Harrison's Reports (1949)

May 7, 1949 HARRISON'S REPORTS 75 "The Forbidden Street" with Maureen O'Hara and Dana Andrews (20th Century-Fox, June; time, 91 min.) This film version of Margery Sharp's novel, "Britannia Mews," which deals with the trials and tribulations of a young middle-class woman disowned by her family, is a picture of many moods that misses fire as screen entertainment. Its chances at the box-office will depend heavily on the drawing power of its stars. Produced by 20th CenturyFox in England, the story, which has its chief setting in a squalid London slums district during the gaslight era, is an odd mixture of domestic comedy, sordid melodrama, and farce, presented in a way that is neither compelling nor convincing. Moreover, it is handicapped by uneven performances. The production values are very good, and the settings capture the grim, degrading atmosphere of a sordid slum district in a highly effective way, but it is not enough to overcome the jumbled story and its lack of dramatic punch: — Despite the objections of her well-to-do family, Maureen O'Hara marries Dana Andrews, her bearded drawing master, and goes to live with him in Britannia Mews, an un' savory slum neighborhood. Andrews, addicted to drink, shows little ambition in his painting and devotes his time to carving puppets. Maureen's love for him fades, but she sticks to him out of loyalty and pride. Tragedy intervenes when Andrews, drunk, accidentally falls down a staircase to his death after a quarrel with Maureen. Her plans to return to her family are stymied by an obscene old hag (Dame Sybil Thorndike) who, having seen the accident, threatens to tell the authorities that Maureen had murdered Andrews unless she pays "hush" money to her regularly. Frightened, Maureen remains in the Mews and takes to drink. Two years later, she befriends an impoverished ne'er-do-well lawyer (also played by Andrews), who resembled her dead husband. The lawyer breaks the old hag's hold on Maureen. Grateful, she permits him to live in the stable below her flat, and although their relationship is strictly platonic the slum dwellers assume that he is her second husband. Admiring the puppets wrought by her dead husband, the lawyer helps Maureen to start a puppet theatre, which eventually becomes the rage of London society. Meanwhile Maureen's brother finds her and, believing the lawyer to be her first husband, is puzzled by their unnatural way of living. He persuades them to visit the family, but before they arrive they are secretly married. They do not disillusion the family about their belief that the lawyer is her first husband. Their sly silence backfires, however, when Maureen's mother, forewarned by her son, allocates separate bedrooms to Maureen and her husband. But when the household retires for the night, the lawyer steals into Maureen's room and assumes the role of a husband in his own, rather than in another man's identity. William Perlberg produced it and Jean Negulesco directed it from a screen play by Ring Lardner, Jr. Adult fare. "Sky Dragon" with Roland Winters (Monogram, May 1; time, 64 min.) This latest in the "Charlie Chan" series of murder mystery melodramas is a cut above most of the previous pictures and should easily satisfy as a supporting feature in double-billing situations. This time the story has Chan, played by Roland Winters, and Keye Luke, his son, traveling aboard a plane in which $250,000 is being transported under guard. Among the other passengers are Paul Maxey and Lyle Latell, bonding company investigators; Iris Adrian, a Follies star; and Lyle Talbot, her companion. The crew is composed of copilots Milburn Stone and Joel Marston, and hostesses Noel Neill and Elena Verdugo. The passengers are drugged by coffee; Latell murdered, and the money stolen. Police Lieut. Tim Ryan and John Eldredge, head of the company shipping the money, meet the plane in San Francisco. Later, Marston is found murdered in Iris' hotel room under circumstances incriminating Stone, who is jailed. When Talbot, too, is murdered, Winters investigates and finds that Elena is Iris' sister, and that she was married to Talbot. Since the different passengers did not know that Marston had been murdered, Chan assembles them on the plane to reenact their movements. His son, dressed in Marston's uniform with his face disguised, pretends that he can point out the guilty party, causing Elena to pull out a gun. Maxey shoots her down, supposedly to protect the others, but Winters reveals that he, together with Elena and Eldredge, had worked together on the murders and the robbery. The story moves along at a fast pace and has considerable suspense and comedy. The direction and acting are good. It was produced by James S. Burkett and directed by Lesley Selander from a screen play by Oliver Drake, based on a story by Clint Johnston. Unobjectionable morally. "It Happens Every Spring" with Ray Milland, Jean Peters and Paul Douglas (20th Century-Fox, June; time, 87 min.) A highly amusing comedy, revolving around a studious chemistry professor who astounds the baseball world with his prowess as a big-league pitcher. The story itself is extremely thin and far-fetched, for the hero's success is predicated on his accidental discovery of a chemical solution that causes a baseball to veer away from wood, thus enabling him to strike out expert sluggers, who are completely mystified by the erratic hop of the ball over their well-aimed bats. The comedy is at its best in the baseball sequences, in which trick photography has been employed to good advantage, but there are many amusing situations that stem from the hero's desire to keep his baseball life a secret lest it break up his romance with the dean's daughter and cost him his chance to head the college's new research laboratory. Ray Milland is fine as the professor, and Paul Douglas, who made a hit in "Letter to Three Wives," contributes a ribtickling characterization as a lusty baseball catcher. It is a picture that should be enjoyed by all — young and old, male and female: — Milland, a poor but brilliant chemistry professor, works diligently on a special experiment in the hope that success will help him to become a director of the university's new research laboratory and thus give him enough money to marry Jean Peters, daughter of Ray Collins, the dean. When a baseball crashes through the laboratory window, smashing equipment and spilling the solution he had concocted, Milland is heartbroken. As he cleans up the mess, he notices that the baseball, saturated with the solution, had become wood repellent. He funnels the liquid into a bottle and, on the following morning, arranges with two of the college team's baseball players to meet him on the diamond. He soaks a small sponge with the liquid, places it in the palm of his hand, and slips on an old pitcher's glove with a small hole in it, enabling the fluid to seep through onto the ball. After striking out the players with ease, Milland takes a leave of absence from the university and heads for St. Louis, where he talks the owner of the Cardinals into giving him a tryout after claiming that he can win thirty games. He strikes out the batters with such ease that he is given a contract calling for payment of $1,000 for every game he wins. Playing under an assumed name, Milland tries desperately to keep his baseball activities a secret from Jean and her father, but his efforts only lead them to believe that he was mixed up in some shady enterprise until they learn the truth. Milland's victories help the team to win the pennant and play New York in the World Scries. The night before he is to pitch the deciding game, Milland discovers that Paul Douglas, his catcher and roommate, had used up the last of his magic solution in the belief that it was hair tonic. On the following day, Milland, by rubbing his hand through Douglas' hair for "good luck," barely manages to hold down the opposing team, finally winning the game with a spectacular bare-hand catch. His hand, however, is injured on the play, ending his career as a pitcher, but his future is assured with the news that he had been appointed head of the new research laboratory at the university. It was produced by William Perlberg and directed by Lloyd Bacon from a screen play by Valentine Davics, based on a story by Shirley W. Smith and Mr. Davics. Fine entertainment for the entire family.