The Exhibitor (1964)

MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR February 19, 1964 5134 entry holds interest as it unfolds in a factual manner, and at the conclusion, audiences will feel free to make up their minds whether or not he should have been convicted. Some of the language and situations would make the film more suitable for mature audiences rather than the very young. The cast is effi¬ cient, and direction and production are good. It could do okay as part of the show. Some exploitation and selling could help. Leigh Vance wrote the screenplay. Ad Lines: “A Murder Thriller For Mature Audiences”; “Guilty Or Not Guilty? You Be The Judge At This Murder Thriller.” MISCELLANEOUS Beauty And The Body Novelty 70M. Manson Dist. Corp. (Eastman Color) Estimate: Okay program filler. Cast: Kip Behar, Judy Miller. Produced and directed by Paul Mart. > Story: Muscle man Kip Behar meets Judy Miller on the beach. They go on a whirl of California and Mexican amusement spots, taking in the ice capades, a rodeo, the Rose Bowl parade, a beauty contest, an amusement park, a wax museum, Les Poupees De Paris in a night club, surf-boarding, bull fights in the Tijuana bull ring, jai alai, sky divers, etc. They wind up back on the beach after learn¬ ing that they are both California natives, and not vacationers as they claimed. X-Ray: This hodge podge, although having a sexy sounding title, is absolutely clean and should prove okay filler for augmenting the program. The color photography is good, and the fast moving assembly of shots are interest¬ ing, although the subject matter seems a trifle stretched. No one will be disappointed once they get to see this, except audiences in the fast-buck nudie exploitation spots, who might be misled. Ad Lines: “A Thrilling Experience In The World Of Beauty and Adventure;” “A Film Bound To Be Talked About.” Bunny Yeager's Nude Las Vegas Novelty 69M. Cinema Syndicate, Inc. (Eastman Color) Estimate: Fair nudie novelty for fast-buck spots. Cast: Bunny Yeager, Bud Irwin, Peggy Pepper, Maurice McEndree, A1 Ruban, and show-girls of Las Vegas. Produced and di¬ rected by Barry Mahon. Story: Bunny Yeager, one of the foremost photographers of nudes, decides to take a vacation with her husband in Las Vegas. She meets one of her former models from Miami, who tells her she has lost the expense money her husband had given her and that she must replace it before the husband arrives. Yeager gets an assignment from a magazine to do a lay-out on Las Vegas featuring the girl friend as the main attraction. After a race against time, the job is completed and the money replaced. X-Ray: Due to the excellent Eastman Col¬ or photography and the presence of the nude figure models, this second feature with Bunny Yeager (see “Bunny Yeager’s Nude Camera”) should do okay in the exploitation spots, where the fast buck operators can get away with it. There is nothing offensive about the subject, which would, perhaps, be more in¬ teresting were the Las Vegas location shots less familiar. The story is nothing more than a peg for photographing of the nude models. Ad Lines: “See Fun Town, U.S.A.”; “Nat¬ ural Beauty Glorified.” The Crawling Hand Melodrama 89M. Hansen Enterprises Estimate: Fair dualler. Cast: Peter Breck, Kent Taylor, Rod Lau¬ ren, Alan Hale, Allison Hayes, Sirry Steffen, Arline Judge, Richard Arlen. Produced by Joseph F. Robertson; directed by Herbert L. Strock. Story: College student Rod Lauren finds the dismembered hand of an astronaut on a beach. He takes it to his rooming house and hides it It comes to life and strangles land¬ lady Arline Judge. Lauren calls sheriff Alan Hale. The hand next attacks Lauren and chokes him into unconsciousness. Scientists Peter Breck and Kent Taylor learn it was the dead astronaut’s finger prints on Judge’s body, and hit upon the theory that elements needed for a new being — a life which could literally ooze into a human— may be respon¬ sible. Lauren begins to bear the effects of a terrifying transformation and is possessed by the weird space-life. Possessed, he tries to kill Breck and Taylor, and also his girl friend, Sirry Steffen. He traps the hand in his car trunk and races off, pursued by Hale. The hand manages to get free and again at¬ tacks Lauren, but he is saved by Hale. Lau¬ ren is assured by Breck and Taylor that the menace will not possess or torment him again. However, curious guards, accompany¬ ing a locked box to Washington, open it to discover its secret which is, of course, the crawling hand. X-Ray: This horror meller starts off like a science fiction thriller, but soon develops into a teen-age action picture with science fiction overtones. There are several moments of suspense and terror, and the production, direction, and acting, as well as the tech¬ nical effects, are all adequate. The surprise ending is an asset. The story is by Robert Young and Joseph Granston. This should do as part of a double bill. There is plenty of action. Ad Lines: “A Jolting Horror Experience”; “Suspense Shocker Of The Year.” The Gla ss Cage Melodrama 84M. Futuramic Estimate: For the lower half. Cast: John Hoyt, Arline Sax, Robert Kelljan, King Moody, Elisha Cook. Produced by Paul Lewis; directed by Antonio Santean. Story: Robert Kell j an, detective, defies the advice of his superior, John Hoyt, and becomes emotionally involved with Arline Sax, innocent girl released on a charge of justifiable homicide after she had killed a prowler with a gun. Her dominating elder sister, also played by Sax, has disappeared. The young girl is afraid of her father, Elisha Cook; and is threatened by beatnik artist neighbor King Moody. Terrified, she finally falls in a bear pit at the zoo. Kelljan is in¬ strumental in her rescue and it looks like a happy ending. X-Ray: This effort has its moments, with passable performances by the cast, and story by Hoyt and Santean, but it goes off on a jumble of montage -like photography near the ending, which is confusing and leaves much to be desired. Terror and suspense are tried for, but hardly achieved. This will get by as filler for the lower half. Ad Lines: “She Reached Out For Her First Love — And Plunged Into Screaming Hell”; “Untouched, Innocent, Why Was She Plunged Into A Living Nightmare?” Psychomania Melodrama 90M. Victoria Films Estimate: Fair exploitable mystery effort. Cast: Lee Philips, Sheppard Strudwick, Jean Hale, Lorraine Rogers, Margot Hartman, Kaye Elhardt, James Farentino, Richard Van Patten, Sheila Forbes, Sylvia Miles, Day Tut¬ tle, Mike Keene, Mike O’Dowd. Produced by Del Tenney; directed by Richard L. Hilliard. Story: Kaye Elhardt, model who poses in the nude for war hero and portrait painter Lee Philips, who has been left wealthy by the death of his father, makes a play for him which he ignores. This arouses the jealousy of former boy friend James Farentino. When Elhardt is found dead, Farentino manufactures an alibi, and the finger points to Philips. His lawyer, Sheppard Strudwick, gets him out of custody. When a college girl on a nearby campus is killed, Philips agains seems in¬ volved through circumstance. At about this time, his half sister, Margot Hartman, ar¬ rives for a visit, and it’s apparent that she is attached to Philips. He also gets to know Jean Hale, a girl on a neighboring farm, and this begins to look like romance. When an attempt is made to kill Hale, Philips arrives in time to save her and unmask the real killer, Hartman, who wanted Philips for her¬ self. X-Ray: Film makers Tenney and Hilliard deserve credit for a good try. The result, however, is a bit forced and rough around some of the edges, and some of the scenes selling sex are obvious exploitable angles. Because of some of the near-nude scenes and overly romantic sessions, frank dialogue, etc., the film is not suited for the very young. The cast members are adequate, with Philips, Strudwick, and Hale coming off best. Direc¬ tion and production are fair. The screenplay is by Robin Miller. Ad Lines: “A Murderer Stalks The Campus Of A Girls’ College”; “Girls With One Thing On Their Mind Wind Up Dead Or In Trouble.” The Slime People Melodrama 60M. Hansen Enterprise Estimate: Filler for the duallers. Cast: Robert Hutton, Les Tremayne, Rob¬ ert Burton, Judee Morton, William Boyce, Susan Hart, John Close. Produced by Joseph F. Robertson; directed by Robert Hutton. Story: Up from the bowels of the earth come the huge, scaly, prehistoric monsters — the slime people, disturbed by nuclear tests. They kill with caveman spears; create a dome of fog above the city; and attempt to lower the temperature. Trapped are aviator Robert Hutton; professor Robert Burton; his daugh¬ ter, Susan Hart; Judee Morton; Les Tre¬ mayne; and William Boyce. They band to¬ gether against the attacking monsters. Hut¬ ton learns that they can only be killed by their own spears; and the professor finally hits upon a chemical which turns the fog into vapor. The slime people cannot survive in the normal temperature and are annihi¬ lated. X-Ray: Never believable, this attempted horror film will only do as filler for the lower half. Most of the action takes place in a dense fog, but the trouble is that you can still see the picture through the fog. The slime people monsters are rather cute, and it seems a shame that they were disturbed after living for centuries in the slimy re¬ gions of the earth. This is action all the way. It has been economically produced, and there is hardly anything distinguished about it. Screenplay is credited to Vance Skarstedt. Ad Lines: “They Came Up From The Bowels Of The Earth”; “Terrifying Thrills As The Slime People’ Rise To Kill!” Stark Fear Melodrama 86M. Ellis Films Estimate: Spotty effort on an ugly subject. Cast: Beverly Garland, Skip Homeier, Ken