Harrison's Reports (1950)

114 HARRISON'S REPORTS July 22, 1950 "Copper Canyon" with Ray Milland, Hedy Lamarr and Macdonald Carey (Paramount, October; time, 83 min.) A pretty good western-type melodrama, photographed in Technicolor. The story itself offers nothing unusual, for it follows the old established formula of the hero's dropping into town and taking the side of justice against the lawless element, but it holds one's interest well because of the expert direction and the capable acting. The dyed'in'the-wool western fans may find it a bit too talky in spots, but on the whole it has more than a fair quota of suspense and exciting action, as well as comedy and romance. The restraint with which Ray Milland portrays a cool trick shot artist makes his heroics doubly effective. Hedy Lamarr is satisfactory as the glamorous dancehall queen with whose wiles Milland has to cope, and Macdonald Carey is properly deceitful and ruthless as the villain. The magnitude of the stars should draw to the box-office movie-goers who do not ordinarily patronize westerns: — When former Confederate soldiers seeking to recoup their fortunes in Coppertown are driven to the wall by the ruthless Northern owners of the only smelter in the area who refused to buy their ore except on their own terms, they go to Nevada City to appeal to Ray Milland, a trick shot performer, whom they believed to be a fabulous Confederate hero who had escaped from Federal prison after being captured by the Union Army. Milland denies that he is the famous hero lest he be arrested as a fugitive, and refuses to offer assistance. Several days later, however, he arrives in Coppertown with a troupe of entertainers, and immediately starts using his charms on Hedy Lamarr, owner of the saloon, much to the annoyance of Carey, a murderous deputy sheriff who, together with other crooked deputies, was in the pay of the smelter owners to create havoc with the small mine operations and keep their owners subjugated. Milland's sense of justice is aroused when he sees Carey and his henchmen kill three of the Southerners in cold blood; he secretly joins the small mine owners in a plan to ship their ore to another smelter thirty miles away, a move that Carey had thus far blocked. Learning of the plan through a confederate who pretended to be one of the Southerners, Carey calls upon Hedy to use her wiles to keep Milland from leading the ore wagon train. Hedy was part of the conspiracy to force the small owners to sell their mines and quit the territory. Milland, seeing through Hedy, foils her attempt to get him drunk and, in a daring maneuver as a masked rider, breaks up an attempt by Carey and his henchmen to wreck the wagon train. In the complicated events that follow, Carey, to dispose of Milland's interference, steals the money the Southerners had collected for their ore, frames Milland for the robbery, and jails him. Hedy, by this time in love with Milland and resentful of Carey's murderous tactics, bribes a jailer to free him. Once out of jail, Milland rallies the small mine owners and launches a furious attack that ends with the death of Carey and his crooked deputies. With the small mine owners now assured of a square deal in the future, Milland leaves Coppertown with Hedy to start a new life together. It was produced by Mel Epstein and directed by John Farrow from a screen play by Jonathan Letimer, based on a story by Richard English. The cast includes Mona Freeman, Harry Carey, Jr., Frank Faylen and many others. Unobjectionable morally. "Fancy Pant*" with Bob Hope and Lucille Ball (Paramount, Sept.; time, 92 min.) Photographed in Technicolor, this comedy shapes up as an amusing one and one-half hours of slapstick buffoonery that should more than satisfy the Bob Hope enthusiasts. It is nonsensical stuff, but it keeps one laughing throughout, for it is patterned in a manner that does justice to Hope's brand of humor. As a "ham" actor who is mistaken as a British nobleman in the wild and wooly west, Hope romps through his part with his typical gags and quips, becoming involved in numerous misadventures that are compounded into a series of rollicking slapstick situations. There is considerable satirical humor directed at the British aristocracy in the early reels, where Hope, in England, poses as a gentleman's gentleman. A highly laugh-provoking sequence is a fox hunt arranged by Hope for President Theodore Roosevelt. Lucille Ball, as the uninhibited daughter of nouveau riche American parents, adds much to the film's entertainment values. The photography and production values are fine: — Lucille, touring England with her mother (Lea Penman) in search of a titled husband, attends a weekend party given by an impoverished nobleman who had matrimonial designs on her. There, she and her mother meet Hope, an American actor, who had been hired by the nobleman to pose as a butler to impress Lucille. Hope makes a mess of the assignment, but his finesse so impresses Lucille's mother that she engages him to buttle in her home in a pioneer New Mexico town so as to give social polish to both her uncouth husband (Jack Kirkwood) and ill-mannered daughter. Upon his arrival in New Mexico, Hope is mistaken by the townspeople as an English Lord, and the family, impressed by the envy of their friends, persuade him to masquerade as one. Lucille soon finds herself attracted to Hope, thus incurring the jealous wrath of Bruce Cabot, her quick shooting boy-friend, who utilizes every opportunity to make life miserable for Hope. President Teddy Roosevelt (played by John Alexander), visiting New Mexico and hearing about Hope, comes to town to see him, and Hope, continuing the masquerade, arranges a fox hunt in his honor, but manages not to participate himself by faking a game leg. Meanwhile Cabot, still gunning for Hope, discovers a scrap book with clippings that reveal Hope as an actor. He exposes him after a hectic chase for possession of the scrap book, and it all ends with Hope fleeing town on a handcar with Lucille at his side. It was produced by Robert Welch and directed by George Marshall from a screen play by Edmund Hartmann, based on a story by Harry Leon Wilson. The cast includes Eric Blore and others. Fine for the family. "Trial Without Jury" with Kent Taylor, Audrey Long, Barbra Fuller and Robert Rockwell (Republic, July 8; time, 60 min.) The story idea is original, but the action, unfortunately, is not convincing as a result of poor dialogue and equally poor direction and acting. For instance, the hero is in love with the sister of the detective investigating the case, yet she persuades him to say nothing to the brother on the ground that he could not have convinced him that he had not committed the crime. In real-life action, this would be