Harrison's Reports (1958)

104 HARRISON'S REPORTS June 28, 1958 "The Case of Dr. Laurent" with Jean Gabin, Nicole Courcel and Sylvia Monfort (Trans'Lux, July; time, 91 min.) This French'made film with English sub'titles is a most unusual adult drama in that its central theme is concerned with the methods of natural childbirth in which a woman, through training and knowledge and through a course of breathing and other exercises, overcomes the traditional horror and great pain of childbirth and seemingly enjoys the experience of helping her child into the world. The outstanding thing about the picture is the sensational climax in which the camera records in every detail the actual birth of a child as it emerges from its mother's womb. Although this climax is indeed most unusual in a picture that is an entertainment, it should be pointed out that it is presented in a manner that is most informative and entirely inoffensive. This final sequence no doubt will create considerable word-of' mouth comment, and this in turn should give its boxoffice chances a decided lift. The story, which has been handled in good taste, is at once charming, humorous and dramatic, centering around Jean Gabin as a middle-aged Parisian doctor who comes to St. Martin, a French Alpine town, for reasons of health and to replace an aged, retiring physician. His first patient is Sylvia Monfort, who was having a particularly difficult maternity confinement and who finally gives birth after hours of agonizing pain, but the experience leaves her shocked, and resentful toward her husband. Moved by Sylvia's wretched ordeal, and recalling the remarkable success of the new method of natural childbirth, Gabin familiarizes himself with the techniques and invites the villagers to a lecture on the subject in the town hall. The people react to his announcement with passive skepticism and only a handful are curious enough to attend the lecture and all are fascinated by what he has to tell them. But only Nicole Courcel, a pregnant, unmarried girl, volunteers to take Gabin's natural childbirth instructions in preparation for her delivery. Gabin's teachings divide the people into two camps. Although most are shocked at his radical attack on traditional attitudes toward pregnancy, the women of the town are intrigued by his astonishing ideas and intensely curious over Nicole's progress. Other county doctors, fearing that Gabin is a publicity-seeker who is out to steal their patients, oppose him and spark an investigation by the Medical Association. Gabin is summoned to appear before a medical board of inquiry in a city nearby. While he is being grilled by the board, Nicole enters the first stage of her labor pains. She communicates with Gabin by telephone and, in gratitude for his help, persuades him to let her come to the city and have her baby before the very eyes of his "judges." When the board agrees to witness the birth, the women of the town commandeer a rickety old bus and, after a wild ride over steep mountain roads, reach the city hospital in the nick of time. There, before his astonished colleagues and the women of St. Martin, Gabin brings his smiling patient through the modern miracle of a perfect, natural childbirth. It is a highly entertaining story, presented in a frank and forthright style, and rich in down-to-earth characterizations that are typical of many foreignmade films. The direction and acting are excellent. A dubbed-in English version of the film will be made available to exhibitors who desire it. It is a Cocinor production, written and directed by Jean-Paul le Chanois. Strictly adult fare. "Robbery Under Arms" with Peter Finch, Ronald Lewis and Maureen Swanson (Buin\ Film Distr., May; time, 83 min.) Photographed in Eastman color, "Robbery Under Arms" is a pretty good British-made western-type adventure melodrama, set in the pioneering days of Australia in the 1850's. The story, which centers around a father and two sons who get involved with cattle rustling, bank holdups and killings before the law catches up with them, graphically depicts the life of the early bushrangers and, despite some slow moments here and there, has all the thrills and excitement usually found in traditional American westerns. The chief trouble with the picture, insofar as the American exhibitors are concerned, is that the members of the all-British cast are virtually unknown in this country. Consequently, it poses a selling problem, even though the action fans should enjoy it once they are in the theatre. The direction and acting are good, and the outdoor backgrounds, enhanced by the fine color photography, most impressive: — After a profitable season at a sheep station, Ronald Lewis and David McCallum, brothers, ignore the pleas of their mother and join Laurence Naismith, their ex-convict father, in driving stolen cattle to Adelaide for Peter Finch, a bold adventurer. The drive is a success and, after Finch pays them off handsomely, the boys board a ship for Melbourne to seek further adventures. On board, Lewis meets and falls in love with Maureen Swanson, a possessive girl, while McCallum takes up with Jill Ireland, her sister. Learning that the authorities had captured Finch and were now on their trail, the boys leave Melbourne hurriedly and head home for Christmas. There, troopers catch up with them and their father, but they manage to escape and join up with Finch, who, too, had successfully made a break for freedom. The boys leave Finch and his bushrangers following the killing of a trooper, and they head for a boom town to dig for gold. There, Lewis again meets Maureen, now the wife of a saloon owner, but McCallum finds Jill still unattached and marries her. At this point Finch and his gang hold up the local bank and kill an innocent bystander in the process. Maureen, in a fit of jealousy over Lewis' attentions to another woman, tells the outraged citizens that Lewis and his brother are members of the Finch gang. The boys flee to the hills and rejoin Finch, but the authorities eventually catch up with them and, in a showdown gun battle, kill Finch, Lewis and his father. McCallum manages to escape and makes his way back to Jill, but on learning that she had given birth to a son, he surrenders to the police so that he may pay for his crimes and be free one day to rejoin his loved ones. It was produced by Joseph Janni and directed by Jack Lee from a screenplay by Alexander Baron and W. P. Lipscomb, based on the novel by Rolf Boldrewood. Family.