Motion Picture Herald (1954)

other again and marry after a mad courtship. Engulfed by the social whirl, the drinking, the flirting, tragedy strikes. But an irresistible compulsion brings back the strayed lover to the scene of his first flaming meeting. Starring Elizabeth Taylor, Van Johnson, Walter Pidgeon, Donna Reed with Eva Gabor, Kurt Kasznar. Producer Jack Cummings. Director Richard Brooks. Screenplay by Julius J. and Philip G. Epstein and Richard Brooks, based on a story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. A screen masterpiece filmed in magnificent Technicolor in real Parisian locations. "BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK” ( CinemaScope — Color ) Spine-tingling suspense, the kind that makes movie hits, takes place amidst a brooding row of houses in a tiny desert town (especially constructed near Lone Pine, Cal.). Virtually every one of its handful of citizens is involved in a murder during a brutal outburst of mob violence. Four years later a stranger arrives. What happens is something for the goosepimples. Great Cast: Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan and Anne Francis, Dean Jagger, Walter Brennan, John Ericson, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin, Russell Collins. Producer Dore Schary. Director John Sturges. Screenplay by Millard Kaufman. CinemaScope and Color give bigness to a big theme. Adaptation by Don McGuire based on a story by Howard Breslin. "THE GLASS SLIPPER” (Color) As beloved “Lili” continues to enchant New York after a year and a half, the same star, producer, director and writer (who did ballet librettos, lyrics and screenplay) have collaborated on a new triumph. Appealing Leslie Caron, Edwin H. Knopf, Charles Walters, Helen Deutsch have done it again — aided by co-star Michael Wilding with Keenan Wynn, Elsa Lanchester, Barry Jones, plus the work of dancegenius Roland Petit featuring his world-famed Ballet de Paris. Leslie Caron is utterly adorable as the lonely scullery maid who overcomes untold obstacles of poverty and mistreatment and the competition of the favored girls to win the prize catch! Drama and dance and delicious humor, sadness and sigh-inducing romance to the music of Bronislau Kaper will keep audiences enthralled and uplifted. "ATHENA” (Color) Aptly described as “The Nature Girl With The Body Beautiful,” “ATHENA” is a refreshingly different kind of musical comedy enacted by a group of effervescent personalities who keep things fast-paced: Jane Powell, Edmund Purdom, Debbie Reynolds, Vic Damone, Louis Calhern with Linda Christian, Evelyn Varden, Ray Collins. Written by William Ludwig and Leonard Spigelgass. Produced by Joe Pasternak. Directed by Richard Thorpe. Print by Technicolor. Athena is one of seven daughters of a faddist colony and into this setting comes a pompous young lawyer who soon learns uninhibited and primitive ways of life and love. Beautiful nature girls, hilarious activities of the faddist colony, add up to an appealing love story, an attraction for young and old. Songs by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane. "THE PRODIGAL” (CinemaScope — Color) One of the great film spectacles of all time. Lana Turner is the pagan beauty. Edmund Purdom is the prodigal son. Co-starring Louis Calhern with Audrey Dalton, James Mitchell, Neville Brand, Walter Hampden, Taina Elg, Francis L. Sullivan, Joseph Wiseman, Sandra Descher. Breathtaking scenes: Heathen Temples of the ancient Idol-Gods, Baal and Astarte; the teeming streets of Damascus and all the fabulous settings that occupy more than 400,000 square feet outdoors and four of the world’s largest indoor stages. There are 18 speaking parts and in its spectacular scenes 4,000 extras are employed. Producer Charles Schnee. Director Richard Thorpe. Screenplay by Maurice Zimm. Prepare for a CinemaScope and Color attraction beyond your wildest imagination. Adaptation from the Bible story by Joe Breen, Jr. and Samuel James Larsen. IN PRODUCTION! “HIT THE DECK” (CinemaScope ■ Color) — Not since “Anchors Aweigh” such rollicking entertainment. Three sailors on the loose in ’Frisco meet a night club singer, an actress and the Admiral’s daughter. Starring Jane Powell, Tony Martin, Debbie Reynolds, Walter Pidgeon, Vic Damone, Gene Raymond, Ann Miller, Russ Tamblyn with Kay Armen, J. Carrol Naish, Richard Anderson, Jane Darwell. Screenplay by Sonya Levien and William Ludwig, based on the musical play “Hit The Deck” by Herbert Fields, presented on the stage by Vincent Youmans from “Shore Leave” by Hubert Osborne. Joe Pasternak, producer. Roy Rowland, director. 14 top songs from the master, Vincent Youmans. Lyrics by Leo Robin, Clifford Grey and Irving Caesar, choreography by Hermes Pan. “MOONFLEET” (CinemaScope-Color) — Great story of daring exploits with its background of rugged English Coast and its story of a young boy and the man he idolizes, a brooding adventure in a strangely contrasting triangle of exotic women. The cast: Stewart Granger, Viveca Lindfors, George Sanders, Joan Greenwood with Jon Whiteley, Melville Cooper. Screenplay by Jan Lustig and Margaret Fitts based on the novel by J. Meade Falkner. Producer John Houseman. Director Fritz Lang. “IT’S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER” (CinemaScope-Color) Another Big musical under way. Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, Cyd Charisse, Dolores Gray and Michael Kidd. Producer Arthur Freed. Directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. Written by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. “INTERRUPTED MELODY” (CinemaScope-Color) — Curtis Bernhardt, director, and Jack Cummings, producer, are making a picture with the promise of “The Great Caruso.” It is based on the dramatic life story of Marjorie Lawrence, opera star, who overcame disaster at the height of her career. Starring Glenn Ford, Eleanor Parker with Roger Moore and Cecil Kellaway. Written by William Ludwig and Sonya Levien. In the Culling Rooms: “GREEN FIRE” (CinemaScope-Color) — High adventure in the quest for an emerald mine. Filmed in South America, it stars Stewart Granger, Grace Kelly, Paul Douglas, John Ericson with Murvyn Vye and hundreds of others. Andrew Marton, director. Armand Deutsch, producer. Written for the ✓ > screen by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts. “MANY RIVERS TO CROSS” (CinemaScope-Color) — Fast-moving action picture rich with laughter, romance, suspense. Colorful background of pioneer America. Starring Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker with Victor McLaglen, Russ Tamblyn, Jeff Richards, James Arness. Producer, Jack Cummings. Director, Roy Rowland. Screenplay by Harry Brown and Guy Trosper based on a story by Steve Frazee. SOMETHING TO REMEMBER: Preparing “BEN-HUR” in the fabulous dimensions of CinemaScope, Color and with Stereophonic Sound! YOUR FUTURE: Hitch your wagon to +he Studio of the Stars!