisticated fantasy, revolving around the romantic adventures of a mermaid, who visits London disguised as an invalid. It is, however, strictly adult fare, for much of the dialogue is racy and many of the situations risque. It is a good comedy, well written, directed and played but its box-office value will undoubtedly be hindered by the fact that the novelty of a mermaid in a picture has worn thin since one was featured in the recentlyreleased "Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid." Besides, the British players, though highly competent, are unknown to American audiences. Glynis Johns, as the pert, mis' chevious mermaid, does very well in a rich comedy role, and her unashamed approach to sex, though lustful, has a sly humor that keeps one chuckling throughout. Although it is a fantasy, it has been handled in so clever a way that much of what transpires seems credible: — While on a fishing vacation off the coast of Corn' wall, Griffith Jones, a physician, is yanked from his rowboat by Glynis Johns, a beautiful mermaid, who drags him to her undersea cave and holds him captive. She agrees to free him only on condition that he take her to London for a month's visit. Jones notifies his wife, Googie Withers, that he is bringing back a special patient for observation. When he arrives with Glynis seated in a wheel-chair, swathed in rugs that hide the bottom part of her anatomy, Googie believes her to be paralysed. Glynis1 odd habits, such as eating raw fish and drinking salt water, amaze every one, but all are struck with her charm and beauty. Bent on getting the most out of her visit, Glynis romantically pursues John McCallum, a young artist engaged to Sonia Holm, Googie's bosom friend, and at the same time carries on an affair with David Tomlinson, the family chauffeur, who forsakes the maid, Yvonne Owen. When not occupied with these two gentlemen, Glynis busies herself with the doctor, who succumbs to her charms. Her actions disrupt the entire household emotionally as well as physically, with the complications reaching the bursting point when Googie, amused to learn that the artist and the chauffeur each carried a love-token given to them by Glynis, becomes incensed upon discovering that her husband, too, carried one. Googie eventually learns that Glynis is a mermaid, and when she refers to her as a "seacow," the mermaid, highly insulted, leaves the household and dives into the ocean to return to her undersea home. It was produced by Betty E. Box and directed by Ken Annakin. Peter Blackmore wrote the screen play, based on his own stage play of the same name. Adult entertainment. "Henry, the Rainmaker" with Raymond Walburn, Walter Catlett and William Tracy (Monogram, February 13; time, 64 min.) A fairly entertaining domestic comedy with a small-town background; it should serve adequately as a supporting feature wherever something light is needed to round out a double bill. The story is thin, but the characterizations are so amusing that one follows the action with interest. Most of the laughter stems from the antics of a crusading but blustering small-town lawyer who decides to run for Mayor to clean up the town's politics. The most amusing twist is where the candidate hires a "professional rain maker" to combat a severe drought only to have the idea boomerang when torrential rains flood the community. It provokes hearty laughter on several occasions, but at times the comedy is forced: — Raymond Walburn, a bombastic lawyer, has threatened for years to run for Mayor of Riverside in order to clean up the town's politics, dominated by Walter Catlett, the Mayor. When Catlett holds up a garbage-disposal contract to gain campaign contributions, Walburn, incensed because he had to carry his garbage to the city dump, decides to run for Mayor. He wins the people's support by basing his campaign on the garbage issue, thus compelling Catlett to award the disposal contract without further delay. Left without a platform, Walburn withdraws his candidacy. But he reenters the fight when he learns from his family that others had accused him of being a quitter. Walburn bases his new campaign on the weather, pointing out that the lack of rain threatened to kill the crops. To correct the condition, he hires a professional rainmaker. Actually, the rain is brought about by natural causes, but Walburn takes the credit just the same. But he soon finds himself in trouble when it rains for days, causing serious flood damage. The people turn against him and, to avoid their wrath, he takes his family on a vacation. Meanwhile the flood brings Catlett to his senses, and he employs William Tracy, a young engineer in love with Walburn's daughter (Mary Stuart), to start a flood control program. Learning of what had happened, Walburn takes credit for reforming the Mayor and for getting his future son-in-law a job. It was produced by Peter Scully and directed by Jean Yarbrough from a screen play by Lane Beauchamp, based on a story by D. D. Beauchamp. The cast includes Gary Gray, Barbara Brown, Addison Richards and others. Suitable for the entire family. "Joe Palooka in The Big Fight" with Joe Kirkwood and Leon Enrol (Monogram, Feb. 20; time, 67 min.) Like the previous pictures in the popular "Joe Palooka" series, this prizefight melodrama is good program fare. The story, though not unusual, holds one's interest throughout because of the good direction and acting, offering considerable suspense and excitement, as well as some comedy. Moreover, it has good moral value for youngsters in that the hero, played by Joe Kirkwood, displays fine qualities of clean sportsmanship, as does Leon Errol, as his fight manager. In addition to the fight sequences, the melodramatic action is brought about by the champion's efforts to regain his title and clear himself of a murder charge, the result of a crooked gang's machinations: — ■ Posing as a fighter down on his luck, Greg McClure obtains a job as a sparring partner for Joe Kirkwood, the heavyweight champion, and knocks him out through trickery. David Bruce, a crooked sportswriter, who, in league with McClure and several others had engineered the knockout, demands in his column that Kirkwood meet McClure in a title match. Errol refuses because of McClure's trickery. Bruce, through a deliberate smear campaign, creates adverse public opinion against Kirkwood, compelling Errol to agree to the match. On the eve of the fight, however, Bruce's henchmen drug Kirkwood and make him appear intoxicated, causing the boxing commissioner to vacate his title. In seeking to track down those responsible for drugging him, Kirkwood meets Lina Romay, a chorus girl and sister of one of Bruce's