Harrison's Reports (1962)

June 2, 1962 HARRISON'S REPORTS 83 rulers1 henchmen; the robbers are those from whom freedom has been stolen. The political implications are wiped away with the first sandstorm and from then on it's the chased (Yul Brynner, Sal Mineo, Madlyn Rhue, Jack Warden, et al.) In pursuit are the watchdogs of the territorial rulers. Brynner seems to fit the role of the nationalist leader, in looks, act' ing, demeanor. Sal Mineo, as a university student with idealogies of man's free way of life is believable. The kidnapped nurse, Madlyn Rhue is attractive and gives a good account of herself. But, the weight of the story falls on its chase element. « and that, can be stretched a little too thin especially when there is faint presence of surprise and each succeeding development lays waiting for you without any stretch of the imagination. In between the acting requirements of the stellar protagonists is, of course, such a men' acing character as a sadistic murder-bent brute. He's offset by a gentle soul who will do all sorts of dangerous things because of the torment brought on by a faithless wife. The story has its hindrances. Its plotstructural delineation is not much of a departure from much of what has been done along these lines. There are splashes of eye-compelling beauty caught by Panavision's power and Technicolor's transcendency proving that the Arabian peninsulas haven't got much more to offer a camera crew than our own Mojave desert near Barstow, California where this was shot. " and so, Yul Brynner leads his nationalist fob lowers in a strifetorn Arab state. About to be executed, he makes his escape. Joining him are some of his more daring followers. Sal Mineo is a university student. They also take (by force) an Arabian nurse, Madlyn Rhue. The long desert stretches must be negotiated before they make the border. The police jeeps are soon waylaying them. One of the men is killed. Out in the open desert, the escapees are strafed by a government plane, killing another and destroying their own means of locomotion, the stolen ambulance. Mineo is killed. They steal a truck, and are attacked by two army halftracks. They lose another man in this battle. Soon they are approaching a port city in the Persian Gulf. Brynner, of course, dedicated to the nationalist cause as he is, will be returning to his country. Miss Rhue, by this time, quite deeply in love with Brynner, intends to be at his side. The only other survivor (Jack Warden) will head back for Cairo to reclaim a lot of ill-begotten money. James Mason appears briefly. Produced and directed by Ronald Neame; screenplay by Robin Estridge. General patronage. "The Spiral Road" with Rock Hudson, Burl Ives Gena Rowlands, Geoffrey Keen (Universal'Int'l, August; 145 mins.) GOOD. This is jungle stuff. Raw. Treacherous. Voodoo-ridden. Dangerously challenging. The basic story is from one of the better novelists of our time. The trio of stars is headed by one of the big money men at the box office, Rock Hudson. The invasion of the East Indies' (Netherlands) superstitions make for excitement. The battle against the taboos of the voodoo vandals' way of life are won by the invader (white man) . The dangerous camerawork deep in the heart of the disease-carrying jungle lying only four degrees north of the equator, all add up to a story that has the dramatic impact of high adventure, thrill and even a smidgen of spiritual sustenance. That big hunk of romantic man (Hudson) one of no religious belief, comes through with compelling force as the young doctor who knows the nature of grueling work that's upon him as he faces the scourges of leprosy, infectious fevers and the other jungle ailments that are upon the people. In due time, he comes through as a man who too has his belief in that Great Healer above. Almost stealing the picture, scene by scene (that he's in) is burly, behemoth-built Burl Ives. Considered as the top authority on leprosy, all the young doctors want to study under Ives. Brusk, but not bitter; strong at taskmastering, but weak in his sympathy for those without some faith in the godly motivations that make the jungle what it is, a man who likes a swig or two, Ives rises to his usual acting heights of great professional stature. The other star (and principal) performers portray their roles with conviction. Again, the costly pilgrimages to faraway locales paid off. The land and seascapes painted on the screen by the Eastman Color process make their enthralling im' pact on the sense of sight. The young doctor (Rock Hudson) takes up his post in the Netherlands East Indies. He's in for a five-year stretch. The one thing he wants, is to pursue the study of leprosy under its topflight authority, Burl Ives. Hudson takes up residence in a jungle village plagued by the disease. The jungle has played havoc with the senses, emotions, mentalities of former doctor-assistants. Villages are burned to the ground to stamp out rats, roaches and other disease-carrying animal-insects. In the meantime, Gena Rowlands (Hudson's betrothed) arrives from the Netherlands and they get married. He takes off on a dangerous journey to a part of the jungle ruled over by a vicious voodoo vagrant. His mission is a success, but Hudson gets lost in the jungle. The wait for help seems endless, as do the tortures. Finally, a searching party finds Hudson. By this time he has found the way to the kingdom of prayer and the profoundly-felt belief in God. Hudson is being nursed back to health as he faces a new way of life with his wife. Produced by Robert Arthur; directed by Robert Mulligan; screenplay by John Lee Mahin and Neil Paterson from the novel by Jan De Hartog. General patronage. Exhibs "No Comment" re Showcase Since the mid-week Holiday pushed presstime deadlines up a bit, we couldn't make our usual overall survey for a representative crosssection reaction to UA's "Premiere Showcase." Several of the exhibitors contacted asked for "time out" while they study the setup. The major chains in New York,-RKO Theatres and Loew's--will break away from playing UA product v/hile "-Showcase" plays itself out. Loew's is going to meet the new setup "-with advertising, publicity, exploitation campaigns never before witnessed in these parts," said a spokesman. He doubted that Loew's will hoist its admission prices even on the big ones. Some of the participating exhibitors on the UA tieup are expected to tilt admissions 30% upwards. . . From RKO Theatres came an informational blackout to phone calls on the whole matter.