Harrison's Reports (1950)

6 HARRISON'S REPORTS "Riding High" with Bing Crosby, Charles Bickford and Coleen Gray (Paramount, April; time, 112 min.) Very good! It is a remake of "Broadway Bill," the horse racing story, which Frank Capra produced and directed for Columbia in 1934. This version, also produced and directed by Mr. Capra, is as good and even better than the original, for the leading role is a "natural" for Bing Crosby, whose easygoing style and nonchalant glibness give the picture much of its charm. The story, which is pretty much the same as the original, is a delightful mixture of comedy, romance and human interest, with the race sequence at the finish, where the horse wins by forcing the reins out of the hands of a crooked jockey who was trying to hold him back, extremely thrilling. A highly dramatic and pathetic sequence is at the end of the race, when the roaring crowd comes to a sudden hush as the horse, after crossing the finish line, drops dead from over-exertion. The different race track characters played by Raymond Walburn, William Demarest, James Gleason, Percy Kilbride and Oliver Hardy are colorful and comical. Coleen Gray, as the girl who loves Crosby, is charming. Worked into the proceedings to good effect are several catchy songs, with one, "Bake a Sunshine Cake," destined to become a hit: — Engaged to Frances Gifford, Crosby, a lover of race horses, hates the paperbox business he had been forced into by Charles Bickford, his wealthy prospective father-in-law. He rebels against Bickford's iron rule and, despite Frances' protests, forsakes the business to train "Broadway Bill," a horse he owned, for the Derby. Coleen Gray, Frances" younger sister, in love with Crosby, applauds his stand and follows him to the racetrack to give him and Clarence Muse, his groom, a hand with the horse. Because of his lack of funds, Crosby finds himself in many difficulties trying to meet feed bills and the entry fee, but he manages to get by through the conniving of several track pals, plus the little financial help given him by Coleen. A leaky roof in the old stable causes the horse to become seriously ill, but Crosby seemingly gets him back into shape in time for the race. The jockey, in league with crooked gamblers, tries to hold "Broadway Bill" back, but the plucky horse breaks his grip and comes in the winner. Crosby's joy turns to sorrow when the horse falls dead. Broken-hearted, he goes away, but a few months later, with two new horses in tow, he returns to Bickford's house to claim, not Frances, but Coleen. Bickford, fed up with his business enterprises and his fawning family, joins them to live a carefree life. Robert Riskin wrote the screen play from the story by Mark Hellinger. The cast includes Margaret Hamilton, Douglas Dumbrille, Ward Bond, Frankie Darro and others. Unobjectionable morally. "Borderline" with Fred MacMurray, Claire Trevor and Raymond Burr (Univ.-Int'l, January; time, 88 min.) Just fair. It is a melodrama centering around a policewoman and a Federal narcotics agent who, separately assigned to track down a dope smuggling ring, believe each other to be members of the ring. The story idea is good, and if played as a straight comedy, it might have been highly entertaining, but it tries to be both serious and comical and fails to register either way. It does have several exciting moments and provokes some laughter in spots, but on the whole it is only mildly interesting, for many of the situations are far-fetched and one guesses in advance just how the plot will develop. The direction and acting are no more than adequate: — Claire Trevor, a Los Angeles policewoman, is deputized as a U. S. Narcotics agent to help Raymond Burr, head of a dope ring, who had a weakness for blondes. She locates Burr in Mexico, where she poses as a dancer in a cheap cafe and manages to get into his room to search for evidence. As Burr makes advances to her, Fred MacMurray bursts in. Actually a narcotics agent himself, but posing as a member of a rival gang, MacMurray, at gunpoint, forces Burr to reveal the whereabouts of his next shipment, and takes Claire as hostage in the assumption that she is Burr's "moll." MacMurray brings her to a warehouse, where Roy Roberts, head of the rival gang, orders them to pose as man and wife in a scheme to smuggle a large quantity of heroin across the border into the United States. Claire agrees for a "price." The auto trip to the border takes a few days, during which Burr, in hot pursuit, overtakes them several times, only to be shaken off because of their clever ruses. Meanwhile neither suspects that the other is an agent, and each secretly gathers evidence to convict the other. A strong affection grows between them, but they fight it off lest it interfere with the performance of their duty. Arriving at the border, each ruefully attempts to have the other arrested, only to be shocked when they learn that they are both agents. They maintain the ruse, however, and upon reaching Los Angeles make arrangements to deliver the dope. This leads to a bang-up finale, in which the police round up the smugglers while Claire and MacMurray land in each other's arms. It was produced by Milton H. Bren and directed by William A. Seiter from a story and screen play by Devery Freeman. Adult fare. "The Sundowners" with Robert Preston, Robert Sterling and Chill Wills (Eagle-Lion, no rel. date set; time, 83 min.) A well-made Technicolor Western, expertly directed and acted, but it is unpleasant, for it pits brother against brother. Moreover, it seems best suited for the adult fans because of the brutality and ruthlessness depicted in its story of feuding between rival cattlemen. Additionally, its glorification of one of the brothers, an unprincipled, vicious killer, coupled with the fact that he forces his unwanted attentions on a married woman, at times in front of her husband, a weakling, makes it unsuitable for children and youths. The story generates an undercurrent of tension throughout, and on occasion the action is explosive, but for the most part it is given more to talk than to movement, making it difficult for one to follow the plot unless he pays close attention to the dialogue. The film marks the screen debut of John Barrymore, Jr., who does well enough as a young cowpoke who idolizes the daring of his bad eldest brother, played most effectively by Robert Preston. Chill Wills, as an amiable neighboring rancher, turns in his usual good performance:— Robert Sterling and Barrymore, his younger brother, owners of a large Texas ranch, discover their foreman murdered in the latest of a series of rustling raids by several small ranchers who were jealous of the brothers' large cattle herds. Unable to get any action from the sheriff (Don Haggerty), who was secretly in league with the ranchers, Sterling agrees to allow Robert Preston, a swaggering gunman, to retaliate against the rustlers in his behalf. In a series of vicious assaults, Preston soon evens the score, recovering a large portion of the stolen herds and taking a great share of the loot himself. In the process, he ruthlessly murders one of the small ranchers, the sheriff, and a local geologist, whose unhappy wife (Cathy Downs) Preston openly pursued, even though he knew that she was in love with Sterling. Meanwhile young Barrymore, admiring Preston's daring and flattered by his attentions, becomes greatly attached to him. John Litel, the dead sheriff's father, vows to kill Preston on sight for the murder of his son. By this time it comes out that Preston is really a brother of Sterling and Barrymore. Aware that the valley had become inflamed over Preston's killings and pillaging, Sterling grows remorseful over the chain of events he had started and orders Preston away from the ranch. Preston departs, but, apparently drawn by his feelings for Cathy, he returns within several weeks and threatens to shoot down both his brothers when they give him the choice of leaving or going to jail. Chill Wills, aware that Preston was not fooling, kills him in time to save Sterling and Barrymore from harm. The story and screen play were written and produced by Alan LeMay, and directed by George Templeton. Adult fare.