Harrison's Reports (1949)

98 HARRISON'S REPORTS June 18, 1949 "House of Strangers" with Edward G. Robinson, Susan Hayward and Richard Conte (20th Century-Fox, July; time, 101 min.) A gripping drama, excellently produced, directed and acted. Although it has some touches of humor, it is not a cheerful entertainment by virtue of the fact that the story, which revolves around the disintegration of a family, is one of hate and revenge, pitting father against sons and brothers against brothers. The situations, however, are so powerfully dramatic and the acting so superior that one's attention is gripped throughout every minute of the proceedings. As the tyrannical father, an Italian immigrant who becomes a wealthy New York East Side banker, and who rules the family with an iron will, Edward G. Robinson gives an exceedingly fine performance, probably , the best in his career; he arouses considerable sympathy, despite his faults and shortcomings. There are a number of pathetic scenes, particularly those that show the mother's anguish over the hatred that arises between her husband and their sons, as well as among the sons themselves. Forceful performances are contributed by Richard Conte, as the only son who comes to the aid of his father, and by Susan Hayward, as his girl-friend, who succeeds in getting the hate for his brothers out of Conte's system. The tone is somber, but those who will see the picture will be so impressed that word-of -mouth advertising should make it a top box-office attraction. Told partly in flashback, the story depicts Robinson as a domineering individual who rules both his bank and his family with an autocratic hand. Working with him are his four sons, Richard Conte, Luther Adler, Paul Valentine and Efrem Zimbalist. He shows confidence in Conte, an attorney, but looks upon his other three sons as weaklings and makes their lives miserable. He helps the poor people of the neighborhood by granting loans to them without collateral but charges them exorbitant interest. As a result of his methods, the state bank examiners find him in violation of the banking act, and a grand jury indicts him on twenty-one counts. Conte appeals to his brothers to take some of the blame to save their father, but they flatly refuse, claiming that he had always treated them like dogs. Robinson disowns them. Conte takes over the defense of his trial and, in an effort to save him from jail, pleads with Adler to offer a bribe to one of the jurors. Adler refuses. Conte decides to offer the bribe himself, only to be picked up by the police, tipped off by Adler. With Conte sent to prison for seven years, Adler and his two brothers, through trickery, take over the bank and throw out their father without a penny. Burning with hatred, Robinson weakens and dies, but not before he visits Conte and elicits a promise of revenge. Upon his release from jail Conte maps out a plan of revenge, but Susan Hayward, his sweetheart, threatens to leave him unless he forgets his hate and goes away with her to another city. He decides to accede to her wishes, but before he can do so he is attacked by his brothers, who plan to kill him lest he kill them first. Though badly injured, he manages to stagger away from them and joins Susan to start a new life. A brief synopsis cannot do justice to the many dramatic angles contained in the finely written story, such as the incidents involving the family's home life, the turbulent romance between Conte and Miss Hayward, and Robinson's sincere belief that he was helping not hurting either his friends or his family by his methods. It was produced by Sol C. Siegel and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz from a screen play by Philip Yordan, based on a novel by Jerome Weidman. Adult fare. "Stallion Canyon" with Ken Curtis (Astor Pictures, June; time, 72 min.) Photographed in Trucolor, "Stallion Canyon" is a fast-moving, action-filled program Western that should easily satisfy the undiscriminating action fans. The production is not without its weaknesses, and the story is routine, but these are overcome by its full quota of hard riding, quick shooting, and exciting fist fights. Some of the situations are suspensive; some appealing. The picture has been photographed in the Kanab section of Utah, and most of the scenes, enhanced by Trucolor photography, possess grandeur : — Just as Ken Curtis and his men finish rounding up a herd of wild horses for the Curley Q Ranch owned by Alice Richey, Thunderhead, a wild stallion trained by Little Bear (Billy Hammond), Curtis' Indian friend opens the corral and stampedes the horses. Suspecting that the stallion was let loose purposely by some one who sought to hurt Miss Richey, Curtis and Little Bear find reason to center their suspicions on Forrest Taylor, who hoped to foreclose the ranch if a debt owed to him by Miss Richey was not paid on time. To prevent Little Bear from learning too much about his activities, Taylor kills one of his own men and frames Little Bear for the murder. The Indian is arrested, and Curtis, learning that a dum-dum bullet had been used in the killing, determines to find the killer and thus save Little Bear. Meanwhile Miss Richey decides to save her ranch by entering a horse in the Stockmen's Race against a horse owned by Taylor. Curtis suggests that she choose Thunderhead as her horse. Shortly thereafter, Curtis, shot at during a quarrel with Taylor, learns that a dum-dum bullet had been fired at him. With this conclusive evidence of Taylor's guilt, Curtis obtains Little Bear's release in time for him to ride Thunderhead to victory and save the ranch. Taylor and his henchmen, cornered, attempt to escape, but all are killed in a thrilling climax. It is a Kanab Pictures production, directed by Harry Fraser from an original screen play by Hy Heath. Suitable for the entire family. "Kazan" with Stephen Dunne and Lois Maxwell (Columbia, July 14; time, 65 min.) A bloodthirsty sort of picture, in which a mob is shown crying for a fight between two dogs, expecting to see blood in all its vicious cruelty. With the exception of some scenes where fights take place between the dog Kazan and some wolves, the action in general is long drawn out and uninteresting. The snow scenes are well done and the outdoor scenery is beautiful. There is nothing pleasant about the story, and the cruelty of the mob is revolting. The flashbacks, as used, confuse the plot. The photography is good : — Stephen Dunne, a government conservation agent, arrives in a small mining town in Northwest Canada and comes upon a howling, milling crowd. In the center of the crowd he sees two cages, one containing a Great Dane, and the other Kazan, a huge Malamute dog. Believing that Kazan is a wolf, the miners and trappers eagerly buy tickets to witness a fight between the two dogs. Realizing that Kazan is not a wolf but a genuine dog, Dunne offers to buy him but his owner and the crowd laugh at him. In flashback, the adventurous history of Kazan is shown, beginning from the time that a snow avalanche buries his master.