The Exhibitor (1962)

February 6, 1963 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 5017 REVIEWS The famous pink paper SAVE ABLE SECTION in which Experienced Trade Analysts evaluate coming product Published every second week, as a separately bound and easily saveable section of MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR, this exclusive 26 year old service is both numerically more complete, and informatively more candid, than any similar trade analysis. Cumulatively numbered by film seasons (September to September). It is recommended that readers consecutively save all REVIEWS section in a permanent file. The last issue of each August will always contain a complete annual exhibit to close the season. Combined, the every second week yellow paper SERVISECTION indexes to the past 12 months’ product, and the alternating every second week pink paper REVIEWS, represent a unique informative service to theatremen. Please address all inquiries or suggestions about these two service features to the Editors of MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR, 317 N. Broad St., Philadelphia 7, Penna. SECTION vol. ™ FEBRUARY 6, 1963 MGM Ciirn Melodrama '~a,ro 91m. MGM (Filmed in Egypt) Estimate: Okay crime programmer in exotic locale. Cast: George Sanders, Richard Johnson, Faten Hamama, John Meillon, Eric Pohlmann, Walter Rilla, Ahmed Mazhar. Executive pro¬ ducer is Lawrence P. Bachmann; produced by Ronald Kinnoch; directed by Wolf Rilla. Story: Upon his release from a German jail, George Sanders arrives in Egypt with a forged passport to follow through on a plan to rob the Cairo Museum of valued ancient gems. He brings in nightclub and illegal gambling house owner Eric Pohlmann; Aus¬ tralian John Meillon, an explosives expert, who had been going straight after marrying; drug addict Richard Johnson, who is loved by dancing girl Faten Hamama, and who dreams of returning to the farm of his an¬ cestors and settling down; driver Ahmen Mazhar; and Walter Rilla, a supposedly wealthy importer and exporter who is to help with the disposal of die gems. Rilla is broke and enlists the aid of an accomplice, hoping to take over the gems in a double cross. They invade the Museum, crack the vault, and get the gems, but the explosives set off alarms and the police arrive. Meillon is wounded and the foolproof plan has col¬ lapsed. Rilla’s accomplice is killed in the double cross attempt, and Rilla decides to play along in the new scheme to get the government to pay ransom for the jewels. The trail leads police to Pohlmann, who tells all, and each is hunted down. Rilla kills himself rather than go to jail. Meillon dies of his wounds. Johnson is seriously wounded and seeks to get back home, where he dies in Hamama’s arms. Sanders almost escapes with the gems but lingers too long over a belly dancer and is caught. X-Ray: There is some suspense and some excitment, but there are also some holes to be found in this tale of crookedness in Cairo, whose backgrounds, incidentally, are of value, providing added interest. The acting is average, as are the direction and production, and the release shapes up as an adequate film for the program, with the name of Sanders to help in the selling. The screen¬ play is by Joanne Court, based on the novel by W. R. Burnett. Actually, the film is a remake of the classic “Asphalt Jungle,” with an interesting shift of locale. Tip On Bidding: Program rates. Ad Lines: “Thrills And Suspense In Cairo As A Million Dollar Jewelry Robbery Is Planned”; “An Adventure In Suspense Filmed In Egypt.” Monkey In Winter Drama 104m. MGM (French-made) (English titles) Estimat: Okay entry for art spots. Cast: Jean Gabin, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Suzanne Flon, Noel Roquevert, Paul Frankeur, Gabrielle Dorziat, Marcelle Arnold. Di¬ rected by Henry Vemeuil; Cipra-Jaques Bar-Cite Films Co-Production. Story: Jean Gabin and his wife, Suzanne Flon, own a small hotel in a small coastal French town. He used to enjoy getting drunk and recalling the past, when he was a French marine in China. During a severe bombing by the Allied forces during World War II, when the hotel and their lives are threatened, he swears to stop drinking if they are spared. He does, turning instead to candy. When guest Jean-Paul Belmondo arrives one day, Gabin senses they are kindred spirits who like to drink and dream. Belmondo has ar¬ rived from Spain to fetch his daughter from her school. She is a stranger to him, but he lacks the courage to approach her. Gabin joins him in a drinking spree which winds up at dawn when each must go his separate way. Belmondo finally takes his daughter home. X-Ray: This tale of a pair of dreamers who capture excitement and thrills, imagined or real, from the past, with the aid of alco¬ hol, is interesting and well-made. It is made all the more palatable by the fine talents of Gabin and Belmondo, as well as by the others around them. It is also aided by the fine backgrounds of a small town and by the moments of excitement that are engendered. Direction and production are first-rate, and the entry could satisfy the art house set. The adaptation is by Francois Boyer based on a novel by Antoine Blondin. Ad Lines: “The Story of Two Men With A Past”; “A French Drama Loaded With Thrills And Excitement.” PARAMOUNT War And Peace Drama 167m. Paramount (Reissue) (VistaVision) (Technicolor) (Filmed in Italy) Estimate: Rates high on all counts. Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Mel Ferrer, Vittorio Gassman, John Mills, Herbert Lorn, Oscar Homolka, Anita Ekberg, Helmut Dantine, Barry Jones, Anna Maria Ferraro, Millu Vitale, Jeremy Brett, Lea Seidl. Pro¬ duced by Dino De Laurentiis; directed by King Vidor. For complete review please refer to page 4215, Sept. 5, 1956. 20TH-FOX The Robe Drama 133m. 20th-Fox (Reissue) (Technicolor) (CinemaScope) Estimate: Excellent. Cast: Richard Burton, Jean Simmons, Vic¬ tor Mature, Michael Rennie, Jay Robinson, Dean Jagger, Torin Thatcher, Richard Boone, Betta St. John, Jeff Morrow, Ernest Thesiger, Dawn Addams, Leon Askin, Helen Beverly, Frank Pulaski, David Leonard, Michael Ansara, Jay Novello, Nicholas Koster, Frank De Kova, Harry Shearer. Produced by Frank Ross; directed by Henry Koster. For complete review please refer to page 3611, Sept. 23, 1953. UNIVERSAL Come September Universal (Reissue) (Technicolor) (CinemaScope) (Filmed in Italy) Comedy 112m. Estimate: Highly enjoyable comedy. Cast: Rock Hudson, Gina Lollobrigida, Sandra Dee, Bobby Darin, Walter Slezak, Brenda De Banzie, Rosanna Rory, Ronald Howard, Joel Grey, Ronnie Haran, Chris Seitz, Cindy Conroy, Joan Freeman, Nancy Ander¬ son, Michael Eden, Claudia Brack. Produced by Robert Arthur; directed by Robert Mulli¬ gan. For complete review please refer to page 4834, June 28, 1961. Lover Come Back Universal (Reissue) (Eastman Color) Comedy 107m. Estimate: Comedy has angles to make it a hit. Cast: Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Ran¬ dall, Edie Adams, Jack Oakie, Jack Kruschen, Ann B. Davis, Joe Flynn, Howard St. John, Karen Norris, Jack Albertson. Produced by Stanley Shapiro and Martin Melcher; directed by Delbert Mann. For complete review please refer to page 4895, Sept. 20, 1961. WARNERS Giant Drama 201m. Warners (Reissue) (Warner Color) Eetimate: A giant of a picture. Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Carroll Baker, Jane Withers, Chill Wills, Mercedes McCambridge, Sal Mineo, Dennis Hopper, Judith Evelyn, Paul Fix, Rodney Taylor, Earl Holliman, Robert Nichols, Alexander Scourby, Fran Bennett, Charles Watts, Elsa Cardenas, Carolyn Craig, Monte Hale, Mary Ann Edwards, Sheb Wooley, Victor Milan, Mickey Simpson. Pro¬ duced by George Stevens and Henry Gins¬ berg; directed by Stevens. For complete review please refer to page 4239, Oct. 17, 1956.