Harrison's Reports (1949)

174 HARRISON'S REPORTS October 29, 1949 "Challenge to Lassie" with Donald Crisp and Edmund Gwenn (MGM, December; time, 76 min.) "Quaint" is the word for this latest Techr.icolor Lassie picture, which is ideal fare for theatres that have played the previous Lassie films with success. The story, which has the simplicity of a bedtime tale, is pleasant and appealing, and it should be a treat for dog-lovers everywhere, particularly children. Most adults, however, will probably find its unhurried and unexciting pace too tame, aiid its sentiment a bit too sticky. Outstanding about the picture are the excellent production values and the magnificent outdoor seen' ery, enhanced by the very fine Technicolor photography. Edinburgh in 1859, at which time the story takes place, is depicted in a most effective way. Lassie, the remarkably intelligent collie dog, is very good. Heartwarming performances are turned in by Donald Crisp and Edmund Gwenn as two elderly Scotsmen vho befriend Lassie:— Chased by a larger dog through the streets of Edinburgh, Lassie, a stray collie pup, is rescued by Donald Crisp, a kindly sheepherder. Edmund Gwenn, a restaurant owner and Crisp's close -friend,advises, him. to take the dog home until it is claimed by its owner. The owner never appears and Crisp trains Lassie to be the finest sheep dog in the area. One day Crisp is attacked by two thugs and, despite Lassie's valiant assistance, succumbs to his injuries. He is buried in Greyfriar's Churchyard, and from that moment Lassie sleeps on his grave, returning each morning to eat at Gwenn's restaurant. This routine is interrupted by Reginald Owen, a police officer, who serves Gwenn with a summons for keeping an unlicensed dog. In court, Gwenn offers to pay for the license, but the magistrate will not permit it because the law provided that dogs without owners must be destroyed. Gwenn's demand that the case be heard by a higher court is granted, and Lassie is placed in Owen's custody. Lassie escapes from Owen, but at sunset, before the church gate is locked, she comes to the churchyard to sleep in her accustomed place. Owen attempts to retake the dog but is stopped by Arthur Shields, the minister, who promises to have Lassie in court on the day set for trial. The hearing before the higher court goes badly for Lassie when the judges, though moved by Gwenn's impassioned plea, rule that she must be destoyed in accordance with the law. Just then a group of children, to whom Lassie had endeared herself, burst into court and add their pleas. The presiding judge, embarrassed, finally comes up with a solution to the problem by appointing Lassie as a honorary citizen of Edinburgh, thus giving her the freedom of the city and eliminating the need for a license. It was produced by Robert Sisk and directed by Richard Thorpe from a screen play by William Ludwig, based on Eleanor Atkinson's novel, "Greyfriar's Bobby." The cast includes Geraldine Brooks, Ross Ford, Alan Napier and others. "Alias the Champ" with Robert Rockwell, Audrey Long and Barbara Fuller (Republic, October 15; time, 60 min.) A good program comedy, revolving around the wrestling game. The story itself is ordinary, but the wrestling matches more than make up for what the story lacks, for they are well staged, thrilling, and highly amusing. The film lends itself to exploitation, for it features, both in the wrestling matches and in the story, Gorgeous George, the famed wrestler, who has received considerable publicity because of his marcelled golden hair, glamorous robes, and valet, all of which is shown in the picture. Other wrestling personalities that should help the exhibitor sell the picture to wrestling enthusiasts include Bomber Kulkovich, Bobby Manogoff, George Temple, Super Swedish Angel, and Jack "Sockeye" McDonald. A mass brawl in a gym, in which the different wrestlers belabor each other with tactics that are just short of murder, is hilarious: — When Gorgeous George, the wrestling champion, refuses to sign a contract with Jim Nolan, racketeer head of an Eastern syndicate that sought to control wrestling on the west coast, he is threatened with death. Audrey Long, his manager, appeals to police inspector Robert Rockwell for protection, and soon finds himself the object of his attentions. Nolan, aware that Rockwell had an eye for a pretty girl, instructs Barbara Fuller, a night club singer, to make a play for him. Her efforts to vamp him involve Rockwell in several scraps with Sammy Menacker, her jealous wrestler boy-friend, but even her wiles are not enough to stop Rockwell from keeping Nolan in line. Nolan finally succeeds in tricking George into meeting Menacker in a championship match. Menacker dies during the furious battle, and George is accused of his murder and arrested, despite his vociferous contention that he could not have died from the beating. Rockwell, after a thorough investigation, absolves George by proving that the murder had been committed by Barbara with a poisoned pen given to Menacker at ringside when she asked him to sign her autograph book. Barbara's confession and implication of Nolan convict them both and bring about a major clean-up of the wrestling game in Los Angeles. It was produced by Stephen Auer and directed by George Blair from a screen play by Albert DeMond. Harmless for children. "The Threat" with Michael O'Shea, Virginia Grey and Charles McGraw (RKO, no rel. date set; time, 66 min.) This program gangster-type melodrama is well produced, directed, and acted, but it is an unpleasant entertainment, for the main character, an escaped convict, is as vicious and cold-blooded a character as has ever been seen on the screen. The story, which centers around the convict's brutal activities as he seeks to avenge himself on those who had sent him to prison for life, is loaded with suspense and has many tense moments, but it is the sort of picture that is best suited for those who do not object to realistic violence. Squeamish patrons will find it extremely unpleasant to watch a ruthless character, completely void of any sense of humaneness, shoot and torture people without hesitation : — Charles McGraw, a ruthless killer, breaks out of prison and determines to carry out his vow to get even with the three persons responsible for his conviction: Virginia Grey, who had betrayed him; Michael O'Shea, the detective who had arrested him; and Frank Conroy, the district attorney who had convicted him. Through a series of ingenious raids, McGraw, aided by Anthony Caruso and Frank Richards, kidnaps all three and prepares to take them to a hideout in the desert, where he planned to murder them as soon as an old henchman, an aviator, flew up from Mexico to take him to safety. With road-blocks set up by the police throughout the area, McGraw, at gunpoint, forces Don McGuire, a trucker, to take them to the hideout in a huge moving van. O'Shea's police car is driven into the van. They pass the road-blocks successfully, but later a motorcycle policeman flags down the overloaded van and is shot down. Knowing that the van can now be traced, McGraw abandons it and, by using O'Shea's police car, reaches the hideout unhindered. The three captives, including the trucker, desperately plot to escape, but McGraw ruthlessly blocks their every move, killing McGuire in the process. To get police planes away from the area, McGraw compels O'Shea to call headquarters over his car radio, pretend that, he, too, was on the trail, and to direct them to another location. In the same transmission, however, O'Shea includes a seemingly innocent message to his wife, Julie Bishop, which enables her to recognize his danger and to give the police a clue as to his whereabouts. But, before the police can arrive, Virginia manages to free O'Shea from his handcuffs. With her help, O'Shea, is a series of daring moves, disposes of McGraw's henchmen. He then tackles McGraw, only to be overpowered, but Virginia comes to the rescue by shooting McGraw with his own gun. It was produced by Hugh King and directed by Felix Feist. Mr. King wrote the story and collaborated on the screen play with Dick Irving Hyland. The cast includes Robert Shayne and others. Adult fare.