Motion Picture Herald (Nov-Dec 1948)

SHOWMEN'S REVIEWS SHORT SUBJECTS THE RELEASE CHART This department deals with new product from the point of view of the exhibitor who is to purvey it to his own public. Enchantment RKO-Goldwyn — From the Top Drawer Those who played "Smilin' Through" must recall it as one of the outstanding attractions of its day. They will remember, no doubt, its nostalgia, its charm and the magnificent love story which it told. "Enchantment," just off Samuel Gold wyn's de luxe production line, reminds of that earlier film in which Norma Talmadge scored what was perhaps her greatest success. The basis for this delightful film of un ; doubted appeal to all ages among audiences, and meticulous adherence to careful produc and probably pointedly so for the more ma tion detail are constantly in evidence. The tured, is a novel by Rumer Godden. It principal players in an excellent cast reveal traces the unhappy romance between David considerable competence. Granger is so Niven and Teresa Wright— unhappy not good that future biographies of his career because they were not deeply in love but as an actor in a11 likelihood will have oc because a jealous and envious sister under casion to draw attention to "Enchantment" took to interfere in her brother's affairs as the vehicle that moved him noticeably until the romance of his dreams was en toward stardom. tirely thwarted. There are many passages of quiet humor This part of the picture is unfolded by and gentleness and always charm and good Niven as an old man. In retrospect, he taste. As one producer at least who keeps imparts the story to Evelyn Keyes, distantly his oar steeped deeply in any film which he related and now thrown across his declining undertakes, the principal credit accrues to path in war-bombed London. Farley Gran Goldwyn. But there also is Irving Reis, ger, bearing Niven a message from the now charged with the direction and inescapably also old Miss Wright, becomes romantic inked with a fine film. His work is firstopposite to Miss Keyes. Out of the in rate. So, too, is John Patrick's script, decisions which kept Niven and Miss Thoroughly commendable is the musical Wright apart when they were young, Miss overlay credited to Hugo Friedhofer, Emil Keyes and Granger learn their lesson. That Newman, Don Rave and Gene De Paul. lesson brings them together, despite the .Seen, at ho.me °ffice Projection room. Re , ■ , ■ , , ■ -j vietver s Rating: Excellent. — Red Kann. uncertainties of war, during an air raid „ . , „, , „ ,. , XT. / 11 1 • i , r Release date, March, 1949. Running: time, 102 min in Which Niven, hnallv having heard from utes. PCS No. 13389. General audience classification. the long-lost love of his own youth, dies ^\^y;;;::::;;;;;:;:;;.;;;::;;::r^ under the shattering impact of a German Gmei Dane Evelyn Keyes i Pax Masterson Farley Granger atiaCK. Jayne Meadows, Leo G. Carroll, Philip Friend. Shep The narrative Content in itself is ex £e™ Strudwick, Henry Stephenson, Gigi Perreau. . , i n . .,_ . . „ ™ . , Colin Keith-Johnston. Peter Miles, Sherlee Collier, tremely good. But that isn t all. I he Gold Warwick Gregson. Marjorie Rhodes, Edmond Breon, wvn marks of Careful script, exacting: direc Gerald Oliver Smith, Melville Cooper, Dennis McCar .; i j j j. r thy. Gaylord Pendleton, Matthew Boulton, Robin tion leading to understanding performances Hughes, William Johnstone Words and Music MGM — Bigger and Better Musical Showmen who inform their customers that MGM threw the bank book at this subject will be well within the facts and speaking a language that's always paid off big and hasn't been heard for far too long. It will be mighty welcome to audience ears treated of late to unstimulating news of studio cutbacks and economies, and the picture provides a feast for those ears and the eyes between them. The production is rich, glamorous, loaded with talent, strewn with song hits, and stocked with more names than any attraction in kind since the bookkeepers moved in on the budget-makers in the autumn of '47. It's a picture for showmen to get behind and shout about at the top of their voices. Names for the marquee include Mickey Allyson, Lena Home, Ann Sothern, Perry Rooney, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, June Como, Tom Drake, Cyd Charisse, Mel Torme, Tom Drake, Vera-Ellen, Betty Garrett, Janet Leigh and Marshall Thompson, but don't let that listing mislead you into expecting a mere agglomeration of personalities and specialties. On the contrary, do let it lead you to expect Rooney at his oldtime best, both as actor and entertainer, Kelly and Vera-Ellen in a dance routine to lift audiences from their seats, Miss Garland in an impromptu song sequence shared with Rooney, Miss Allyson doing "Thou Swell" better than it's ever been done, Como making top screen use of his radio voice, Miss Home in two solos that singe the scenery — and so on. For not only is the talent present and accounted for, it's accounted for in the fullest measure of its capabilities. Facts for corroboration of promises made the customers in terms of name billing include these : The picture tells the story of the Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart song-writing partnership which gave the world "The Girl Friend," "Connecticut Yankee" and many another musical comedy, plus innumerable unforgettable songs, and it tells it simply, earnestly, without ducking the tragic ending. The production numbers are in the luxurious tradition, vast and expensive, and the uses of Technicolor in this connection touch a new high in effulgent tastefulness. Size and splendour are keynotes .of the production, and a screenful of opulence proves again that there's no business like show business when the wraps are off. It's a very, very big musical, so big that it's open on the usual number of counts to the piddling criticisms of the pseudo-intelligentsia press, and big enough to shed them unscathed. It's like a breath of fresh air blown into the smoke-filled room where the industry's doubters have been holding their premature wake, and you couldn't keep the wise old public from finding out about it if you tried. Arthur Freed, producer of many a whoppingmusical for MGM, tops himself this time, and Norman Taurog's direction is of a kind for beginners to study at length and emulate if they can. The screenplay by Fred Finklehoffe, based on a story by Guy Bolton and Jean Halloway adapted by Ben Feiner, Jr., is a clever mastering of a difficult subject. Robert Alton's direction of the musical numbers winds up in a photo-finish with perfection. Previewed at the Academy Awards theatre, Hollywood, ivhcre a capacity audience composed of press and profession beat its palms to a pulp. Reviewer's Rating : Superior. — William R. Weaver. Release date, December, 1948. Running time, 119 minutes. PCA No. 13475. General audience classification. I.orenz Hart Mickey Rooney Richard Rodgers Tom Drake Tune Allyson, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Lena Home. Ann Sothern. Perry Como, Cyd Charisse, Betty Gar rett, Vera-Eljen, Janet Leigh, Mel Torme, Marshall Thompson, Richard Quine, Clinton Sundberg, Harry Antrim, Ilka Gunning. Elmory Parnell, Helen Spring, Edward Earle, Dee Turnell, Allyn Ann McLerie, Blackburn Twins PRODUCT DIGEST SECTION, DECEMBER II, 1948 4417