The Exhibitor (1959)

August 12, 1959 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 4615 Josephine and Men Comedy 98M. Lion Int. Film (English -made) (Eastman Color) Estimate: Lightweight English farce. Cast: Glynis Johns, Jack Buchanan, Don¬ ald Sinden, Peter Finch. Produced by John Boulting; directed by Roy Boulting. A Brit¬ ish Lion Film. Story: Glynis Johns is engaged to Donald Sinden when she meets his old school chum, Peter Finch, a penniless, would-be playwright living in a squalid attic. Since she has a weakness for the weakness in men, she falls for him, breaks with Sinden, marries Finch, and they go to live in a pleasant country cottage. Under her guidance, Finch soon becomes a successful playwright. Her uncle, cynic Jack Buchanan, comes to visit, and at this time Sinden finds himself mixed up in a financial and business mess through the criminal actions of a partner. Pursued by the police, he takes refuge with Finch and Johns. Since it is now Sinden who needs her aid, Johns turns her attention to him again. However, Sinden’s troubles are over when his partner is reported a confessed suicide, and Johns with Buchanan’s adroit aid returns to her rightful place as Finch’s help-mate. X-Ray: This English farce is pretty slow moving and also pretty English from its point of view, if you know what we mean. Performances by the English name leads are fine, and the Eastman Color helps. This should do okay where English product is acceptable. The original story and screen¬ play is by Nigel Balchin. Ad Lines: “She Was The Twinkle In Their Eyes”; “The Girl Who Had A Weak¬ ness For The Weakness in Men.” Tides Of Passion Drama 86M. Janus (French-made) (English titles) (Eastman Color) Estimate : Lightweight import for art spots. Cast: Etchika Choureau, Jean Danet, Alfred Adam, Dora Doll, Elisa Lamothe, Rene Clermont. Produced by Vega-GrayC.F.C., directed by Jean Stelli. Story: Etchika Choureau, an orphan has been raised by her uncle in the farming marsh country of the Vendee in France. She is beautiful, shy and timid. She meets Jean Danet, employed by Dora Doll on a neighboring farm, and they fall in love at a country fair. Jealous, Doll denounces Choureau, and her uncle having died, she is sent by her guardians to work on the isolated farm of Alfred Adam. Danet meets and has an affair with an artist who is visit¬ ing the district believing Choureau has left him. Meanwhile, Choureau is having diffi¬ culty fending off the advances of Adam. She finally runs away, followed closely by Adam. Danet finally realizes the truth, rushes to Coureau’s help, and after a fight with Adam in the marshes, the lovers are reconciled. X-Ray: This lightweight romance with the Gallic touch is nicely enacted with the locale most unusual and interesting and with the soft Eastman Color enhancing things. It will do as a diversion for French film fans and art house devotees. This is adapted from a novel by Gilbert Dupe. Ad Lines: “A Warm, Sensuous Tale Of Bewitchment, Betrayal And A Strange French Pre -Marital Custom”; “To See Their Desire — Was To Know Her Own.” DO SAVE . . . pink REVIEWS! They provide a permanent evaluation of all features and shorts, as caught by our skilled reviewers, all cumula¬ tively numbered and indexed, and punched for a standard ring binder. Establish your seasonal set! MISCELLANEOUS City After Midnight MEL0DRg^ Principal Film Exchange (RKO Radio) (English-made) Estimate: Mystery for the lower half. Cast: Phyllis Kirk, Dan O’Herlihy, Wilfred Hyde White, Petula Clark, Jack Watling, William Franklyn, Margaret Withers, Guido Lorraine. Produced by William Gell. Directed and written by Compton Bennett. Story: William Franklyn is observed at¬ tacking a policeman during a burglary in a French resort town. The witness is Wilfred Hyde White, a collector of antiques. White is murdered, and members of his family are suspected. His son, Jack Watling, is engaged to Phyllis Kirk, who is divorced from Frank¬ lyn with the latter still carrying a torch for her. Insurance company investigator Dan O’Herlihy is drawn into the case because of the burglaries and remains because he is attracted to Kirk. When suspicion of White’s murder falls on her, O’Herlihy proves her innocent and Franklyn guilty. The latter dies from a brain concussion while trying to kill Kirk. X-Ray: This import starts out making like a fast-moving suspense film with intrigue, murder, robbery, but bogs down somewhere along the way with an excess of conversation and involvement. How the murderer is iden¬ tified is a bit of a puzzlement insofar as this reviewer is concerned. The cast, direction, and production are average, and the best spot for the entry seems to be the lower half of the double bill. The screenplay is adapted from “The Emperor’s Snuffbox,” by John Dickson Carr. Ad Lines: “A Midnight Intruder And A Scream In The Night”; “A Night She’ll Remember.” Desert Desperadoes Melodrama r 81m. Principal Film Exchange (RKO Radio) (Filmed in Italy and Egypt) Estimate: Programmer for lower half. Cast: Ruth Roman, Akim Tamiroff, Othelo Toso, Gianni Glori, Arnoldo Foa, Alan Furlan, Nino Marchetti. A John Nasht Production; directed by Steve Sekely. Story: A caravan guarded by Roman sol¬ diers commanded by Othelo Toso comes across Ruth Roman bound to a stake and left to die. Wealthy merchant Akim Tamiroff, who hired the caravan, is against taking her along, but Toso overrules him. Toso tries to get friendly with her, promising all kinds of wealth for her favors. Next encountered by the caravan is a group of Judean refugees fleeing from King Herod’s order to kill all male children. They are on their way to Egypt with a child among them. Tamiroff opposes taking them, but again Toso overrules him. Tamiroff begins to ponder the reward that would be paid by the King and secretly orders that a messenger be dispatched. He pays Roman to seduce a Roman guard to enable the messenger to get away. When the King’s soldiers show up, Toso refuses to surrender the refugees. A plan is evolved wherein the King’s men are to attack the caravan after Roman and Tamiroff get away, but she gets a pang of conscience and sends the refugees away on the camels. Roman and Tamiroff are forced to remain and with¬ stand the attack which leaves only Toso and some soldiers surviving. X-Ray: The story to be found here is drawn out and talky, and the performances are only fair, as are the direction and pro¬ duction. There are a few moments of action and intrigue. The name of Ruth Roman may be of some value, but the entry is best suited for the lower half of the program. The story and screenplay are by Victor Stolloff. Ad Lines: “Action In The Desert”; “A Desert Temptress Against The Roman Sword.” The Shorts Parade ONE REEL CINEMASCOPE COLOR CARTOONS ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER DOORMAT. 20th-Fox CinemaScope Cartoons. 6m. Johnny has a domineering, nagging wife. He takes his ire out on his office workers. His wife sees him at a tobacco shop and through an illusion pictures him as her TV hero; but when he gets home, he has turned back into his meek, spineless self. FAIR. (5903). FLAMBOYANT ARMS. 20th-Fox CinemaScope Cartoons. 6m. Superintendent Clint Clobber runs into every imaginable difficulty with everything going wrong. He threatens to quit; but his love for the associations at Flamboyant keep him on the same old job. FAIR. (5904). FOOFLE’S TRAIN RIDE. 20th-Fox CinemaScope Cartoons. 6m. Foofle goes on a guided train excursion. He messes everything up from the schedule to the baggage. FAIR. (5905). GASTON’S MAMA LISA. 20th-Fox CinemaScope Cartoons. 6mm. Gaston gets mixed up in the theft of the famous Mona Lisa painting. He fails to avoid the cops and get the paint¬ ing back to the art gallery at the same time, and winds up in jail. FAIR. (5906). COLOR CARTOONS SPOOKING OF GHOSTS. Paramount Mod¬ ern Madcaps Cartoon. 7m. A ghost is hired by a real estate agent in behalf of a Scots client to haunt that gentleman’s mansion while he’s away so he won’t have to pay for a caretaker. A weary hobo who doesn’t believe in ghosts tries to crash the invitingly empty domicile with hilarious results. FAIR. (B18-4). TERROR FACES MAGOO. Columbia Magoos. 6m. A marauding gorilla gets into Magoo’s home and puts on Waldo’s hat. Cops come and get Waldo, thinking he is the gorilla. Magoo continues watching television with the gorilla, thinking he is Waldo. GOOD. (3758). BEE BOPPED. Universal -International Walt¬ er Lantz Color Cartunes. 6m. The history of the bee down through the ages winds up with a papa bear trying to teach his baby the fine art of extracting honey from the hives without getting stung; but, of course, he always gets stung. GOOD. (3919). SPORTS JUNGLE ADVENTURE. Columbia World of Sports. 10m. Several Yankee big game hunt¬ ers travel into the jungles of South America to kill a jaguar. Their adventures and ex¬ periences are interesting and the rugged jungle scenery is fascinating. GOOD. (3896). RACQUET MAGIC. Columbia World Of Sports. 9m. The art of table tennis is demon¬ strated with some shots in slow motion. Champs Leonard Copperman and Sharon Ac¬ ton do their stuff and an almost unbelievable array of trick shots are performed by Robert Ashley. GOOD. (3805). COLOR TRAVEL BELOW THE KEYS. Universal-International Color Parade. 9m. The color camera visits Cuba and shows spots that attract tourists and the natives at work and play. This was made before the Castro revolution and re¬ fers in no way to politics. GOOD. (3977). Complete back seasons of these pink service sections are available to subscribing theatres at 5 2<f per set.