Motion Picture Herald (Jul-Aug 1943)

MOTION PICTURE HERALD July 3 1, I 943 Watch on the Rhine (Warner Bros.) Portrait of an Anti-Fascist Packed with the power of strong, simple words firmly spoken in the telling of a straight story revealing the stout heart of a man who sacrifices self and family in the urgency of his impulse to fight Fascism to the death, this filming of the Lillian Hellman stage success of the same name commands its own place of prominence among the great screen attractions of its time. It is a picture that will be heard about, customer to customer, as it runs, possibly also a picture to be heard from, as was "Mission to Moscow," and it is, apart from these matters, a fine telling of a story of plain family solidarity and just what that amounts to in the pinches. The top name to bill the pictuie with is Bette Davis, and the top thing to say about her performance in the picture is that she subordinates it completely to the role of the man of courage who is the key character. This man is portrayed by Paul Lukas, who portrayed him also in the Broadway-run of the play, and the Lukas performance rates with the all-time bests of screen or stage. Lukas enacts an anti-Fascist native of Germany, who brings to America at the start of the picture his American wife of 17 years and their three children, arriving at the Washington home of her mother, widow of a Supreme Court Justice, who has not known of the dangers and privations to which her daughter has been exposed in the seven years (1933-1940) of her husband's activity in opposition to the violent Nazis. When the daughter, explaining her husband's occupation, says, "Kurt is an anti-Fascist," the mother replies, 'We are all anti-Fascists," to which the daughter answers, "But Kurt is the kind of anti-Fascist who does something about it." This exchange of speeches keynotes the picture. What the anti-Fascist has done about Fascism in the past, rising to rank of second in command of the anti-Hitler forces in Germany, includes deeds of violence which have left him scarred of face, gnarled of hand, but undiminished of purpose. What he does about Fascism while in Washington requires the killing of a Roumanian renegade, house guest of his wife's mother, who has discovered his identity, has blackmailed the family under threat to expose it and who, he knows, will reveal it to the Nazi agents in Washington in exchange for a visa enabling him to return to Europe. The final thing he does about Fascism is to leave his family and return to Germany to attempt release from Nazi custody of the antiFascist leader, his associate in their work against the Hitler regime, whom he learns is being tortured. The picture is primarily a portrait of a practicing anti-Fascist. It is secondarily, in the rounding out and filling in of that portrait, a series of portraits of Fascists, German, American and others, and a sounding of the situation that prevailed in Germany and here in the year 1940. Performances in support of the anti-Fascist and his wife are etchings memorable in their own right. Lucile Watson's portrayal of the mother is a fine depiction of the type, and George Couloris' enactment of the unprincipled Roumanian is a study in the despicable. Others are in balance. Hal B. Wallis produced the picture with utmost regard for retention of all that was powerful and important in the stage play, and Herman Shumlin's direction keeps the procedure crystal clear. There is little humor in the picture, but that little is superb. There is much of solid drama in it, much food for thought and study, much of realism Reviews received too late for this Section are printed in the regular news pages of the Herald and are reprinted the following week in Product Digest for their reference value. fraught with meaning for all the people now aligned alongside the anti-Fascist in the film in a fight to end the Fascist peril. Previewed at studio. Reviewer's Rating, Excellent.—W. R. W. Release date, not set. Running time, 114 min. PCA No. 8687. General audience classification. Kurt Miller Paul Lukas Sara Muller Bette Davis Geraldine Fitzgerald, Lucile Watson, Beulah Bondi, George Coulouris, Donald Woods, Henry Daniell, Donald Bucks, Eric Roberts, Janis AVilson, Kurt Katch. What's Buzzin' Cousin ( Columbia) Musical Comedy Mediocre plot development and undistinguished dance routines prevent this from being the madcap musical comedy which the title promises. There is little in the picture to draw the jitterbug addicts, but there are a number of tuneful songs, Eddie (Rochester) Anderson, Ann Miller's nimble tap-toes, and Freddy Martin and his orchestra to compensate for the lack of rug-cutting. Needless to say, it's Rochester's picture. He and a pert young Negro actress, Theresa Harris, carry most of the comedy. Four of the 10 songs in the film have war motifs, but the best of the lot is "Short, Fat and 4-F," a ballad which Rochester puts across with his usual skill and ease. "Mr. President," "Three Little Mosquitoes," which calls upon Henry of Flit fame to smash Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito ; "Eighteen Seventy-Five," a finale designed to stimulate War Bond sales, and "Where Am I Without You," a romantic lyric, are other numbers worthy of note. In the story, Freddy Martin, his orchestra and the soloist, John Hubbard, trailer-bound for New York from California, stop for gas at a mountain ghost-town. They put up at the town's only hotel, now deserted. Next morning, the owners of the place arrive. They are four charming young chorines who have put their life-savings into the hotel which was inherited by one of the girls, Ann Crawford, played by Ann Miller. Hubbard falls in love with Ann, of course, and immediately schemes to make the hotel a paying proposition. He advertises the hostelry as a new night spot, lines up talent, and opens to a house distinguished by its lack of patrons. But Rochester comes to the rescue. He finds gold in the garden. The stampede is on. People flock into the town and the hotel does a capacity business. Then the hero discovers the gold is nothing more than an inlay which fell from one of Rochester's teeth. But by that time, the four chorines have sold their property to a real estate speculator and come out of the deal with a handsome profit. There is the customary misunderstanding of this deal between the hero and heroine, but everything ends happily. Jacob Fier produced the picture, which was directed by Charles Barton. Harry Sauber wrote the screenplay, based on a story by Aben Kandel. M. W. Stoloff was musical director. Seen at Loew's State, New York, at a morning show. Audience reaction was good. Reviezver's Rating: Fair. — J. -E. Samuelson. Release date. July 8th, 1943. Running time, 75 min. PCA No. 892.1. General audience classification. Ann Crawford Ann Miller Rochester Eddie Anderson Tolm Hubbard, Freddy Martin. Leslie Brooks. Jeff Donncll, Carol Hughes, Theresa Harris, Bradley Page. Salute to the Marines (MGM) Marine Corps Forever This is another war story told in Technicolor with Wallace Beery cast in the role of a tough sergeant major of the Marines and brings to the screen a newcomer, Marilyn Maxwell, who reminds of Laura La Plante and Marilyn Miller. The story is set in the Philippines just before Pearl Harbor and marches on to the day the Japs blast the islands with overwhelming forces led by fifth columnists. Beery as Sergt. Maj. William Bailey, is a typical Marine non-com with 30 years' service and resentful of being ordered to train men for the battle lines but never seeing active service himself. With Beery touches he plays the part to Beery perfection. Bailey's wife, Jennie, is sold on brotherly love stuff by a clique in fialligan where Bailey is sent to train the natives. When he promises to retire and does she is happy but not for long as his love of children leads him to teach them war games and how to use their fists in selfdefense. The sneak attack of the Japs catches the village unawares on a Sunday morning, killing women and children indiscriminately and Mr. Caspar, a leader of the brotherly love sect, displays his Axis colors, as do the local Japs. Bailey takes over the defense of the town with his native irregulars sending the women and children across the bridge to safety and Helen's lover, a Marine flier, to bring Colonel Mason and his Marines to blow up the bridge. He and his fighting Filipinos hold the Japs back long enough for the Marine regulars to blow up the bridge. Bailey finds his wife has elected to remain behind to care for the wounded and they meet death under a rain of Jap bombs in each other's arms. Helen becomes a Marine Auxiliary officer and receives the Congressional Medal of Honor, posthumously awarded Bailey, in a ceremony before the Marines at a base in America. Beery's handling of the role leaves nothing to be desired while Fay Bainter as his wife, does an excellent acting job, and Miss Maxwell is lovely as Helen. The picture was expertly produced by John W. Considine, Jr., with S. Sylvan Simon doing a finished job of the direction. The dialogue and story are both smooth. George Bruce did the screenplay from an adaptation by Wells Root of Robert D. Andrews' original. The color photography by Charles Schoenbaum and W. Howard Greene is excellent. Special effects by Arnold Gillespie and Warren Newcombe add materially. Previewed at Westwood Village theatre, where an audience sprinkled with the profession and trade press obviously enjoyed the picture. Reviewer's Rating : Good. — Jack Cartwright. Release date not set. Running time 102 mins. PCA No. 9148. General audience classification. Sergt. Maj. William Bailey Wallace Beery Jennie Bailey Fay Bainter Colonel Mason Ray Collins "Flashy" Logaz Keye Luke Helen Bailey Marilyn Maxwell Reginald Owen, Wiltiam Lundigan, Donald Curtis, Noah Beery, Sr., Dick Curtis, Russell Gleason, Rose Hobart. Murder on the Waterfront (Warner Bros.) 48-Minute Feature Possibly with a view to finding program room beside some of the more protracted features coming off the production line at this time, this little number has been foreshortened to 48 minutes. That is its claim to attention. The picture opens in a Navy yard to which has come the inventor of a device to protect gun sights against temperatures, also a troupe of entertainers. The inventor is murdered and a member of the troupe is suspected, but I 454 Product Digest Section