Harrison's Reports (1949)

62 HARRISON'S REPORTS April 16, 1949 "The Barkleys of Broadway" with Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire (MGM, May; time, 109 win.) A highly entertaining musical comedy, lavishly produced and photographed in Technicolor. It is the sort of picture the fans can't help but enjoy, for the comedy is bright, the music delightful, and the dancing superb. Although ten years have elapsed since Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire were last teamed together, they are as effective today as in the past; both work hard and score in each of the musical numbers. Their dance routines together are unusually good. Astaire excels in a solo tap dance with a shoe repair shop background, where many pairs of shoes join him in his dance routine; this number is both novel and intricate. The story is thin, but it is romantic and has good comedy situations: — Although happily married, Ginger and Astaire, famous musical comedy stars, bicker constantly, causing Oscar Levant, their producer and playwright, no end of concern. When Astaire chides her for not having been sufficiently dramatic during a scene in their latest show, Ginger falls easy prey to the flattery of Jacques Francois, a French playwright, who praises her dramatic ability and urges her to give up musical comedy in order to take the lead in his newest play. She declines, however, unwilling to break away from Astaire. But a split results between them when he quarrels with her over Francois' attentions. As a result, she accepts the lead in Francois' play while he continues in their show with her understudy. Dejected over the separation but concerned lest Ginger fail as a dramatic actress, Astaire watches her rehearsals secretly. He takes note of her mistakes and, after rehearsals, telephones her and suggests how she should play the different scenes, but he speaks to her with a French accent to lead her to believe that he is Francois. Ginger is acclaimed on opening night for her superb performance. Miserable in the belief that she had fallen in love with Francois, Astaire, once again impersonating the Frenchman, telephones Ginger and asks her to declare her love for him. As he pleads with her, Francois walks into her dressing room making the deception apparent. Ginger, delighted, plays along with the gag and leads Astaire to believe that she planned to marry Francois after divorcing him. She then hastens to her home to await the dejected Astaire. There, after allowing Astaire to bid her a solemn goodbye, she reveals that his French accent had not fooled her and declares that she still loved him. They plan to rejoin forces in a new musical comedy. It was produced by Arthur Freed and directed by Charles Walters from an original screen play by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. The cast includes Oscar Levant, Billie Burke, Gale Robbins and others. Suitable for the entire family. "Sorrowful Jones" with Bob Hope, Lucille Ball and Mary Jane Saunders (Paramount, July 4; time, 87 min.) A very good remake of Damon Runyon's "Little Miss Marker," which Paramount produced in 1934 with Shirley Temple in the lead. Although considerable changes have been made in the story to fit the talents of Bob Hope, the basic idea, that of a Broadway bookmaker finding himself saddled with a five-year-old child left as security by a bettor, remains the same. Hope is extremely funny as the tightfisted bookmaker whose heart softens under the influence of the little girl, and there is much comedy in the situations where he tangles with crooked racetrack racketeers who had murdered the child's father; his false bravado will draw many laughs. A highly hilarious sequence is the one in which he brings a horse right into a hospital because the child, injured in an accident, had been calling for the animal. The story has considerable human interest. Mary Jane Saunders, as the child, is completely charming. Lucille Ball, as a night-club entertainer who helps Hope care for the child, and William Demarcst, as Hope's assistant, add much to the entertainment values: — Hope, a penurious bookmaker, accepts little Mary as a "marker" (I.O.U.) when her father places a bet on a horse. Her father becomes involved with Bruce Cabot, a racketeer in crooked horse races, who murders him secretly. Hope is shamed into taking care of the child by Lucille Ball, Cabot's girl-friend. The child wins his heart and, much to everyone's amazement, he changes his stingy way of living in order to give her a decent home. Meanwhile the police, investigating the murder, find evidence of Cabot's crooked racetrack activities, and the gambler, to avoid further suspicion, registers "Dreamy Joe," a horse whose speed was controlled by injections, in Mary's name. When the police learn of this registration, Cabot orders his henchman (Tom Pedi) to get rid of the child. Hope, to protect Mary, hides her on a fire escape from which she falls and injures herself seriously. Rushed to the hospital, the delirious child calls for the horse. Hope steals the animal from the race track just before a fixed race and, after a wild chase, brings the horse right into the hospital, where the police, having found proof of Cabot's guilt, set a trap and capture him. With little Mary assured of recovery, Lucille, pleased by Hope's transformation, forgets his stingy past and agrees to marry him so that they might adopt the child. It was produced by Robert L. Welch and directed by Sidney Lanfield from a screen play by Melville Shavelson, Edmund Hartmann and Jack Rose, based on Damon Runyon's story. The cast includes Thomas Gomez and others. Unobjectionable morally. "Manhandled" with Dorothy Lamour Dan Duryea and Sterling Hayden (Paramount, June 10; time, 96 min.) Although it is not a pleasant entertainment, this is a good crime melodrama, far better than the average pictures produced by Pine-Thomas in the past. It has good direction and performances, and the story, though somewhat far-fetched and complex, is interesting all the way through. The action for the most part is not exciting but it manages to maintain a fair degree of suspense. Dorothy Lamour, cast in a straight part as a young secretary who is framed for a murder and jewel robbery, handles the role competently. Dan Duryea, as a crooked private detective, comes through nicely with one of his familiar slimy characterizations. There are some good touches of comedy involving the police, none of it of the stupid detective type. One sequence, where Duryea murders a confederate by pinning him to a wall with his car and bumping into him repeatedly, is quite brutal: — The story opens with Alan Napier, a stuffy author, visiting a psychiatrist (Harold Vermilyea) because of his anxiety over a recurring dream in which he kills his bejeweled young wife, whom he believed to be faithless. Dorothy Lamour, the psychiatrist's new secretary, casually mentions Napier's case and his wife's jewels to Duryea, her rooming house neighbor, who had become interested in her romantically. On the following day, Napier's wife is found murdered, and her fabulous jewels, stolen, come into Duryea's possession. But he is unable to get rid of them because they could be identified easily. Investigating the murder, Lieut. Art Baker, of the homicide squad, and Sterling Hayden, an insurance investigator, learn of Napier's dreams and of his visit to the psychiatrist. This brings about an interview with Dorothy as well as a meeting with Duryea who, in his capacity as a private detective, offers to help on the case to win a $10,000 reward. Shortly thereafter, the psychiatrist visits Duryea and threatens to kill him unless he turned over the jewels. It is then revealed that the psychiatrist had committed the murder and robbery, only to have the jewels stolen from him by Duryea. Duryea convinces the psychiatrist that the jewels were too "hot" to sell, and both agree to pin the crime on Dorothy, sacrificing the jewels for the $10,000 reward. Duryea cleverly weaves a net of circumstantial evidence around Dorothy, making her a major suspect. Baker, however, obtains clues indicating that Duryea was guilty. He conceals his suspicions and encourages Duryea to further implicate Dorothy. In the end, Duryea is trapped, but not before he kills the psychiatrist and almost throws Dorothy off a roof. It was produced by William H. Pine and William C. Thomas. Lewis R. Foster directed it and wrote the screen play in collaboration with Whitman Chambers, based on a story by L. S. Goldsmith. The cast includes Irene Hervey, Philip Reed, Irving Bacon and others. Adult fare.