Showmen's Trade Review (Jan-Mar 1947)

34A SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, January 4, 1947 Queen for a Night Saga Films Operetta 89 mins. (Swedish Dialogue, English Titles) AUDIENCE SLANT: (Adult) Excellent music and singing with a standard operetta plot, and the usual operetta style of a ting. Art theatre audiences should enjoy it. 'BOX-OFFICE SLANT: Not too good for average American audiences. Might do all right in art theatres. Cast: Gurlie Lemon Bernhard, Gosta Bjoerling, Inga Brink, Gosta Kjellertz, Torsten Winge, Hilding Gavle, Ake Soderblom, Thor Modeen, Weyler Hildebrand, with the orchestra, chorus and ballet of the Royal Opera of Stockholm. Credits: Scenario by Gardar Sahlberg from a story by George Martens. Music by Jules Sylvain. Lyrics by Sven Olof Sandbergg, Karl-Ewert and Nils Thoren. Directed by Willy Hildebrand. Conducted by Nils Grevillius. Plot: In Vienna in 1785 a young tenor is heard singing by a soprano who is about to go to Stockholm to sing for the king. She gets the young singer to accompany her (Stockholm is his home) and they both are heard at court. The young tenor is in love with a seamstress, but forgets her temporarily in his infatuation for the soprano. It is through the king's understanding that they are brought together again. Comment: While the music is excellent and the singing superb the story is out of the standard operetta book and is much too long for average American audiences' thorough enjoyment. There are some fairly risque situations and extreme decolletage that could not possibly get by the Johnston office if they were to occur in American films, but apparently they have been overlooked here. The performance of "The Triumph of Venus" before the Stockholm court in a beautiful outdoor garden is the film's outstanding sequence. It is really superb singing, ballet, chorus and orchestral music. As a whole "Queen for a Night" is not suited for average American audiences. It could do all right, however, in the so-called "art" theatres. Duel in the Sun (Technicolor) Selznick Releasing Organization Western Drama 138 mins. AUDIENCE SLANT: (Adult) Sex appeal, heart appeal, great performances, dramatic impact and technical perfection all combine to make this David O. Selznick production a western drama that will attract audiences and win enthusiastic approval of all types of people. Definitely ranks as one of this year's top contenders for the Academy Award. BOX-OFFICE SLANT: The inevitable conclusion is that this Technicolor picture is certain to pile up tremendous grosses in all situations. Few films have been so strongly publicized in advance, and it is this factor, plus the outstanding star cast and the picture's other attributes that will place it in the top money class. Cast: Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Gregory Peck, Lionel Barrymore, Lillian Gish, Walter Huston, Herbert Marshall, Charles Bickford, Joan Tetzel, Harry Carey, Otto Kruger, Sidney Blackmer, Tilly Losch, Scott McKay, Butterfly McQueen, Francis McDonald, Victor Kilian, Griff Barnett, Frank Cordell, Dan White, Steve Dunhill, Lane Chandler, Lloyd Shaw, Thomas Dillon, Robert McKenzie, Charles Dingle. Credits: Produced by David O. Selznick. Directed by King Vidor. Screenplay by David O. Selznick. Suggested by a novel by Niven Busch. Adapted by Oliver H. P. Garrett. Second units directed by Otto Brower and Reaves Eason. Directors of photography, Lee Garmes, Hal Rosson and Ray Renahan. Additional photographers, Charles P. Boyle and Allen Davey. Art direction, James Basevi. Associate, John Ewing. Special photographic effects, Clarence Slifer, Jack Cosgrove. Music written and conducted by Dimitri Tiomkin. Technicolor director, Natalie Kalmus. Associate, Morgan Padelford. Solo dances creates by Tilly Losch. Group dances by Lloyd Shaw. Song, Gotta Get Me Somebody to Love, by Allie Wrubel. Plot: Story of the tragedy brought about in the home of a wealthy Texan and his two sons by a young half-breed Indian girl. She falls in love with the good son but is seduced by the bad, causing one brother to shoot the other. The picture ends with the bad son and Indian girl killing each other. Comment: Producer Selznick has done it again. He has turned out a picture that will be referred to as a western, but one that reaches far above the limitations implied by such classification. If we should still refer to it as a western, we must say that it is unquestionably one of the finest ever made. The producer has lavished it with everything a motion picture needs to attract audiences and win enthusiastic approval of all types of people. There is, consequently, the inevitable conclusion that "Duel in the Sun" will pile up tremendous grosses. The picture has sex appeal, heart appeal; is so vital with life and color. And added to these merits are great performances, dramatic impact, technical perfection. "Duel in the Sun," therefore, automatically falls into the "must see" class. It goes without saying that the picture definitely ranks as one of the top contenders for this year's Academy Award. It is not a picture from which to choose a particular performance or sequence for special mention, because everything about it seems perfect: starcasting, unusually splendid direction, Technicolor photography. Each individual in the superb cast delivers an inspired performance. Which is to say that Jennifer Jones, Gregory Peck, Joseph Cotten, Walter Huston, Lionel Barrymore, Lillian Gish, down to Butterfly McQueen, all reach the heights of dramatic portrayal. It is hard to believe that Miss Jones is the same person who played the innocent young girl in "The Song of Bernadette," so convincing and graphic is she here as the seductive, untamed sexy wench, a characterization she plays with such sincerity of performance. Peck will prove equally versatile to those who have seen his other splendid performances. The action sequences involve a tremendous number of extras, all of whom have been handled expertly by Director King Vidor. Working Theatremen Need, Use and Rely Upon the Every-Week Booking Guide Service Offered by SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW Starts on Page 42 Stagecoach to Denver Republic Western 56 mins. AUDIENCE SLANT: (Family) Red Ryder and his little pal "Beaver" provide good entertainment and action for the followers of this series. BOX-OFFICE SLANT: Should do the same business at the box-office as previous offerings. Cast: Allan Lane, Bobby Blake, Martha Wentworth, Roy Barcroft, Peggy Stewart, Emmett Lynn, Ted Adams, Edmund Cobb, Tom Chatterton, Bobby Hyatt, George Chesebro, Edward Cassidy, Wheaton Chambers, Forrest Taylor. Credits: Directed by R. G. Springsteen. Original screenplay by Earle Snell. Based on Fred Harmon's famous NEA Comic, by special arrangement with Stephen Slesinger. Photography, Edgar Lyons. Associate producer, Sidney Picker. Plot: This Red Ryder adventure involves the clearing up of a gang of crooks who are grabbing all the land in the immediate territory. At the same time, Red Ryder has to get a young orphan boy to his aunt after the child's parents are killed. Comment: In this latest offering of the Red Ryder series, the fans will find plenty of excitement. There's a little more sob stuff in this release, for it involves the welfare of a little orphan boy; but there are also the usual amount of hard-riding, swift and accurate shooting and the other heroics Ryder is called on to perform in his efforts to curb the nefarious deeds of a gang of crooks. Allan Lane is smooth and capable as Ryder, with Bobby Blake and Martha Wentworth again giving satisfactory accounts of themselves as "Little Beaver" and "The Duchess." Roy Barcroft does his villainy with ability and Peggy Stewart is good enough to be taken out of westerns and put in other, more important parts. The regulars, like Emmett Lynn and the gang members, all handle their roles in the accepted manner. R. G. Springsteen gave the picture fast-paced direction. Dead Reckoning Columbia Drama 99 mins. AUDIENCE SLANT: (Adult) A lot of Humphrey Bogart combined with an actionful story, with Lizabeth Scott for the romantic element make this a film that should entertain average audiences. 'BOX-OFFICE SLANT: The initial draw is contained in the marquee names. And with plentiful exploitation the picture should do average business. Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lizabeth Scott, Morris Carnovsky, Charles Kane, William Prince, Marvin Miller, Wallace Ford, James Bell, George Chandler, William Forrest, Ruby Dandridge. Credits: Screenplay by Oliver H. P. Garrett and Steve Fisher. Adaptation by Allen Rivkin. Story by Gerald Adams and Sidney Biddell. Musical score by Marlin Skiles. Musical director, M. W. Stoloff. Produced by Sidney Biddell. Directed by John Cromwell. Plot: Paratroopers Humphrey Bogart and William Prince, about to be discharged from the Army, have been ordered to Washington on an A-l priority to be decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross and Congressional Medal of Honor, respectively. Prince jumps the train and disappears, how