Harrison's Reports (1949)

October 15, 1949 HARRISON'S REPORTS 167 "Intruder in the Dust" with David Brian and Claude Jarman, Jr. (MGM, October; time, 87 min.) A powerful melodrama, one that should attract consider' able attention because of its frank and realistic treatment of racial inequality and lynch problems in the deep South. It is not a pleasant entertainment, but it holds one fascinated throughout because of the superb handling of the theme by producer-director Clarence Brown, and the fine acting by the entire cast. Although the picture does not probe into the racial question, its story about a Negro landowner who is framed on a murder charge does, nevertheless, put a powerful spotlight on the ugliest aspects of racial prejudice in its depiction of the sadistic attitudes of the "superior" whites towards the Negro. The action is charged with suspense and excitement from start to finish, and the authentic backgrounds of a typical Southern town lend considerable impact to the drama. Several of the sequences, which deal with the exhumation of a corpse, are extremely gruesome and may prove too shocking to those with weak stomachs: — Juano Hernandez, a Negro landowner, is arrested for the murder of David Clarke, a local lumberman; Hernandez had been found by the body, and he had is his possession a revolver, from which one shot had been fired. As he is led to jail, Hernandez calls to Claude Jarman, Jr., a white boy he had once befriended, and tells him that he wants to see David Brian, the lad's uncle, who was a lawyer. Although reluctant to defend Hernandez because of the high feeling in town, Brian goes to see him at the insistence of Claude. He is jeered by the townspeople, headed by Charles Kemper, the dead man's brother, with whom everyone agreed that Hernandez, as a "nigger," must be taken from jail and burned alive. Hernandez, unable to get Brian to agree to do an unspecified "chore" for him, tells Brian no more than that the dead man, before being killed, had beaten him to make him identify a man who had been stealing lumber from him. When he refuses to identify the man lest he interfere in white folks' affairs, Brian leaves in a huff. Later, Claude asks Hernandez about the "chore," and he is asked to dig up the body to prove that the bullet was not fired from his gun. The lad, aided by Elizabeth Patterson, an elderly friend, and a young Negro boy, opens the grave and finds the coffin empty. This discovery convinces Brian and Will Geer, the sheriff, of Hernandez's innocence. They set out to find the body and, with the help of Porter Hall, the dead man's father, locate it in the quicksand of a creek nearby. The bullet taken from the body proves Hernandez's innocence. Determined to trap the killer, the sheriff announces that Hernandez had been freed and that he had returned to his cabin. He keeps the Negro in jail, however, and stations himself in the cabin together with Hall. As expected, the real killer arrives to silence Hernandez forever. He proves to be Kemper, the dead man's brother. As Kemper is brought to jail, the townspeople shamefacedly walk away from the building. The screen play was written by Ben Maddow, based on the novel by William Faulkner. Adult fare. "Fighting Man of the Plains" with Randolph Scott, Victor Jory and Jane Nigh (20th. Century-Fox, >Jov.; time, 94 min.) Fair. Although the Cinecolor photography enhances its scenic values and provides an extra selling point, this bigbudget western is burdened by a hackneyed story and offers nothing unusual. It should, however, go over well in theatres that cater to the dyed-in-the-wool western addicts who do not mind if pictures of this type are cut from a familiar pattern as long as they have the customary fast-riding, fisticuffs and gunplay. As an outlaw who turns to the side of law and order, although he does so by means that are ethically questionable, Randolph Scott gives his usual effective performance as a tight-lipped, two-fisted hero. The others in the cast adequately meet the demands of their roles: — Scott, a member of Quantrcll's Raiders during the Civil War, catches up with a man who had killed his brother and avenges himself by killing the man. After the war, Scott learns that Barry Kelley, a power in the town of Lanyard, Kansas, was the man who had killed his brother, and that he had avenged himself on Kelley's brother by mistake. Scott becomes a fugitive, wanted for murder, and after nine years he is captured by James Millican, a private detective hired by Kelley through an agency. En route to headquarters, Scott and Millican are swept off a ferry during a rough river crossing, and Millican dies. Handcuffed to the dead man, Scott manages to crawl up a river bank, where he is found by Victor Jory and Jane Nigh, partners in a Lanyard gambling house. He assumes Millican's identity, passes off the dead man as himself, and later "resigns" from the detective agency through a field office. With his new identity thus established, Scott settles down in Lanyard, where he is soon appointed as marshall by the townspeople after he courageously subdues a gang of drunken cowboys. This disappoints Kelley, who had Bill Williams, his ruthless henchman, in mind for the job. Scott becomes friendly with Jory and Jane, who reveal that they know his identity but keep it to themselves. In the course of events, Scott learns that Kelley, in cahoots with the town's crooked judge, had hatched a scheme to defraud cattlemen in the area. He breaks up the plot, but in doing so comes to grips with a former member of Quantrell's Raiders, who reveals his identity. Williams, acting on Kelley's orders, takes over the job of marshall, arrests Scott, and prepares to hang him, killing Jory when he interferes. Just then Jesse James (Dale Robertson), an old friend of Scott's, rides into town in the nick of time, rescuing Scott and scattering Williams and his men. It ends with Scott's reappointment as marshall, and with his marriage to Jane. It was produced by Nat Holt and directed by Edwin L. Marin from an original screen play by Frank Gruber. Questionable for children because it glorifies outlaws. "Zamba" with Jon Hall, June Vincent and Beau Bridges (Eagle-Lion, September; time, 71 min.) An artificial program jungle thriller, best suited for children at a Saturday matinee, for its story about a young boy lost in the jungle and about bis encounters with wild animals provides the kind of thrills the youngsters will enjoy. Others, however, will find it boresome, not only because of the completely far-fetched proceedings, but also because of the ordinary treatment and of the trite dialogue, against which the players put up a hopeless struggle. An effort has been made to work some comedy into the story, but the result is pretty sad. Considerable stock footage of wild animal scenes in the jungle has been blended into the action in a fairly effective way: — Accompanied by Beau Bridges, her six-year-old son, June Vincent flies over the Belgian Congo, en route to visit her sister, Jane Nigh, who worked in Nairobi. Motor trouble compels both mother and son to bail out of the plane, and they become separated as they land in the dense jungle. June, after a harrowing experienca with lions, is rescued by a safari headed by Jon Hall and George Cooper, wild animal collectors, who take the unconscious woman to their compound, unaware that her boy, too, was in the jungle. The youngster, having suffered a head injury that had caused him to lose his memory, is found and adopted by Zamba, a huge gorilla. He lives happily playing with baby chimps and lion cubs, while Zamba, always on guard, protects him from ferocious beasts. Meanwhile June recovers and, aided by Hall and Cooper, starts an intensive search for the lad. Hall locates the boy, but Zamba, always on the alert, prevents the rescue. After many weeks of searching, June meets the child in the jungle, but he does not recognize her and runs away. She pursues him to a cave high in the cliffs, where he lived with Zamba. The gorilla attacks June, and, in the excitement that follows, the boy suffers ahother blow on the head. He recovers his memory in time ^to save his mother from death at the hands of Zamba. It was produced by Maurice H. Conn and directed by William Berke, from a screen play by Barbara Worth. Harmless for children.