Motion Picture Reviews (1943)

MOTION PICTURE REVIEWS Nine MYSTERY BROADCAST O O Frank Albertson, Ruth Terry, Nils Asther, Wynne Gibson, Paul Hervey, Mary Treen, Addison Richards. Original screen play by Dane Lussier. Direction by George Sherman. Republic. A radio author boasts that she will solve a real mystery and report on her next program. The radio angle is intriguing, but the ramifications of the plot are difficult to follow, and there is nothing outstanding in the production. It could justify its existence only as part of a double bill. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Matter of taste No. Confusing NORTH STAR O O Anne Baxter, Dana Andrews, Walter Huston, Walter Brennan, Ann Harding, Jane Withers, Farley Granger, Eric von Stroheim, Dean Jagger, Eric Roberts, Carl Benton Reid, Ann Carter. Original story and screen play by Lillian Heilman. Direction by Lewis Milestone. Sam Goldwyn Production. United Artists. “North Star” is a beautiful and moving film. It is a modern tragedy of the people of Russia, and shows the mighty efforts, effective and ineffective, by which all the men and women, and even children, are fighting the invaders. And it shows these Russians to be, in all essentials, much like ourselves, reacting much as Americans would react under similar circumstances. The story opens in a cooperative village on the border late in June when the schools are closing with appropriate ceremonies. Next day the villagers unite to load produce in box cars and later celebrate the harvest with feasting, folk dancing and merriment. On the following day a group of young people start on a hiking trip to Kiev, and then suddenly, without warning, war strikes. The plot is then concerned with the escape of the able bodied men into the hills to form a guerrilla army, and with the way in which the young people, caught on the road, manage to get a truck load of ammunition back to them. Lillian Heilman has written it well. She has dared to bring into the action the fact, little publicized, that the Nazis established a blood bank and used the children as donors, an exhibition so shocking that the villagers rose in wrath. With this scene the drama reaches its climax. The speech by Walter Huston seems incongruous in the midst of violent action, but it is strong and worth hearing. The dialogue is natural, lifting many scenes out of the ordinary. Photography often has the composition of fine paintings, and the excellent cast create ordinary people and show the impact of cataclysmic events upon them without becoming overdramatic. Aaron Copeland’s score is very fine. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Over 1 4 No NORTHERN PURSUIT O O Errol Flynn, Julie Bishop, Helmut Dantine, 'A||nx ujox ';Jeq>po-| euag 'A|a6p!y uqof Alex Craig, Rose Higgins, Warren Douglas, Bernard Nedell. Screen play by Frank Gruber and Alvah Bessie from story by Leslie White. Direction by Raoul Walsh. Warner Bros. This is strictly an adventure yarn with Errol Flynn as a swashbuckling Canadian Mountie concerned in tracking down Nazi saboteurs in the Northwest. There is considerable suspense and violent action amid superbly pictorial settings of the Hudson Bay region, and thrill seekers will not be disappointed. The superimposed ending is in bad taste, and the picture would have had more appeal had it been omitted. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Not recommended No OLD ACQUAINTANCE O <> Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, Gig Young, John Loder, Dolores Moran, Philip Reed. Screen play by John Van Druten and Lenore Coffee from the stage play by John Van Druten. Direction by Vincent Sherman. Warner Bros. “Old Acquaintance” is absorbing drama with a fine underlying theme: that a woman’s code of honor can be as strong as a man’s. Kit Marlowe is able to sacrifice her chance for a deep, lasting love, because she will not fall below the standards she has set for herself, although the woman she refuses to injure is shallow, grasping, the epitome of selfishness. A successful writer and an individualist, she is never smug or preachy, always able to laugh at herself, with a vital influence on those around her. Again, as years go by, when she has lavished her affection on her friend’s young daughter, she finds she must give up hope for a lesser happiness in marriage, because she would deprive her young protegee of her heart’s desire. Bette Davis gives a superb performance as Kit, and while Miriam Hopkins as Millie may seem to overact at times, the contrast between the two women is arresting. John Loder and Gig Young have dignity and charm, and Dolores Moran is pleasing, although not perfectly cast. Telling details set the various periods of the film: fine composition appears in the backgrounds; music is used sparingly but very well. The dialogue is unusually good. This is an outstanding picture with a fine philosophy of human relations. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Mature but no other No interest objection