Harrison's Reports (1949)

February 26, 1949 35 "Knock on Any Door" with Humphrey Bogart and John Derek (Columbia, no rel. date set; time, 100 mm.) A taut and absorbing mixture ot crime melodrama and courtroom drama, based on Willard Motley s wiaeiy read novel about trie criminal career 01 a rutniess youngster, it should go over well wherever pictures ot this type are liked, although it is not without its shortcomings, these include the story s low moral value in that it attempts to glamorize and bund up sympathy ior a youth with inherent criminal tenaencies; yet at no tune in his hoodlum career, which unloids through a series ot flashbacks as his lawyer detends him against a charge oi muraer, does the youth display any decent traits that would entitle him to audience sympathy. Aside trom the story s weaknesses, however, it grips one s attention throughout because ot the dynamic direction and tine pertormances. Humphrey bogart, as the sympathetic lawyer, is highly etiecuve, putting over his impassioned courtroom pieas with considerable dramatic torce. ihe principal part, however, that ot the young criminal, is played by John .Derek, a newcomer, whose work is exceptionally good, .being morally and ethically unsound, as well as sordid, the picture is unsuitable lor children: — ihe story opens with the wanton killing of a policeman in Chicago s bkid Row, a police roundup ot suspects, and the arrest ot Derek tor the murder, based on circumstantial evidence. Derek s claim ot innocence is heeded by Bogart, who had known the youth tor several years. Alter checking Derek s story and becoming convinced of his innocence, Bogart undertakes to detend him at a jury trial. In his opening statement, Bogart reveals that Derek's lather had died in prison, leaving a poverty-stricken tamily. Derek, influenced by the Skid Row environment, had become a juvenile delinquent and had been committed to a reform school, where brutal treatment had turned him into a hardened criminal. Upon his release, he had thrived on crime until he met and married Allene Roberts. Influenced by her sincere love, he had obtained honest employment, but the lure of easy money had proved so strong that he soon resumed his former ways. Allene, heartbroken and about to become a mother, had committed suicide. With his opening statement concluded, Bogart, based on information given to him by Derek, tears down the testimony ot the state s witnesses and then builds a powenul deiense through Derek's hoodlum triends who, unbeknownst to Bogart, were perjuring themselves to save their pal trom the chair. Derek, with an acquittal almost assured, takes the witness stand and bears up well under the faery questions ot the district attorney (George Macready), until that gentleman brings up the matter ot Aliene's suicide. Screaming that her name be leit out ot the case, Derek loses his composure and confesses his guilt. Bogart, alter informing the Court that he had been misted by Derek, makes an impassioned plea to save him from the chair by indicting society tor permitting the existence of Skid Rows. The closing scene shows Derek on his way to the execution chamber. Daniel Taradash and John Monks, Jr. wrote the screen play. It was produced by Robert Lord and directed by Nicholas Ray. Strictly adult fare. "El Paso" with John Payne, Gail Russell and Sterling Hayden (Paramount, April 1; time, 101 min.) Photographed by the Cinecolor process, this Pine-Thomas picture is a better-than-averagc Western from the standpoint of production values and star names, but it is no more than just a fair entertainment of its kind, offering little to attract other than the regular Western fans. The action is fastmoving and there is plentiful gun-shooting and hard-riding, but the story itself is trite and the characterizations routine. Moreover, its running time of 101 minutes is much too long. At the very least, the picture could be cut by twenty minutes. Having announced that the picture will open at the Paramount Theatre in New York, it becomes apparent that Paramount is trying to build it up as a sort of superWestern epic. The picture, however, falls far short of such a category: — Returning to his home in Charleston after service as a Captain in the Confederate Cavalry, John Payne, a lawyer, learns from his grandfather, Judge H. B. Warner, that Gail Russell, whom he loved, had moved to El Paso with her father, Henry Hull. Needing Hull's signature on an estate paper, Payne goes to El Paso, where he finds that Hull, a lormer respected attorney, is now El Paso s drunken Judge, completely dominated by the town's ruthless sheriff, Dick Foran, who in turn took his orders Irum Sterling Hayden, an unscrupulous tax otfacial. Hayden, in cahoots with troran, cheated veterans out oi their lands ior non-payment ot taxes even though they were away at war at the time. Determined to bring law and order to the town, l^ayne persuades Hull to stop his drinking and to deiy r'oran and Hayden in order to run his court in a iair way. this turn oi events angers Eoran and Hayden, who set oft a series ot brutal murders to scare f ayne out ot town, culminating their brutality with the vicious killings ot not only Hull but also Payne s grandlather. Determined to meet iorce with torce, Payne organizes the ranchers in the tight against Eoran, who, as sheriff, declares them to be outlaws and puts a price on their heads. In the end, however, aiter a showdown gun battle in the streets ot El Paso, Jfayne and the ranchers wipe out the crooked gang and bring law and order to the community. It was produced by William Pine and William Thomas, and directed by Lewis R. Poster, who also wrote the screen play trom a story by J. Robert Bren and Gladys Atwater. Ihe cast includes George "Gabby" Hayes, Mary Beth Hughes, Eduardo Noriega and others. Unobjectionable morally. "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" with Bing Crosby, William Bendix and Rhonda Fleming (Paramount, April; time, 107 min.) A very good romantic comedy with songs, based on Mark Twain's tamous classic. With Bing Crosby in the lead, the picture, photographed in Technicolor, cannot help being a sure-fire box-office attraction. The action is kept at a lively pace from start to finish, and a tone of humor prevails throughout, but there are numerous situations that will provoke hearty laughter. The scenes where the King, Crosby, and Bendix masquerade as beggars and tramp across the country singing light songs are highly pleasing. Mr. Bendix, as a knight in armor, contributes much to the entertainment values. The direction is fine, and the color photography pleasing to the eye. The story was produced by Fox in 1921, and again in 1931, but Paramount asserts that this version is closer to the book than either of the other versions: — Crosby, a Connecticut blacksmith in the year 1910, is knocked unconscious when a horse throws him and causes him to strike his head on a tree stump. He awakens to find himself in England in the year 528, the captive of William Bendix (as Sir Sagamore), who calls him a "monster" and leads him before Sir Cedric Hardwicke (as King Arthur). The King, egged on by Murvyn Vye (as Merlin), the Court's sorcerer, condemns Bing to be burned at the stake. While at the stake, Bing, using the crystal from his watch, sets fire to the death proclamation and then to Vye's black robes. Awed by the miracle, the King sets Bing free and arranges a grand ball in his honor, during which he teaches the Court how to foxtrot and sings a few ballads. Rhonda Fleming (as Alisande), the King's niece, rewards him with a kiss. Vye, miffed by the favoritism, sends word to Henry Wilcoxon (as Sir Lancelot), Rhonda's betrothed. Wilcoxon challenges Bing to a mortal joust. On the battlefield, Bing nimbly evades Wilcoxon's thrusts and then lassoes him with a lariat, bringing him crashing to the ground, much to the merriment ot every one present. After the victory, Bing fashions a crude revolver to protect himself. Learning that the King was disliked by his subjects, Bing, to convince him of that fact, persuades him to disguise himself as a beggar and to accompany Bendix and himself on a foot journey to London to sample public opinion. The King agrees. Vye, having overheard the plot, captures the ragged trio and puts them on the London auction block for sale as escaped slaves. Rhonda, too, is captured and taken to Vye's castle. An unsuccessful attempt to escape results in the trio being sentenced to hang. But Bing, aware that an eclipse of the sun would take place at high noon, threatens to extinguish the sun unless they are freed. He is laughed at, but when the sun begins to disappear the trio is set free. Bing gallops to Vye's castle, where he wages a battle to rescue Rhonda until knocked unconscious by a heavy mace. The blow ends his dream, and he awakens back in the year 1910 to meet a lovely miss who looks just like the one he wooed in King Arthur's Court. It was produced by Robert Fellows and directed by Tay Garnctt, from a screen play by Edmund Bcloin. Fine for the entire family.