Variety (December 1950)

nLHf REVIEWS Wednesday, December 27, 1950 Gamliling Homo Hollywood, Dec. 22. RKa release of Warren Duff produc- Stars Victor Mature, Terry Moore, WUliam Bendix; features Zagi^ry A. Charles, Basil Ruysdael, Donald Randolph, Damian O'Flynn, Cleo Moore, Ann Eleanor Audley, Gloria W^ters,_Don Hag- gerty. Directedby Ted^Tetzlaff. Scre^- pl.'iy, Marvin BorowsKy, ^ Allen Wi^Km, based on story by Harry J. Wild,* music, Roy ^obb.^editOT, Roland - Gross. Tradeshpwn Dec. 20, 50. ll?SnWM«n.... “"S’;' Joe Farrow ........... William Willie *.,. • -Zachary A. Charles Judge Ravinek Lloyd Crane Donald Randolph Ralph Douglas ........,. . Damian O Flynn Sally .... ............... • Cleo Moore Della • •. Ann Doran Mrs. Livingston Audley B. J. Warren. Gloria^Wmters Bliarky ......... . ...'.. . .. .•,> • • .P?** Haggerty Miniatiire Reviews “Gambling House? is a routine melodrama that will get some Deeded help from its marquee names. Plot is the old one about the reformation of a gambler, but uses the twist of having character undergo his,change of heart when he; becomes aware, of what U. S. citizenship means. As presented, it has its entertaining moments but can’t be rated as generally sat- isfactory overall; Victor Mature, TCrry Moore and William Bendix are the three stars involved in the Marvin Bbrowsky- Allen Rivkin script. In between the number of good melodramatic sequences there is a tendency to bv r-dialog scenes. :/ Tature, lone-wolf gambler, be- cc .les the fall guy in a killing com- mitted by Bendix for a $50,000 fee. Self-defense is proven, and Mature is cleared, but Bendix has tipped the immigration department that Mature was born in Italy and his parents were never naturalized. Faced with deportation, Mature undergoes a gradual realization of what this country means to him, manages to convince the judge of his earnestness and wins the right to "^ry for citizenship. lature gives his role a lot of CO or. Miss Moore is the soci^ worker with whom he falls in love. Har role makes only light demands. Bendix is satisfactory as the heavy. Zachary A. Charles shows up very well as Mature’s friend, and Basil Ruysdael is good as the jur’ge. Others are adequate. -Vmong the good moments in the film is the holdup of Bendix’s gambling house by Mature so he can collect the $50^000. It was well-staged for suspense and ex- citement. Also coming across is the finale, when Mature talks Bendix’s henchmen into killing their boss Instead of him. Production mounting by Warren Duff gives the picture an okay dressing. Plenty of low-key pho- tography by Harry J. Wild is in keeping with the meller mood, as Is the Roy Webb Score. Brog. '^Gambling House*^ (RKO). Routine melodrama of a gam- bler’s reformation; marquee toppied by Mature, Bendix. *’The Flsing Misslc’* (Gol). Good guided missiles drama with Glenn Ford, Viveca Lind- fors. General top bookings. “Double Deal” (RKO). Pro^ graih melodrama, fair enter- tainment for lowercase book- ings,. “Law of Badlands” (RKO). Good Tim Holt western for general oater fan. “Buckarob Sheriff of Texas” (Rep). Just fair sagebrusher introducing Republic’s two new Oater moppets. “Silver Raiders” (Mono). Fair entry in Monogram’s Whip Wilson oater series. “California Passage.” (Songs) (Rep). Good outdoor action feature with okay biz pros-, pects. “Hunt the Man Down” (RKO), Well-made melodrama for supporting bookings. “Joe Palooka in the Squared Circle'- (Mono). Routine Joe Palooka entry; passable seepn- dary fare for minor situations. ind Ford out sequence accident plosion, crew man killed, mander learns of no missiles manages to of available, but talk the Army one in a well-staged During the test an causes a preniature ex- Ford is injured and a When the c6m- the death he de- fith, Tom Browne Henry, Jim Hayward and the Others are okay. James T. Vaughn gives it a nice production gloss. The ^ photog- raphy is good and the editing tight. Brog, Law Of the Badlands Hollywood, Dec. 22. RKO release o£ Herman Schlom pro- duction. Stars Tim Holt; features Richard Martin, Joan Dixon, Robert Livingston, Leonard Penn, Harry Woods, Larry Johns. Directed by Lesley Selander. Writ- ten by Ed Earl Repp: camera, George E. Diskant; editor, Desmond Marquette, Tradeshown Dec. 20: '50; Running time, 5t MINS. Dave Tim Holt .... .Joan Dixon Robert Livingston ..Leonard Penn •Harry Woods Larry Johns _ . ,, . Robert Bray Capt. MeVey.........Kenneth MacDonald Madigan ..................... John Cliff Chlto Rafferty,...........Richard Martin Velvet Dirkin Cash . Conroy Simms Benson • • • • 4 • 4 • • • • • • • ••••*• ^ e • • (I er .e . Here C^me the Hnggetts “Here Come the Huggetts,” British-made, which opened at the Beacon theatre, N. Y,, Sun- day (24), was reviewed in Variety from London, Dec. 8, 1948. Pic , was tabbed by re- viewer Myro as being “an in- effective production which will achieve little in the home market ahd less abroad,” Script, dealing with various Huggett family matters, was cited as being “bad, both in plot and dialog,” Film is being released in the U. S. by Pentagon Pictures, The Flying Missile Holljrwood, Dec. 26. Columbia release of Jerry Bresler prO' duction. Stars Glenn Ford, Viveca Lind- fors; features Henry O’Neill, Carl Benton Reid, Joe Sawyer, John Qualen, Anthony Ross, Harry Shannon, Ross Ford, Zachary A. Charles, Jerry Paris, Kenneth Tobey, Paul Harvey. Directed by Henry Levin. Screenplay, Richard English, James Gunn; story, Harvey S. Haislip, N. Richard Nash: camera, William Snyder: editor, Viola Lawrence: score, George Duning. Pre- viewed Dec. 12, '50. Running time, 91 MINS. Commander Bill Talbot... Glenn Ford Kerin Hansen .Viveca Lindfors A-imiral Scott Henry O’Neill Dr. Gates Carl Benton Reid *‘Fuss” Payne Joe Sawyer Lars Hansen .............. Johii Qualen Admiral Bradley Anthony Ross V 'le-Admiral Williams... Harry Shaniioh C '.uck Davis .... ... . Ross Ford Mac . .Zachary A. Charles Andy Mason Jerry Paris Pete McEvoy ............ Kenneth Tobey General Benton .......... Paul Harvey Captam Whitaker;..... ..Grandon Rhodes L'.eutenant Jackson. James Seay Myers ................ Bill Donnelly Hank Weber Richard Quine Chief of Naval Operations. Charles Evans velops a mentar block that makes his legs useless. ‘ However, Ford snaps out of it in time to partici- pate in a new test that proves guided missiles can be. used by siibs to wifie out a large fleet* Ford does a likely job of the commander^ with thespic shadings that strengthen it. His co-star, Viveca Lindfors, occupies a rather thankless spot of secretary at the test center with whom Ford car- ries on a romance. Character doesn’t demand much of her con- siderable talent. Henry Levin’s direction is good and the featured players deliver ably under his handling. Joe Sawyer, Ross Ford, Zachary A. Charles, Jerry Paris and Kenneth Tobey do well by their crew mem- ber roles. Henry O’Neill, crusty admiral; Carl Benton Reid, medico, John Qualen, Anthony Ross, Paul Harvey and the others are capable. Jerry Bresler’s production sup- plies an authentic feeling to the technical phases and backgrounds of the Richard English.- James Gunn script, based on a story by Harvey S. Haislip and N. Richard Nash. Camera work, music score and technical aspects on the sub- marine and test center scenes are firstrate. Brog. . Tim Holt has a good western in “Law of the Badlands.” Action and general story-telling run ahead of several late entries in the RKO scries. This time, Holt and his side- kick, Richard Martin, save the U. S. Secret Service from an em- barrassing situation. Heroes are Texas Rangers and their aid is sought to find the source of coun- terfeit money which is flooding the east. Phoney tender is being printed in a tough section of the badlands, so Holt and Martin be- come outlaws, join the gang and smoke out their quarry. While the story setup is formula, Ed Earl Repp’s script takes advan- tage of natural action opportuni- ties, and Lesley Selander’s direc- tion builds considerable suspense to make it pay off, particularly for the juve ticket buyers, Holt and Martin both deliver neatly in putting over their saddle action. Leonard Penn and Robert Livingston do well as the principal heavies, as does Harry Woods as a Secret Service agent who is killed. Joan Dixon, femme lead; Larry Johns and the others do their part in keeping it on the move. Herman Sehlom’s production Is good for the market, and technical assists are in keeping. Brog. Doable Deal Hollywood, bee. 21. RKO release of James T. Vaughn pro duction. Features Marie Windsor, Richard Denning, Taylor Holmes, Fay Baker, James Griffith, Carleton Young, Tom Browne. Henry.. Directed by Abby Berlin. Screenplay, Lee Berman, Charles S. Bel den: story, Don McGxiire: camera, Frank Redman; editor, Robert Swink. Trade- shown ‘ Dec. 18, '50. Running time, 64 MINS. Terry Marie Windsor Buzz Richard Denning Corpus ................ . .Taylor Holmes LUli Fay Baker Karns James Griffith Reno . Carleton Young Sheriff Morelli....... .Tom Browne Henry Mike Jim Hayward Webber ................. Richard Reeves Buckaroo Sheriff of Texas Hollywood, Dec. 19. Republic release of Rudy Ralston pro- duction. Features Michael Chapin. Eilene Janssen, James Bell, Hugh O'Brian, Steve Pendleton, Tristram Coffin, William Haade, Alice Kelley. Directed by Philip Ford. Written by Arthur Orloff: camera, John MacBurnie: editor, Arthur Roberts. Previewed Dec. 19, '50. Running time, 60 MINS. Red White ... .Michael Chapin Judy Dawson... ......... EUene Janssen Tom (Gramps) White....... James BeU Ted Gately Hu^ O'Brian Sam White Steve Pendleton Jim Tulane .Tristram Coffin Mark Brannigan William Haade Betty Dawson Alice Kelley Governor Selmef Jackson Clint Edward Cassidy Mexico into the U. S. He masks his Identity until the renegades kidnap a Mexican lass, Wilson scores with his whip- cracking and overall physical prowess. Andy Clyde, as the sheriff, adequately supplies the comedy relief while Leonard Penn convinces as the heavy. Virginia Herrick and Patricia Rios lend a feminine touch to an otherwise male cast. Other players lend okay support. Direction of Wal- lace Fox is standard as is the camerawork of Harry Neumann in this Vincent M. Fennelly produc- tion. V Glib. California Passiage (SONGS) Hollywood, Dec. 15. Republic release of Joseph Kane pro- duction. Stars Forrest Tucker. Adel® Mara, Eslelita Rodriguez; features Lm Davis, Peter Miles, Charles Kemper, Bill Williams. Directed by Kane. Written by James Edward Grant; camera,. John Mac- Burnie; editor, Arthur Roberts;, smigs. Jack Elliott, Harold Spina. Previewed. Dec. 14, '50. Running time, 90 MINS. Mike Prescott Forrest^ Tucker Beth Martin Adele Mara Maria Sanchea?. , Estellta Rodriguez Line Corey Tommy Martin. • • .Peter Miles Willy Charles Kemper Bob Martin ...; > BiU Williams Norris ................. ..Rhys Williams Whalen Paul Fix Kane (Recorder)....... .Francis McDonald Waiter Eddy Waller Pedro .Charles Stevens Indian Iron Eyes Cody Conover 'Alan Bridge Stella ... Ruth Brennan filmfdire. It has excellent produc- tion values for the budget, sipootli direction of an interesting plot, and good performances to see if through its booking^. Gig Young is the public de- fender who tackles the chore of clearing James Anderson of a 12- year-old murder charge. It’s a cold trail he has to follow to find witnesses who put the finger on Anderson at the old trial* and piecing of the evidence together comes about logically, plus a sur- prise twist at the finale that re- veals the real killer. ' Anderson, a fugitive for 12 years, is captured when he be- comes a hero during a holdup. He tells Young his story of a bar pick- up, a party in the home of his new friends and' the killing of one of them during the night after he had had angry wOrds with the victim. As Young gets hot on the trail, his still unknown quarry kills a witness, tries to murder another but is stampeded into ah admis- sion of the old crime while again testifying against Anderson. A competent cast, mostly of younger players, expertly put over the DeVallon Scott story. Young is good as the lead, ahd Anderson shows up well as the prosecuted. Lynne Roberts, femme lead op- posite Anderson, also pleases, Mary . Aridersoh, Willard Parker, Carla Balenda, excellent as a crazy girl, Gerald Mohr, John Kel- logg, Cleo Moore and Christy Palmer form the assorted group of capable suspects and witnesses. Harry Shannon makes his role of Young’s father count nicely. George Archainbaud realizes on the good story elements with his direction, anjJ Lewis J. Rachmil accounted for the neat productipn values. Music score and lensing are in keeping With generally good presentation. Brog. I The dramaticpossibilities in a woven around guided mis^ Siles and submarihes have been r mpetently realized in “The .Fly- ing Missile.” It’s a good top-of-' the-bUl offering for the general si latipn and should rate good rc'iims; Work with guided missiles at th. Navy’s Point Mugu, Gal., test ctnter has a timely interest and ir often exciting. 'This helps snap up the pace and carry the film over its 91 minutes. Romantic phases of the plot are rather rou- tinely developed but do hot inter- fere too much with the basic story lire.' ’lenn Foid is a submarine com- in ider who stfeps on a few Of- ficial toes in his push to put over the ideas that guided missiles can be successfully launched'from an underseas craft.. 'Heavies of the plot are time, red tape and short supplies as Ford and his crew are sent to Point Miigu for special tre'ning. Vs the group crams, script in- jc s a good humorcus touch to lard the dramatics. These deal With theft of supplies to secretly build at night the missile-launch- ing platform before the time runs out. They make the deadline, then As a programmer for lowercase dates in the general market, “Double Deal” gets by as fair en- tertainment. It stresses melo- drama in a fairly satisfactory man- ner, and the budget production values show up well for release intentions. Plot has a whodunit flavor and a surprise twist in revealing a killer who has claimed three vic- tims before being caught. Richard Denning is the hero, a drifting petroleum engineer who gets in- volved in a complicated revenge scheme when he tries to help drill an oil well for Carleton Young. Latter’s sister, Fay Baker, covets the well and ^makes things tough for the hero. Young is killed and Marie Wind- sor inherits the well. ' Denning keeps OR with .his , Work as a romance builds, and things really get rugged when Miss Baker and then her partner in the dirty Work, James Griffith, are bumped off. There’s not much logic to the Don McCJuire story or the script by Lee Berman and Charles Belden, but it still comes out as acceptable program filmfare. Abby Berlin’s direction is spotty, Miss Windsdr is excellent under his handling, as . is Denning, but Miss Baker is made to overplay her femme menace; Holmes’ reading also is flamboyant. Young, Grif- Republic is using “Buckaroo Sheriff” to introduce its two new oater moppets but the picture gives the kids only a mild sendoff. If Michael “Red” Chapin and Eilene “Judy” Janssen are to find favor with juve ticket-buyers they will need more actionful sagebrushers than this one. Initialer has little adult interest.. Plot scripted by Arthur Orloff works in typical western situations and barely passable dialog to spin along for a complicated 60 minutes. It seems that Tristram Coffin has seized the ranch property of Steve Pendleton while the latter is away fighting the War Between the States. Pendleton, father of young Chapin, had planned to turn his land oyer to settlers and work a bauxite mine (actually not discov- ered until about 20 years later) for their benefit. . Neither story nor Philip Ford’s direction makes any demands on the cast and they go through their roles' with stock portrayals. ’ Rudy Ralston’s production framing and the technical credits are just ade- quate. Brog. Silver Elaiders Monogram release of 'Vincent M. Fen- nelly production. Stars Whip Wilson; fea- tures Andy Clyde, Directed by Wallace W.: Fox. Original screenplay, Dan Ullman; Camera^ Harry Neumann: editor, Richard Heermance: musical director, Edward Kay, At New York theatre, N. Y,, .dual, -week of Dec. 19, '50. Rurining time, 55 MINS, Larry ... . . .....Whip Wilson .‘. it ,... • • Aiidy . Clyde Corbin Leonard Penn Boland Dennis Moore Patricia ....Virginia Herrick Dolores .................. . Patricia Rios George Reed Howe.s Bill ^Rlley Hill- Horn.-. .. Marshall Reed- . George DcNormand Larkin ..,.........;.., Kerihit Maynard “Silver Raiders” 1$ a routine entry in Monogram’s Whip Wilson series. J There’s a wealth of action, hard riding and general excite- ment. Howevei*, to overshadow a silver smuggling. As an Arizona Ranger, Wilson manages to worm himself into the confidence of a band of outlaws hustling contraband silver from these assets fail cliched tale of Republic has an actionful out^ door feature in -“California Pas- sage” that will rate its share of business in most situations. It has been expertly put together to please the. general action fan and goes about telling a standard westr ern tale with no lost motion. Mixed up In the action are For- rest Tucker and Jim Davis, part- ners in a western saloon and rivals for the attentions of Adele Mara. ■WTiile partners, the two males are strictly enemies and maintain their business under an armed truce. Davis also has a sideline activity of stealing gold shipments, and when things begin to get hot for him he frames the robberies on Tucker. Producer-director Joseph Kane keeps the James Edward Grant script continually moving towards the climax with no letup in pace. Handling features a welcome touch for a western. There are some good action spots alohg the course that leads up to Tucker’s flight into the hills to escape a posse after being framed. Windup finds Tucker sav- ing Miss Mara from Davis, after she has learned the truth, and the death of the heavy in a finale fight with the hero. Script covers more story ground than the usual western, adding in- teresting characters and sequences to carry the plot over the 90 min- utes of footage. Also, there are two listenable tunes capably vo- called by Estelita Rodriguez. They are “Second-Hand Romance” and “I’m Goin’ Round in Circles,” cleffed by Jack Elliott and Harold Spina,^ , Principals please with their per- formances. The late Charles Kem- per registers strongly as a smart western sheriff, and among others lending good support are Peter Miles, Bill Williams, Rhys Wil- liams, Paul Fix and Francis Mc- Donald. Picture has been given excellent lensing by John MacBurnie, and the other technical credits are good. Brog. Hunt ilie ]lfan Down Hollywood, Dec. 19. . RKO release of Lewis J. Rachmil pro- duction. Features Gig Young, Lyiine Rob- erts, Mary Anderson, Willard Parker, Carla. Balenda. Directed by George Arch- ainbaud. Written by DeVallon Scott; cam- era, Nicholas Musuraca; editor, Samuel E. Beetley; music. Paul Sawtcll. Tradeshown Dec. 14, '50. Running time, 68 MINS. * * ******* * * *■*•* * * * ^' * * ’ . Youns y • • • • ‘ • • •. 1 .»•»• • V, »■. .Lynne Roberts Alice McGuire.,....., .Mary Anderson Eric Appleby .....,.,... .WiUard Parker Rplene Wood . Carla Balenda WaUeiv Long . Gerald Mohr KinKaia .James Anderson Kerry McGuire John Kellogg j'®■ •••••••<*• »•*’.•.Harry • Shannon Pat. Sheldon .. Cleo Moore Joan Brian ..............Christy Palmer p3cky Co^llins••4«4*444c«e9k* •» Pnul Fvggs P rosecutor ..............:.. .James Seay «foe Palooka in the Sqnared Circle Monogram release of Hal E. Chester production. ' Stars Joe Kirkwood^ Jr.s James Gleason: features Robert Coogan* Lois Hall. Dan Seymour. Myrna DeU. Directed by Reginald Le Borg. Screen- S lay, Jan Jeffrey; from story by B. F, lelzer; based on Ham. Fisher's comic strip character: camera, M. Le Picard. At New York theatre; N. Y., dual, week of Dec. 12. '50. Running time,. 63 MINS. Joe Palooka Joe Kirkwood, Jr. Knobby Walsh James Gleason Ann Howe . - Lois Hall Brogden Edgar Barrier Sandra Myrna Dell Humphrey Pennyworth... .Robert Coogan Crawford Dan Seymour iMerkle Charles Haltori Looie ..... Frank Jenkt Pete .Greg McGuire Canvas ...................Eddie Gribbon Kebo Robert Griffin PhUllps John Harmon Gunsell .......Jack Roper Felice Sue Carlton Bubbles ............William Haade TV Announcer .Stanley Preger 2nd Reporter .. ........Meryln Williams Pinky Thompson.......... .Hal Felberling Tiny John Merricic Roderick ...; Paul Bryar Public defenders and their work form the basis'for “Hunt the Man Down,’’ a well-made melodrama that will serve as good supporting A routine entry in Monogram’s Joe Palooka series, this film shapes up as passable secondary fare for minor situations. Pic follows the usual formula whereby Joe Kirk- wood, Jr. (Palooka), tangles with gangsters in addition to his ring opponents. Pu^list’s one-man cru- sade against crime in this instance paves the way for only fair action. Story has the boxer witnessing a gangland shooting, with a re- sultant resolution to bring the killers to justice. This leads to open warfare between Kirkwood and the murderers, since the law* not able to locate the body, can’t step in and prosecute. Neverthe- less, Kirkwood carries liis-story to the newspapers, which splash his claim all over the front pages. Two hoods, named by the fighter as the murderers, start gunning for him, but in due time wind up behind bars, leaving him ready to start on another adventure. On hand to supply comic relief are James Gleason as the fighter’s manager and Robert Coogan as his rotund friend Humphrey. Film’s most exciting moments come near the end when Palooka, unknowing- ly under the influence of dope, ap- pears on the verge of losing his championship title in a ring bout. Pic also gtyes tele a bi^ boost via a sequence where Gleason, being held prisoher by a mbbrfer, is forced to view Kirkwood’s cham- pionship bout over a video screen, which the gangster touts as being a good medium for seefing the fight, Kirkwood turns in a satisfactory job, while Lois Hall makes a nice appearance . as his wife, Myrna Dell is okay , as a gangster’s moll, and Dan Seymour shows the proper suaveness as a bigtime gambler. Hal E. Chester’s produc- tion and Reginald Le Borg’s direc- tion are standard. pros. Ghevalier in ^Love^ Hollywood, Dec. 26.: Maurice Chevalier will return to the U. S. next July under a one- picture deal to star in “A New Kind of Love” at Paramount., His, last picture on that lot was “The Innocents of Paris” "In 1929. ,1