The Exhibitor (1966)

5498 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR February 1, 1967 an oil millionaire and an investigator are tied in to the fact that a giant oil company mer¬ ger, opposed by both, can now go through. Both deaths were accomplished by beautiful but lethal murderesses Elke Sommer and Sylva Koscina, who work for a mysterious agent. Their job — for an enormous fee, they clear any obstructions to desired business mergers or acquisitions. Insurance investigator Richard Johnson (Bulldog Drummond) is called into the case. His investigation is somewhat com¬ plicated by the arrival of his fun-and-girl-loving nephew from America, Steve Carlson. Sommer and Koscina dispatch an oil company board member who stands in their way and attempt to remove Johnson via some bulletfilled cigars. Johnson survives this plot and other attempts at his life and learns that the next target is the young king of a Middle Eastern nation, who controls oil rights and refuses to lease them away. By now, Johnson knows Sommer is the murderess he seeks, but she and Koscina escape after capturing and torturing Carlson. The chase leads to a small Riviera village and a forbidding castle. Carl¬ son and the youthful monarch are old college chums, and Drummond leaves Carlson to guard the king while he accepts an invitation to the castle. He meets Sommer, Koscina, and Nigel Green, brains of the plot and also a director of the oil company. A struggle with giant chess-pieces on an automated board results in Green’s demise. Johnson also saves the young king, while Sommer and Koscina are blown up in their getaway boat as their lethal plan backfires. X-Ray: Not to be taken seriously for a moment, this tongue-in-cheek spy meller pro¬ vides enough action, beautiful girls, and chucklesome dialogue to satisfy fans of such secret-agent stuff if they haven’t been already surfeited with such entertainment. The ladies, as deliciously sadistic a twosome as ever cavorted half-clad in full color, are sexy men¬ aces indeed. Nigel Green, their evil boss, has a ball 1 in his forbidding castle replete with brandy sniffer and giant-sized automated chess¬ board. Richard Johnson, as suave, super¬ sleuth Hugh “Bulldog” Drummond, takes on villains and beauties with equal zest. Sadistic touches are present which may well reinforce moral indignation against films of this genre, but the whole thing is presented with such high good humor that only the most righteous will object. For the girl-watchers, the film is a bonanza with Elke Sommer and Sylva Kos¬ cina slithering around in bikinis and other intriguing attire. There are a host of other beauties on hand as well. Fights are imagina¬ tively staged: and production is lavish. Direc¬ tion keeps things moving fast enough so that plot deficiencies never get in the way. It’s good fun although the cycle may well be running out of steam. No one wil argue about the appeal of the gals at any rate. They may be deadlier than the male, but they are also a dam sight pret¬ tier. Young adults will be most appreciative, and it is certainly not geared for the very young. Ad Lines: “Deadlier Than The Male . . . This Seductive Duo Made Murder While They Made Love”; “Murder In A Bikini . . . What A Way To Die.” WARMER BROS. First To Fight Warner Bros. (Panavision) (Technicolor) Drama 97M. Estimate: Marine drama has angles. Cast: Chad Everett, Marilyn Devin, Dean Jagger, Bobby Troup, Claude Akins, Gene Hackman, James Best, Norman Alden. Execu¬ tive producer, William Conrad; directed by Christian Nyby. Story: Marine sergeant Chad Everett is promoted on the battlefield to Lieutenant by Colonel Dean Jagger for heroism on Guadal¬ canal in 1942, and he is sent back to the U.S. for the Congressional Medal of Honor and for a bond promotion tour. He is reluctant to take leave of his buddy, James Best. In the States, he and several other medal winners are taken on tour by Marilyn Devin, who resists attempts by Everett and the others to date her, presumably because she still hasn’t gotten over losing a fiance in the war. Eventually, she suc¬ cumbs. She and Everett get married after he promises that he will accept only safe tours of duty. He is assigned to train recruits under Jagger, now back in the states. When Best is killed, Everett feels so restless that he takes it out on the men under him, and Devin decides to release him from his promise. He asks Jagger for overseas duty and is assigned to a unit with sergeant Gene Hackman under him. His platoon has pride in their Medal of Honor winner until they go into battle, where he hesitates and freezes. Hackman gets him started, but the fear persists. Everett refuses to be reassigned. During another battle, he suddenly snaps out of it and leads his men to take a vital ridge. Everybody is sure that the platoon and its leader will perform in true Marine tradition from here on out. X-Ray: This film goes back to the early days of World War II for its story content, and to the experiences of a young Marine who suddenly finds honor thrust upon him. There’s curious mixture of action, drama, and romance as a young combatant tries to find himself. It should do okay as part of the program, with tie-up possibilities with the Marine Corps not to be ignored. The story is fairly interesting; performances are adequate; and direction and production are serviceable. Gene L. Coon wrote the screenplay. Ad Lines: “A Marine In Action All The Way”; “A Marine Finds Himself In Action And In Love.” MISCELLANEOUS Sweet, Love, Bitter Drama 92M. Film 2 Associates Estimate: For art and specialty spots. Cast: Dick Gregory, Don Murray, Diane Varsi, Robert Hooks, Jeri Archer. Produced by Lewis Jacobs; directed by Herbert Danska; executive producers, Gerald Kleppel and Rob¬ ert Ferman. Story: Dick Gregory, well-known Negro jazz musician, meets Don Murray, white col¬ lege instructor, who has taken to drink since he lost his wife in an automobile accident. The two become friends under the influence of liquor and the expansive conversation that takes in much of the world of jazz. They are found dead drunk by Robert Hooks, Negro friend of Gregory, who agrees to care for Murray because Gregory requests it. Hooks puts Murray to work in a hangout for mu¬ sicians although he’s not happy about it. His resentment against whites is furthered by his love for white Diane Varsi, who tries to make crossing the color line easy. Gregory, when not working, indulges in booze, white and Negro women, and even dope. Gradually, Murray is accepted, and his stock rises when he helps Hooks save Gregory from an over¬ dose of dope. They try to straighten Murray out and he reapplies to the college to get his job back. Gregory visits the campus where a policeman accosts him. When the officer doesn’t like his flip answers, he beats him. Murray shows up at the particular moment but can’t bring himself to interfere. Later, back in the city, Murray confesses his presence to Gregory, who is deeply hurt and takes off. Murray loses him, and Hooks hears that he is high on dope. This time, there is no rescue. Murray heads back to college, leaving Varsi and Hooks to work out their own problems. X-Ray: This release is not an easy one to categorize except to predict that it will have to get its playoff before selective audiences, who can feel and understand the strong dra¬ matic stand that it presents — that of whites and Negroes getting together in a variety of ways. It shows that whites and Negroes love each other; have sex with each other; resent each other; feel for each other; fear each other. It demonstrates that compassion exists on both sides, and that if there is enough, maybe something can be worked out on an individual basis if not on a mass level. At any rate, it’s a message picture that holds attention pretty much throughout, bolstered by strong, realistic performances, a style of direction that seems natural, and efficient production values. Greg¬ ory is quite good as the troubled jazz musician, and Murray gives his usual high-quality per¬ formance. They receive able support from those around them, both before and behind the cameras. The screenplay is by Herbert Danska and Lewis Jacobs, based on the novel, “Night Song,” by John Williams. Ad Lines: “Play This One For Realism, Baby”; “An Unusual Film For Selective Filmgoers.” You’re A Big Boy Now Seven Arts (Color) (Filmed in New York) Estimate: Off-beat comedy pushes fun and sex. Cast: Elizabeth Hartman, Geraldine Page, Julie Harris, Peter Kastner, Rip Torn, Michael Dunn, Tony Bill, Karen Black, Dolph Sweet, Michael O’Sullivan. Produced by Phil Feld¬ man; written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Story: Peter Kastner is a young man in¬ experienced in sex, who works as a roller¬ skating stock boy in the huge main branch of the New York Public Library. His father, Rip Torn, happens to be the curator of rare books. Torn, over the tearful protests of Kastner’s over-solicitous mother, Geraldine Page, decides to let him grow up on his own in a room away from their suburban home. He is placed in a rooming house owned by Julie Harris, an inheritance from a dead brother, in which are also living a policeman, Dolph Sweet, and Harris’ departed brother’s pet rooster, who has an aversion to allowing girls up in the rooms. Friendly co-worker Tony Bill has some ideas of fun which include sex and goof balls, but Kastner settles on taking co-worker Karen Black out to a discotheque, where stage actress Elizabeth Hartman is a dancer. He has been intrigued with her ever since he saw her in the library. Black is able to tear his attention away from Hartman by asking that he show her his new living quarters, but the rooster has other ideas. The resulting hassle causes Harris to break an arm. Kastner writes Hartman a fan letter, and she, hating men ever since a wooden-legged hypnotherapist molested her