Harrison's Reports (1950)

154 HARRISON'S REPORTS September 30, 1950 "King Solomon's Mines" with Deborah Kerr and Stewart Granger (MGM, no rel. date set; time, 102 min.) Photographed in Technicolor, this is a highly spectacular romantic adventure melodrama that has the rare quality of holding an audience captivated from start to finish. The story, based on H. Rider Haggard's famous novel about a dangerous trek into unexplored Africa to search for a missing white man and for a legendary diamond mine, is "hokum," but it has been presented in so fascinating a manner and on such a vast scale that one enjoys every minute of it. The production was filmed in its entirety in Africa, making for scenic shots that are as breathtakingly beautiful as any ever seen on the screen, and for wild animal shots that are extraordinary. Words cannot adequately describe the exciting experiences the safari encounters with man and beast, nor their hair-breadth escapes as they make their way through dense hot jungles, across torrid deserts and over snowcapped mountains. A high point in the excitement is a hand-to-hand fight to the death between two native kings. One blood-curdling sequence that will have the movie-goers on the edge of their seats is where thousands of wild animals, frightened by a bush fire, stampede across the. open plain directly in the path of the safari. Their thunderous hoofbeats and their furious speed make this one of the most thrilling sequences ever put on film; it leaves one exhausted. Briefly, the story, which takes place in 1897, introduces Stewart Granger as a famous jungle guide who is engaged by Deborah Kerr, a wealthy British woman, to lead a safari into the uncharted African country to search for her husband, who had disappeared while trying to find the legendary King Solomon's mines. Accompanied by natives and by Richard Carlsom, Deborah's brother, they set out for land that is feared by both natives and whites alike. They experience many harrowing encounters with wild savages and beasts in which their lives are constantly threatened, and in due time find themselves abandoned by all their frightened natives except one, a mysterious seven-foot tall fellow, who had joined the safari en route. He leads them to the legendary diamond mines, which they find guarded by a strange tribe of towering natives, whose King he claims to be; he had returned to wrest the kingdom from his evil cousin. Impressed by Stewart's guns, the evil king tricks Stewart and his party into entering a cave filled with diamonds, then seals the entrance. There they find the skeleton of Deborah's husband. They make a miraculous escape through an underground river and, with the help of their native friend, who had regained his kingdom in a battle to the death whith his cousin, head for home. In the meantime, Stewart and Deborah had fallen in love. It was produced by Sam Zimbalist, and directed by Compton Bennett and Andrew Marton, from a screen play by Helen Deutsch. Suitable for the entire family. "Dial 1119" with Marshall Thompson, Virginia Field and Andrea King (MGM, T^ovember; time, 75 min.) An unpleasant but tense psychological program thriller, revolyjng around a berserked escaped criminal who, obsessea with the idea of killing the police psychiatrist responsible for his being sent to a hospital for the criminal insane, holds five innocent hostages at bay in a barricaded tavern to accomplish his purpose. The story, which is more or less a character study of a mentally-deranged youth, played effectively by Marshall Thompson, is rather choppy and not too convincing, but it does generate considerable tension, particularly in the second half, where Thompson gives the police who had surrounded the tavern twenty-five minutes to send the psychiatrist to him lest he kill the five people he is holding at gunpoint. The suspense is heightened by the dilemma the police are faced with as a result of this ultimatum, and by the unsuccessful attempt made by Richard Rober, the police captain, to kill Thompson by sending an officer through an air-conditioning duct leading to the tavern. The closing sequences are highly melodramatic, with Sam Levene, the psychiatrist, bowing to Thompson's ultimatum and being killed by him as he tries to reason with him, and with Thompson himself mowed down by police bullets when one of his hostages gains the upper hand on him. A unique angle is the clever way in which the producer has employed television to keep Thompson inlormed of the police moves against him. This is accomplished by the arrival of television cameras on the scene to report spot news, with Thompson watching the proceedings on the tavern's television set. A considerable part of the footage is given over to the introduction of the characters who become innocent hostages, including William Conrad, the tavern owner, whom Thompson kills; Keefc Brasselle, a young bartender concerned about his wife who is having a baby; Virginia Field, an attractive barfly; James Bell, a disillusioned newspaperman; and Andrea King, a discontented young woman about to go away on an illicit weekend with Leon Ames, a smooth-talking married man. It was produced by Richard Goldstone and directed by Gerald Mayer from a screen play by John Monks, Jr., based on a story by Hugh King and Don McGuire. Strictly adult fare. "Big Timber" with Roddy McDowall and Jeff Donnell (Monogram, Sept. 10; time, 73 min.) Rather weak. It seems as if the picture was made for the main purpose of showing logging camp operations. In this, the picture succeeds, for such operations are instructive to those who have not been in a logging camp. But the story is very thin and hardly of much interest. The acting of Tom Greenway and of some of the other supporting players is "hammy." Even Jean Yarbrough's directorial skill could do nothing with them. The situation where Roddy McDowall drives a truck with defective brakes down a steep hill is thrilling. The photography is considerably dark: — Seeking a job, Roddy arrives at a logging camp in the west, even though he knew nothing about logging; he had been told by Tom Greenway, whom he had known in Chicago, to come to the camp. Greenway helps him to obtain the job, and Roddy, eager to work but lacking knowledge, finds himself doing the wrong things most of the time. He is ribbed by the loggermen but takes their jibes like a good sport. When Jeff Donnell, the commissary operator at the camp, pays considerable attention to Roddy, it arouses the jealousy of Ted Hecht. who is in love with her, and of Lyn Thomas, the camp superintendent's daughter, who found herself attracted to Roddy at first sight. Roddy is discharged when his work fails to improve, and on his last working day Gordon Jones, a co-worker, is injured seriously as a result of the careless handling of a tractor by Hecht. Roddy volunteers to drive Jones to a doctor in a truck, unaware that Hecht, in an effort to get Roddy out of the way of his love for Jeff, had tampered with the truck's brakes. As Roddy drives the truck down the steep mountain road the brakeless vehicle gathers terrific speed, but he negotiates the road by skillful driving and manages to get the injured man to the doctor in time to save his life. For this, Roddy, now a hero, wins back his job and gets the hand of Lyn, whom he loved secretly. The picture was produced by Lindsley Parsons, and directed by Jean Yarbrough, from a screen play by Warren Wilson. Harmless for family patrons. "Cassino to Korea" (Paramount, October; time, 58 min.) This latest in the current cycle of documentary features is an interesting picture of its kind. Compiled from Paramount News clips and from official and captured enemy films, this documentary draws a parallel between the present fighting in Korea and the American campaign in Italy in 1943. Most of the footage is given over to the vicious battles that took place from the Cassino beachhead up to and beyond Rome, with emphasis placed on the destruction of the famed Cassino Monastery, which the Nazis used as a stronghold to halt the Allied advance. Worked into the film are the personal stories of two Congressional Medal of Honor winners — Sgt. James M. Logan, who routed a nest of German machine-gunners blocking the American advance, and Captain David Ludlum, an Air Force weather officer, whose accurate weather forecasts enabled the Americans to launch the attack that broke the Nazi resistance. Worked into the footage also are familiar clips of famous and infamous personalities who figured in the events that led to World War II, as well as in the postwar efforts for world peace through the United Nations. Included at the finish arc some brief shots of the fighting in Korea. The film should serve adequately as a supporting feature on a double bill. It was produced by A. J. Richards, directed by Edward Genock, and features a narration by Qucntin Reynolds. The script treatment is by Max Klein, i