Harrison's Reports (1950)

192 HARRISON'S REPORTS December 2, 1950 "The Bandit Queen" with Barbara Britton and Philip Reed (Lippert, December 1; time, 68 min.) A fairly good program melodrama. William Berke's direction is effective, for the action keeps the spectator's eyes glued to the screen. There is considerable human interest in many of the situations, and the spectator follows attentively the efforts of the heroine to avenge the death of her parents. Barbara Britton, as the masked, whip-cracking heroine, is very good, and Philip Reed, although he is not given much to do as a Robin Hood type of outlaw, is pleasant. The story takes place in the lawless days following the discovery of gold in California. The photography is clear: — When Barton MacLane, at the head of a gang, raids her family's hacienda and murders her parents, Barbara, witnessing the atrocity at a distance, takes refuge in the San Sebastian Mission, under the protection of Martin Garralga, the priest. There she meets Reed, who was sought by the authorities for aiding the Spaniards who were overtaxed by the government and driven from their homes by greedy Americans. Barbara goes to the Sheriff's office to report the murders and is shocked to discover that the sheriff is none other than MacLane. Concealing her identity, she pretends to be a visitor from the East, seeking friends. She is introduced to Willard Parker, the regional attorney and real leader of the gang, who planned to set up an empire in California. Reed teaches Barbara how to use a bullwhip, and she eventually organizes a band of Spaniards to avenge the murder of her parents and to aid the oppressed. Wearing a mask and dressed as a cabellero, Barbara, known as "Zara," raids the many haciendas taken away by Parker's gunmen, recovers the gold they had stolen, and returns it to the rightful owners; and, when she comes across one of the gang who had murdered her parents, she has him hanged and deposits his body on MacLane's doorstep. Unaware that she is "Zara," Parker proposes marriage to Barbara and reveals his ambitious plans to her, thus disclosing that he was the man behind the murders and robberies. With this information on hand, Barbara steps up her secret activities, but Parker eventually learns the truth and sets out to capture her, as well as Reed and the priest. All are saved, however, but the timely arrival of the military, sent by the governor to restore order. Parker and MacLane are removed from office, and Barbara and Reed, after being married at the mission, are permitted to ride away. It was produced and directed by William Berke from a screen play by Victor West and Budd Lesser, based on a story by Mr. West. Good for the family. "The Killer That Stalked New York" with Evelyn Keyes and Charles Korvin (Columbia, December; time, 76 min.) Seventy-six minutes of decided unpleasantness, for it deals with a smallpox epidemic. Because of the fact that the picture has been produced, directed and acted with skill, the horror most patrons will feel while watching the action will be more intense. In the opinion of this critic, there is no reason why a picture based on such a harrowing and grisly theme should have been produced. In addition to the unpleasantness of seeing a horrible disease take effect, the picture offends good taste in another way: it is clearly im« plied that a sister had illicit relations with her sister's husband. Before booking the picture, an exhibitor should see it for himself to determine whether it is entertaniment or a nightmare: — Arriving from Miami with smuggled diamonds from Miami, Evelyn Keyes telephones Charles Korvin, her husband in New York, to inform him that she had mailed the gems to him. She reaches New York feeling ill, unaware that she was a victim of smallpox. She telephones Korvin, who was secretly living with Lola Albright, her sister, and for this reason he advises her to hide out at a hotel for several days. Treasury agents trail her to the hotel, but she manages to elude them. Ill, she collapses on the street and is taken to a clinic, where William Bishop, the doctor, gives her a sedative but fails to recognize her ailment. In the events that follow, Evelyn learns that Korvin had disapperaed with the diamonds and that he had been carrying on an affair with her sister, Lola, deserted by Korvin, commits suicide. Enraged, Evelyn determines to track down Korvin to avenge both herself and Lola. Meanwhile a child Evelyn had embraced in the clinic comes down with smallpox, and Bishop establishes that Evelyn is the carrier of the disease. An intense police search is started for her, while she in turn continues to hunt for Korvin, innocently endangering everyone she contacts. To protect New York's millions, the health officials resort to mass vaccinations. Evelyn eventually trails Korvin to the shop of Art Smith, a gemcutter and fence for stolen goods, arriving just as Korvin strangles Smith to death in an argument. She holds Korvin at bay at the point of a gun and telephones the police. Korvin, attempting to escape, falls to his death from a high window ledge. Evelyn, now aware that she is a carrier of smallpox, crawls out on the ledge to commit suicide, but Bishop shows up in time to persuade her to desist. It was produced by Robert Cohn and directed by Earl McEvoy from a screen play by Harry Essex, based on a Cosmopolitan Magazine article by Milton Lehman. Strictly adult fare. "Joe Palooka in the Squared Circle" with Joe Kirk wood, Jr. and James Gleason (Monogram, N.ov. 5; time, 64 min.) As good as most of the pictures in this series. As in all of them, there is an exciting, well-staged boxing bout at the finish, and as always it holds the spectator in suspense even though he knows that the hero will win. The story, which has Joe Kirkwood, Jr., as "Palooka," involved in a murder, has been developed in an interesting way and holds one's attention throughout. It should give ample satisfaction to the action fans: — Hearing shos and seeing two men run out of the woods, Kirkwood and John Merrick, his trainer, find the body of a murdered gambler. They notify the police, but the body disappears by the time they arrive. In the absence of the corpse, the district attorney drops the investigation, but charges of murder are placed against Greg McClure and William Haade when Kirkwood identifies them from police photographs. The two murderers alibi their way out of the charges and, once released, they determine to kill Kirkwood and Merrick to stop them from searching for the missing body. They kill Merrick and send threats to Kirkwood, but the champ is undaunted. Robert Coogan (as Humphrey) joins the search and fishes the missing body from a lake. Haade and McClure go into hiding. Meanwhile Dan Seymour, their gangster boss, contacts James Gleason, Kirkwood's manager, and offers to dispose of Haade and McClure if Kirkwood will throw his forthcoming championship fight with Hal Fieberling, on whom Seymour had bet heavily. Gleason refuses. On the night of the fight, Seymour kid* naps Gleason and sends Robert Griffin to Kirkwood's dressing room with a phony message that he had been sent there by Gleason to take care of him until Gleason arrives. During the fight, Griffin dazes Kirkwood by dousing his face with a doped sponge. Fieberling is winning the fight until Gleason manages to escape and reach the ring. He disposes of Griffin, counteracts the drug, and thus revives Kirkwood in time to win the battle. Back in his dressing room, Kirkwood is attacked by McClure, but the champ is able to best him. He then leaves with Lois Hall, his wife, on a vacation. Hal E. Chester produced it, and Reginald Le Borg directed it, from a screen play by Jan Jeffrey and a story by B. F. Melzer, based on the comic strip by Ham Fisher. Suitable for the family.