Hollywood Spectator (1938)

Page Six April 30, 1938 SOME LATE PREVIEWS CENTURY PRESENTS A WINNER . . . • FOUR MEN AND A PRAYER; 20th-Fox picture and release; Darryl F. Zanuck in charge of production; directed by John Ford; associate producer, Kenneth Macgowan; screen play by Richard Sherman, Sonya Levien and Walter Ferris; from a book by David Garth; photography, Ernest Palmer; art direc¬ tion, Bernard Herzbrun and Rudolph Sternad; set decorations by Thomas Little; film editor, Louis Loeffler; costumes, Royer; musical direction, Louis Silvers. Cast: Loretta Young, Rich¬ ard Greene, George Sanders, David Niven, C. Aubrey Smith, J. Edward Bromberg, William Henry, John Carradine, Alan Hale, Reginald Denny, Bertqp Churchill, Barry Fitzgerald. Claude King, Cecil Cunningham, Frank Dawson, John Sutton, Lina Basquette, Frank Baker. William Stack, Harry Hayden, Will Stanton, Winter Hall, Lionel Pape, Brandon Hurst, John Spacey, C. Montague Shaw. EAUTIFULLY done. Thanks to the brilliant direction of John Ford, this heart-warming story of the love of four sons for their father, comes to the screen as one of the not many very fine pictures we have had this season. Superbly mounted and artistic¬ ally photographed, it has much to offer in a visual way. It always has been a Spectator contention that the story is not the determining factor in the success or failure of a motion picture, that the important think is how the story is told. The story of Four Men and a Prayer, stripped to its essentials, is about as lurid and well punctuated with murders as are those of which the horror thrillers are made to take their places on double bills. It would have lent itself admirably to the hiss, scowl and pant method of telling, but it comes from the Century studio as a great, dignified screen offering of vast credit to all those who had a hand in its making. Trust John Ford to plumb the depths of a story's emotional pos¬ sibilities. Never obvious in his approach, always gentle in his method, he nevertheless with telling force injects sudden heart-throbs which stir the audi¬ ence and bring responsive tears. Some Emotional Moments . . . ARLY in the picture the father and four manly sons face the portrait of their departed wife and mother and quietly drink a toast to her memory. There had been no previous mention of her, no inci¬ dent which gave her a place in the story, but so ably had Ford developed the atmosphere of the picture, the quiet, simple gesture of the five men made a deep¬ ly touching scene. Again in the closing sequence in which we see the four sons backing from the room in which the King of England had bestowed posthu¬ mously the Victoria Cross upon their father whose murder they had avenged and whose name they had cleared, we have another of those quiet emotional thrusts which gain cumulative value by the manner in which Ford builds to them. The production and direction combine to make the picture greater than the story, proving my contention that the manner of telling is more important than what is told. I am not belittling the screen play. It is an admirable piece of scenario writing, a deeply human document en¬ livened at intervals by flashes of wit and little touches discernably directed and ably acted. Reveals Munitions Evil . . . HE story has the advantage of being about some¬ thing, of having greater significance than would attach to a narrative concerning only one family and affecting only the members of it. The evil wrought by the promiscuous sales of munitions is brought out strongly, a theme given timely application by virtue of civilization's present trend. Munition makers are the villains of the story, which gives the picture in¬ ternational flavor. It also has a wide geographical sweep, beginning in India, touching Washington, jumping to both London and rural England, then to South America, and finally back to London where it ends in Buckingham Palace. The various locales gave Century an opportunity to present an imposing production, an opportunity it availed itself of to the full by giving us one of the most visually attractive settings we have had in years. Well Cast, Well Acted . . . HE father in the picture is played by Aubrey Smith, the sons by Richard Greene, George Sand¬ ers, David Niven and William Henry. It is ideal casting, each of them giving a perfect performance. Niven reveals a comedy sense only hinted at in pre¬ vious appearances. Young Greene, whom I under¬ stand Century is to develope into a leading man of importance, seems to have everything it will take to make the plan successful. Greene is handsome, has a good voice and is a pleasing actor. A stablemate of Tyrone Power, he will give that young man some strong competition for the favor of the fair sex. Lor¬ etta Young is the girl in the picture. As clever as ever, she is handicapped in this picture by some of the gowns she wears. In one scene she wears an inverted jelly mold as a hat and a ruffled potato sack as a gown, an ensemble so fascinating that it occupied my attention to the exclusion of the meaning of the scene. Music plays a prominent part in the satisfac¬ tion the picture will give, and credit for that goes to Louis Silver. Louis Loeffler deserves mention for a capable job of film editing. ANDREW STONE HAS AN IDEA . . . • STOLEN HEAVEN; Paramount picture and release; direct¬ ed by Andrew L. Stone; screen play by Eve Greene and Frederick Jackson; based on a story by Andrew L. Stone; photographed by William C. Mellor; art direction by Hans Dreier and Franz Bachelin; edited by Doane Harrison; dances staged by Le Roy Prinz; musical direction, Boris Morros; music from Liszt, Grieg, Moszkowski, Johann Strauss, Chopin and Wagner; musical advisor, Phil Boutelje; assistant direc¬ tor, John H. Morse; song by Frank Loesser and Manning Sherwin. Cast: Gene Raymond, Olympe Bradna, Glenda Far¬ rell, Lewis Stone, Porter Hall, Douglas Dumbrille, Joseph Sawyer, Esther Dale, Charles* Judels. Ferdinand Gottschalk, Charles Halton, Bert Roach, Rolfe Sedan, Horace Murphy. IGHT or nine years ago a young fellow came to me with a screen story and an idea of how it should be presented. He told me his name was An¬ drew Stone. So impressed was I with the story and