The Exhibitor (1956)

ASTOR The Dynamiters Melodrama 75m. MOTION PICTURE _ EXHIBITOR SERVISECTION The original Pink Section evaluations of features and shorts Published weekly by Jay Emanuel Publications, Inc., Publishing office: 246-248 North Clarion Street, Philadelphia 7, Pennsylvania. New York: 229 West 42nd Street, New York City, West Coast Representative: Paul Manning, 8141 Blackburn Avenue, Los Angeles 48, California. Jay Emanuel, publisher; P. J. Greenhalgh, general manager; Albert Erlick, editor; Max Cades, business manager; George Frees Nonamaker, feature editor; Mel Konecoff, New York editor. MAY 30, 1956 SECTION TWO VOL. 56 • No. 4 (Made in England) Estimate: For the lower half. Cast: Wayne Morris, Patrick Holt, Sandra Dome, James Kennedy, Simone Silva, Eric Pohlmann, Lloyd Lafnble, Arthur Young, Hugh Miller. Produced by Geoffrey Goodhart and Brandon Fleming; directed by Francis Searle. Story: Private investigator Wayne Morris accepts an assignment to uncover a gang of safe crackers and killers against the wishes of agency head Patrick Holt. He tries to get i some information from restaurant owner Eric Pohlmann, who knows the doings of the underworld, with little success, and a lead is dead when the would be informant is killed. His girl friend and agency secretary, Sandra Dome, becomes suspicious of a wander¬ ing band in the vicinity of a place that was robbed and follows them to a pawn¬ shop run by Arthur Young. She summons Morris, and he and the police arrive to wipe the mob out. Dome has been kid¬ napped by the head of the gang who sees the handwriting on the wall, and it turns out to be none other than Holt who has been using the detective agency as a blind. Pohlmann gets Morris and the police in time to prevent his leaving the country with Dome. X-Ray: An okay entry for the lower half, this contains a story that holds interest fairly well with a competent enough cast to carry out the various roles and adequate direction and produc¬ tion. There is some action and intrigue which helps. The stoiy and screen play are by Brandon Fleming. There is a song, “Soho Mambo,” sung by Simone Silva. Ad Lines: “Tangling With The Dyna¬ miters Could Mean Death”; “He Exploded The Lid Off The Underworld”; “Thrills Galore In This Adventure-Laden WhoDun-It.” Passport To Treason Melodr™m4 (Made in England) Estimate: Program filler. Cast: Rod Cameron, Lois Maxwell, Clifford Evans, Ballard Berkeley, Douglas Wilmer, Andrew Fau, John Collicos, Derek Sydney, Barbara Burke, Marianna Stone. Produced by Robert S. Baker and Monty Berman; directed by Robert S. Baker. Story: Private investigator Rod Cam¬ eron is called in on a case by an old friend, who is found dead, before he can reveal any of the ^ecessary details. Clues lead him to an international league for peace, allegedly used as a front for other activities. He goes through all kinds of experiences including torture, drugs, beat¬ ings, etc. After considerable corpses and involvements, it is discovered that Clifford Evans, head of the league, is the real villain. Cameron and a secret agent, Lois Maxwell, manage to wrap things up and turn Evans and company over to the authorities. X-Ray: Prime selling point here is Rod Cameron, who manages the private eye assignment in standard private eye fashion. The others are average, while the story is one that has its ups and downs, to say nothing of its ins and outs. Direction and production are normal for this type of thing, best relegated to the lower half as filler. The screen play is by Kenneth Hayles with additional scenes by Norman Hudis, based on the novel by Manning O’Brine. Ad Lines: “A Hard Hitting Story Of Suspense”; “Murder Meant Nothing To A Ring Of International Killers”; “He Had An Assignment To Find A Murderer.” BUENA VISTA The Great Locomotive Chase Melodrama 85m. (CinemaScope) (Technicolor) Estimate: Excellent action film will have to be sold. Cast: Fess Parker, Jeffrey Hunter, Jeff York, John Lupton, Eddie Firestone, Ken¬ neth Tobey, Don Megowan, Claude Jar¬ man, Jr., Harry Carey, Jr., Lennie Geer, George Robotham, Stan Jones, Marc Ham¬ ilton, John Wiley, Slim Pickens, Morgan Woodward, W. S. Bearden, Harvey Hester, Douglas Bleckley. Produced by Lawrence Edward Watkin; directed by Francis D. Lyon. Story: This is the true story of the Andrews Raid of 1862. Fess Parker (James J. Andrews) leads a score of men in a thrust at the heart of the Confeder¬ acy and its vital railroad system. Had he succeeded, the single sortie might have ended the Civil War years ahead of time, but it failed because of one railroad man, Jeffrey Hunter (William A. Fuller) . X-Ray: This authentic, most colorful account of the stealing of a train by Union forces under a secret service agent and the attempt to cripple the South’s vital transport system has been faithfully recreated and emerges as an action packed and thrilling picturization of a little known bit of Civil War history. Parker and Hunter are excellent adversaries, and no two men ever fought a harder running battle than these two in this filmed ver¬ sion of the epic chase of one locomotive after another along the picturesque Georgia route, where the picture was actually made. The story is by the pro¬ ducer, Lawrence Edward Watkin. There are no women in the opus, consequently no romance. Despite its excellence, this one will have to be sold. Once they come in, everyone will be satisfied, particularly action fans, children, and even his¬ torians. Ad Lines: “One Of The Most Remark¬ able True Spy Stories Ever Filmed”; “The Screen Explodes With Excitement As The Fate Of A Nation Sped On Roar¬ ing Rails!”; “A Remarkable True Spy Story . . . Now A Great Motion Picture!” COLUMBIA Secret Of Treasure Outdoor Drama Mountain (832) 68m Estimate: Routine lower half entry. Cast: Valerie French, Raymond Burr, William Prince, Lance Fuller, Susan Cum¬ mings, Pat Hogan, Reginald Sheffield, Rodolfo Hoyos. Produced by Wallace MacDonald; directed by Seymour Fried¬ man. ' Story: Fleeing the law for different reasons are Raymond Burr and wounded Rodolfo Hoyos and William Prince, the latter for brawling and wrecking a saloon and the former pair for robbery. They accidentally are thrown together and stumble on a hidden plateau in the moun¬ tains inhabited by Valerie French and her father, Reginald Sheffield, from Eng¬ land, and half-breed Lance Fuller. When 1 Burr causes trouble, the others order him off, but not until he has heard that there is a huge treasure in gold hidden some¬ where in the mountains. He kills Hoyos and returns. Meanwhile, Prince accidenttally stumbles on clues to the treasure only to find that Fuller knew about the treasure’s location all along and was as¬ signed by the Indians to guard it. Burr decides to kill the others but is himself killed. Fuller is in love with French, but when she repulses him, he draws them all into the treasure cave intending to kill them. They get out in time, and he dies in the resulting explosion. The treas¬ ure is buried forever, and Prince and French decide to start the future afresh. X-Ray: Everything is pretty much routine, and this will serve best as lower half filler where needed. By the time the end rolls around, what happens to the HERE are the Theatre Industry's in Complete, and Honestly Factual REVIEWS 2000’s of Theatremen back their dollars and judgment tvith these "solid” facts and estimates. PONT TAKE OUR WORD FOR ITI CHECK 'EM AGAINST YOUR PLAYOFFI