Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Jun 1949)

4 Motion Picture daily Tuesday, April 26, 1949 Indiana Theatres In a Time Mixup Indianapolis, April 25. — Indiana exhibitors, particularly in smaller communities, are caught in a crossfire between city and rural areas over a highly controversial issue. Most Indiana cities in the North and Central parts of the state went on daylight saving time unofficially last Sunday despite a state law passed by the rural-dominated legislature making it illegal for a city to adopt any other than Central standard time. The action generally was taken on "recommendations" of mayors or city councils, or by local merchants and industries working independently. To add to the confusion, clocks in all state, county and municipal buildings, including schools, will remain on Central standard time, in compliance with the law, in the advancedtime cities. But schools and government offices will open and close an hour earlier to conform to the civic pattern. The great majority of exhibitors are going along with the daylight saving program where it will be in effect. // Speaking Dates For M-G-M's Wolf Eleven more speaking engagements have been lined up for Maurice N. Wolf, assistant to H. M. Richey, exhibitor relations head of M-G-M, starting today before the Kiwanis at Mt. Vernon. The second is scheduled for tomorrow, at the Rotary, New Rochelle, and the third on Thursday, at the Lion's Club, White Plains. Seven engagements are slated for May and include talks on May 3 before the Kiwanis, Chicago; May 10, the Rotary, Miami, Okla. ; May 11, Rotary, Tulsa; May 16, Rotary, Ponca City, Okla.; May 17, Rotary, Oklahoma City ; May 18, Kiwanis, Norman, Okla. ; May 19, Kiwanis, Oklahoma City. The only June engagement scheduled to date is Wolf's appearance before the Kiwanis, Yonkers, on June 6. Reviews 'TWA TWA=TWA=TWA i \ ONLY TWA \ offers 300-mph \ CONSTELLATION \ \ SERVICE 1 1 Coast-to-coast' and overseas For reservations, call your TWA office or your travel agent. We Were Strangers (Horizon Productions — Columbia) THE year 1933 was a crucial one in Cuban history. It brought the overthrow by democratic forces of a police state regime which for seven long years had trampled with audacity on human rights and civil liberties. The months which preceded the violence of open revolution in Havana were rife with intrigue and underground activity. Producer S. P. Eagle has set down on celluloid in graphic and dramatic fictional strokes a glowing tribute to the laborers, intellectuals and artisans of Cuba who united in the campaign against tyranny. Under the astute direction of 1948 Academy Award winner John Huston, a high-calibre cast, headed by Jennifer Jones, John Garfield and Pedro Armendariz has translated the screenplay of Peter Viertel and Huston into a film of strong commercial promise. "We Were Strangers" offers exploitation-minded showmen a field day, which fact, together with the film's inherent box-office power, indicates long and prosperous runs. Based upon an episode in Robert Sylvester's novel, "Rough Sketch," the Viertel-Huston script seethes with bitter irony in its examination of man's helplessness before the caprices of fate. The story focusses on a tiny group of revolutionaries — four men and one woman — which dedicates itself to the pick-and-shovel task of tunnelling through clay and cadavers from the cellar of the girl's home to the subterranean base of the vault of an aristocratic Cuban family in a nearby cemetery. The rebels plan to assassinate a popular politico — a more or less innocuous individual who is merely an instrument of the tyrannical regime — with a view to dynamiting the tomb when he is laid to rest, thereby killing all who would attend the funeral including the Cuban president and other key governmental figures. Thus the way would be open for a coup d'etat. After a month of arduous work the sweating, nerve-wracked diggers reach the tomb, then shoot down the politician — only to learn that the victim's family decides for sentimental reasons to bury him elsewhere ! The little groups breaks up in dumbfounded disillusionment and despair, with newfound love keeping together only the leader, Garfield, and the girl, Miss Jones. The suspicion of secret police inspector Armendariz, a most ubiquitous fellow, brings him and his lieutenants to the girl's home where, amid the pyrotechnic thunder of dynamite-throwing and tommy-gun fighting, Garfield dies in Jennifer's arms just as news comes that Havana's revolutionary forces have succeeded in smashing the government in sudden street warfare. _ Huston's direction has imbued this drama with feverish suspense. At times, however, the treatment could have been a little more on the concise side, with a view toward quickening the action and cutting the film's running time. Miss Jones's part called for a Latin accent; that was a mistake, for she does not use it with a completely convincing ring. All in all, however, performances are first-rate in a cast which includes, in support, Gilbert Roland, Ramon Novarro, Wally Cassell, David Bond, Jose Perez, Morris Ankrum, Tito Rinaldo, Paul Monte, Leonard Strong and Robert Tafur. Armendariz is a standout as the epitome of police tyranny. This is an Horizon Production. Running time, 106 minutes. General audience classification. For May release. Charles L. Franke "Make Believe Ballroom" (Columbia) Hollywood, April 25 YOUNGSTERS whose favorite pastime is listening to disc-jockeys' platters and chatter should accept this film favorably, even enthusiastically, notwithstanding its painful lack of pace, story and performance. "Make Believe Ballroom" appears likely to stand up well at houses which cater largely to the juvenile trade. Elsewhere it should quite innocuously round out the program. While a strong story was not expected, or needed, the plot and its labored unwinding manage even to lessen interest in the several good musical specialties sprinkled throughout the picture. Perhaps the most discomforting feature is Ruth Warrick, a fine actress, in the role of a fast talking combination press agent and Cupid, one quite as unbelievable as the other. Jerome Courtland and Virginia Welles, a pleasing pair of youngsters, are the central characters in the make-believe story, portraying a couple of carhops whose temperamental conflict blossoms into true love under the stimulus of the super-smart press agent and the competition of a disc-jockey contest. Al Jarvis, a leading Los Angeles discjockey, plays himself in the film and probably does justice to the profession. It is certainly not his fault that adult audiences, at least, will be impatiently waiting between his spinning records. Solid entertainment is offered, in the order of juvenile audience response by Frankie Laine, 11-year-old Toni Harper, Kay Starr, Jack Smith, the King Cole Trio, and the bands of Jimmy Dorsey, Charlie Barnet, Jan Garber and Gene Krupa. Ted Richmond produced, and Joseph Santley directed. Running time, 78 minutes. General audience classification. Release date April 12. Against Reissues (Continued from page 1) practice of reissuing scores of mediocre films, often with new titles which mislead the public, is unfair to the movie-going public and results in alienating box-office patrons. Reissue of these pictures is also a major cause of studio unemployment, the Council said. Delegates to the MPIC were urged to stress that reissues are creating bad public relations for the entire industry and to ask the intra-industry group to help prevent misleading advertising of the old pictures. Morley on NTFC Group Henry Morley, president of Dynamic Films, has been named chairman of the production committee of the National Television Film Council, replacing Jack Glenn, director for March of Time, who has curtailed his activities because of a recent operation. Jarvis, Delmar Exhibitor Albany, N. Y., April 25.— Funeral services for Joseph Jarvis, who died at Delmar, N. Y., today, will be held Wednesday at the St. Thomas Church there. Jarvis, for 15 years the proprietor of the Delmar Theatre, is survived by the widow and three children. N. Y. Theatre Fire Death Record Clean Through the cooperation of theatre owners and the public, the New York Fire Department has been able to keep spotless its record of not having lost a single life in a theatre fire for some time, Fire Commissioner Frank J. Quayle reports. Figures issued by Quayle showed that in 1948 his department's Division of Licensed Places of Public Assembly approved 2,380 premises for license out of 2,559 inspected. The total seating capacity of the licensed places was 1,815,087. Urge Backing for 'Atom* Leaders of civic groups and college presidents throughout the nation are being urged to support exhibition of March of Time's "Report on the Atom" in letters sent out by the Motion Picture Association of America this week. David Palfreyman of the MPAA trade relations department, reminds exhibitors that the subject can be booked separately, from 20th Century-Fox, by theatres not regulary showing March of Time. Charles Middleton, 75 Hollywood, April 25. — Funeral services were held here today for Charles B. Middleton, 75, actor, who appeared in 230 pictures since entering films in 1927 after a long career on the stage, in vaudeville, the circus and carnivals, who died Friday night after a three-week illness. William Farnum and Alan Mowbray gave readings at the funeral ceremonies. Interment was in Hollywood Cemetery. A daughter, Mrs. William F. Ladd, survives. Edward O'Donnell, 69 Hartford, April 25. — Edward W. O'Donnell, 69, theatre manager in Webster, Mass., for 44 years, died at a Worcester, Mass., hospital on April 21. He first managed the old Music Hall in Webster, which was destroyed by fire. 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