Harrison's Reports (1950)

November 11, 1950 HARRISON'S REPORTS 179 "Prelude to Fame" with an all-British cast (Univ.-Int'l, November; time, 78 min.) This British-made drama should go over fairly well with music lovers and class audiences who patronise the art theatres. Centering around an eight-year-old Italian boy who is discovered to have an extraordinary instinct for orchestration, and around a socially ambitious woman who exploits the child selfishly, the story, by virtue of sensitive direction and convincing acting, is interesting and has considerable emotional appeal. Jeremy Spenser, as the child prodigy, is a remarkably fine little actor, and the music lovers in particular will be thrilled by the expert manner in which he handles the baton as he conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra through the movements of a series of classical numbers. The action takes place in England and Italy, and the production values are of a high quality: — While vacationing in Italy with his wife and young son, Guy Rolfe, a famous English philosopher and amateur musician, discovers that Jeremy, youngest member of a poor neighboring Italian family, has a phenomenal appreciation of fine music. Rolfe, a kindly man, encourages the boy, and his ability comes to the attention of Kathleen Byron, a wealthy but childless neighbor, who dominated Henry Oscar, her congenial husband. She talks Jeremy's parents into letting her educate him musically and arranges for the boy to be tutored by a famous music professor. The youngster is put through an intensive period of training and, within a few months, Miss Byron arranges for his debut as a conductor. The child becomes phenomenally successful and is taken on a grand tour of Europe. Miss Byron, enraptured by the acclaim given her for her "discovery" of the boy, prepares to take him to America, breaking a pronu ise to take him home first. She sees to it that the child is denied all contact with his family and friends and, by withholding his mail, leads him to believe that they had forsaken him. He becomes extremely unhappy and attempts to commit suicide, a tragedy that is averted by the timely arrival of Rolfe, who had learned of the child's unhappiness. Aided by Miss Byron's husband, who was sympathetic to the boy, Rolfe discovers the undelivered letters and enlists his help in voiding adoption papers prepared by his wife, and in sending the lad back to his family. Furious when she discovers that the boy had returned to Italy, Miss Byron denounces her husband for having wrecked her ambition to have a child to replace the one she never could have. He accepts her abuse, pleased in the thought that the boy had returned happily to his home. It is a Two Cities film, produced by Donald B. Wilson and directed by Fergus McDonel from a screen play by Robert Westerby, based on the story, "Young Archimedes," by Aldous Huxley. Unobjectionable morally. "American Guerrilla in the Philippines" with Tyrone Power and Micheline Prelle (20t/i Century-Fox, December; time, 105 min.) Photographed in Technicolor, this war drama is not without its shortcomings, but on the whole it shapes up as a good picture of its kind. The story, which is based on the factual novel by Ira Wolfert, is an exciting account of the adventures of a naval officer stranded in the Philippines during World War II, after that country fell to the Japanese in 1942. The picture's shortcomings lie in the episodic story and in the romantic interest, which seems to have been dragged in by the ear; nevertheless, it grips one's interest throughout, for in addition to the thrilling action brought about by guerrilla warfare against the Japs, the picture has a realistic quality owing to the fact that it was made on location in the Philippines, and that the cast, except for the principals, is composed entirely of native Filipinos. Tyrone Power is rugged as the gallant hero of the piece, and Micheline Prcllc aptly portrays the wife of a planter who is executed by the Japs, thus clearing the way for the romantic attachment between Power and herself. A most interesting sequence features a novel dance by a talented Filipino couple who step in and out of two bamboo poles that arc struck together rhythmically by two natives; it is one of the most fascinating dance numbers ever screened. Power, an Ensign in the Navy, is one of eight survivors of a torpedo boat sunk by Jap planes. Learning that Bataan had fallen, Power, accompanied by Tom Ewell, sets out for an airfield on Mindanoa, some 200 mlies away, hoping to get a plane ride to Australia to rejoin his unit. They hack their way through jungles and, after several weeks, finally reach a town on the Island of Leyte, where they learn from the commander of the American outpost that their journey had been in vain, and that he himself had been instructed to surrender within 24 hours. Through the commander, Power promotes a native sailboat and hastily recruits a volunteer crew for the journey to Australia. Meanwhile he strikes up a friendship with Micheline by using his influence to obtain medical aid for one of her relatives. She tries to dissuade him from attempting the journey to Australia because of dangerous monsoons, but he ignores her advice. Just as she had warned, however, the craft capsizes eight miles from shore in a tropical storm. All manage to swim to shore and are given aid by Filipino patriots, who cleverly keeps the Japs from learning of their whereabouts. In the many months that follow, Power and his tattered followers hide in the jungle and successfully evade one Jap patrol after another. They meet Juan Torena, Micheline's husband, an underground leader, who offers to help them get to Australia. Torena introduces Power to a guerrilla general, who offers him a vessel on condition that he deliver a message to an American colonel on the Island of Mindano who was attempting to unify all guerrilla activities against the Japs. Power delivers the message at great risk to his life and, when the colonel informs him of General MacArthur's desire to establish a spy service, he gives up the projected trip to Australia to take charge of radio operations on Leyte. After much difficulty he manages to establish radio contact with Army headquarters, but enemy harassment forces him to change the base of his operations frequently. Meanwhile he has several reunions with Miche< line, now widowed. Power's efforts are instrumental in helping American submarines to deliver supplies and, after more clashes with the Jap patrols, he and Micheline join the Filipino patriots in welcoming MacArthur (played by Robert Barrat) and a new fighting force back to the Philippines. Lamar Trottie wrote the screen play and produced it. Fritz Lang directed it. Suitable for the family. BOX-OFFICE PERFORMANCES (Continued on inside page) "Peggy": Fair "Abbott ii Costello in the Foreign Legion": Good-Fair "The Desert Hawk": Fair "Louisa": Good "Saddle Tramp": Good-Fair "Shakedown": Fair "The Sleeping City": Good-Fair Eighteen pictures have been checked with the following results: Very Good-Good, 1; Good, 3; Good-Fair, 3; Fair, 11. Warner Bros. "Young Man with a Horn": Good "Perfect Strangers": Good-Fair "Barricade": Fair "Stage Fright": Good-Fair "Daughter of Rosie O'Grady": Good "The Damned Don't Cry": Fair "Colt .4?": Good-Fair "Caged": Good "This Side of the Law": Fair "Return of the Frontiersman": Fair "Bright Leaf": Fair "The Great Jewel Robbery": Fair "The Flame and the Arrow" : Very Good "50 Years Before Your Eyes": Poor "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye": Good-Fair "Tea for Two" : Good-Fair "Pretty Baby": Fair "The Breaking Point": Fair Eighteen pictures have been checked with the following results: Very Good, 1; Good, 3; Good-Fair, 5; Fair, 8; Poor, 1.