Photoplay (Jul-Dec 1953)
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BRIEF REVI EWS
For fuller reviews, see photoplay for months indicated. For this month’s full reviews, see page 16
A — Adults F — Family
'
ALL ASHORE — Columbia, Technicolor: Pleasant, tuneful tale of three sailors’ shore leave. Mickey Rooney. Dick Haymes, Ray McDonald. (F) April
BATTLE CIRCUS— M-G-M: The Korean war is soft-pedaled; tile engaging romance of Bogart and nurse June Allyson is played up. (A) May
BLUE GARDENIA, THE — Warners: Unsurprising mystery. Anne Baxter’s a murder suspect; Richard Conte. Ann Sothern save her. (A) June
BRIGHT ROAD — M-G-M: Gentle story of a “problem” boy (Philip Hepburn) and an understanding teacher (Dorothy Dandridge). (F) June
BWANA DEVIL — Oboler, U. A.; AnseoColor, Natural Vision: Crude, pioneer 3-D drama of lion-hunting, with Bob Stack. (F) May
BY THE LIGHT OF THE SILVERY MOON— Warners, Technicolor: Slow but amiable tune-film of love and family problems after World War I. Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Billy Gray. (F) June
CALL ME MADAM — 20th Century-Fox, Technicolor: Magnificent musical. Ethel Merman’s terrific as a lady ambassador; George Sanders, VeraEllen, Donald O’Connor charm you. (F) June
CINERAMA — Cinerama Productions, color: No story, but plenty of excitement. Amazing new technique using a huge curved screen is now showing in New York, Detroit, Los Angeles. (F) January
CITY BENEATH THE SEA— U-I. Technicolor: Sprawling adventure-romance. Bob Ryan, Anthony Quinn play deep-sea divers. (F) April
CONFIDENTIALLY CONNIE— M-G-M: Gay little comedy. Prof. Van Johnson and wife Janet Leigh cope with living costs (especially meat) ; rancher Louis Calhern intervenes. (F) April
COUNT THE HOURS— RKO: Acceptable suspense yarn. Held for murder, John Craven’s cleared by wife Teresa Wright, lawyer Mac Carey. (F) June
CRASH OF SILENCE — see review for STORY OF MANDY, THE.
CRY OF THE HUNTED— M-G-M: Mild action tale. Barry Sullivan as pursuer, Vittorio Gassman as fugitive are both sympathetic. (F) June
DESERT LEGION — U-I, Technicolor: Innocent thriller. Ladd’s in the Foreign Legion; Arlene Dahl’s a Shangri-La princess. (F) June
DESERT RATS, THE — 20th Century-Fox: Crisp, expert war film. Richard Burton defends Tobruk against Rommel (again James Mason). (F) June
DESTINATION GOBI — 20th Century-Fox, Technicolor: Ripping adventure yarn, rich in humor, good acting, fine scenery. Widmark leads a Yank weather unit in wartime Mongolia. (F) June
GIRL WHO HAD EVERYTHING, THE— M-G-M:
Weak, pointless love story of socialite Liz Taylor and racketeer Fernando Lamas. (A) June
GIRLS OF PLEASURE ISLAND, THE— Paramount, Technicolor: Marines find the girls in a disappointing comedy. With Leo Genn. (F) June
GUNSMOKE — U-I, Technicolor: Fast, witty Western, starring Audie Murphy as a gun-slinger tricked into respectability by Paul Kelly. Dashes of sex: Susan Cabot, Mary Castle. (F) May
I CONFESS — Warners: Absorbing but shakily plotted thriller about a young priest involved in a murder. Fine acting by Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter, Karl Malden. (A) May
I LOVE MELVIN — M-G-M, Technicolor: Airy, youthful tune-film with lovable co-stars. Donald O'Connor makes a cover girl of Debbie Reynolds, movie-struck chorine. (F) April
LAW AND ORDER — U-I, Technicolor: Ambling Western. Marshal Ronald Reagan comes out of retirement to lick Preston Foster. (F) June
LILI — M-G-M, Technicolor: Delicate, charming romance-with-music. Leslie Caron’s a delight as a shy waif who works for the dour puppet-master (Mel Ferrer) of a French carnival. (F) May
LONE HAND — U-I, Technicolor: Neat, likable open-spaces melodrama. Little Jimmy Hunt thinks Pop Joel McCrea has turned bandit. (F) June
MA AND PA KETTLE ON VACATION— U-I: Funny, good-natured hokum gets the KilbrideMain team tangled with a Paris spy ring. (F) May
MAN ON A TIGHTROPE — 20th Century-Fox: Sly, picturesque, suspenseful tale of a small circus’ escape from red Czechoslovakia. Top portrayals by Fredric March, Gloria Grahame. (A) June
MEMBER OF THE WEDDING, THE— Kramer, Columbia: Shapeless but often touching story of a troubled adolescent (Julie Harris), with magnificent acting by Ethel Waters. (A) April
MOULIN ROUGE — U. A., Technicolor: Subtle color and rich Parisian atmosphere overshadow Jose Ferrer’s portrayal of Toulouse-Lautrec, the tragic, deformed painter. (A) March
OFF LIMITS — Paramount: Bob Hope and a meek new Mickey Rooney join the MP’s to provide a lot of laughs, a few slack spots. (F) May
PETER PAN — Disney, RKO; Technicolor: Enchanting cartoon feature based on the beloved Barrie fantasy of eternal childhood. Peter, Wendy, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook come alive to the tune of many sprightly songs. (F) February
PRESIDENT’S LADY, THE— 20th Century-Fox: Susan Hayward and Charlton Heston as Rachel and Andrew Jackson in the exciting, highly emotional story of a famous marriage. (F) June
SALOME — Columbia, Technicolor: Lavish, well made, superficial Biblical epic. Rita Hayworth Stewart Granger look handsome; Charles Laugh ton, Judith Anderson show their skill. (A) Jum
SEMINOLE — U-I, Technicolor: Satisfactory actioi yarn of Indian warfare in the swamps, with Rod Hudson, Anthony Quinn. (F) Mai
SHE’S BACK ON BROADWAY— Warners. War
nercolor: Slight but bright backstage tale. Tryinj a comeback, has-been movie star Virginia Mayi feuds with ex-lover Steve Cochran. (F) Apri
SMALL TOWN GIRL— M-G-M, Technicolor: Jan. Powell’s the girl; Farley Granger, the spoiled big city kid in a listless musical with pleasant song and dances. (F) Ma;
SOMBRERO — M-G-M, Technicolor: Romance ii Mexico, with a muddled story, brilliant settings Ricardo Montalban tops a star-rich cast. (A) Jun.
SPLIT SECOND — RKO: Tense action story. E; caped convict Steve McNally captures Keith Ande and Jan Sterling as an A-blast looms. (F) Jun
STARS ARE SINGING, THE— Paramount, Tech nicolor: Warm, charmingly informal musical with Rosemary Clooney as a singer who help refugee-singer Anna Maria Alberghetti. (F) Apri
STORY OF MANDY, THE— Rank, U-I: The edi cation of a deaf child (Mandy Miller) is deepl affecting; the marital problem of Mom, Phylli Calvert, less so. British-made. (F) Ma
STORY OF THREE LOVES, THE— M-G-M, Teel nicolor: Arty episode film, highlighted by on strong suspense story with Kirk Douglas and Pie I Angeli as daredevil aerialists. (A) Jun
SYSTEM, THE — Warners: Sentimentalized racke busting story with no punch. Frank Lovejoy’s a implausible gambling boss. (A) Ma
TAXI — 20th Century-Fox: Amusing though dims ly plotted. Dan Dailey, obliging New York hacki helps just-off-the-boat colleen Constance Smith i search for missing husband. (F) Apr
TONIGHT WE SING— 20th Century-Fox, Teel nicolor: Classical numbers outweigh the slim stoi of impresario David Wayne and wife Anne Bai croft. Ezio Pinza’s impressive. (F) Mt
TROUBLE ALONG THE WAY— Warners: De sentimental comedy — “Going My Way” with foe ball, John Wayne and Charles Coburn. (F) Jut
WAR OF THE WORLDS. THE— Paramount, Tec nicolor: A Martian invasion with stunning speci effects, negligible human angle. (F) Jui