Harrison's Reports (1950)

December 16, 1950 HARRISON'S REPORTS 199 "The Redhead and the Cowboy" with Glenn Ford, Edmond O'Brien and Rhonda Fleming (Paramount, March; time, 82 min.) The action fans should find this western fairly satisfac tory, despite the story's shortcomings, for it has all the gunplay and hard-riding they expect to see in a film of this type, and romantic interest to boot. The trouble with the formula plot, which takes place during the closing days of the Civil War, and which is embellished with a spy angle, is that it has been developed in so obscure a manner that one does not understand the motivations of the principals until late in the proceedings. Moreover, some of the situations place a strain on one's credulity. On the whole, how ever, it has enough excitement and intrigue to get by with the undiscriminating devotees of western adventure fare: — Glenn Ford, a cowboy whose sympathies were with the South, is attracted to Rhonda Fleming, a redheaded dance' hall girl, when he visits a saloon in the New Mexico terri' tory. Rhonda becomes mixed up in a backroom killing, and Ford, coming to her aid, finds himself charged with the crime while she escapes. Edmond O'Brien, a Union intelligence officer posing as a cattle buyer, helps Ford to escape. To clear himself, Ford goes in search of Rhonda and trails her to a mountain cabin, where he learns that she is a Confederate spy on an important mission. As they converse, O'Brien approaches the cabin and Ford goes out to meet him. Rhonda grasps the opportunity to escape once again. O'Brien tells Ford that he, too, is a Confederate agent, and that he had been ordered to obtain a message that she carried for delivery to Alan Reed, a supposed Confederate colonel. Both set out after Rhonda and, after many complicated events, finally catch up with her as she is being abused by two opportunists who were secretly in O'Brien's pay. Ford rescues her while O'Brien pretends to kill his two agents. O'Brien and Ford then escort Rhonda to Reed's secret mountain hideaway, where she gives him information about a Union gold shipment passing through the territory — gold that was needed to help the Confederacy. Reed, a shrewd fellow, unmasks O'Brien as a Union intelligence officer, but O'Brien in turn proves to Rhonda and Ford that Reed was a renegade, hated by both the North and the South, and that he planned to steal and keep the gold for himself. To make sure that nothing goes wrong with his scheme, Reed imprisons both O'Brien and Ford, and makes plans to abduct Rhonda across the border to Mexico. O'Brien, to foil the robbery and save Rhonda, sacrifices his life so that Ford can escape to warn the Union forces. Forewarned, the Union soldiers ambush Reed and his men and take them prisoners. Set free, Rhonda joins Fred to resume their romance. It was produced by Irving Asher and directed by Leslie Fenton from a screen play by Jonathan Latimer and Liam O'Brein, based on a story by Charles Marquis Warren. Unobjectionable morally. "Under the Gun" with Richard Conte and Audrey Totter (UnivAnt'l, no tel. date set; time, 84 min.) This gangster-prison melodrama is not cheerful entertainment, and the plot is on the improbable side, but it is fairly gripping. Its appeal, however, may be directed more to men than to women, for the story, which revolves around a heartless racketeer who shrewdly brings about the death of two fellow convicts in order to gain his own release from prison, may prove too harrowing for them. The action for the most part is slow-moving, but it keeps one tense. The closing reels offer a highly exciting chase by car and fast motor boat. The acting is good, but Audrey Totter has relatively little to do in her part: — Richard Conte, a big-time racketeer visting Miami, induces Audrey Totter, a cafe singer, to accompany him to New York to sing in his night club. En route north, they stop for dinner in a small Southern town where, years previously, Conte had been a suspect in an unsolved murder. The victim's brother, learning that Conte is in town, comes after him. Conte shoots him dead and is arrested by John Mclntyre, the sheriff. Shepperd Strudwick, Conte's lawyer, builds an air-tight defense around Audrey, the only witness, who had been intimidated. But once on the stand, Audrey cracks and her testimony results in a 20-year prison sentence for Conte. At the prison, Conte is assigned to a road gang guarded by convict Royal Dano, a trusty called the "shooter," who, if he shot an escaping prisoner, would win a pardon. Conte shrewdly induces Richard Taber, a weakminded convict, to attempt an escape. Dano shoots Taber dead and, as a result, is granted a pardon. When the warden seeks a new "shooter," Conte volunteers and gets the job. He then makes a deal with Sam Jaffe, a fellow-convict, to send $25,000 to his destitute wife and children if he will attempt an escape. Jaffe agrees and, when the money is paid, Conte gives him thirty days to make a dash for freedom. Conte tries desperately to outwit Conte but to no avail; Conte shoots him dead when he makes the break. In keeping with the prison rule, Conte receives his pardon. He returns to Miami and, at gunpoint, forces Audrey to accompany him to New York. Meanwhile Mclntyre, the sheriff, discovers a diary kept by Jaffe in which he set down the details of the deal with Conte. Orders for Conte's re« arrest are issued and roadblocks thrown up. Conte smashes through one of the road barriers in a desperate attempt to escape, but after a wild chase by fast car and motorboat he is caught by the police and killed, while Audrey is rescued. It was produced by Ralph Dietrich and directed by Ted Tetzlaff from a screen play by George Zuckerman, based on a story by Daniel B. Ullman. Adult fare. "The Second Face" with Ella Raines, Bruce Bennett and Rita Johnson (Eagle-Lion, October; time, 77 min.) Handicapped by an unconvincing plot, weak direction, and so-so performances, "The Second Face" shapes up as no more than ordinary program fare. Its "soap opera" type of story, which deals with the trials and tribulations of a homely but intelligent girl whose unattractiveness leaves her frustrated romantically and serves to impede her progress as a designer in the fashion world, is not only unbelievable but also lacking in imagination; one gusses in advance just how the plot will develop. Ella Raines, who dons a putty nose in this role to distort her facial features, but is later made into a beautiful woman by means of plastic surgery, tries hard to make something of the part, but the artificiality of the characterization doesn't give her much of a chance: — Ella, secretly in love with novelist Bruce Bennett, her employer, studies dress-designing to distract herself from what she considers is a hopeless love. Bennett loves her, but he does not admit it because of a previous marital failure. In order not to suffer her nearness, he secures a dressdesigning job for her in Los Angeles and arranges for her to live with Rita Johnson, another designer. When Ella reports for work, she is turned down because of her unattractiveness. Rita, feeling sorry for her, obtains a job for her as secretary to Roy Roberts, her fiance, owner of an advertising agency. John Sutton, associated with Roberts, learns of Ella's designing talents and, by playing up to her with flattery and attention, uses her work to his own benefit. She eventually discovers his callousness and breaks off their relationship. Completely unhappy over her "ugliness," she is pleased when Bennett comes to visit her, but when he proposes marriage she turns him down in the belief that he merely felt sorry for her. Soon thereafter Roberts jilts Rita to elope with another woman, and Rita sets out to kill him. Ella, in a frantic effort to stop her, is injured seriously in a motor accident. Her smashed face is restored through plastic surgery and she becomes a beautiful woman, but the surgeon refuses payment, informing her that the bill had been taken care of annonymously. Before long many men seek her favor, particularly Sutton, but she is intent only on finding the man who had paid for her face, for she felt that she was truly beloved by him for herself. Certain clues erroneously lead her to believe that Sutton was her benefactor, and he accepts the credit, but he is soon unmasked as a fraud when Jane Darwell, Bennett's housekeeper, reveals that it was Bennett who had paid for the surgery. Ella rushes to Bennett. It was produced by Edward Lcven and directed by Jack Bcrnhard from a screen play by Eugene Vale. Adult fare.