Harrison's Reports (1959)

April 25, 1959 HARRISON'S REPORTS 67 "It Happened to Jane" with Doris Day, Jack Lemmon and Ernie Kovacs (Columbia, June; time, 98 min.) This comedy should go over well with the general run of audiences, for it is considerably funny. Photographed in Eastman color and set in a small town in Maine, the laughs stem from the amusing complications that arise when Doris Day, as a determined young widow, gets into a widely publicized legal battle with a tyrannical railroad tycoon after she sues his line for negligence in spoling a load of lobsters she had shipped to a customer. Ernie Kovacs is extremely comical as the hard-boiled, cigar-chomping railroad president who, out of pique, defies public opinion and his own advisers to make things as difficult as possible for Miss Day. Many laughs are provoked also by Jack Lemmon as Miss Day's hesitant lawyer and would-be husband, who suffers pangs of jealousy when a handsome New York reporter takes more than a casual interest in her. It is lightweight, farcical stuff, with a few dull spots here and there, but on the whole it leaves one with the feeling of having been thoroughly entertained. The color photography is firstrate: — Living in a Maine Village with her two small children, Doris starts a lobster business that gets into trouble when her first shipment reaches its destination in a dead and smelly condition due to the railroad's neglect. She demands compensation from the railroad and is immediately offered $700 to cover the full value of the spoiled lobsters, but, against the advice of Lemmon, she refuses the offer and demands triple damages because her reputation had been hurt. She takes the case to court and is granted her demands. This infuriates Kovacs, who decides to appeal the case, to the Supreme Court, if necessary. Undaunted, Doris, through a legal maneuver, attaches one of the railroad's trains, an old relic that had long served the community. Her fight against the rialroad is given wide publicity and she wins the sympathy of the public. She is lionized by the press and appears on TV shows. Meanwhile, Lemmon stays at home with her two children and broods over the interest shown in her by Steve Forrest, a dashing New York reporter. Disregarding public opinion, Kovacs counters the attachment, first by demanding track rent from Doris and then by giving her the train, a move that cuts the town's only link with the outside world. Flooded with orders because of the publicity, Doris decides to use the train to deliver them, aided by Lemmon who shovels coal, and by Russ Brown, a retired railroad engineer. The law compels Kovacs to make his railroad's tracks available to her but he counters by routing the train over a long, circuitous route. This proves to be a very bad public relations move. Kovacs, finally realizing that he is beaten, sees to it that the train reaches its destination in time. It ends with Doris accepting Lemmon's marriage proposal, while Kovacs, by this time humanized, gives the town a new fire engine. It was produced and directed by Richard Quine from a screenplay by Norman Katkov, based on a story he wrote in collaboration with Max Wilk. Family. "The Young Land" with Pat Wayne, Yvonne Craig and Dan O'Herlihy (Columbia, May; time, 89 min.) Photographed in Technicolor, this western-type melodrama is only mildly interesting at best, for it suffers from a script that leaves much to be desired and from uneven direction and acting. At best, it might give moderate satisfaction to undiscriminating action fans but it deserves no better than lower-half billing. Set in California following the acquisition of that territory by the United States, and revolving around an American who is the first to be put on trial for murdering a Mexican, the story itself is good in that American justice also is put on trial in the eyes of the area's Mexican inhabitants, but the theme has been presented in awkward fashion and lacks proper dramatic development. Moreover, the pace is slow and there is a minimum of genuine excitement and suspense. Pat Wayne, the son of John Wayne, is a personable young man, but he lacks sufficient acting experience and is much too youthful to be believable as the sheriff who helps bring law and order to the territory. The color photography is expert: — Acquired by the United States following the war with Mexico in 11548, California becomes a gathering place for the lawless element. Wayne, the youthful sheriff of a border town, arrests Dennis Hopper, a reckless gunman, who cold bloodedly kills a Mexican. Dan O'Herlihy, a federal judge, accompanied by Cliff Ketchum, his deputy marshal, arrives in town to try Hopper for the murder. Being the first time that an American is to be judged for slaying a Mexican, O'Herlihy realizes that American justice also is on trial. As sheriff, Wayne shoulders considerable responsibility, for Hopper's lawless pals were determined to see him set free, while equally tough Mexican vaqueros were determined to lynch him in the event he is acquitted. Wayne's responsibility increases when Patricia Craig, his sweetheart, comes to town with Roberto de la Madrid, her father, high-born patron of the region. He now has to guard the killer, preserve order and protect an aristocratic young lady. After a lengthy trial, Hopper is found guilty, but he receives a suspended sentence on condition that he never again touch a gun. Looking upon this verdict as practically a death sentence, Hopper wrests a gun from a deputy guarding him and breaks out of the courtroom. The judge orders every one to remain seated while Wayne goes after the escaped prisoner. A tense duel between Wayne and Hopper comes to an end when the young sheriff outwits him and shoots him dead. It is a C. V. Whitney presentation, produced by Patrick Ford and directed by Ted Tetzlaff from a screenplay by Norman Shannon Hall, based on a story by John Reese. Family. "Floods of Fear" with Howard Keel and Anne Heywood (Univ.-lnt'l, May; time, 82 min.) Although the story is somewhat grim and cheerless, "Floods of Fear" shapes up as a better-than-average program thriller, centering around an attractive young woman who finds herself marooned with two escaped convicts when violent flood waters devastate a western community. The picture has been produced in England, but it should find ready acceptance in this country, for it has a convincing American mood and background. What makes the action tense and suspenseful is that one of the convicts is a lecherous murderer who tries to force his attentions on the girl, while the other, jailed for a murder he did not commit, thinks only of getting his hands on the man responsible for framing him. Effective portrayals are delivered by Howard Keel, as the framed convict, and Anne Heywood, as the frightened heroine who recognizes his innocence and falls in love with him, but Cyril Cusak tends to "chew the scenery" as the other convict. The flood backgrounds are spectacular and help to make the action gripping and realistic. The photography is fine: — Violent rainstorms cause a river to flood the town of Humboldt, Nevada. A prison gang piling disaster bags on the river bank is swept away by the swirling waters. Keel escapes during the confusion and in the process rescues Anne, who was stranded on the roof of her car, and carries her to her isolated, half-submerged house. He also rescues Cusak, a fellow-convict, and Harry H. Corbett, an injured prison guard. The frightened girl learns from Corbett that Keel is serving a life sentence for murdering a woman. When Cusak molests Anne and tries to kill Corbett, Keel prevents the assaults, but tension mounts in the marooned house. Duty-bound, Corbett manages to escape for help, leaving Anne stranded with the two convicts. All three save themselves when the house collapses. Keel finds a rowboat and, after forcing Cusak to get out on high ground, continues down the river with Anne. Eluding searchers, he hides on an island with Anne. There, she learns that Keel was framed by John Crawford, his exbusiness partner, who had killed his own wife but had placed the blame on Keel. Leaving Anne in a safe place, Keel rows away to find and kill Crawford in revenge. Anne, now in love with Keel, hurries to the authorities to stop him from committing a crime. Despite the guard put around Crawford, Keel manages to reach him and beats him senseless but he has no heart to kill him. Keel, cleared of the murder, returns to freedom and Anne. It was produced by Sydney Box and directed by Charles Crichton from his own screenplay, based on the novel by John and Ward Hopkins. Adult fare.