Harrison's Reports (1955)

174 HARRISON'S REPORTS October 29, 1955 "The Tender Trap" with Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds and David Wayne (MGM, l^ovember; time, 111 min.) An entertaining sophisticated comedy, based on the play of the same name and photographed in GinemaScope and Eastman color Filled with bright dialogue, some "hot" love secenes and many comic situations, it deals with the romantic mixups of a highly successful actor's agent, an eligible and philandering bachelor who is constantly pursued by beautiful girls but who becomes the victim of true love when he falls for a determined young girl who had definite marriage plans in mind and who had set her wedding date even before meeting the man she will marry. It is a thin plot at best, but it is played with zest by Frank Sinatra, as the bachelor; Debbie Reynolds, as the girl who traps him; Celeste Holm, as the girl he bypasses; and David Wayne, as his visiting small-town pal, who is completely bewildered by the carefree bachelor habits of his friend. The complications that result when Sinatra gets himself engaged to both girls at the same time are quite funny. The picture's one fault is that its running time is much too long for what it has to offer, with the result that there are draggy moments when one's interest wanders from the screen. The production values are lavish, and the color photography tops: — Wayne, a married man with two children, arrives in New York from Indiana for a visit with Sinatra, his old college pal. Impressed with Sinatra's sumptuous apartment, Wayne looks on in amazement at the procession of beauties who visit Sinatra and make a play for him. Sinatra appears partial to Celeste Holm, a sophisticated violinist with a symphony orchestra, until he meets up with Debbie, a budding musical comedy star, who makes it clear that she has definite marriage plans, even though she had no idea who the bridegroom would be. Sinatra starts romancing Debbie, but he balks when she proposes marriage and they break off the romance after a quarrel. Meanwhile, Wayne had been dating Celeste, and he becomes so enamored with her that he starts thinking about divorcing his wife and becoming a bachelor like Sinatra. Wayne's dates with Celeste reawakens Sinatra's interest in her and he asks her to marry him. Celeste accepts immediately and they celebrate the en-, gagement with a wild party in his apartment, but, before the party is over, Sinatra realizes that his heart belong to Debbie and he effects a reconciliation with her. On the following morning the deception is discovered by the girls and they both drop him. Sinatra takes a European vacation to get away from it all, and upon his return attends Celeste's wedding to Tom Helmore, one of his neighbors. There, he meets up one again with Debbie, who willingly goes to his arms. It was produced by Lawrence Weingarten, and directed by Charles Walters, from a screenplay by Julius Epstein, based on the play by Max Shulman and Robert Paul Smith. Adult fare "All That Heaven Allows" with Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson (Univ.-lnt'l, January; time, 89 min.) An excellently produced romantic drama, photographed in Technicolor. Women in particular should go for its "soap opera" type of story, which deals with small-town prejudices that nearly ruin a pleasingly developed romance between a young widow and her gardener. Though the story offers nothing unusual, it has been directed so skillfully that the actions of the characters are believable. At times one feels as if he wants to twist the necks of the heroine's grown children for interfering with her happiness; they felt that, if she should marry the hero, whom they considered below the family's dignity, it would ruin their own futures. Rock Hudson makes a fine hero, and Jane Wyman is sympathetic as the widow. The friendship that Agnes Moorehead shows for Miss Wyman when she is in need of understanding is touching. Though there is not much comedy relief, there is compensation in the fact that the story is not heavy. The color photography is superb. Some of the scenes, which show snow-capped landscapes through the windows of the interior settings, are a work of art; they are 60 beautiful in their composition that they look like paintings:— Living in a small New England town with Gloria Talbott and William Reynolds, her grown children, Jane, a financially secure widow, finds her loneliness relieved by occasional visits from Agnes, her close friend, and Conrad Nagel, a middle-aged admirer. She becomes friendly with Rock Hudson, a rugged and handsome gardener who took care of her property, and a romance develops between them. Her happiness is shortlived when he proposes to her, for Jacqueline de Wit, the town gossip, sets the community agog with vicious rumors that the romance had begun before Jane's husband had died. To add to her misery, Jane's children oppose the marriage. Hudson, aware of Jane's problem, leaves the decision to her. Torn between Hudson, her children and the desire for the approbation of the community, Jane gives up Hudson. In due time Jane's daughter decides to get married, and her son announces that he had accepted a scholarship in Paris Thus Jane finds herself alone once again and realizes the pointlessness of her sacrifice. She heeds the advice of Agnes and goes to visit Hudson at his old farmhouse, which he had redecorated in anticipation of their marriage. She does not find him at home and heads hercar back to town. Hudson, out hunting, sees her from afar and, in his eagerness to overtake her, slips down a snow-covered embankment and is injured seriously. Jane, learning of the accident, rushes to his bedside. When he regains consciousness and sees her tender but anxious countenance, he smiles contentedly in the knowledge that she had come to stay with him for good. It was produced by Ross Hunter, and directed by Douglas Sirk, from a screenplay by Peg Fenwick, based on the story by Edna L. Lee and Harry Lee. Family. "Sincerely Yours" with Liberace, Joanne Dru and Dorothy Malone (Warner Bros., J^ov. 26; time, 115 min.) Boxoffice-wise, "Sincerely Yours" has built-in insurance, for it brings to the screen Liberace, the highly popular pianist, whose fame is known far and wide. What is more important, however, is that it is a heart-warming and thoroughly entertaining picture that should be enjoyed by all types of movie-goers, for, in addition to the fact that it is musically fascinating, it offers an appealing .tory that is loaded with human interest and romantic values. While Liberace is no great shakes as an actor, he has a pleasant personality and is competent enough in the leading role of a popular pianist who finds his career cut short when he is suddenly afflicted with deafness. The humanitarian manner in which he concerns himself with the sorrows and problems of other people, despite his own misfortune, warms the spectator's heart. His piano playing i.:, oi course, sensational and a thorough delight to the ear. And his selections should satisfy all types of musical tastes, for they range from boogie-woogie to the classical. Joanne Dru and Dorothy Malone are charming and sympathetic as the two women with whom he finds romance, and William Demarest is his usual comic self as Liberace's dour manager. The production values, enhanced by the fane WarnerColor photography, are lavish and tasteful: — Liberace, a popular pianist, has a friendly and appreciative interest in Joanne, his jecretary, but is unaware that she is in love with him He is pleased no end when he is offered an engagement in Carnegie Hall, and his happiness knows no bounds when he meets and falls in love with Dorothy, a beautiful socialite. Minutes before his performance at Carnegie Hall, tragedy strikes when his hearing fails him. The performance is cancelled and, after an examination by a doctor, he is advised that a delicate operation will either restore full hearing or result in permanent deafness. Without the operation, he would have intermittent periods of hearing and deafness and would one day become totally deaf. Liberace decides to postpone the operation. In fairness to Dorothy, he tries to call off their romance, but she will not hear of it. He takes up lip reading, and a new world opens up to him when he trains his binoculars on the people in the park below his penthouse. Reading their lips, he learns of their misfortunes and frustrations and sets out to help them. In one case, he finances the operation of a little crippled boy so that he could play football with other boys. In another case, he feels sympathy for Lurene Tuttle, a typical East Side woman, whose daughter (Lori Nelson) was ashamed to introduce her to the fashionable family she had married into. He buys her stylish clothes and takes her to an elite charity ball, where she makes a tremendous hit with Lori's in-laws, much to the delight of all concerned. Meanwhile Joanne leaves Liberace's employ when she realizes that her love for him is hopeless. One day, while waiting for Dorothy to visit him, Liberace sees her on a park bench