Modern Screen (Feb-Dec 1958)

WORTH SEEING THIS MONTH NEW MOVIES FOR LAUGHS Teacher's Pet FOR ADVENTURE Cowboy FOR DRAMA The Quiet American "I Accuse!" The Mark Of The Hawk FOR SUSPENSE Chase A Crooked Shadow Beautiful But Dangerous FOR MUSIC Sing, Boy, Sing! FOR THRILLS Count Five And Die Gig Young and Clark Gable have a battle oj wits — bottled wits — over pretty teacher Doris Day. TEACHER'S PET Gable's back again! Clark Gable Doris Day Gig Young Mamie Van Doren Nick Adams ■ Here is a delightful film in grand romantic comedy style. It's about a big newspaper editor (Clark Gable) and an egghead (Doris Day), who teaches college journalism. Gable learned journalism the hard way, and he's proud that he never got through high school. And he hates journalism teachers. When he's asked to deliver a guest lecture, he blows up and writes a bitingly sarcastic letter of refusal. However, his boss insists he make an appearance and Gable is astonished to find that the lovely Doris is the teacher. He is mortified when, unaware of his identity, she reads his letter to the class — tearing it and him to shreds. Gable decides to hang around under an assumed name. In no time he's teacher's pet. He turns in such lovely copy she begs him to give up the wallpaper business and think seriously of a newspaper career. He is thinking more seriously of his rival — psychology professor Gig Young. One night Gable is sitting with flashy, dopey Mamie Van Doren in the night club where she sings when Doris and Gig walk in. There follows a battle of wits between Gable and Gig — and Gig wins. Unfortunately, Gig doesn't stop when he's ahead ; he keels over in an alcoholicstupor which leads to a hilarious hang-over scene. The moment of truth — when Doris learns Gable's identity — is only a little painful. 6 Mostly it's great fun. — Paramount. COWBOY memories of the West Glenn Ford Jack Lemmon Anna Kashfi Brian Donlevy Richard Jaeckel ■ If you think that all you need to be a cowboy is a gunbelt and a jigger of whiskey, you're so wrong. Here's a very good film that tells the whole truth about the rugged West. Rugged is putting it mildly. It opens in Chicago, about eighty years ago, in a fancy hotel. Jack Lemmon's a desk clerk there, and he's in love with guest Anna Kashfi, the daughter of a Mexican rancher. Her father ends that romance fast by packing up and going home. Meanwhile, cattleman Glenn Ford and his fun-loving cowboys check in after a hard but profitable cattle drive. Lemmon wants to drive back to Mexico with them to see Anna, but Ford warns him that he wouldn't wish the life of a cowboy on anyone. For two months you're on your horse on a dusty trail with hardly any sleep, terrible food, danger from the Comanches and the weather, no entertainment, no parties and no slouching. Til come, says Jack. At first, he's a terrible cowboy; he can hardly ride a horse. And he's appalled by the apparent inhumanity of the men. One of them dies from snake bite as the result of a practical joke, but nobody sheds any tears. Another gets himself into trouble in a cafe, but no one tries to help him. By the time they get to Mexico though, Jack's toughened up. When he discovers that Anna's been married off, he gets mean. On the drive back he takes over when Kind is shot in the leg by a Comanche, and works the men mercilessly. He thinks he's a reai cowboy, but he hasn't learned yet; Glenn teaches him the last lesson. You'll like this movie, which has vivid and fascinating scenes of the real life in those wide open spaces. — CinemaScope, Columbia. THE QUIET AMERICAN love and politics Audie Murphy Giorgia Moll Michael Redgrave Claude Dauphin Kerima ■ The novel by Graham Greene has been turned into a fascinating movie whose elements of suspense are heightened by excellent character studies. The scene is Saigon in 1952. Back then, Saigon belonged to France wl-ich, with the Emperor and with aid from the U.S.A., was fighting against the Communists. Michael Redgrave plays an English journalist covering the war. He is an empty man whose values depend on their immediacy. At present he is separated from his wife and living with a beautiful native girl (Giorgia Moll) whom he supposedly loves. The American is Audie Murphy, who arrives in Saigon with great enthusiasm for creating a Third Force in IndoChina. Not colonialism, not Communism, but self-determination. His ideahsm irritates Redgrave. Not only that, Audie declares himself in love with Giorgia and informs Redgrave that he can give her marriage and security and is about to start a campaign to win her. Another kind of campaign begins in mysterious quarters. Little by little suspicion is created in Redgrave's mind about Murphy's political motives; he's led to believe that Murphy is a Communist agitator and is instrumental in having Audie murdered. Under the relentless inquiries of police inspector Claude Dauphin, Redgrave realizes that insane jealousy made a fool and a dupe of him. A wire from his wife agreeing to a divorce is his last hope. He pleads with Giorgia to marry him, but — having known real love with Audie — she refuses to go back to Redgrave. It is a beautifully acted, powerful film. — United Artists. "I ACCUSE!" historic trial Jose Ferrer Viveca Lindfors Leo Genn David Farrar Emlyn Williams ■ The false arrest and long imprisonment of Captain Alfred Dreyfus before the FrancoPrussian war went down as one of the larger scandals in French history. Here the characters and incidents are beautifully re-created with Jose Ferrer as Dreyfus. He was a man proud of his military career and his promotion to captain. It was an unusual achievement since, until then, there had been no Jewish officers in the French army. Although Dreyfus was a devoted husband to Viveca Lindfors. he had a stiffness and reserve that put off people. He was respected, but not very popular among his fellow officers. When it became known that someone was spying for the Austrians and that a letter signed only with the intial 'D' was intercepted, suspicion easily fell on Dreyfus. His court martial came at a time when the army needed good publicity. Completely innocent, Dreyfus was publicly dishonored and sent into solitary confinement on Devil's Island. His former superior officer (Leo Genn) is the first to discover that the real spy is a Hungarian major (Anton Walbrook), and for his pains Genn is sent to the front in Tunisia. It takes years before another trial is ordered. K.vcn then Dreyfus is not exonerated. nuTih pardoned, finding this injustice completely unendur (Continued on page 8)