The Exhibitor (1955)

June 15, 1955 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR Tsukida) is living with an uncle and working in his factory. When the factory starts to make armaments, he becomes bitter. Seeing street urchins trying to sell atom bomb souvenirs to tourists, he shows them skulls of A-bomb victims that they could sell. When he tries to sell the skulls he is arrested, but is released through the intervention of his school¬ master. X-Ray: Vivid in realism, tragedy, and moral propaganda, this entry will serve as powerful off-beat fare in art and spe¬ cialty spots. The film’s brutal sequences regarding the Atom bomb and its after effects may be offensive to those looking for mild entertainment, but few will fail to grasp the entry’s forceful and mean¬ ingful message. Production, performances, and direction are good. Story and screen play is by Yasutaro Yagi. Ad Lines: “Hiroshima, A Vision Of Hell For Those That Lived There”; “A Venice Film Festival Prizewinner”; “For The First Time On The Screen . . . The True Story Of ‘Hiroshima’ . . . And The People Who Lived And Died There.” No Way Back Melodrama 87m. (Fine Arts) (German-made) (English titles) Estimate: Good import for the art spots. Cast: Ivan Desny, Ruth Niehaus, Rene Deltgen, Karl John, Lila Kedrowa, Serge Belousow, Alf Marholm. Produced by Stuart Schulberg; directed by Victor Vicas. Story: In 1945, Russian Army officer Ivan Desny comes across a frightened Ruth Niehaus huddled in a Berlin cellar. He escorts her home and wins her grati¬ tude. Seven years later, Desny, who has been living is Moscow, returns to Berlin as a civilian engineer in charge of factory production. He remembers Niehaus and searches for her in the western sector, where he is observed by the Secret Police. Desny is instructed to report to the chief of the Secret Police, Rene Deltgen, and after being reprimanded for leaving the eastern zone, Desny discovers that Deltgen’s secretary is Niehaus. Factory man¬ ager Karl John resents the Russians and attempts to murder Desny. Desny is seri¬ ously injured but recovers and wins John’s respect and confidence. John discloses that he is planning to escape to the western zone, and Desny gives him the address of a contact in free Germany. John’s plot is discovered by the police and he com¬ mits suicide. When the police find the contact’s address on John, Desny and Nie¬ haus, who are now deeply in love, are forced to flee to the western zone. Rus¬ sian secret police trick Niehaus into a car and start their drive toward the east¬ ern sector from which there is no way back. X-Ray: Interesting, well made, and timely, the entry is okeh entertainment for art and specialty audiences. The film moves along at a good pace with its story being presented in a realstic and sus¬ penseful fashion. Performances and direc¬ tion are good. Screen play is by Gerhard T. Bucholtz and Victor Vicas. Ad Lines: “Filmed In The Heart Of Germany, This Is The True Story Of Love In A Divided World”; “Thrust Apart By The Dictates Of Governments, What Chance Had They For A Life Together? ’ “In A Divided Germany They Sought Love And Found It.” MISCELLANEOUS Murder In Villa Capri Melodrama 68m. (Screen Guild) Estimate: Mediocre lower half filler. Cast: John Heath, Neil Hamilton, Esther Minciotti, Joe Wippler, Denise Griffin, Astride Sigismondi, Florence Mer'cur, Linda Blodgett. Produced by Paul Burton-Mercur; directed by Otto Simetti. Story: Police lieutenant John Heath is assigned to stamp out a lottery being con¬ ducted in an average American city among the Italian population. He is warned to lay off but refuses despite pleas by his wife who fears for his safety. At the Villa Capri restaurant, the gang murders one of its members who is stepping out of line. Heath tries to shoot the fleeing killers but kills a friend, who accidentally gets in the way. When his daughter is killed, his wife leaves him, but he still refuses to give up and pursues the thing to its conclusion. His wife returns to him and they try to start all over again, hop¬ ing for a happier future. X-Ray: In areas where there are Ital¬ ian-speaking inhabitants this may go over nicely because there is quite a bit of that language spoken in the film. Elsewhere, it will just serve as fair filler on the program with amateurish perform¬ ances, direction and production. There is a story by Paul Burton-Mercur sup¬ posedly based on a true-crime story he had published, but on the screen it rambles all over the place. Ad Lines: “Assigned To A Case, He Refused To Give It Up For Threats Or Family”; “He Had A Murder To Solve And Nothing Would Stand In His Way.” Open Secret Melodrama 67 m. (Marathon) Estimate: For the lower half. Cast: John Ireland, Jane Randolph, Roman Bohnen, Sheldon Leonard, George Tyne, Morgan Farley, Ellen Lowe, Anne O’Neal, Arthur O’Connell, John Alvin, Bert Conway, Rory Mallinson, Helena Dare, Leo Kaye, King Donovan, Tom Noonan, Charles Waldron, Jr. Produced by Frank Satenstein; directed by John Reinhardt. Story: Charles Waldron invites army buddy John Ireland and new bride Jane Randolph to share his apartment for a few days. When the honeymooners arrive, they discover that Waldron is not at the apart¬ ment. It is learned by the couple that there is an anti-Semitic movement in the neighborhood and the Waldron apartment has been rifled. Morgan Farley asks to see Waldron in connection with a letter received, stating that Waldron has im¬ portant information for Farley’s maga¬ zine “Snap.” When Waldron’s murdered body is found by the police, Ireland and Randolph leave some films to be developed at the shop of George Tyne, who is being persecuted by a Fascist-minded gang be¬ cause of his race. The photographs show gang members in acts of desecration. The gang gets Ireland and Tyne in the latter’s shop and starts to beat them. The police arrive and arrest the Fascists. The police and Ireland return to the apartment where Farley, the real leader of the gang, is struggling with Randolph. Farley attempts to escape and is shot and killed. X-Ray: This entry handles well its racial persecution theme, the result being a mildly interesting film that gets its point across without an undue amount of cru¬ sading. The picture is acceptable for action spots in view of its abundant amount of violence and turmoil. Perform¬ ances, direction, and production are satis¬ factory. Screen play is by Henry Blankfort and Max Wilk; original story by Max Wilk and Ted Murkland. Ad Lines: “The Pull-No-Punch Drama. Of Men Chained Together By Hate”; “The Picture That Opens Fire On A Hate Strong Enough To Kill”; “Tense! Taut! Terrific! . . . Dynamite On Film.” The Shorts Parade THREE REEL Color Novelty HERMAN MELVILLE’S MOBY DICK. Joseph Burstyn. 30m. In color, with Thomas Mitchell narrating, the story of “Moby Dick” is portrayed through the paintings of American artist Gilbert Wil¬ son. The whaler, under Ahab’s command sets out for the high seas in search of the precious game. It soon becomes appar¬ ent to the crew that Ahab’s only interest is that of killing Moby Dick, the white whale that took off the captain’s leg in a previous encounter. When the white whale is sighted, Ahab’s anger turns to mad¬ ness and he risks the ship and its crew in order to kill the monster. After a chase and a battle, the whale manages to de¬ stroy the ship and kill Ahab. This is best suited for art and specialty spots. EX¬ CELLENT. TWO REEL Comedy HISS AND YELL. Columbia — Assorted Reprints. 18m. When first reviewed in The Servisection of May, 1946, it was said: “Vera Vague, at a charity rally, meets a magician on the train whose specialty is decapitating a dummy, Vague spots the head of the dummy in his grip, and by mistake takes his grip, which looks ex¬ actly like hers, when she gets off the train. When she finally gets to her friend’s home, she finds the magcian is also staying there. Thinking she has stolen the head, he gives chase with a huge razor, until she realizes the situation, and falls Vaguefashion into his arms. GOOD.” (7426). TRAINING FOR TROUBLE. Columbia — Comedy Favorite Re-releases. 15%m. When first reviewed in The Servisection of July, 1947, it was said: “Schilling and Lane, a couple of broken-down hoofers, are on their last legs, when they receive a call from their agent, telling them that he has found a job. Everything is hunkydory until the boys climb aboard the train with their monkey. Trouble follows trouble until they are finally discharged from the troupe and tossed off the train. FAIR.” (7436). Documentary DEVIL TAKE US. RKO— Theatre of Life. 21m. Safety on the highway is a problem and all of its aspects are seen by a California highway patrolman and the camera at the same time, and all char¬ acters in the film are real, either living or dead. Officers are seen taking all situa¬ tions in stride, while driver types are well captured by the camera. The film is an effective lesson in driving safety. EX¬ CELLENT. (53301). Drama AT THE STROKE OF TWELVE. War¬ ners — Classics Of The Screen. 20m. When first reviewed in The Servisection of No¬ vember, 1941, it was said of this reissue: “A two-reel version of Damon Runyon’s “Midnight Alibi,” this suffers because too much has to be crammed into the running time. It tells of a Broadway gangster whose true alibi is an old lady recluse, Elizabeth Risdon, who comes to help him avert the electric chair. Despite fast pace, this lacks suspense, although it is inter¬ esting in the telling. FAIR.” (2105). Servisection 5 3981