Harrison's Reports (1949)

October 29, 1949 HARRISON'S REPORTS 175 "A Dangerous Profession" with George Raft, Pat O'Brien and Ella Raines (RKO, no rel. date set; time, 79 min.) A fair murder mystery melodrama, of program grade, the sort that manages to excite audience interest without offering a logical explanation for much that happens. But in spite of the fact that the story is complex and the motivation not too clear, it generates enough excitement and suspense to satisfy the undiscriminating followers of this type of film fare. The title refers to the fact that the hero of the piece in a professional bail-bondsman, and at the beginning one gets the impression that the story will be about the bail bond business, but it turns out to be a rather formula crime melodrama in which bail bonds play a minor role. George Raft, as the hero, does his usual capable job in a made-toorder tight-lipped tough guy part, as does Pat O'Brien, as his partner. Ella Raines, for whose sake Raft becomes involved with the criminals, meets the demands of her stereotyped role: — Raft, a former policeman and O'Brien's partner in a bail bond business, accompanies James Backus, a detective friend, on a search of the apartment of Bill Williams, a brokerage clerk picked up by the police as a suspect in a securities robbery in which a policeman had been killed. Raft, after learning that Williams was married to Ella Raines, a former sweetheart who had left him without explanation, leaves his business card in the apartment. Ella visits his office on the following morning, insists that Williams is innocent, and begs Raft to get him out on bail, which had been set at $25,000. Raft refuses when she can put up only $4,000, but later, when an unidentified man puts up an additional $12,000, he makes up the balance out of the firm's funds, despite O'Brien's objections. Shortly after his release, Williams is murdered. Fearing for Ella's safety, Raft starts an investigation. A complex series of clues lead him to suspect Robert Gist, a hoodlum associated with Roland Winters, a shady cafe owner. Suspecting that Winters was fronting for the crooks in the robbery, and that he had brought about Williams' death to keep him quiet, Raft throws a bluff and demands a heavy bribe from Winters to keep silent himself. Additionally, he insists that he be given the chance to "rub out" Gist for murdering Williams and the policeman. Winters, to save his own neck, agrees to pay Raft the bribe and tricks Gist into going for a ride. Meanwhile Raft, through Ella, gets word to the police to trail his car. The plan backfires when Gist, realizing that he had been tricked, kills Winters and prepares to finish Raft, but Raft subdues him after a fierce struggle and turns him over to the police. Ella and Raft resume their old romance. It was produced by Robert Sparks and directed by Ted Tetzlaff, from a screen play by Martin Rackin and Warren Duff. Adult fare. "Prison Warden" with Warner Baxter and Anna Lee (Columbia, no rel. date set; time, 62 min.) Just a minor program melodrama. Those who look for exciting action will find it tiresome, for it is given more to talk than to movement. Revolving around the efforts of a newly-appointed warden to clean up conditions in a mismanaged prison, while his wife schemes secretly to aid a convict, her former sweetheart, the story is rather implausible. Moreover, it is developed in a weak manner and fails to carry a dramatic punch. Parts of the picture seem lifeless, but the meager story material, not the players, is to be blamed: — To clean up a situation created by rebellious prisoners and bribe-taking prison guards, Warner Baxter accepts an appointment as warden of a State penitentiary. He is unaware, however, that Anna Lec, his bride of three months, had married him because she hoped that he would accept the appointment so that, as his wife, she would be in a position to help Harlan Warde, a former sweetheart serving a fiveyear term for embezzlement. Anna believed him innocent of the crime. Baxter, on the advice of the captain of the guards, rejects Anna's request that Warde be appointed as her chauffeur, but later, when two disgruntled convicts try to kill him and Warde saves his life, he rewards the man by giving him the appointment as Anna's chauffeur. Once out of prison, while taking Anna to town, Warde suggests to her that she flee with him to Mexico. She rejects the idea, urging him to wait for a parole. He then discloses that he is guilty of the crime and, against her will, compels her to accompany him. Completely disillusioned, Anna tries to prevent the escape and is thrown from the speeding car. Meanwhile Baxter, informed that Anna had not been driven to her distination, sends out an alarm. The police set up road-blocks and give chase when they spot Warde's car. He tries desperately to escape, but he is hit by police bullets; his car goes out of control and he dies in the crash. Anna recovers from her injuries and, with a new appreciation of her husband's love, goes on to help him with his prison work. It was produced by Rudolph C. Flothow and directed by Seymour Friedman from a screen play by Eric Taylor. The cast includes James Flavin, Harry Antrim and others. Ethically, it is not a good picture for children. "The Story of Seabiscuit" with Shirley Temple, Lon McCallister and Barry Fitzgerald (Warner Bros., J^ov. 12; time, 93 min.) Biographical of Seabiscuit, the famous race horse, this Technicolor production shapes up as a generally dull entertainment, mainly because a hackneyed plot, weak and talky, has been woven into the history of this great horse. Even when the picture deals solely with the horse and its exploits, it is no more than mildly interesting, and never really thrilling. It becomes even more static, however, when it deals with the tepid romance and conflict between Lon McCallister, the horse's jockey, and Shirley Temple, the trainer's niece, who insists that he give up racing before she will marry him. Neither the acting nor direction is outstanding. On the credit side of the film is the sly humor of Barry Fitzgerald, as Seabiscuit's Irish trainer, and the good Technicolor photography, which gives the breeding farms, race tracks and other backgrounds considerable eye appeal. Woven into the footage, in sepiatone, are newsreel clips of Seabiscuit winning two actual races: — Barry Fitzgerald, an Irish trainer of steeplechase horses, arrives in the United States with Shirley, his niece, to accept a post as assistant trainer on a horse breeding farm owned by William Forrest. Shirley objected to racing because her brother, a jockey, had been killed accidentally in a steeplechase race, and for that reason restrains herself when Lon McCallister, a jockey, falls in love with her. Meanwhile a natural rivalry develops between Fitzgerald and Donald MacBride, Forrest's head tainer, particularly after Fitzgerald, against MacBride's wishes, persuades Forrest not to sell Seabiscuit, a yearling, in whom he saw the makings of a great race horse. Fitzgerald trains Seabiscuit personally, but the horse does badly and is eventually offered for sale. Fitzgerald falls ill and goes to Calitornia, where he accepts a position as head trainer for Pierre Watkin, another horse breeder. He induces Watkin to buy Seabiscuit and to engage Lon. Seabiscuit begins to win race after race and before long becomes the country's top purse-winner. Lon, meanwhile, pursues Shirley, now a nurse in a Los Angeles hospital. One day Lon is injured in a race and taken to Shirley's hospital. She nurses him back to health and falls deeply in love with him, but refuses to marry him unless he gives up racing. Lon bows to her wishes, and she accepts his engagement ring. A problem arises, however, when it is discovered that Seabiscuit was without a suitable jockey for the most important race of his career. Lon agrees to ride the horse after Fitzgerald promises to fix things with Shirley, but Fitzgerald procrastinates and Shirley breaks the engagement. When Lon rides Seabiscuit to victory, however, Shirley, prodded by Fitzgerald, reconciles with him for the happy ending. It was produced by William Jacobs and directed by David Butler from a screen play by John Taintor Footc. The cast includes Rosemary DeCamp and others. Unobjectionable morally.