The Exhibitor (1956)

MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR cept for spots where it seems slow or undefined. Some minor plot machinations are left unexplained by either the cutting room or Nigel Balcin’s screen play adapted from Philip MacDonald’s novel. Tip On Bidding: Higher program rate. Ad Dines: “A Masterpiece Of Suspense And Deduction”; “Only He Knew What Was Going To Happen . . . His Only Clue A Scent Of Perfume”; “Take ‘23 Paces To Baker Street’ . . . Along The Road To Murder.” -* UNITED ARTISTS r _ „ i_x_* Action Drama Foreign Intrigue 100m. (DRM) (Eastman Color) (Made in Europe) Estimate: Well made action entry has good boxoffice potential. Cast: Robert Mitchum, Genevieve Page, Ingrid Tulean, Frederick O’Brady, Gene Dickers, Inga Tidblad, John Padovano, Frederick Schrecker, Jean Gerald, Lauritz Falk, Peter Copley, Ralph Brown. Produced and directed by Sheldon Reynolds. Story: Press agent Robert Mitchum decides to investigate the mysterious background of his wealthy employer, Jean Gerald, after his natural death on the French Riviera, despite the pleading of Gerald’s widow, Genevieve Page to remain with her. Mitchum learns of a document being held in Vienna by a lawyer, Frederick Schrecker. Mitchum suspects that Gerald was an international blackmailer, and the document has the names of his victims. After a visit from Page, Schrecker is found dead and the document missing. Frederick O’Brady informs Mitchum that a powerful man hired him to follow Mitchum, neither one knowing why. They decide to team up to learn the answer. Mitchum follows a lead to Stockholm and the home of wealthy widow Inga Tidblad and her daughter, Ingrid Tulean. Mitchum and Tulean quickly fall in love. Mitchum dis¬ covers that Tulean’s father had been blackmailed by Gerald. Page suddenly arrives and indicates that she and Mitchum will continue the blackmail plot. Mitchum, meanwhile, has returned to Vienna, where he is forced into a meeting with agents from four nations. They explain that Gerald’s victims were men selected by Hitler to take over their respective nation if Germany won the war. The agents are looking for these men. They believe that O’Brady’s em¬ ployer is one of the men, and ask Mitchum to get him to lead them to him. Mitchum agrees and sets up a meeting with O’Brady. Tulean arrives and tells Mitchum of her love. Page also arrives and gives Mitchum the choice of joining in her blackmail racket or being shot. The intelligence men move in at the last moment and arrest Page. Mitchum meets O’Brady and the two head into the night with the intelligence agents following and Tulean prepares to wait for Mitchum. X-Ray: Admirably living up to its title, this action drama is crammed with for¬ eign settings and international intrigue. With enough plot to carry an entire series of the TV show on which the film is based, viewers of all ages should find enough here to keep them interested and entertained. The European location shots are beautifully photographed and a de¬ cided asset. Mitchum, the only familiar face in the cast, does his usual competent job. Page and Tulean are talented and fresh looking new faces. The rest of the cast, particularly O’Brady, make the most of their roles. This looks like a good boxoffice entry with an ending that clearly indicates the start of a series. Written by Sheldon Reynolds. Ad Lines: “A Tale Of High Level In¬ trigue As Timely As Today’s Headlines”; “A Fascinating Peek Behind The Silken Curtain Of International Intrigue”; “Rob¬ ert Mitchum Follows A Trail Of Adven¬ ture Into The Capitals Of Europe.” The Killing Melodrama 83m. ( Harris -Kubrick) Estimate: Tightly constructed crime story has interesting documentary flavor. Cast: Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Vince Edwards, Jay C. Flippen, Marie Windsor, Ted DeCorsia, Elisha Cook, Joe Sawyer, Tim Carey, Jay Adler, Joseph Turkell, Kola Kwarian. Produced by James B. Harris; directed by Stanley Kubrick. Story: Ex-convict Sterling Hayden, planning a $2,000,000' racetrack robbery, enlists the aid of track employees Joe Sawyer and Elisha Cook, crooked cop Ted DeCorsia, and old friend Jay C. Flippen. Cook tells his glamorous wife, Marie Windsor, of the plot, and she tells her boy friend, Vince Edwards. At a secret meeting, Windsor is caught spying and beaten by Hayden, who releases her after she promises not to talk. The robbery is successful, with the aid of wrestler Kola Kwarian, who starts a track riot, and psychopathic killer Tim Carey, who kills the lead horse in the race to add to the confusion. The timetable is perfect, and Hayden picks up the money at a pre¬ arranged spot. While waiting for the splitup, the others are surprised by Edwards. In a gun battle, all are killed but Cook, who manages to kill his faithless wife before he dies. Hayden heads for the air¬ port with the money after learning of the mixup. Attempting to take the suit¬ case containing the money on board the plane, he learns it must be checked through and reluctantly agrees. The suit¬ case falls off the baggage wagon, the money flies everywhere in the wash of the propellors, and Hayden is appre¬ hended by two plainclothesmen. X-Ray: This is a fine example of topnotch low bracket production. Harris and Kubrick certainly prove their abilities in all phases of production. A good cast recreates a tautly conceived crime, and direction plus the use of tight flashback technique in the editing gives the whole thing an almost documentary flavor. There is considerable blood-letting which makes the film best suited for adult audiences. Occasionally, the time element becomes a bit shadowy because of the excessive use of flashbacks, but the fault is a minor one. It will fit in neatly on any program, and holds interest throughout. This bears a Legion of Decency “B” rating. Tip On Bidding: Program rates. Ad Lines: “The -Crime Of The Century . . . A Perfect Timetable”; “This Was His Big ‘Killing’ . . . Nothing Could Go Wrong”; “A Faithless Woman Plus $2,000,000 Equals Screen Dynamite.” Mystery Melodrama 89m. (Pine-Thomas) Estimate: Satisfactory program entry. Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Kevin Mc¬ Carthy, Connie Russell, Virginia Christine, Rhys Williams, Gage Clarke, Barry At¬ water, Marian Corr, Billy May and his orchestra. Produced by William Thomas and Howard Pine; directed by Maxwell Shane. Story: Musician Kevin McCarthy awakens in his hotel room after a night¬ mare in which he dreams he murders a man. Marks on this throat and blood stains set him to wondering whether it really was a dream. He pleads illness to Nightmare May 30, 1956 band leader Billy May, which upsets girl friend-singer Connie Russell. He then seeks help from brother-in-law Edward G. Robinson, who is also a detective on the New Orleans homicide squad. He thinks McCarthy is overwraught and needs rest. On a picnic during a rain¬ storm, he directs them to a strange house and discovers it’s the scene where the murder took place. Rhys Williams, a deputy sheriff, appears and tells Robinson a murder did take place but has been kept out of the newspapers. The woman of the house was also killed. Further revelations lead Robinson to believe that McCarthy was hypnotized into committing the crime, and he traces the owner of the house and husband of the dead woman, Gage Clarke, to the hotel room next to McCarthy. A trap has Clarke confess to McCarthy that he suspected his wife and the dead man of illicit relations and hyp¬ notized McCarthy into doing the killing. When the police close in, Gage is shot while McCarthy under hypnosis tries to kill himself. He is snapped out of it and is ready to resume a normal life once again. X-Ray: Murder, mystery, hypnosis, and some New Orleans jazz add up to a nightmare for Kevin McCarthy and some suspenseful moments of screen fare for audiences. The yarn unfolds in unortho¬ dox fashion with the cast doing well by their assignments, braced by the com¬ petent Edward G. Robinson in the usual role of a tough police officer. The music supplied by Connie Russell and Billy May and his orchestra adds to the entertain¬ ment value. Direction and production are good and it should make a worthy addition to the program. Maxwell Shane wrote the screen play based on a novel by Corell Woolrich, and the production seems similar to another Pine-rThomas film, “Fear In The Night,” released by Para¬ mount in 1947. Songs heard include “What’s Your Sad Story” and “The Last I Ever Saw Of My Man.” Tip On Bidding: Program rates. Ad Lines: “An Adventure In Suspense”; “Could A Man Kill And Not Remember? Don’t Miss The Thrill-Packed Answer In ‘Nightmare’ ”; “The Music Of New Or¬ leans Makes A Fine Background For Murder.” Tirmeze Drama (Hecht-Lancaster) (Color by DeLuxe) (CinemaScope) (Filmed in Europe) Estimate: High rating entry. Cast: Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Gina Lollobrigida, Katy Jurado, Thomas * Gomez, Johnny Puleo, Minor Watson, Gerard Landry, J. P. Kerrish, Sidney James, Gabrielle Fontan, Pierre Tabard, Gamil Ratab. Produced by James Hill; directed by Sir Carol Reed. Story: To the circus owned by Thomas Gomez in Paris comes American Tony Curtis, seeking one-time great circus aerialist Burt Lancaster, one of the few men in the world to execute a triple somersault in the air. He wants Lancaster to teach him to do it, but Lancaster, crippled by a fall, is embittered and re¬ fuses. Curtis hangs on and finally con¬ vinces him with the aid of one-time romantic interest, performer Katy Jurado. They form a new act and practice con¬ stantly. They are observed by Gina Lollo¬ brigida, part of a tumbler act, who de¬ cides to try and join Curtis and Lancaster since their act will be a good one and will .. go places. After convincing Gomez that she would be good for them, she tries her charms on Lancaster who turns her down. Curtis is impressed, fancies himself in love, and insists he become part of the team. They are successful, and Lancaster 1 4168 Servisection 4