Harrison's Reports (1950)

December 23, 1950 HARRISON'S REPORTS 203 "The Company She Keeps" with Lizabeth Scott, Jane Greer and Dennis O'Keefe (RKO, no rel. date set; time, 81 min.) Competent performances by the capable cast, and a story that has considerable human appeal, make this a good dramatic offering for most situations. It should appeal particularly to the distaff side, for it is a story of self sacrifice and devotion to duty, revolving around two women, one a parolee and the other her parole officer, who fall in love with the same man. Jane Greer is effective as the emotionally unstable parolee who resents her lack of complete freedom, and though her characterization is tinged with malevolence she shows enough sparks of decency to win some measure of sympathy. Lizabeth Scott is a bit too idealistic as the parole officer, but audiences will be warm in their sympathy for her sacrificial efforts to save Miss Greer from being returned to prison so that she might find happiness and a new life with Dennis O'Keefe, whom both loved: — Paroled after serving two years of a five-year sentence on a bad-check charge, Jane reports to Lizabeth, her parole officer in Los Angeles, who had gotten her a job as a nurses' aid in a hospital. Jane is displeased, for she had hoped for more freedom and a more exciting job. To cheer her up, Lizabeth takes her out to dinner and, during the meal, she greets Dennis O'Keefe, a newspaper man, who had long sought to marry her. Recognizing O'Keefe when he comes to the hospital to visit a friend, Jane makes a play for him and maneuvers him into a date. A romance soon blossoms between them, despite Jane's reticence about her past. Jane triumphantly tells the hurt Lizabeth that she intends to marry O'Keefe, and is shocked to learn that she must have Lizabeth's permission and the approval of the parole board. Learning that O'Keefe wanted to marry Jane despite her prison record, Lizabeth recommends that the board approve. The board, however, votes to withhold its decision for a month, and Jane, convinced that Lizabeth had caused the delay out of jealousy, becomes bitter. At the hospital one night, Jane impulsively tries to help another parolee escape arrest for stealing narcotics. Both girls land in jail, and Jane finds herself faced with return to prison for breaking her parole. While Lizabeth pleads with the judge for clemency, Jane, waiting in an ante room, decides to escape and heads for the railroad station. O'Keefe follows Jane and induces her to go back and take her medicine. She accepts his advice reluctantly, and upon her return to the courthouse learns from Lizabeth that the judge had granted her plea. Expressing her gratitude and promising to stay out of trouble, Jane sets off with O'Keefe to make their wedding plans. It was produced by John Houseman and directed by John Cromwell from a story and screen play by Ketti Frings. Adult fare. "Hunt the Man Down" with Gig Young, Lynn Roberts and Mary Anderson (RKO, no rel. date set; time, 68 min.) A moderately interesting program murder mystery melodrama, centering around the efforts of a public defender to clear an innocent man charged with murder. Given more to talk than to action, the picture drags along at a slow pace, despite a spurt of excitement here and there, and, even though the guilty person is not uncovered until the closing sequences, the story is so complicated that one's interest in the proceedings wanes. The direction and acting are fair, and the production values modest: — Innocent, but faced with overwhelming circumstantial evidence, James Anderson, charged with murder, had escaped from custody during the trial and had evaded capture for twelve years. Picked up by the police, he claims poverty, and Gig Young, a public defender, is assigned as his counsel. Anderson tells Young that on the night of the murder he had struck up an acquaintance in a cocktail bar with Carla Balenda and Gerald Mohr, her escort; John Kellogg and Mary Anderson, his wife; Willard Parker and Cleo Moore, his fiancee; and Christy Palmer. All had gone to Kellogg's home. Christy's husband had arrived intoxi cated, and he had pulled a gun on Anderson for dancing with her. Anderson had disarmed him with the threat that he would have been killed if not for his friends. Later, Christy's husband had been found shot dead, and Anderson had been arrested for the crime. To prepare his defense, Young, accompanied by Harry Shannon, his father, a retired cop, sets out to locate the seven witnesses. He finds Parker, now blind from war wounds, mourning Cleo, whom he believed to be dead. Kellogg, now a drunkard, had separated from Mary. Mohr had married Christy. Carla, Cleo's former roommmate, had become insane. In a lucid moment, Carla claims to know who committed the murder, but she is in no condition to testify. Later, Kellogg is shot dead by two gangsters who prove to be associates of Paul Frees, a notorious racketeer. By chance, Young learns that Cleo is not dead, but is married to Frees. He brings the case to trial and calls Cleo to the stand. She successfully wards off Young's attempts to pin the guilt on her, but, when Young has Carla brought into the courtroom, Cleo, thinking that Carla had regained her mind and is waiting to denounce her, confesses that she had killed Christy's first husband because he was blackmailing her. It was produced by Lewis J. Rachmil and directed by George Archainbaud from a screen play by DeVallon Scott. Adult fare. "Operation X" with Edward G. Robinson (Columbia, February; time, 79 min.) This British-made drama offers a fine performance by Edward G. Robinson, and lavish production values, but as entertainment its appeal to American audiences is doubtful, for it is handicapped by a story that is obscure and by characterizations that are not clearly defined. As a ruthless financial wizard with a passion to become the most powerful man in the world, Robinson is outstanding, but his talents are wasted in much elusive talk about a mysterious "Operation X" by which he hopes to gain mastery of the world, and which is never made clear to the audience. Briefly, the story depicts Robinson as a powerfully rich business tycoon who started life as a bootblack in London. He pays little attention to Nora Swinburne, his wife, but lavishes all his affection and wealth on Peggy Cummins, his daughter, a capricious young woman who had been spoiled and pampered all her life, despite the objections of her mother. Robinson takes no notice when Peggy announces her engagement to Richard Greene, a young journalist, for he had become accustomed to Peggy having a new fiance periodically. As a house guest, Greene gathers information that enables him to write a denunciatory article about Robinson's lust for greater power than any other man in the world. This leads to a quarrel and separation between Greene and Peggy. Meanwhile Robinson, to surmount the last obstacle to the fulfillment of his scheme to master the world, plans to marry Peggy to the son of a Sultan, whose small country was rich in a rare mineral deposit needed to complete "Operation X." After a visit with the Sultan, Robinson returns home to find that Peggy had become reconciled with Greene, and that she planned to marry him. He rejects the proposed marriage and insists that Peggy follow his wishes. Nora, determined to insure her daughter's happiness, bluntly tells Robinson that Peggyis not his daughter after all, but the daughter of a former lover to whom she had turned because of his neglect. Shocked by this disclosure, Robinson becomes insane. Miss Swinburne is sympathetic as the suppressed but determined wife, and Richard Greene adequately fills the role of the young journalist, but Peggy Cummins is far from satisfactory as the daughter; she is much too theatrical. Gregory Ratoff, who produced and directed the picture, has a major supporting role as Robinson's bungling aide. Robert Thocren and William Rose arc responsible for the inadequate screen play, which they based on the novel "David Colder," by Irene Nemirowsky. Adult fare.