Variety (October 1958)

6 niM BBvnws W^JnciicUiy^. Qetober - I^493> The Last Hurrah Strong although somewhat orerlong politieo saga starring Spencer Tracy, topically at* toned to tbe times. Will do OK b.o. Columbia release of John Ford produc* tion, directed by Ford. Stars Spencer Tracy; features Jeffrey Hunter* Dianne Foster. Pat O'Brien. Basil Batbbone. Don¬ ald Crisp. James Gleason. Screenplay. Frank Nugent, based on novel by Edwin O’Connor. Camera. Charles Lawton Jr.; editor. Jack Hurray; asst, directors. Win¬ gate Smith & Sam Nelson, Tradeshown N.Y., Oct. 10, '58. Running time. 111 MINS. Skeffington . Spencer Tracy Adam Caulfield.Jeffrey Hunter Maeve Caulfield ......... Dianne Foster John Gorman .. Pat O'Brien Norman Cass St. ........ Basil Rathbone The Cardinal ..Donald Crisp Cuke Gillen .. James Gleason Ditto Boland . Edward Brophy Amos Force .. John Carrs dine Rober Sogrue .... Willis Bouchey Bishop Gardner ..Basil Ruysdael Sam Weinberg .. Ricardo Cortez Hennessey . Wallace Ford Festus Garvey ..Frank McHugh Mr. Winslow . Carleton Young Jack Nang an ........... Frank Albertson Degnan . Bob Sweeney Dan Herlihy . William Leslie Gert . Anna Lee Monsignor Killian . Ken Curtis Delia.... Jane Darwell Norman Cass Jr.O. Z. Whitehead Frank Skeffington Jr.Arthur Walsh Ellen Davin.Rnth Warren Kevin McCluskey-Charles Fitzsimmons Mrs. McCluskey.Helen Westcott- Mamie Burns .. Mimi Doyle Pete...Dan Borzage Police Captain. James Flavin Doctor.. William Forrest Fire Captain . Frank Sully Chauffeur . Charlie Sullivan “The Last Hurrah” is the “this ain’t Jim Curley” story, from Ed¬ win O’Connor’s hovel, which John Ford and Spencer Tracy have transmuted to the screen in slick style destined for good grosses. The star has made the most of the meaty role of the shrewd politician of the “dominantly Irish-American” metropolis in New England (unmis¬ takably Boston but not Boston) and producer-director Ford has like¬ wise contributed a top professional job. The two-hour running length is somewhat overboard but Tracy’s characterization of the resourceful, old-line politician-mayor has such consummate depth that it sustains the interest practically all the way. A little editing, might have helped but the canvas is rich and the poli¬ tical machinations replete. The graft and coercion is made to appear chiefly as an obbligato to Tracy’s do-gooding for the poor wards, and if the wardheelers (dominantly Irish although Ricardo Cortez as Sam Weinberg accounts for another ‘Segment of the votes) are crude in their delivery of the ballots, Tracy’s quasi-benevolence and impatience with the too proper Bostonians, in their Plymouth Club retreats, more than vitiate the brasher aspects. Tracy’s resourcefulness in best¬ ing the stuffy bankers who nixed a loan for a much needed low-rent housing'development; his foiling of the profiteering undertaker when a constituent is buried (the wake is transformed into a political rally); the passionate loyalty of his poli¬ tical devotees; the rivalry between the “respectable” elements in. com¬ bating the direct-approach tactics of the Irish-American politicos; the pride in defeat when the “reform” candidate bests Tracy at the polls; his verve even on his deathbed, as he sends for his old cronies; the opposition men-of-therdoth sup¬ porting the rival political candi¬ dates for the mayoralty; and Tracy’s own "last hurrah” as he tells off the fatuous banker (Willis Bouchey)—with a parting “like hell I would!”—in reviewing his gaudy career, make for a series of memorable scenes. Ford’s chore wasn’t easy; he has too much plot material to dovetail and correlate but the end-result is thoroughly acceptable. The cast is a roster of stalwarts in the main. Jeffrey Hunter is first-billed, in the support. He is the shrewd mayor’s favored nephew who, despite his ties to the opposi¬ tion sheet, perceives the old codg¬ er’s humaneness. He is a sympath¬ etic and attractive juvenile who, however, doesn’t always match up histrionically against the other prime supporting players, all old pros. These include Pat O’Brien, James Gleason, Edward Brophy and Ricardo Cortez as Tracy’s faith¬ fuls; or Basil Rathbone, John Car- radine, Carleton Young as the bankers; and others like Basil Ruysdael, Donald Crisp (both as 'clerics), Frank Albertson, Wallace Ford, Frank McHugh and others. This is not a “woman’s picture” and the femme interest is inciden¬ tal. There are a couple of miss- outs also as regards Tracy’s play¬ boy-son and the scenes with the babes, and that goes also for the scene of the new candidate and his wife fluffing their way through an “at-home interview” scene for benefit of the tv cameras. But it holds the interest and, coming in a political year, hu a neo-topical ! value, | The technical crediti are top- | notch: Charles Lawton Jr.’a low- key black-and-white lensing is well- | attuned to the theme. But prima¬ rily its Tracy’s picture. Amidst a bunch of old pros.he is head-and- shoulders above them in his thespic assignment. He makes his solo marquee stardom mean something beyond the billing. ^Abel. Grip of the Strangler (BRITISH) Routine Boris Karloff horror pic which will slot into unam¬ bitious bills. London, Oct. 7. Eros (John Croydon) production and release. Stars Boris Karloff. Directed by Robert Day. Screenplay, Jan Read and John C. Cooper from original story by Jan Read. At Hammer Theatre, London. Running'time, 10 MINS. James Rankin . Boris Karloff Kenneth McColl...Tim Turner Cora Seth ....Jean Kent Pearl.... Vera Day Mrs. Rankin .. Elizabeth AUen Det. Burke . Anthony Dawson Lily ....... Dianp Aubrey TTarmah ... Dorothy Gordon Kate... Peggy Ann Clifford 2nd Governor. Leslie Perrins Styles .. Michael Atkinson Police Surgeon . Desmond Roberts Maid ...... Jessica Cairns Medical Superintendent.Ray Russell Superintendent of Gnys.Derek Birch 1st Governor.Arthur Hall Can Can Troupe Leader..John Elvin Still trying to cash in on the current horror stakes comes this routine Boris Karloff murder pic. Dialog and screenplay make this okay as an unambitious supporter, but it is all too far-fetched to pro¬ vide more than moderate enter¬ tainment. Story has Karloff as a novelist investigating the 20-year-old case of “The Haymarket Strangler,” who was hanged for murders in¬ volving strangling and slashing with a knife. Karloff suspects that the murders were actually done by the surgeon who conducted the post mortems on all the victims. Following through his inquiries, he discovers that his theory. is right, but the payoff is that an insane Karloff turns out to be the criminal, which most students will find predictible. Further develop¬ ment is that Karloff has to commit several more murders before he can convince the police of his guilt. With suitable horror makeup whenever killing, Karloff finds no difficulty in keeping to his usual talented form. He is less success¬ ful, however, as the gentle novelist. Vera Day, Elizabeth Allan, Antho¬ ny Dawson and Jean Kent lend competent support in this old* fashioned piece which has been directed by Robert Day with more force than subtlety. Period settings are adequate. Rich. Mnehaehita De Valladolid (Girl From Valladolid) (SPANISH-COLOR) Madrid, Sept. 3Q. Universal Films Espaha release of Cinematograflcas DIA production. I rected by Luis AmadorL Screenplay 1 Luis Marquina and Luis Amadori fro Calvo Sotelo’s comedy of the same nam Stars Alberto Closas* Analia Gade ai Lma Rosales; features Alfredo May Lopez Vazquez and Vicky Lagos. Came] (Eastmancolor), Jose Aguayo; art directo Enrique Alarcon; music by Cristob Halffter. Filmed at Chamartin Studic At ^Coliseum, Madrid. Running time, 1 Patrido . Alberto Clos Mercedes ... Analia Ga< Alexandra Aymat ........ Lina Rosal CanciUer . Alfredo Ma; Secretary . Lopez Vazqu Erika .,. Vicky Lag Calvo Sotelo’s diverting and suc- ;cessful stageplay, short on situa¬ tions and long on character studies, [ topical satire and smart dialogue, r resists screen adaptation. Direc¬ tor Luis Amadori and producer- writer Luis Marquina only partially succeed. Added prologue footage focusses mainly on Valladolid’s twin claims to fame—its Holy week procession and collection of polychromatic sculpture, hut contributes little film value to basic stage material. Naive provincial newlywed Ana¬ lia Gade discovers that strait¬ laced virtue is not easily reconciled with the sophisticated unrestraint of her ambitious diplomatic spouse, Alberto Closas. When she fully awakens to the behind-the-scenes role of an attractive dame in for¬ eign affairs, she shakes the straw from her hair and lands her net¬ tled husband the oil deal he had been ardently soliciting from the chancellor’s wife, Lina Rosales. Closas is smooth but his stage performance had more ease and charm. Argentine’s Gade is fine only in the deprovincialized por¬ tion of her role, because that’s the way she stacked. Others are cred¬ itable, including director Amadori and technical departments. Universal should do well with this fairly amusing comedy in Spain. Popular in South America, cast sho.ild help film in Sn^'sh- language market. Werb. PSnlETf Tlie Tuflri of L«ve (CWOPE) Racy, risque filmkstlon of lefit hit, -,T°P h.o. forecast. Hollywood, Oct. 14. .Metro release of Joseph Fields produc¬ tion. Stars Doris Day, Richard Widmark; co-stars Gig Young, Gia Scala; features Elisabeth Fraser, Elizabeth Wilson. Pro¬ duced by Fields and Martin Melcher. Directed by Gene Kelly. Screenplay, Joseph Fields; from the stage play by Fields and Peter De Vries; based on the novel by Vries; camera, Robert Bronner; McSweeney Jr. Previewed at the West- wood Village Theatre, Sept. 19, *58. Run¬ ning time, 91 MINS. Isolde Poole . Doris Day Augie Poole .Richard Widmark Dick Pepper..Gig Young Estelle Novick ..-Gia Scala Alice Pepper .... •*»... Elisabeth Fraser Miss MacCracken... Elizabeth Wilson Actress....... Vikki Dougan Escort . Doodles Weaver Day Motel Man..:...Charles Wagenheim Night Motel Man.Robert. Williams Themselves .. The Esquire Trio Exurbia is the current fag for the commuter country where “The Tunnel of Love” is located. Judg¬ ing by the preoccupations of the principals in this Metro comedy, it may hereafter he referred to as S exurbia. For this Joseph Fields production is ribald treatment. The Broadway hit. on which it is based has been transferred virtual¬ ly intact to the screen. The screen¬ play makes a brief bow to motion picture morality with a last-minute switch ending, making the basis for most of the gags an elaborate mis¬ understanding. But by that time it doesn’t make much difference. “Tunnel of Love” may run into some censorship problems, but this is the only possible obstacle that could prevent it from hurtling to top boxoffice. Gene Kelly’s direc¬ tion, plus topflight performances by the cast headed by Doris Day and Richard Widmark, make it one of the year’s funniest pictures. Although the locale and the so¬ cial status of the characters in “Tunnel” are pretty special, their situations are universal. Widmark is a would-be cartoonist for a New Yorker-type magazine, whose gags are good but whose drawings are not. He and his wife. Miss Day, want a child and cannot catch. They live in a remodeled barn (naturally) adjacent to the home of their best friends, Gig Young and Elisabeth Fraser, whom they envy in many ways. Young is an editor of the magazine Widmark aspires to crack, and as a. parent, Young adds to his and Miss Fraser’s brood as regularly as the seasons. Wid¬ mark and Miss Day are planning to adopt a baby. Not only do they want the foster child, there is hope (and considerable accompanying comment) that its adoption may work for them as it has for other childless couples and result in nat¬ ural offspring. Meantime, back at the barn. Young, whose homework has been stimulated by extracurricular ac¬ tivities, urges his system on Wid¬ mark. With this suggestion in the back of his mind, Widmark is vis¬ ited by an. adoption home investi¬ gator, Gia Scala. When he wakes up in a motel after a night on the town with her, he assumes the thought has been father to the deed in more ways than one. Just a little- over nine months later, the adoption agency presents a baby to Miss Day and Widmark, and Wid¬ mark again assumes nature has taken its course. As the baby be¬ gins to look more and more like Widmark, others, including Miss Day, begin to get the same idea. The only important change Fields has made in the screenplay, from the play by him and Peter DeVries (based on DeVries’ book), is to explain at the very end that the child is not actually Widmark’s. As noted, at this point it doesn’t make much difference. While some aspects of the special hot house culture indigenous to the Westport locale may be lost on the citizens of Brooklyn and Dallas, no one, anywhere, could miss the refer¬ ences to Dr. Spook and fever charts, visits to the family doctor, and the counting of months and the result to be expected after nine of them. It should be emphasized that there is nothing in. bad taste about any of this. It is handled with lightness and without a snickering leer at any time. Miss Day and Widmark make a fine comedy team, working as smoothly as if they had been trad¬ ing gags for years. Despite the broad nature of the comedy, they . also achieve a. pleasant romantic effect in which married love is made to seem exceptionally felici¬ tous. They are ably abetted by Gig Young, one of the greatest fly¬ catchers in. current operation, and Gia Scala, who displays a nice and unexpected gift for comedy. Elisa¬ beth Fraser, as the almost perpet¬ ually pregnant neighbor, shows a good, off-hand flair for these pro¬ ceedings, and Elizabeth Wilson, as an outraged social workers, is a standout in a brief appearance. This is the first time Gene Kelly has operated entirely behind .the camera, afid he emerges as an in* ventive >nd capable comedy direc¬ tor. The timing, emphasis and pac¬ ing achieve a maximum return on both comedy and romantic aspects. I Robert Bronner’s photography is well-lit and sharp. Backgrounds are handsomely and accurately sug¬ gested in the art direction by Wil¬ liam A. Horning and Randall Duell, and in set decoration by Henry Grace and Robert Priestley. Helen Rose makes-an unobtrusive contri¬ bution with dresses for MiSs Day and Miss Scala. Wesley C. Miller s sound is slick and editing by John McSweeney Jr. prevents any loss of fun or lag in the proceedings. There are two songs Used in the production, a title tune sung by Miss Day as part of the opening titles, and a novelty, “Run Away, Skidaddle Skidoo,” casually intro¬ duced in a party sequence, that are not only good pop tunes hut have the unusual merit-of fitting the structure of a non-musical com¬ edy. Patty Fisher and Bob Roberts did the first, and Ruth Roberts and BR1 Katz the second. Poioe. The Trollenberg Terror (BRITISH) Exciting science-fiction film with genuine horror thrills; solid b.o. proposition. London, Oct. 7. Eros (Robert S. Baker-Monty Berman) production and release. Stars Forrest Tucker. Directed by Quentin Lawrence. Screenplay, Jimmy Sangster from tele¬ vision serial by Peter Key; camera, Monty Berman; music, Stanley Black; editor, Henry Richardson. At Hammer Theatre, London, Running time, >5 MINS. Alan Brooks .Forrest Tucker Philip TruscOtt ....... Laurence Payne Anne Pilgrim . Janet Munro Sarah Pilgrim . Jennifer Jayne Crevett. Warren Mitchell Klein . Frederick Schiller Dewhurst . Stuart Saunders Brett .. Andrew Faulds TTang . Colin Douglas Wilde ..„.- Derek Sydney Villagers.Richard Golding, George Herbert, Anne Sharp Child .. Caroline Glazer Pilot .. Garard Green “The Trollenberg Terror” is a likely candidate for big b.o. honors in the science-fiction pic realm. Based on a successful tv serial by Peter Key, it has had an “X” certificate slapped on it by the censor. Eliminates the under-16’s from seeing it, but will give a fillip to the takings. Most U.K. managers will be happy to have “Trollen¬ berg'' on a suitable bill. Like those of most science-fic¬ tion films, the story may seem far¬ fetched to the layman but, as H. G. Wells proved way back, the imagi¬ nation of authors is often only a few jumps ahead of actual scien¬ tific fact. The yam concerns a creature from outer spaced secreted in a radio-active cloud on the mountain of Trollenberg in Switzer¬ land. The mysterious disappear¬ ance of various climbers brings Forrest Tucker to the scene as a science investigator for UNO. He and a professor at the local obser¬ vatory set out to solve the problem. During investigations, two head¬ less corpses are discovered and a couple of ordinary citizens gb berserk and tnm killer. Main object of the two is Janet Munro who Is ODe of a sister mind-reading act and obviously presents a threat to the sinister visitor. Climax comes when the villagers are besieged in the observatory as the cloud draws nearer and nearer. It is discovered scientifically that the creature can exist only in extreme cold and it is eventually destroyed by fire bombs dropped from a plane. The tension of this well-made and gripping thriller comes not so much from seeing the creature in thp final stages, which turns out to be a huge, repellent octopus¬ like mass, but from the eeriness of the atmosphere and doubt about when the cloud will strike. Tucker’s bewilderment and that of his henchmen accentuate the air of death and disaster. Jimmy Sangster’s taut screen¬ play extracts the most from the situations and is helped by strong, resourceful acting from a solid cast. Tucker tackles the problem with commendable lack of histri¬ onics and Miss Munro adds con¬ siderably to the film’s interest with an excellent portrayal of the girl whose mental telepathy threatens the creature’s activities and draws her. into danger. Laurence Payne, as a newspaperman; Jennifer Jayne, as Miss Munro’s distraught elder sister; Warren Mitchell, the professor, and Andrew Faulds and Colin Douglas, as two of the mon¬ ster’s victims, also give the stars, full backing. Stanley Black’s music is appro¬ priately sinister while Monty Ber¬ man’s camerawork and the special effects ‘ department’s contribution are extremely effective. This is a better-than-most horror film which, despite its extravagant play upon. ,the imagination, retains a c 1 *' ing jair of plausibility. Rich. Home Before Bark Romantic melodrama with mental illness theme. Absorb*' inr, meting pie*liighliffMed by Jean Simmons’ performance. : Hollywood, Oct. 3. Warner Bros, release of Mervyn LeRoy production. Stars Jean Simmons, Dan O’Herlihy, Rhonda Fleming, Mfrem ■ Zim- balist Jr. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy, Screenplay, EQeen and . Robert Basting; from the novel hy. Eileen Basting; cam¬ era, Joseph F. Biroc; music supervisor* Ray Heindorf; editor, Philip W. Anderson. Previewed at the studio, Oct. 3, '58. Run¬ ning time, 137 MINS. Charlotte Bronn . Jean Simmons Arnold Brohn ...Dan O’Herlihy Joan Carlisle ..Rhonda Fleming Jake Diamond.Efrem Zimbalist Jr. Inez Winthrop.. Mabel Albertson Hamilton Gregory.Steve Dunne Francer Barrett . Joan Weldon Cathy Bergner . Joanna Barnes Mattie . Kathryn Card Hazel Evans.. Marjorie Bennett Malcolm Southey.Johnstone White Mrs. Hathaway.Eleanor Audley “Home Before Dark” is the kind of film that once was classified— perhaps smugly—as a woman’s pic¬ ture, and it will certainly find iti widest appeal and acceptance in female audiences. It should give the Kleenex a vigorous workout. Based on one woman’s battle to regain her slipping sanity, it is a romantic melodrama of consider¬ able power and imprint. Mervyn LeRo/s production for Warner Bros, is exceptionally well cast and staged, and his direction wisely throws the picture to Jean Sim¬ mons, who lights almost every frame with uncommon artistry. The screenplay by Eileen and Robert Bassing, based on Mrs. Bassing’s novel of the same name, sometimes seems rather skimpy in its character motivation. It is also difficult at times to understand the mehtal tone of the mentally ill heroine, played by Jdiss Simmons. But these are necessarily shadowy areas, anyway, and the test is that while the tale is unfolding it is made so gripping that factual dis¬ crepancies are relatively unim¬ portant Miss Simmons is the wife of Dan O’Herlihy, who has ceased to love her before mental breakdown and has not changed his attitude on her recovery. Living in their home, to which she returns on her re¬ lease from hospitalization, are her. stepmother, Mabel Albertson, and her stepsister, Rhonda Fleming. They are masterful females who could drive anyone to the edge of madness with their insistence on managing even the smallest details of Miss Simmons’ life. They are also allied, none too subtly, with her husband and against her. It was Miss Simmons’ suspicion of a romance between O’Herlihy and Miss Fleming that helped crack her fragile grasp on sanity. Now par¬ tially cured, she wonders if her suspicion was the fragment of a disintegrating mind or a reality. Her only real ally in the house is a stranger, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., who is also an alien in the setting of the inbred New England college community. Zimbalist is the only Jewish member of the faculty, and ostensibly a protege of O’Herlihy’s. O’Herlihy is the kind of liberal who favors minority groups in prin¬ ciple but doesn’t care much. for their individual members; they’re always the “wrong kind.” Miss Sim¬ mons and Zimbalist are both on sufferance; she is too weak to know how to flght.it, he is too smart and tough to be grateful about it. Their eventual romance ends the picture on a hopeful note. There is meat here and pretty strong stuff. It is tastefully and soundly handled. Neither in the Bassings’ screenplay nor in Le¬ nny's direction are the cards stacked against the odious family and the community. Miss Fleming and Miss Albertson can’t be blamed; they are too shallow to expect any perception of them. O’Herlihy is not shallow, but he Is weak. In refusing to acknowledge his vacillation, he shifts it to his wife and almost destroys her. By suggesting his knowledge of what he is doing, against his will, O’Her¬ lihy avoids seeming too heavy and arouses in the end only a scornful pity. The whole picture is seen from Miss Simmons’s viewpoint, which means she Is “on” virtually the whole time. It is a long picture, two hours and a quarter, and there is little to relieve the attention to individuals. Miss Simmons must display unusual versatility to main¬ tain interest and sympathy and she does. Her voice is a vibrant instru¬ ment, used with thoughtful articu¬ lation and placement, the only vital part of her at times—her beauty effectively drabbed by a dowdy gray wig—the only thing youthful and romantic. This is no Ophelia, and Miss Simmons must register with a quiet intensity rather than more showy histrionics, which she does. Miss Fleming uses her good looks to make her brainlessly vicious character even more effective than it would be in the hands of an drdinary actress: Zimbalist ad- (Continued on page 17)