Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1947)

'VIOLENCE' SUPERIOR TOPICAL MELODRAMA WITH LOTS OF SUSPENSE Rcifes ® • O as dualler in naborhood and Monocram 72 minutes Nancy Coleman, Michael O'Shea, Emory Pa'rnell, Sheldon Leonard, Peter Whitney, Forester. Directed by Jack Be'rnhard. Monogram rushed to complete this picture tc capitalize on its great topical value of being based on the recent expose of Georgia's fascistic "Columbians." The result is a surprisingly good little melodrama, cramm.ed with exploitation angles for the enterprising showman. It has pace, action and suspense, and under the hand of producerdirector Jack Bernhard, a well-chosen cast action spots turns in convincing performances. The tight, workmanlike screenplay by Stanley Rubin and Lewis Lantz combines enough of the factual newspaper story about the Columbians with fiction to make the 72-minute running time thoroughly engrossing. Boxoffice returns will depend to a great extent on the showmanship put behind "Violence" and it figures to bring handsome returns in action houses. EXPLOITATION: Get the newspaper stories of the Columbians' expose and blow them up. Copy should stress the danger of war veterans falling into the clutches of demagogues and subversive groups. Circularize veterans organizations, invite them to attend in uniform. Play up the title big. To expose United Defenders, news photo grapher Nancy Coleman works as secretary to leader Emory Parnell. Her undercover a-ssignment finished, she goes to Chicago to turn over her negatives to editor Pierre Watkin. An accident en route gives her amnesia FBI agent Michael O'Shea takes her back to Los Angeles, joins the fascist group, learns Parnell and his aides, Sheldon Leonard and Peter Whitney, have murdered a dissident member. Suspicious of O'Shea, Nancy reports him to Parnell and his aides who toilure him. Jealous of O'Shea, Leonard knocks Nancy down. Her memory restored by the blow, she seeks to extricate O'Shea. Both are captured, face death. At end, they escape, aid in the capture or killing of the fascists and their wealthy, undercover backer, Billy Green. 'SAN DEMETRIO. LONDON' BRITISH FILM LACKS NAMES. TIMELINESS Rates 9 % — as second feature generally; 20th Century-Fox 76 minutes Walter Fitzgerald, Arthur Young, Kalph Michael, Neville Mapp, Barry Letts, Michael Allen, Frederick Piper, Herbert Cameron, John Owers, Gordon Jackson, Robert Beat Directed by Charles Frend. This interesting and suspenseful account of a tanker crew's heroic and factual exploits during the late war has two major handicaps: its variety of British accents are for the most part unintelligible to American audiences, and it arrives years too late to have topical value. Handicapped further by an all-male cast of unknowns, its drawing power will be negligible. If heavily ex more in arty houses ploited, this might get fairly good grosses in transient ballyhoo or arty houses; elsewhere it will have to be relegated to the supporting slot on dual bills. Under Charles Frend's direction the cast performs with characteristic English restraint; all portrayals, however, are convincing and realistic. Photography is of a high order, heightening the film's dramatic impact. EXPLOITATION: Feature the fact the film portrays factually one of the strangest, bravest and most improbable adventures in tne history of the sea. A skeleton, starving crew sail and bring across the North Atlantic a blazing oil tanker — sans bridge, charts, wireless, steering gearHopelessly outgunned, the SS Jervis Bay comes to grips with the dreadnaught Von Scheer, sinks with her guns still blazing. Her sacrifice enables the convoy to scatter and run for safety. Shells from the raider his SS San Demetrio, set ablaze her 12,000-ton cargo of high octane gas. The crew takes to the boats; two of them are picked up, the third is buffeted toy wintry gales. Days later, the lifeboat's crew sights a burning ship, rows near and discovers it's the San Demetrio, miraculously still afloat. They reboard the white-hot decks, finally vanquish the flames. The still smouldering hulk has no bridge, no charts, no radio, no steering gear, and no food to speak of. Chief engineer Walter Fitzgerald coaxes his engines back to life, every man works at his task like ten. At long last the tanker makes port, the fifteen heroic survivors rewarded by an equal share of the salvage money. 1^ OUTSTANDING INDUSTRY EVEI^T! ASSOCIATED MOTION PICTURE ADVERTISERS 30th ANNIVERSARY DINNER-DANCE HOTEL ASTOR — MAIN BALLROOM WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23 — 7 P. M. SHARP This gala affair will honor the Presidents of our industry, who will be present for the occasion, as well as celebrated Hollywood personalities. ADMISSION TEN DOLLARS PER PERSON (For Tickets Write or Phone Harry iMcWillianns, Columbia Pictures, 729 Seventh Ave., New York 19 — Circle 5-5000) RUTGERS NEILSON, PRESIDENT, WILL PRESIDE HOWARD DIETZ, MEMBER. GUEST EMCEE ★ APRIL 14, 1947 17