Harrison's Reports (1962)

May 12, 1962 HARRISON'S REPORTS 71 "Lad: A Dog" with Peter Breck, Peggy McCay, Carroll O'Connor, Angela Cartwright (Warner Bros., May; 98 mins.) FAIR. This is in the dog tradition of "Lassie" the movie from which came the Tv program of the same title, which finds reason (because of the number of viewers) to run on and on with little variation of story structure. This is for the kids, of course! Yes, it may find its adult audience, too, for there are dog lovers everywhere. Also, there are those oldsters who may remember the Albert Payson Terhune dog story which goes back a couple of decades. There is to be found the expected ingredients of sentiment, the interludes of suspense and the passages of excitement, for these are the basics of a dog story. The animal has to be beauti' ful, intelligent and faithful. That, the canine protag' onist of this one is. It's a beautiful collie, naturally, thus holding to the breed the author dealt with all those years ago. There are no important film names to exploit in this one, giving it less chance of extricating itself from ordinary program status. This nature of picture is a field'day for the photographer. A dog story must move, and an animal hasn't got much acreage to move in indoors. Thus, when the action takes to the outdoors, the lush scenery, Mother Nature's opulent settings make for an attractive back' ground as the collie performs his feats with human like adroitness. Of course, this kind of story is best told in the tints of say, " Technicolor. To repeat, this is for the youngsters. Properly exploited, it should be' get its response. The prize-winning collie is owned by a writer (Peter Breck) . His neighbor (Carroll O'Connor) is a wealthy widower with a disposition far from sunny. His eight-year-old daughter, an invalid, is the bright spot in the household. She and the dog take to each other. O'Connor becomes a dog-lover himself. In fact, he purchases one of dog-show prestige to compete against the Breck collie. There follow a series of incidents which make for excitement. Lad saves the youngster from a poisonous snake; one of Breck's enemies sets his barn ablaze destroying several small canines; the same scoundrel tries to rob the Breck household, but he's no match for Lad. The young girl takes the surviving puppy, as the older folk know that she will make another Lad out of it. Young Miss Cartwright proves with what ease children can turn in simple, honest performances. Produced by Max J. Rosenberg; directed by Aram Avakian and Leslie H. Martinson; screenplay by Lillie Hay ward and Roberta O. Hodes from the novel by Albert Payson Terhune. Adults, and children. "Bon Voyage" with Fred MacMurray, Jane Wyman (Buena Vista, June; 133 mins.) GOOD. Walt Disney, exponent of plot-structural simplicity, once again with the aid of the creators, technicians, skilled movie-makers employed in his workshop of a million cardboard memories, - have given us a nice little tale. It is entertaining to a degree hardly beyond our above-rated salutation. It is for the family, to be sure, as are all of the Disney output. It is quite humorous, if not shriekingly funny. Verily, the plain title itself could have allowed for a subtitle like "Five Americans Abroad." There is a timeliness to the Disney vehicle, for who isn't being tempted these days, with endless systems of credit, to go for the bon voyage business. Here we have a combination that makes for this family; honest fun, assorted sadness, the inevitable frustrations and the bright'eyed delights of the youngsters as the experi' ences engulf them. Dad (Fred MacMurray) however must put up with more complications than he may have bargained for. Add to all these emotionalities the wondrous scenes and settings of Paris and the Riviera and you get an idea of the Cook's Tour that this Disney entry conjures up. But, there is a drag-tendency to the gomgs-on, especially for the first half of the rather lengthy feature. The pace tends to pick up down toward the latter end of the proceedings. While the performances of the adults, MacMurray, Jane Wyman are not outstanding, they are pleasing. The younger members of the cast do well. Direction and production are efficient. Technicolor dresses the story in its proper tints. The cameramen took advan' tage of the physical beauties that lay before their irises. After many years of planning and saving for a trip abroad, Fred MacMurray and wife, Jane Wyman, are able to take an ocean liner to France together with their three youngsters, Deborah Walley, Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran. Wally meets young playboy Michael Callan and becomes romantically in' volved. Kirk makes a play for all kinds of girls and almost gets into trouble with the mother of one. Cor' coran just has fun, sub-teen style. MacMurray gets lost in the Paris sewer system; is flattered by a Parisian streetwalker and takes on a French wolf who makes a play for Miss Wyman, when she is outfitted in a new hairdo and gown. After all has been tried and tested, the family is ready to return to Terre Haute. Produced by Bill Walsh and Ron Miller; directed by James Neilson. Bill Walsh wrote the screenplay based on the book by Marrijane and Joseph Hayes. Family. Sinatra on World Tour for Kids You wonder where is the lineage in the syndicated columns on Frank Sinatra's latest occupation, - touring the world in behalf of Children's Charities. Right now, he's in Tel Aviv. He will visit several other cities in Israel, spending more than a fortnight in that state. All in behalf of the unfortunate youngsters throughout this betroubled world who need help . . . The charitable crooner from Hoboken, N. J., has already been in Japan, Hong Kong, Athens. He gives endless charity performances, wherever he goes, on behalf of the children and youth organizations. Too often the victim of unfair barbs from the men who man the gossip column typewriters, aiming them, especially, at the so-called "rat pack" of which Sinatra is supposed to be the leader, you don't see much, if any, lineage about this long, arduous journey he's making in behalf of such a worthy cause as the Children's Charities of the world.