Harrison's Reports (1949)

140 HARRISON'S REPORTS August 27, 1949 "Arctic Manhunt" with Mikel Conrad and Carol Thurston (Univ.-Int'l, May; time, 69 min.) Mediocre program fare. To its credit are some striking shots of the Alaskan ice-fields, as well as interesting scenes of the domestic and hunting habits of the Eskimos, but these are only incidental to the unfoldment of a weak and belabored adventure story about an ex-convict's efforts to recover stolen money he had hidden away in an Alaskan vil' lage. The slow-paced direction and the listless performances only add to the tedium. Another drawback is the fact that the players mean nothing at the box-office: — After serving a prison term for an armored car robbery, Mikel Conrad retrieves the loot he had hidden away and heads for Alaska to escape insurance agents who suspected that he may still have the money. He gets lost in the Arctic snowfields and, after many days of wandering, is finally rescued by a missionary (Jack George). Both head for an Eskimo village nearby, but on the way the missionary dies. Mikel proceeds alone. When he reaches the village, he soon discovers that the insurance agents are on his trail and that they were headed for the village. To allay suspicion, he poses as the dead missionary. He falls in love with Carol Thurston, an Eskimo girl trained in American schools. His masquerade is of no avail, however, when the agents finally catch up with him. Forsaking Carol, he flees with the money. He does not get far before he discovers that he is stranded on an ice floe, drifting out to sea. He drowns, taking the money with him. It was produced by Leonard Goldstein and directed by Ewing Scott. The screen play was written by Oscar Brodney and Joel Malone from Mr. Scott's story, "Narana of the North." There are no objectionable situations. "Woman Hater" with Stewart Grainger and Edwidge Feuillere (Univ.'lnt'l, July; time 69J/2 min.) A weak British-made sophisticated comedy. Even though its original running time of 10? minutes has been cut down to 69J/2 minutes for American consumption, the film remains a long drawn out, obviously contrived farce that tries but fails to be genuinely frivolous. Most of the comedy, slapstick and otherwise, is so forced that it falls flat. Moreover, it lacks the sparkling dialogue that usually tends to keep a farce amusing and interesting. Edwidge Feuillere, a chic French actress, and Stewart Grainger try hard to make something of the leading roles, but both are handicapped by the inadequacies of the script: — Grainger, a young aristocrat, mistrusts women. When Edwidge, a popular French film actress visits London and informs the press that she hates publicity and wants to be alone, Grainger tells his friends that it is a publicity fake since all women want attention and hate solitude. He ac cepts his cronies' challenge to put his theory to the test and sends a note to Edwidge inviting her to stay at his country estate if she wants to be alone. She accepts the invitation and goes there with her maid. Grainger, having arranged matters with his butler, presents himself as the estate's agent under as assumed name, this being part of his plan to prove that Edwidge, within a few days, will either send for companions to relieve her boredom, or will become interested in him. When Edwidge shows none of the reactions he expects, Grainger, desperate to prove his theory, attempts to become romantic with her, but his plan backfires and she goes off to her room in a furious mood. On the following morning Edwidge learns the truth about Grainger's identity through a chance meeting with the village vicar. She decides to teach him a lesson and, with the aid of her maid, sets out on a campaign to make him fall in love with her, then spurn his affections. But their schemes and counter-schemes turn out differently than both anticipated when each falls in love with the other for the inevitable happy ending. It is a J. Arthur Rank presentation, produced by William Sistrom and directed by Terence Young. The screen play was written by Robert Westerby and Nicholas Phipps, based on a story by Alec Coppel. The supporting cast is all-British. Adult fare. "Black Magic" with Orson Welles, Nancy Guild and Akim Tamiroff (United Artists, August 19; time, 105 min.) The outstanding feature about this historic costume melodrama, which was produced in Italy, is the extremely lavish production, both in costuming and settings. But it does not add up to much in the way of entertainment, for the thousands of extras, the pageantry, and the massive authentic palace backgrounds are not enough to cover up a story that is far-fetched, over-acted, and badly edited. As Cagliostro, an 18th Century charlatan who used his hypnotic powers ruthlessly in a search for wealth and power, Orson Welles plays the role with a flamboyancy that is reminiscent of the acting in the early silent movies. Most of the other players are equally as guilty of chew-the-scenery acting. The action does have its moments of excitement and sus' pense, brought about by his fantastic but unsuccessful intrigues against the Court of France, but on the whole it shapes up as a show that is highly theatrical, involved and confused, and upon which too much money and too big a cast has been spent: — Based on Alexandre Dumas' "Memoirs of a Physician," the story opens in Southern France with Cagliostro, as a boy, witnessing the hanging of his gypsy parents, who had been sentenced to death by the Viscomte de Montagne (Stephen Bekassy) for witchcraft. Years later, as head of a traveling gypsy fair, in which he performed as a magician, Cagliostro accidentally discovers that he has the power to hypnotize people. Dr. Mesmer (Charles Goldner), a famous physician, tries to induce Cagliostro to use his power for the healing of the sick, but he decides to exploit it for his own advancement and evil ends, as well as to seek revenge on de Montagne for the death of his parents. Cagliostro soon works his way to fame and fortune, and is looked upon as a god by the peasants because of his ability to heal their ailments. In the events that follow he crosses paths with de Montagne when that worthy asks him to revive Lorenza {Nancy Guild), a beautiful girl who had become seriously ill. Through hynosis, Cagliostro keeps the girl under his power and learns from her that she had been kidnapped because of her striking resemblance to Marie Antoinette (also played by Miss Guild), and that de Montagne, in league with Madame DuBarry (Margot Grahame), planned to use her in a political plot aimed at dethroning Marie and making DuBarry the Queen. Taking advantage of this knowledge, Cagliostro compels both de Montagne and DuBarry to make him a partner in their intrigue and to present him at the Court of Louis XV. He then uses his hypnotic powers to embark on an intrigue that would make him the most powerful figure in all France, but his devilish machinations backfire and eventually result in his imprisonment for treason. At the trial, he acts as his own lawyer and almost succeeds in vindicating himself by hypnotizing the witnesses, but he becomes a victim of hypnosis himself when Dr. Mesmer appears on the scene, hypnotizes him on the stand, and compels him to admit his villainies. He tries to escape, but he is engaged in a sword duel on the dome of the Palais de Justice and loses his life in a plunge to the street. It is an Edward Small presentation, produced and directed by Gregory Ratoff, from a screen play by Charles Bennett. The cast includes Frank Latimore, Valentina Cortese, Berry Kroeger, Raymond Burr and others. Unobjectionable morally.