Harrison's Reports (1950)

HARRISON'S REPORTS December 16, 1950 "Halls of Montezuma" with Richard Widmark and Reginald Gardiner (20th Century-Fox, January; time, 113 min.) This Technicolor war melodrama is a superior picture of its type, one of the best ever made. It is a stirring account of the exploits of a battalion of U.S. Marines who invade a Japanese-held island in the South Pacific during World War II, but it is by no means a pretty picture, for its realistic depiction of men fighting their guts out on a bloody battlefield points up the horrors of warfare with such tremendous dramatic impact that many of the scenes leave the spectator trembling with excitement and terror. Whether or not movie-goers will be receptive to a picture of this kind nowadays is something the individual exhibitor must determine for himself, but he may be sure that those who will 6ee the picture will find it a memorable war film, fascinating from beginning to end, grim and tragic though it may be. Some of the sequences are so thrilling that one feels the feverish excitement that grips the Marines themselves. The color photography is superb. The landing on the beach; the booming naval guns; the shrieking shells and rockets; the rattle of the death-dealing machine guns that mow down men like wheat; the flame throwing tanks; the hand-to-hand combats — all these scenes show war at its worst, and all are depicted with such realism that they make one's blood tingle. The story itself is intriguing and highly suspensive, centering mainly around a platoon of Marines commanded by Richard Widmark, whose group is assigned to locate the secret site of a Japanese rocket launching base, which halted the initial advance and which had to be found and destroyed within twenty/four hours lest it wipe out a general attack scheduled for the next day. When it is found out that Jap soldiers and officers are holed up in a cave in the hills, Widmark and his men are ordered to capture the cave and bring back prisoners for questioning. The assignment proves to be a most treacherous one, but after many spine-tingling incidents, in which several of the men lose their lives, the cave is captured and prisoners brought back to headquarters. The captured Japs, however, prove wily when questioned about the rocket site and, with only ninety minutes left before the general attack begins, the situation becomes desperate. But Widmark, through clever interrogation of the prisoners, and with the aid of a torn map found in the cave, finally works out the location of the rocket battery. The information is flashed to Navy airmen who, with only a few minutes to spare, demolish the rocket battery and enable the general attack to get underway. In between the melodramatic incidents the story concerns itself with the personal problems of the men and their relationships with each other. The acting is fine, with an outstanding portrayal turned in by Widmark as the Marine lieutenant who feels an almost paternal fondness for his men and who hides his own fear and suffering to give them encouragement. It was produced by Robert Bassler and directed by Lewis Milestone from a screen play by Michael Blankfort. It is an inspiring picture, suitable for all. "Grounds for Marriage" with Van Johnson, Kathryn Grayson, Paula Raymond and Barry Sullivan (MGM, January; time, 91 min.) "Grounds for Marriage" is distinctly lightweight stuff, but it offers one and one-half hours of chucklesome entertainment that is easy to take. The comedy is provoked by the complications that enter into the life of a young doctor who, engaged to his associate's daughter, suddenly finds himself pursued by his ex-wife. Van Johnson does good work as the pursued male, and Kathryn Grayson is pretty and pert as the ex-wife. The farcical situations that arise because of her determined efforts to win him back are highly comical. Besides a goodly quota of laughs, the film offers music to please all tastes, for it ranges from several operatic classics sung by Miss Grayson to a hot "Charleston" played by the Firehouse Five Plus Two, with Johnson doing a most amusing "Charleston" dance routine. A high spot in the hilarity is a dream sequence in which Johnson joins Miss Grayson in a satirical rendition of "Carmen," while Milton Cross does the narration. Barry Sullivan, as Johnson's toymanufacturing brother and woman-chaser, adds much to the comedy: — Upon her return from a trip abroad, Kathryn, an opera singer, realizes that her divorce from Johnson was a mistake and wants to marry him again, but she finds her path blocked by the fact that he is engaged to Paula Raymond, daughter of Lewis Stone, his associate. Johnson rebuffs her efforts to win him back, and the nervous tension aroused in her causes her to lose her voice on the night of her theatrical debut. Johnson treats her for the affliction and, on the advice of Stone, tries to effect a cure by pretending that he is still in love with her. Meanwhile he has considerable difficulty keeping his association with Kathryn a secret from Paula. He calls upon Sullivan, his brother, to aid him, and that worthy loses no time making a play for Kathryn himself. In the course of events, Johnson, while lecturing to a wo< men's group on the common cold, catches one himself. Kathryn, learning that he is ill, rushes to his apartment to nurse him and, in the process, regains her voice. Just as she is cured, Paula and Sullivan burst into the apartment and find them together, clad only in pajamas. Johnson, excited, loses his voice and is unable to explain why Kathryn had spent the night at his place. The mixup results in a reconciliation between Kathryn and Johnson, while Sullivan sets his cap for Paula. It was produced by Samuel Marx, and directed by Robert Z. Leonard, from a screen play by Allen Rivkin and Laura Kerr, based on a story by Mr. Mane. Suitable for the family. "At War With the Army" with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis (Paramount, Jan. 17; time, 93 min.) Although this "screwball" comedy deserves no more than a fairly good rating as entertainment, it probably will go over very well at the box-office because of the current popularity of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The story, which casts the two comedians as soldiers in a training camp, is nonsensical, but it is loaded with gags and situations that are funny enough to keep one laughing throughout most of the action. The chief laugh-getter, of course, is Lewis, who is highly comical as a not-too-bright private, a bungling "sad sack" who gets into everyone's hair and who is constantly being taken advantage of by Martin, who plays the part of a conniving first sergeant. Several song numbers have been worked into the proceedings to good effect, especially the number in which Martin and Lewis imitate the characters played by Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald in "Going My Way." The production values are extremely modest, with most of the action confined to a few sets: What there is in the way of a story has to do with Martin trying to avoid Jean Ruth, a former girhfriend, who was about to have a baby and who was trying desperately to see him. When the commanding officer learns of Jean's condition, he assigns Martin to find the man responsible. Martin decides to pass off Lewis as the culprit, unaware that Lewis himself had just received word from home that his wife had given birth. When Lewis is brought before the commanding officer and is given a two-weeks pass to "fix things up," the commander assumes that Lewis will marry Jean "to make an honest woman out of her," while Lewis assumes that the commander merely wanted him to visit his wife and new-born child. Just as Lewis is about to depart on his leave, Jean shows up and the commander learns of the frame-up. Martin is even more shocked when she reveals that she is a married woman and that she wanted to warn him to stay away from her because her husband was jealous. As a result of his machinations, Martin loses his sergeant's stripes and is compelled to carry Private First Class Lewis' gear as the company prepares to embark for overseas duty. Fred F. Finklehoffe wrote the screen play and co-produced it with Abner J. Greshler, based on a play by James B. Allardice. It was directed by Hal Walker. Unobjectionable morally.