The Independent Film Journal (1954)

Independent Trade Reviews (' Continued, from page 12) _ “Three F or The Show” (Columbia) CinemaScope-Technicoloi 91 Min. Cast: Betty Grable, Marge Champion, Gower Cham¬ pion, Jack Lemmon, Myron McCormick, Paul Harvey, Robert Bice, Hal K. Dawson. Credits: Produced by Jonie Taps; Directed by H. C. Potter; Screen play by Edward Hope and Leonard Stern; Based on a play by W. Somerset Maugham. This Technicolor musical is handicapped by a story which isn ’t very probable and its strong points are its exceptional choreography, lavish¬ ly staged, and expertly danced by Marge and Gower Champion and Betty Grable. As light comedy, the humorous moments are not very feathery and there isn’t too much sympathy engendered by Betty, who wants two husbands because she loves them both and can’t decide whether she wants Jack Lemmon or Champion as her husband. The CinemaScope m the film is some of the best seen yet, with a great deal of excellent clarity throughout. Film has been handsomely produced and captures the backstage flavor of a Broadway theatre. There are also some very good shots of in and around New York, which add to the big town flavor. Heavy selling using the star names of Betty Grable and the Champions and Jack Lemmon, who is rapidly building a following, should in Betty Grable stars in Columbia's CinemaScopeTechnicolor musical comedy, "Three For The Show," with the Champions and lack Lemmon sure the film above average response in the general market. Miss Grable, an actressdancer-singer, who is married to Lemmon, and thinks him killed in action, marries Champion. Lemmon returns and she tells both Champion and him that she loves them both and can’t decide on which one she wants to stay married to. She proceeds to make them and Marge Champion miserable with her indecision, until the foursome along with Myron McCormick, their producer, get together in a new musical and Betty chooses Lemmon and Marge gets Champion and they all work to¬ gether as a happy foursome with McCormick. “Man Without A Star” (Univ.-Int'l.) Technicolor 89 Min. Cast: Kirk Douglas, Jeanne Crain, Claire Trevor, William Campbell, Richard Boone, Mara Corday, Myma Hansen, Jay C. Flippen, Eddy C. Waller, Frank Chase, Roy Barcroft. Credits: Produced by Aaron Rosenberg; Directed by King Vidor; Screen play by Borden Chase and D. D. Beauchamp; Based on a novel by Dee Linford; Title song by Arnold Hughes and Frederick Herbert, sung behind main title by Frankie Laine. A vigorous and off-beat western is presented in “Man Without A Star.” Packing an un¬ usually well-motivated story, the name draws of Kirk Douglas and Jeanne Crain, plus a number of solidly dramatic and suitably violent action scenes, the picture should play off exceedingly well in the action market and pave a way for itself in the general audience also. Title char¬ acter, portrayed by Douglas, is a travelling cattle hand strongly opposed to the cattle barons’ practice of fencing in grazing lands with barbed wire. Miss Crain plays a cattle baronness in this case; her run-ins with Doug¬ las make for novel romantic drama. Their story, in running true to character, cannot and does not end in the usual clinch. Douglas rides off alone at the finale, leaving a sequel almost a ’begging from U-I. Claire Trevor, as a woman of the town, Kirk Douglas serenades Jeanne Crain in U-I's "Man Without A Star," Technicolor furnishes Douglas with top-notch support while an adolescent type, played by William Camp¬ bell, is given a meaty role as the star’s sidekick. Douglas, shown as a basically irresponsible cowpoke who is sometimes given to singing, abhors needless shows of violence and as such wins a job for himself on an expanding cattle ranch. When the owner, an absentee landlord, ar¬ rives from Back East and turns out to be Miss Crain, a strange sort of romance with Douglas begins. Latter, however, will not go along with her more aggressive plans to corner the grazing lands and warns her that violence will result. Against his will, Douglas is forced to take part in the ensuing range war. He helps justice to triumph and rides off alone, sadly bitter with the knowledge that he has helped make the frontier so much smaller. “Land of Fury” (Univ.-Int'l.) Eastman-Technicolor 82 Min. Cast: Jack Hawkins, Glynis Johns, Noel Purcell, Lay a Raki. Credits: A J. Arthur Rank Organization presenta¬ tion; Produced by George Brown; Directed by Ken Annakin; Screen play by William Fairchild. An absorbing account of the trials and tribulations faced by the first white settlers of New Zealand back in the early years of the 19th Century is related with a good deal of conviction in ' ‘ Land of Fury. ’ ’ Photographed mostly outdoors on Eastman Color stock, with print by Technicolor, this picture delivers solid adventure fare, sprinkled with romance and lust in goodly doses. Figuring prominently in the tale are a couple of tribes of Maori headhunt¬ ers. Their friendship and, by turns, conflicts with the whites make for exciting and often spirited action sequences. Numerous hand-tohand combats are staged with exceptionally punchy vigor and should serve to attract action fans to this British offering. Names of Jack Hawkins and Glynis Johns, although already familiar to art house clientele, should click to some degree with a broader audience, for which this film is extremely suitable. There are plenty of exploitation lures in ‘ ‘ Land of Fury. ’ ’ Hawkins, as the white settler, partakes of a couple of adulterous moments with the beauteous wife of a Maori chief. Same girl, earlier in the picture, executes a rather torrid tribal dance in scant garments. Close-ups of shrunken heads help pepper the footage also. Much of the picture was shot on New Zealand locations, utilizing a large cast of actual Maori natives for authenticity. The natives are presented in a sympathetic light and much of their culture is examined during the proceed¬ ings. Their attempts to keep peace with the few early settlers form the nub of the melo¬ drama. A rather grim ending, in which both Hawkins and Miss Johns, who plays his wife, are killed during a native uprising, is offset by a fadeout that points up a peaceful future. “Chief Crazy Horse” (Univ.Int'l.) CinemaScope-Technicolor 86 Min Cast: Victor Mature, Suzan Ball, John Lund, Ray Danton Keith Larsen, James Millican, David Janssen, Robert Warwick, Paul Guilfoyle, Morris Ankrim, Stuart Randall, Robert Simon, James Westerfield, Donald Randolph, Dennis Weaver, John Peters. Credits: Produced by William Alland; Co-Producer Leonard Goldstein; Directed by George Sherman; Screen play by Franklin Coen and Gerald Drayton “Chief Crazy Horse,” a big Technicolor ad¬ venture tale about the Lakota-Sioux general who massacred General Custer, is satisfactory action fare. It should do well in the general market because of the choice of hero, plus a stimulating viewpoint and excellent use of CinemaScope. Sales assists will come from names of Victor Mature, John Lund and Suzan Ball, with the latter currently receiving a build-up from Universal. Add this to previous films sympathetic to the Indians’ viewpoint, as story deals mainly with Horse ’s military prowess and his futile attempts to unite his people against the whites. Custer ’s “last stand” is only a minor incident in this story. CinemaScope lensing is striking in show¬ ing beautiful Dakota vistas and long columns of Indians and troops preparing to engage each other in battle. Standard story devices — depict¬ ing greed, treachery on both sides, some love interest, and frequent battle clashes — all sat¬ isfy, counteracting direction that is sometimes slow-paced. During the battle scenes, customary shots of blood and horror are carefully avoided. Mature, as the Indian strategist, Miss Ball as his wife and Lund as a friendly white hunter all give good performances. Story begins when Horse, as a child, hears a prophecy that one of his tribe will lead the Indians to victory over the whites, and then be destroyed by one of his own people. Gradually, Horse becomes convinced of his destiny to lead. Trouble starts when gold is discovered on sacred Lakota territory. Prospectors, ignoring a handsoff treaty, swarm onto Lakota land and the army is forced to defend the gold-hunters. Horse hands the overconfident troops defeat after defeat, culminating in Ouster’s massacre. Finally, winter comes and Horse ’s allies desert him. His baby dead, his wife ill and his people starving, Horse brings the survivors into Fort Laramie for shelter. There, a jealous half-breed kills him and fulfills the prophecy. ( Continued on page 22) Susan Ball, John Lund, Victor Mature in U-I's "Chief Crazy Horse," CinemaScope-Technicolor 16 THE INDEPENDENT FILM JOURNAL— March 5, 1955