Motion Picture Reviews (1941)

Six MOTION PICTURE REVIEWS the early days of the Hudson’s Bay Company. Like some of the others it is not a very definite or complete history, but it serves to whet an interest in the subject which should lead to further study and investigation, and surely no one who sees this film will forget that the company was founded and its policy set by Pierre Esprit Radisson. When this humble French Canadian trader discovered a region where beavers, minks and sables existed in fabulous numbers he sought to interest the French in a largescale trade project, but they set upon him and plundered him. However, with a few companions he escaped to England on a sailing vessel with a large enough cargo of furs to interest King Charles the Second, under whose reign the Hudson’s Bay Company was chartered. He was noted not only for his vision in developing the country but for his fairness in dealing with the Indians, a characteristic exemplified in the picture by the shooting of a disgruntled and treacherous Englishman of noble lineage who had given the natives fire-water in return for furs. Thereby Radisson prevented a cruel and bloody warfare. Throughout the picture interest is focussed on the pair of traders, Paul Muni as Radisson and the gigantic Cregar as Gooseberry. John Sutton satisfactorily plays Lord Crewe who has been banished from England but returns to act as a sort of liaison official with people at court and to provide the hero of a love story. The two ladies are attractive but given scant attention; after all they have little to do with an epic of the wilderness. Vincent Price offers a clever piece of acting as King Charles, and Nigel Bruce and Montagu Love are polished in their roles. But interest in the two trappers remains paramount. This is a different Muni than any which has appeared before, thoroughly French-Canadian in appearance, lithe in his deerskin jacket and leggings, swarthy, even a shade dirty, shrewd, resourceful, with a quick tongue and a twinkle in his eye, a man who considers it a compliment to be called a rogue and yet one who has the greatest integrity in his dealings with the Indians and a powerful love for his country of the North. His constant companion is Laird Cregar as Gooseberry, an enormous creature who knocks men’s heads together with relish and bursts all barriers with ease, meanwhile remaining as good-natured as the friar of Robin Hood. In settings there is a great contrast from the primitive reaches of Canada to the elaborate court of England, but both are well done, and the direction shows zest and originality. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Good Long. Might be tiring KEEPING COMPANY O O Frank Morgan, Ann Rutherford, John Shelton, Irene Rich, Gene Lockhart, Virginia Weidler, Virginia Grey, Dan Daily, Jr. Screen story by Herman J. Mankiewicz. Direction by S. Sylvan Simon. M.-G.-M. There is little new in human affairs in this simple story of courtship, marriage, quarrels and reconciliation, but it manages to be interesting. In the first place it has one of the most agreeable casts ever brought together in a family picture. Irene Rich, Frank Morgan, Virginia Weidler — all are delightfully spontaneous. Gene Lockhart even makes a Babbitt}’ motor car dealer worth listening to, and Virginia Grey is an unusual sort of vamp, a very new 1941 edition. The director has done well in distributing interest among the various characters so that no one holds the spot-light too long. It is not a big picture at all, but it has a sincerity and charm which will endear it to many when more ambitious films pass unsung. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Amusing Too mature KITTY FOYLE O O Ginger Rogers, Dennis Morgan, James Craig, Eduardo Cianelli, Ernest Cossart, Gladys Cooper, Odette Myrtil, Mary Treen, Katherine Stevens, Walter Kingsford, Cecil Cunningham, Nella Walker, Edward Fielding, Kay Linaker, Richard Nichols, Florence Bates. From the novel by Christopher Morley. Screen play by Dalton Trumbo. RKORadio. Beautifully acted, faultlessly directed and perfectly adapted to the screen, “Kitty Foyle" should have more appeal to the general public than the novel because, while it is still the poignant, dramatic story of a girl’s life, it is not the somewhat embarrassing experience of a too intimate insight into her soul. The film has made certain concessions to the screen in altering the plot, but the adaptation is a masterly one. It retains the essential problems and presents them in perfect taste. The story is of the love of a “white collar girl’’ for a man who is so tied by convention and family pride that he cannot break away, although his love for her is the only really fine thing in his life. The other man in the story is an outspoken doctor who tries to erase from the girl’s mind the years of her devotion to the socialite. Each offers her the best he has, and not until the last line does the audience know how she decides her course. Ginger Rogers gives a magnificent performance, a searching, honest and beautiful portrayal of a deeply sincere woman. Her philosophical discussions with her reflections in the mirror are an effective method of expressing her thoughts and presenting her problems. The men are ideally cast: Dennis