Harrison's Reports (1961)

December 2, 1961 HARRISON'S REPORTS 191 where there's steady and big (almost worshipful) audiences waiting for a Presley picture. But, a strong sell job aimed at such followers should bring them in in big numbers. As is the custom in a Presley pre duction, the crooner-gyrater dominates the running time of the film. That is why, it is more the pity, now that he has so many films under his acting belt that he still continues to deliver such an embarrassingly poor performance. The melodic hip-swinger has picked up few dramatic tricks of the acting trade. But, the melodymovie swings and sways along with rather fast tempo and you begin forgetting the lack of story content as you wait for each succeeding tune to while the time away. Producer Hal Wallis took his company to the wondrous beauties of Waikiki and let his Technocolor cameras sop up the gorgeous scenic investiture. It helps spin the yarn into a pattern of adventure thrills that whets the appetite for roaming o'er Hawaii. Most of the other performances are professionally smooth. Angela Lansbury smears on the suthin' accent (suh) a little too thick. Joan Blackman is a lovely, fragile romantic lead, with Nancy Walters registering quite nicely with her chiseled features. There's a bevy of young tourists who are lovely to look at, in and out of their tight-fitting bathing-suits. Technicolor and Panavision process employed. --and so Elvis Presley is home (in Honolulu) from an army hitch. He refuses to work for his father, a pineapple potentate. Instead, he takes on a job with a tourist agency where his girl (Joan Blackman) works. His first assignment finds him in charge of a lovely teacher (Nancy Walters) and four school girls. Things go smoothly with the exception of one of the students. She is on the make, and when Presley fails to fall, she wants to commit suicide. He saves her in the pounding surf, of course. The usual complications arise, and Presley rises to them all. Most of the trouble is romantic. Nearly everybody misunderstands each other's motives, but when the final few minutes of screen time play themselves out each has found it best to find his or her own. This is a Hal Wallis production with Norman Taurog directing and Hal Kanter doing the screenplay. General patronage with special play for teenager trade. "Lover Come Back" with Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall (U'l, March; 107 mins.) GOOD. Once again that winning combination of Rock Hudson and Doris Day is presented in a lavish and beautifully-mounted film expose of the advertising rat race. It could attract audiences on past performance as well as on the indicated merits of this new release. It's lots of fun most of the time even though the theme of boy fights girl, boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl and vice versa has been done quite often and in similar detail before. The acting is capable; the story is pleasant and amusing; direction and production are efficient. It starts off at a leisurely pace and winds up in a blaze of fun, glory and romance. A sneak preview audience seemed to have a good time and there is every indication that other audiences will similarly enjoy the on-screen shenanigans of this attractive couple. It could make quite a dent box officewise given the proper backing and attention if past indications are any criteria. The photography in Eastman Color is quite good. Rock Hudson runs the advertising agency left to Tony Randall by his father while Randall engages in sessions with his head-shrinker. Hudson steals an account away from the rival agency which employs Doris Day. She objects to his methods even calling him up on charges before the advertising council. When Edie Adams, one of his girl friends, threatens to testify against him, he dreams up a campaign for a non-existent product and uses her in a series of filmed Tv commercials which pacifys her. Randall, in one of his rare appearances, orders that the films receive the usual saturation campaign not knowing that there isn't a product to back it up and the result is overwhelming. Hudson, now, hires chemist Jack Kruschen to invent a product for the campaign. Miss Day gets wind that Hudson is after a new account which somehow involves Kruschen. She tries to beat him out of this account. She mistakes Hudson for Kruschen not having met him before and he goes along with the plot after he learns who she is. Miss Day tries to unsell him on Hudson and his agency, putting him up in a hotel room, wining and dining him on her expense account. Meanwhile after many tries, Kruschen comes up with an inexpensive mint that is the equivalent of a good stiff drink in its effects on the human system. Everyone gets drunk on the gimmicked-up mints and Hudson and Miss Day awaken the next day in a motel. They're married. She gets the marriage annulled, but nine months later she has a baby. When Hudson learns of the state of affairs, he talks her into getting married again just prior to the birth of the child. Executive producer is Robert Arthur; produced by Stanley Shapiro and Martin Melcher; direction by Delbert Mann with the screenplay by Shapiro and Paul Henning. Young adults and adults. Allied Accord... (Continued from Front Page) Service trailer situation. The feeling of the board of directors is that the industry, as a whole, would be benefited if these two companies would resolve their differences. This, a restatement of hope, will be relayed to the companies involved. The series of the projects being sponsored by the American Congress of Exhibitors was not only endorsed by Allied, in its board of directors' sessions, but resolutions were adopted to back ACE's blueprint of operation, especially in its battle against the invasion of toll-Tv. Percentage assessments to the Allied members will be paid by them. The ratio will be the same as is being levied against exhibitormembers of ACE and the Theatre Owners of America. In his meeting with the press, convention chairman Ben D. Marcus couldn't emphasise strongly enough the necessity of not only Allied, but theatre operators throughout the nation, coming to the support of the battle that is being waged against toll-Tv. "The issue is becoming more serious every day," said Marcus. (Continued on Bac\ Page)