Harrison's Reports (1949)

204 HARRISON'S REPORTS December 17, 1949 CABART THEATRES CORPORATION 4425 Atlantic Avenue Long Beach 17, Calif. December 1, 1949 Mr. Pete Harrison, Editor Harrison's Reports 1270 Sixth Avenue New York 20, N. Y. Dear Pete: I am not very anxious to offer any defense for Columbia or Abe Montague for the manner in which they have handled the JOLSON SINGS AGAIN and their effort to have it run at higher prices, but it seems to me as though we should not pick on Abe too much, because he is merely following what someone else has already taught him. The real culprit on these higher admission prices since the entering of the decree is Sam Goldwyn. He is the one who initiated the higher prices and initiated resorting to subterfuges in order to get them. If you will investigate with the exhibitors you will find out that he resorted to the subterfuge of having theatres leased to him during the period of the engagement of BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, whether it was for one week or ten. This set the stage for increased admission prices regardless of the admonition of the government. It might be well also to look into the efforts being made by Paramount on SAMSON AND DELILAH. They very sanctimoniously tell you that they are not in any way sug' gesting higher admission prices for SAMSON AND DE' LILAH. On the other hand when they ask you to bid for the picture, you will find one of the questions you are supposed to answer is what prices do you propose to charge for this attraction, and I guarantee if you don't propose to charge higher prices than your regular admission VOLUNTARILY, you will find that they will ignore your request or bid for the picture. If they are sincere about not forcing higher admission prices, then why do they use it in this oblique manner? I am sure that it might not be amiss to call attention to what Goldwyn has already done, and what Paramount proposes to do, as well as to what Columbia is doing now. My very kind regards. Sincerely, (signed) Harry Arthur "Francis" with Donald O'Connor, Patricia Medina and Zasu Pitts (Univ.-Int'I, February; time, 91 min.) A highly amusing comedy. The idea of a talking U. S. Army mule who, during the war in Burma, tips off Japanese military movements to a not-too-bright young second lieutenant is admittedly fantastic and may not sound very funny on paper, but as presented it is packed with laughs from start to finish. Some of the situations are hilarious, particularly where the young soldier, compelled by his baffled commanding officer to reveal the source of his accurate information, invariably ends up in the psychopathic ward when he tells him the truth. Additional laughs stem from the fact that the commanding general eventually finds himself in a similar predicament. There is considerable humor in the good-natured fun that is poked at the Army itself. The treatment is so clever that after a while one accepts the idea of a talking mule and settles back to enjoy the preposterous but frolicsome proceedings. The writing, direction and acting are first-rate: — Wounded and lost behind enemy lines while serving in Burma, Donald O'Connor, a newly-commissioned second lieutenant, meets Francis, an Army mule, who talks to him and carries him back to safety. O'Connor tells his story to Ray Collins, his superior officer, who promptly sends him to the psycho ward, where Zasu Pitts, the nurse, keeps him busy weaving baskets. Eventually restored to duty, O'Connor is assigned to intelligence. The mule meets him once again, informs him of an enemy outpost nearby, and maps the strategy by which O'Connor captures it. Collins hails him as a hero, but sends him back to the psycho ward when he explains the mule's role in the exploit. From then on, O'Connor keeps getting out of the hospital, teaming up with the mule in master strokes of strategy, and going back to weaving baskets when he tells how it happened. John Mclntire, the commanding general, finally decides to investigate and, together with O'Connor, visits the mule, who until then had refused to speak to any one but O'Connor. The general, however, pulls rank and tricks the mule into talking. Amazed, he tells the story to other officers and war correspondents, only to find himself in the same spot as O'Connor — a candidate for the psycho ward. After many complications, however, the mule saves the situation by talking up in front of the correspondents. It ends with O'Connor taking the mule back home after the war, and with his civilian life becoming complicated because of skeptics who hear rumors that the animal can talk. It was produced by Robert Arthur and directed by Arthur Lubin from a screen play by David Stern, who adapted it from his own novel. The voice of the mule is that of Chill Wills. Fine for the entire family. "Sands of Iwo Jima" with John Wayne, John Agar and Adele Mara (Republic, no reJ. date set; time, 110 min.) A spectacular war melodrama, produced on a big scale, but as entertainment it is no more than fair because of the commonplace story and treatment. It may, however, do pretty good business because of the attractive title and the popularity of John Wayne. The outstanding parts of the picture are the thrilling battle sequences, which show the American forces beating back the Japanese to capture the islands of Tarawa and Iwo Jima. These have been staged effectively and with considerable excitement, but the blazing action lacks a real dramatic punch because of individual heroics that smack too much of the Hollywood touch. Although the direction and acting are competent, the story is weak and the stock characterizations unconvincing. Its 110 minutes running time is much too long. The photography is excellent. The story, which is episodic, traces the experiences and personal dramas of a Marine platoon from combat training to the historic flag-raising episode on Mt. Suribachi during the Iwo Jima battle. Cast in the principal roles are John Wayne, as a sergeant, a seasoned campaigner whose ruthless training tactics make the relationship between him and his men incompatible; John Agar, as a private, whose dead father had been Wayne's commanding colonel; Adele Mara, as an Australian girl who finds romance with Agar and marries him before he goes into battle; and Forrest Tucker, as a veteran Marine who had long been at odds with Wayne. Other trainees in the platoon include Richard Webb, Hal Fieberling, Peter Coe, James Brown and Wally Cassell, men of Italian, Greek, Irish and Jewish descent. Worked into the story is Wayne's silent grief over the fact that he was separated from his wife and child, and his personal conflict with Agar, who rejects his friendship and resents his extravagant praise of his father, a man who had always considered him (Agar) as being too soft. After numerous incidents in training camp, on leave, and in battle, all concerned come to the realization that Wayne is fundamentally human and that he had to be a tough disciplinarian to condition them for their own protection as well as the protection of the platoon as a whole. The story comes to a tragic end with Wayne's death in the midst of battle. It was produced by Edmund Grainger and directed by Allan Dwan from a story by Harry Brown, who wrote the screen play in collaboration with James Edward Grant. Suitable for the entire family.