The Independent Film Journal (1955)

Independent TradeRevieivs ( Continued from page 18) Nally to bring the outlaws to justice, and reconcile the opposing factions. Meanwhile, he wins Miss Corday’s love and decides to settle down with her in the town. “A Bullet For Joey” (United Artists) 85 Min. Cast: Edward G. Robinson, George Raft, Audrey Totter, George Dolenz, Peter Van Eyck, Toni Gerry, Bill Bryant, John Cliff, Steven Geray, Joseph Vitale, Sally Blane. Credits: Produced by Samuel Bischoff and David Diamond; Directed by Lewis Allen; Screen play by Geoffrey Homes and A. I. Bezzerides; Original story by James Benson Nablo. Vivid action house marquee bait is strung out in the names of Edward G. Robinson and George Raft for this melodrama about a spy ring’s kidnapping of an atomic scientist. Picture follows through with a competently contrived plot, enough action and pacing to satisfy an audience, and a neatly wrought climax. Program slotting is thus in order for ‘ ‘ A Bullet for Joey.” Characterizations liud Robinson as a Canadian police inspector investigating a series of seemingly unconnected murders together with the strange appearance in the Dominion of a deported thug. Latter, played by Raft, has the background of a Capone, and seems to know all the angles. His one-time moll, Audrey Totter, is employed to lure the scientist into the spy ring’s clutches. Sequences involving her efforts supply “Joey” with some romance. Lensing in Montreal locales adds a semidocumentary flavor to the proceedings. Authenticity, however, is side-tracked by the rather pat plot situations. When Peter Van Eyck, spy master, hires Raft to kidnap the scientist, Robinson gets wind of the scheme and tightens a security net. Miss Totter, disgusted by the situation and in love with the scientist, abandons her assignment. But Raft puts the pressure on her and goes through with the kidnapping. Robinson is meanwhile trapped by Raft and Van Eyck. He learns the latter’s true identity and, by appealing to Raft’s patriotism, saves the scientist. Raft dies in the attempt, but not before absolving Miss Totter from guilt. “The Big Tip Off” (Allied Artists) 78 Min. Cast: Richard Conte, Constance Smith, Bruce Bennett, Cathy Downs, James Millican, Dick Benedict, Sam Flint, Mary Carroll, Murray Alper, Lela Bliss, G. Pat Collins. Credits: A William F. Broidy Production Produced by Broidy; Directed by Frank McDonald; Written by Steve Fisher. “The Big Tip Off” is a good melodrama that is well produced. It has a good story premise and holds the interest of the audience except for the closing minutes when its climax strains the credulity of the onlooker with a too pat solution to a complex situation. A girl who is choked and thrown off the end of a long pier suddenly turns up washed ashore alive and Richard Conte, wounded so badly that he thinks that he is dying, suddenly doesn’t feel too bad anymore. With the exception of these factors, the film is well paced with some entertaining musical interludes woven into the proceedings. Conte delivers a solid performance and Constance Smith comes across as a sexy leading lady with a great deal of acting ability. In the general market, this one will do okay with strong exploitation and selling using the title and Conte’s name as marquee bait. Bruce Bennett comes by to see Conte, a newspaper columnist, after 10 years and brings with him Constance Smith, his secretary in a so-called charity organization, which raises funds. With the aid of Conte, Bennett and Constance get to handle a church bazaar, which tliey promote successfully. During this time, Conte has been getting anonymous gangland tips telling him of various murders almost as they happen. He parlays this information into newspaper headlines and gets put in jail, because he won’t reveal the source of his information. His case becomes a sensation and he a national figure. When Conte gets out of jail, Bennett persuades him to present a money raising telethon to raise funds for a hospital. The telethon goes on, and before Bennett can leave to attend it, Constance, who is in love with Conte, tells Bennett that she is going to tell the police that Bennett plans to steals some of the telethon money and make Conte the fall guy. Bennett chokes Constance and throws her into the ocean. He steals the money then frames Conte who escapes police and kills Bennett. He finds Constance and she vouches for his innocence. “Chance Meeting” (Pacemaker) 94 Min. Cast: Odile Versois, David Knight, Joseph Tomelty, Paul Carpenter, Theodore Bikel, Jill Adams, David Kossofi, John McLaren, Betty Marsden, Peter Illing, Peter Dyneley, Bernard Rebel. Credits: Produced by Anthony Havelock-Allan; Directed by Anthony Asquith; Screen play by George Tabori and Robin Estridge; From Tabori's story, "The Young Lovers." Winner of the British Film Academy Award for the best screen play of 1954, ‘ ‘ Chance Meeting” is an unusually tender story about young love, made vivid and memorable by an intriguing and allegorical plot. Brilliantly directed by Anthony Asquith and sensitively acted by Odile Versois and David Knight, it tells the story of a lonely intelligence clerk in the U.S. Embassy in London, and the equallylonely daughter of a Russian or satellite minister to England, who meet by chance and fall in love, without knowing each other’s identity. Soon discovered, their meetings are forbidden by their country’s diplomats, who cannot belive that between them love is possible. Spied upon, threatened, and finally forced to flee, the innocent but determined lovers persist. Slowly paced for the most part, and boasting no marquee names, the film won’t appeal to all tastes, and is best suited for art-houses. Still, a memorable chase at the finale is reminiscent of the best British suspense films, and there is a frank bedroom scene, culminating in the birth of an illegitimate child. This scene, in the reviewer ’s opinion will not be considered objectionable by most audiences. Background music is ‘ ‘ Swan Lake, ’ ’ richly orchestrated and woven into the plot, and ballet scenes are well presented. Highly dramatic scenes occur when the ‘ ‘ Russian ’ ’ girl preaches the doctrine of love over politics to her autocratic father; also, when the American invades the “enemy” embassy to kidnap his sweetheart. The final scene, when the young lovers escape through a storm, in a small skiff, to some “third” land where their love will be possible — while the representatives of both countries realize their errors — is symbolically and dramatically moving. “Five Guns West” (American Releasing Corp.) Pathecolor 78 Min. Cast: John Lund, Dorothy Malone, Touch Connors, Bob Campbell, Jonothon Haze, Paul Birch, James Stone, Jack Ingram, Larry Thor. , Credits: Produced and Directed by Roger Corman; Screen play by R. Wright Campbell. ‘ ‘ Five Guns West ’ ’ an above average western with a good story premise which manages a great deal of the time to look much more expensive than its budget and is good entertainment. The picture, which deals with five convicted criminals who are given amnesty for joining the Confederate army, is well cast. With proper selling, ARC should do okay with this one and so should the exhibitor. Pathecolor photography is impressive. Five criminals, with John Lund, really a Confederate officer planted among them, are given amnesty by the Confederate Army, which swears them in as soldiers and gives them the assignment of waylaying a stage coach, carrying needed gold and a runaway tiaitor officer, Jack Ingram. As the men progress on their trek, each plots against the other with an eye toward getting the gold. They discover that Dorothy Malone is running the coach office. Each of the criminals covets Dorothy. The stage coach is successfully ambushed, and the killers start squabbling over the gold with only Lund wanting to take it back to the Confederate post. One by one the killers are shot down by Lund, who takes cover with Dorothy. One outlaw decides to ignore everything and rides off. Lund kills off all the badmen, takes Ingram South. He will return to Dorothy when the war is over. “Front Page Story” /Associated Artists) 95 Min. Cast: Jack Hawkins, Elizabeth Allan, Eva Bartok, Derek Farr, Michael Goodlifte, Martin Miller, Walter Fitzgerald. Credits: Produced by Jay Lewis; Directed by Gordon Parry; Screen play by Jack Howells and Lewis; Adaptation by William Fairchild and Guy Morgan; Based on the Robert Gaines novel. A day in the pulsating life of a British newspaper is detailed with melodramatic insensity in this engrossing import. Due to a fairly rapid pace of narrative, interesting characterizations on the part of some of the paper’s reporters, and intricate editing, picture should hold its own in both art and general situations. Presence of Jack Hawkins as the key editor is of some marquee help. His performance sets the standard for a number of convincing portrayals in a picture that sports more logic than coincidence for its dramatic high points. Hawkins, feeling that big news is about to “break,” cancels a vacation with his wife, thus alienating her affections. At the office, Hawkins assigns one reporter to cover the operation of a penniless woman with five children; one to cover a mercy killing trial; another to interview an atom scientist. The camera follows each assignment, and also Hawkins’ wife in her decision to leave him. It develops that the scientist is arrested for passing information to a foreign agent ; the poor woman dies, and the mercy killing case ends in surprising tragedy. Hawkins, meanwhile, learns that his assistant had had an affair with his wife, who they think has been killed in a plane crash. Hawkins later discovers that the latter news was false. Reunion with his wife seems imminent. “I Cover The Underworld” (Republic) 70 Min. Cast: Sean McClory, Joanne Jordan, Ray Middleton, Jaclynne Greene, Lee Van Cleei, Jomes Griffith, Hugh Sanders, Roy Roberts, Peter Mamakos, Robert Crosson, Frank Gerstle, Willis Bouchey, Philip Van Zandt. Credits: Associate producer, William J. O'Sullivan; Directed by R. G. Springsteen; Screen play by John K. Butler. “I Cover the Underworld” is a fair programmer that should get by on the lower half of double bills. Sean McClory makes his dual role, that of a divinity student, whose twin brother is a notorious gangster, seem believable. There isn’t too much logic in the script, but there is enough action in spite of the tired story formula used. Studio should get a nod for using both McClory and attractive Joanne Jordan, new star names, in the lead spots. The title is very good as exploitation bait, even though it doesn’t fit the story or the picture. McClory a divinity student, comes to prison to see his soon-to-be paroled brother and try and talk him out of returning to crime. He has his brother into solitary so that he can go back to the city and pose as his gangster brother and get evidence to break up the waterfront mobs. He succeeds in convincing his brother’s gang, Lee Van Cleef, James Griffith and Frank ( Continued on page 24) 22 THE INDEPENDENT FILM JOURNAL— April 30, 1955