Variety (July 1954)

nm reviews Francis 4 tlm tl® WA| 5 S 7,4984 Rag llleluird and ilia • Crusaders '• - (C’SCOPE—€0LOB) Sir Walter Scott's elude, ‘The Talisman/" given film spectacle treatment In Cin- emascope, Good cast* atout b^o. Hollywood, July 0. Warner Proa. rtUMe^ofHenryBlaftke production. Stars Rsm Harrison, Vlrjdnia Mayo, Georte 6 *n 0 era, Laurence Harvey; feature* Robert Douflaa.HlchselPate, Paula Raymonds Lester Matthews, Antony EiistreL Directed by David Butler. Screen* play; John TwUt; irom Sir Walter Scott a **The Talisman"; camera <WarnerColor), J. Peverell Marley; editor. Irene Morra; music, Max Steiner; son*. ' Dream. Dream," by John Twist and Ray Hein-, dorf. Previewed June 30, '54. Running time. 113 MINS. Emir llderim _ • Sultan Saladln ,Rex Harrison Lady Edith Virginia Mayo King Richard I George Sanders SirKenneth Laurence Harvey Sir Giles Amaury Robert Douglas Marquis Montferrat .... .v Michael Pate ~ . Michael Pate ■Queen Berengarla ....... Paula Rayjn° nd Archbishop of Tyre Lester Matthews Baron de Vaux Antony Eustrel King Philip of Prance ...Henry Corden Duke Leopold of Austria....Wilton Graff A' Dance Specialty ...... . ... Nejla Atcs Nectobahua Nick Cravat Caatelaine Captain ....... Leslie Bradley 1st Castelaine Bruce Lester 2nd Castelaln Mark Dana 3rd Castelaln x Peter Ortiz (Aspect ratio: 2.55-1) Aminlnr tntrtf In JJV 'tafltinr mule* series; fool b.#» iPr look. Hollywood, July 1. Universal reUhs**f T*d Richmond pro- duction, Stars Donald O'Connor, Julia Adams/ Chill Wills, Mamie Van Dw*6, Lynn Bari. ZaSu Pittw f^wro* Joan Snawleo. Allison Karen Kadler, Bale Holmea. Dlracted by Arthur" Lubin. Bcraenplay, Devery Free- man, Janies B. Allardioe] etory<llerbert Eater; h»«d on^hT chirtcter panels'* created by David Stern; eamera,. Irving Glassberg; editor, Ted Kent, RusseU Sdhoengarth. Pravlewed June 30, 54. Running time, f4 MIN9. . Peter Stirling D^nsW OC 0 ™**? Captain Parker Julia Adam; General JCaye .ChiU Wills Corp. Hunky Httstrom. .Mamie Van Doren Major Louise Simpson Lt. Dickson .............. t to th. mrte- nuto w«»taeu** hih * „„ — n „ tt snfcMS WSUnc Q»Pi CT»Uwi ;*t *“■ &S S«S» 2 L Mlu Parker, matried ta Tlwottpsoa, jgj search forthe tomb of the WiatBob, tjjfiohtftTO f^JjWWwty Ra-hotep. She wants to prove that her late father was right In hellev- * elDg ing the tomb will prove hi* theory wrf bLk n ™bbA^ B d m . b ‘wJtt ISroemffigly h.«a*a-by sinister Kurt Kasenar, puts obstacles in the a clearcut characterization. David Keartfr fcef oralt Is re- Farrar does his heat In the think** vlSed aboS. JrtlW ro»n be- less role of the.brtitel defrauder, hlndttie crooked<oinga-on,He and Exceltent supwriisslvenin.wnmi* TavloV battle it out atop the tomb. er Parts by Mary Merrall, Charles ___ ^5 n li!5 l i Thomnsoti Ik Wiled and hta widow GoWner,Wilfrid Hyde White, s^'rae^KiS^fff?.' joan"shawieB ] is free to have her new hero. After ■ " - — 4 this, the pair goes on to uncover Camerawork, particularly In the Ra-hotep and the theory’s proof. African sequences* is on a high N Plot period is 1900 and ageless level, Clem, wonders of the land of the Nile fit Viewers' are treated to Kate Marge Bessie Capt. Creavy Aide Mara Corday Karen Kadler Elsie Holmes Olan Soule Anthony Radecld • « Francis, the Talking Mult (Aspect ratio: *2-1) Donald O'Connor and his loqua- cious friend, Francis, the talking Mule, are back for another laugh session in this Universal release. The boxoffice outlook is good, since the same type of amusing screwball comedy that has charac- terized the series is put forth slick- •*The Talisman,” Sir Walter ly in this one, - Scott's classic about the third cru- A clerical error puts bank clerk sade, gets the full Cinemascope and ex-G. I. O’Connor back into perfectly. , day and night scenes of great beauty as the cameras pick up the Sphinx and* Pyramids, historic Mount Sinai, the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, the vast desert, Cairo streets and buildings, Mena House, -a famous hotel near the Pyramids and other landmarks. Miss Parker and Taylor are a The Bowery Boys Meet The Monsters Below entry. Par bread-and-butter Hollywood, June 3(h Allied Artists release of « Ben Schwalb production. Stars Leo Gorcey.-Huntz Hall; eaturea Bernard Gorcey, Lloyd Corrigan, tfnnii lonri tofim fnr tho rirnma hut Zllen Corby, John Dehner, Laura Mason, good lead team ior ine arama, dui Paul Weitler , David Condon. Bennie Bart. Thompson comes Off only fair. lett. Directed by Edward_Bernds. Screen- Kurt Kasznar, Leon Askin, Victor pi«y. EUwood uumi Jory, doing native menaces of vary- ing degree, are excellent in color- S lay, EUwood ullman, Bernds; eamera, [any Neumann; editors, Lester A. Son- som, William Austin; music. Marlin Sklles. At Orpheum. L.A., June .30, '54. Leo Gorcey Huntz Hall Bernard Gorcey roUlar names cn.S peHoi | c-ooted^ ~ ^btn.d^ee-1 ^ | ^ estapism and the grossing pros- pects are stout. As for the title, the Henry Blanke production could lust as easily be called “The Saracen and the Crusaders,” so thoroughly does Rex Harrison walk off with per- formance honors as Saladin, the sultan whose. Moslem, forces are pitted against the invading Chris- tians from Europe. However, Vir- ginia Mayo. George Sanders and Laurence Harvey (British player making his Hollywood debut) plus Robert‘Douglas and Michael Pate, come up with swashbuckling char- acterizations that also sustain the film’s 113 minutes of sweeping ac- tion under David Bqtler’s vigorous direction. Filming of the Scott classic may give the novel renewed reading in- terest among the younger filmgo- ers who‘may not yet have tasted of its romantic adventures detailing >yd Corrigan Ellen Corby 7* 7 , , “ ,- • . i, a v uay^i cApuov uiuuig a tme gvvuv* i/crcjl John Dehner tion andby the script written by. The script was suggested by his- Francino Laura Mason Devery Freeman and James B Al; t , d to ~ Gods . Grave* and SSS m : nSSS ZSlZ tod!ce from a story by Herbert Scholws » b y C. W. Ceram, The E " * Baker. , . very good camera work was con- Hokum gets an added - assist .in tributed by Robert Surtees. Miklos this latest series entry by having Rozsa’s background score is an aide to tbe film’s mood and settings. Other technical supports are okay. Brog. Butch Bennie Bartlett (Aspects ratio: 1.85-1) Chill Wills, thq voice of Francis, also playing a visible role for the first time. It sets up a number of funny complications. So does the assignment of O’Connor to the WAC unit commanded by Lynn Bari and her aide, Julia Adams. The gals see it as an attempt by j Wills, commanding .general, . to satotage the WAC’s work in camou- flage, but with the help of Francis, O’Connor is able to out-master-1 mind Wills and the femmes so that | the latter wins out in the wal games being played. O’Connor, Wills, the Misses Adams, Bari, Mamie Van Doren and ZaSu Pitts, the latter seen again in the screwy nurse role she Bnel In the Jangle (BRITISH-COLOR) Topheavy drama starring Jean- ne Crain, Dana Andrews and David Farrar with authentic African settings. Overlong and contrived situations. London, June 30. Associated Brltlah-Pathe release o£ Mar- eel Hallman production starring Jeanne Crain, Dm Andrews. David Farrar with i . . . . - v. ■ Patrick Bhrr. Mary MerralL Charles I a Head, to attach to an electronic “The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters” goes overbpard on the malaproprisms which generally give zest to series in this latest release of Allied Artists’ bread and-butter program. The Ben Schwalb production is on the weak ide. not up to the usual standard, with appeal even for followers of the series apt to be limited. This time, Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall, in their familiar zany charac- ters, get involved, in a household of madmen seeking to obtain human heads for their scientific experiments. One wants, a brain with a low I.Q. for transference to the skull of a giant ape, another #t,whfro in* been ^ *;h w«ilcWal dWH malfrabig but ,1. «>a th» npHiri MHfe -of iMHflfli Cart, a- girl he fancies, to John Bromfield a jealous airhoist . His suepessful sabotage, using a drunken old keeps the oirewr stirred up and brings’^ p^ him- self (badly) and his cop friend Jack Stang, to smoke out the myg.’ tcry. Climax has McCIory killed by a giant tiger he bad loosed to kill others, •. The circus footage is real, and good, especially the lion and tiger act staged by £eatty. These are the best such scenes yet' filmed for a regular feature, ana the Cinema- Scope lens helps "to make them so. Aerial footage, too, has its thrills. The Robert M. Fellows’ produc- tion set up its cameras with the Beatty show to film the authentic circus flavor. It is to be regretted that this and - ather attempts to bring off a somewhat different mo- tion picture were negated by a slipshod script and poorer direc- tion. Some attempt to salvage and bolster the picture was made by re-shooting some scenes and adding others after, the original lensing but this has only added to the hot- and-cold feel and stilL leaves the grossing possibilities up to the good ballyhoo values. Fred Mac- Dowell edited and Edwin DuPar did the WamerColor lensing. Brog. ■■ ‘ J 1 . 1 Happy Ever After (BRITISH—COLOR) Sparkling Irish village comedy stirring David Niven, Yvohne de Carlo, Barry - Fitzgerald; should have widespread b.o. appeal. of S nS created for the first Francis film, the efforts of Clinstlon nsuons AihAw «n AaiiwAF from the Mohammedans. In addi- tion to the fighting wiles of the crafty Moslems, King Richard must contend with the sinister am- bitions of some of his entourage and these rivalries almost doom the crusade. Blanke’s production supervi- sion of the excellent John Twist script has all of the showmanly touches needed to make the pic- ture attractive to almost any age group among viewers. Butler’s di- rection manages to keep a long show nearly always moving at a fast clip. Especially attractive to the action-minded will be the jousting sequences, either those showing training or those in dead- ly seriousness, and the bold bat- tling is mostly concerned with combat between the forces of good and evil among* the crusaders themselves. The script is especial- ly good in its dialog, particularly that handed to Harrison. The latter reminds of his sock deliniation in ’’Anna and the King of Siam” of some years back in the interpretation he gives the wily Saracen. He even has a song to sing, a charming little melody tag- ged ’’Dream, Dream” by Twist and Ray Heindorf, that is used as a courting air when he tries to con- vince Miss Mayo, the lovely Lady Edith, cousin of the king, that she should <be the bride of the sultan so that the bloody crusade could be concluded. Miss Mayo becomes the period costumes of a lady caught in the -desert with the cru- saders. Sanders’ King Richard has its merits, as does the villainy of- fered by Douglas, as the ambitious Sir' Giles Amaury, and Pate, as the crafty, evil Marquis of Mont- ferrat. There’s considerable blus- ter of Harvey’s Sir Kenneth, the Scot who serves Richard, the man, not the king, but it goes with this type of role acceptably. J. Peverell Marley uses the Cinemascope cameras and War- ner-Color to advantage in dress- ing up the broad movements of the picture. Anamorphic process- ing is an excellent treatment for this type of. subject, but is so keen-eyed it shows up the false- ness of scenes done ^before pro- cess screens. A rousing score by Max Steiner supports the action, but also sometimes competes with it Brog. from the ticket buyers. Technical departments are ex- pert, although footage is a mite longer than necessary at 94 min- utes. Brog. Goldner, Geone Coulooris, Directed by Georje -Marshall; screenplay, Sam Mara. T. J. Morrison from original story by camera, Edwin Hulier; Jarvis; mtulc, Mlacha lyric "The Night Belongs _ Norman Newen; color by Technicolor. At Warner Theatre, London; June 30 *54. Running tithe, 105 MINS. Scott Walters ............. Dana Andrews Marian Jeanne Crain Perry and Arthur Henderson David Farrar Roberta Patrick. Barr robot, Controlled by a microphone. Edward Bernds’ direction of his and EUwood Ullman’s screenplay matches the slapstick quaUties of the thin story line, but film is badly in need of editing to elimi- nate duplication of action. ^ The two stars acquit themselves in their usual style, and have the benefit of top support. John Deh- London, July 6. Associated .BrUisk-Pathe .release Mario Zampl production. .Stars David Niven, Yvonne de Carlo, Barry Fitzgerald; features George Cole. Robert Urquhart, A. E. Matthowa. Directed by Mario Zampl. Screenplay. JadcuDgvles. Michael Pertwee; camera. Stanley Pavey; editor. Kathleen Connors: music; Stanley Black with num- ber. **My Heart la Irish." by Michael Carr; color by Technicolor. At Rltz, Lon- don, June 29, *54. Running time, 17 MINS. Jasper O'Leary ......... .. David Niven Serena McGluaky Yvonne de Carlo Thady O' Heggaxty ..... Barry Fitzgerald Terence . George Cole General O’Leary ........ A. E. Matthews Kathy McGluaky ....... Noelle Middleton Dr. Flynn Robert Urquhart Major McGhuky Michael Shepley Doolep Joseph Tomelty Tjnni| n^ . Eddie Byrne Regan Liam Redmond Valid j of the Kings (COLOR) Capt. Maiburn George couiouris ncr and Lloyd Corrigan arc the uarteu charUa Goidnwr two scientists; Ellen Corby their «*«»*£. wants Gjwjrt, feetf Lady Heather Thatcher to her pet, a man-eating tree; and Vincent Michael Mataka Laura Mason is the niece, a vam- Robert Taylor, Eleanor Parker In Eryptian-lenaed suspense feature. Clerk Paul Carpenter Hollywood, July 6 Metro release (no producer credit!. Stars Robert Taylor, Eleanor Parker. Carlos. Thompson; feature* Kurt Kasznar. _ victor Jory, Leon As|dn, Aido stivani, j time. There is plenty of scope for PamI. TIamaaI TVImaaIaA Lm llAkAai DiMoh 1 ... . - * This melodramatic story of a trek through the jungle to unearth a sadistic swindler has brought the | reaction that the overseas showing of such a situation would do harm to Britain’s prestige at the present pire. Bernard Gorcey is in for his customary role of Louie, the sweet- shop owner, and Paul Wexler is the butler. On technical side, Harry Neu- mann’s photography is standard.' Whit. I an entertaining story in the basic idea, but this present treatment land trite dialog prove a waste of Sarnia GamaL Directed by Robert Pirosh. Written by Pirosh and Karl Tun berg; suggested by historical data in "Gods. Graves and. Scholars." by C. W. Ceram; camera (EastmanColor). Robert Surtees; -j j . ■„ editor, Harold F. Kress; music, Miklos much that is good and Of the im- Rozsa. Pravlewed June* 3, '54. Running portation of Jeanne Crain and n A h»rt T»vi n r Dana Andrews for two of the lead- Ann Mercedes . J’.*.’7-’ Eleanor Parker ihg roles. Presumed appeal will be Philip Mercedes Carlos Thompson to sensation seekers and those not ^YictS'^ I sat 1 u l t ? i of valentine Arko Leon AsUn wild animal life and death lurking Father Anthimos <Aldo Silvanl in the forest. Dancer -.^........^.^.... Santia Gamai D ana Andrews plays an Ameri- {Aspect ratio . 1 . 15 - 1 ) can agent vlsitll ,g Spectators are given a tour of the land of the Nile in this sus- u pense drama, and the backgrounds v n ?Tf r _ 1 ; 1 .> *11 rf offer more freshness to the film The 8 S' ¥htt P «S!S^ than does the routine story. The ??itf vliS ? eir color cameras show off settings never before lensed for a Holly- wood-produced picture and provide 'wS w SliiS 1 *A e ^ some exploitation excitement that t * er0 4 »? 8 will lidn the Dflvoff chAnces sorncthip^ phoney In the setup the The Tamilii^n^M of Robert ^ an ? s out the wake Taylor and Eleanor Parker team to Y 1 * ISfA™! 8 secretary whom topline the cast. Also starred is ^ ? ef ® rc 1 i arn ' newcomer Carlos Thompson, who S® Sl«.*i S ;«* eng lS ed ^?? s * has yet to be seen to any particular suggestion the advantage in a domestic produc- iSf 0 }-FSP? 1 * ia fal ?« claims tion. The story is one dealing with her robbers of the tombs of ;the I!}St, he ii Q S e **?S5 on safari Pharaohs in Egypt, with a side an- ^ough .lions, gle having to do with the estab-' a ?5 Pther lishment that Old Testament ac- counts of Joseph Jn Egypt are lit- F®*ch Joiiniey^' entf'and the, erally true. h*)? 'Wan, ‘He openly- boasts’ 1 of his Some good suspense actlbn and ^^^sftul fr^udficliif’fhlng hfs’ firm thrills are whipped up in the needed rthe dough^tq proceed with screenplay by Robert Pirosh and costly undersea prbbing for dia- Karl Tunberg on the robber score ™ tries to. kill the investi- during the first 70 minutes of foot- Aator on a lion hunt and in a age.. The side angle to the plot is terrific fight, culminating in a ca- wrapped up in the concluding 15 noe chase over the rapids which minutes and, while quite interest- brings the native police to round ing, is anti-climactiq to the main U P the cornered man. . story interest. Pirosh also directed. Apart from improbabilities in and gives satisfactory pacing and the story and dialog^ one .of the Ring of Fear (C’SCOPE-COLOR) Exploitable melodrama with circus background. Marred by mediocre scripting. Warner Bros Hollywood, July 2. .release o£ Wiyne-FeUows I Production, produced by Robert M. Fel- owa. Stars Clyde Beatty, Pat O'Brien. Mickey Spillane: features Sean McCIory. Mbrain Carr, John Bromfield. Directed by James Edward Grant. Written by Paul Fix, Philip MacDonald. James EdWard Grant; camera (tfarnerColor), Edwin HuPan editor, Fred MacDowell; music. Eihil Newman, Arthur Lange. Previewed June 22. '54. Running time. 91 MINS. :::::: Hlnuelf Mickey Sptllane puOUn Se™ McCIory Valerie St., Denis ........ MarUn Carr ArmOnd St. Denis ...... John Bromfield Gonzalez Gonzalez-Gonzalez Twitchy Emmett Lynn Paul Martin Jack Strang Shreveport : Kenneth Tobey Suzette Kathy Cline • (Aspect ratio: 2.55-1) An assortment of good, commer- cial exploitation values should pull ’’Ring of Fear” through to profit- able grosses in most general , mar- ket dates. Chances would have been more assured hri the sales factors becln backed with a more worthwhile story. Best prospectc are in the action-exploitation situ?, "v- While Clyde Beatty, pat G’Brieii and 'Mickey Spillane m*e Starred, and the presence of Beatty and Spillane are among the ballyhoo factors/there’s only one perform- ance in the footage and that by Sean McCIory, Irish-brogued heavy, of the piece. Had James Edward Grant’s direction,‘and the screen. si}ory he wrote with Paul Fix and Philip MacDonald, been This hilarious Irish comedy starts off with, the advantage of having three Hollywood, names to bolster a thlb story, lt is depend- ent for most of its laughs on situ- ations. In addition, there is mag- nificent background... scenery and plenty of local color .to provide all, associated with the brogue and the blarney. It Is- a. natural b.o. win- ner here and its nationalistic ap- peal should find real response in the U. S. The old town hall and local pub are the pivots of activity in a tiny hamlet, with typical rustics and gentry fulfilling the old traditions. The local Hunt has been kept go- ing by the old'sauire who, despite his 80 years, still insists on lead- ing off the meet by jumping the customary 10-foot wall. The old boy literally takes the plunge, landing in the ditch , and passing out with his boots on and atwinkly eye and a bottle of grog. This provides the framework for David* Niven’s* arrival from Eng- land to Inherit the estate and smilingly terminate all kindly cus- toms and concessions. He claims unpaid debts verbally cancelled by his uncle, finds his tippling butler and evicts an old tenant whose minute rent the old squire had scorned to collect. Poaching, which had been genially accepted and fairly apportioned, is now taboo and everyone seethes with revolt. Lofs are drawn as to who shall rub out the.tyrant and every contriv- ance is rigged up and independent- ly operated. Gunshot, .-homemade bombs, steel wire traps and ghostly manifestations all react on the perpetrators rather than their in- tended victim. When a new will turps up disinheriting the new- comers, the village relaxes ttacK into its earefree'normalcy. ‘ Through : all this upheaval, two love, stories are faintly, threaded. Yynnnei *de - (brio,' -v;Wbo once dljtSSed thq yopngs doctor, .returns as >irAttraorive w$qw and s again queers her sister’s .chances, with hint. The dashing lord of- the manor looks a far better catch so the siren transfers her wiles ana sticks despite his unpopularity ana los.fbf inheritance. Some may regret the unnleasant character so well depicted oy Niven as alien to 1 his usual P^' (Continued on page 22)