Harrison's Reports (1950)

72 HARRISON'S REPORTS May 6, 1950 There is no known cure for this condition, but medical advancement in the last three decades has made it possible to help those affected become assets to society instead of economic, social and physical liabilities. Today, however, there are treatment and education facilities for only 2,500 of the more than one-half million Americans affected by the condition. The motion picture industry is participating in this worth' while campaign and, according to a report by Gael Sullivan, executive director of TOA, and Rotus Harvey, president of PCCITO, who are the national exhibitor co'chairmen, more than seven thousand theatres have thus far pledged their support. Of the numerous humanitarian projects supported by the exhibitors in the past, few have been of greater importance than the current campaign being conducted by the Palsy Associations, and none more deserving of support. "Rocketship XM" with Lloyd Bridges, Osa Massen and John Emery (Lippert, June 2; time, 78 min.) This is chiefly an exploitation picture and therein lies its greatest value. Although the ending is weak since there was no way out for the author-producer-director than to wind up the picture in tragedy, the beginning and most of the action up to the end is interesting and impresses one with realism. In some stretches, however, the action is slow. There are some technical errors. For instance, though some articles are shown as floating in the air as the space ship approaches the moon and gravity is weakened, the hair of the crew remains combed slick. The use of magnetism to make the hair stand on end would have imparted greater realism. But perhaps the average person will not notice this defect. The photography is sharp and clear: — Set to be launched for a trip to the moon, the Rocketship XM is made ready at the proving grounds in White Sands, New Mexico. The crew includes Lloyd Bridges, the pilot; Osa Massen, fuel expert; John Emery, head of the expedition; Noah Beery, Jr., engineer; and Hugh O'Brian, astronomer and navigator. Morris Ankrim, ground head of the expedition, stays beside a powerful short-wave radio to receive messages as soon as the ship is launched. The ship takes off in a blaze of fiery gases, hurtling upward at a terrific speed until it escapes the earth's attraction. All communication with the earth is ended when the ship reaches outer space. An error in the fuel mixture makes it impossible for the engineer to slow up the ship's speed as it approaches the moon, causing all aboard to lose consciousness. When they recover, they find that the ship had veered from its course and, instead of reaching the moon, was now approaching Mars. They land safety and begin exploring the desolate wasteland, which they find had once been inhabited by a civilization superior to that of the earth, but had been destroyed by an atomic blast. Suddenly they are attacked with rocks and they perceive in the distance human beings who seemed to be the remnants of the once civilized Mars. The explorers shoot at them with rifles, but two of them, Emery and Beery, are hit by rocks and killed. The remaining members manage to reach the Rocketship and start their return to the earth. Shortage of fuel, however, makes it impossible for the navigator to slow up the ship, and it crashes into the earth, killing all aboard. Ankrim and his co-workers on the ground consider the expedition a success and determine to begin building Rocketship No. 2. The story was written, produced and directed by Kurt Neumann. Suitable for the family circle. "Rock Island Trail" with Forrest Tucker, Adele Mara, Adrian Booth, Bruce Cabot and Chill Wills (Republic, no rel. date set; time, 90 min.) A fine epic of the old west, photographed in Trucolor. The action is fast all the way through, and there are many thrilling situations, some of them caused by fights between Indians and whites, and between the Indians themselves. The acting of all is good, but that of Adrian Booth, as the European-educated daughter of an Indian chief, is superb. Forrest Tucker is a manly hero, and Bruce Cabot a mean villain. Adele Mara is winsome and inspires one with sympathy. The scenes where Cabot cuts a blazing steamboat from its moorings so that it might drift and collide with the railroad bridge, are thrilling. There is much excitement and novelty in the fight between Tucker and Cabot, with long-handled mops as the weapons. There are a number of other situations that hold one's interest tense. With the exception of several sequences in the beginning, the color is good. The photography is sharp: — Tucker, construction engineer for the Rock Island Railroad, dreams of some day pushing the road all the way to the West Coast from the State of Illinois. But he is opposed by investors who had no faith in the railroad's future in the west, and by the stagecoach and steamship companies. Chill Wills, chief engine operator of the railroad, has faith in Tucker and stands by him. During a race between one of his trains and a fast stagecoach, in which the train wins, Tucker meets Adele Mara, daughter of Grant Withers, a big banker. They fall in love. Her father, a cautious man in investment matters, sees great possibilities in Tucker's ambitions and backs him with sufficient capital to lay track all the way to the Mississippi, to span the River, and to get plans underway to continue the roadbed to Fort Fletcher, Iowa, with added financial assistance from the Government itself. Tucker finds himself harrassed at every turn by Bruce Cabot, a treacherous steamboat tycoon, who felt that Tucker's plans threatened his interests. Besides, he sought revenge because Adele, his former fiancee, had dropped him for Tucker. Cabot, a crackshot, challenges Tucker to a duel. Tucker, having the choice of weapons, grabs two mops, hands one to Cabot, and defeats and humiliates him. Cabot, secretly, sets fire to a steamboat and lets it drift into the river bridge, wrecking it. Aware that Cabot was guilty but lacking proof, Tucker enlists the aid of Abraham Lincoln (played by Jeff Corey), a young lawyer, who takes the case to court and wins a judgment against Cabot's steamboat company for the damages incurred. Having failed to block the extending of the railroad, Cabot schemes with a group of renegade Sioux Indians to attack a train carrying an army payroll, mail, guns and ammunition. The attack, however, turns into a pitched battle between the renegades and a force of Sioux Indians friendly to the railroad; their help had been obtained by Adrian Booth, the chief's daughter, whose unsuccessful efforts to win Tucker's love had not turned her against him. In the course of the fight, both Adrian and Cabot are killed. The last obstacle for the completion of the road to the West Coast having been removed, Tucker and Adele turn their thoughts to marriage. It was produced by Paul Malvern, under the supervision of Herbert Yates, Sr. Joseph Kane directed it from a screen play by James Edward Grant, based on the novel, "A Yankee Dared," by Frank J. Nevins. Suitable for the entire family. "Faust and the Devil" with an Italian cast (Columbia, no rel. date set; time, 87 min.) Of the pictures that have been produced either here or abroad, "Faust and the Devil" is tops from every angle — that of singing, clarity of story, cast, and all the other production values. Even though the picture has been produced in Italian, the few English sub-titles make the story clear to every non-Italian but English-speaking person. The voices are excellent, the acting professional, the actors pleasant to look at, and the dramatic effects of the highest standard. Although few American theatres book foreign films, an exception might be made in this case, provided that no effort is made to sell the picture to the rank-and-file movie-goers. The selling campaign should be aimed at the cultured picture-goers, and when these begin to flock in the others will follow. The photography is a treat to the eye. The story is founded on Goethe's "Faust," in which Dr. Faust, an old man, sells his soul to the Devil for youth and pleasure. The Devil does give Faust youth, and under his instructions he becomes acquainted with Marguerite, with whom he falls in love. He seduces her under the urgings of the Devil. Faust is drawn away from Marguerite by the Devil, and when she gives birth to a child the people look down upon her as a wanton. To escape their scorn, she drowns the child. She is arrested and found guilty of murder, and condemned by the church to be burned at the stake. By this time Marguerite realizes her error, repents, and after the burning her soul ascends into Heaven. Gregor Rabinovich produced it, and Carmine Gallone directed it, from a screen play by Leopold Marchand, who based it, as said, on Goethe's opera. The cast includes Italo Tajo, Nelly Corradi, Onelia Fineschi, Gino Mattera, Onofrio Scarfoglio, Terese Dorny, Gilles Queant, Cesare Barbetti and others. Suitable for everybody. The seduction scene is handled delicately.