The Exhibitor (1954)

MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR J«mmry 12, 199$ RKO The Americano Outdoor Melodrama (509) 85m* (Filmed in Brazil) (Color by Technicolor) Estimate: Satisfactory outdoor action meller. Cast: Glenn Ford, Frank Lovejoy, Cesar Romero, Ursula Theiss, Abbe Lane, Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr., Salvador Banguez, Tom Powers, Dan White, Frank Marlowe. Executive producer Sam Weisenthal; pro¬ ducer, Robert Stillman; director, William Castle. Story: Texas cowboy Glenn Ford arrives in Brazil with three prize Brahma bulls for delivery to a rancher for $25,000, which he and his brother are to use to buy a ranch of their own in Texas. He learns from Cesar Romero that the rancher has been killed and hires Romero to guide him to the raneh. Their journey is interrupted by Ursula Theiss and sev¬ eral cowboys feuding with the dead rancher’s partner and head foreman Frank Lovejoy. They help him deliver the bulls while Romero disappears. Lovejoy asks Ford to remain and help ^ build up the ranch and its cattle, but* he heads for home, is waylaid and robbed. He returns to the ranch until he can receive his money, the theft of which is blamed on Romero, a famous bandit. Love joy’s fore¬ man, Rodolfo Hoyos, kills Theiss’ fore¬ man. Ford is captured by Romero’s men and learns Lovejoy ordered him robbed from Abbe Lane, girl friend of Romero. Ford falls in love with Theiss. When Lovejoy’s men raid another small landowner, Ford takes sides against him after getting his money back. With Romero’s help, he captures Hoyos and persuades him to confess all to the police. They go after Lovejoy who takes refuge in the jungle where he and Ford shoot it out with the American emerging victorious. X-Ray: Containing lots of action and intrigue plus unusual backgrounds and costumes, settings, etc., to be found in Brazil, colorful scenery properly recorded in color by Technicolor, an unusual plot twist, and efficient performances by the cast, this entry shapes up as good melo¬ dramatic fare. There is a sexy dance scene by Abbe Lane as well as a song, “The Americano.” Direction and produc¬ tion are in the better category. The screen play is by Guy Trosper based on an original story by Leslie T, White. Tip On Bidding: Higher program rates. Ad Lines: “He Had A Way With Cattle and Women . . . This Grim Americano”; “When A Texas Cowboy Swings Into Action In Brazil . . . Watch Out”; “An Exciting Tale Of Adventure Filmed In Brazil In Technicolor.” Quest For The Documentary Lost City 60m. (Made In Guatemala) (Color) Estimate: Interesting documentary. Credits: Introduction by Tom Harmon; produced by Dorothy Howell; narrated by Hal Gibney; featured and starred are Dana and Ginger Lamb; presented by Sol Lesser. Story: Here is told the story of two adventurous individuals, Dana Lamb and his wife. Ginger, who seek a lost city buri^ deep in the jungles that lie on the Mexican-Guatamalan border. With a minimum of cash, they decide to walk down the coast of Mexico, but an opportunity to buy an old model T Ford for very little cash switches th^r mode of transporta¬ tion. They put together a plane with bits and pieces and use that to explore the country from the air. Spotting their objec¬ tive, they go in by foot, and living imder primitive conditions and meeting with savages from the prehistoric past, they finally arrive at the ruins of what once was a proud city in the Mayan civilization. X-Ray: Based on the book of the same name by the two adventurers, this entry is exciting and highly interesting and should entertain audiences with its in¬ genuity, little photographed objects, scen¬ ery, and animals. The two “stars” are resourceful and their existence amid jungle settings is a^ thrilling experience. It should make a ^fairly good addition to the program. The narration is written by Dorothy Howell. Tip On Bidding: Low bracket. Ad Lines: “A Man And A Woman Battle Against The Jungle In High Ad¬ venture”; “Thrill To Discoveries Never Seen Before”; “A Lost City Of The Incas Draws An Adventurous Couple Onward . . . Ever Onward.” 20TH-FOX The Other Woman Dhama (430) Estimate: Okeh programmer for the duallers. Cast: Hugo Hass, Cleo Moore, Lance Fuller, Lucille Barkley, Jack Macy, John Qualen, Jan Arvan, Carolee Kelly, Steve Mitchell, Mark Lowell, Melinda Markey. Written, produced, and directed by Hugo Haas. Story: On the set of a Hollywood pro¬ duction, director Hugo Haas, needing a girl to say a few lines in a hurry, agrees to let model Cleo Moore, on the set, take a crack at it. He isn’t satisfied and lets her go whereupon she vows to get even. She lures him to her apartment following a party and feeds him a drugged drink, making sure that her boy friend, Lance Fuller, is on hand to see him awaken. She tries to blackmail him, claiming he got her pregnant, and she threatens to tell his wife and father-in-law, head of the studio. He establishes an alibi with his secretary, sneaks out another exit, and, in a fit of rage, strangles her. The crime is at first blamed on peddler John Qualen but conscience causes Haas to confess. X-Ray: There’s enough intrigue, sex, and drama to put this in the fair program category with adult audiences getting the most out of this. Performances are aver¬ age, direction and production are okeh with the story fairly interesting through¬ out. National Legion of Decency: “B.” Tip On Bidding: Program price. Ad Lines: “A Bold, Daring Drama About ‘The Other Woman’ ”; “She Had A Way With Men . . . Any Men”; “He Knew She Meant Trouble Yet He Couldn’t Resist Her.” Biographical Prince Of Players Drama 102m. (Cinemascope) (Color by Deluxe) Estimate: Quality drama calls for special selling. Cast: Richard Burton, Maggie Mc¬ Namara, John Derek, Ra3miond Massey, Charles Bickford, Elizabeth Sellars, Eva Le Gallienne, Christopher Cook, Dayton Lummis, Ian Keith, Paul Stader, Louis Alexander, William Walker, Jack Raine, Charles Cane, Betty Flint, Mae Marsh. Produced and directed by Philip Dunne. Story: In 1848, Raymond Massey as Junius Brutus Booth is billed as “Amer¬ ica’s Greatest Actor,” but mental disturb¬ ances and the urge to drink interfere. His career is kept alive through the efforts of his 11-year-old son, who learns his Shakespeare beneath the stages of various theatres. They return home where another son and daughter keep house. Nine years later, Massey can act no longer and re¬ tires despite urgings of tour manager Charles Bickford that he continue. Son Richard Burton takes over, completes the tour amid much acclaim. He also assumes that he has a touch of his father’s mad¬ ness imtil he meets actress Maggie Mc¬ Namara. They get married and he is in¬ spired to better acting and a more settled existence. His brother, John Derek, jeal¬ ous of Burton’s success, joins the souliiem rabble rousers yelling for war. Burton is a success in England, but pregnant McNamara has tuberculosis. Their daugh¬ ter is born in London as the Civil War breaks out. Derek serves as a spy for the south. TTiey return and McNamara is ordered to a cold, dry climate. Burton returns to drinking. McNamara tries to go to him but collapses and dies. He re¬ mains to visit her grave daily, straightens out, and returns to acting. The war is over and as President Lincoln watches a play in Ford’s Theatre, Derek shoots him. He leaps to the stage, breaks his ankle, but manages to escape. Trapped in a bam, a gim shot wound is fatal as the barn is burned. Burton is urged not to appear at a scheduled performance since the crowd is in an ugly mood, but he appears on stage and sits out their wrath which turns to admiration and then cheers. X-Ray: It’s a little difficult to visual¬ ize average audiences appreciating this properly unless their love for Shakespeare and the drama of the stage is strong. On the other hand, there is much to offer them in the way of absorbing drama, fine characterizations, and superior direction and production. The end result is an intense film containing numerous enter'tainment qualities that must be sold to the public so that it can be seen and appreciated. The angles are there. The idea is to use them properly. The screen play is by Moss Hart, based on the book by Eleanor Ruggles. Tip On Bidding: Higher rates in many situations. Ad Lines: “Absorbing Drama In A Tale Of America And Its Stage”; “The Love Of A Wonderful Woman And An Out¬ standing Talent Made Him . . . ‘The Prince Of Players’.” Twelve O'clock High Estimate: The Peck name should help war reissue. Cast: Gregory Peck, Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill, MiUard Mitchell, Dean Jagger, Robert Arthur, Paul Stewart, John Kellogg, Bob Patten, Joyce MacKenzie, Lee MacGregor, Sam Edwards, Roger An¬ derson, John Zilly, William Short, Richard Anderson, Lawrence Dobkin, Kenneth Toby, John McKee, Campbell Copelin, Don Guadagno, Peter Critz, Steve (^lark, Pat Whyte, Don Hicks. Produced by Darryl F. Zanuck; directed by Henry King. Story: In post-war London, a middle,aged American businessman buys a bat¬ tered jug, recalls the memories that it brings back when, during World War II, he was attached to a bomber squad as an administrative officer. His group is commanded by Colonel Gary Merrill, and the losses in planes and men have been heavy. The commanding general relieves him of the command and puts General Gregory Peck in charge. Peck proceeds to make himself hated by all concerned. All the pilots put in for transfers. Dean Jagger, the only one that understands, tries to delay the transfers so that Peck 3898 $«rvltacHen 2