The Exhibitor (1966)

7=T=7 December 28, 1966 Richard Loo, Barney Phillips, Gus Trikonis, Shepherd Sanders, James Jeter, Tom Middleton, Paul Chinpae, Tommy Lee, Stephen Jahn, Jay Allan Hopkins, Steve Ferry, Ted Fish, Loren Janes, Glenn Wilder. Produced and di¬ rected by Robert Wise; screenplay by Robert Anderson, from a novel by Richard McKenna. Story: It is 1926 and an explosive time in China as war-lords battle for supremacy and patrol boats of many nations cruise the Yangtze to protect their merchants and missionaries. Sailor Steve McQueen is assigned to the U. S. ship, San Pablo. A loner, he is resented by his fellow “Sand Pebbles” (the crew’s name for themselves), especially when he tries to run the engine room in the fleet’s manner. All other departments on the ship are run by Chinese coolie labor, and the other sailors like it that way, figuring their only job is to fight if the need arises. McQueen meets and is attracted to teacher Candice Bergen, who works at the U. S. Mission run by Larry Gates. His only other friend is crew-mate Richard Attenborough. They visit a joy palace, where Attenborough falls in love with lovely Marayet Andriane, who owes the house owner $200. This sum will buy her freedom and Atten¬ borough vows to raise it. The political situation worsens and becomes a full-scale Chinese Civil War. The San Pablo is ordered to evacuate Americans from the danger area. They do so. McQueen and Attenborough rescue Andriane and Attenborough marries her. Rebels plant opium on the San Pablo in an effort to dis¬ credit Americans. The coolies desert the gun¬ boat which is left in a state of siege. Morale deteriorates, and Attenborough deserts to join his wife. McQueen plans to desert to join Bergen at the mission. First, he visits Atten| borough and finds him dead of pneumonia. Rebels try to seize Andriane, and McQueen is unable to save her. He returns to the ship, where a crowd appears to denounce him as a murderer. Captain Richard Crenna refuses to give him up and moves the ship downstream. Marines have landed in Shanghai, where full scale fighting has erupted. Crenna decides to give the humiliated “Sand Pebbles” a final moment of glory and sets out to rescue Gates at the mission. The gunboat smashes a rebel barrier in a wild fight and limps to the mission, but Gates and Bergen, declaring themselves to be “stateless” people refuse to be rescued. Forcing the issue, Crenna is killed as rebel troops close in. McQueen makes his final stand, and he, too, is killed holding back the attacking troops while other crewmen take Bergen to safety. X-Ray: Producer-director Robert Wise has reached back into time and history to come up with an extraordinary adventure thriller re¬ plete with drama, suspense, action and ro¬ mance. Conflict exists not only on a political ! scale but also on a personal level as a new¬ comer finds difficulty becoming acclimated to the peculiar policies of a gunboat patrolling an area of international unrest. Steve McQueen is fine as the volatile sailor-engineer who re¬ fuses to conform. His role is bolstered by all around him. Adding to the film’s effectiveness are the quality production values, the colorful locale, and the fine direction and camera work. There are several romances to provide a focus of interest for the ladies. The action-packed climax puts an appropriate cap on a film loaded with dramatic excitement. Wise seems to have come through with another noteworthy motion picture achievement. DO SAVE . . . pink REVIEWS They provide a permanent evaluation of all features as caught by our skilled reviewers. Pages are cumulatively numbered. MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 5483 UNITED ARTISTS UNIVERSAL A Fistful Of Dollars United Artists (Technicolor) (Filmed abroad) (Dubbed in English) Western 96M. Estimate : Good, hard-hitting western. Cast: Clint Eastwood, Marianne Koch, John Weis, W. Lukschy, S. Rupp, Antonio Prieto, Jose Calvo, Margherita Lozano, Daniel Martin, Benny Reeves. Produced by Harry Colombo and George Papi; directed by Sergio Leone. Story: When an anonymous gunfighter, Cline Eastwood, arrives in the town of San Miguel on the Mexican side of the border, he finds himself in the middle of a situation which has two opposing factions trying to govern the town. He gets information and food and lodg¬ ing from cantina proprietor Jose Calvo, a neutral, and then provokes a fight with four men who hazed him on his arrival. They be¬ long to W. Lukschy. He kills all four and is hired by the opposing side, headed by John Weis and his brothers, S. Rupp and Antonio Prieto, as a gunfighter. He sees Marianne Koch held a virtual prisoner by Weis on a threat to kill her husband, Daniel Martin, and their child because of a debt due from gambling. He follows Weis and sees him arrange for the massacre of a force of Mexican soldiers to get the gold they are carrying, and it is arranged so that it will look as though a fight took place between them and American soldiers. Eastwood intensifies the feud between the two forces and even effects a rescue of Koch, re¬ unites her with her husband and child, and sends them across the border with enough money for a new start. He is confronted by Weis on his return and tortured to reveal the whereabouts of Koch, but he refuses. He man¬ ages to escape, which infuriates Weis, who suspects he may be hidden by Lukschy. Weis destroys their house and everyone in it. Eastwood hides out in an abandoned mine until he gets his strength back and can use his gun again. He shows up in town to rescue Calvo, who is being tortured by Weis and his brothers and hirelings. He kills them all in a showdown battle and then rides out. X-Ray: Filmed abroad, a viewer at first be¬ gins to suspect that here is another imitation western that can serve as filler on the program. However, as a bit of time passes, it becomes evident that there is a quality to be found here far out of the ordinary. The good guy is big, mysterious, fast with a gun, and not afraid of going up against large numbers of bad guys, who are evil through and through. The result is an action-packed western in the true “west¬ ern” tradition that should please fans of this type of entry. Clint Eastwood is very good in the lead, and audiences will presumably want to see more of him and his adventures. The direction is smart, and the production values are efficient. The use of color is an asset. Par¬ ticipation in an effective campaign originated by the distributor could mean better reaction at the boxoffice. Ad Lines: “He’s Going To Trigger A Whole New Style In Adventure”; “Everyone Was Wary Of The Stranger In Town — His Gun Spoke Loud And Fast.” HAPPY NEW YEAR Tobruk Universal (Technicolor) Melodrama 110M. Estimate: Good action entry. Cast: Rock Hudson, George Peppard, Nigel Green, Guy Stockwell, Jack Watson, Norman Rossington, Percy Herbert, Liam Redmond, Heidy Hunt, Leo Gordon, Robert Wolders, Anthony Ashdown. Produced by Gene Corman; directed by Arthur Hiller. Story: Major Rock Hudson, an officer of the British Long Range Desert Group in North Africa, is a prisoner of the Vichy French and is aboard a ship in Algiers harbor awaiting shipment back to France. A crew of frogmen led by George Peppard sets the ship afire and frees him. Taken aboard a Swastika-marked plane, he manages to get hold of a gun, but discovers that he is the captive of a Special Identification Group made up of German-born Palestinian Jews, who are working with the Allies. They land at a British base where Colonel Nigel Green explains the rescue and outlines a daring mission to take a small group into Tobruk and blow up the fuel sup¬ plies, a plan similar to one Hudson had once outlined but considered then to be too diffi¬ cult. Gun units are also to Be knocked out. A naval force would coordinate shelling and land¬ ing an attack force. Hudson is vital to the mission as he knows the area well. The group is to proceed with the British soldiers alleged prisoners of Peppard and his German soldiers in properly attired uniforms and marked vehicles. Green is to be in command, and he doesn’t trust the Peppard force, while Hudson feels the mission is suicidal. Peppard and his men, because of their religion, realize that they face the greatest risk in the event of capture. They encounter a number of situations enroute, including being surrounded unknowingly by a force of Germans and a force of Italians, who are made to shoot at each other. The group is also shot at by a British fighter plane that they are forced to shoot down. They en¬ counter a group of desert fighters, who turn over Nazi civilian spies Liam Redmond and his daughter, Heidy Hunt, and important docu¬ ments to be used to gain safe entry into Tobruk. An unknown traitor advises them to get in touch with the Germans via a secret phone, but lines are cut down by a group of Italians, They manage to get into Tobruk, destroy the fuel dumps and some of the guns, and are also able to warn the landing forces off because of a trap. The traitor is unmasked, and Hudson and three others manage to escape, rendezvous¬ ing with an Allied ship. X-Ray: Based on a little-known feat of World War II in the African campaign, this entry is quite interesting as the unusual plan unfolds amid daring feats of action, suspense, intrigue, etc. It’s an exciting adventure film well presented in color. The performances are good, and the direction and production are efficient. The film is further bolstered by the use of authentic-appearing equipment and production values that are very impressive. The thrill-studded climax brings the absorbing tale to a fitting and explosive conclusion. Action and intrigue fans should get their fill of excitement. There are solid name values to be sold as well. The screenplay is by Leo V. Gordon. Ad Lines: “A Secret Of The African Cam¬ paign Revealed At Last”; “A Thrill-Packed Adventure About The Allied Campaign In Africa.”