Harrison's Reports (1950)

December 30, 1950 he turns her down. She then arranges for thugs to beat up Denning, but he sticks to the job despite his injuries. Young is killed under circumstances that point to Denning as the killer, but he manages to clear himself with the sheriff. Marie, having inherited Young's estate, persuades Denning to stay on the job. When Fay sees to it that the drilling rig is sabatoged, Marie goes to see her in the hope of making a deal. Fay is shot dead mysteriously while Marie is with her, and Marie is taken into custody by the sheriff. Taylor Holmes, an alcoholic old lawyer who had be friended Marie and had been taking care of her affairs, persuades the sheriff to release her to see if the mysterious killer will make an attempt on her life, too. The killer, however, proves to be Holmes himself; he had once owned all the oil lands in the area, and he hoped to get them back by disposing of the present owners. Holmes kidnaps Marie and takes her to his ranch to kill her. Denning, seeking legal advice, goes to the ranch and discovers Marie's predicament. He rescues her in the nick of time while the sheriff shoots down Holmes. It was produced by James T. Vaughn and directed by Abby Berlin from a Screen play by Lee Berman and Charles S. Belden, based on a story by Don Mc' Guire. Harmless for the family. "Two Lost Worlds" with Jim Arness, Laura Elliott and Bill Kennedy (Eagle Lion Clasics, Oct.; time, 63 min.) The value of "Two Lost Worlds," which has been produced on a fairly large scale, lies in the fact that it lends itself to extensive exploitation. It will undoubtedly arouse the interest of those who will look at it, although its entertainment values are spotty. The clipper ship being attacked by pirates; the battles between prehistoric animals; and the eruption of the volcano with its earth-shaking effects, which remind one of "Green Dolphin Street," should thrill the spectator. The volcano scenes are highly realistic. There are, however, whole stretches that are slow and boresome; nevertheless, it should go over fairly well as part of a double bill. The action takes place early in the 19th century: — Convinced that he had built a ship that would revolutionize the shipping industry, Jim Arness sets out in his clipper for a South Pacific island to pick up a prize cargo and thus establish a franchise. En route, the clipper is attacked by a pirate ship. In the running battle, Arness is wounded, and the clipper, captained by Tom Monroe, puts into a small port, where Arness is left behind for convalescence. There, Arness falls in love with Laura Elliott, daughter of Pierre Watkin, the local magistrate, thus disrupting her engagement to Bill Kennedy, owner of a sheep ranch. Raiding the town, the pirates kidnap Laura and Jane Harlan, and kill Laura 's father. Arness and a small group of survivors, including Kennedy, Tom Hubbard, Gloria Petroff and Bob Carson, chase after the pirate vessel in Carson's sloop and, after a fierce all-night battle, board the pirate ship and rescue Laura and Jane. On the voyage home, the ship is wrecked on an uncharted island inhabited by prehistoric animals. After encounters with the monsters, the group finds itself endangered by a violent volcano eruption. The hot lava and falling rocks kill Jane and Kennedy. Meanwhile Monroe had returned to the colony where he had left Arness and, not finding him, had sailed for home. During the voyage he passes near the uncharted island and is attracted by the eruption and by signals from shore. He moves into shore and finds Arness, Laura, and Hubbard and Gloria, and takes them aboard. The clipper ship then sets sail for Salem, with Laura and Arness deciding to marry. It was produced by Boris Petroff and directed by Norman Dawn from a screen play by Tom Hubbard. Harmless for family audiences. "The Flying Missile" with Glenn Ford and Viveca Lindfors (Columbia, January; time, 93 min.) The fact that this is the first picture dealing with the work of the Navy with guided missils makes it a film of timely interest, one that lends itself to exploitation. As entertainment, however, it does not stack up as much, for it is bogged down by a cliche-ridden, unimaginative script that is overlong and unconvincing. The film is at its best when it centers around the workings of the rocket propelled missiles, its value as a war weapon, and the activities of the Navy at the Missile Test Center at Point Magu, California, but it becomes most ordinary when it gets into the melodramatic and romantic phases of the story. For instance, the audience is asked to believe that the Navy would tolerate the antics of the hero who, beset by regulations and eager to prove that missiles launched from submarines can wipe out a large fleet, steals strategic materials and supplies to secretly build his own missile launching platform. That the direction and performances are less than inspiring is due mainly to the poor script material : — Glenn Ford, commander of a submarine ,is bitterly disappointed when his ship is theoretically sunk during a Navy war game. He believes that if submarines were equipped with deck launching platforms to loose the Navy's new guided missiles, submarines could then stay out of the range of destroyers. To test his theory, he receives permission to take his ship to the Missile Test Center at Point Magu for special training with guided missiles. There, Ford reports to Henry O'Neill, the admiral, and meets Viveca Lindfors, O'Neills' secretary. It is a case of love at first sight, and he sees her as much as possible in between the missile lessons. The lessons prove too slow to suit Ford and, impatient, he arranges with his crew to raid a warehouse on the base for materials, which they use to secretly build their own launching platform. Just as the project is completed the Admiral walks in on them and reveals that he had been aware of their activities. He then informs Ford that the work had been in vain because the base was out of missiles. When Viveca inadvertently reveals that missiles were available at an Army Ordinance Depot nearby, Ford takes a flying trip to the depot and persuades the commanding general to let him have several of the weapons for his experiment. In his haste to fire the missile. Ford accidentally kicks a safety switch, causing an explosion that kills one of his crew and that leaves his legs paralyzed. The death of the crewman so affects Ford that he develops a mental block that retards his recovery. All efforts to rouse him out of his lethargy fail until Viveca accuses him of being a quitter. Affected by the accusation, Ford snaps out of his mood in time to join the fleet in new exercises and to participate in a new missile test that proves his theory. It was produced by Jerry Breslcr and directed by Henry Levin from a screen play by Richard English and James Gunn, based on a story by Harvey S Haislip and N. Richard Nash. Suitable for the family.