Harrison's Reports (1950)

April 29, 1950 HARRISON'S REPORTS 67 "Sierra" with Wanda Hendrix, Audie Murphy and Burl Ives (Univ.-Int'l, June; time, 83 min.) Despite the fine outdoor Technicolor photography, this western shapes up as no more than mildly entertaining. The story is ordinary, the treatment routine, and the action, with the exception of the closing scenes, not particularly exciting. As a matter of fact, it has many dull moments. The performances of Audie Murphy, as the son of an outlaw, and Wanda Hendrix, as a female lawyer, lack conviction, but they can hardly be blamed in view of the weak story material. Burl Ives, as a prospector, renders several fairly entertaining songs. The closing scenes, which show a stampede of wild horses, are highly exciting, but even this does not give the film a sufficient lift:— When her horse bolts from her in the mountains, Wanda stumbles upon the hideaway of Audie Murphy and his father, Dean Jagger; both had been holed up there for fifteen years, ever since Jagger had escaped, after being convicted of a murder on circumstantial evidence. They resent her intrusion and prepare to escort her back to town, but before they can leave Jagger suffers a serious injury in a fall from his horse, requiring medical aid. Audie sets out for town with Wanda, taking along a string of wild horses with which to pay the doctor. En route, Wanda is bitten by a rattle snake, and Audie abandons the horses to rush her to the doctor in town. The horses are taken in tow by Richard Rober and his henchmen, who claim them on the ground that unbranded mavericks belong to the finder. Audie attempting to recover the horses, is captured and jailed for horse stealing. Wanda defends him at the trial, but, when it comes out that he is Jagger' s son, he is sentenced to hang. Burl Ives, a prospector friend, helps Audie to escape. In the events that follow, Audie joins forces with another family of fugitives to help him round up a huge herd of wild horses he had discovered. Meanwhile the sheriff and several posses head for the mountains to track down Audie and his father. Wanda rides to warn him. One posse, headed by Rober, discovers Audie and his men just as they herd the wild horses into a narrow canyon. Rober and his men stampede the animals, but Audie and his men turn the herd, and the reverse stampede badly tramples Rober. Before he dies, however, he confesses to the murder for which Jagger had been convicted, and admits that the horse stealing charge against Audie was false. It all ends with Wanda and Audie riding off into the sunset. It was produced by Michel Kraike and directed by Alfred E. Green from a screen play by Edna Anhalt, based on a novel by Stuart Hardy. Harmless for the family. "Military Academy" with Stanley Clements (Columbia., April; time, 65 min.) Poor. The story is not bad, but it has been directed with little skill. It reminds one of movie-making thirty years ago. The motivations are weak, and so is the acting — the players act in a most amateurish way. Towards the end there is some human interest, but not enough to save the picture. The picture was shot on the grounds of the Brown Military Academy, at San Diego, but it does not do credit to either the school or its faculty. The photography is good: — John R. Hamilton, a judge, offers to finance the construction of a chapel wanted by William Johnstone, commandant of the Crown Military Academy, provided he accepts as students Stanley Clements, Myron Welton, Gene Collins and Leon Tyler, four of the toughest hoodlums who had ever appeared in his court. The judge hoped that they will he turned into useful citizens. Behaving like roughnecks, the boys upset the routine at the Academy and refuse to abide by the rules. James Millican, a kindly faculty member, believes that patience and good treatment will change the boys, but James Seay, another faculty member, opposes his efforts; he sought to discredit Millican so that he himself might become the commandant upon Johnstone's retirement. Clement's father, just out of jail, visits his son at the Academy and recognizes Millican as a former East Side lawbreaker who had changed his name. He so informs Seay, who compels Millican to submit his resignation under threat of exposure. Millican, to set an example for the four boys, reveals his past to them and urges them to become useful citizens, like himself. He then informs them of his resignation. The boys, feeling an affection for Millican, decide to take action so as to induce him to stay. They try to steal his resignation from Johnstone's office, only to be caught. Millican, summoned, guesses what the boys had been up to. He demands the letter from them and hands it to Johnstone. After reading it, Johnstone informs Millican that he had known of his past, and that he will be the next commandant just the same. The boys, delighted, determine to reform for good. It was produced by Wallace MacDonald, and directed by D. Ross Lederman, from a story by Howard J. Green. Harmless for the family. "The Secret Fury" with Claudette Colbert, Robert Ryan and Paul Kelly (RKO, no rel. date set; time, 86 min.) A pretty good psychological mystery thriller. In spite of the fact that the story is far-fetched and the characters unrealistic, it generates considerable suspense because of the mystery and of the melodramatic complications revolving around the heroine's bewilderment when she is confronted with indisputable legal proof of her marriage, to a man she does not know. Worked into the plot are two murders and the temporary insanity of the heroine, brought about by her emotional upset. It is not a pleasant entertainment, but it holds one's interest throughout because of the fact that it keeps one guessing as to the identity of the person responsible for the heroine's dilemma. The closing scenes, where the guilty person attempts to murder the heroine, are highly exciting. The direction and acting are good, and the photography fine: — Claudette Colbert, a noted pianist, and Robert Ryan, an architect, are getting married when Willard Parker, a stranger, stops the ceremony to say that she had married Dave Balfour a few weeks previously in the nearby town of Fairview. Claudette is bewildered by the accusation, but district attorney Paul Kelly, her former suitor, and Philip Ober, her guardian and her father's former law partner, establish that there is a record of such a marriage. Indignant, Claudette, accompanied by Ryan, Ober and Jane Cowl, her aunt, drives to Fairview to investigate, and becomes completely puzzled when the justice of the peace who performed the ceremony, the witnesses, and a hotel maid, all recognize her. Insisting that she does not know Balfour, Claudette, aided by Ryan, tracks down the man, a jazz musician, who greets her as his wife. He takes her into another room for a private talk, during which he is shot dead. Despite her protests that some unseen person had fired the shot, Claudette is indicted for the murder. Prosecuted by Kelly and defended by Ober, she becomes hysterical on the stand. Ober quickly changes her plea from not guilty to guilty by reason of insanity, and she is sent to an asylum. Unwilling to believe the evidence, Ryan starts an investigation of his own and discovers that Claudctte's name on the marriage application had been forged, that the justice of the peace was a fake, and that the hotel maid had been paid to recognize Claudette. The maid is killed by Parker before she can reveal more. Ryan captures Parker, but he dies accidentally before Ryan can learn who is behind the fantastic plot. Meanwhile Claudette escapes from the asylum and discovers that Ober is her persecutor. He admits that he was seeking to avenge himself because her father had once committed him to an insane asylum. He then tries to kill Claudette, but she is saved by the timely arrival of Ryan, who fights off Ober just as a huge falling mirror crushes him to death. It was produced by Jack H. Skirball and directed by Mel Ferrer from a screen play by Lionel Houser, based on a story by Jack R. Leonard and James O'Hanlon. Adult fare.