The Exhibitor (1966)

May n, 1966 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 5401 ant entertainment that’s well made, appro¬ priately dressed in helpful color, and contain¬ ing good performances and capable direction and production. Practically the entire film was made on location. With a theme of wholesome family life and ordinary incidents, this should receive the endorsement of many groups and publications. It should make a welcome addi¬ tion to the show. Ad Lines : “A Wonderful Adventure About A Boy and How He Grew Up On A Ranch.” Arabesque Comedy Drama 105M. Universal (Technicolor) (Made in England) Estimate: Lavish, suspenseful comedydrama has potent cast. Cast: Gregory Peck, Sophia Loren, Alan Badel, ICieron Moore, Carl Duering, John Merivale, Duncan Lamont, George Goulouris, Ernest Clark, Harold Kasket. Produced and directed by Stanley Donen; screenplay by Julian Mitchell, Stanley Price, and Pierre Marton. Story: Gregory Peck, American exchange professor of ancient languages at Oxford, is kidnapped by the prime minister of a middle eastern country and asked to assist him by spy¬ ing on sinister fellow countryman Alan Badel. Badel wants Peck to translate an important docurnent for a great deal of money. Peck is contacted by Sophia Loren, Badel’s mistress, who warns him that his life is in danger and helps him escape. Peck hides the document, but falls into the hands of counter-plotter Kieron Moore, who also seems to have a pro¬ prietary interest in Loren. Again Peck escapes after being drugged, and again he is contacted by Loren. Convinced she can not be trusted, he leads her on a wild goose chase .for the document, but when they are both attacked by Moore, he decides to work with her. They escape Moore’s trap, recover the document, and learn that a plot is about to be put into action to assassinate the prime minister. Peck and Loren save his life. X-Ray : The less said about the story line of this colorful adventure the better. The audi¬ ence will have just as much trouble separating the goodies from the baddies as hero Peck, but they will find considerable compensation for their difficulty. The film has been made with high good humor and some of the most fascinating color photography imaginable. Peck has a way of making you believe what he is doing even when his escapades are as far-out as they are here. Loren has a way of making you forget any plot uncertainties by the sheer power of her screen personality and physical presence. Suffice it to say that she has never been more beautiful and that both ladies and gentlemen will marvel at the splendor of her Christian Dior wardrobe. The action is far out and on the wild side. There is a scene, for instance, in which Peck plays tag with the whizzing traffic on a superhighway while drugged that is a photographic gem. The intricate plot bursts into explosive action quite often, and audiences should respond to the excitement. The film has many elements of the spy spoof, never takes itself seriously, and barrels along with constant motion and continual involvement. Audiences won’t have the time or the inclination to pon¬ der holes in the plot and should enjoy the action and intrigue. A properly bemused Greg¬ ory Peck and an impossibly lovely Sophia Loren should be enough to launch any film at the boxoffice, and this one has other plus values as well. Ad Lines: “Adventure At Its Wildest . . . Danger . . . Spjced With Lavish Romance . . . ‘Arabesque’ Means All This And More.” The Brides Of Dracula melod^ma 85M. (6612) Universal (Technicolor) (English-made) (Reissue) Estimate: Well-made horror entry. Cast: Peter Cushing, Martita Hunt, Yvonne Monlaur, Freda Jackson, David Peel, Miles Malleson, Henry Oscar, Nona Washboume, Andree Melly. Produced by Anthony Hinds; directed by Terrence Fisher; executive pro¬ ducer, Michael Carreras. For complete review, please refer to page 4710, of June 8, 1960. King Kong vs Godzilla (6611) Universal (Made in Japan) (Color) (Reissue) Estimate: Exploitable science fiction entry for program. Cast: Michael Keith, James Yagi, Tadao Takashima, Mie Hama, Yu Fujiki. Produced by John Beck; directed by Thomas Montgom¬ ery and Inoshiro Honda. For complete review, please refer to page 5057, of June 12, 1963. Out Of Sight Comedy Musical 90M. Universal (Technicolor) Estimate: Beach type rock ‘n’ roller for program. Cast: Jonathan Daly, Karen Jensen, Robert Pine, Wendy Wagner, John Lawrence, Carol Shelyne, Jimmy Murphy, Norman Grabowski, Maggie Thrett, Deanna Lund, Rena Harton, Vicki Fee, Goby Denton, Pamela Rogers, Deon Douglas, John Lodge, Forrest Lewis, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Freddie and the Dreamers, The Turtles, Dobie Grey, The As¬ tronauts, The Knockerbockers. Produced by Bart Patton; directed by Lennie Weinrib. Story: Jonathan Daly, butler to a secret agent, has aspirations to emulate his employer. He is mistaken for his boss by Karen Jensen, who seeks help, suspecting that John Lawrence has something sinister brewing. Jensen’s boy¬ chasing girl friend, Carol Shelyne, sets her cap for Daly. Continuing his investigation, Daly encounters three of Lawrence’s feminine ac¬ complices, Wendy Wagner, Maggie Thrett, and Deanna Lund. However, all of Lawrence’s efforts are to no avail, and Daly discovers Lawrence really hates rock and roll music and plans to put an end to it by doing away with imported musicians lured to his music fair. Daly, Jensen, and Shelyne foil the plot, and all are happy. Daly is confident that some day he will become a permanent secret agent. X-Ray: This combination of a beach girl picture and a spoof on secret agent films proves that American International has no copyright on such nonsense. It is fairly entertaining with its little known cast, including the bikini-clad bathing beauties, who perform their capers nicely. Jonathan Daly in the lead as a bumbling would-be secret agent shows promise. In to please the rock ‘n’ roll devotees are some spe¬ cialists in this art. Each performs one number, most of which sound alike. This should do as part of the program where it should please the youngsters. Ad Lines: “A New Secret Agent Thwarts A Sinister Plot Against Rock ‘N’ Roll”; “A Rock ‘N’ Roll Beach Frolic.” WARNERS A Big Hand For The Little Lady Warners (Technicolor) Comedy 95M. Estimate: Highly entertaining comedy fea¬ tures virtuoso performances. Cast: Henry Fonda, Joanne Woodward, Jason Robards, Charles Bickford, Burgess Meredith, Kevin McCarthy, Robert Middleton, Paul Ford, John Qualen, James Kenny, Allen Collins, Jim Boles, Gerald Michenaud, Virginia Gregg, Chester Conklin, Mae Clarke, Ned Glass, James Griffith, Noah Keen. Pro¬ duced and directed by Fielder Cook; written by Sidney Carroll. Story : When the time arrives for the wealthiest men in the territory to gather for their annual cut-throat poker game, they drop everything. Rancher Jason Robards walks out on his daughter’s wedding rather than be late. Famed attorney Kevin McCarthy flees the courtroom in the middle of a murder trial. Also involved are wealthy undertaker Charles Bickford, cattle broker John Qualen, and Rob¬ ert Middleton. Arriving at the hotel are Henry Fonda, a compulsive card player who has sworn off; his wife, Joanne Woodward; and son Gerald Michenaud. Fonda begs for per¬ mission to just watch the game for a while. Woodward reluctantly agrees, and Fonda can’t resist the temptation to play. Soon he loses their life savings. The final pot finds him hold¬ ing a great hand, as do the other players. He needs $500 to stay in the pot and begs Wood¬ ward to help him raise it. Just then, he suffers a heart attack and is ministered to by town physician Burgess Meredith after pleading with Woodward to play out the hand. Wood¬ ward knows nothing about poker, but the fam¬ ily savings are in the pot. She goes across the street to banker Paul Ford in an effort to bor¬ row the needed money to remain in the pot. At first, he refuses, but a look at her poker hand changes his mind. He puts all the funds of the bank at her disposal. The other players, convinced that they are beaten, drop out, and Woodward rakes in the huge pot. All the play¬ ers are impressed by Woodward’s loyalty to her family and convinced that they have been privileged to meet a truly great lady. Robards is so affected that he returns home and refuses to let the marriage of his daughter continue. No young man, he decides, should be subjected to such a rotten wife, no matter how rich her father is. In a surprising development, it is re¬ vealed that the whole card game was an elab¬ orate frame-up concocted by Ford, Woodward, and Meredith to fleece the wealthy players. X-Ray: Take a group of talented veterans, all of whom know every scene-stealing trick in the book, and turn them loose around a poker table. Here is a situation fraught with the potential for delightful entertainment, and these actors deliver everything, they promise. It would be unfair to single anyone out for special praise, but if we must, hats off to Jason Robards, whose crusty manner and no-non¬ sense aproach to poker provides some halarious moments, and Burgess Meredith, delight¬ ful as a doctor -with a delicious dream. Everyone else performs notably as well, and what could be a flimsy situation comedy in less experienced hands is transformed into a highly entertaining diversion with a surprise twist at the end that should bring forth gales of amusenient. Audiences are in for the kind