Harrison's Reports (1958)

122 HARRISON'S REPORTS August 2, 1958 "A Certain Smile" with Rossano Brazzi, Joan Fontaine and Christine Carere (20th Century-Fox, Sept.; time, 106 min.) A film of magnificent scenic beauty, enhanced by CinemaScope and DeLuxe color, has been fashioned in this picturization of Francoise Sagan's spicy novel about a bittersweet affair between a lovely teen-aged French student and a suave, middle-aged married man. The story is somewhat weak dramatically, but on the whole it has enough emotional appeal and charm to put it over well with the general run of adult movie-goers. Christine Carere, a beautiful and talented French actress, plays the misguided young heroine in wistful and charming fashion, and one feels sympathy for her because of the disillusionment and heartbreak she suffers when she comes to the realization that her middleaged lover looked upon their affair as just another conquest. Rossano Brazzi is most effective, if not sympathetic, as the smooth philanderer who turns her head, and Joan Fontaine comes through with her usual polished performance as his hurt but understanding wife. What makes the story dramatically weak, however, is that there is something unreal and incredible about the characters and the things they do. But a compensating factor is the visual treat one derives from the stunning shots of Paris and the breathtaking scenic views of the French Riviera: — Christine, a law student at the Sorbonne, is in love with Bradford Dillman, a fellow student, whom she hoped to marry, despite the opposition of his mother. One day Diliman introduces her to Brazzi, his uncle, a handsome man who stirs her with his charm and quite directly lets her know that he is attracted to her. A quarrel with Dillman over their marital plans, coupled with the boredom she feels when she spends a vacation at home with parents who still grieved over a son killed accidentally three years previously, impels Christine to accept an invitation from Brazzi to secretly spend a week with him on the Riviera. They have an idyllic time and she falls hopelessly in love with him. After their holiday, she follows him to Paris, confident that she will have no trouble in winning him away from Joan, his wife. His attitude, however, soon brings her to the cold realization that he no longer cared to continue the affair. Sick with humiliation and shame, she collapses on the street after seeing him make a play for another young girl. Brazzi rushes to her aid takes her home. There, Joan learns the truth about their amorous adventure when Christine, whom she had befriended, tells her how ashamed she is for having hurt her. It all ends with Joan granting Brazzi the forgiveness he seeks, while a wiser and sadder Christine returns to school, cheered by the indication that Diliman, who had spurned her after learning about the affair with his uncle, was prepared to become reconciled with her. It was produced by Henry Ephron and directed by Jean Negulesco from a screenplay by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. Adult fare. "China Doll" with Victor Mature and Li Li Hua (United Artists, August; time, 88 min.) Set against a 1943 war background in China and based on a miscegenation theme that ends tragically, "China Doll" offers a mixture of romance and sentiment that should go over fairly well with undiscriminating movie-goers. Its story about an American Air Force pilot who falls in love with a Chinese girl and marries her is not too believable, but this deficiency is overcome to a considerable extent by the good acting. Victor Mature is his usual effective self as the morose pilot who finds fleeting happiness, and Li Li Hua is most appealing as the pretty Chinese girl who wins his heart. There are some thrills in the aerial combat sequences and in the climactic bombing raid in which both lovers lose their lives. There is some light comedy here and there: — Mature, one of the commanding officers at a desolate American air base in China, is morose and sullen, a victim of the deadening effect of endless war. Brusque and unfriendly, he sits apart from his men, who respect his leadership qualities but do not like him. One night, after having too much to drink, Mature gives a handful of bills to an old Chinese man who appeals to him without realizing that, according to custom, he had "bought" Li Li, the old man's daughter, as a housekeeper for a three-month period. When he sobers up, Mature asks Ward Bond, a local priest, to take Li Li off his hands, but Bond persuades him to keep her for the prescribed period in order to aid her family. Mature buys decent clothes for her and she proves to be a beautiful girl. He finds himself attracted to her and one night, while she comforts him during an attack of malaria, they become lovers. He regrets the incident and decides to stay away from her, but, when he learns that she is with child, he willingly marries her and for the first time in his life is really happy. His joy knows no bounds when a daughter is born to them. One day, while Mature is on a mission, marauding Japanese planes raid the base and Li Li is killed in the bombing. Mature returns and manages to save the baby, but soon after the enemy planes attack again and he, too, loses his life. Years later, the child, who had been cared for by Bond, arrives in the United States where she is welcomed and adopted by friends of her dead parents. It was produced and directed by Frank Borzage from a screenplay by Kitty Buhler, based on a story by James Benson Nablo and Thomas F. Kelly. Family. "It ! The Terror from Beyond Space" with Marshall Thompson (United Artists, August; time, 68 min.) If science-fiction thrillers are acceptable to your patrons, this one should satisfy them, for it is an above-average program picture of its kind. Actually, the format of the story is no different from countless other pictures in which a hideous monster goes on a murderous and destructive rampage, but what sets this one apart is the fact that the story is set in 1972 and all the action takes place within the confines of a gigantic spaceship returning from Mars, where the monster had stolen aboard. It is far-fetched stuff, of course, but those who are easily thrilled and horrified should get more than their fill from the nightmare trip experienced by the spaceship's crew members: — When the first spaceship ever to reach Mars fails to return to the United States, a second spaceship lands on the planet successfully and its army crew discovers that Marshall Thompson is the sole survivor. Thompson, who had commanded the first spaceship, informs his rescuers that a mysterious creature had killed his crew, but all believe that he had committed the killings to keep the food supplies for himself. Shortly after the spaceship starts its long voyage back to earth, the hideous monster spoken of by Thompson emerges from the bowels of the ship and kills two of the crew members. All compartment doors are immediately bolted to trap the monster, but he breaks through the steel barricades as if they were paper and continues his murderous rampage. Even the blinding force of the spaceship's atomic pile is not enough to stop him. Just when all seems lost and the surviving crew members wait for total disaster, the commander realizes that the creature cannot live without oxygen. He orders every one to don their oxygen-filled space suits and allows the oxygen in the ship to escape into outer space. This move has the desired result in that the monster suffocates to death while gasping for air. The nightmare over, the crew guides the spaceship safely back to earth. It was produced by Robert E. Kent and directed by Edward L. Cahn from a screenplay by Jerome Bixby. Not for small children. "Buchanan Rides Alone" with Randolph Scott (Columbia, August; time, 78 min.) A good Randolph Scott western, photographed in what is labeled as Columbia color. The story, which has Scott becoming involved in the nefarious machinations of several crooked brothers who control a border town, has more twists and turns than most western plots, but it has been presented in an intriguing manner and holds one's attention well from start to finish. The action fans in particular should find it satisfying, for it is loaded throughout with plentiful chases, shootings and fisticuffs. The acting is competent, with Scott contributing a characteristic performance as a fearless stranger who defies the villains and risks his own life to come to the aid of a victimized young Mexican. All in all, it shapes up as a sturdy outdoor offering: — Having earned $2,000 for fighting in a Mexican revolution, Scott stops off in a California border town while en route to his home in Texas. There, he soon learns that the town is under the complete domination of three brothers — Tol Avery, a crooked judge; Barry Kelley, an equally crooked sheriff; and Peter Whitney, who operated the only hotel in town. Aware that Kelley used his badge to fleece travelers, Scott manages to keep his money hidden. While Scott has dinner in a saloon, Manuel Rojas, a young Mexican, rushes in and kills William Leslie, the judge's son, for criminally assaulting his sister. Scott rushes to Rojas' aid when he is treated cruelly by a deputy sheriff and, as a result, he, too, is arrested and accused of complicity in the murder. The sheriff makes immediate plans to hang both men, but the judge, who was a candidate for Senator, deems it wise to give them a "fair" trial. The jury frees Scott but sentences Rojas to hang. The sheriff, keeping