Variety (November 1954)

FILM REVIEWS Lust Time I Saw Paris (COLOR) Topflight romantic drama ivith strong cast names and good b.o. possibilities. Hollywood, Nov 2. Metro rcle. of Jack Cummings pro- duction. Stars Elizabeth Taylor, Van Johnson, Walter Pidgeon, Donna Reed; features Eva Gabor, Kurt Kasznar, George Dolenz, Roper Moore. Directed by Richard Brooks. Screenplay; Julius and Phiitp C,'-. .Epstein arid Richard Brooks;, based, on the . F. -Scott Fitzgerald, short , story., ••Babylon Revisited"; camera. ..(Techni- color), Joseph Ruttenbcrg; editor, John Dunriing; scoie;-Conrad Salingerv musical supervision, Saul .Chaplin; song, ; rhe Last Time I Saw Paris” by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein 2d; Previewed Oct. 28> (54;. Running time,. 1U M|NS. Athena (MUSICAL—^COLOR) •Helen' llr.wirt Charles Wills . James Ellswirth Marion Ellswirth Lofra'inc Quarl. Maurice. Claude Mali Paul Vicki .Mama .,. . .. Barney ...-..•. Campbell Sirtger Elizabeth' Taylor v.... Van Johnson ... Walter Pidgeon Donna. Heed ...... Eva .Gabor. Kurt. Kasznar George Dolenz .... -Roger Mooi c Sandy Descher Celia : Lovak.V ;,,.. . . Peter Leeds John Doucette, '.v: ' 'Odette.- Youthful emphasis In names of Jane Powell, Edmund Fur- dom, Debbie Reynolds, Vic Damone to help prospects for ligHUveight musical escapism. Hollywood, Oct. 29. Metro release of Joe Pasternak produc- tion Stars .Jane Powell, Edmund Purdom, Debbie Reynolds, Vic : Damone,' Louis Calhern;. features Linda Christian, Evelyn Varden, Ray Collins, Carl Bepton Reid, Howard Wendell, Virginia:.Gibson, Henry Nakamura. Directed by Richard Thorpe.. Written by WHUartl. Ludwig, Leonard Spigelgassr camera (Eastman Color), Rob-; ert Planck; editor; Gene Ruggiero; .songs, Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane; music supervised and conducted ,by George. Stoll; choreography,- Valerie Bettis. Pre- viewed Oct, 26, ''54.' Running- ti 95 MINS. The Sisters: Athena .. .,. ...... •.- Jane . Powell Minerva Debbie' Reynolds Niobe , ..;..... . .... Virginia GibsOn Aphrodite Nancy Kilgas Calliope Dolores Starr Medea Jane Fischer Ceres' .................... Gecilc Rogers (Aspect ratio: 1.75-1) “The. Last Time I Saw Paris” is an engrossing romantic drama that tells a good story with, fine per- formances and an overall honesty of dramatic purpose. It is an above-average ; entry for the better- situations and! because of its com- pelling love story,, set against a Paris locale, it should fare okay elsewhere, too, although the 116 minutes a cumbersome length, for. the more general playdates. Such names as. Elizabeth Taylor, Van Johnson, Walter Pidgeon and Donna Reed provide marquee flash and should help the bookings. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story, “Babylon Revisited’’ has b£en up- dated and revised as the basis for the potent screenplay on which di- rector Richard Brooks shares credit with Julius J. and Philip G. Epstein. Metro . acquired the script property from Paramount and it has been , given class hand- ling under the production guidance of Jack Cummings, reflecting good taste and good story-telling all down the line. Performahcewise, MisS Taylor’s work as the heroine should be a milestone for her. It is her best work to date and shows a thorough grasp of the. character, which she makes Warm and real, riot just beautiful. Brooks’ direction also gets a sock response from John- son. The latter’s portrayal of the Fitzgerald hero easily lines up with his best, if not topping previ- ous highs. Pidegon, too, scores, in what is a definite change of pace as an elderly-playboy father of two beautiful daughters. Miss Reed, while with less footage than most of her co-stars, makes her charac- ter of a. girl blighted by an: unre- quited love entirely understand- able, even sympathetic. Plot around which the dramatics spi is laid in Paris in the reck-, less, gay period that followed V-E Day of World War II. There, Johnson meets and marries Miss Taylor and starts a struggling ex- istence as a day-time reporter for a news service and wouldbe author at night. Even the faith of his wife cannot balance the brand of failure he assumes after too many rejection slips and when some sup- posedly worthless Texas oil prop- erty suddenly gushes into wealth he becomes a playboy himself, dooming the marriage and eventu- ally leading to-the wife’s death. This story is told in one long flashback after art opening' that finds Johnson, now a . published writer but ho longer rich, return- ing to Paris to reclaim his small daughter, Sandy Descher, from the custody of Miss Reed, his, sister-in- law who loves hinfy and her. hus- band, George Dolenz. This end- ing, while some may find it rather .long, is emotionally sure and will wring not a few tears from audi- tors. The post-war period of the footage, which occupies most of it, \ ;ieh with Parisian flavor and the script, and Brooks’ direction are the nearest thing yet to. recreating the reckless 'gaiety that . Fitzgerald caught in his writings) “ .. In addition to the four stars.-the picture-has Ape supporting work from; the other casters, including Eva Gabor as a gay divorcee; Kurt Kasznar, cafe-owning friend of the married couple;. Dolenz, young Miss Descher and Roger Moore as r. professional romeo. Threading through the footage .and theming it with beautiful melody Is the Jerome Kern-Os ar Hammerstein. 2d title song, hauh- tingly sung by .Odette. It recurs often ih the Conrad Salinger score. The Technicolor photography by Joseph Ruttenberg adds tinted beauty to the picture. Also rating credit for worthy contributions are Helen Rose’, gowns, the art direc- tion and set •decorations and other technical assists. Brog, Adam Calhorn Shaw,. .. .Edmund Purdom Johniiy Nyle Vic Damone Graridpa Mulvalfl .'.Louis Calhern Grandma: Salome Mulvain Evelyn Varden Bel . ... Linda; Christian . Mr'. • Ray Collins Mr. ,. V.. , ..; Carl Benton Reid Mr. ...,..Howard Wendell Roy .: .... Henry -Nakamura E.d Perkins .......-.;... Steve Reeves ** .! Universe’’- of 1950- Miss Seely.. Kathleen Freeman Bill Nichols Richard Sahre (Aspect ratio: 1.75-1.) The propects for this lightweight musical will be helped generally by the emphasis oh youth in the casting of Jane Powell, Edmurid Purdom, Debbie Reynolds and Vic. Damone to carry off the top roman- tic chores. There’s . nothing ■ par- ticularly outstanding in the offer- ing, but it manages to be fairly pleasant tintuner. . entertainment most of the time arid so should get by in the; regular. market; The Joe Pasternak production spots seven tunes by Hugh Martin and . Ralph Blane, several of which rate reprises, and “Chacun Le Sait” from “Daughter of the Regiment,” which Miss Powell warbles most effectively. Damone’s best is “The Girl Next Door.” Also, listening well is “Love Can Change the Stars,’’ sung, at various times by the. Misses Powell and Reynolds, an,d Damone. “Venezia” is preten- tiously presented as a big produc- tion number with Damone singing, i but listening better is “Imagine,” which he does with Miss Reynolds. Others are the title tune, “Vocal- ize” and “I Never Felt Better;” The nonsensical fun in the screen story by William Ludwig and Leonard Spigelgass shows what happens when a health faddist family , of seven sisters, a physical culturist grandfather and a grand- ma who communes with the stars becomes involved in the lives of Purdom, stuffy young attorney, and Damone, yoilng crooner. The lat- ter willing to have Miss Rey- nolds move in on him, even if the stars hadn’t made it inevitable, but Miss Powell has more trouble swinging Purdom into line, because he’s a proper Bostonian with a fiancee, Linda Christian, and a budding political career. Some rou- tine, misunderstandings ensue as Richard Thorpe’s direction sends the players through the involve 1 - rnents but the windup finds every- one properly paired off. Assisting the younger players in excellent style are Calhern as the muscle-flexing grandpa and Eve- lyn Varden as the grandma. Miss Christian, too, has her moments as the fiancee, as do Ray Collins, Carl Benton Reid and Howard Wendell, Purdom’s political ad- visors, and Henry Nakamura, the attorney’s house boy. The Eastman tints, printed by i Technicolor, show up well in the lensirig by Robert Planck. The art direction is good and George Stoll’s musical conducting gives the score . a good beat. Brog. 'AHIETY other comedy ! the “Ma. and Pa Kettle” series. For ;the same down-to-earth humor, long used , in the. “Kettles,” ‘ employed in “Romance” with virtually, the same results. It should mop up. in the smaller situations which cater to a 1 grassroots clientele. Adding to the film’s “Kettle” flavor is Marjorie Main (the origi- nal “Ma Kettle”), director .Charles Lariiont and co-producer Richard Wilson. Both Lamont and Wilson carry credits on . previous “Kettle” pix before Percy Kilbride. (“Pa Kettle”) “retired” from the series. Studio. is currently attempting to lure Kilbride before the cameras to resume his original role in a fresh “Kettle”. . The Kay Lenard story, which the writer also screenplayed, is located on a dude ; rartch. With, such a set- ting it’s too obvious that the es- tablishment would be peopled with an assortment of types on which to hang slapstick situations and other scenes too humorous to mention. There’sd.hfe problem of the dissatis- fied Quests, no cook for the week- end, a predatory blonde boarder with designs on the male proprie- tor, etc. ; ' -. While the material is rather thin the cast makes a. gobd try at giving it credibility. Marjorie Main,* as a replacement cook, scores handily on the laughmeter.. Chill Wills generates levity as the ranch owner who prefers his magician avocation to tending to the premises. Pedro Gonzales-Gonzales and Alfonso Bedoya are amusing as a pair of Mexican employees, of the ;ranch while Rudy Vallee contribs some wry humor as a wealthy guest fond, of good cooking. . Also, fitting nicely into the over- all format are supporting players Ruth Hampton, Benay . Venuta, Judith Ames and Darryl Hickman, among others. Some four tunes ate worked into the 80 minutes of footage. Aside from the title num- ber of “Ricochet Romance,” they include "Las Altenitas,” “Para Vigo Me V.oy” and “Un Tequilla.” Bed- oya croons “Ricochet” while the Guadalajara Trio handles the rest. Producers Robert Arthur and Richard Wilson appear to have ex- tracted maximum values from the modest budget. Charles Lamont’s direction accents the bucolic touch in the right' places' while George Robinson creditably lensed the venture^ Editing Of ‘ Russell Schoengarth is competent as is Joseph Gershenson’s musical su- pervision and other technical credits. Gilb. Drum Beal (COLOR) Alan Ladd in C’Scope outdoor : actioner with good prospects at the b.o, Hollywood, Nov. 2. . Warner Bros, release of a Jaguar pro-, duction. Stars Alan Ladd; co-stars. Audrey Dalton, Marisa Pavan; features Robert Keith, Rodolfo Acosta, Charles Bronson, Warner Anderson. Written and directed by. Delmer Daves, Camera (Warriercolov), J. Pevcrell .Marley; editor, Clarence Kol- ster; music, Victor Young.. Previewed Opt. 28, '54. Running time, 107; MINS. Johnny Mackay -i Alan Ladd Nancy Meek Audrey Dalton. Wednesday, November 3, 1954 Captain. Jack, renegade redskin forcefully played by CharlesBtoh- son (formerly Buchihsky). The peace is to be effected without force of arms, which presents twor gun Ladd with quite a problem. His first efforts are stymied by a revenge killing which touches off a massacre by Captain Jack’s braves. Later, white negotiators, are killed, and Ladd almost so, by redskin treachery during a parley.. The President relieves the hero of the no-force edict and he everitr ually brings the egocentric Cap- tain Jack-to the hangman’s scaffold. Two femmes star with Ladd. Audrey Dalton does nicely as the eastern girl who comes west and winds up with, the hero. Marisa Pavan scores as the Indian girl who. gives her life to-save Ladd. Among. other featured players who stand out along with Bronson are Robert Keith, the stage driver who caused the, massacre;: Rodolfo Acosta, as the bloodthirsty Scar- face Charlie; Warner Anderson, as General Canby; Elisha CoOk, Jr., treacherous white; .Anthony Caru- so, a good Modoc; Richard Gaines, professional peace-maker, and Hayden Rorke as President. Grant. The Victor Young score .is used properly and excellently to sharp- en the drama. It includes a title tune sung behind the credits. The overall technical credits are gobd. Brog. Lease of Llfi* (BRITISH—COLOR) Robert Donat in leistirely- paced story of country parson with a year to live; limited b.o. prospects. London, Oct. 19.. General Film Distributors release of Ealing Studios-Miehael. Balcon production. Stars Robert Donat; Kay Walsh., Denholm Elliott, Adrierine Cori'i, Directed by Charles Frend.. Screenplay, Eric Ambler; camera (Eastmaricolor); Douglas Slocohibe.; editor,.; Peter Tanner; music, .Alan Rawsthorne.. At Gaumont, London. Run- ning time, 94 MINS. William Thorne. Robert Donat The Fast and the Furious Chase mellQr with sports car racing theme; for lowercase programmer dates. Hollywood, Oct. 28. American. Releasing. Corp., release o£ Palo Alto .(Roger Corman) production. Stars John. Ireland, Dorothy Malone; fea- tures Bruce Carlisle, Iris Adrian, Marshall Bradford. Directed by Edwards. Sampson and John Ireland. Screenplay;; Jerome . Odium, Jean Hdwell; frorn a story by Roger Corman: camera,. Floyd Crosby; editor, Edwards .Sampson; 'music com- posed and directed by. Alexander Gerens. Previewed Oct.. 27, (54. Runni time,. 73 MINS. - Frank. Webster John Ireland Connie Adair ........ Dorothy Malone Faber . v .... . Bruce Carlisle Race Official .Marshall. Bradford Sally Jean Howell Police Sergeant :.. ..... Larry Thor Gas Station.Attendant Robin Morse Truck Driver runo .DeSdta Waitress .. . Iris ..Adrian (Aspect, ratio:: L75-1) Vera Thorne ... SUsan. Thorne Martin Blake ... The Dean .... Headmaster Foley ..,. ..... Boy With Book Verger .Dr/ Pembury Solicitor . Jeweller Mrs; Sproatley . ; Sproatley : Carter Robert Donat Kay Walsh Adrierine. Co.rri . Denholm Elliott . Walter Fitzgerald Cyril Raymond Regiriald Beckwith . Robert Sandford Frank Atkinson ... Alari Webb . . : ichard Wattig rederick Piper , Vida Hope Beckett Bould Richard Leech Toby ;• Bill Sattcrwhite •Scarface Charlie , Captain Jack i.. General Canby Crackel Manok ... .;.... Dr. Thomas Jesse Grant ..,..... General Grant Modoc Jiriv. Bogus. Charlie .. Gerieral Gilliam Lt. GoodsaU Capt. Alonzo Clar Lily White - .-. "Mr.' Dyar ....... Mrs. Gi'ant . .... Marisa Pavan ....' Robert Keith Rodolfo Acosta . Charles Bronson Warner Anderson Elisha Cook Jr: .. Anthony Caruso. Richard Gaines ..... Edgar Stchli Hayden Rorke Frank de Kova .,... Perry Lopez Willis Boucney Peter Hansen George Lfewis . .. Isabel Jewell .. Frank Ferguson . . Peggy: Converse Itlcoclipt ftoniance (SONGS) Grassroots comedy with “Ma and Pa Kettle” format. Universal release of Robert. .Arlhur- . Richard Wilson production. Stars Mar*, joric Main; features-Chill Wills, Pedro ’ Oonzales-Gonzalcs, .Alfonso Bedoya, .Rudy Vallee. Directed by Charles Lamont. Screenplay and story,. Kay Lenard: cam- era; George Robinson; editor, Russell : Schoengarth;: musical supervision, Joseph Gershenson; songs, Larry Coleman Jr;, Joe Darioii,' Norman Gimbel, J, J. Espi- nosa, Ernesto Lecuona, Arturo G. Gon- zales. Tradeshown, N.Yi, Oct. 19, ’54. Rurining tirrie, 80 MINS. I'nnsy- Jones Marjorie Main Tom. Williams Chill Wills Manel Gonzales, -Pedro Gonzales-Gonzales Alfredo. Gopzales ...... Alfonso Bedoya Worthington Higgenmacher Rudy Vallee Angela Ann Mansfield Ruth Hampton Claire Rcnard Benay Venuta Betsy Williams Judith Ames : Dave. King ............. Darryl Hickman. j'immy ,Williams Lee Aaker Miss Clay ......Irene : Ryan •Mr. Webster .Phillip Tonge Mr. Daniels Phillip Chambers Mr. Harvey Charles Watts- Mrs. Harvey . Marjorie Bennett (Aspect ratio: 1.85-1) Although wearing the misleading ' title of “Ricochet Romance,” this ( Universal entry boils "down to an- (Aspect ratio: 2.55-1 ) The Modoc; Indian uprising on tfie CaUfornia-Oregori border ih 1869 is the basis for this Alan Ladd outdoor .action starrer. Done in Cinemascope and WarnerColor, and with . the Ladd name to brighten tli.e marquees, it, should get. a good boxoffice response in the outdoor market. Picture, first for the Jaguar productibn unit, was produced; di- rected and . written by Delmer Daves lor Warner : Bros, release. The scripting is a careful job, in. the- main holding to fact with some Actionizing for dramatic values. Thus, - there is less of the fanciful heroics encountered in most out- door actioners,. but action hasn’t been neglected, and the characters, are solidly developed. While the natural l&va-fort used by the.war- ring Modocs to hold off the U. S. Army; still exists, Daves found bet- ter pictorial values by locationing in the Coconino National Forest of Northern Arizona. These Values are strikingly displayed in the tinted C’Scop.e lensing by J. Peverell Marley., Alan Ladd is seen as a frontiers- man commissioned by President U. S. Grant to negotiate a peace with the rebelling-,Modocs- led by For many years among the top stars of the British screen, Robert Donat has., restricted * his film appearances in recent times be-, cause of persistent ill-health and recurrent asthma attacks. In these circumstances,, it might have been considered advisable to provide a strong dramatic vehicle for him instead of the quiet and leisurely tale which is unfolded in this new Ealing production. A modest box- office p;ic. for the home market, despite its quota tag-,, this has lim- ited appeal in overseas, territories, The. theme of “Lease of Life” is by- no means unusual, although it is an offbeat piece of writing for Eric Ambler who is usually asso- ciated with suspense and action. This is: a quiet tale of a country parson, who finds real happiness when he is given a year to live although he has the problem of. raising money to enable his daugh- ter to take up a music scholarship iri London. The cathedral city in which the story is set and the surrounding rural communities prbvide a nat- ural and attractive background. The principal characters are clearly etched and there is a faint gesture of malicious local gossip to con- trast with the more serene atmos- phere of the rectory. There is a side issue concerning dying parishioner who entrusts his money to the vicar rather than allow his grasping wife to .lay hands on it.. But it is. the vicar’s wife whq suc- cumbs to: temptation and steals a wad of notes to pay for her daugh- ter’s tuition. This aspect of the plot never rings true. . In. a. performance; which is at times reminiscent of his famous “Mr. Chips” characterization, Rob- ert Donat dominates the screen as he plays the sick parsbfr with ah i appealing sincerity and. Conviction, It is unfortunate that even such a forceful individual, performance is unable to infuse extra life into the production. Kay Walsh plays his wife ih a sympathetic but limited way. Adrienne Corri, as their gifted daughter, is poorly served by the script and has a hard job to con- vince. Denholm Elliott, as her friend and teacher, has flimsy and relatively unimportant part, Vida Hope gives a characteristi- cally. individual performance as the dying man’s wife and there are good sketches by Cyril Raymond as the headmaster and Reginald Beckwith as a local reporter. Mt/ro. High-priced sportscar bombs furnish most of the action . lor “The Fast and the Furi modestly-budgeted - chase . melier that is slanted fpr lowercase pro- grammer bookings, Racing S dotage is interesting but becomes repeti- tious and helps to stririg out the . running time to an unnecessary 73 minutes, an unhandy length for supporting playdates. New indie distribution outfit, American Releasing Corp., is han- dling the Palo Alto, production as its first of four features from the - latter . unit. John Ireland. and Dorothy Malone topline and supply the picture with familiar names and generally competent ..perform- ances. Ireland shares directorial credit with Edwards Sampson, who also edited, and they manage to bring off the Jerome Odium-Jean Howell script satisfactorily for release aims. Producer Roger Cor- man furnished the story. Ireland is seen as a. fugitive frorii a murder frame who Com- mandeers Miss Malone’s sports car, taking her with him. To get out of the Country he enters the car in a face that will finish across the. border in Mexico. Meanwhile he and Miss Malone are getting romantic sp windup finds him deciding to go back and fight the false charges.; Assisting in carrying the yarn are Larry Thor; police sergeant; Marshall Bradford> race official; Iris Adrian and Jean Howell* among others. Camera work by Floyd Crosby, the Alexander Gerens score and other technical credits come off okay. Brog, La Grande Speranza (The Great Hope) (ITALIAN—COLOR) Rome, Oct. 19. Minerva release of Excelsa production, *Stars : . Lois . Maxwell, Renato Jlnldini, Directed by' Duilio' Coletti. Screenplay,. Coletti, Oreste Biancoli, Marc’Antoni Bragadin; from story by Bragadiri; car era (Ferraniacolor), Leonida Barboni; music, Nino Rota; editor; Giuliana At- ,tenni. Previewed in Rome. Running time, 91 MINS. Captain Renato Baldini Lily . . ..,, ;.. Lois Maxwell 1st Mate ... v V.. Folco Lulli Officer .-.... Carlo Bellini- . Lieutenant Ido Bufl Landi Johnny -... . Earl Cameron Carter Edward FJemming Steiner . Henri Vidon Ciccio ......'. ..; ..... Carlo Delle Piane Fernandez Jose Jaspe Jackie Tom Middleton:' Pacifist despite its wartime set- ting, this pic has patriotic, human- itarian and entertainment factors which hint a good general recep- tion almost anywhere. An* Eng- lish-language Version, now being prepped, may rale a general^ au- dience looksee on some American circuits with some trimming sug- gested to speed pace a bit. Other- wise, pic has all well-blended re-, quisites excitement. suspense. Warmth and humor for good en- tertainment. Well-balanCed color • production, though short onnexportable names, shows that Italy, can turn out com- mercial fare of quality without running to extremes current in the exploitation market. If this film is indicative of a trend, it looks promising for local industrial sta- bility, Story, based on true war- time . events, narrates some of the adventures by an Italian . subma- rine and its crew during the last war. On its travels, it picks up survivors of its victims, thanks to its captain’s humanitarian streak. Among these are a British nurse, a British officer, crew members of various nationalities, a writer, etc. All types are represented, and all react differently to the' - environ- ment, with the Britisher rebelling, the nurse slowly warming to the Italian captain and others becom- ing pals with members of the crew. Xmas spirit on board is shared by all, arid a gerieral. feeling of corii- radeship, aided by Italo’s attitude to war, is nurtured and spread. The finale points, to hope that thi fellowship Will continue after hos- tilities have ceased. Although slanted to the Italian side, the ar- gument holds water thanks to un- derplaying of script and cast. Renato Baldini i$ fine as the (Continued on page 11)