The Exhibitor (1954)

MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR June 2, 1954 along to the Crusades, where he can win knighthood, but also orders his marriage. Montalban selects Carolyn Jones, a niece to Ansara, knowing it would confuse his enemies. Montalban, knighted on the battlefield, is captured but later escapes with the aid of slave Pamela Duncan and returns. Jones refuses the attention of Ansara and is killed by him. Montalban wages war on his enemies. Connor is forced to strip him of his rewards and knighthood, but Montalban is happy to be together with St. John. X-Ray: Action, intrigue, color, and a fairly interesting yarn put this in the average program class. The fact that this is based on the best seller by Frank Yerby may help. The screen play is by DeVallon Scott and George Worthing Yates. Maxi¬ mum aspect ratio: 1.85-1. Tip On Bidding: Program price. Ad Lines: “All The Swashbuckling Fury Of Frank Yerby’s Best Seller Explodes «• On The Screen”; “Flashing Swords And Willing Lips Spurred His Mission Of Revenge”; “A Thrilling Tale Of Days Gone By.” Girls Marked Danger Melodrama (Italian-made) (Dubbed in English) Estimate: Exploitation import has the angles. Cast: Silvana Pampanini, Eleonora Rossi Drago, Sophia Loren, Tamara Lees, Marc Lawrence, Vittorio Gassman, Bar¬ bara Florian, Ettore Manni, Gianni Bonos, Enrico M. Salerno, Bruna Rossini. Pro¬ duced by Carle Ponti and Dino De Laurentis; directed by Luigi Comencini. Story: Eleonora Rossi Drago, sweet¬ heart of crook Ettore Manni, is the object of anger on the part of Marc Lawrence, lieutenant of a white slave ring, when she refuses to join a shipment of girls being sent to South America. With the help of hanger-on Vittorio Gassman, whose girl friend, Silvana Pampanini, is secretly in love with Manni, Lawrence masterminds the robbery of a sport stad¬ ium safe, the manager of which heads the crime syndicate. Gassman and Manni crack the safe to find only papers which allow Lawrence to blackmail himself into a partnership. All are rounded up by the police except Gassman. Lawrence per¬ suades Gassman to convince Pampanini to enter a house of prostitution in a place run by Lawrence’s associate, Tamara Lees, but she continues to repulse the advances of Lawrence. The latter next decides to rim a dance marathon to re¬ cruit more girls for his next shipment to South America. Rossi Drago enters to make some money for a lawyer to defend Manni even though she is pregnant. She is soon forced to drop out. When she begs Lawrence for money, he beats her, mak¬ ing it necessary to go to a hospital. Knowing of Rossi Drago’s need for money, Pampanini decides to be nice to Lawrence and allows him to visit her for a price. Manni and his friends are con¬ victed, but escape. He gets a chance to visit Rossi Drago before she dies. Manni and friends meet Lawrence at the pier as a shipment is about to depart and free the girls. They take Lawrence, Gassman, and the others to a warehouse to stand judg¬ ment. As the crowd is about to take action, the police arrive and take everyone off to jail. X-Ray: Containing a yam that is at times slightly confusing, adequate per¬ formances, average direction, and produc¬ tion, and some exploitation angles for the houses that can use them, this import will probably get wider distribution be¬ cause of the dubbing into English, The gangster characters seem to be a fair take-off on American counterparts. This seems best suited for the specialty and exploitation spots. The story and screen play are by Luigi Comencini, Massimo Patrizi, Ivo Perilli, Antonio Pietrangeli, and Luigi Giscosi. Ad Lines: “An Expose Of The Italian White Slave Racket”; “A Racket Dealing In Girls . . . Laid Bare”; “The Italian Underworld In Action.” MGM Gone With The Wind Drama (430) 222m. (Color by Technicolor) Estimate: Reissue should have wide appeal. Cast: Clark Gable, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Vivien Leigh, George Reeves, Fred Crane, Hattie McDaniels, Everett Brown, Jack Williams, Thomas Mitchell, Oscar Polk, Barbara O’Neil, Vic¬ tor Jory, Evelyn Keyes, Ann Rutherford, Butterfly McQueen, Howard Hickman, Alicia Rhett, Rand Brooks, Carroll Nye, Marcella Martin, Laura Hope Crews, Harry Davenport, Leona Roberts, Jane Darwell, Albert Morin, Mary Anderson, Terry Shero, William McClain, Eddie An¬ derson, Jackie Moran, Cliff Edwards, Ona Munson, Ed Chandler, George Hackathorne, Roscoe Ates, John Arledge, Eric Linden, Tom Tyler, William Bakewell, Lee Phelps, Paul Hurst, Ernest Whitman, William Sterling, Louis Jean Heydt, Isabel Jewell, Robert Elliott, George Meeker, Wallis Clark, Irving Bacon, Adrian Mor¬ ris, J. M. Kerrigen, Olin Howland, Yakima Canutt, Blue Washington, Ward Bond, Cammie King, Mickey Kuhn, Lillian Kemble Cooper. Produced by David O. Selznick; directed by Victor Fleming. Story: The Servisection review was first printed in December, 1939, with the film first reissued in June, 1947. X-Ray: Based on Margaret Mitchell’s novel, this, obviously, still has plenty of money left in it. This is being reissued with Perspecta stereophonic sound. Maxi¬ mum aspect ratio: 1.75-1. Tip On Bidding: Better price. Ad Lines: “The Picture Acclaimed As The Greatest Of Them A11”; “Margaret Mitchell’s Novel Complete With A Stel¬ lar Cast”; “The Most Talked About Film In The History Of Motion Pictures.” Heidelberg University where he should learn to be more sociable. Gwenn and valet John Williams accompany Purdom, who resides at the inn owned by S. Z. Sakall. Waitress-niece Ann Blyth pre¬ sides over the beerhall. Purdom finds his royal position means little and after some advice from Blyth proceeds to join the other students. When he keeps trying to get romantic with Blyth, she resists him. Williams demands that Sakall fire her and she agrees that, perhaps, she ought to work elsewhere. Purdom, smitten, per¬ suades her to return and they find them¬ selves in love. They eventually plan to run away, but this is interrupted by the arrival of Calhem’s prime minister, John Hoyt, who asks Purdom to return home as Calhern is ill. The latter dies. In the months that follow, wedding plans are prepared. Finally, Purdom boards the train for the wedding, but suddenly orders it stopped so that he can pay a brief visit to Blyth. She informs him that he wiU be her only love. He leaves for the royal wedding. X-Ray: This remake has colorful set¬ tings, fine music, the excellent voice of Mario Lanza expertly tailored to fit Pur¬ dom, story that is loved the world over, able performances, and expert direction and production. Purdom is well cast in the lead and the others provide good sup¬ port. The popularity of the music and stage success should be factors. Although this may not have as much appeal for the teen-agers, the oldsters should find plenty in it to entertain them and the film is loaded with selling angles. The screen play was written by William Ludwig and Sonya Levien from the oper¬ etta with book and lyrics by Dorothy Donnelly, based on the novel and play by Wilhelm Meyer-Foerster. The music for the most part is by Sigmund Romberg. Among the songs heard are “Come, Boys Let’s All Be Gay, Boys,” “What’s To Be Is To Be,” “Deep In My Heart, Dear,” “I’ll Walk With God,” “Beloved,” “Serenade,” “Summertime In Heidelberg,” “Golden Days,” “Drink, Drink, Drink,” “To The Inn We’re Marching,” and “Gaudeamus Igitur.” Tip On Bidding: Better price. Ad Lines: “One Of The Greatest Oper¬ ettas Brought To The Screen In All Its Entertaining Glory”; “Entertainment At Its Finest”; “The Year’s Big Musical Hit.” PARAMOUNT The Student Prince musical (424) 107m. (CinemaScope) (Ansco Color) Estimate: Names will help entertaining musical. Cast: Ann Blyth, Edmund Purdom, John Ericson, Louis Calhern, Edmund Gwenn, S. Z. “Cuddles” Sakall, Betta St. John, John Williams, Evelyn Varden, John Hoyt, Richard Anderson, Roger Allen, Steve Rowland, Chris Warfield, Gilbert Legay, Archer MacDonald, Charles Davis, John Qualen. Produced by Joe Pasternak; directed by Richard Thorpe. Story: King Louis Calhern meets with Evelyn Varden, queen of a neighboring, wealthy country, to discuss the marriage of his son, Edmund Purdom, to her daugh¬ ter, Betta St. John. Prince Edmund Pur¬ dom feels about the marriage as he does about everything else connected with be¬ ing king, that it should be formal, precise, and correct. St. John refuses to wed him until he learns to be warm, friendly, and less stiff. On the advice of tutor Edmund Gwenn, Calhern orders Purdom to go to The Greatest Show Drama On Earth 15lM (Color by Technicolor) Estimate: Reissue of circus drama has the angles. Cast: Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde, Charlton Heston, Dorothy Lamour, Gloria Grahame, James Stewart, Henry Wilcoxon, Lyle Bettger, Lawrence Tierney, Emmett Kelly, Cucciola, Antoinette Concello, John Ringling North, John Kellogg, John Ridgely, Frank Wilcox, Bob Carson, Lil¬ lian Albertson, Julia Faye. Produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Story: This concerns the life and loves of performers and crew of a circus with James Stewart playing the role of a murderer hiding under the guise of a clown. A train wreck brings about his capture, but the show goes on in true circus tradition. X-Ray: When first reviewed in The Servisection of January, 1952, it was said; “Everybody loves the circus, and there is no reason to doubt that the star-studded picture won’t get the same reaction. The story is interesting, the cast good, and 3762 Servisection 2