Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1952)

6 Motion Picture Daily Tuesday, April 1, 1952 Motion Picture Daily Feature Reviews "Without Warning" (Allart-United Artists) \7ITHOUT WARNING" is a striking example of how excellent craft VV manship can lift a modest production into superior entertainment. This sincere, engrossing drama of the twisted manipulations of a psychopatic slayer is shy on marquee names but rich in entertainment values. Credit goes to cast, story and direction, all of which have been coordinated into a worthy film, that should prove to be a sure audience pleaser. An epidemic of stabbings of pretty blonde women in Los Angeles puts the police department there at its wit's end. Their slow, unrelenting efforts to piece together paltry clues and track down the killer are told in sequences of almost documentary integrity. The screenplay by Bill Raynor takes the audience into the inner-workings of the killer as well as his pursuers. Thus it is as though one looks from above on an unfolding spectacle below. Adam W illiams portrays the killer whose motivations are psycho-analytically explained as an attempt to revenge himself on women because of a betrayal by his wife. Edward Binns and Harlan Warde play the detectives, and it is to the credit of the screenplay that their roles demand none of the false heroics. All three of the above mentioned, under the direction of Arnold I.aven, turn in performances that rate praise. Meg Randall, as the blonde rescued from the fate of her predecessors, is pleasing to the eye and acts competently. The finale, in which the gentle-looking psychopath is finally brought down, comes w ith fitting impact. Arthur Gardner and Jules Levey produced. Running time, 75 minutes. General audience classification. Release date, not set. Mandel Herbstman "The Narrow Margin" (RKO Radio) AS AX action thriller that takes place almost entirely on a Chicagoto-Los Angeles train, "The Narrow Margin" is a neat little job of film-making that is far superior to its budget. It is a well-written story, tai tlv directed and competently acted. The picture fully meets the demands of .ts category. The story gives detective Charles McGraw the task of taking the widow ol a slain gangster to the Coast to testify before a grand jury investigating bribery, Quite naturally the forces of the underworld are fearful of the impending testimony and would like to eliminate the widow. Luckily for McGraw, the widow turns out to be attractive Marie Windsor, but very earlv in the picture the detective assumes the unimaginative attitude that this is just another chore in the line of duty. The underworld proves its deadly earnestness in its first attempt at the widow's life in which another detective is killed. The job of guarding Miss Windsor develops dozens of obstacles, dire threats, and narrow calls for McGraw, all of which add up to good melodrama. ' Toward the end, the treacherous hand of the underworld does snuff out the life of Miss Windsor. In a trick finish, however, it develops that she was a detective sent along as a decoy. Another passenger, lacqueline White, whom McGraw innocently met on the train, and gradually fell in love with, turns out to be the widow. Richard Fleischer's direction is brisk and sharp. Stanley Rubin produced, from the screenplay by Earl Felton. Running time, 70 minutes. General audience classification. For April rejease M. Herbstman Says TV No Threat To British Films Television represents no threat to motion pictures in England, but is expected to be a spur to better production, in the opinion of Dr. Roger Manvell, director of the British Film Academy, who has arrived in New York from London to lecture and to visit in Hollywood. Dr. Manvell noted that only 112,000 television receivers are being sold per month in the U.K. and there are only 1,300,000 in operation. Also, BBC service for sets is limited, he added. Dr. Manvell lectured at New York University yesterday, will lecture at Columbia University and be guest at a Museum of Modern Art reception Friday, talk to the Screen Directors' Guild on April 7, and do a national tour. AAAA Elects Wendt TOLEDO, March 31. — The American Association of Advertising Agencies has elected to membership the Wendt Advertising Agency of this city, reports H. F. Wendt, who was formerly a motion picture theatre owner. The agency handles many theatre equipment manufacturing accounts. Fairbanks Plans TV Film Making in U.K. London, March 31. — Plans for a $2,000,000 television film production venture were described here by Douglas Fairbanks. A pilot run of three films is scheduled to be completed here by May IS. If successful, the complete program of 39 films, designed primarily for the American television market, will be produced over a year, Fairbanks said. Dewey Signs New State Sunday Law Albany, N. Y., March 31. — Governor Dewey has approved a bill modernizing New York's archaic Sunday blue laws. One of the aspects of the bill enables local option to legalize Sunday motion pictures. The measure was sponsored by a special joint legislative committee. Reeves in New Post Charles D. Reeves has been appointed head of the Chicago office of CBS television film sales, by Fred J. Mahlstedt, director of operations for the TV unit. "Encore" {Rank-Paramount) THE SHORT stories of William Somerset Maugham, having proved their cinematic appeal in such shining predecessors as "Trio" and "Quartet," are now the source of another screen delight. This J. Arthur Rank production consists of three episodes, each running about half an hour, all bathed in charm and freshness. Audience reaction to the previous Maugham films should afford the exhibitor the best barometer to the box-office potential of this one. It goes without saying that selective audiences will respond with high fervor. In "The Ant and the Grasshopper" sequence, all the accepted tenets of the way to success are given a rollicking, ironic reversal. A lazy, young philanderer, who cares not a whit for all the schoolbook rules, completely rocks his studious brother to his virtuous foundation. Nigel Patrick, Roland Culver and Alison Leggatt, turn in sterling performances, under Pat Jackson's direction. "Winter Cruise" is a study of a woman who just wouldn't stop chattering. On a sea voyage she becomes the abomination of the entire crew. They plan their vengeance on her only to have their machinations rebound unhappily. Anthony Pelissier directed with a fine satiric touch. In the cast are Kay Walsh, Noel Purcell and Ronald Squire. "Gigolo and Gigolette" is in more somber and dramatic vein. A daring high-diver who performs her sensational act in a night club begins to doubt the love of her husband. Can it be that he loves her only because she provides the source of their income, she wonders in self-torture. She finds out dramatically. Glynis Johns and Terence Morgan were directed cleverly by Harold French. Anthony Darnborough produced. The old master Maugham himself appears briefly before each episode with introductory remarks that add to the picture's enjoyment. Running time, 9U minutes. General audience classification. For July release. M. Herbstman 'Strange World' (Al O 'Camp-United Artists) INDEPENDENT producers Al O'Camp and A. O. Bayer filmed "Strange World," an unbridled melodrama about the aventures and misadventures of jungle explorers, in the wilds of Brazil, Bolivia and Peru. Its cast of total strangers to American audiences is headed by Angelica Hauff, an Austrian actress, and Alexander Carlos, a young and handsome Brazilian blonde heman. Replete with savage Indians, slithering snakes, crocodiles and tropic scenery, "Strange World" bears a striking resemblance to Hollywood's "Tarzan" pictures, except for the quite apparent fact that here we have the real thing, and not props, in terms of wildlife and foliage. Storywise, "Strange World" is right in a class with the "Tarzan" tales. Carlos, cast as an American and with dubbed-in voice, goes to the South American jungles to try to find his father, a lost explorer, and a golden idol of the Incas which the father had been seeking. Befriended by an Indian, Ary Jartul, who paddles him up slime-coated rivers into the interior, Carlos before long comes upon a white girl living in a native village. She turns out to be a childhood friend of his who escaped the tragedy that befell the others in his father's expedition. The search for the idol brings the trio near death at the hands of a tribe of head-hunters, places them in handtojaw combat with crocodiles, and provides other close calls. They come through it all in true "Tarzan" fashion, even if without the idol. Franz Eichhorn directed from a screenplay which O'Camp, F. E. Eichhorn and Bayer fashioned from their own original story. The commendable jungle photography of Edgar Eichhorn supplies many suggestions for theatre-front art work of the sensational variety. Running time, 85 minutes. General audience classification. Release date, March 28. Charles L. Franke "The Fabulous Senorita" (Republic) A PLEASING lightweight musical comedy starring Estelita, "The Fabulous Senorita" is an amusing trifle with occasional tedious moments. Charles E. Roberts and Jack Townley wrote the screenplay, from a story by Charles R. Marion and Townley. Estelita and Rita Moreno are daughters of a Cuban businessman who has promised Miss Moreno's hand in marriage to the son of his banker. The girl, meanwhile, secretly marries her penniless boy friend. During the elopement, which is aided by Estelita, an American college instructor, Robert Clarke, arrives on the scene and soon becomes involved in the affair, with the result that he is accused of kidnapping Estelita. When everything clears up, the father sends his two daughters off to college, but only Estelita actually goes, her sister remaining behind with her husband. All this papa doesn't know, nor do the college authorities, who think that Estelita and her sister are twins. Now ensues the inevitable mixup of mistaken identities with Estelita trying to lead Clarke to the altar, while keeping her father from learning the truth. Ultimately, everything gets straightened out. Estelita, Clarke, Nestor Paiva, as the father, Miss Moreno, and the_ other players all perform their chores acceptably. Sidney Picker was associate producer and R. G. Springsteen directed. Running time, 80 minutes. General audience classification. Release date, April 1.