Variety (Jul 1946)

10 PICTURED Wednesday, July 3* 1946 Film Reviews Of Human lloiiringff Los Angeles, July 2 Wnrncra ivlen«c at -Henry li>:uikc pr.xliu- Star* Kleauor I'arker. I'niil lli-iucnl .lullIs IViKC I'a.lrie lifienxul. Directed by .1. jWivIs Smith: features rMinun.l 'i:«cnii. Knowles. Henry M' 1 - Kdmtinri • liiiuMiiic- .Sciecnnbiy, ratbcrhio ■rni'ii.-y. from »" v ';' l.v Sonifiwt Miiuiiham; rnincM.. I evi i. It Mai-lev; music, Krli-li WolfcniiK Uoi nBiild. editor. Clarence Knlslcr. n-.ide»liovvii n I.os AnKOlcv July. i; ItiuiniKB .lime. lOH MINS. of Night (.BRITISH-MADE) rii:v'«-i>:ii release of .-Mlchnel 'Balcon (J. At.hilt U.iitk'l^ilihK Studios) -production. Star* Mcrvyn .lnhnti. Michael KedKraVc; Iraiilri-M l-n'derioU ■ .VnlK.' .Itolulld Culver, Viilliony ll.ih-il, Google. Withers. Directed l.\ i*a.\ alciinli.. llris.ll' Uenrdon. Jltilicrl liamci-. Si-ieeniilay by.John Ualne.«: Augntf Mtul'hail. ban-d on original stories by K. V: i:,'ns<;n. Maine, Mucrrmll; editor. Charles j Il.i.-sv; lauiera, Jiick- Turker, H. J.iillu 1 Mildred nosere. l'hilln Cnrcy.... Niirn Neublt.... Ailielny.. Siillv Alhclny.... CrimthK Dr. Tyi-ell.. DunKiord: .Mrs. Alhclny... Mrs. Foreman.. ■ Mrs. tlrny Kmll Miller...'., landlady .'• ■ ':-. Eleanor Parker ' l'aill lli'llli'lil :...'.Alexis Smith . .IMiiinilii Owi'iin ,. . . . .Jillll* I'lliKU . .I'airlc Knnwli'ii llcnrv Stephenson ..Mnrlen '■J.niiionl lsobcl Klsom ....Una O'Connor .......Kva .Moure . .lilchnrd Niicmt . .Dorl» l.Ioyd Heavy drama with enough femme interest to assure average returns in most situations, this is a remake: of the Somerset Maugham novel, first screened 12 years 'ago. .Exploitable angles are strong enough to make for okay b.o. possibilities, even though what transpires is never as gripping as it could have been. Story has been given excellent period, mounting to fit early London background, is wellr played and directed in individual se- quences, but lacks overall smooth- ness. Top roles go to Eleanor Parker, as the tart; Paul Henreid, the sensitive artist-doctor, and Alexis Smith, nov-- elist. A third femme love interest is Janis Page. Three femmes represent various loves that enter life of Hen- reid, frustrated artist, but major in- terest is concentrated on character played by Miss Parker and how she affects Henreid's happiness. Soften- ing of censorable angles in the Maug- ham novel to meet screen require- ments has lessened adult interest considerably, script necessarily hav- ing to quibble at the facts of life in story 'development. KcolKes Aurlb—jiliiyod' by l.u'ndnu Svinplionv oivh. Tradeshown. N. Y:.' June- "'•■111: Hllimlng Ume, 73 MINS. IMmlr tirahiKcr.. .hum Cortland.... .. >lax\vell l-'i-ere..... Sully o'll.ua...'... Waller OralK Kllul rolcy.. Dr. Van Strnalen. .Mrs. V'olcy ......... Dr. Albury... Joyce CaiiiKc'l . ... lit-.ili-'e Driver .Mrs. O'lliirn. ... J inuny Waisoh... Anlliiuc Llcnler. .-.. Ilflll:-ll ..: .M:i\lL'li-e llteoll. .'. . Syjvcster Kee..... ■'Hurry I'arker.... Mrs. lYuiff ... I'eter Cortland,.., .Antony Halrd ... .CooKle Withers .Michael. IXeilKrave . .Sally Ann Howes . ;..:Mervyii Johns .. . . .'lioland. Culver ....Frederick Valk .. Mary Mvrrnll . .Hubert Wyndlinin .Judy Kelly .....Miles Mnllcnin .....lUrbaru Leaks .... .MUhacI Allan . . .. .Hsrne l'en-y ...Ullsiibelh. Welch ...'... .Allan .Teayes Hartley Power ..'....Gurry Mnr.«h .ltcnce (Tudo .....nnlph Michael "Dead of Night," latest Rank pic released in. America by- Universal, shapes up. as another of .those un- heralded British pix that emerge as sleepers, a la "39 Steps," "Night Train," etc. Dealing in psychic phe- nomena and the super-natural, it's an unusual picture, ve/y well-pro- duced and well-acted. Its .word-of- mouth should, be excellent. Film preomed at the Winter Gar- den,. N. Y>, Friday (28) to standee business and exhibs can probably- best base their publicity on. the line adopted by that house. Management took special ads in the N. Y. dailies, clainiinfi that "if you like something different in your motion pictures, then we guarantee that you will like •Dead of Night.' If you're expecting 'Dead of Night' to be the usual, con- vcniional motion picture, please pass it up." Some form of special publicity will Miniature Reviews "Of Human Bondage" (WB). Rcmiike ofSomerset Maugham novel-shapes up for nominal b.o. returns. "The Tiidei-cover Woraan" iRep i. Noally-spaced comedy '.whodunit, good for lesser situa- tions. "Dead of Night" (U-Rank). Unusual '.British: lllm may prove a sleeper in ihe U. S. "Queen of Burlesque"'(Songs) (PRC). Routine murder story with binlycue background good for exploitation selling. .. .VWest of the Alamo" (Mono) iSohg.s). Mild western starring ■Jimmy Wakely. ; ."Vertigo" (Clasii). Maria Felix, Emilio Tueto and. Lilia Michel fail to help this Mexican-made tragedy;, not for the U. S. Inside Stuff—Pictures Failure of Ihe-American Theatre Assn. to accept "Seeds of Destiny." first film offered to il by the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion, has set OWMR back on ils heels. Its picture man, Arch Mercey, will still'try to get clearance for a short of foodj however. Present idea is to .make a quickie, of about half a reel,! which would be assembled by the Depart- ment of Agriculture. William Wells, film head, of UNRRA, feels that ATA has badly hurt the cause of getting food to the needy of the world by nixing the Aim because it was "too gruesome." He will try to have "Seeds of Destiny" released through other channels. He feels that a routine. assembly job of loolage will'not have the same hard-hitting effect as "Seeds" with its" sliaight- from-lhe-shoulder on-the-spot footage, peeler with considerable experience, and tin re. is' other cheesecake for ballyhoo. Yarn is built around a femme lead in a btiriesqucric, 'Evelyn Ankers, and her newspaperman-fiance, Carle- ton Young; A scries of murders occur backstage and Miss Ankers finds her- self a prime suspect. Her. b.f. hooks the guilty party. Story line isn't 'strong, but it's suf- ficient to maintain interest. The song and dance sequences.are in the tired traditions of the burlesque houses. Principals do their work in a capa- ble manner with Miss. Ankers show- ing up nicely, while Young attempts a breezy'characterization of a.news- paperman. Marian Martin, Craig Reynolds. Alice Fleming, Jacqueline r.ilva and Miss La. Rose provide ade- quate support. Jose. have to be used since, with the ex , „ ...... ' .1 - ,. r ception of Michael Redgrave, there's Edmund Gouldings direction of not a namc in the all-British cast that means anything to American au the Henry Blankc production hits some high points in individual-scenes, screenplayed by Catherine Turncy. He gets good work out of the cast generally -and helps .interest al- though most of major characters carry little sympathy. Miss Parkers work is excellent, as is Henreid's de- piction of the self-pitying cripple. Miss Smith's role has been edited to a comparatively small part. Edmund Gwenn as the Bohemian shows up as one of the more interesting charac- ters, and Miss Paige appeals as his daughter, who is the third , and final love in Henreid's life. Patric Knowles. Henry Stephenson, Marten Larhonl and others are good. Lcnsing . by Peverell Marley ex pertly displays settings and fast, and other technical credits measure up. /, 'BroB. The Undercover Woman HeiMiblic release oC Rudolnh K.'-Abel pro diictlon. Kealures SlcMlianl*, ' Karbelor Holierl I.lviliKstun, nicharit ■•'laser. Isabel Withers. Kdylho. Klllutt. John Dibincr. I>ircrted by Thomas t'arr. . Scrcf-niiluy. Jerry Sackhclm. Sherman 1. fjiwe: adapted by Itohcrt MetKler. from slnry by Sylvia tl. I.. Danncll; cumcrii. >Jud 'I'h.iCkcry; edi- tor. Fred Allen. At New York ihen'ire, N. Y.. dual.. J^jne -U, '4ii. IttuiniiiK'time. A6 MINS. Mai-cia Conroy.'... Sheriff Don l.onK. (liCKory Vlxon renny Davis T.uur;^ Vlxuil Mm. firey , Waller IhiKhes.... .Itianll.-i i;lllette... <M,-j:y \"n 11 Horn... l/m Stone Simon Ulllrtlc .Sieiihanle Caehelor ..Koberl I.ivlnustun ..'... Itlcbiird I'^'ascr Isnbel Wllheis Il^lene llei^b .'. Kiln li« Klllotl lohn Debner KlaiiiH l.nnKe Ilctly ltlylho ....... .'I'oiii lainilnn ....... .Larry Ijlake Snappy dialog helps this mystery dualer to please. - A modestly bud- geted who d it nit, . "Undercover Woman" subordinates plot aspects to bright gags and laughable situations. Mystery elements, however, provide a neat framework for the production, heightening the chuckles with well- sustained suspense. Performances, although handled by marquee light- weights, are uniformly fluent and witty. Direction, editing, and photog- raphy lend overall polish. Story, with a dude ranch. back- ground, is late, getting- under way. with the first half lingering over some romantic byplay between Stephanie Bachelor and Robert Livingston. Former plays a private gumshoe on commission to collect evidence against a philandering, cad whose wife wants a divorce. Play- boy instead gets mysteriously killed, with several vacationers at the dude ranch suspected of having committed the deed. As expected, the most inno- cent person oh the lot turns up to be guilty party after some complicated sleuthing by the femme detective and her boyfriend sheriff. ;Miss Bachelor, is a pleasing looker and walks through her part with as- surance. Robert Livingston, as the sheriff, is adequate in the action spots, but a bit stiff as a sophisticated romancer. Standout comedy bits arc offered, by Betty Blythe, as Miss Bachelor's lily-livered aide, and John Dehner, a visiting newspaperman. dienc.es. Cast also has that "English accent," which has proved- poison at the boxoffice. Tightly-woven script tells the story of a man who has fore-knowledge of the future through his dreams. Sum- moned on business to a British es- tate, he's shocked to find that the place and people have all been in his dreams. When he tells his dream one of the house-guests, a psychia trist, scoffs at the story and attempts to find a scientific explanation for it all Other guests, however,', are more Sympathetic and each then tells of a strange, similarly psychic situation in which he's been involved. Lett alone with the psychiatrist afterwards, the dreamer: is driven by a strange com- pulsion to kill him. At that point he .awakens to find it's all been just a uightmare. The phone rings. Voice on the other end invites him oh busi- ness to the same British estate, of Lis dreams. Producer Michael Balcon turned each individual episode over to a.dif- ferent director and, told via flash- back, they're equally good. Best is the one featuring Redgrave as a ven triloquist whose dummy seemed im bucd With a human brain and soul. Redgrave turns in a masterful piece of acting as he's driven,to "kill" the dummy and in so doing, is destroyed himself. Film is- well-edited, each director maintaining consistently . the sus- pense built up early in the yarn. Georges. Auric's score, as played .by the London Symphony Orch, adds greatly to the picture's all-around quality. Stat. <|ueen of Darlcsqiie (SONGS) I'ltr reli-ase of Arthur' Airvander-Alfn-d ■Su-in Mriiiliii-tlhn. Stars lOvelyn An1.''rs; lY-auiri-i I'arli'lnll . YolinK. .Marlon Mailln: I'raiK. Iti-yoolds. Itose l.a Ituse. .Direi-lcd by Sain 'Ncivtleld. . Screenplay. David A. l.antf; editor. .'Jnck Osjivlc: camera. Vin- cent J: l-'ariar: miii^s. fjene l.ueas und.AI Slew-arl.' New Yorli. N. Y.. illliil. ivcek ..Iniic '-III. KunniiiK lime. tlH >IINS. West of . ihe Alamo (SONGS) Mi,iiol;rani release, of Oliver Drake pro- duciiuii. Stin-s< .ilnimy w'akely: features l.ci: White. Iris f.llve. Jack liiKrnm. Ul- ■ected ii'y tM.ivcr Drake. Urlicihiil ■ screen- play. I.uuise Itoiisseau: .cAinern, Harry Neumann; ciilfnr, William Austin:'musical lirei'tnv. Kriink ' Siniili-ci. At Xew. York ihealie. N. Y.. June *-'(;. -'40. dual, llunnlns lime. .17 MINS. Jimmy l.assos.'........ .lane .Mni Kan.., flay nriidiord. Kmme.L ShnlKun Denu ......... .. I.ro .Jimmy Wakely "Lasses" White Iris CUve ...Jnck Inftrani ,....Hod Hflllon ....MUild llllKtCl .. .UUdle Majors Another in the jimmy Wakely series of oatuners, "West of the Alamo" is standard with the usual run. Addicts will find this pic mild, the action thrills being heavily di- luted in a tunefest of. half-a-dozen numbers. Warbling'chore in hillbilly style is handled by Wakely and "Lasses" : White, assisted by the Arthur Smith Trio and a crew of fiddlers. Story and script are strictly formula mixtures of villainy, gun play, and hoofbeating, with a slight seasoning of romance and comedy. Yarn has rangers Wakely an8 White, working incognito, solving a crime wave which has been launched as a sideline by the town's'-bank president. Financier has falsely im plicated a couple of young sisters in the affair, which involves a bank theft and murder. But Wakely balks the foul play through some far- fetched sleuthing and brings the real culprits to book in a fisticuff climax As .a crooner. Wakely rates okay but he cuts a rather tepid figure as a two-gun tptin' terror. White, aS the crusty old sidekick, has comic appeal for the juves. Jack Ingram plays the heavy in typical tinsubtle' style. Vertigo > ("Dizziness") (MEXICAN-MADE) Mexico City. June 18, flaMi Kllni* MilndiHlcK production . anil r«-l, a<-v. realm'*-* Mnria Ktllx, ICmlllo''I'uero and I.Ilbi .Mich,.). rtiiKed on novel of the x.iini' name by I'iei'ic HcnoH. Directed by Anlniili. .Moinplel. Camora. Alex rhllllll*. At Cine Oi fi-ini. ntniiiiiiK ,lime, 75 3I1NS, Abe Weilcr, of the N. Y. Ti me5 film department! found Am for his Sunday (30) column by doing a bit of digging through the files. Announce! inent by talent agent Arthur Lyons and Joseph Justmah, industrialist and financier, that'they were forining a new Indie unit, Producing Artists; Inc., said.Weiier, "seems to come under-the heading of things we've heard be- fore." Lyons, with David Loew as a partner, in July, 1943, announced the formation of an indie company, Weiler pointed out, and it was likewise, named Producing Artists, Inc. The new unit announced Ihe purchase of a novel by Dayton Stoddart, "Prelude to Night," but the 1943 edition went a bit stronger. It announced four properties. John Raitt's four-week contract with Eagle-Lion has been pitrchnsrd by Metro at a nifty sum. and the latter studio has set him on a seven- year ticket, starting Jan. l. : 1947. Raitt was Offered to PRC several years ago for peanuts, prior to his heading east and scoring in "Oklahoma." followed by the "Carousel" star spot. When Eagle-Lion took over PRC, : the Raitt contract was among the properties. He was supposed to go to the Coast this summer and do a musical oatcr for the fulfillment of his month pact. Metro, however, decided to buy the ticket and put Raitt under a' long-termer rather than have him appear in what was-understood to be only a minor role. Most filmites got a gdod-haliired chuckle last week at the well-aimed crack at the industry taken by .ilya Ehrenburg, Soviet writer, in. a column written for the United Press as a farewell summing up of two months in America. Said Ehrenburg:' "The writers of the whole world are charmed'with the books of Hem- ingway or.Faulkner, but when you enter an ordinary movie house on 'Main Stiect' to see ah ordinary picture, your head will turn over the depths nnd. the immensity of its platitude." ' ■ - ■ ' ■ ■♦ ■ . ." : —' : Depinet Continued from pace 7 t'U>lal .M-l'oy. Sieve lhirley. I.ola t.'as«-H'. . . . .. ■ In). Nolan'. liln.uynm 'IVi'ialne.. Inslieclin- CYowlrv. Cb'lck .Mallo\ Diioriliau Slraiirlil -Man Sioncr. Annie Dully lirvo*-..- .lollooin..:.......,'.'.. Sl-.vc M-inaKi'r Mux.. I;in;i.ll. : Three of Mexico's topflight screen players. Maria .Felix, Emilio Tuero and Lilia Michel, plus some nice cam- era work are all that save, this trag- Kwlyn'AnitM* | .*d.v. Production is.definitely the sort rie'ion Yduni that Lalin-Amcrjcaris- like, having to .... — Marian Maiiin | do with death and dead love. Except- ........Crai«; ilcyiioKK ; i n( /..t 0 r the talent and looks or the .\'::::'. .i"nory i^irncii j featured players, it's doubtful if this . . (Jnrtlon < : l: .:... Alice h'lnniiij'c . 1 J.-iciiiielitli- 1 ».i lya ...... Ili-ll Mar~hall David I-'risi-o ..... .(Jllnrles Kinu Producers of "Queen of Burlesque" probably had one eye on the possibil- ity of censorial tiffs which they must have encouraged 'with the view of making this film a controversial. 1st sue. It contains several sides of dia- log of questionable taste plus a bur- lesque-background. With the burley backdrop, film offers a routine mur- der story that can be sold along sen- sational-lines to-the former patron- age of the strip-shops. Cast sheet on the opus gives prom- in.ance to Rose La Rose, runway Muniiiy* i^iriitrii. \ picture would have much appeal for Nolan l.iaiy i.mosl' American film patrons because it is such-total tragedy. ' Miss . Felix has some harrowing scenes and never gets a chance to exert her usual charm. Tueroi for- merly a juvenile, now has become a lead reminsce.nl'"of William Powell. He is shown preparing to marry a comely girl and ihen. falling lor the same girl's youthful, widowed moth- er. Plot has him killing the daughter only lo be slain by the widow. Miss Felix is good as the mother and, Lilia Michel is okay as the, daughter. .Antonio Momplet does not better his rep as a director with this pro- duction. lie misses many. opportu- nities but admittedly the story gives nritlur . him nor the cast much chance. sion Monday, with N. Peter Rath von, company prcxy, explaining the com- pany's production se'up at yester- day's afternoon session. Rath von now has charge of studio production. Delegates also saw RKO's first 16m feature with offstage narration when "Tarzan and Leopard Woman" was shown yesterday. Narrator spoke Spanish but it's planned to dub into other languages on this film. RKO's New York exchange won first prize in the Ned Depinet drive, with Milwaukee. Buffalo and Albany finishing in- order named.: Chas. Boasberg, of metropolitan district, copped first in the district managers group as .well as first in the. Inter- national Pictures sales and second in shorts billings. Harry Reiners won first prize among field exploitation. He's in N. Y. district now; Company w.i 11 have 176 shorts for 1946-47, small increase being mainly due. to series of four two-reel minia- ture musicals. Phil Reisman, veepee In charge of foreign sales, heads the speakers at today's closing session. He is ex- pected to tell of the production deal worked out in London by himself- and Bob Wolff, managing director for. Great Britain, with J.. Arthur Rank which is expected lo culmi- nate in actual production starling July 15 on "So Well Remembered" at Denham studios, London. Plans now are being inade for a second picture to be produced in England with Wolff expected to secure Rank group approval soon. He also will outline details of the Pathe-Cinema setup, which is 16 produce three features, with "Lady of Fashion" and "Berlin Express" lo follow "Golden Silence," which . will be made in Paris. S. Barret McCormick. ad-publiclty chief; Terry Turner, head of field exploitceis;. Perry Ljeber, studio publicity chief: Al Sindlinger. Au- dience Research veepee; 'and M. H. Aylcsworlh. former RKO prexy. are among olhcr ; speakers' for today. WB PENSION PLAN IDEA DEFERRED A YR. Warner Bros.' intention to adopt a pension plan this year to cover its employees has' been temporarily shelved. Plan was to have been presented at. the annual stockhold- ers' meeting, slated for Aug: 1.- However, various pension schemes are still being studied and with fail- ure lo reach a conclusion in . time for the. meeting, idea will be pilt over to next year. , Number ol olher companies have adopted pension plans during the past Xew years, SLRB TO HEAR RAP AGAINST MAX COHEN Hearing on unfair labor practices charged by the New York State La- bor Relations Board against the Cinema. Circuit Corp., Inter City Circuit, Inc., and affiliated Ihealie companies headed by Max A. Cohen, will be held in N. Y. July 9. Substance of the SLRB complaint is that the Cohen companies inter-~ fered with and coerced employees in connection with activities toward unionization, specific complaint be- ing that; one manager and an as- sistant were fired for this reason. The Cohen circuit, operating 11 houses in N. Y. and Brooklyn, was the first Which the Motion Picture Theatre Operating Managers & As- sistant Managers Guild, RKO outfit, sought to organize. An election to determine whether the guild should be collective bargaining agent for the Cohen theatres wau held several weeks ago, Cohen winning. Byrne Shifted ; Continued from pate C ; releases has been set. Rodgers said at least 30 features lent themselves to the program, including such films as "Philadelphia Story," "San Fran- cisco," "Mutiny on thei Bounty," "Blossoms in the Dust," etc. ; Most of these have not been seen by the younger generation. Rodgers said, and it's to this part of the public that the special publicity campaigns, under Howard DicU and Si Seadler, will be aimed. For the present, Rodgers said, Metro will probably release five or six of the Oldies a year. Pictures will be released in new prints and ex- hibs will be furnished complete new accessories. MPA-'Outlaw' Continued from pace. 6 lower court, erred, appeal wouldnt be heard until the fall term and Hughes would probably gel a stay against any MPA action until then. In the absence of■'.former New York governor Charles Polelli. Jesse Freidin argued Hughes' case' and took a stiff riding' from the judge.. Freidin said he 'objected to Judge'Brighl's ruling, because the District Court jurist had not laUcrt enough cognizance of- that pail «'f the argument charging the MPA with violating the anti-trust laws. Judge Hand said he didn't stc how that entered the case. Freidin showed the cpuil somi ol the disputed ads picturing star Jiine Russell, to which . the judge re- marked: "If you went to Ihe beach, you cotild see as much any .'cissy." Then Rosenma'n produced I he "-How would you like lo tussle with. Riif- sell?"' copy and declared it _"<lis- _ honest and lascivious." ".Well, it certainly seems lascivious," 'he judge agreed.