Variety (June 1956)

6 FILM BE VIEWS Wednesday, June 27, 1956 Moby Dick John Huston’s technically-ab¬ sorbing re-telling of the mad captain who chased the In¬ destructible white whale. No women and not too much ex¬ citement in this Gregory Peck starrer which will need plenty of : selling. ' Wai'ner Bros, release of Moulin (John Iluston) production. Stars Gregory Peck; features Richard Basehart, Leo Genn. Produced & directed by John Huston; associate producer, Lehman Katz; asst, director. Jack Martin; screenplay by Ray Bradbury & Huston based on Herman Melville’s novel. Camera, Oswald Morris; i editor, Russell Lloyd; music, Philip Stain- ton, conducted by Louis Levy. Tradeshow, N. Y. June 21, 1956. Running time, 1H MINS. Captain Ahab.Gregory Peck Ishmacl .Richard Basehart 1st Mate Starbuck.Leo Genn 2d Mate Stubb.Harry Andrews 3d Mate Flask.Seamus Kelly Queenqueg .. .Friedrich Ledebur Father Mapple... Orson Welles Manxman .Bernard Miles Tavern Owner.Peter Coffin Tashtego .. • • • Tom Clegg Pip .Tamba Alleney Carpenter .Noel Purcell Blacksmith .Ted Howard Daggoo .Edric Connor peleg .Mervyn Johns Bildad .Philip Stainton Capt. Boomer .James R. Justice Capt. Gardiner.Francis de Wolf Elijah .Royal Dano Costly weather and production delays on location in Ireland and elsewhere have so enlarged the bring-home price on John Huston’s “Moby Dick” that the initial ques¬ tion, for a tradepaper review, is whether the boxoffice returns can redeem the investment, estimated as high as $5,000,000. The answer cannot be flatly stated but this is for sure: it will be an uphill climb. "Moby Dick” in its final 116- minute form is interesting more often than exciting, faithful to the time and text more than great theatrical entertainment. Essen¬ tially it is a “chase” picture with all the inherent interest thereby implied and yet not escaping the quality of sameness and repeti¬ tiousness which often dulls the chase formula. The film colony and all who are respectful of cinematic technicali¬ ties will be inclined to hail the handling of the monster albino whale, in which area special effectsman Gus Lohman shares credit with the producer-direc¬ tor. It was astute, too, of Hus¬ ton to avoid the rich calen¬ dar colors of modern film tinting and work out, with head camera¬ man Oswald Morris, a print com¬ bining the color and black-and- white, creating a sort of modified paraphrase of Technicolor calcu¬ lated to capture the sombre beau¬ ties of New Bedford, circa 1840, and its whaling ways. Phil Stainton’s music, as con¬ ducted by Louis Levy, undoubtedly adds much to the sweep of the subject, yet never attracts atten¬ tion to itself. In short, true mood music and bridging has been achieved. Together with the canny editing of Russell Lloyd, the im¬ portant and unexaggerated ship ahd tempest sound effects of Les¬ lie Hodgson and the formidable recording job credited to John Mitchell and Len Shilton under Harold King’s supervision, the in¬ dustry must surely recognize the dedicated labors of topnotch crafts¬ men. As for the research, the Insight, the taste and imagination of the art director, Ralph Brinton, and his two aides, Stephen and Geof¬ frey Drake, only the production diary could adequately trace their contributions. Cecil Ford as pro¬ duction manager, Jack Martin as Huston’s assistant director, and Lehman Katz as associate produc¬ er, indubitably belong to the spe¬ cially credit-worthy. In the first half hour of the un¬ spooling the viewer is struck by the quiet tone and pace of the story-telling, the slow build. This may prove a major mis judgment for the story is a long time pro¬ gressing from muted orchestration to full crashing tympani. The types in this early sequence are wondrously selected (from the natives of Ireland) and the film does exude a feeling of being re¬ freshingly offbeat in its casting. Seldom have such sad-faced women been presented at a ship’s de¬ parture. Orson Welles appears early and briefly as a local New Bedford preacher who climbs up into a picturesque pulpit made to resem¬ ble a ship’s spar and delivers a God-fearing sermon on Jonah and the whale. Present in the pews are several members of the crew the viewer is about to meet and the walls of the church are thick with memorials to men lost while whal¬ ing. Welles turns in an effective bit of brimstone exhortation, ap¬ propriate to time and place. None of the crew of the Pequod Is to return from the voyage save only he who tells the tale, Ishm'ael, the narrator, played with an elo¬ quently sensitive face by Richard Basehart. The story opens and nature and life which, runs the brooding Melville novel, are known:best to those about to die. At picture's end the viewer has a sense of a daring and imagina¬ tive producer who has, like Capt. Ahab, ventured very far indeed, only to fall short of the boxoffice kill. There is a sense of an attrac¬ tive actor who cannot feel, and hence cannot project, the full con¬ vulsions of psychotic malice; and lastly it may be permissible, to guess that in this age, which has looked upon the mushroom-?haped horror of the atomic explosion, the capers of Moby Dick are less awe¬ some than of ;yore. Land. Pardners closes with hi* voice and Ishmael appears intermittently throughout. The ship and its odd assortment of characters are, in a sense, first seen and subsequently reported through his eyes. Yet Ishmael is only once or twice more than an observer. His initial- shock upon viewing the tattooed Polynesian harpooner Queequeg and his knocking down of two sadistic sail¬ ors are about the only plot “par¬ ticipations” of Ishmael. Huston has contrived arresting “business” in connection with the signing on of Ishmael and Quee¬ queg by two pious Quaker Breth¬ ren who own, but do not sail with, the F^quod. The youth and the savage have ignored a dockside prophecy of calamity flung at them by an Elijah (Royal Dano), which is the first statement of the story’s leitmotif of unswervable doom. Something like 30 minutes elapse before the film’s star is seen on screen. The patient weaving of the background tapestry is first ac- -^- _ . - computed and then Gregory Peek | Screenplay, Sidney Sheldon; screen story, Jerry Davis; based on story by Mervin J. Houser; camera (Technicolor), Daniel Fapp; editor, Archie Marshck; music con¬ ducted by Frank De Vol; songs, James Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn; choreography, Nick Castle. Previewed June 17, ’56. Running time, SA MINS. Wade Kingsley Jr.Jerry Lewis Slim Mosely Jr..Dean Martin Carol Kingsley.Lori Nelson Dolly Riley.Jackie Loughery Dan Hollis.John Baragrey Rio . Jeff Morrow Mrs. Kingsley.Agnes Moorehead Whitey .Lon Chaney Jr. Red .Mickey Finn Martin ft Lewis in amusing sagebrush antics; good pros¬ pects. Hollywood, June 17.' Paramount release o£ Paxil Jones pro¬ duction. Stars Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Lori Nelson, Jeff Morrow, Jackie Lough- hovers above the crew, grim-faced and hate-obsessed. He wears a stump leg made of the jaw of a whale and he lives only to kill the greatest whale of all, the white- hided super-monster, Moby Dick, the one which had chewed off his leg. The debate must now begin as to Peck’s performance. Captain Ahab, the role played in 1932 by John Barrymore in Warners’ pre¬ vious version of the. Herman Mel¬ ville novel, is heavy with meta¬ physical implications. Is Ahab the incarnation of human perversity and, pride, or of hell-bent defiance of man’s fate? The answer to Mel¬ ville’s symbology will not be found at this counter. This is the more immediate fact: Peck’s Ahab is not very “elemen¬ tal.” It is not that he fails in han¬ dling the rhetoric. Actually he does quite well with the stylized speech in which Melville wrote and Which Ray Bradbury and Hus¬ ton have preserved in their screen¬ play. It’s just that Peck often seems understated and much too gentlemanly for a. man supposedly consumed by insane fury. When Ahab is intent upon working his will upon the crew, asking them to pass up commercial kills for the sake of his grand revenge, the dra¬ matic effects are Inherent in the reactions . of the crew members rather than in Peck’s own inward¬ ness. For all that, “Afoby Dick” is a technicians’ picture — both its greatnesses and its shortcomings lying in that direction. There is one highly questionable detail— namely, makeup. Leaving aside" the fact that the star not infre¬ quently suggests a melancholy Abe Lincoln there is the fact that, in scene after scene, his makeup draws the eye and thereby spoils the illusion. The long white mark starting in the hair, cutting down the cheek and, repeating in the chin whiskers Is too frequently a put-on for the day’s shooting. This becomes a serious repeated affront to believability. Makeup also falters badly In the face and nose tattoo of Queequeg and suggests nothing so much as a decalcomania job. This charac¬ terization is inherently exotic but has been curiously miscast since Friedrich Ledebur emerges as a Polynesian with a Balkan accent! Without a female speaking’ part in the film, “Moby Dick” must carry a question mark as to its appeal to women. The best selling bets lie, presumably, in the theme of ad¬ venture generally plus the mighty splashing and churning of the white whale when finally sur¬ rounded. At a guess a great amount . of Moulin Production’s whale-size budget went Into the photographing of the feature's climactic 20 minutes. Ahab dies roped to the back of Moby Dick after harpooning the monster again and again. The whale submerges for a time and when next surfacing the dead Ahab is pinnioned against its bulk with an obviously intended sugges¬ tion of crucifixion. The sight of the triumphant whale and the dead captain, whom he had con¬ sistently opposed as a madman, now drives the Quaker first mate (ably played by Leo Genn) himself mad with a lust to have Moby Dick's blubber. Showing an eye of calculating menace the big Whale charges in one final eruption of violence. Fairly amazing scenes follow in rapid succession as the whale crunches men and long boats, whips up the ocean Into a veritable maelstrom into which ship, boats and impudent mortals all go down. Only Ishmael sur¬ vives, safe on the water-tight cof¬ fin which Queequeg had ordered- made by the ship’s carpenter. The whale has been riddled with harpoons and tied round with ropes. But he is untouched like the dark ungraspable forces of Rebel In Town Above-average entertainment in suspense, outdoor-actioner. Excellent program entry. Hollywood, June 22. United Artists release of Howard W. Koch (Bel-Air) production. Stars John Payne, Ruth Roman, J. Carrol Naish, Ben Cooper, John Smith; features Ben John¬ son, James Griffith, Mary Adams,* Bobby Clark; Miml Gibson, Directed by-Alfred Werker. Screenplay, Danny Arnold; cam¬ era, Gordon Avil; editor, John F. Schrey- er; music, Les Baxter; song, Baxter and Lenny Adelson. Previewed June 20, '56. Running time, .77 MINS. John WiUoughby.John Payne Nora Willoughby.Ruth Roman Bedloe Mason.J. Carrol Naish Gray Mason.Ben Cooper Wesley Mason.John. Smith Adam Russell....’.James Griffith Grandmaw Ackstadt.Mary Adams Petey Willoughby.Bobby Clark Llsbeth Ackstadt.Mimi Gibson Cain Mason.Cain Mason Doctor ...Joel Ashley Frank Mason.. .Ben Johnson Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis go western with a vengeance in “Pardners,” and what takes place out on the prairie is good comedy promising profitable playdates. Pic’s origin (albeit extremely loose) is Paramount’s 1936 “Rhythm On the Range,” Bing Crosby star¬ rer, but there have been so many switches made this can hardly be termed an actual remake. Paul Jones helms the produc¬ tion, rather ironically titled in view of the upcoming Martin-Lewis di¬ vorce, in able fashion to mix up the laughs, songs and action in proportions that will strike the fapey of M&L fans. Norman Tau- rog, who reined “Rhythm” back in 1936, also directs “Pardners” in first class style, keeping the com¬ edy rolling fast most of the way as the standard oater cliches are put through the risibility wringer. Sid¬ ney Sheldon gives it good scripting from a screen story by Jerry Davis, which was based on the "Rhythm” original by Mervin J. Houser. A prolog sets the plot as a young baby Is taken east by his mother while the father and his pard get themselves killed by some masked riders. A suitable number of years are jumped to have that baby now a young man who yens to return to the wide open spaces and does via buying a prize bull for the ranch run by the son of his late dad’s partner, also grown up. Hilar¬ ity is mostly concerned with Lewis’ comical swaggering as a wouldbe cowpoke and his cowardly reaction to the dangers of the plains and the tough hombres who inhabit it. History looks ready to repeat it¬ self via a new gang of masked rid¬ ers but Lewis, with new pardner Martin, is able to free the west of the heavies and becomes accepted. As a team, Martin & Lewis come across strongly, with the laugh meat rightfully tossed to the latter while Martin takes care of the straighter chores and most of the vocalistics. Of the Sammy Cahn- James Van Heusen songs offered, “Buckskin Beauty,” done by Lewis with some country choreography by Nick Castle, has a good square dance lilt. The title tune is fair, but better are “The Wind! The Wind!” and “Me. ’N You ’N the Moon” as done by Martin. Lori Nelson, providing the ro¬ mance for Martin, and Jackie Loughery the same duties with Lewis, are the attractive femme leads, while Agnes Moorehead scores as Lewis' dominating moth¬ er. John Baragrey and Jeff Mor¬ row are good as the principal heavies, with assists from Lon Chaney Jr., Mickey Finn and otjh-ers. The VistaVision camera work in Technicolor by Daniel Fapp is top grade, while are direction, editing and the conducting of the score by Frank De Vol'are well executed. Brog. Occasionally, a budget picture comes along that is a great deal more worthy than its program classification would indicate. Such a one is “Rebel In Town,” which, shapes as an exceptionally good en¬ try. Because of its western set-, ting, it most likely will be an out¬ door actioner, but it can also stand up to labelling as a suspense drama, thanks to a good script that is intelligently handled on the pro¬ duction, direction and playing ends. The Bel-Air production, pro¬ duced by Howard W. Koch and di¬ rected by Alfred Werker for ex¬ ecutive producer Aubrey Schenck, has familiar marquee names in John Payne, Ruth Roman and J. Carrol Naish, along with the newer monickers of Ben Cooper and John Smith, to aid the bookings in its intended market. Werker’s direction keeps a fine rein on the dramatics in Danny Arnold’s excellent script, unfolding the plot at a suspenseful pace and keeping audience interest high. The characters in the tale appear real and the economical dialog they speak goes well with the situa¬ tions. A brief synopsizing can’t take into account the various writ¬ ing, directorial and performance touches that add substance. A Confederate family of a griz¬ zled patriarch and his four sons is on the run in the west soon after the Civil War. They stop for wa¬ ter in a small town. A little boy, son of. an ex-Union officer, snaps a toy pistol at the back of one of the Confederates. He whirls and fires by instinct and the boy is dead. Thereafter conflict builds a mounting tension; in the town, between the little boy’s parents, and among the rebel family. The ending is well-resolved after a number of actionful, and violent, sequences. Payne and Miss Roman come over extremely well as the parents of little. Bobby Clark, the boy who is killed, handling the revenge and forgiveness phases finely. Naish does another of his standout char¬ acter performances as the bearded Confederate father, while Cooper scores as the sensitive younger son who wants his family to do what is right about the shooting. Smith clicks as the instinctive killer among the rebels, giving his char¬ acter a sUspenseful menace. Ben Johnson and Cain Mason (nee Ster¬ ling Franck) are good as the other brothers, as is James Griffith as the marshal. Les Baxter’s score is a firstrate assist in the mood-building, know¬ ing what to let the drama play without musical competition. Gor¬ don Avil’s photography is good, having a stark effect that goes with the plot. Editing by John F. Schreyer is dramatically able. A title tune by Baxter and Lenny Adelson is heard behind the cred¬ its to mild effect, Brog . Three ‘If*’—All Female Hollywood, June 26. There Is one big “If" con¬ nected with Henry Hathaway!s deal to produce and direct “The Legend of Timbuctoo” for RKO. . He’ll do the film If the studio can get Gina Lollobrigida or Sophia Loren or Anita Ekberg for the starring role. If not, he’ll aroduce and di¬ rect another, as yet undeter¬ mined property. . The Dynamiters Slowly-paced crime detection from Britain with Wayne Mor¬ ris and a bagful of plot coin¬ cidences. Hollywood, June 21. Astor release of a Geoffrey Goodhart- Brandon Fleming production. Stars Wayne Morris, Sandra Dome; features Patrick Holt, Simone Silva, Eric Pohl- mann, Directed by Francis Searlc. Story- screenplay, Fleming; camera, Cedric Wil¬ liams; editor, Douglas Myer; art director, John Elphlck. Reviewed June 20, '56. Running time, 71 MINS. This British import concerns hunt for a gang of London dyna¬ miters. With Yankee Wayne Mor¬ ris, it’s a very dubious qualifica¬ tion for. U.S. Morris plays a private dick hired by an insurance company to track down the dynamiters who are get¬ ting away with a fortune in loot. Technique he employs, would shame any second-rate investi¬ gator here, and dubiously-claimed of fiction-writer coincidenas which reduce action to k walk, American actor, poorly .directed by Francis Searle, conies in lame San<jra Dome, a busty blonde, co- stars, and Simone Silva, the curva¬ ceous 'English thesp who did an alfresco strip on the French Rivi- era several years ago, is in for a less than enchanting song number “Soho Mambo.” Balance of cast likewise is strictly routine. Technical credits in the Geof¬ frey Goodhart-Brandon Fleming production are stock. Whit. My Teenage Daughter (BRITISH) Anna Neagle starred as mother with daughter problems; stout prospect for femme audiences. „ . . London, June 20. British Lion release of a Herbert Wil. cox production. Stars Anna Neagie and Sylvia Syms; features Norman Wooland Wilfrid Hyde White and Kenneth Haigh* Directed by Herbert Wilcox. Screenplay! Felicity Douglas; Camera, Max Greene^ editor. Bunny Warren; music, Stanley ®lack. At Warner Theatre, London, June 20, '50. Running time, 100 MINS. Valerie Carr.Anna Neagle Janet Carr.Sylvia Svni« Hugh Manning.Norman Wooffl Sir Joseph.. .Wilfrid Hyde White Tony Ward Black . Kenneth Haigh Poppet Carr.Julia Lockwood Aunt Louisa. Helen Havn Aunt Bella .Josephine Fitzgerald £ ina .Wanda Vcnthani S.r Henry.Michael Shepley ?* ai V aia .*.Avice Landone Mark ....Michael Meacham glst ™\ e .Ballard Berkeley Miss Ellis. Edie Marlin Anne ....Myrette Morven Miss Bennett.Grizelda Hervev £ elia . Betty Cooper Senator .Launce Maraschal An un.abashe d sentimental drama, obviously conceived as un¬ sophisticated entertainment, “My Teenage Daughter” should prove a stout b.o. proposition where the name value of Anna Neagle has potent marquee appeal. Herbert Wilcox has produced and directed with a determined eye on femme patronage and on that score he’s hit the target. He has blatantly exploited the tear-jerking aspects of the plot in the clash between a devoted mother and her strong¬ headed daughter which ends up with the girl facing a murder rap. Miss Neagle plays a war widow who is fiction editor of a teenagers’ magazine and who is distressed over the way in which her young daughter gets caught up with a society no-good, is taken to jivq sessions in a basement club and stays out till dawn. But the more the mother protests the more her daughter wilfully disobeys her un¬ til a week in a prison cell and a timely rebuke by the magistrate brings her to her senses. There are few surprise twists in the Felicity Douglas screenplay. For the most part, the story treads a conventional and obvious path. That’s of minor importance in view of the general fabric of the yarn which exclusively focusses its at¬ tention on the main issue. Miss Neagle, as attractive as ever, radi¬ ates charm and registers anguish in rotation. Sylvia Syms, a pert newcomer, who gets star billing, does remark¬ ably well as the teenage daughter, playing her role on a sensitive plane. Norman Wooland makes an impressive contribution as a writer who helps to settle Miss Neagle’s domestic problems while Wilfrid Hyde White, as usual, turns in a polished study as a publisher. Kenneth Haigh is sincere and be¬ lievable as the young man who leads the girl astray. Julia Lock- wood, as the star’s younger daugh¬ ter, walks off with many of the scenes. Technically, the produc¬ tion is above average, but a jive tune, “Get With It,” is repeated to the point of monotony. Myro. Yield to the Night (BRITISH) Diana Dors in dramatic de- glamorized role. Stout local b.o. with good U.S. prospects. London, June 19. Associated Brltish-Pathe production and release. Stars Diana Dors and Yvonr.s Mitchell. Directed by J. Lee Thompson. Screenplay. John Cresswcll and Joan Henry; camera, Gilbert Taylor; editor, Richard Best; music, Ray Martin. At Carl¬ ton Theatre, London. Running time, 100 MINS. Mary Hilton ... Diana Dors Macfarlane . Yvonne Mitchell .Tim Lancaster ... Michael Craig Governor ..Marie Ney Chaplain . Geoffrey Keen Doctor . Liam Redmond Hill . Olga Lindo Barker . Joan Miller Brandon . Marjorie Rhodes Mason ... Molly Urquhart Maxwell . Mary Mackenzie Fred . Harry Locke Roy . Michael RipP<£ Doris ... Joyce Blair Bob . Charles Clay Miss Bligh . Athene Seyler Nursing Sister . Peggy Livesley Mrs. Thomas . Mona Washbouvrtc Mr. Thomas . Alex Fin ter Richardson . Marianne Stone Lucy . Mercia Shaw Lawyer . Charles Lloyd Pack Mrs. Price . Dandy Nichols Alan . John Charlcsworth Police Sergeant .Frank Hawkins Diana Dors, the glamour girl of British films (she’s due to make a Hollywood picture under the RKU (Continued on page 10)