Harrison's Reports (1958)

76 HARRISON'S REPORTS May 10, 1958 "Since 'Kwai' has not been offered in many spots the (Allied) units are urged to watch the situation carefully and report new developments to the Chairman of the Emergency Defense Committee. It is possible that some of the runs now in progress which the subsequent-runs believe to be regular first-runs will turn out to be phony roadshows, and that the picture will then be transferred to another theatre for a specially created first-run. "Also the units are urged to watch for and report rezoning plans such as the one used in Milwaukee. The Department of Justice condoned the handling of 'Ten Commandments'; it is likely that every major distributor will try to use the same method." "I Married a Woman" with George Gobels, Diana Dors and Adolphe Menjou (UnivAnt'l, March; time, 84 min.) A moderately amusing comedy-farce. It may have some appeal for those who enjoy George Gobel's brand of humor, but on the whole the comedy is so forced that it is, for the most part, ineffective. As a matter of fact, audience reaction at a preview was very mild, with many persons walking out on the picture long before the end. A compensatnig factor is the beautiful and voluptuous Diana Dors who, as Gobel's wife, shows off her widely-publicized physical attributes in a variety of swim suits, black negligees and glamorous evening gowns, but her beauty and figure are not enough to save the picture. That the comedy, which is of the whacky variety, falls flat, is due mainly to uninspired direction. The photography is good: — Gobel, an executive with an advertising agency owned by Adolphe Menjou, is faced with the problem of finding a new advertising idea for Luxenberg Beer lest the agency lose its top account. Gobel had originally popularized the beer through "Miss Luxenberg" beauty contests, and he had married Diane, one of the winners. While devoting his thoughts toward a new gimmick, Gobel neglects the love-hungry Diana. Meanwhile, she learns that she is going to have a baby, and Jessie Royce Landis, her mother, devilishly hints that Gobel must be running around with other women. Gobel hits upon the idea of choosing a "Mrs. Luxenberg" from among the former contest winners, but most of them are found to be overstuffed with beer and food. Only Diana had retained her trim figure and beauty, but, angered by neglect and suspicion, she threatens Gobel with a separation. Gobel moves out, and Menjou, aghast at the marital calamity, demands a reconciliation. Gobel obeys him, but the foxy Menjou hires a photographer-spy to trail the couple and capture each romantic moment to illustrate the proposed "Mrs. Luxenberg" contest. Discovering the photographer, Diana accuses Gobel of trickery and this time the rift appears permanent. Gobel, however, wages a desperate battle to regain her affection. He wins, of course, and Menjou, glowing with remorse, treats the reunited pair to a second honeymoon — a luxury cruise. It was produced by William Bloom and directed by Hal Kanter from a screenplay by Goodman Ace. Family. "Let's Rock" with Julius La Rosa (Columbia, ]une; time, 79 min.) The story is ordinary, but the popular music and its appeal to teenagers, coupled with the marquee value of Julius La Rosa's name, should put this program picture over. La Rosa, who plays the part of a popular ballad singer who thinks little of rock-and-roll tunes and refuses to record such music, has a pleasing personality and gives a good performance in the not-too-demanding leading role. It is a light story with a charming romantic interest, but its main function is to serve as a framework for the dozen or more songs, which are sung in entertaining style by La Rosa and other artists, including Wink Martindale, Roy Hamilton, the Tyrones, Paul Anka, Danny and the Jrs., the Royal Teens and Delia Reese. The photography is sharp and clear: — La Rosa, a successful singer of ballads, refuses to record rock-and-roll songs, despite the pleas of Conrad Jam's, his manager, who points out that "Two Perfect Strangers," his latest ballad recording, was doing poor business. Deter mined to make the song a hit, La Rosa makes a guest appearance on a TV show, but his teenaged audience receives it mildly. Salt is put on his wound when a group of youngsters, waiting at the stage door, pass him by to mob a rockand-roll singer. He is approached, however, by Phyllis Newman, a charming young miss who identifies herself as the composer of the song on the other side of his "Strangers" record. He offers to take her to dinner and they find themselves deeply in love by the time they say goodnight. In the course of events, La Rosa's popularity declines and he finds himself faced with cancellation of his recording contract unless he agrees to wax rock-and-roll tunes. This ultimatum puts him in an ugly mood and leads to a quarrel with Phyllis because of her inability to go out with him one night. He soon regrets his attitude and meets up with Phyllis once again at a recording studio, where a rock-androll song she had composed was being recorded. He recognizes that the song will be a hit and walks over to congratulate her. This leads to a reconciliation, with La Rosa accepting her suggestion to make a record with a rock-androll song on one side and a ballad on the other. The record is a huge success and reestablishes La Rosa as one of the country's top singers. It was produced and directed by Harry Foster from a screenplay by Hal Hackady. Family. "The Matchmaker" with Shirley Booth, Anthony Perkins and Shirley MacLaine (Paramount, August; time, 101 min.) Delightful foolishness is offered in this sophisticated period farce, which is based on Thorton Wilder's stage comedy of the same title, and which centers around the frantic complications that stem from the matchmaking activities of a sly but warm-hearted middle-aged widow. Set in Yonkers and New York City in the year 1884, the patly contrived story is a highly entertaining mixture of broad comedy, slapstick and subtle wit, in which the principal characters occasionally stop the action to speak directly to the audience in "asides," but the highly stylized acting and the theatrical quality of the presentation make it a picture that probably will appeal more to selective movie-goers than to the general run of audiences. The direction is expert and very capable performances are turned in by every member of the cast, but Shirley Booth is outstanding in the principal role. The photography is excellent: — Miss Booth, a conniving but lovable widow, assumes the responsibility of finding a wife for Paul Ford, a rich, tightfisted old widower, who owned a big general store in Yonkers. Miss Booth's matchmaking activities lead to all sorts of complications when she takes Ford to New York to meet Shirley MacLaine, a young but man-hungry milliner, for, by a coincidence, Anthony Perkins and Robert Morse, Ford's store clerks, had come to town in search of an amorous adventure and had entered Shirley's shop to make a play for her and for Perry Wilson, her assistant. The boys hide in closets and under the table when Ford comes into the shop with Miss Booth and narrowly escape detection. Miss Booth sees them but she keeps her silence. More complications arise later when Perkins and Morse, with limited funds, take the girls to a fashionable restaurant and find Ford and Miss Booth dining in an adjoining room. The boys' efforts to escape detection by Ford lead to all sorts of whacky mixups, including their gaining possession of Ford's lost wallet and masquerading as women to fool him. By this time Miss Booth decides that it would be a good idea to win Ford as a husband for herself. Through clever plotting, she maneuvers a happy ending that has Ford proposing to her after agreeing to make Perkins his partner and promoting Morse to head clerk. Meanwhile, Shirley consents to become Perkins' wife, and Perry looks to matrimony with Morse. It was produced by Don Hartman and directed by Joseph Anthony from a screenplay by John Michael Hayes. Adult fare.