Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1950)

May 5. 1950 Motion Picture Daily 3 evietvs ie Asphalt Jungle" lo-Goldwyn-Mayer) Hollywood, May 4 -TOWN crime and criminals, their associates innocent and guilty, incluve of corrupt police, have seldom if ever been microscoped so vividly, lingly and mercilessly as in this John Huston production, based on a by W. R. Burnett. The lives of seven principal social deviates, instead usual one or two, are probed deeply and pitilessly in the course of a that skips the customary concessions to nicety in apparent determination dw that even the most expertly conducted and superficially successful C£t only does not pay but is an ugly business conducted by persons "^Criminality is but one of their many ugly characteristics. — a grim, tense, sordid story presented with great determination and less conviction. It's commercial fate appears to rest on the state of the *s appetite for this type of film at the time of its exhibition and on the power of a powerfully effective cast, headed by Sterling Hayden, Louis rn, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe and John Mclntire. ducer Arthur Hornblow, Jr., manifestly chose his players to fit the nely colorful roles they were to play, rather than for marquee magl. and Huston dedicated himself similarly to obtaining clinching realism direction and in the script he co-wrote with Ben Maddow. Both men y regarded the story as the prime consideration, and their telling of it skillful that the narrative remains at all times unobscured by the many ful performances turned in by the players. ■ scene is any big city, the time is now. Jaffe portrays a notorious burglar -eleased from prison who has perfected plans for robbing a famous -y house of a million dollars' worth of gems but needs financial backid expert manpower. Calhern, a reputedly wealthy lawyer ; Marc Law his underworld agent ; Hayden, a muscular small-time crook ; Whit an accomplished get-away man, and Anthony Caruso, a talented safe;r, join up with Jaffe in the undertaking, which is momentarily successit begins to fall apart when Calhern attempts to doublecross the others, y. Barry Kelley, a dishonest police officer who has been taking bribes Lawrence, is called on the carpet by his superior and, to save his job, Lawrence to make a confession, following which the others are brought lice or, in some instances, death. Jean Hagen and Marilyn Monroe figure story as associates of Hayden and Calhern. ming time. 113 minutes. Adult audience classification. Release date, t. William R. Weaver ie Admiral Was a Lady" iiiry-Vnited Artists) 7R ex-Airforce comrades who manage to avoid employment with rare npetence and a pretty, erstwhile Wave engage in a number of breezy y situations over a large portion of "Admiral Was a Lady." It's fairly "ous hokum, briskly played by Wanda Hendrix as the Wave and EdO'Brien. Steve Brodie. Johnny Sands and Richard Erdman as the .me. Rudy Yalee has a zanv part as the "juke-box king" who is out rry his divorced wife, Hillary Brooke, apparently to recoup his alipayments. iously, "Admiral" departs from its pursuit of laughs (where its score Hp to requirements) to dish out some true-romance type of fiction in all concerned have enough weighty problems to qualify for a atrist's couch on a full-time basis. The switch just does not figure. !the film has for its introduction a few newsreel shots (troops returning states, etc. ) which only serve the purpose of adding to the running ithe story goes, Miss Hendrix appears to be let down by her fiance, ever actually appears in the film. She encounters the forever-idle quartet drawing their unemployment checks and the boys attempt to bring her !<er illusive man together. Also, she is introduced to their ways and f of substituting ingenuity for monev. They live in an abandoned bardecorated in the modern manner, dine at a smart aquatic club where lan (who cannot swim) is supposed to be a lifeguard, etc. It is no 'se that the ending finds Miss Hendrix and O'Brien in the big embrace. |miral" is the first production by Albert S. Rogell and Jack M. Warner. .! directed, from an original story and screenplay by Sidney Salkow ohn O'Dea. Edward Lewis co-produced. ning time. 87 minutes. General audience classification. For August re Gene Arneel Palsy Collections Authorized by ITOA Breaking a precedent, the New York Independent Theatre Owners Association meeting here yesterday passed a resolution authorizing audience collections in member theatres for the Cerebral Palsy Drive in conjunction with the showing of the Alan Ladd trailer. The move required waiving of a standard organization rule of one health week collection each year. Martin in New Quarters Ralph Martin, who represents the magazine Seventeen in the motion picture industry, is in new quarters here, at 488 Madison Avenue, new location of the Triangle Publishing Co., which publishes Seventeen. Para. Widens Owen 8 Area Six branches have been added to the nine already under the supervision of the Eastern-Southern division headed by Hugh Owen, it was announced here yesterday by A. W. Schwalberg, president of Paramount Film Distributing Corp. The branches, which were formerly administered in Cleveland by the late Harry H. Goldstein, Mid-Eastern division manager, include Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Washington. Owen will supervise all 15 branches from his New York headquarters. The nine original branches in the EasternSouthern division are : New York, Albany, Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Jacksonville, New Haven and New Orleans. All branch managers will continue in their positions. ht Tax: Myers (Continued from page 1) [l COMPO with reservations, at the Allied delegation at Chivould do all it could to support dO, subject to those reservaHe said he did not believe any delegates at Chicago have any 1 authority, declaring that each te is acting subject to reservaor policies of their governing -e is very little chance of the an plan to penalize stars publici in ill repute or any similar al breaking at Chicago, Myers j-s, as top producers have asSenator Johnson they will act. ITOA Meeting (Continued from page 1) nated president for the 17th consecutive time. Other nominations were : David Weinstock, first vice-president; Max A. Cohen, second vice-president ; William Namenson, third vice-president ; Julius Sanders, fourth vicepresident; Leon Rosenblatt, treasurer; J. Joshua Goldberg, secretary ; John C. Bolte, Jr., sergeant-at-arms. Rudy Sanders was elected an honorary life member. Sanders was a member of the board of directors for 18 years. Herman Stern, owner of the Mermaid Theatre in Brooklyn, was announced as a new member. *0ai IVARNER BROS AGNES MOOREHEAD and a brilliant cast you'll long remember! $ PRODUCED BY DIRECTED BY JERRY WALD WR'TTEN by virginia kellogg and Bernard c. schoenfeld music by max steiner JQ||^ CROW^t