Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1955)

IN/ION/ 1 ES continued Six Bridges to Cross u-i kW A crackerjack cops-and-robbers yarn gives Tony Curtis and George Nader their best roles, and they share the plaudits gracefully. Nader makes a stalwart yet troubled figure of the Boston cop who seriously wounds an escaping juvenile delinquent — and thereafter feels responsible for the boy. Tony plays the hoodlum as teenager and grownup. Willing to turn stool pigeon whenever it suits his purposes, friendly toward the conscientious Nader, Though Tony has repeatedly broken promises, he asks for George Nader’s help once more Tony promises reform from time to time, but remains a hopeless crook. He’s thoroughly convincing as the flippant smalltimer. not so believable as the mature mastermind who plots a fabulous robbery suggestive of the Brink armored-car holdup. Julie (ex-Julia) Adams has the only important feminine role as Nader’s wife. Tersely realistic most of the way, the film later goes a bit soft. adult Vera Cruz u.a.; superscope, technicolor V'V'V'V' The names of Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster attached to a single film suggest a feast of lusty action, and that’s what you get. After the Civil War, American adventurers drift down to join the fight between Mexican patriots and the forces of Emperor Maximilian. Gary’s a Southern gentleman; Burt, a totally unprincipled rogue. Both hire out to the side offering the best wages — the foreign ruler’s, represented by Cesar Romero as a dandified nobleman, smarter than he seems. The ladies of the story also keep the audience guessing about their motives. Beautiful Sarita Montiel (a star in Spanish-language films) is a fiery Mexican. Denise Darcel is a French countess supposedly loyal to Maximilian. All the principals wind up convoying a shipment of Mexican gold to be used to keep Mexico in bondage. But their interest in the gold has fascinating variations. Against real south-of-the-border backgrounds, the film ends in a fine flare of gunplay. family Bad Day at Black Rock m-c-m; cinema scope, EASTMAN COLOR V'W' Beginning in a cloud of mystification, this offbeat modern-day Western picks up speed and suspense as its plot gradually takes shape. Spencer Tracy, war veteran with a useless left arm, comes to a tiny desert town in search of a Japanese farmer. He finds the townspeople evasive or downright hostile, and soon realizes that they’re covering up a past crime. Robert Ryan, dominating the town with easy arrogance, emerges as Tracy’s chief antagonist; veterinary Walter Brennan, as his chief ally. But until the finish it isn’t clear just where the aggressive Anne Francis and her weakling brother (John Ericson) line up. family Young at Heart warners, warnercolor k'W' Doris Day and Frank Sinatra team engagingly in a musical romance that goes its leisurely way with open sentimentality. With sisters Dorothy Malone and Elisabeth Fraser, dad Robert Keith and aunt Ethel Barrymore, Doris lives an idyllic small-town life. The peace is disturbed by the arrival of a dashing composer (Gig Young) and his cynical arranger (Sinatra). Devoted sisters suddenly become secret rivals, and various quirks of circumstance lead to Doris’ elopement with Frank. It’s a difficult marriage, for he makes a hobby of self-pity. (If the plot sounds familiar to long-time moviegoers, that’s because it’s inspired by 1938’s “Four Daughters,” with the late John Garfield in Sinatra’s role.) family The Silver Chalice WARNERS ; CINEMA SCOPE, WARNERCOLOR V'V’V' Early Christianity and the Roman Empire clash again in an expansive spectacle, with some of the most beautiful sets ever seen on film. Paul Newman (known to TV-viewers) plays a sculptor of Antioch, assigned by the disciples to fashion a chalice in which the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper will be enshrined. But the cup must be guarded from forces that want to destroy it. These are led by Jack Palance, as a magician employing trickery to gain political power. His assistant is voluptuous Virginia Mayo, Paul’s childhood sweetheart. Paul’s other love (Pier Angeli) pulls him toward Christianity. The story, however, is overshadowed by the backgrounds. With no attempt at realism, they are stark and striking. family Doctor in the House rank, republic; TECHNICOLOR PW' The science of medicine, usually regarded with reverence in movies, takes a ribbing in this loosely organized but chucklesome British film. Among the young medical students who are seen going through their five-year course, only Dirk Bogarde takes his future profession seriously. One of his roommates (Kenneth More) is studying medicine merely because the terms of a will give him an income while he is a student — so he has no desire to graduate. Another (Donald Sinden) neglects his books to chase women. There’s plenty of juvenile horseplay, and more laughs come along when Dirk’s worldly roommates try to find a girl f him. James Robertson Justice is a d light as a domineering surgeon. ADl The Americano rko, Eastman col PW' With many vivid on-location sho a Brazilian-style Western gives Glenn Fo a vigorous adventure assignment. A Tex rancher, he crosses the jungle to deliv four prize bulls to a Brazilian buyer. Ai he finds himself in the middle of a ran war, with Frank Lovejoy as a land-hung cattle baron, who despises the nesters ai covets the small ranch owned by Ursi Thiess. Cesar Romero enlivens the pi ceedings as a swashbuckling despera whose real character isn’t revealed t near the finish. FAM, Black Tuesday i Vv'V The violent account of a breakc from the death house sends Edward Robinson back to his old routine, as braggart gang-leader, and he’s adept ever. With him goes another condemn man — a cold young killer, neatly portray by Peter Graves to suggest some fa spark of decency. Among the hosta; taken by the fugitives are Jack Kelly, a cub reporter, Sylvia Findley, as guard’s daughter, and Milburn Stone, the prison chaplain. fam Underwater! rko; superscope, technico PW With sprightly Jane Russell, attr tive Richard Egan and debonair Gilb Roland, a treasure-hunt tale makes way affably across the screen. Fora Finding no privacy on their ship, Dick E and wife Jane consider making a trip asi Navy frogmen, Egan and Roland wan dive after riches that sank centuries ] with a Spanish galleon in the Caribbi As Dick’s wife, Jane has little enthusi for the scheme, though it’s endorsed a science-minded priest (Robert Kei But fisherman Joseph Calleia takes a ister interest in the search. Oh y< Lori Nelson is on hand. The expedi needs a boat, and she happens to be t nical owner of a yacht. She is also ’ decorative. Tension builds up in bre taking undersea shots; easygoing dialc adds pleasant touches of humor, fa