Harrison's Reports (1950)

10 HARRISON'S REPORTS January 21, 1950 "Blue Grass of Kentucky" with Bill Williams, Jane Nigh and Ralph Morgan (Monogram, January 22; time, 72 min.) Excellent! It is one of the best horse racing pictures produced in some time. To begin with, the action keeps one interested from start to finish. Then again, there are no vicious villains to make the picture a wild melodrama; and because most of the characters are sympathetic, one is pleased and wishes that the Ralph Morgan clan will fullfil their desire to win the Kentucky Derby, and that the heroine will get her man. Ralph Morgan is believable as a veteran horse trainer, and Robert (Buzz) Henry does fine work as a jockey. Bill Williams, as the hero, and Jane Nigh, as the heroine, are pleasant and act their parts well. There are several exciting horse races, but the final one is the most thrilling. The photography is in Cinecolor, and with the exception of some of the long shots it is sharp and clear. Both Jeffrey Bernerd, the producer, and William Beaudine, the director, deserve credit for having turned out a fine entertainment : — The families of Ralph Morgan and Russell Hicks are neighboring horse breeders in Kentucky. Jane Nigh, Hicks' daughter, is in love with Bill Williams, Morgan's eldest son, but Bill refuses to encourage her because she is the daughter of a millionaire and he is the son of an impoverished father. Although both families are friendly rivals, Hicks' horses, better thoroughbreds, always win. Morgan requests that his horse be mated with Macedonian, Hicks' prize horse, but Hicks' manager refuses. Jane, despairing that Bill will ever marry her as long as he remains poor, secretly takes Macedonian to a field to mate with Morgan's horse. Surprised when the horse foals, Morgan names the colt Blue Grass of Kentucky. After a period of extensive training, Blue Grass, with Morgan's younger son (Robert "Buzz" Henry) as the jockey, wins his first race, but afterwards fails to win. Morgan continues to train Blue Grass and enters him in the Kentucky Derby. To the surprise of every one Blue Grass wins the Derby, but Hicks' manager enters a protest with the stewards on the ground that Morgan registered Blue Grass falsely as a thoroughbred. Lest Blue Grass be disqualified, Jane reveals to the stewards the secret of his parentage. Hicks, unaware that his manager was going to protest the entry, resorts to a white lie by informing the stewards that he had encouraged his daughter to mate Macedonian with Morgan's horse. Blue Grass is then declared the winner, and Bill, sticking to an agreement he had made with Jane, consents to marry her because of Blue Grass' victory. W. Scott Darling wrote the screen play. The cast includes Pierre Watkin, Ted Hecht, Stephen S. Harrison and others. Excellent family entertainment. "The Gay Lady" with an all-British cast (Eagle Lion, December; time, 95 min.) A lavishly produced, British-made backstage comedydrama with some music, photographed in Technicolor, but it is only moderately entertaining and of doubtful value to the American exhibitors, except, perhaps, in theatres that specialize in British product. Set in the gas-light days and tracing the career of a vivacious young singer who becomes a Gaiety Girl and marries a Duke, the story is a flimsy affair at best and too long drawn out. It does have its entertaining moments in the satirical fun poked at the British nobility, but it is doubtful if the American picture-goers will fully appreciate this type of humor. All in all, it is not likely to win word-of-mouth praise from those who will see it: — Having worked her way up from small-time vaudeville, Jean Kent accepts an offer to become one of the Gaiety Girls, most of whom were gold-diggers, constantly pursued by young members of the nobility. Jean, a perky but respectable girl, has eyes only for Andrew Crawford, a balloonist, whose flying activities kept them apart most of the time. In due time she becomes impressed by the lavish gifts showered on her colleagues, and accepts a date with James Donald, a young duke, who soon falls victim to her unspoilt charm. He proposes marriage, and Jean, seeing no prospect of replacing the balloon in Crawford's affections, accepts. She ingratiates herself with his parents and lives a most happy life until Donald, to help out a philandering friend, reluctantly takes a chorus girl to lunch in an exclusive restaurant. Meanwhile Jean has a chance meeting with Crawford and invites him to lunch at the same place. Their meeting results in a violent quarrel between Jean and Donald later in the day, with each accusing the other of infidelity. News of their marital differences soon reaches the ears of the gossip-rnongers, and the resultant remarks cause even greater misunderstanding between them. Eventually, however, both realize that they are behaving childishly and become reunited. It was produced by Hugh Stewart and directed by Brian Desmond Hurst from a screen play by C. Denis Freeman, based on the novel by Caryl Brahms and S. J. Simon. The cast includes Bill Owen, Lana Morris and others. Adult entertainment. "Backfire" with Virginia Mayo, Edmond O'Brien and Gordon MacRae (Warner Bros., February 11; time, 91 min.) A fairly good mystery melodrama. Revolving around the efforts of a war veteran to find his missing buddy and to clear him of a murder charge, the story unfolds through a series of flashbacks and the events are rather complicated, but it generates considerable suspense and manages to hold one's interest well. The action is a bit slow at the beginning, but, once the hero starts his search and follows a series of clues, it picks up speed and is fraught with numerous melodramatic incidents. The fact that the murderer's identity is not disclosed until the end helps to keep the spectator on edge. The production values are good, and the direction and acting capable: — While recuperating from an operation in a veteran's hospital, Gordon MacRae is concerned over the disappearance of Edmond O'Brien, his war buddy, with whom he planned to buy a ranch. One night, while in a semi-coma, he is visited by Viveca Lindfors, a mysterious woman, who informs him that O'Brien had been in a serious accident. On the following morning, MacRae's nurse, Virginia Mayo, and his doctor, interpret the strange visit as a dream born in MacRae's troubled mind since the hospital had no record of the visitor. Released from the hospital, MacRae is picked up by the police who question him about O'Brien's whereabouts and inform him that O'Brien is wanted for the murder of Richard Rober, a gambler. MacRae, refusing to believe that his buddy had committed murder, starts an investigation of his own, accompanied by Virginia, with whom he had fallen in love. He follows a series of clues, during which he has interviews with several persons who had dealings with O'Brien, including Dane Clark, a former army friend now in the mortuary business, and Frances Robinson, the dead gambler's widow. The information obtained from them leads MacRae through a maze of melodramatic incidents, including several other murders, until he learns that O'Brien had acted as bodyguard for a mysterious gambler known only as "Lew," whose girl-friend, Viveca, had fallen in love with O'Brien, and that "Lew" had framed O'Brien for Rober's murder to get him out of the way. After a series of complicated events, MacRae discovers that "Lew" is none other than Clark, and that O'Brien, seriously injured, was his prisoner. Aided by the police, MacRae rescues O'Brien, while Clark, attempting a getaway, is shot dead. It was produced by Anthony Veiller and directed by Vincent Sherman from a screen play by Larry Marcus, Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, based on a story by Mr. Marcus. Adult fare.