Harrison's Reports (1949)

142 HARRISON'S REPORTS September 3, 1949 "Everybody Does It" with Linda Darnell, Paul Douglas and Celeste Holm (20th Century-Fox, Hov.; time, 98 min.) An hilarious marital comedy-farce, the type that should go over very well with sophisticated audiences as well as with the masses. The story, though far-fetched, is extremely comical, with the action revolving around a wife who wants to be a concert singer but lacks the talent, and a husband who tries to discourage her ambitions only to become a concert star himself when it is discovered that he has a fine baritone voice. The complications that result when he is induced by a sexy opera star to use his own talent to bring his wife to her senses give rise to situations that will provoke explosive laughter. The closing sequence, where he ruins his operatic debut because of a severe case of stage-fright, is a laugh riot, even though it is played in a slapstick vein. All in all, it is a highly mirthful entertainment, competently directed and acted by the players with zest: — Although happily married to Celeste Holm, a socialite, Paul Douglas, an aggressive wrecking contractor, makes every effort to discourage her from pursuing a singing career. Charles Coburn, her father, sides with him, because he had had the same problem with Celeste's mother (Lucile Watson). Despite Douglas" objections, Celeste arranges for a concert recital, and Douglas, to cover expenses, disposes of the tickets to friends and business acquaintances with the aid of Millard Mitchell, his partner. The plaudits of her friends lead Celeste to believe that the concert had been an outstanding success and, to Douglas' chagrin, she plans to arrange a concert tour. Having heard Celeste sing, Linda Darnell, an opera star attracted to the manly Douglas, invites him to her apartment to tell him that Celeste lacked talent. In the course of the visit, she discovers that he has an incredibly powerful singing voice, and suggests that he go in for a concert career in order to make Celeste give up her plans. Linda teaches him to sing, and later, under an assumed name, he joins her on a concert tour and proves to be a big success. Meanwhile Celeste flops miserably in her first public appearance. Believing that Douglas had been away on a business trip, Celeste, upon his return, tells him of her decision to abandon her career, but when she learns that he had become a concert star himself, and jumps to conclusions about his association with Linda, they quarrel and separate. Douglas decides to give up singing, but financial difficulties compel him to accept a lucrative offer to star in an opera with Linda. On opening night, however, stage fright causes him to lose his voice, and sedatives given to him by numerous friends make him stagger all over the stage. His operatic debut proves to be a bust, but it brings back Celeste, who rushes backstage to console him. They become reconciled and agree to forget their musical careers. The screen play, based on a story by James M. Cain, was written and produced by Nunnally Johnson, and directed by Edmund Goulding. The cast includes John Hoyt, George Tobias, Leon Belasco and others. Unobjectionable morally. "Task Force" with Gary Cooper, Jane Wyatt and Walter Brennan (Warner Bros., Sept. 24; time, 116 min.) Undoubtedly "Task Force" is in the box-office class. The main reasons for it are the three outstanding situations: the attack on Pearl Harbor, the naval and aviation battle at Midway, and the fierce battle at Okinawa. But the story is like yesterday's newspaper; it goes over incidents with which every one is familiar. It starts in 1921, when the late Captain Mitchell and a few other officers believed that planes could sink battleships, and were called down by the brass hats for their heretical views. Then comes the attack on Pearl Harbor to substantiate their views. After some slow action comes the battle at Midway. And after some more slow action comes the battle at Okinawa, in which Japanese suicide planes try to sink the American fleet. The three battles, which are photographed in Technicolor (the rest of the footage being black-and-white) are realistic, but the Okinawa battle exceeds them all; that battle alone is worth the price of admission. Much authentic Navy footage has been used to very good advantage in the combat scenes. Gary Cooper is fairly believable as a young officer, despite his age. As a matter of fact, the acting of all is good, thanks to the efficient direction: — Cooper, a young naval officer, is often reprimanded by his superiors because of his belief that aviation is the coming thing, as is his buddy, Walter Brennan. Both are among the first officers assigned to the U.S.S. Langlcy, the first naval carrier, in order to learn to take off and land on its limited length. While attending an admiral's party to make friends for aviation, Cooper has heated words with a publisher who did not believe in aviation, and offends a visiting Japanese officer by derogatory remarks about the Japanese. He is punished by being assigned to a desk job in Panama. At the party, however, he has a reunion with Jane Wyatt, widow of an aviator buddy. Both are in love, but Jane fears to marry another pilot. In 1931, Cooper, now assigned to the U.S.S. Saratoga, marries Jane and goes to Hawaii for a honeymoon. He is then assigned to the Naval Academy as an instructor, but his efforts to win the cadets to aviation are so intense that he is again reprimanded. Discouraged, he decides to resign, but Jane persuades him to remain in the service. With the attack on Pearl Harbor, Cooper is assigned aboard a carrier as operations officer. Planes from his carrier sink three Japanese carriers near Midway, and many months later, after a Senate Committee heeds his plea for more carriers, he joins a well-eq jipped task force in the attack on Okinawa. The Americans triumph, but Cooper's carrier is so crippled that the admiral orders abandonment. Cooper, however, manages to bring his blackened and twisted ship home. With the war over, he thanks his men for their courage, and goes to the waiting arms of Jane. The screen play was written and directed by Delmar Daves, and produced by Jerry Wald. The cast includes Wayne Morris, Bruce Bennett, Jack Holt, Stanley Ridges, Julie London and others. Suitable for the family. "Blondie Hits the Jackpot" with Arthur Lake and Penny Singleton (Columbia, no rel. date set; time, 65 min.) Slightly better than the average picture of this series. In the first part there is considerable emotion, caused by the concern of parents for their 14-year-old son. The mother wants the f ither to speak to the boy about the facts of life so that the lad may not get distorted information elsewhere, but every time the boy asks him what he wants to talk about the father can go no farther. The spat between Larry Sims and Ann Carter, 'teen-agers, is realistic, and most parents who see the picture will be amused by it, for they will see their own children in the same predicament. There are, of course, a number of silly situations but most of these create laughter: — Arthur Lake is told by Jerome Cowan, his employer, that Lloyd Corrigan, with whom he was negotiating a deal to construct a building, was giving a birthday party for Ann Carter, his daughter, and that it would be nice if Larry Sims, his son, would attend the party so as to facilitate the closing of the deal. At the party Larry and Ann have a spat when she makes fun of his dancing. Corrigan, finding Larry sad, informs him that his daughter is a spoiled brat and suggests that he give her a good shaking, demonstrating how it should be done. Just then Lake arrives and, thinking that Corrigan is mistreating the boy, punches him in the nose. Ann compels Cowan to discharge Lake, and then sees to it that he obtains no better than a menial job on the construction work. While Lake is doing his work, he discovers that the iron beams used in the construction were delective. He informs his wife (Penny Singleton), who in turn passes on the information to Corrigan. Penny and Corrigan rush to the building and save Lake from a beating by the guilty contractor and his: stooge. Ann, learning of Lake's noble deed, induces her father to insist that Cowan reemploy Lake at a bigger salary. She then becomes reconciled with Larry. It was produced by Ted Richmond and directed by Edward Bcrns from a screen play by Jack Henley, based on the comic strip "Blondie," created by Chic Young. Suitable for the family.