The Exhibitor (1959)

4586 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR Cast: Joel McCrea, Julie Adams, John McIntyre, Nancy Gates, Richard Anderson, Jim Westerfield, Walter Coy, Don Haggerty, Wright Bang, Harry Lauter, Myron Healy, Mauritz Hugo, Henry Kulkey. Produced by Walter M. Mirisch; directed by Joseph M. Newman. Story: Joel McCrea (Bat Masterson) is forced to flee to Dodge City to avoid a whole¬ sale slaughter after he kills a soldier in selfdefense. His brother, Harry Lauter, is mar¬ shal, and is running for sheriff against the corrupt town bosses. McCrea’s reputation with a gun and love for gambling hardly endears him to reformers supporting Lauter, especially Lauter’s fiancee, prudish Julie Adams. McCrea buys half interest in a saloon and gambling hall run by Nancy Gates. Lauter is killed by Don Haggerty, afraid to lose control of the town in the election. Mc¬ Crea is asked to run for sheriff in his place and is elected, whereupon he makes an hon¬ est effort to clean up the town. His success wins him the respect of the townspeople, in¬ cluding Adams, to whom he is attracted. Walter Coy, a friend of McCrea, asks his help in reselling his feeble-minded brother from a hanging. McCrea agrees that the boy should be hospitalized rather than executed for an accidental killing and helps free him with the help of town doctor John McIntyre. Hav¬ ing violated the law by this act, McCrea is a wanted man. Rather than run, he returns to Dodge City. He is shunned by the shallow Adams and drawn into a showdown gun battle with Haggerty and his men. McCrea triumphs, is sure of reelection, and finds love with the waiting Gates. X-Ray: Fans of westerns should find enough action, gunplay, and familiar situa¬ tions to please them as McCrea portrays Bat Masterson, currently a great favorite on TV as well. Production and direction keep things moving well except for a few slow spots, and there is more emphasis on action than on characterization. Color and CinemaScope are assets. McCrea handles the familiar role well, but the best acting job is John McIntyre’s, a delightful characterization of a dryly amusing town doctor. The women have little enough to do, with Gates a standout thanks to a bet¬ ter part than that provided Adams. Where westerns attract, this one has the elements. Screenplay by Daniel B. Ullman and Martin M. Goldsmith. Tip On Bidding: Fair program rates. Ad Lines: “All The Thundering Might Of The Most Famed Gunfight Of Them All”; “It Blazes Across The CinemaScope Screen . . . The Gun-Down That Cracked The West Wide Open.” The Four Skulls Of Jonathan Drake Melodrama 70m. (UA) Estimate: Horror item for the program. Cast: Eduard Franz, Valerie French, Henry Daniell, Grant Richards, Paul Cavanaugh, Howard Wendell, Paul Wexler, Lumsden Hare, Frank Gerstle. Produced by Robert E. Kent. Directed by Edward L. Cahn. Story: The family of Eduard Franz lives under a centuries-old curse which has a voo¬ doo doctor, Henry Daniell, seeking the heads of all male members of the family. Franz’s brother, Paul Cavanaugh, falls a victim to Daniell and his zombie, Paul Wexler, but Franz is able to elude them. His daughter, Valerie French, summons the police, and Lt. Grant Richards responds. He is unbelieving at first but eventually is convinced that the supernatural is involved. He uses all the clues and the scientific police lab and even¬ tually the trail leads to Daniell, who kidnaps French to bring Franz to him. Both Wexler and Daniell are destroyed at the climax and the curse is lifted. X-Ray: There are skulls and shrunken heads galore in this minor horror entry that will probably do okay as part of an exploita¬ tion show. Some of it is a bit too gruesome for the very young. The story is only fair, as are acting, direction, and production. The screenplay is by Orville H. Hampton who comes through with the necessary amount of mumbo jumbo. Ad Lines: “Heads For Horror”; ‘They Had To Get His Skull Or Be Doomed To An Ex¬ istence Of Horror.” A Hole In The Head Comedy 120m. United Artists (Sincap) (Panavision) (DeLuxe Color) Estimate: Superior entertainment. Cast: Frank Sinatra, Edward G. Robinson, Eleanor Parker, Carolyn Jones, Thelma Rit¬ ter, Keenan Wynn, Joi Lansing, Connie Sawyer, Eddie Hodges, George DeWitt, Jimmy Komack, Dub Taylor, Benny Rubin, Ruby Dandridge, B. S. Pully, Joyce Nizzari, Pupi Campo. Produced and directed by Frank Capra. Story: Frank Sinatra, improvident dreamer and widower, is faced with the problem of raising his young son, Eddie Hodges, among the hurly-burly of Miami Beach and its “characters.” His girl friend, Carolyn Jones, lives for kicks and gets them. He is about to lose his fleabag hotel and appeals to his brother, Edward G. Robinson, a substantial New York merchant, to bail him out. When Sinatra tells him Hodges is sick, Robinson and his wife, Thelma Ritter, fly down. Sinatra puts the bite on Robinson to no avail. Sinatra makes enough on a dog race to save his hotel, but in the next race loses it. Robinson and Ritter make a deal. If Sinatra will meet Elea¬ nor Parker, widow friend of Ritter’s with the idea of maybe marrying her and settling down, they’ll stake him. Sinatra meets her but can’t make up his mind. He decides the best thing for all is for Hodges to return to New York with Robinson and Ritter. To make Hodges go for this, Sinatra puts on an act, telling him he no longer wants him around, and even strikes him. A broken¬ hearted Hodges leaves with them for the air¬ port, but jumps out of the cab and rushes back to Sinatra’s waiting arms. Robinson and Ritter return and Parker is also on hand. Somehow, with Robinson, Ritter and Parker helping, Sinatra and Hodges know they will make out. X-Ray: A cast that’s a winning combina¬ tion has been assembled here. This, together with an amusing yet heartwarming script, good direction and production makes for su¬ perior entertainment. A lot of what happens on screen is funny; much is touching. The film has been made against a picturesque Florida background, all the more attractive in color. The story holds interest well, but a bit more tightening could have heightened audience attention even more. It’s difficult to single out the cast members for special no¬ tice, yet this reviewer would feel remiss if he did not name Edward G. Robinson, Sinatra, and youngster Eddie Hodges as especially noteworthy. Others in the cast are also fine. All kinds of audiences everywhere should go for this in a big way. The screenplay is by Arnold Schulman, who also authored the play from which it is adapted. There are several songs. Tip On Bidding: Better rates. Ad Lines: “He Had A Hole In His Head; But He Really Loved His Son”; “A Merry Comedy Involving Some Florida ‘Characters’ . . . Lovable And Otherwise.” The Invisible Invaders Melodrama 67m. United Artists Estimate: Fair science fiction. Cast: John Agar, Jean Byron, Robert Hut¬ ton, Philip Tonge, Hal Torey, John Carradine, Eden Hartford, Jack Keney, Paul Langton. Produced by Robert E. Kent; directed by Edward L. Cahn. Story: Atomic scientist John Carradine is killed in a lab explosion, and his associate, Philip Tonge, resigns from the commission to protest the insanity of preparing for an atomic war. Later, Tonge is visited by Carradine’s body in which an invisible invader from the moon has taken refuge. He is told May 20, 1959 to tell the leaders of the countries to sur¬ render to a force of invaders or be destroyed. His tale is ridiculed until invaders in dead bodies start sabotage and havoc throughout the world. Tonge and associate Robert Hut¬ ton realize they have to work on some means to combat the invasion. They and Tonge’s daughter, Jean Byron, are escorted to a bomb proof lab by Major John Agar, where they develop a spray to capture one of the figures. It is placed in a compression chamber while they try to figure out a means to kill it. They accidentally discover the thing is af¬ fected by high frequency sound, which makes it visible. The world is saved. A romance also seems in the offing for Agar and Byron. X-Ray: This entry is okay science fiction which should be accepted by fans of this type of film. It has enough of a yarn to hold in¬ terest, while the performances, direction, and production are fair. It should fill in as a supporting feature on the program. The screenplay is by Samuel Newman. Ad Lines: “If The Invaders Were Success¬ ful It Meant The End of the World”; “Hor¬ rors of the Atomic Age Revealed.” Shake Hands With Melodrama The Devil 110m United Artists (Pennebaker) (Filmed in Ireland) Estimate: Fascinating action meller of Irish rebellion. Cast: James Cagney, Don Murray, Dana Wynter, Glynis Johns, Michael Redgrave, Sybil Thorndike, Cyril Cusack, Marianne Benet, Noel Purcell, Niall MacGinnis, Ray McNally, Richard Harris, John Breslin, Harry Brogan, Robert Brown, Lewis Casson, John Cairney, Harry Corbett, Eileen Crowe, Allan Cuthbertson, Donal Donnelly, Wilfred Down¬ ing, Eithne Dunne, Paul Farrell, William Hartnell, John LeMesurier, Patrick McAlinney, Clive Morton, Peter Reynolds, Chris¬ topher Rhodes, Ronald Walsh, Alan White. Executive producers, George Glass and Walter Seltzer; produced and directed by Michael Anderson. Story: In 1921, Don Murray is an American student at the Irish Royal College of Sur¬ geons who remains aloof from the Irish re¬ bellion although his father had been a hero for the rebels. One of his classmates is shot in a street fight and Murray carries him to shelter leaving behind a textbook with his name. The I.R.A. leader summoned to treat the wounded student is James Cagney, a professor at the college, and Murray is given the choice of joining the rebels or returning to America. He chooses the latter, but is ar¬ rested by the Black and Tans before he can be spirited out of the country. Despite tor¬ ture, he refuses to divulge the hiding place of the rebels and is rescued by a raiding party led by Cagney. Murray joins the re¬ bellion. Sybil Thorndike, last member of an aristocratic Irish family, is arrested for aid¬ ing the rebels, and Cagney kidnaps Dana Wynter, daughter of the English Army leader in retaliation. Cagney’s double life is exposed, but he escapes from the college. The English, meanwhile, seek peace and offer Rebel leader Michael Redgrave Dominion status and am¬ nesty. Cagney, whose mind has been warped by years of revolution, insists on fighting until the impossible goal of complete victory is attained. Thorndike dies in custody and Cagney decides to kill Wynter in retaliation. A treaty is signed ending the bloody struggle and Murray rescues Wynter as he is forced to kill Cagney. X-Ray: This is a beautifully photographed, carefully produced and directed, excellently acted action meller of the Irish rebellion packing plenty of entertainment for discrim¬ inating filmgoers. The problem will be get¬ ting them into the theatre as the subject matter is of limited appeal. The exhibitor’s best bet is to concentrate on the action ele¬ ments and the return of Cagney to the kind of hard boiled, ruthless role that made him famous. He does an excellent job, as do other featured players, particularly Glynis Johns