Variety (August 1957)

The P«]Ma Game (MUSICAL—COLOR) Socko fllmnsieal transmuta¬ tion of the click Broadway legiter with many of the origi¬ nal cast in the pic version. Big grosses. versa, on the furious co-billing as producon-diractor# (not to mention Abbott’s multiple assists on the book) is beside the point in light of the okay sum total. Abbott and Bisseli had little problem with screenplaying their stage original. Harry Stradling’s WarnerColor lensing is tiptop as are all the other Warner Bros, release of George Abbott- credits. The 101 minutes running Stanley Donen production (Frederick j time IS just right. Abel. Brlsson. Robert £. Griffith Sc Harold S. i Prince associate producers), directed by Abbott and DonOn. Stars Doris Day and Omar Khayyam John Raitt; features Carol Haney, Eddie /-ittc-t A-irTCTrwvr /virnp^ Foy Jr. Screenplay, Abbott and Richard (VISTAVISION—COLOR) Bisseli from their stage libretto,, adapted — &rd ii Ad\?r ,> Sd 1 'jeS^ SST'ortKi Sometimes cumbersome and stage production directed by Abbott & draggy but lavish and Colorful l£^ e stSdulS bKoJS 10 ^: romance; pr obably commercial, rangements. Nelson Riddle & Buddy Breg- ' man. Charles Henderson (vocal>: asst. Hollywood, July 30. director, Russ UeweHyn; editor, William p ara mount pjftduction and release. Shegler; costumes, Wilhani & Jean Lckart, Stars Cornel wilde, Michael Rennie, assisted by Frank ^roP 3on: dirertoi, Debra Paget. John Derek. Raymond Malcolm Bert; sets, William Kuchl. make- ; ^[ asse y ; features Yma Sumac, Margaret up, Gordon Bau; technical advisor. \\ el- ; Hayes. Joan Taylor. Producer, Frank Oon Pajama Co Tradeshown N/k. July . Freeman Jr. Director. William DIeterle. SG, o7. Running time, 101 MINS. ■; Screenplay, Barre Lyndon; camera, Ernest Babe ... Doris Day ; Laszlo; technicolor consultant, Richard Sid . John Raitt Mueller; editor, Everett Douglas; art di- Gladys .Carol Haney ! rectors, Hal Pereira, Joseph MacMillan Hines .... Eddie Foy Jr. j Johnson; music score, Victor Young; Mabel . Beta Shaw i songs, "The Loves of Omar Khayyam/* Poopsie .Barbara Nichols-! by Jav Livingston and Ray Evans, "Take Mae . Thelma Pelish : My Heart"- by Mack David and Young, p-rez .... Jack Straw i "Lament,” by Moises Vivanco. Previewed Hasler.Ralph Dunn | at Studio, July 29, *57. Running time. Max .Owen Martin : id MIN?. 1st Helper ..* ■' Omar . Cornel Wilde Charlie . Rajph t hambers . Hasani . Michael Rennie Brenda . .. Mary Stanton ■ charain . Debra Paget Dancers ... Buzz Miller. Kenneth LcRoy . The Shah' 7.7.* .Raymond Massey - - Malik (Young Prince).John Derek The inherent mobility and fluid- £arld! ’.V.'.V.V.'.V.V.V.V MarwSit Sis ity of “Pajama Game” as a stage I Yaffa ..— Joan Taylor property apparently was such that. . Seb D S J^ tliis almost faithful transmutation j Enam NiowaffV**7.7V.V.‘MorrikAnknim into celluloid requires little pliy.si- > Tutush ....AbrahamSofaer cal enhancement to impress the[gg£g jS^GrSSS WamerCoIorful filmusical, as a Master Herald . Peter Adams sock b.O. entry. 1st Commander _. Henry Brandon _ , ,. , Tutush Bodyguard.Kern Dibbs True, coproducers - codmectors • 2nd Commander.Paul PIcerni George Abhott and Stanley Donen ! -- have not slighted the opportunities ■ Static cumbersomeness of some for size and scope when occasion of the romantic love duets, pretty warranted, such as in the picnic heavyhanded between Cornel scenes, the labor union rallies and i Wilde and Debra Paget flaw this the pajama factory which is back-; spectacular, but well-staged battle ground for some skillful Bob Fosse- 1 and court intj-igue sequence speed conceived choreography. Having ; up the pace and hold interest. Net the advantage, as did many of the ; of the production’s lavish and col- back-of- and front-of-the-camera . orful values is probably commer- artisans and players, of longtime cial. association with the original, the | celluloid version is an extension! Director William Dieterle im-| pressively handles the masses of i and an enhancement of the ongi- t extras employed, and his staging na J: ^ . , „ . , . of the big sequences score. More But so locked-m are the basic: spo tty are the personal relation- values that it s almost a foolproof; ships> which sometime get lost in proiKu ty, and both Warners and the grandeur,, and drag. the Brisson-Griffith & Prince ongi- , „ _ _,__■ . .... nal production team, which shares L. with the Burbank plant in the a £ profits, are in for a hefty chunk.I J at 5L,^ More important, the customers are * S< iif nt 5iL M ? JLi 1 ™ assured of an eyeful and earful of compelling entertainment. = If the film version contains a s } n tw V on* shade more of social significance in the labor-engagement hassle, ® f aSLSE: which was the springboard of the 1 f®“” u h s SiL2n A original Bisseli novel, “7Mi Cents,” :■ -hl° from which stems the romantic con- 1 flirt between pajama factory super- • e ™‘ intendent Jolm Raitt (who created ; p®® at the original stage role) and; 1 stations from the Rubaiyat, “grievance committee chairman” Cornel Wilde, as Omar, is in Doris Day fin the role created by love with high-born lady Debra Janis Paige) in May, 1954, it is a > Paget, who is bethothed to the E lus value because of the sturdy Shah, Raymond Massey, for politi- ook. - - , cal reasons. Disillusioned, Omar Raitt, properly serious as the j turns to drink, verse and science earnest factory executive and cam- j to drown his sorrows, but his bril- estly smitten with the blonde and j bant scholarship gains him. ad- beauteous Doris Day, has good . vancement at court, antithesis in his romantic vis-a-vis. j Comes now the intrigues. Noted Miss Day, always authoritative with j warrior Michael Rennie, childhood a song ahd now a poised picture | friend of Omar, turns out to be the personality as she was/is on disks, i secret leader of the Assassins Cult, is an appealing looker. She makes {Margaret Hayes, as first wife of her chore even a shade more be- ’ Shah, plots with Rennie to over- lievable than Raitt. Carol Haney, I throw the Shah and his favorite recreating her soubret role oppo-■ son, John Derek, to Install her son, site Eddie Foy (also of the original! Perry Lopez, on the throne. Mean-, stage cast), whams with “Steam i while, the Assassins are knocking' Heat,” aided by Buzz Miller (stage! off other members of the Shah’s original) and Kenneth LeRoy (sub-; personal and official family, stituting for Peter Gennaro of the 1 wilde a pp ea ls strongly. Rennie, Broadway cast). characteristically able, is very Reta Shaw, Thelma Pehsh, Ralpji, goQd as the ambition-ridden “Old Dunn and Ralph Chambers are also . Man of the Mountain,” (a real his- Broadway expatriates in the film ■ toric personality). Miss. Paget, how- JTw 0n ^ St ^. nle + y . Pra fi er s factor ever, lends little but pictorial labor president is capably done bea uty, and can’t seem to catch by Jack Straw and Mary Stanton! fj re - Jte,ment 0riglnal Mari0 " C<>lby “'i * subordinate parte, Joan Tay- The Dick Adler and (now the lor * a . s 1T a d SI° ted slaVe O]?^* late) Jerry Ross songs are as dur- f ^ eiy able as when first spawned over three years ago and it’s a tribute to doeS the Brisson-Grlffith-Prince-Abbott D S ?“l Tlc S^ S team that they showcased and en- to ,^ 1S S , „^ a ge V ^ ut her visioned the great talent that this i ^mark^ble vocal ^shes are a tunesmithing team portended. The pr as ^i Sebastian Cabot melodies are as durable today as and Abraham Sofaer are especially then and the lyrics a sizeable cut .j 11 above the convenUonal wordage. Dot 1 ? a?™ “Small Talk,” “There Once Was a James Griffith and Peter Adams Man,” “I’m Not at All in Love” als0 rate ma ntlon. “Trust Her” are solid chunks of Technically, production is of material. Some highly effective strikingly high order. Color phcf- double-numbers are integrated into tography of Ernest Laszlo, with the libretto and, like the frothy assist from Technicolor’s Richard “Once-a-Year Day” (piano num- Mueller, settings of Hal Pereira ber) and of course the standout and Joseph MacMillan Johnson, ballad hit, “Hey There,” prove special effects of John P. Fulton, strong contributory factors to the and costuming of Ralph Jester,, all sum total. jrate individual notice. Late Victor There’s a technical credit to the t Young’s musical score reflects his Weldon Pajama Co. which un* ■ skill. Individual songs by Jay Liv- doubtedly accounts for the authori- [ ingston and Ray Evans, Mack tative factory scenes. The cinema- 1 David and Young, and Moises turgical credits are consistently j Vivanco are good, but none seems J 'ood on all values. Where Abbott j especially notable outside of pic- eft off and Donen began, and vice ‘ ture setting. Kove. ‘Are You Positive?’ With the public newly indif¬ ferent to the danger of tuber¬ culosis due to v a declining . death rate, the National Tuber¬ culosis Assn, has resorted to a 13^ minute animated short in Eastman color ta impress upon people that the disease still represents a critical health problem. Prints In both black- and-white or color are expect¬ ed to be available for tv and theatrical distribution by Aug. 15. Produced by Edward Cullen and narrated by William Quinn* the short is entitled “Are You Positive?” TB’s tar¬ get is anyone* the film empha¬ sizes. Importance of the dis¬ ease to individuals and their communities is stressed through the theme of “What do you believe? What you see? What you hear? See- Ing’s believing—or is it? Are you positive?” Opening minutes of the film unreel a number of amusing animated characters and math¬ ematical tricks. There’s no hint that the short has a "mes¬ sage.” Moreover, Dr. James E. Perkins, managing director of the NT A, points out thjt the legend, “Presented by the Na¬ tional Tuberculosis Assn.,” was deliberately omitted at the start of the short for obvious reasons. Meantime, the NTA is hope¬ ful that tv stations as well as exhibitors throughout the U.S. will cooperate in screening the short on a voluntary basis. NTA officials feel that theatre- men in particular will favor¬ ably respond inasmuch as the amusement industry’s drive for the Will Rogers Hospital in Saranac Lake, N. Y., fits in the same category. Prints are available through any local Tuberculosis Assn. Gilb. My Gnu Is Quick . Senseless blood and gore in the Spillane tradition. Only fair h.o. results indicated. Hollywood, July 26. United Artists release of a Victor Saville production. Stars Robert Bray; features Whitney Blake, Donald Ran¬ dolph, Richard Garland, Fred Essler, Booth Colman, Pamela Duncan, Gina Gore, Patricia Dtfhahue, Jan Chaney. Pro¬ duced and directed by George A. White and Phil Victor. Screenplay, Richard PoweU.and Richard Collins, from Mickey Spillane novel. Camera, Harry Neuman; editor, Frank Sullivan; art director, Boris Leven; music. Marlin Skiles. Previewed, July 25, *57. Running time, »1 MINS. Mike Hammer . Robert Bray Nancy .. Whitney Blake .. Pat Donahue Holloway . Donald Randolph Velda . . Pamela Duncan Captain Pat .. Booth Colman , « ed ,. Jan Chaney Marla . Gina Core L<m ...Richard Garland Gangster ... Charles Boaz La Roche .. Peter Mamaios Proprietress .. Claire Carleton Shorty . Phil Arnold A1 . John Denhis J«an -.. Terrence De Marney Stripper . Jackie Paul Teller ..*... Leon Askln Hotel Clerk ...Jack Holland At the ead of 91 minutes, the box score for this Mickey Spillane epic stands at seven assorted kill¬ ings, two vicious beatings of the current Mike Hammer (Robert Bray) and four decorative femmes making abrupt passes at him, not to mention one strictly platonic affair. This represents a milder Spillane, fanciers of his works may insist. Spillane has long represented a saleable commodity. However, last picturization of his novels, while still profitable, didn’t do as well at the wickets as previous'excur¬ sions. On this basis, senseless bru¬ tality, murky plotting and un- subtle sex seems to have diminish¬ ing appeal and-prospects for this outing seem milder. Bray, as Hammer, wends his psy¬ chopathic way through the piled-- 1 on skullduggery surrounding a batch of jewels “liberated” during World War II by Donald Randolph, an ex-army coloneL Various femmes Bray befriends en route turn up dead in: picturesque.ways, enraging him further. Two separate gangs are compet¬ ing for the jewels, while cops only bluster and get lost. Final shoot¬ ing and stabbing match on a fish¬ ing boat wipes out one gang and it turns out that Whitney Blake, lovely femme having a toi rid fling with Bray, is the ringleader of the other gang. So in the immemorial Spillane tradition, Bray turns her over to the cops with a combina¬ tion of profound regret and tight- lipped scorn. Bray has enough masculine ap¬ peal and acting ability to do better in a more sensible role. Misses Blake, Pat Donahue, Pamela Dun¬ can and Gina Gore all display at¬ tractive figures and are up to un¬ demanding requirements. As gal¬ lant demimonde who gets killed early, Jan Chaney displays a pixie- Ish charm. Randolph, Richard Garland, Peter Mamakos and Ter¬ rence De Marney are okay and Booth Colman is properly exasper¬ ated as a police friend of Bray’s. Scripting by Richard Powell and Richard Collins follows the origi¬ nal Spillane novel fairly elosely, which-perhaps isn’t much of a rec¬ ommendation. Scenario is liberally sprinkled with “hells” and “damns,” lending a certain shock value. Team of George White and Phil Vidtor produced and directed. They try more than the produc¬ tion is worth. Technical credits are slick and able. Kove. Lady of Vengeance Far - fetched melodramatic plotting for less discriminat¬ ing bookings only. Hollywood, Aug. 2. United Artists release of a Burt Bala- ban-Bernard Donnenfeld production. Stars Dennis O’Keefe; features Ann Sears, Pat¬ rick Barr, Anton Diffring.' Directed by Bala ban. Story-screenplay, Irve Tunick; camera, Ian Struthers; editor, Eric Boyd- Perkins; music, Phil Cardew. Previewed Aug. 2. *57. Running time, 75 MINS. William T. Marshall.Dennis O’Keefe • Katie Whiteside . Ann Sears Kamak .. .. .Anton Diffring Inspector Madden. Patrick Barr ■ Larry Shaw.. Vernon Greeves Melissa ... Eileen Elton Schteigel.Frederick Schiller Penny ..Jacqueline Curtiss Bennett ..George*Mulcaster Hawley . Gerald Case Coroner.. Jack McNaughton Bartender .. Colin Croft Houseman . Andy Ho Col-bey .. Humphrey Morton Burdened withfa contrived and confusing plot, import carries small appeal for American audi¬ ences, Even for the less discrim¬ inating program situations it’s a dull entry, ponderously and often amateurishly produced and of a genre that went out many years ago on screen. ; The revenge motive spring¬ boards the unfoldment of the Burt Baiaban-Bernard Donnenfeld pro¬ duction, with Dennis O’Keefe the only name known to U.S. theatre¬ goers. When his ward commits suicide, O’Keefe, a driving Ameri¬ can publisher of a London news¬ paper, receives a last letter from ‘ her, asking that he wreak ven- ; geance on the man who drove her , to her death. To comply with this 1 request, O’Keefe calls in a master [ criminal to plot an ingenious mur- i der which will be mental torture ! before the fin at commitment. I O’Keefe doesn’t have much * chance with his character, which , belongs in the silents rather than ! 1957, and other characters are arti- 1 ficial right down the line. Anton | Diffring is the master mind, Ann i Sears the publisher’s secretary, ; both good enough artists but lost i here, and • Vernon Greeves is a : London orch leader Romeo re- ; sponsible for Eileen Elton, the i ward, leaving Home and whom ; audience thinks is the object of her i vengeance. Patrick Barr is a po- i lice inspector. 1 Balaban’s direction of the story- , screenplay by irve' Tunick lacks ; finish. Technical credits are below ; average. Whit. t. Termento D’Amore l (Torment of Love) J (SPANISH-ITALIAN) ; - Rome, July 30. ' SIDEN Release of a Romaua Films- Unlon Films- production. Stars Marta Toren, Massimo Serato; features Otello 1 Toso, Jose Nieto. Directed by Claudio t Gora. Screenplay, Gora. Leonardo Berco- > vici, from story by J. A. Bardem; camera { (Cinepanscope), Alfredo Frail e; editor, 1 Jolanda Benvenuti; music, Bucchi. At . Supercinema, Rome. Running time, 90 MINS. . Luigi Sanz ... Otello Toso - S&ra ... Marta Toren - Pietro .. Massimo Serato This last pic made by the late _ Marta Toren includes some of her ’ best thesping in well-made, slight- ~ Iy overlong film. The intricate, in- , teresting plot by J. A. Bardem is 3 worth of remake consideration. 5 Okay for lingual situations, this is B iffy elsewhere. Complicated plotting tells of woman’s suicide for love because _ the crucial letter from her fiance (, gets stuck in letter box for three _ years, thus initiating a series of _ tragic misunderstandings. Opens j slowly, and could be trimmed here. , but gains power and punch towards g the end where plot melds together, e Thesping is fine in all sectors, 1 with Miss Toren moving in her r portrayal of * the unfortunate vic- - tim of the postal mishap. Pic was scripted by her husband, Leonardo BercovicI, who also rates co-direc- K tion credit with Claudio Gora. both r handling chores creditably, s Lensing and other production L- credits on this Spanish-shot item are unusually expert. Hawk. WemiR of tke River (COLOR) Sophia Loren in a dubbed- into-Enrlish potboiler. Doubt¬ ful b.o/ potentiaL Columbia presentation of Dino Da Lauxentiis-Carlo Ponti production. Star* Sophia Loren; features Rick Battaglia, Gerard Oury, Lise Bourdin. Directed by Mario SoldatL Screenplay, Basilio Fran- china, Giorgio Bassani, Pier Paolo Paso¬ lini, Florestano Vancini, Antonio Altoviti, Mario Soldati; from story by Alberto Morasia and Ennio Flaiano; dialog, Ben Zavin; camera (Technicolor), Otello Mar- telli;. music, Angelo F. Lavagnino and Armando Trovaioli. Previewed in N.Y, July 31, ’57. Running time, 92 MINS. Nives ... Sophia Loren Gino Lodi . Rick Battaglia Enzo Cinti .. Gerard Oury Tosca . Lise Bourdin Oscar .. Enrico Olivieri This picture has two virtues: Sophia Loren, whose physical at¬ tributes a la Jane Russell-Jayne Mansfield, et al., are sufficient to “fill” any close-up and the outdoor lensing by Otello Martelli which is reminiscent in its effectiveness of some of the early, postwar Italian neo-realist films. Apart from that, “Woman of the River” shapes as routine melodrama that is unlike¬ ly to make much of a dent on the boxoffice. Since they didn’t have much of a story, the scripters—-there are six of ’em—concentrated on the part of Miss Loren, which was probably wise under the Circum¬ stances. She runs the gamut from temptress to lover to tragedienne and there’s no question that,, what¬ ever she does or how she does it* the actress is a joy to behold. Yam involves a countrygirl who has an affair with a smuggler. He leaves her and she denounces him to the police. She moves away from her village and bears his child. Escaping from prison, he comes seeking revenge, only to ar¬ rive the day that the child has drowned. Ending brings the two together at the funeral. With such trite material to work with, director Mario Soldati has managed to come up with some in¬ teresting- touches,, building little scenes into impressive ones. •‘Woman of the River” has been dubbed from the Italian into Eng¬ lish, and technically it’s a good, job except for English dialog, which is often poor and hard to take. Rick Battaglia as Miss Loren’s seducer does okay. Same is true of Gerard Oury as the poli¬ cy officer in love with Miss Loren, Lise Bourdin is pretty as a friend. ■They all pale before Miss Lorefi’s extrovert performance which, in its lustier moments, emerges al¬ most as a caricature of. some of her earlier roles. No question, though, that the “earthy” touch has positive exploitation values. Hift. Unknown Terror (REGALSCOPE) Mad doctor gambit involves mold cultures and is also moldy in script and conception/ For uncritical clientele. Pack¬ aged with “Back From the Dead." Hollywood, July 31. 20th-Fox release of a Regal Films pro- Suction. Stars John Howard, Mala Powers. Paul Richards, May Wynn; features Ger¬ ald Milton. Producer* Robert Stabler. Director, Charles Marquis Warren. Screen¬ play, Kenneth Higgins; camera, Joseph. Biroc; editor, Fred W. Berger; art di¬ rector, James W„ Sullivan; music, Raoul Kraushaar. Previewed, July 30, *57. Run¬ ningtime, 75 MINS. * Dan Mathews. John Howard Gina Mathews .. Mala Powers Pete Morgan . Paul Richards Concha... May Wynn Dr. Ramsey ..Gerald Milton Lino ...Duane Gray Jim Wheatly... Charles Gray Butter. Charles Postal Dr. Willoughby .Patrick 0*Moorr Trainer.William Hamel Raul Kom.Richard Gilden Old Indian .... Martin Garralaga Himself .. Sir Lancelot In this variation of the mad doc¬ tor gambit, 'captives held in a cave are dosed with foaming, bubbling mold cultures. They wind up a mess and so does the plot. John Howard, Mala Powers and Paul Richards portray Yanks who come down to an isolated Central American village to search for Miss Powers’ brother, lost in a cave- exploring accident. They fall in with sinister doc Gferald Milton and by the end. It transpires that Milton’s been using human guinea pigs in his experiments with mold cultures. Also, Howard expires heroically, leaving Miss Powers to take up again With Richards, dis¬ illusioned in a previous romantic setto. ' Director Charles Marquis War¬ ren keeps things at the necessarily elementary leveL The Kenneth Higgins script is distinguished only by its moldy quality. The Howard - Powers - Richards trio perform as capably as they could reasonably he expected to. May Wynn, in a sort of Tondelayo role as Milton’s Indian wife, flares her nostrils attractively. Milton makes a completely despicable and untrustworthy knave, in a broad imanner.-- v Kove ,