Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1948)

Monday, June 14, 1948 Motion Picture Daily "A Foreign Affair (Continued from page 1) when Lund is ordered to continue the romance in order to capture the Gestapo big shot whose attraction for Miss D. brings him into the open where he is eliminated from the scene. Finally, the two Iowans are brought together through Millard Mitchell, Lund's colonel, as Miss Dietrich is hauled away to a labor camp. This is the kind of role in which Miss Arthur, absent from the screen since "3§s? Impatient Years," four years ago, excels. Her selection for the part Ci^jjjfnot have been improved upon nor could her performance. She is excellent in getting across her established mannerisms and histrionic gadgets and should not be permitted to allow another four years to elapse before her capabilities as a polished performer are to be seen. Miss Dietrich, too, is splendid as the glamorous woman of the world who knows her onions and her men. She looks the part of the stunning demi-monde ', and, provided there is manly chivalry left ill a strife-torn world, should accelerate the art of the wolf call into an unexplored high. One of her three song numbers is called "Black Market" in which she offers her bistro audience her undeniable charms for sale. This is a highly sophisticated number which advances to the borders of the risque and becomes unnecessarily dirty. The good-looking Lund is effective as the pivot around which both women tussle. Mitchell, with not too much to do, is perfectly swell as the" hard-bitten and often harassed colonel. In fact, all performances, large and small, are expertly guided under Wilder's sure hand. The story line is strengthened immeasurably by the director's many adroit touches and the fluidity with which he combines actual shots of bombed-out Berlin with his fictional material. An assist of no mean proportions is a script punched through with first-class dialogue, developed from an original story by David Shaw and an adaptation by Robert Harari. Running time, 116 minutes. General audience classification. Release date, August 20, 1948. Red Kann "Lulu Belle" (Columbia) THE PRESENCE of Dorothy Lamour as a nightclub singer in an oldfashioned melodrama should be -a comforting thought to many a showman. As popular entertainment, "Lulu Belle" has its moments of interesting drama as well as some pleasant rounds of song, but, generally, it is weakened by a script that lacks reality. It should, nonetheless, have a decided appeal to women, since it recounts the story of a lady who wanted to get ahead even at the expense of others. Miss Lamour has the title role, with others in the cast including George Montgomery, Albert Dekker, Otto Kruger and Glenda Farrell. A Benedict Bogeaus production with a turn-of-the-century setting, it has Miss Lamour start her career in a cheap Natchez dive. She capriciously marries Montgomery, but her driving determination is to get ahead, and so along the way she exploits a succession of men, discarding them when they are no longer of help to her. The film is told in flashbacks which frequently take melodramatic turns, including a shooting, before the happy finale. Characterizations are generally conventional. The screenplay was written by Everett Freeman, from the play by Charles MacArthur and Edward Sheldon. Miss Lamour also is provided an opportunity to cavort in an array of fetching gowns. Leslie Fenton directed. Running time, 87 minutes. Adult audience classification. Release date, not set. Mandel Herbstman Decisions (Continued from page 1) scribed which will end "the most serious abuses." He said that independents now "must be bold" in their thinking and the assertion of their rights under the decisions, adding that they no longer need fear retaliation. He advised exhibitors not to bring bad cases into court or the ground gained may be lost. I OF COURSE I BROOKLYN I audi HEAVEN Twin City Bids (Continued from page 1) buying product on a 42-day clearance after loop runs. Under the Metro offer, bidding between the two houses will be on a 42day clearance schedule. (The Boulevard recently demanded of Metro and other majors better clearance than the 56-day setup, stipulating that rentals should not be raised on threat of law suits.) Metro surprised film circles here some weeks ago with the announcement that the semi-legitimate Lyceum Theatre was successful bidder for three pictures in the Minneapolis Loop against Minnesota Amusement Co., the RKO Orpheum and Pantages, and the World. It is expected additional competitive situations will be opened in the Twin Cities and possibly elsewhere in the state. sent from UA Tom, FC Sign Deal Chinamerica Film Exchange of Hong Kong will distribute Film Classics product in China under a r'eal concluded here between David Home, FC foreign sales manager, and C. Y. Tom, Chinamerica president. Two Candidates for License Post Here New York City's new commissioner of licenses, a post directly related to many phases of motion picture, activity here, will be either Myles H. Lane, former U. S. assistant district attorney, or Denis McMahon, chief district field' officer of the Internal Revenue Bureau in this area, it is reported in City Hall circles here. Mayor William O'Dwyer is said to regard these two as the outstanding candidates for the post which will be vacated on July 1 by Commissioner Benjamin Fielding who has resigned to take an executive post with Loew's. Cohen Named (Continued from page 1) sales executive and for the past two years East-Central district manager for RKO Radio, Cohen first joined Columbia as Chicago salesman, later being promoted to sales manager in Detroit. In 1938 he resigned to become Detroit salesman for RKO, and was promoted to manager. In 1946 he was named district manager. Republic Dismissed (Continued from page 1) ney, opposed all pleas for dismissal, holding that the evidence submitted thus far in the four-week-old trial pointed to a conspiracy on the part of the defendants to deprive Fifth and Walnut's National Theatre, Louisville, of first-run product. Montague to Preside In Chicago Today Chicago, June 13. — Second of two Columbia sales meetings will get under way here tomorrow morning in the Drake Hotel, and will continue through Friday, with A. Montague, general sales manager, presiding. First meeting was held last week in New York. Four division managers and 17 branch managers will attend, in addition to the following from the home office : Rube Jackter, Louis Astor, Louis Weinberg, Irving Wormser, Maurice Grad, George Josephs, H. C. Kaufman, Joseph Freiberg, Seth Raisler, Irving Sherman, Sydney Singerman, Vincent Borelli and Irving Moross as well as division managers. Council Leader Sees Censor Bill's Defeat The Cunningham censorship bill to broaden the city license department's powers over films, stage shows and their advertising has scant chance of being enacted when it comes before the New York City Council tomorrow, Joseph Sharkey, Democratic vice-chairman and ; majority leader in the Council, has declared. The bill is not an administration measure, he also said. Even if Council votes favorably on the proposal tomorrow, it must bs acted upon by both the Board of Estimate and the Mayor, and public hearings would be held before both, Sharkey pointed out. cfAmerica's J\[ew "X Sweetheart! / All America will soon be seeing Lois (MICKEY) Butler, and hearing her glorious voice in Eagle Lion's Cinecolor production, "MICKEY," starting with world premieres in Des Moines and Moline, and more than a hundred dayand-dates the last week in June. SPECIAL OFFER: To every exhibitor, a free copy of Lois (MICKEY) Butler's latest Capitol recording "Dreams in My Heart." Write, wire, or phone Exploitation Department, Eagle Lion Films, 165 West 46th Street, New York 19, N. Y.