Harrison's Reports (1959)

May 9, 1959 HARRISON'S REPORTS 75 lessly tangles with the lawless element. The direction is routine and the color photography acceptable: — After killing a man in self'defense, McCrea finds it advisable to leave Hays City and to take up residence in Dodge City, where Harry Lauter, his brother, was the marshal, as well as a candidate for sheriff against Don Haggerty, the graft-ridden incumbent, who protected the town's lawless element. McCrea buys a half-interest in a gambling saloon operated by Nancy Gates, who was on the verge of bankruptcy because of a boycott enforced by Haggerty in behalf of crooked gambling interests, but McCrea overcomes the boycott by running an honest game. Complications arise when Richard Anderson, a relative of the man killed by McCrea, murders McCrea's brother. McCrea believes that Haggerty is responsible. He determines to avenge the murder but is dissuaded by the pleas of Julie Adams, a minister's daughter, who had been engaged to his brother, and with whom McCrea had fallen in love. On the day set for election, McCrea meets up with Haggerty and whips him in a savage fight even though he disclaims responsibility for Lauter's murder. Meanwhile, Lauter's supporters switch their allegiance to McCrea and elect him as the new sheriff. Shortly thereafter, McCrea kills Anderson when he attempts to rape Nancy. More complications arise when Walter Coy, an old friend, asks McCrea to help save his mentally deficient brother (Wright King) from being railroaded to the gallows in another town instead of being sent to an institution. Learning that the lad was not responsible for the crime he had committed, McCrea helps him to escape in a daring maneuver. In doing so, however, he is marked as an outlaw himself. Rather than remain a fugitive, McCrea returns to Dodge City and finds Haggerty running again for sheriff in a special election to replace him. Haggerty is killed by McCrea after he goads the latter into a showdown gun battle. McCrea makes it clear to everyone that he did the right thing in helping his friend's mentally deficient brother to escape hanging, but Julie does not want to hear him out. Realizing her shallowness, he heads out of town to seek new adventures. It was produced by Walter M. Mirisch and directed by Joseph M. Newman from a screenplay by Daniel B. Ullman and Martin M. Goldsmith, based on a story by Mr. Ullman. Adult lare. "Shake Hands with the Devil" with James Cagney, Don Murray and Dana Wynter (United Artists, June; time, 110 win.) Filmed entirely on location in Ireland, this is a fairly interesting romantic drama of the Irish rebellion against British rule. The story, which is set in Dublin in 1921, centers around a group of dedicated men who resort to all sorts of violence against the hated Black-and-Tans, and around a young American of Irish parentage who is drawn into their cause. It is a cheerless type of entertainment, and it is handicapped by the fact that the story is often heavyhanded and cliche-ridden, but it offers enough action and excitement to get by with the general run of movie-goers. The acting is effective, with James Cagney turning in one of his typical tough portrayals as the uncompromising leader of the revolutionaries. The authentic locales help to give the action a realistic quality but they are not enough to overcome the fact that the story lacks appreciable dramatic force: — Don Murray, a young American of Irish parentage, is a medical student at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin. He remains aloof from the struggle against British rule, even though his father had been a hero of the rebellion. Murray, however, is drawn into the cause, when he inadvertently becomes a witness to the blowing up of a Blackand-Tan truck, and is taken prisoner and tortured in an unsuccessful attempt to force him to disclose the hideout of a group of rebels headed by Cagney, who was a professor at the College. This experience convinces Murray that he should join the rebels in the fight for Ireland's freedom. Murray's recuperation from his injuries is aided by Glynis Johns, a woman of loose morals who was sympathetic to the rebels. In the meantime, Dame Sybil Thorndike, an aristocratic old Irish lady, is sentenced to jail for aiding the cause. To effect her release by an exchange of hostages, Cagney and his men kidnap Dana Wynter, daughter of an important British official. In the process, Cagney's identity as the leader becomes known and he is compelled to go underground. Meanwhile Murray and Dana fall in love while he guards her, and Michael Redgrave, supreme head of the rebels, arranges for peace negotiations aimed at making Ireland a Dominion of the British Commonwealth, but Cagney objects on the basis that anything short of complete freedom is treason. In the complicated events that follow, Cagney kills Glynis in the mistaken belief that she is an informer, and he decides to execute Dana because Miss Thorndike had died in prison. Murray rushes to her aid and, with the approval of the other rebels, kills the irreconcilable Cagney when he refuses to spare the innocent Dana, who is then given her freedom. It was produced and directed by Michael Anderson from a screenplay by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, based on the novel by Rearden Conner. Adult fare. "Pork Chop Hill" with Gregory Peck" (United Artists, May; time, 97 min.) There is no denying that "Pork Chop Hill" is a well made war picture, but the number of people it will draw to the box-office will depend largely on the popularity of Gregory Peck and on the reputation of director Lewis Milestone. It 'S a "battle" film from start to finish, and it realistically depicts the reactions and deeds of American soldiers under fire in Korea. There is fighting going on all the time and the battlefield is strewn with the bodies of dead soldiers. There are attacks on the enemy and counterattacks. There are misunderstandings of orders, which result in American soldiers being exposed not only to enemy fire but also their own artillery shells. There are bad feelings as well as understanding between officers and their men. There are acts of bravery and of cowardice, as well as occasional touches of humor. All this is offered in the picture with realism, but little of it has a moving effect on the spectator, mainly because one views the action with the feeling that he has seen it all before in countless other war pictures. It is grim, bloody stuff, and it is a credit to the producer that he has kept it free of silly romance and Hollywood heroics, but it seems doubtful that it is the kind of entertainment that will attract movie-goers nowadays. The direction and acting are fine, and so is the black-andwhite photography. The story, which is relatively simple, takes place in the closing days of the Korean War, during the truce negotiations at Panmumjom, and centers around a company of American infantrymen who had been ordered to capture the Communist-held Pork Chop Hill. Peck, the company's commanding lieutenant, is fully aware that the hill had little strategic value but that its capture was of face-saving importance to the UN negotiators at the truce conference. Torn betwen his sense of duty and deep concern for the safety of his men, Peck accomplishes the assignment against terrific odds, which include exhaustion, thirst, ammunition shortage and heavy casualties that leave him with a handful of men before reinforcements arrive in the nick of time and turn possible defeat into victory. It was produced by Sy Bartlctt and directed by Lewis Milestone from a screenplay by James R. Webb, based on a work by S.L.A. Masrhall, U.S.A.R. Family.