The Exhibitor (1966)

5494 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR February 1, 1967 contribute much. Mason is convinced that murder has been done and has a run-in with his .supervisor, Max Adrian, who was anxious to avoid notoriety. Mason quits after telling Adrian off. On the way home, he notices a car following him. He finds Andersson entertain¬ ing an old friend, Maximilian Schell, who worked as a secret agent with Mason during the war. Schell is visiting London in connec¬ tion with his job for a Swiss firm. Mason realizes that he has interrupted a love affair between the two and leaves to pursue the murder case on his own. He and his associates find the man who has been following him after visiting an underworld character. In a scuffle, Mason has his arm broken. The attacker is later found dead and is tied in with Signoret, who had been getting information from her husband and passing it on. She admits to passing on information and that the head of the ring is someone unknown with a code name. Mason uses a trick to arrange a meeting between the leader and Signoret, with Schell revealed as the head of the spy ring. He meets Signoret in a theatre and quietly kills her, slipping out with the crowd. In the showdown, Mason kills his friend but not until Schell shoots Andrews. Mason is later supposed to be reinstated. He is reunited with Andersson, who had gone to Switzerland to be with Schell. X-Ray: Espionage, mystery, intrigue, and murder are found here as spies and secret ser¬ vice agents face each other in a showdown in London. It’s not the super-spy stuff of recent vintage that’s to be found here, but rather the serious and plodding investigations and per¬ sonal involvements of some of the principals. The element of mystery is carried forward in fine fashion as suspense builds until the reveal¬ ing climax. Good acting and fine direction and production help put across the entry. Some of the more serious-minded viewers will even be treated to a look at a section of Marlowe’s “Edward II” for a play-within-a-play episode by the Royal Shakespeare Company as a part of the climax. Color provides an extra asset. The screenplay is by Paul Dehn, based on “Call For The Dead” by John le Carre. It should do well with audiences who go for this stuff, and their numbers are quite large. Some extra advertising and selling should be used to advise the would-be waiting viewers. In¬ cidentally, the same writing combination was used in “The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.” Ad Lines: “Mystery And Murder Become Involved With International Espionage”; “Gripping Suspense Surrounds An Affair Of International Intrigue.” MGM Hot Rods To Hell (6717) MGM (Metrocolor) Melodrama 92M. Estimate: Juveniles with hot rods for the program. Cast: Dana Andrews, Jeanne Crain, Mimsy Farmer, Laurie Mock, Paul Bertoya, Gene Kirkwood, Tim Stafford, George Ives, Hortense Petra, William Mims, Paul Genge. Pro¬ duced by Sam Katzman; directed by John Brahm. Story: Salesman Dana Andrews has an accident in his car due to a drunken driver, and though he recovers, his back still gives him trouble. The doctor suggests he go where the climate is warm and change his occupa¬ tion so that he doesn’t have to drive as much. With the aid of his brother, he buys a motel in the California desert. He, wife Jeanne Crain, daughter Laurie Mock, and young son Tim Stafford head for there by car. As they near their destination, youngsters in souped-up hot rods, one driven by Paul Bertoya and Gene Kirkwood, give them some narrow escapes. At a filling station, where he pulls in to get a tire fixed, Andrews spots one of the boys and threatens police action. The boys alert others, and a number of cars converge to give the Andrews car a hard time. They escape by turning off onto some picnic grounds. They continue on to the motel owned by George Ives, who used to allow drinking and sex by teens in the motel and the restaurant-club, where Bertoya makes a play for Mock and warns her not to have Andrews go to the police. Andrews is so fed up with what’s hap¬ pening around him that he calls the deal off and decides to drive to his brother’s home some 82 miles away. Bertoya and Kirkwood are de¬ termined that he won’t reach police headquar¬ ters and play “chicken” with their cars. The family is becoming panic-stricken until An¬ drews decides it’s time to stop running. He parks his car with the lights on which makes the pair believe he isn’t swerving, and they crash, cracking up their sports car. Andrews threatens to kill them, but instead offers them a choice of getting involved in police action or behaving as a police car pulls up. They prom¬ ise to behave, and he decides it’s time to go back and give the motel venture another try. X-Ray: Some adults may be annoyed by the actions of teens on screen involving sports car mayhem, and some teens may get some ideas if they haven’t had them already. At any rate, the entry is probably more suited for teen audi¬ ences, who may get a charge out of their mis¬ behaving counterparts on screen. The acting is fair, and direction and production are average. There are exploitation possibilities if one wants to work at it. Tighter editing would have helped somewhat. Incidentally, there are some rock musical numbers performed by Mickey Rooney and his combo, which can also pos¬ sibly be used in the selling. The screenplay is by Robert E. Kent, based on a short story by Alex Gaby. Ad Lines: “Hang On For Unforgettable Thrills”; “It’s Action All The Way, Baby.” The 25th Hour (6714) MGM (Color) ( Filmed abroad ) Drama 134M. Estimate: Impressive drama for selective audiences. Cast: Anthony Quinn, Virna Lisi, Michael Redgrave, Gregoire Aslan, Marcel Dalio, Serge Reggiani, Drew Henley, Paul Maxwell, George Roderich, Alexander Knox, Albert Remy, Francoise Rosay, Jean Desailly, Marius Goring, John Le Mesurier, Liam Redmond. Produced by Carlo Ponti; directed by Henri Verneuil. Story: Simple Rumanian peasant Anthony Quinn is concerned only with working his farm and living with his family, wife Verna Lisi and their two small children. The country is becoming militarized as Hitler makes his power play, and a round-up of Jews and unde¬ sirables has been ordered. District police cap¬ tain Gregoire Aslan uses his authority to have Quinn included in the round-up so that he can have a clear try at making love to Lisi. Quinn tries to inform all concerned that he is not Jewish, but no one listens. He is forced to help build a defensive canal designed to stop the Russians. Lisi tries to get him freed, going to the Ministry, but to no avail. Since his letters are not sent, she has no idea where he is. When the Germans invade the country, Lisi is persuaded to sign a divorce action so she can save their house. Eighteen months later, Quinn is persuaded to join an escape to Hun¬ gary where the others get a chance to go to America. The Jewish Aid Committee can do nothing for Quinn since he has insisted he is not a Jew. Quinn is picked up and sent to a German labor camp, where Frenchman Albert Remy urges him to join in an escape attempt to France. Quinn refuses. A German colonel takes an interest in him, declaring that his facial and body features show he belongs to racially pure German stock. Photographs are used of him as an example in many German publications. He is also given an SS uniform and assigned to guard duty in the camp. The Russians move across the former Quinn home¬ land. Meanwhile, a truckload of prisoners escape and urge Quinn to come along. He helps them reach the Americans, but then he is imprisoned in a prisoner of war camp. He is tried later, his picture on all the Nazi litera¬ ture serving as the prime evidence against him. He is freed when a letter from Lisi is read before the court which explains all and also informs that she had been raped by Rus¬ sian soldiers and that she has another child as a result of the experience, now two years old. The family is finally reunited at a railroad sta¬ tion, and Quinn accepts the new child into the family. X-Ray: Frankly, this tale of the misadven¬ tures of a simple European peasant would seem ideally suited for the art and specialty spots. Audiences seeking earthy drama should find plenty here to interest them. Adversity has a way of shuttling Anthony Quinn about from country to country, and the result is an overlong offering detailing much of his suffering. Quinn is fine as the home-loving body who is torn from his home and family for eight years during World War II, and forced to become a wanderer under the guns. Vima Lisi, dark of hair here, does well as his attractive wife, and both are adequately supported. The direction is sensitive at times and ordinary at other times. The production aspects are impressive. Color adds to the effectiveness of the entry that not only features drama but also bits of suspense and a few attempts at the comedic. The screenplay is by Henri Verneuil, Francoise Boyer, and Wolf Mankowitz, based on a novel by C. Virgil Gheorghiu. The photography is well done. Ad Lines: “War Separates A Man From His Family And Makes Of Him A Wanderer Under The Guns”; “The Strange Adventures Of A Man Of Adversity.” PARAMOUNT The Busy Body (6628) Paramount (Techniscope) (Technicolor) Comedy 101M. Estimate: Cute comedy with “name” value. Cast: Sid Caesar, Robert Ryan, Anne Bax¬ ter, Kay Medford, Jan Murray, Richard Pryor, Arlene Golonka, Charles McGraw, Ben Blue, Dom DeLuise, Godfrey Cambridge, Marty Ingels, Paul Wexler, Bill Dana, George Jessel. Produced and directed by William Castle. Story: Sid Caesar, general aid to a syndi¬ cate operation of crooks headed by Robert Ryan, is named a member of the board of I i >