Harrison's Reports (1950)

118 HARRISON'S REPORTS July 29, 1950 "Beaver Valley" (RKO, no rel. date set; time, 32 min.) Excellent! Photographed in Technicolor and filmed with the cooperation of the Montana Fish and Game Department, it is a fascinating and delightful Walt Disney "True Life" featurette that depicts a group of birds and animals in their natural habitat — the region of a beaver pond. Completely authentic, unstaged and unrehearsed, the films depiction of wild animals and birds going about their business of courtships, home making and survival has been captured by the cameras in a way that is nothing short of remarkable. It is a grand entertainment in every sense of the word, for Disney has cleverly gotten away from the routine nature film by presenting the activities of the animals with a storylike continuity, giving it elements of com' edy, romance, suspense and excitement that will have undeniable appeal for all types of moviegoers, young or old. It should make a perfect second feature in doubk'billing theatres, and can be used to fine advan' tage in rounding out a program in single-billing houses. Covering the four seasons in the year, the film por' trays the beaver as the "leading citizen" of the woodland community and depicts in fine detail the manner in which he builds a dam, raises a family, prepares food for the winter and protects his loved ones from intruders and enemies. The camera also takes in the activities of moose, deer, bear, coyote, otter, badger, racoon, eagle, owl, duck, salmon, trout, frog and many other birds and beasts. There are any number of unusual shots, such as a moose feeding with its head under water, and a bear catching huge salmon in mid' stream. And there is much comedy, too. For example, the scenes that show a harried merganser mother teaching her young to fly, and the sequences that deal with the mischievous behaviour of the fresh-water otter, sleek swimmers, as they tease the slower beavers and slide on snow and ice, are extremely comical. The most outstanding and funniest sequence is the "Frog Symphony," in which a chorus of assorted frogs croak in rhythm with an operatic aria. The narration, back' ground music, editing and photography are of the highest quality. The film will, in all probability, receive an Academy Award. "Convicted" with Glenn Ford, Broderick Crawford and Millard Mitchell (Columbia, August; time, 91 min.) A fair prison melodrama that rises slightly above the level of program fare by virtue of its star value. It is a remake of "The Criminal Code," produced by Columbia in 1931. The effective acting of Glenn Ford, as the young man who is sent to prison for the accidental killing of a politician's son, and of Broderick Crawford, as the sympathetic District Attorney who becomes the prison warden, holds one's interest, but there are times when the story drags and becomes boresome. The fault seems to lie in the incredible plot, which is written loosely and padded consider' ably. The picture should, however, get by with undiscriminating audiences, for it has several exciting moments and a number of dramatic situations: — Ford, employed in a brokerage house, finds himself charged with second degree murder when a barroom brawl with the drunken son of a politician results in the young man's accidental death. Crawford, the District Attorney, feels sympathy for Ford and tries to advise his attorney on how to defend him, but the attorney bungles the case and Ford is sentenced to ten years in prison. After serving two years, Ford is denied a parole when the Board learns the name of his victim. Embittered, he plans to escape with several cellmates, but on the day of the break he receives word of his fathers death and is put into solitary for striking a guard. Meanwhile his cellmates attempt the break and are mowed down by the guards as the result of their betrayal by Frank Faylen, a stool pigeon. Crawford comes to the prison as the new warden and immediately arranges for Ford to become his chauffeur. Ford falls in love with Dorothy Malone, Crawford's daughter, who does her best to condition him to his imminent return to civilian life. In the events that follow, Crawford becomes aware of a strong feeling among the convicts against Faylen, and he keeps the stool pigeon on his staff to protect him. On the eve of his parole, Ford witnesses the murder of Faylen by Millard Mitchell, a fellow convict. Crawford, aware that Ford was the only witness to the crime, demands to know the name of the killer, but Ford, true to the criminal code, refuses to squeal and is thrown into solitary confinement. There, he is tor' tured secretly by Carl Benton Reid, the sadistic captain of the prison guards, whom Mitchell hated. Learning that fellow convicts had smuggled a knife to Ford's cell, and fearing that Ford will kill Reid and get life, Mitchell obtains a gun, creates a riot, and has himself thrown into solitary with Ford. Once there, he gets hold of the knife, confesses Faylen's murder and kills Reid before being killed himself. It ends with Ford gaining his freedom and with Crawford approving his marriage to Dorothy. It was produced by Jerry Bressler and directed by Henry Levin from a screen play by William Bowers, Fred Niblo, Jr., and Seton I. Miller, based upon a play by Martin Flavin. Adult fare. "Snow Dog" with Kirby Grant, Elena Verdugo and Rick Vallin (Monogram, July 16; time, 63 min.) A very good program melodrama of the Canadian woods, with a Mounted Police officer as the chief character. The action holds one in tense suspense from the beginning to the end. Although the direction is skillful, as a result of which the players act with realism, a great deal of the credit should go to Bill Raynor, the screenplay writer, even though this work is his first. There are many tensely melodramatic situations throughout the picture, and the outdoor scenery adds to the spectator's pleasure. Chinook, the dog, wins much sympathy. The villainous characters impress one as being real villains and not Hollywoodmade. The photography is a treat to the eye: — Killings without robbery puzzzle Kirby Grant, a Canadian mountie, but, when Chinook, his dog, tears a dog collar from a wolf he meets in the woods, Grant suspects that a human agency is responsible for the killings. Still puzzled for a motive, however, Grant dons civilian clothes to track the killer. He decides to enlist the aid of Elena Verdugo, whose uncle had been the first victim, and arrives at her cabin just as Rick Vallin, her brother, returns from a trapping trip, where he had been attacked by a wolf that bore a likeness to Chinook. Noticing Chinook, Vallin raises his gun to shoot him, but Grant convinces him that the animal was not the killer. Grant learns from Elena that her uncle had left a map indicating the location of a fortune in pitchblende deposits. Hal Gerard and Richard Avonde, two ruffians who had overheard Elena's statement about the map, steal it. Val