Photoplay (Jul-Dec 1953)

BRIEF REVI EWS For fuller reviews, see photoplay for months indicated. For this month’s full reviews, see page 10 A — Adults F — Family AMBUSH AT TOMAHAWK GAP— Columbia, Technicolor: Lively, gory Western. Ex-cons John Derek, John Hodiak seek hidden loot. (F) July 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 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 COUNT THE HOURS — RKO: Acceptable suspense yarn. Held for murder, John Craven’s cleared by wife Teresa Wright, lawyer Mac Carey. (F) June 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 DESERT SONG. THE — Warners, Technicolor: Gordon MacRae, secret leader of an oppressed desert tribe, duets with Kathryn Grayson in a nice old-fashioned operetta. (F) July 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 FAST COMPANY — M-G-M: Trim, gay race-track comedy, with trainer Howard Keel and horseowner Polly Bergen feuding, romancing. Heiress Nina Foch chases Keel. ( F) July 5,000 FINGERS OF DR. T„ THE— Columbia, Technicolor: Wildly imaginative but clumsily executed musical fantasy. Little Tommy Rettig dreams lie’s jailed in a weird castle. (F) July GIRL NEXT DOOR, THE — 20th Century-Fox, Technicolor: Tuneful, likable love story of artist Dan Dailey, singer June Haver. ( F) July GLASS WALL, THE — U.A.: Unremarkable chase drama, shot in New York. Vittorio Gassman’s a D.P. aided by Gloria Grahame. (F) July HOUSE OF WAX — Warners; 3-D, WarnerColor: Standard chiller distinguished by depth. Maniac Vincent Price runs a gruesome museum. (F) July I BELIEVE IN YOU— Rank, U-I: Tender, convincing English movie. Probation officers Cecil Parker and Celia Johnson help two young delinquents, who fall in love. (A) July IT HAPPENS EVERY THURSDAY— U-I: Cheery, homespun story starring Loretta Young and attractive John Forsythe as a couple who buy a broken-down small-town newspaper. (F) July JAMAICA RUN — Paramount, Technicolor: Lurid murder mystery. Skipper Ray Milland’s opposite lovely Arlene Dahl, plantation-owner. (F) July 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 IN THE DARK — Columbia, 3-D: Unpretentious crime film with novelty value. Edmond O'Brien’s an ex-crook fighting amnesia. (F) July 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 NEVER LET ME GO — M-G-M: Slow-starting but adventure-filled at the finish. American newsman Clark Gable smuggles his Soviet bride. Gene Tierney, out of Russia. (F) July 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 PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET— 20th CenturyFox: Rough, rowdy, entertaining crook-spy yarn. Richard Widmark’s a pickpocket involved with Jean Peters, unwittingly a Red courier. (A) July PONY EXPRESS— Paramount, Technicolor: Weak Western. Charlton Heston. Forrest Tucker help the first riders carry the mail. iF) July 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 RAIDERS OF THE SEVEN SEAS— U.A., Technicolor: Routine swashbuckler. John Payne’s a privateer; Donna Reed, his captive. (F) July REMAINS TO BE SEEN — M-G-M: Slaphappy burlesque murder mystery, co-starring Van Johnson and singer-heiress June Allyson. ( F) July SALOME — Columbia, Technicolor: Lavish, wellmade, superficial Biblical epic. Rita Hayworth, Stewart Granger look handsome; Charles Laughton, Judith Anderson show their skill. (A) June SCARED STIFF — Wallis, Paramount: Up-tostandard Martin-Lewis farce has the boys battling fake ghosts on Liz Scott's behalf. (F) July SMALL TOWN GIRL — M-G-M. Technicolor: Jane Powell’s the girl; Farley Granger, the spoiled bigcity kid in a listless musical with pleasant songs and dances. < F) May SOMBRERO — M-G-M, Technicolor: Romance in Mexico, with a muddled story, brilliant settings. Ricardo Montalban tops a star-rich cast. (A) June SPLIT SECOND— RKO: Tense action story. Escaped convict Steve McNally captures Keith Andes and Jan Sterling as an A-blast looms. (F) June STORY OF THREE LOVES, THE— M-G-M. Technicolor: Arty episode film, highlighted by one strong suspense story with Kirk Douglas and Pier Angeli as daredevil aerialists. (A) June SYSTEM. THE — Warners; Sentimentalized racketbusting story with no punch. Frank Lovejoy s an implausible gambling boss. (A) May TITANIC— 20th Century-Fox: Taut, skillful dramatization of a real event. Aboard the doomed luxury liner, Barbara Stanwyck and Clifton Webb are an estranged couple. Bob Wagner and Audrey Dalton are young romancers. ( A) July TONIGHT WE SING— 20th Century-Fox, Technicolor: Classical numbers outweigh the slim story of impresario David Wayne and wife Anne Bancroft. Ezio Pinza’s impressive. ( F) ^IaY TROUBLE ALONG THE WAY— Warners: Deft sentimental comedy — “Going My Way' with football, John Wayne and Charles Coburn. (F) June VANQUISHED. THE— Paramount, Technicolor: Unconvincing meller-drama. Confederate vet John Payne defeats his town’s ruthless boss. (F) July WAR OF THE WORLDS. THE— Paramount. Technicolor: A Martian invasion with .tunning special effects, negligible human angle. F) June