The Independent Film Journal (1954)

“Sabrina” (Paramount) 113 Min. Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, William Holden, Walter Hampden, John Williams, Martha Hyer, Joan Vohs, Marcel Dalio, Marcel Hillaire, Nella Walker, Francis X. Bushman, Ellen Corby Credits: Produced and directed by Billy Wilder; Written for the screen by Wilder, Samuel Taylor and Ernest Lehman; From the play by Taylor. Paramount lias come up with an exceedingly vibrant entertainment in “ Sabrina.” A ro¬ mantic comedy, it deals intriguingly with the love life of a chauffeur ’s daughter as played by that bewitching young star, Audrey Hep¬ burn. Cast alongside this refreshing gamin are Humphrey Bogart and William Holden. Under the masterful direction of Billy Wilder, “ Sabrina’ ’ should play to millions upon mil¬ lions the world over for it is one of the most refreshing motion pictures to come from Holly¬ wood in many a moon. The impetus of the Hep¬ burn and Holden names in relation to their Academy Award victories earlier this year, plus the established draw of Bogart should* do much to excite ticket sales. “ Sabrina,’ ’ however, wrould create excellent word-of-mouth without these added box office virtues. In the film, Miss Hepburn is smartly cast as a winsome daughter of a chauffeur working on the Long Island estate of a millionaire. The love interest, quite naturally, stems from her nearness to the millionaire ’s two sons, played by Holden and Bogart. Both, as opposite in personality as black is to white, discover them¬ selves drawn to Miss Hepburn at various de¬ velopments in the story. Her involvements with each threaten to set off a series of complicated financial affairs which could throw the stock exchange off kilter. Needless to say, all ends happily for the confused Miss Hepburn. As to which brother she finally marries, audiences will be kept guessing throughout. How the ending of the tale brings the lovers together is another surprise which patrons will go for in a big way. “The Black Shield Of Falworth” (Univ.-Int'l.) CinemaScope-Technicolor 99 Min. Cast: Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, David Farrar, Bar¬ bara Rush, Herbert Marshall, Rhys Williams, Daniel O'Herlihy, Torin Thatcher, Ian Keith, Patrick O'Neal, Craig Hill. Credits: Produced by Robert Arthur and Melville Tucker; Directed by Rudolph Mate; Screen play by Oscar Brodney; Based on the novel, "Men of Iron," by Howard Pyle. A rip-roaring spectacle about the good old days of chivalry is brought to the screen in exciting, romantic fashion by Universal-Inter¬ national for its first CinemaScope production. Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Torin Thatcher, Herbert Marshall in ''The Black Shield of Falworth," Cine¬ maScope — Technicolor Humphrey Bogart courts Audrey Hepburn in "Sabrina," film version of the Broadway comedy All told, word-of-mouth will be a factor that should definitely help skyrocket ‘ ‘ Sabrina ’ ’ into the heady atmosphere of a super hit. Based on the Broadway play called ‘ ‘ Sabrina Fair, ’ ’ the motion picture has moments of high comedy and sophistication which -will prove extremely diverting to every metropolitan audi¬ ence. There is also enough low comedy stuff for pleasing a broader clientele as well. The sequence in which Holden, playing the ne ’r-dowell son, accidentally sits down on a couple of champagne goblets will send an audience into screams of laughter. Bogart, portraying the cold, ruthless and calculating business man, lends an unusually strong degree of conviction to his role. Thus warmth, sincerity and audi¬ ence identification will be generated. As for Miss Hepburn, here is enchantment personified. Her role as ‘ 1 Sabrina ’ ’ establishes the young actress without doubt as one of the most bril¬ liant stars in the Hollywood firmament. Vividly mounted and appealingly rendered in brilliant hues of Technicolor, 1 ‘ The Black Shield of Falworth ’ ’ registers as highly at¬ tractive top-level entertainment. It should* fare exceedingly well in the general market. Action fans will go wild about the film. Kiddies will cherish every moment of its running time. A broader audience will find much gusto and spontaneity in both the narrative and character¬ izations. Top casting Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, film recreates with lively humor the Howard Pyle novel which was a ‘ ‘ must ’ ’ on the high school reading list for millions of youngsters. Here the atmosphere is England at the time of King Henry IV. The son of a nobleman forced into disfavor by a wave of tyranny is brought up as a peasant. Taken in by a wealthy friend of his deceased father, the lad is reared into the world of tournaments and jousts, and made a knight. Ferreting out the mystery of his own identity, the lad finally comes to grips with the man who defamed his father and emerges vic¬ torious. As the hero, Curtis delivers an agile and winning performance in a role which keeps him on screen for most of the running time. He receives able romantic support from Miss Leigh as well as excellent character backing by a number of seasoned actors. These include David Farrar, who plays the heavy; Herbert Marshall, as the kindly nobleman; Rhys Wil¬ liams, Daniel O’Herlihy and Ian Keith. Imbued with particular vigor and spirit is the per¬ formance of Torin Thatcher, who portrays the knight who teaches Curtis the arts of feudal warfare. Barbara Rush and Craig Hill, aspir¬ ing and appealing newcomers, contribute a sub¬ ordinate but pleasant romance to the proceed¬ ings. “The Vanishing Prairie” (Buena Vista) Technicolor 75 Min. Credits: A Walt Disney Production; Associate Pro¬ ducer, Ben Sharpsteen; Directed by James Algar; Script by Algar, Winston Hibler and Ted Sears; Narrated by Hibler. “The Vanishing Prairie,” the second fulllength feature presentation in Walt Disney’s True Life Adventure series, emerges as en¬ grossing film fare that should prove popular with both adults and children to score high in the winner’s column. General audiences have already shown that they will support this type of product by their acceptance of earlier Disney work in this form, and “The Vanishing Prairie” finds Disney and his staff in top form. As in the earlier ‘ ‘ The Living Desert, ’ ’ this film concentrates on the private lives of wild animals. Printed in beautiful Technicolor, the drama of the vanishing wildlife of the Ameri¬ can prairie is unfolded via shots of the animals caught unawares in their native surroundings. The film discloses the plight of these animals, many of whom are now all but extinct. How¬ ever, despite all their troubles, their constant searching for food and shelter, the miracle of nature works in their favor. The result is the warming assurance that nature works for all living things, including man. The mystery of life is touched upon in one of the outstanding scenes of the feature, the birth of a buffalo calf. The camera shows the animal coming from the womb and follows him through the next few important minutes, which spell either life or death for him. Drama of a different kind is found in the sequence with the mountain lion, who kills only to feed her fam¬ ily. Comedy enters the film via the antics of the prairie dogs, amazing little creatures who con¬ struct whole towns underneath the earth. An¬ other aspect of human nature is explored when the camera depicts the mating habits of several of the animals, which often prove amusing to the human being. Despite certain repetitions, these scenes keep interest at a high level throughout, providing steady diversion from this inventive presentation of the animal kingdom. “Crossed Swords” (United Artists) Pathecolor 86 Min. Cast: Errol Flynn, Gina Lollobrigida, Nadia Grey, Cesare Danova, Roldano Lupi. Credits: A Viva Films presentation; Produced by J. Barrett Mahon and Vittorio Vassarotti; Directed and written by Milton Krims. A colorful costume opus, ‘ 1 Crossed Swords ’ ’ supplies plenty of marquee lure to pay its way Errol Flynn in "Crossed Swords," Pathecolor in the general market. Starred are Errol Flynn and Gina Lollobrigida, the Italian actress who is rapidly becoming a solid box office dish. Pic¬ ture fares well from good use of its Pathecolor tinting and Italian sets. It was filmed overseas independently, with much of the action taking place against backgrounds of anftient castles. Story, attempting to spoof the routine tale of the head-strong adventurer who loves the ladies but fears marriage, often becomes more rou¬ tine than spoof. Dialogue is spotty and some( Continued on page SS) 14 THE INDEPENDENT FILM JOURNAL— August 7. 1954