Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1952)

8 Motion Picture Daily Thursday, JaQuary 24, 1952 Motion Pictu re Da ilyFea tu re Reviews "This Woman Is Dangerous" {Warner Brothers) AS a taut gangster melodrama, "This Woman Is Dangerous" presents symbols of good and evil in formula fashion. The cast is persuasive and the action crisp, all of which should make it popular at the Ijox-office. David Brian plays a polished but hardened gangster and Dennis Morgan is a dedicated surgeon, with Joan Crawford wavering between them. As the story opens, Miss Crawford, a member of a high-class gang, learns that she is losing her eyesight. The one ray of hope is an operation by brilliant surgeon Morgan. As Miss Crawford departs for Indianapolis' for the operation, the F. B. I. picks up some clues and posts a watch over lier as the best way to locate Brian. The story, fashioned by Geoffrey Homes and George Worthing Yates, soon develops into a romantic triangle as Morgan falls in love with Miss Crawford, and Brian, learning of this, erupts into fury. Director Felix Feist has seen to it that there is no lag in action as such factors are brought into> play while police are setting up their net, the suspense over whether the optical operation will be successful, and in general, the frenzied thrashing about of Brian. The picture rolls to its conclusion with the main question being whether^ Miss Crawford will be regenerated under the guidance of Morgan, or whether she will return to Brian. She chooses the former. As for Brian, he goes gun-crazy and is brought to an ignominious end by the bullets of the police. Others in the cast are Philip Carey, as the brother of Brian ; Mari Aldon, as the former's wife ; and Richard Webb, as an F. B. I. man. Robert Sisk produced. Running time, 100 minutes. General audience classification. Release date, Feb. 9. Mandel Herbstman "At Sword's Poinf (RKO Pictures) F^OR EVERY MINUTE of quiet conversation in "At Sword's Point" there are 10 devoted to obstreperous action in the forms of swordplay, revelry, horseback chases and other like diversions appropriate to the three sons and a daughter of the Four Musketeers of old. It goes almost without saying then that this Jerrold T. Brandt production, dressed in color by Technicolor and flourishing the extravagant costumes of 17th century France, will completely satisfy the appetites of devotees of swashbuckling drama. With names such as Cornel Wilde and Maureen O'Hara provided for the marquee, it seems certain that the patronage for this offering will extend considerably beyond merely the action fans. Hence, it appears to be a safe guess that gratifying business will accompany the various runs of this brisk, though well-worn, tale of heroism versus villainy. The heroes are the sons of D'Artagnan (Wilde), Aramis (Dan O'Herlihy) and Porthos (Alan Hale, Jr.). The heroine is the daughter of Athos (Miss O'Hara) who accompanies the three young men on an expedition to rescue the Queen of France and its people from the sinister machinations of the power-greedy Due de Lavalle (Robert Douglas). The villainous Due is bent on marrying the Queen's daughter (Nancy Gates) and disposing of young Prince Louis (Peter Miles) so that France may be ruled with an iron hand. Wilde and Miss O'Hara pause from time to time for love-making, but never long enough to give their dueling equipment a real rest. (Yes, she too proves to be no mean hand at wielding a sword!) The acting is broad, the action fast and the direction by Lewis Allen nicely measured to the screenplay by Walter Ferris and Joseph Hoffman. Also in the supporting cast are Gladys Cooper, June Clayworth, Blanche Yurka, Edmond Breon, and others. Running time, 81 minutes. General audieilce classification. For February release. Chaeles L. Franke 'Tor Men Only" ( Lippcrt Pictures) Hollyxvood, Jan. 22 LJPPERT has a very good production in this one, lively and entertaining, woven around a tale about Iiazing as practiced at many schools and. colleges, sometimes with disastrous results, as it does in this production, with the death of a student. The story is quite factual and it is ably presented by Paul Henreid, who produced, directed and enacted the principal part, capably aided by players Margaret Field, Robert Sherman, Russell Johnson, Kathleen Hughes, Vera Miles, James Dobson, Douglas Kennedy, Robert Carson, Virginia Mullen, Steven Clark, Chris Drake, Bob Chapman, C. Z. Whitehead, Arthur Marshall and Frank Mathias. They work from a screenplay written by Leo Morheim, who also wrote the original story, with Herbert Margolies. The narrative in setting forth some tragic aspects of hazing, links them with the inhibitive influence upon college authorities of their dependence on financial donors. ilenreid is a i)rofessor at Wake College who, after the death of the hazed student, launches a campaign to get hazing banned. The college executives and faculty, although sympathetic to his cause, withhold their support out of fear of financial reprisal, but he persists. To discredit him personally, the fraternity leader persuades a co-ed to bring charges of attempted misconduct against Henreid, and he is dropj/ed from the faculty. It is not until Henreid has created a situaticjn in which the fraternity leader, fearing he is about to be exposed, confesses his perfidious activities in the unknown presence of the college president, that the professor is cleared and reinstated, and hazing is banned. The picture brings to the screen a large number of those "new faces" which exhibitors have been saying they want and need. Running time, 93 minutes. General audience classification. Release date, Jan. 15. ''Invitation'* (M etro-Goldivyn-Mayer) PATRONS who are lured out of their homes only by adult themes that are realistically treated will find highly satisfying entertainment in "Invitation." This story of a woman whose blissful marriage must expire within a year because she is suffering from a deadly heart condition is ' treated without any trace of real heaviness or morbidity. Indeed, thanks to director Gottfried Reinhardt's adroit hand, it proceeds with adventurousness and fluidity. Exhibitors will find good marquee appeal in the cast that includes Van Johnson, Dorothy McGuire, Ruth Roman and Louis Calhern. The overall production effect is one of polish and resourcefulness. Miss McGuire plays the malady-ridden daughter of wealthy Calhern who sits in the sidelines and watches with secret envy as friends indulge in healthy outdoor sports. One day she is filled with esctacy and surprise as she is asked for her hand in marriage by Johnson who presumably was attached to Miss Roman. She marries him and goes on to have a wonderful honeymoon. Presently Miss McGuire begins to learn from innuendos stemming from Miss Roman that Johnson married her only because of a financial agreement with her father. This knowledge brings her close to a breakdown. Fortunately Johnson has fallen deeply in love with her and finally is able to prove this to her satisfaction. Also, as another bright ray in the screenplay by Paul Osborn, the picture ends with the possibility of Miss McGuire going on to live out her life in full health as a result of a forthcoming operation. The filtn was based on a story by Jerome Weidmaii and is studded with lavish scenic touches which add to its stature. Lawrence Weingarten produced. ■Running time, 85 minutes. General audience classification. Release date, Feb. 1; M. Herbs™ an "Red Skies of Montana" (2Qth Century-Fox) AN outdoor action drama ■ highlighting the activities of the "smoke jumpers" of the U. S. Forest Service is presented in this 20th CenturyFox production. "Red Skies of Montana," starring Richard Widmark, should find a good market amongi action fans. The color by Technicolor enhances hair-raising fire-fighting episodes, one of the most exciting of which is a scene of a forest fire efigulfing a group of "smoke jumpers," the men who parachute from planes to cbnjbat the flames. The story, which follows the pattern of many action filrtls,* finds Widmark in conflict with himself and his co-foresters when he JtlOne of his crew escapes unscathed from a murderous fire. Widmark claitns that he had blacked out, at the zenith of the horrible blaze. The doubt of his courage is not only felt by himself but by the son of one of his crewmen, Jeffrey Hunter. A nerve-racking duel, which finally turns to violence, is fought between the two principals' before Widmark is vindicated. Love-interest, kept at a minimum, is supplied by Constance Smith, Widmark's wife. Others in the cast include Richard Boone, Warren Stevens, James Griffith, Joe Sawyer, Gregory Wolcott and Richard Crenna. Produced by Samuel G. Engel, the film was directed by Joseph M. Newman from a screenplay by Harry Kleiner, based o;n a, story by Art Cohn. Running time, 98 minutes. General audience classification. For February release. . Murray Horowitz "Cry the Beloved Country" (Zoltan Korda — Lopert Films) ml THE cycle of "Cry the Beloved Country" from novel to' 'play is now completed with a fine motion picture production, Alan Paton's screen adaptation of his popular story about the problems confronting whites and Negroes in South Africa 'had its American premiere at the Bijou Theatre here last night. This story of a Negro preacher's search 'iftf his errant son is told with great sensitivity and is almost Biblical in quality. The discriminating film-goer will find jt extremely gratifying entertainment. Canada Lee, as the preacher, turns in a masterly portrayal that spans a wide range of emotions. Indeed, performances all around are on a high level. Charles Carson plays the wealthy white man whose son was killed by Lee's son in a holdup ; Sidney Poitier plays the part of another preacher, and Lionel Ngakane is the wayward son. Wisely, much of the picture was photographed in South Africa, thus adding a touch of visual authenticity to its social realism. Against the background of the story are painted the conditions of life in South Africa and some of it is not morally uplifting. There is considerable pathos in Lee's long search , for his son and, upon finding him, learning of the murder. Equally touching is the deep friendship which finally develops between the father of the murdered boy and Lee, as though through mutual tragedy, both learn the meaning of kindness and understanding. Regrettably, the picture does not have the musical scores which made the Broadway play, "Lost in the Stars," so hauntingly beautiful. A Zoltan Korda-Alan Paton production, presented by London Films, it was produced and directed by Korda. The picture should do very well! in art houses, and the high critical praise it will very likely get from Metropolitan papers reviewers can be a good factor in promotion and exploitatic^n. Because of its theme of race problems, it seems headed for objections in c'ertain sections of the country. Running time, 105 minutes. Adult audience classification. Release date, Feb. 22. I , M. Herbstman