Motion Picture Herald (May-Jun 1947)

knows die identity of the leader of the gang. Lowery gathers his material with the help of a young girl reporter who is the daughter of one of the city's leading citizens. Later the reporter finds that the girl's father is the ring leader. He is murdered by one of his own men. Lowery falls in love with the girl and they are both happy. The original screenplay by Fenton Earnshaw and Tom Blackburn provides a basis for plenty of action. It was produced by Buck Gottlieb and directed by William Beaudine. Charles Evans, as the leader of the racketeers, and Frank Ferguson, as the editor of the newspaper, give good supporting performances. Seen at a New York projection room. Reviewer's Rating: Average. — M.R.Y. Release date, May 31, 1947. Running time, 64 min. PCA No. 12322. General audience classification. Paul Kimberly Robert Lowery Anne Arnold Anabel Shaw Charles Evans, Frank Ferguson, George Lynn, Dick Rich, Ann Stanton, Leonard Penn, Eddie Parks, Stanley Blystone, Howard Mitchell, Jack Cheatham, Hazel Kerner, Hildegard Ackerman, Charles King, Brooks Benedict, Phil Arnold Too Many Winners PRC— Crime Story Taking much-explored turf material for the basis of their story, John Sutherland, producer, and William Beaudine, director, have made this latest picture in the Michael Shayne detective series a fast-moving but not overly-exciting entry. Patrons who have shqwn interest in Shayne's exploits in the past should not be disappointed. Sutherland wrote the screenplay. Although the story has to do with the uncovering of shady doings at a track, there is no horse-racing as such in the picture. Humor, as usual, is provided by neglected Trudy Marshall, who plays the girl friend of Hugh Beaumont, as Shayne. There are the conventional murders, fisticuffs and gun-duels. Beaumont and Miss Marshall are about to go on a duck-hunting vacation. Their plans, however, are interrupted by some phone calls which lead the detective into an investigation of a gang counterfeiting pari-mutuel tickets. Claire Carlton, a lady of questionable character, is willing to give him information, but she is killed. This brings the police and Ralph Dunn as the slow-witted inspector into the picture. Shayne finds a former convict, Byron Folger, who is involved in the counterfeiting activities. Folger also is killed, and so is Grandon Rhodes, the track-operator and the real culprit. Seen at projection room in New York. Reviewer's Rating : Average. — Fred Hift. Release date, May 24, 1947. Running time, 61 min. PCA No. 12283. General audience classification. Michael Shayne Hugh Beaumont Phyllis Hamilton Trudy Marshall Rafferty Ralph Dunn Claire Carleton, Charles Mitchell, John Hamilton, Grandon Rhodes, Ben Welden, Byron Foulger, Dean Andren Living in a Big Way MGM — Kelly Dances Gene Kelly stars in this attraction which stars his magnificent footwork, his timing and his dancing ingenuity. He does this with a dog. again with the statue of a gigantic woman and finally, in the big routine, in the courtyard of an incompleted building to the delight of a bunch of kids and practically any audience that may witness it. But these stretches are very far apart and between them is a labored and overlong romance peopled by characters in the main entirely unbelievable. When Kelly is on those electric feet of his "Living in a Big Way" flashes into life. When he is compelled to follow the story track, this attraction bogs down into a mire out of which it is able to emerge only intermittently. Kelly and Marie McDonald go for a hurried wartime marriage. Three years later he is in civvies. Miss McDonald has become a huge social success and wishes Kelly had never returned. The slight and often bewildering story treatment thereafter deals with the business of grooving what was true love after all in its smooth and placid channel. This calls for a G. I. housing project, Miss McDonald's realization she had entered upon no mistake and her finally successful effort at convincing Kelly he hadn't made a mistake either. Gregory La Cava wrote the story and also directed. As a director who has had his notable successes in the area of wacky comedy, he is well known. He sought to pursue the same formula in this instance, but unfortunately the results disappoint. The non-dancing portion of Kelly's performance is as satisfactory as the part allows, but never makes any stern acting demands. Miss McDonald is highly decorative. Spring Byington plays another of her flighty characterizations with her accustomed competency. Charles Winninger has little to do and is hampered by the lack of opportunity. Phyllis Thaxter is pleasant in a minor role. Jean Adair is professional as the grandmother. Pandro S. Berman produced. Seen at Loew's 72nd St., New York, where audience reaction seemed more for the attraction than against it. Reviewer's Rating: Average.— Red Kann. Release date, June, 1947. Running time, 103 min. PCA No. 12195. General audience classification. Leo Gene Kelly Margaud Marie McDonald Spring Byington, Charles Winninger, Phyllis Thaxter, William "Bill" Phillips, Jean Adair {Review reprinted from last week's Herald) ["Seven Keys to Baldpate" review in this week's news section of the HERALD.] REISSUE REVIEW SING ME A LOVE SONG {Warner Brothers) Directed by Raymond Enright, this is a musical-romance story played against the background of a large-city department store. When "Sing Me a Love Song" was reviewed from Hollywood in Motion Picture Herald, October 17, 1936, the reviewer said : "This film gives James Melton ample opportunity to sing and Hugh Herbert and Walter Catlett to check in with a line of comedy that is mirth provoking. . . . Fun and music are the dominating entertainment and commercial angles in the film." In addition to those already mentioned, other players featured in the picture include Patricia Ellis, Zasu Pitts, Allen Jenkins and Ann Sheridan. ADVANCE SYNOPSES RIFF RAFF [RKO Radio) PRODUCER: Nat Holt. DIRECTOR: Ted Tetzlaff. PLAYERS: Pat O'Brien, Anne Jeffreys, Walter Slezak, George Givot. MELODRAMA. A private detective is hired by an oil company to retrieve a paper which is the key to the company's claim to certain Peruvian wells. The sleuth, operating from Panama City, becomes involved in two murders, and falls in love. Ultimately he locates tb" missing document. LITTLE MISS BROADWAY (Columbia) PRODUCER: Sam Katzman. DIRECTOR: Arthur Dreifuss. PLAYERS: Jean Porter, John Shelton, Ruth Donnelly, Doris Colleen, Ed Gargan, Vince Barnett. COMEDY-DRAMA. Upon leaving finishing school, a young girl goes to meet her relatives, whom she believes to be wealthy and socially prominent. Actually, they are penniless Broadway characters. In order to avoid destruction of the girl's illusions, they take possession of the Long Island mansion owned by a thief presently doing time in Sing Sing. The girl arrives with her fiance and his father, an industrialist who tries to sell worthless stock to the girl's family in order to bolster his shaky financial status. They give him $200,000, part oi loot belonging to the thief. The latter, meanwhile, escapes from Sing Sing. After numerous complications, matters are set right, the thief is recaptured, and the principals accept each other for what they are. SAIGON (Paramount) PRODUCER: P. J. Wolfson. DIRECTOR: Leslie Fenton. PLAYERS: Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Douglas Dick, Luther Adler, Morris Carnovsky,' Luis Van Rooten, Wally ADVENTURE DRAMA. Three discharged flyers, all from the China war zone, are sent on a civilian mission from Shanghai to Saigon. They encounter a young woman, and, after many complications, they accomplish their mission, and one of them marries the girl. THE HAT BOX MYSTERY (Screen Guild) PRODUCERS: Maury Nunes and Carl Hittleman. DIRECTOR: Lambert Hillyer. PLAYERS: Tom Neal, Pamela Blake, Allen Jenkins, Virginia Sale, Ed Keane. MELODRAMA. The secretary of a detective is arrested for the slaying of a prominent woman by firing a gun concealed in a hat box. The detective persuades the district attorney there is more to the case and, together with the girl and his assistant, they trap the gang responsible for plotting the death of the socialite. UNDER THE TONTO RIM (RKO Radio) PRODUCER: Herman Schlom. DIRECTOR: Lew Landers. PLAYERS: Tim Holt, Nan Leslie, Richard Martin, Richard Powers, Carol Forman. WESTERN. A buffalo hunter falls in love with the daughter of a thief who steals buffalo hides. When Indians attack the hunters, the thief and his partners fall out, and are all killed in the subsequent fight. The hunter finds the girl, who has escaped from the Indians, and they are married. THE GANGSTER (Monogram -Allied Artists) PRODUCERS: Frank and Maurice King. DIRECTOR: Gordon Wiles. PLAYERS: Barry Sullivan, Belita, Joan Lorring, Akim Tamiroff, Sheldon Leonard, Henry Morgan, Fifi D'Orsay, John Ireland, John Kellogg. MELODRAMA. Two racketeers are using soda stores as fronts. A mob starts muscling in and wants a list of these fronts. One of the racketeers sells out to the mob and is killed. The mob, believing the latter was killed by his partner, takes revenge by shooting the racketeer, but is in turn mowed down by police fire. THE PARADINE CASE (Selznick Releasing Organization) PRODUCER: David O. Selznick. DIRECTOR: Alfred Hitchcock. PLAYERS: Gregory Peck, Ann Todd, Charles Laughton, Charles Coburn, Ethel Barrymore, Valli, Louis Jourdan. MELODRAMA: A successful English barrister gambles with his marriage and career when he seeks to free a beautiful and mysterious accused murderess with whom he has fallen in love. This story of a famous London criminal trial tells the effect it has on the lives of all the people involved. KILLER DILL (Screen Guild) PRODUCER: Max M. King. DIRECTOR: Lewis D. Collins. PLAYERS: Stuart Erwin, Anne Gwynne, Frank Albertson, Mike Mazurki, Milburn Stone, Dorothy Granger. MYSTERY-COMEDY. A meek lingerie salesman tries to impress his girl by pretending to be a gangster. He becomes involved with two rival mobs when he is accredited with killing one of the gang leaders. His efforts to live up to his new-found reputation win back his girl, and he succeeds in finding the killer. 3666 PRODUCT DIGEST SECTION, JUNE 7, 1947