Harrison's Reports (1949)

138 HARRISON'S REPORTS August 27, 1949 "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad" (RKO, no rel. date set; time, 68 min.) Excellent! Walt Disney has come through with another winner in this all-animated Technicolor feature, which is divided into two separate stories of approximately equal length, and which utilizes the voices ot such actors as Bing Crosby, Basil Rathbone, and Eric Blore to fine advantage. Both stories, based on two famous literary works, are ideally suited to the Disney brand oi craltsmanship, and the result is a gay and colorlul show that is sure to delight not only the chiiuren but also adults. The picture bears comparison with the best of Disney's other ieature-length cartoons and, technically, it is iar superior to all ol them. As in the other pictures, it is the original Disney characters and the ingenious touches that iascinate one. The first story, narrated by Basil Rathbone, is taken from Kenneth Urahame's Lnghsh lairy tale, "The Wind and the Willows, ' ana revolves around the giddy adventures of J. Thaddeus Toad, a wealthy sportsman and seeker ot perpetual excitement, whose extravagances and wild escapades are a constant source oi worry to his three staunch iriends, McBadger, Water Rat, and Mole, whose efforts to keep him out oi trouble are in vain, iie gives up his madcap adventures in a (jypsy cart pulled by his rallish horse companion, Cyril, when he takes a tancy to a snappy motor car owned by a gang ol Weasels and, in a reckless deal, trades his vast estate tor the auto. It proves to be a stolen car, and its possession quickly lands him in jail alter a larcical trial. How he escapes irom the jail, outruns his pursuers, recovers the deed to his property, arid proves his innocence after a riotous battle with the Weasels is so cleverly and humorously depicted that one is kept howling with glee throughout. All the characters speak with English accents, and their British mannerisms are burlesqued in a highly diverting way. The second story, narrated by Bing Crosby, is derived from Washington Irving's "Legend oi Sieepy Hollow'' and deals with the adventures ot Ichabod Crane, a grotesque itinerant Yankee school teacher, who becomes the laughing stock of a little Hudson River village because of his queer ways, but who cleverly pries his way into the social hie oi the community by catering to those who count. A selfassured fellow, Ichabod takes to courting the buxom daughter of a rich Dutch farmer in the hope that he will one day inherit his wealth. The courtship is resented by the town bully who, learning that Ichabod is terrified at the thought of ghosts and goblins, relates to him the horrifying legend of the headless horseman, who rides the Sleepy Hollow glens in search of a new head. How Ichabod encounters the headless horseman and meets his end makes for one of the most thrilling chases ever invented. The animation in this chase sequence is so imaginative that one forgets that he is watching a cartoon and ieels as if the characters are real. For the most part this chase is highly comical, but parts of it are so vividly terrifying that it may either frighten little children or give them nightmares. Bing Crosby's flip comments in the narration are delightfully humorous, and his singing of several songs that have been worked into the tale is first-rate. Walt Disney's technical staff deserves credit for the masterful way in which the picture has been produced; one cannot help but marvel anew at their ability. "Sword in the Desert" with Dana Andrews, Marta Toren and Stephen MclNaliy (Univ.-lnt'l, no rel. date set; time. 100 min.) A stirring melodrama, revolving around the fight carried on by the Jews in Palestine to establish a homeland for themselves during the British enlorcement of the Mandate. It is a highly interesting and touching account of a valiant struggle, with most of the action centering around the underground's efforts to safeguard a group of weary European Jewish "illegals," smuggled into the country despite the British patrols. The action resolves itself into an exciting manhunt that is loaded with thrills, particularly in the closing scenes where the "illegals," captured by the British, are liberated by the underground after a furious battle. Because of the story's nature, sympathy flows to the Jewish side, but the producer has wisely depicted the British soldiers, not as villains, but as men doing their duty. The direction and acting are first-rate, and the desert backgrounds give the proceedings an authentic atmosphere: — Dana Andrews, an American sea captain, smuggles a cargo of Jewish refugees to the coast of Palestine, where he is compelled to flee inland with Stephen McNally, an underground member, in order to escape capture by the British. At a desert hideout he meets Jeff Chandler, the secret under ground leader, and Marta Toren, McNally's sweetheart, whose daily radio broadcasts inspired the resistance movement. Since he had done the smuggling only for money, Andrews feels no sympathy for the refugees or their cause and, against Chandler's orders, uses Marta's transmitter to send instructions to his ship. British patrol cars, having picked up the broadcast, converge on the hideout and capture Marta while all the others escape. Later, however, all the others are captured, except McNally, and taken to a stockade. Meanwhile Hugh French, by impersonating a British officer, effects Marta's escape. The British, unable to identify Chandler from among the captured prisoners, attempt to compel Andrews to identify him, but Andrews, regretting the damage he had already done, and having been won over to the cause, refuses to betray Chandler despite threats of dire consequences. Meanwhile McNally and French had set up an ingenious plan to free their captured colleagues. They launch a furious attack on the stockade and catch the British by surprise. Losses on both sides are heavy, but the break is effective and most of the prisoners gain their freedom. Andrews, who had saved Chandler's life during the battle, sets out to rejoin his ship, but he promises to support the cause by smuggling in more refugees. Robert Bruckner wrote the original screen play and produced it, and George Sherman directed it. Suitable for the family. "White Heat" with James Cagney, Virginia Mayo and Edmund O'Brien (Warner Bros., Sept. 3; time, 114 min.) Insofar as production, direction and acting are concerned, this is a top crime melodrama; but it can hardly be classified as entertainment, for it is one of the most vicious and demoralizing pictures ever produced, despite the crime-doesnot-pay ending. This reviewer doubts whether a more coldblooded killer than the gangster portrayed by James Cagney in this film has ever been shown on the screen. A homicidal maniac, he shoots down any one at the slightest provocation without any show of remorse. There are many ugly situations throughout, and both in action and in talk the picture is brutal and, at times, obscene. Except for the Federal agents, there is not one character in the picture who arouses sympathy. The "hero's" mother is shown as being thrilled by her son's murderous exploits and goading him on to commit even greater crimes. His wife is shown as an unfaithful sexy blonde who runs away with one of his henchmen, whom she later sets up for the "kill" in order to save her own neck. The efforts of the Federal men to capture the gang, and the scientific methods they employ are highly interesting. But this is not enough to overcome the bad taste with which one is left by the picture as a whole. It is definitely not a picture for either young children, adolescents, or squeamish adults: — Cagney, a homicidal paranoiac, braggart, and gang leader, engineers a daring mail train robbery and cold-bloodedly kills tour trainmen in the process. He goes into hiding with his gang, his wife (Virginia Mayo), and his doting mother (Margaret Wycherly), but when Federal agents get hot on his trail he decides to turn himself in for a lesser unsolved crime committed in another state on the day of the train holdup. He is given a one-year prison sentence, but his scheme does not fool the Federal men, who were aware that he was trying to beat a murder rap. One of the agents, Edmund O'Brien, poses as a criminal and becomes Cagney's cellmate in order to watch his movements. During his prison tenure, Cagney's wife runs away with Steve Cochran, one of his henchmen. His mother, having vowed to avenge the wrong done to her son, is shot dead when she tries to break up the affair. The news of her death puts Cagney in an insane frenzy, causing him to lead a daring escape from jail together with O'Brien and several of the convicts. He immediately tracks down Virginia and Cochran, whom he shoots dead on sight, but he spares Virginia when she makes use of her physical charms. Cagney and the convicts resume their business of crime, and O'Brien becomes his most trusted lieutenant. When an ingenious plan is laid for the payroll holdup of a huge chemical plant, O'Brien, through make-shift electronic equipment, gets word to his Federal colleagues. The gangsters, caught within the gates of the plant, put up a fight, but all, except Cagney, either surrender or are shot down. Cagney, wounded and crazed, climbs to the top of a massive gas-filled aluminum sphere into which he discharges his gun and is blown to bits in the ensuing explosion. Louis F. Edelman produced it and Raoul Walsh directed it from a screen play by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, suggested by a story by Virginia Kellogg.