Variety (March 1959)

6 FILM REVIEWS PfisUETY Wednesday, March 11, 1959 No Trees 1 m the Street (BRITISH) Draniatic study of life in a London slum and the inhabi¬ tants* battle for survival against the environment; solid acting, writing and playing make this an acceptable b.o. entry despite^ lack of star names known in U.S. London, March 3. Associated British Fathe release of Associated British-Lee Thompson-Godwm- Willis production. Stars Sylvia Syms. Herbert Lorn, Ronald Howard, .otani-y Holloway. Directed by J. Lee-Thompson. Screenplay, Ted Willis; camera, Gilbert Tavlon editor Richard Best; music, Laurie Johnson. At Studio One. London. P unning time, 98 MlNS. „_ ttv Sylvia Syms . . 7 . 7 ... . Ronald Howard .7.*.. Stanley Holloway . Joan Miller T'ommv. '“ 777 .’-'. 7 . Melvyn Hayes Tommy . Liam Redmond . 7 . 7 . V..... Carole Lesley L°'* . ... Lana Morns Marge .. Lilly Kann Jokel^ . 7 . 7 .'."' Marianne Stone . . .Fred Griffiths Bc^lrie^ Clerk 7 . . 7 . 7 .'. . . . Victor Brooks Ted Willis is a writer with a sym¬ pathetic eye *or problems of tne middle and lower-classes. His beat is the suburbs and the less desir¬ able and drab areas of big towns, rather than Mayfair. He brings a documentary touch to his screen¬ plays and the formula has fre¬ quently paid . off, notably with “Woman In a Dressing Gown. Now, again teamed up with director J Lee-Thompson, his “No Trees In Street” plays out a seamy slice of life in a London slum 20 years ago. Film is played on a violently strident note. Though Willis has the gift of evoking strong, dramatic situations and creating authentic atmosphere with his dialog, he has little to say that’s new on the_ old- hat subject of the effect of environ- i ment on character. He hammers | home the- point that people are j more important than places. Combination of Lee-Thompson, Willis and some useful perform- 1 ances makes an interesting picture but much of its philosophy is con¬ trived, Apart from its own worth, the previous success of “Dressing Gown” must mlake “No Trees” a worthwhile b.o. proposition. Obvi¬ ously it’s short on star names for the U.S. The scene is a squalid slum, with kids playing in the dirty streets. A seedy, sinister air of poverty and despair hangs over the tenements. It’s inhabitants are raucously, cun¬ ningly and bitterly engaged in a fight for survival. There is the constant clinging to the dream of escape before the decaying atmo¬ sphere of the district gets them down. But it is a faint dream Home Is the Hero (IRISH) Dublin, March 3. British lion release o£ Emmet Dalton production. Stars Arthur Kennedy. Di- recte by J. Fielder Cook. Screenplay by Henry Keating from Walter Macken play of same name. Running time, 80 MINS. Paddo . Walter Macken Daylia . Eileen Crowe Willie ... Arthur Kennedy Josie.Joan O’Hara Maura Green ..... Maire O’Donnell Dovetail.Harry Brogan Bid ..... Maire Keane Trapper . Philip O’Flynn Mr, Green . Patrick Layde Mr. Shannon . Eddie Golden Finegan . John Hoey Manchester Monaghan. .Michael Hennessy First Pub Customer ... .Michael O’Briian Second Pub Customer- Dermot Kelly O’Connor.Geoffrey Golden Walter Macken story of a rum- pot strongman, Paddo, who kills a man and returns to his home after a five-year jail stretch, was staged at Abbey some years ago and later on Broadway. Piece has improved on translation to screen and pro¬ vides a standout role for Arthur Kennedy, the only actor outside Abbey Theatre Company in the cast. It looks doubtful for the gen¬ eral market. T his concerns the unsettlement of family in Paddo’s absence and readjustment while he is in jail. His return creates fresh problems of adjustment for Paddo himself, rejecting the goodwill of many old acquaintances who wanted to re¬ build their one-time hero. Piece has a smooth quality and excellent direction with some first-rate per¬ formances. Arthur Kennedy, as Willie, the son of Paddo, who finds a new life, turns in a performance which will hold audiences closely. His play¬ ing is subdued and sympathetic, building into romance with dead man’s daughter despite his self- consciousness of a limp. The strength and decay of the family are warmly shown, and there are some first-class performances from the quiet friend, done by Philip O’Flynn, the daughter of Joan O’Hara, and Bid as done by Maire Keane. The tinker. Dovetail, por¬ trayed by Harry Brogan is a clown ro’e. Director Fielder Cook has caught atmosphere of group, and the set¬ tings are effective. This seems to rate top billing as a piece which is Irish. Mac. Stranger In My Arms (C’SCOPE) Mom’s. a snob. Sonny died a bum. Lukewarm soap rinse though names ef Allyson, Chandler, Astor, Nagel may help. Universal release of Ross Hunter pro¬ duction. Stars Jeff Chandler, June. Allyson with Sandra Dee, Charles Cobum, Mary Astor. Peter Graves. Conrad Nagel and Hayden Rorke. Directed by Helmut Kaut- ner. Screenplay, Peter Berneis, from the novel "And Ride a Tiger” by Robert Wilder; camera (C’Scope), William Dan- Thompson’s nose for detail and Gilbert Taylor’s lensing all help to create a slum atmosphere which is unbearably realistic and which, even in this Welfare State, still exists in many big towns and cities. The slim story line shows how* the various larger-than-life characters face up to the challenge of The Street. The drab blowsy mother who has given up long ago. Her daugn- ter, longing to get away from it with i her young brother, but lacking the resources or the courage. The boy racketeer, who has made money by shady activities and now ruthlessly rules the Street. While “No Trees” is probing the fumbling philosophies, ambitions and reactions of its trapped charac- ! ters, it is holding entertainment, j But it develops into the hackneyed situation of the young brother com¬ ing under the influence of the crook, shooting an old woman for a few dollars and forfeiting his life trying to escape from the police. Sylvia Syms gives a moving per¬ formance as the gentle girl who is sick of her surroundings but re¬ fuses to marry the cheap racketeer just to escape. It is one of the best performances of an actress of sensi¬ bility and charm. Herbert Lorn, as the opportunist who dominates the street, is sufficiently suave and unpleasant while Joan Miller, as the mother, only occasionally falls into the temptation of hamming an over-written role. , Stanley Holloway is a bookmak¬ er’s tout with the cheerful philos¬ ophy that the world’s gone mad. Ropald Howard’s decent young policeman, frustrated at not being able to help the inhabitants of the Street, is a thoughtful study. Mel¬ vyn Hayes plays the teenage youngster who gets into trouble. His is a sharp piece of acting. “No Trees” is a not entirely sat¬ isfactory film. Some of the dialog is too glibly superficial and some of the situations too stock. But there is enough quality in writing, direction and acting to make it worth seeing. Rich. 88 MINS. Christina Beasley . June Allyson Pike Yarnell.Jeff Chandler Pat Beasley... Sandra Dee VanJ? Beasley ..Charles Coburn Mrs. Beasley. Mary Astor Donald Beasley.Peter Graves Harley Beasley.. Conrad Nagel Marcus Beasley. Hayden Rorke Bessie Logan .. . Reita Green Colonel Bert Wayne-Bartlett Robinson Congressman .- Howard Wendell Mumsy gets hers in this film ver- ! sion of Robert Wilder’s novel, “And Ride a Tiger.” A contrived yam, ;the entry is another example of. the so-called “woman’s picture” | long favored at Universal, per “Magnificent Obsession,” the same novelist’s “Written in the Wind,’’ and Others. The present batch of laundry bears a strong odor of soap. Ross Hunter production, directed by Helmut Kautner, tries hard to give meaning to the story, but suc¬ ceeds mostly in artificial heart- tugging overtones, complete with a hearts-and-flowers musical back¬ ground. Ever since Freudians removed the halo mother, she’s a Capital B for plotting. “Stranger in My Arms” puts “smother” type through (As with other recent Uni¬ versal releases, refusal of cus¬ tomary trade reviewing cour¬ tesies, forced: Variety to catch after actual public exhibition began. To exhibitors, let it be pointed out that the tardy publication is not this paper's fault. —Ed.). the ringer again with Mary Astor depicting a domineering social snob determined to obtain a posthum- humous Medal of Honor for her son. She is supported in this proj¬ ect by Charles Coburn, her arro¬ gant father-in-law who attempts to bribe Jeff Chandler, an Air Force major, to testify that his grandson had died a hero’s death. Chandler, knowing that the fam¬ ily’s pride-and-joy was actually a coward who committed suicide and Power Among Men (United Nations Special) “Power ; Among Men,” the first full-length film produced by the United Nations, runs 90 minutes, most of it in color, and was produced by Thorold Dickinson, , chief of the UN film unit. Film, whose American ver¬ sion is narrated by Marlon Brando, is in essence a treatise on human hope and human survival. Theme is developed skillfully and with photo¬ graphic excellence via a num¬ ber of episodes. First one deals with the re¬ building of an Italian village which was destroyed during the war. Second, and possibly most impressive sequence, re¬ volves the mission of a Bel¬ gian UN expert in Haiti who teaches villagers how to build a cooperative. This is followed by an exciting story about the building of Kitimat. Canada. Finale was shot in Norway, at the Joint , Establishment for Nuclear Energy Research near Oslo. Dickinson co-authored with J. C. Sheers, Virgil Thompson provided musical score. Excel¬ lent and sensitive, “Power Among Men” is a thoughtful, powerful documentary that deserves to be widely seen. Hift. who hated his mother, balks. Mean¬ while, however, he becomes roman¬ tically attached to the dead man’s widow, June Allyson, who has prac¬ tically shut herself off from the ■outside world as the permanent guest of her husband’s family. Con¬ rad Nagel is seen as Miss Astor’s weak, cowed husband who finally rebels when the chips are down. And there’s Sandra Dee as the rebellious and effervescent teenage sister of the dead flyer. . Most of the action takes place around the sumptious southern old magnolia mansion of the Beasley family where Chandler has come to attend the dedication cif a veteran’s hospital named after the alleged hero. He’s quick to catch on to the family’s scheme, but has to go through some soul-searching of his own to free himself -of his own guilt, for he had accidently pro¬ vided the gun with which young Beasley killed himself. The Peter Berneis screenplay fails to give the character of Pike < Yarnell, the role played by Chan¬ dler, much dimension and the actor, as a result, goes through his paces rather woodenly. Miss Ally- son, as the young widow, and Nagel, [ as the weak head of the household, are also handicapped in the script¬ ing. Miss Astor, however, gets an opportunity to sink her teeth in a juicy part and she makes the best of it. Ditto Coburn as the monev- can-buy-anything father - in - law. Miss Dee is a trifle too cute as the teenager. Technical aspects, including Wil¬ liam Daniels’ photography, are fine. Holl. Treaehville - (FRENCH-COLOR) • «■* oiio, xrxai i;ii o. Pleiade Filins production and relea? Written, directed and lensed by Je, Roach. Editor. Marie Yoyote. Preem m Paris. Running time, 75 MINS. I Tnis pic won the French film jcritic’js award, Le Prix Delluc. It is an offbeat, documentary-type film in Agfacolor which traces the everyday, lives and thoughts of two natives of Nigeria. The two have ! drifted into tho burgeoning Ivory | Coast town o? Abidjah with its more slummy outskirts, Treichville. Filmmaker Jean Rouch, who usu¬ ally has made pix for . museums, has done this one on his own. His definite filmic feeling had some of his earlier pix released theatrical¬ ly, and this one is due for special¬ ized distribution. The film looks difficult for off¬ shore placement However, it has an unusual flair for revealing the lives of the natives between happy primitivism and the ties of West¬ ern civilization which they have not assimilated as yet. Nothing much’ happens as the work, dreams, hopes and everyday movements of the heroes, who call themselves Eddie Constantine and Edward G. Robinson, are unveiled. But it adds up to an unusual en¬ try for specialized slotting and for school and lecture use. Producer Pierre Braunberger, now that the pic has won a prize, has decided to give the vehicle a more commercial title when it is released. It will be called "Moi, Un Noir” (I, A Negro). Its length makes this a possible good filler for a specialized program with an¬ other shorter feature. Mosk. The Wild and the Innocent (COLOR—C’SCOPE) Another mild one from Univer¬ sal. Will have to sell on names. The Bandit of Zhobe (C’SCOPE) A Far Eastern Indians in India add . up to period action meller for programming. Hollywood, March 6. Universal release of Sy Gomberg pro¬ duction. Stars Audie Murphy, Joanne Dru; costars Gilbert Roland, Jim Backus, San¬ dra Dee. Directed by Jack Sher. Screen¬ play, Gomberg. and Sher; based on a story by Gomberg; camera, Harold Lipstein; music, Hans J. Ealter; editor, George Git- tens. Previewed at the Hawaii Theatre, March 4, ’59. Running time, 84 MINS. . Yancy.Audie Murphy Marcy __~.. Joanne Dru Paul . Gilbert Rolaud Mr. Forbes . Jim Backus Rosalie -. Sandra Dee Uncle Liji . George Mitchell Chip .Peter Breck Ben Stocker ....Strother Martin Ma Ransome.Wesley Marie Tackitt Mrs. Forbes. Betty Harford Pitchman . Mel Leonard Kiri . Lillian Adams Richie . Val Benedict Henchmen.Jim Sheppard. Ed Stroll, John Qualls, Frank- Wolff Dancehall Girls. Rosemary Eliot Barbara Morris. Louise Glenn Bouncer . Stephen Roberts Townswoman.Tammy Windsor “The Wild and The Innocent” was variously titled during its pro¬ duction (first “The Wild Inno¬ cents” then “The Buckskin Kid and the Calico Gal”) and there seems to have been a similar uncertainty about its intent and purpose. De¬ spite an attractive cast and the benefits of color and Cinemascope, the Sy Gomberg production for Universal, directed by Jack Sher, “The Wild and The Innocent” con¬ tains neither elements of its pres¬ ent title and shapes up only as an “adequate” program picture. The Gomberg-Sher - screenplay, from a story by Gomberg, seems to be a pastoral farce set in the early west in its* opening scenes. (This review is published be¬ latedly, after the film has begun public exhibition. Universal con- tinues to exclude Variety from the customary trade opportunity to catch its films prior to release. This is a punitive policy because this paper correctly predicted the sale of U’s studios to MCA. — Ed.) Audie Murphy is sent off by his beaver-trapping uncle, George Mit¬ chell, to exchange two seasons’ pelts for supplies. On his way to the nearest community—Murphy’s first brush with civilization—he picks up urchin Sandra Dee, prom¬ ising her folks to get her a city job. Murphy is so naive he believes town boss Gilbert Roland when Ro¬ land tells him a good job for Miss Dee will be in the local dance hall, jyiurphy is • equally backward in understanding Joanne Dru’s status in town as an established member of the dance hall. This leads, via his early romance with Miss Dru, to his championing of her rights, and in his later realization that Miss Dee is the girl for him, in his rescue of her from the toils of the lecherous Roland. Murphy is getting a little mature to be playing a gawky boy, and he hasn’t the. comedy lightness to kid a role such as this. Miss Dru, de¬ spite her top-billing, plays a sub¬ sidiary role, although adequately. Roland is his usual dashing self, and Jim Backus is amusing in a side-line character. Miss Dee, dis¬ guised in the early scenes by a fright wig and tattered rags, blos¬ soms in later scenes, adding youth and freshness to the film. In the supporting cast, Strother Martin scores as her conniving father, Wesley Marie Tackit as the dance hall madam, and Betty Hardford as Backus’ wife. Powe. Le Fanve Est Laehe (The Beast Is Loose) (FRENCH) Paris, March 3. Gaumont release of Cinephonic-EIan Films production. Stars Lino Ventura; features EsteUa B.lain, Nadine Alari, Paul Frankeur, Philippe Mareuil, Jess Hahn. Directed by Maurice Labro. Screenplay. Jean Redon, Claude Sautet, Frederic Dard, Francois Chavane; camera, Pierre Petit; editor, Germaine Artiis. At Balzac, Paris. Running time, 95 MINS. Paul .Lino Ventura Nadine . Estella Slain Pierrette . Nadine Alari Raymond . Paul Frankeur Regis . Philippe Mareuil American.Jess Hahn Colonel .. Alfred Adam The second in a popular series, about a secret service man who is forced into his work by both his chief and the underworld, is fol¬ lowing the first in popularity here. But only fair plotting, workman¬ ship ana handling make this of little offshore interest where for¬ eign dualers are not standard. Lino Ventura has the force and presence to keep the well shaped, but conventional plot moving and fairly credible. As a former secret service man with two children, a beautiful wife and a good business, he is forced back into the game by ruthless police tactics. He gets back some stolen plans after some hectic battles. Mosk. Hollywod, March 6. Columbia release of Warwick produc¬ tion. Stars Victor Mature, Anthony New- ley, Anne Aubrey. Produced by Irving Allen and Albert Broccoli. Directed by John Gilling. Screenplay, John Gilling; based on a story by Richard Maibaum; camera (Eastman Color) Ted Moore, Cyril Knowles; music, Kenneth V. Jones; editor, Bert Rule. Previewed at the studio, March 5, '59. Running time, 80 MINS. Kasin Khan . Victor Mature Zenda .Anne Aubrey Stokes.. Anthony Newley Major Crowley .Norman Wooland Captain Sounders . Dermot Walsh Azhad Khan .Walter Gotell Lieutenant Wylie . Sean Kelly Hatti . Paul Stassino Ahmed . Laurence Taylor Hussu . Dennis Shaw Zecco . Murray Kadi Tamara . Maya Koumani Indians bite the dust with mo¬ notonous regularity in “The Bandit of Zhobe,” a Warwick production with the elements of an old-fash¬ ioned American western. The dif¬ ference is that in the case of . this Columbia release, the. Indians are Indians, from India. British'have a fertile field for outdoor action melodrama in Vic¬ torian India, but the approach here is so innocently “Beau Geste” that it cannot be taken seriously. Up¬ per lips are so generally stiff as to suggest an epidemic of frostbite. “Zhobe” was made by much the same team as “Zarak” of a couple years ago, and will probably do the same kind of business as that feature. Victor Mature plays the misun¬ derstood Indian leader in the John Gilling screenplay, from a story by Richard Maibaum. His family is wiped out by another Indian chief¬ tain, Walter Gotell, but since Go- tell’s men were disguised as Brit¬ ish troopers, Mature swears a ven¬ detta on the redcoats. Norman I Wooland is the British commander | who tries to capture Mature for his subsequent banditry and pillage, and Anne Aubrey is Wooland’s idealistic daughter. Anthony New- land supplies a portrayal of a comic ranker, a comedy portrait whose ancestors can be found in the same tedious detail in any of Shake¬ speare’s low clowns. The wrap-up involves a clarification of every¬ one’s true position and general understanding and forgiveness. “Zhobe” employs some massive scenes of considerable color in tbe battles between the British troops and their Indian opponents. Pho¬ tography, by Ted Moore and Cyril Knowles in mostly good East¬ man color, is lively and inter¬ esting. John Gilling’s direction, however, doesn’t take full advan¬ tage of the scenes, mostly because the spectator isn’t involved in the contest. It just seems a melee, without any clearcut issues for which to root The same fault is characteristic of the human con¬ flicts. The characters are so stere¬ otyped, so Kiplingesque, that little involvement is aroused. Victor Mature seems to be get¬ ting a litle heavy to play the dash¬ ing juvenile, and his apparent de¬ cision to play his Indian leader as stoically as posible somewhat cuts down emotional appeal. Miss Au¬ brey is attractive but is hopelessly saddled with one of those charac¬ terizations of Victorian womanhood that seems today merely tiresome. Anthony Newley’s comedy role is equally unimpressive. Others in¬ volved include Dermot Walsh. Sean Kelly, Paul Stassino and Laurence Taylor. Irving Allen and Albert Broccoli produced, apparently with an eye to the American action market If so, it should be noted that this market of recent years demands something more than chase and capture. The adult western,.. whether set in the U. S. Southwest or India’s Northwest Frontier, has the accent these days on adult ' Powe. Xella ('Ufa L’lnfprno (Hell in the City) (ITALIAN) Rome, March 3. Cineriz release of a Riama (Giusepp* . Amato) production. Stars Anna Magnani,' Giulietta Masina; features Cristina Ga- jone. Angela Portaluri, Milly Monti. Myriam .pru, Marcella Rovena, Virginia Bennati, Miranda Camp}, Gina Roveri. Directed by Renato Castellani. Screenp’ry, Suso Cecchi D’Amico, from novel, "Rcim, Via dene Mantellate” by Isa Mari; em- era, Leonida Barboni; editor, Jolrn^a Benvenuti; music, Roman Vlad. At Bar- berim, Rome. Rnnning time, 110 MINS. Egle . Anna Magnani Lina .. Giulietta Masina Marietta . Cristina Gajonl Hard-hitting prison drama with excellent performances including Anna Magnani at her best. While the pic in itself is good entertain¬ ment for all Italian audiences, ex- j port chances will best spotlight name values of the Anna Magnani- Giulietta Masina acting team for the quality film market I While obviously a condemnation (Continued on page 22)