The Independent Film Journal (1954)

“Pushover” Dick Powell, Anne Francis, Glenda Farrell in "Susan Slept Here," Technicolor he runs into trouble with henchmen of a gang boss he helped defeat. Straight shooting ac¬ counts for one of the desperadoes but Alex Nicol, the other, bides his time until the stage reaches Socorro. There Miss Laurie, also on the stage, takes a job at David Brian’s saloon. Cal¬ houn stays on to persuade her to quit for a better life. When Miss Laurie shuns Calhoun’s advice, he gambles with Brian for the saloon and her contract, but loses. On his way out of town, Calhoun is accosted in a gunfight by Nicol, under hire to Brian. Calhoun kills Nicol, then Brian, and goes off to Colorado Springs with Miss Laurie. really love each other. This basic situation has been placed in a Hollywood setting and fitted out with all sorts of exploitable gimmicks via a production that is equal to the high level of the script. This includes the use of an “Oscar” to aarrate the story and the effective introduction pf the voice of Louella Parsons, mother of pro¬ ducer Harriet Parsons, into the proceedings. When wedded to a screen play that sparkles with bright dialogue and amusing incident, it should make for an unbeatable box office com¬ bination. Plot casts Powell as a 35-year-old Hollywood writer who takes in the 17-year-old Miss Reyn¬ olds to save her from being sent to an institu¬ tion for homeless under age women. When he learns that there is no other way to save her, fie marries her, thus bringing on the wrath of Anne Francis, Powell ’s society fiancee. From there on out it ’s a matter of the two girls fight¬ ing for Powell’s love, while Glenda Farrell and Elvy Moore stand on the side lines spouting ry jokes. The all-important pace is almost jver allowed to lag so that the fun never breaks down. Performances are top-notch throughout, with Miss Reynolds scoring as an expert comedienne in a role that really permits her to show her talents. The Powell charm still works as he tries to resist the advances of his leading lady because he thinks she is too young for him. Sex rears its sophisticated head fairly frequently, but the picture does not exceed the bounds of good taste. Incidental music used in the film, such as a catchy title song and a tie-up with a Don Cornell record of “Hold My Hand” provide several added exploitation possibilities, as does the provocative title. “Dawn At Socorro” (Univ.-Int'l.) Technicolor 8OI/2 Min. Cast: Rory Calhoun, Piper Laurie, David Brian, Kathleen Hughes, Alex Nicol, Edgar Buchanan, Mara Corday, Skip Homeier, Roy Roberts, Lee Van Cleef, Richard Garland, Stanley Anderews, James Millican, Scott Lee. Credits: Produced by William Alland; Directed by George Sherman; Written by George Zuckerman. “Broken Lance” (20th-Fox) CinemaScope-De Luxe 96 Min. Cast: Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner, Jean Peters, Richard Widmark, Katy Jurado, Hugh O'Brian, Ed¬ ward Franz, Earl Holliman, E. G. Marsnall, Carl Benton Reid, Philip Ober, Robert Burton. Credits: Produced by Sol C. Siegel; Directed by Ed¬ ward Dmytryk; Screen play by Richard Murphy; Based on a story by Philip Yordan. A highly effective drama about au aging cat¬ tle rancher ’s conflict with a changing era and his sons is presented in strongly compelling vis¬ ual terms during the course of this CinemaScope super western. Rendered in De Luxe color and amplified via stereophonic sound, it meets all the requirements of the action market and scores as a qualified entry for general au¬ dience acceptance as well. Spencer Tracy spear¬ heads an adult set of characterizations in ‘ ‘ Broken Lance ’ ’ by his sympathetic portrayal of a post Civil War rancher who could not come to grips with a land in which court law was replacing rule by the iron-handed individ¬ ual. His dilemma is touchingly dramatized in a court room scene which stands out as a classic example of humorous Americana. Co-starring with Tracy are Robert Wagner, as the favorite son, a half-breed, who goes to jail rather than see his father ruined; Jean Peters, whose marriage to Wagner is frustrated by prejudice against those of mixed blood ; Richard Widmark, the eldest son whose villainy causes Tracy’s death, and Katy Jurado, who lends sympathy to the role of Tracy’s Indian wife. Wagner’s knock-down-drag-out battle with Widmark concludes the picture on a note of breathless violence. When Wagner leaves jail, Widmark vainly tries to buy him off from his full share of the late Tracy’s ranch lands. Via flashbacks, Wag¬ ner recalls how Tracy, when alive, angrily de¬ stroyed a copper mine that was polluting the waters of his ranch, thus killing his cattle. Tracy faced legal ruin when the governor re¬ fused to intercede for him. The governor’s rea¬ son was based on prejudice since Wagner, a half-breed, wras keeping company with his daughter, Miss Peters. Wagner, learning of his father ’s plight, assumed his guilt and went to jail. Widmark, the eldest son, then clashed with Tracy, who succumbed from a stroke. Back in the present, Widmark attacks Wagner but is killed. Wagner and Miss Peters clinch. A briskly fashioned Technicolor western, loaded with action and suspenseful situations, is unreeled in ‘ ‘ Dawn At Socorro ’ ’ to maximum effect. Returns in the oater market should be more than adequate, with the names of Rory Calhoun, Piper Laure and David Brian serving to boost grosses. Calhoun, playing a gambler : with a bad lung, gets mixed up in a feud be¬ tween two families in New Mexico after the Civil War. His efforts to extricate himself in one piece, plus reform a wayward young thing from a saloon girl’s way of life, constitute the bulk of the melodrama. Gunfights, poker games Ij and some fisticuffs keep things going at a steady pace throughout. A particularly effective climax starts out as a tense card game and concludes in a shooting match between two expert marksmen. When Calhoun leaves Lordsburg via stage¬ coach for Colorado Springs to repair his health, (Columbia) 88 Min. Cast: Fred MacMurray, Kim Novak, Phil Carey, Dor¬ othy Malone, E. G. Marshall, Allen Nourse, Phil Chambers, Alan Dexter, Robert Forrest, Don Harvey, Paul Richards, Ann Morriss. Credits: Produced by Jules Schermer; Directed by Richard Quine; Screen play by Roy Huggins; Based upon stories by Thomas Walsh and William S. Ball¬ inger. Columbia has taken stories of two suspense novelists, Thomas Walsh and William S. Ballin¬ ger, and woven them together into a first class melodrama to lift ‘ ‘ Pushover ’ ’ way above the average top-billing picture of its type. It should do good business in general situations. Fred MacMurray comes the closest to his out¬ standing “Double Indemnity” role in this film than he has in any picture in quite a few years. This story of a cop who can’t stand the temp¬ tation of money also introduces Kim Novak, who is on the Marilyn Monroe-ish pattern. Most outstanding thing about the picture is the mag¬ nificent night photography, which adds a great deal of realism and mood to the picture. Film’s title is exploitable and Miss Novak should pro¬ vide some additional exploitation material. Fred MacMurray, plain-clothesman, picks up Kim Novak, whom the police believe is the girl friend of Paul Richards, who has taken part in a $200,000 bank robbery and the killing of a guard. Later, he is assigned to a stakeout with Phil Carey to watch Kim and see if Richards shows up for her. Carey becomes attracted to Dorothy Malone, who lives in the apartment next to Kim, while MacMurray falls for Kim, and meets her despite orders to the contrary. Together, they hatch a plot to lure Richards to her, get the money and take care of Richards. Their plan wrorks with one exception : Allen Nourse, a fellow policeman; who has been a drinker and who is off his beat while on duty, suspects MacMurray. MacMurray fakes his suicide and kills Nourse. Lt. E. G. Marshall in¬ vestigates. MacMurray panics and kidnaps Dor¬ othy Malone, who has seen him in Kim’s apart¬ ment. MacMurray decides to get the money which he hid after killing Richards, and take Kim with him. He is shot and killed in the at¬ tempt and Kim realizes that she and MacMur¬ ray could have been happy without the money after all. “The Diamond Wizard” (United Artists) 83 Min. Cast: Dennis O'Keefe, Margaret Sheridan, Philip Friend, Alan Wheatley, Francis De Wolff, Eric Berry. Credits: A Gibraltar Films Ltd. Presentation; Pro¬ duced by Steven Pallos; Directed by Dennis O'Keefe; Screen play by John C. Higgins. An exploitable programmer has been fashioned out of this yarn of government agents and an atomic scientist who can produce man-made dia¬ monds, and the feature should supply needed product in its market. Chief exploitable factors are some science-fiction type shots of intricate machinery set up for the manufacturing of the diamonds and a climactic sequence of the blow¬ ing up of an old castle with the chief villains still in it. Produced in England with many British players, the film stars Dennis O’Keefe, who also handled the direction. He has kept things going at a speedy pace so that the action never lags. O ’Keefe is cast as a U.S. government agent who comes to England to check on a ^ang of thieves who have stolen government money td be used to purchase the imitation gems. He gets a lead when the scientist turns out to be the missing father of his fiancee. Plot complications are finally solved when the thieves are ap¬ prehended and it is learned that the scientist has been working as a prisoner of the gang. A last minute rescue sets things' aright. The film¬ ing of the picture on the streets of London and Kent has gjven it an air of authenticity. Script is smoothly performed by an able cast. (Continwd on page 18) Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner, Richard Widmark in "Broken Lance," CinemaScope-Technicolor THE INDEPENDENT FILM JOURNAL — July 24. 1954 13