Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1947)

play in which Rogers is an oil well engineer. The gang of racketeers are gamblers who resort to murder to gain their evil purposes. Rogers, with the help of Miss Evans and Olin Howlin, succeeds in bringing the culprits to justice. This Western, dressed in Trucolor, has many beautiful outdoor scenes of the California coast and the ocean. Edward J. White produced, and William Witney directed. Seen at the Normandie theatre, New York. Reviewer s Rating : Good. — M. R. Y. Release date, February 15, 1947. Running time, 75 min. PCA No. 12019. General audience classification. Roy Rogers Roy Rogers Billie Colby Dale Evans Alkali Olin Howlin George Meeker, John Laurenz, Russ Vincent, Minerva Urecal, LeRoy Mason, Donna DeMario, Terry Frost, Conchita Lemus, Tex Terry; Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers, and Trigger Untamed Fury PRC — Swamp Melodrama Using the Okefenokee swamplands of Florida as the locale, producer-director Ewing Scott has taken his own story, originally entitled "Gaitor Bait," has had it adapted to the screen by Taylor Caven and Paul Gerard Smith, and has emerged with a spine-tingling melodrama of swamp folk and their bitter campaign against modern progress. Neither the story, the cast, nor the acting are individually pretentious. It has been modestly produced, but there is an element that the audience will devour with relish — suspense. From the opening to the closing scenes they will be on the edges of their seats as they watch a swamp hunter bait alligators with his son tied to the end of a rope ; the numerous races when swimmers attempt to escape from the snapping jaws of the swamp beasts, and the nerve-jarring moments as quicksand draws its victim into the earth. Around this element of suspense the story has been built. Gaylord Pendleton is the former swamp boy who returns years later to Okefenokee to bring modern roads and elevate community life. Mikel Conrad is the handsome swamp guide, who leads the natives' opposition to the advancements. On the distaff side there is Mary Conwell, who falls in love with the engineer, and Althea Murphy as the city siren who disrupts the lives of both men. Another highlight of the picture is the photography by Ernest Miller, who has skillfully captured the damp eeriness of the Florida swamplands. It is a Danches Brothers Production. Previewed at Lloyd's projection room in New York at a screening for the trade press. Reviewer's Rating : Good. — George H. Spires. Release date, March 22, 1947. Running time, 61 min. PCA No. 11570. General audience classification. Jeff Owen Gaylord Pendleton 'GatorBait Kirk Mikel Conrad Uncle Gabe Leigh Whipper Judie Kirk Mary Conwell Patricia Wayburn Althea Murphy Jack Rutherford, Charles Keane, Rodman Bruce, Paul Savage, E. G. Marshall, Norman MacKay Love and Learn Warner Bros. — Romance and Comedy Under the title "Love and Learn" Warner Brothers is releasing another Jack Carson comedy in which the star is again given the opportunity to display his talents for gags. Whether he makes the most of the material at hand will depend for the most part on his popularity with particular audiences. For the exhibitors who have found Jack Carson's name a drawing card, their audiences will enjoy the comedian's antics and egotistical comedy manner. For others it will just be light film fare which strives for, but never quite captures, the element of comedy. Much of the dialogue and many of the situations have been worn thin through long and frequent use. Carson and Robert Hutton are an unsuccessful song writing team of Tin Pin Alley. A romance develops between Hutton and Martha Vickers, a wealthy debutante posing as a work ing girl who, unknown to the songsters, finances the publication of their material. A misunderstanding disrupts the romance, but eventually all ends well— financially and romantically. Supporting these players are Janis Paige as the pretty young thing in love with Carson ; Otto Kruger, the millionaire father of Miss Vickers, and Tom D'Andrea as the horseplaying music publisher. Frederick de Cordova directed from a screenplay by Eugene Conrad, Francis Swann and I. A. L. Diamond. William Jacobs produced. Reviewed at the Warner projection room in New York. Reviewer's Rating : Average. — G. H. S. Release date, May 3, 1947. Running time, 83 min. PCA No. 11923. General audience classification. J ingles Jack Carson Bob Grant Robert Hutton Barbara Wyngate Martha Vickers Jackie Janis Paige Andrew Wyngate Otto Kruger Barbara Brown, Tom D'Andrea, Florence Bates, Craig Stevens, Angela Greene, Don McGuire, John Alvin, Herbert Anderson, Jane Harker, Lou Nova Backlash 20th Century-Fox-Wurtzel-Mehdrama People who like puzzles may be interested in solving this complicated murder-mystery, although it lacks motivation and conviction. There's much more talk than action, and since the characters are sketchily drawn, the average audience will find it difficult to become emotional over their problems. The puzzle posed in Irving Elman's original screenplay stems from the finding by Los Angeles police of a car containing a dead body. Their first conclusion is that the dead man is an escaped convict, but further investigation discloses that he is not. The body, therefore, is assumed to be that of a criminal lawyer, owner of the car. In their search for the killer, the police uncover certain pertinent facts. The lawyer's wife had previously attempted to poison him, and her friendship with the district attorney lays the latter open to suspicion as well. Just as the motive and the murderer seems definitely established, the lawyer himself turns up, alive and well. He kills his law partner, with whom he has had a financial disagreement, and is about to kill his wife as well, when the police break in and kill him. In entertainment value, the picture is on a par with previous productions by Sol Wurtzel for 20th Century-Fox release. Eugene Forde directed a cast headed by Jean Rogers, Richard Travis and Larry Blake. Seen at the studio. Reijcwei^s Rating : Fair. — Thalia Bell. Release date, March, 1947. Running time, 66 min. PCA No. 12059. General audience classification. Catherine Morland Jean Rogers Richard Conroy Richard Travis Larry Blake. John Eldredge, Leonard Strong', Robert Shayne, Louise Currie, Douglas Fowley, Sara Berner, Richard Benedict Queen of the Amazons Screen Gllild-Jraveloque with Trimmings Producer-director Edward Finney offers here an attraction fitted to the requirements of showmen who lithograph their lobbies and exploit their wares with catchline ad copy. It is an item in the adventure category, with Africa the principal scene, animals enough to gratify the youngsters in the Saturday audiences, and with imagination taking precedence over logic and plausibility at every turn. The principal names are Robert Lowery and Patricia Morison. Roger Merton's screenplay combines a travelogue, a trip to the zoo, and a pulp-magazine plot. Deep in the heart of Africa, Miss Morison organizes a safari to search for her fiance, missing many months. She finally locates him in the arms of the Queen of the Amazons, and the two girls settle their dispute in amicable fashion. Immediately thereafter, J. Edward Bromberg, whose talents are wasted in the role of a cook engaged for the safari, reveals that he has a corner on the local black market in ivory. Fearing betrayal, he sets out to kill the rest of the cast. Before he can accomplish his nefarious purpose, he gets it in the neck from ene of the Amazons, a peroxide blonde skilled in the use of poisoned darts. In a double ceremony the Amazon queen weds the man of her choice, and Miss Morison, as a consolation prize, gets Lowery, whom she had previously engaged as a guide. Seen at the studio. Reveiwer's Rating ■ Fair — T. B. Release date, January 15, 1947. Running time, 61 nun. PCA No. 12028. General audience classification. Gary Robert Lowery Jean ■■• Patricia Morison J. Edward Bromberg, John Miljan, Almira Moustafa, Bruce Edwards, Jack George, Keith Richards, Wilson Benge REISSUE REVIEWS THE SEA WOLF (Warner Brothers) Jack London's famous story of the sea which was brought to the screen by Warner Brothers in 1941 will be reissued April 26, 1947. When it was reviewed in Motion Picture Herald, March 29, 1941, William R. Weaver said: 'As produced by Henry Blanke and directed by Michael Curtiz for executive producer Hal B. Wallis, the late Mr. London's tale of brutality on the high seas is tempered to today's understandings of what makes a bad man bad. As the man in question, 'Wolf Larsen,' Edward G. Robinson dominates the picture." Others in the cast include John Garfield, Ida Lupino, Gene Lockhart and Barry Fitzgerald. THE SEA HAWK (Warner Brothers) This Sixteenth Century sea melodrama starring Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall and Claude Rains was originally released by Warner Brothers in 1940. It will be reissued April 26, 1947. A review in the July 27, 1940 issue of Motion Picture Herald said: "It is a story full of heroics and combat, of man-to-man conflict, ship-to-ship battle, nation-to-nation diplomacy, a chronicle of swashbuckling, suffering, bravado, guile, chicanery, some carnage and a deal of romance." Hal B. Wallis was executive producer, Henry Blanke, associate producer, and Michael Curtiz, director. ADVANCE SYNOPSES THE OTHER LOVE (U. A.-Enterprise) PRODUCER: David Lewis. DIRECTOR: Andre de Toth. PLAYERS: Barbara Stanwyck, David Niven, Richard Conte, Joan Lorring, Maria Palmer, Michael Romanoff. MELODRAMA. A brilliant young pianist enters a sanitarium, where she falls in love with her doctor. He, in turn, reciprocates her love, but is warned that she has less than two years to live. Depressed by the atmosphere of death at the sanitarium, she leaves but eventually returns. The doctor persuades her to marry him, and they live a lifetime of happiness in their brief space of time together. MOSS ROSE (20th CenturyFox) PRODUCER: Gene Markey. DIRECTOR: Gregory Ratoff. PLAYERS: Victor Mature, Peggy Cummins, Ethel Barrymore, Vincent Price, Margo Woods, Patricia Medina. PERIOD MELODRAMA. A chorus girl is murdered, and one of her fellow-chorines suspects a wealthy young man. She blackmails him into giving her money, and taking her down to the country to meet his mother and fiancee. There the fiancee is murdered, and the young man is arrested for the two murders. Before matters proceed any further, however, the chorine discovers that the real killer is the young man's mother, insane with jealousy. 3550 PRODUCT DIGEST SECTION, MARCH 29, 1947