Variety (April 1959)

24 PICTURES Pakiety' Wednesday, April 15, 1959 Film Reviews Continued from page 6 ; mise. Prima plays himself and Misr Smith essays a relatively simple characterization and both are given plenty of opportunity to sing. The story is simply but expertlj contrived. ” Character is briefly established when Miss Smith, af a helper to her parish priest, James Gregory, approaches Prime to do a benefit for their ehurei and boys’ camp. Prima succumb, to the charity pitch and, in the en¬ suing developments, to Miss Smith. The first proves his good heart, the second his good sense. With i few laughs provided by the Hayes- West script, and some nice scenes, both musical and non-musica!.; the film exercises a pleasant feeling. Director David Lowell Rich suc¬ ceeds in getting at least two good dramatic scenes out of Miss Smith and Prima, and he handles the mu¬ sical scenes with some freshness. James Gregory, as the priest, plays casually, keeping his more expert technique from overshadowing the less experienced (acting-wise' stars. Henry Slate and young Kim Charney also contribute, although Barbara Heller, a fine comedienne, is wastefully mishandled. Prima and Miss Smith are com¬ petently backed in the musical sec¬ tions by Sam Butera and the Wit¬ nesses. There is an infectious title tune that sounds like a hit. as well as performance of several stand¬ ards associated with the singing stars. Ray Cory’s camera work helps keep the musical portions lively, not always easy in these low-budget musicals. Poire. Cafe Odeon (SWISS) Zurich, March 29. Rex-Film release of Gloriafilm <Max Dora) production. Directed by Kurt Frueh. Screenplay, Frueh; camera, Georges C. Stilly; editor, Rene Martinet: music. W al¬ ter Baumgartner. Stars Emil lleget- scHweiler, Margrit Winter; features Erwin Kohlund, Eva Lsngraf, Hans Gaugler, Blanche Aubry. Sylvia Frank. Ettore Celia. Max Werner Lenz. x\t Capitol Thea¬ tre. Zurich. March 2tf, ’59. Running time, 90 MINS. "Walter.Emil Ilegetsckweiler Leni . .\ Margrit Winter Prof. Kartmann . Erwin Kohlund Mrs. Kartmann . Eva Lnn-raf Feller. Hans Gnusler Blanche . ,BI; nc T e Aubry Anni . Svivia Frank Kovacs . Ettore Celia Herr Laeubli .. Max Werner Lenz (In Swiss-German) human-interest incidents. Story is 'ealistic and believable, with blunt, .rue-to-life dialog an important as- ;et. The prostie scenes, though jncanny, are done with taste. Performances are firstrate. Margrit Winter as the province drl offers a dimensional, sensitive ’ rnd expressive portrayal. Emil legetschweiler as the headwaiter loping the girl might share his )ld-age loneliness, is touching and 'emarkably unsentimental. Fine performances are also turned in jy Hans Gaugler as the criminal lusband, Blanche Aubry as a run- lown prostie and newcomer Sylvia Frank as the girl’s pleasure-seek- ng sister. Erwin Kohlund and Eva Langraf are satisfactory. Camerawork, in black-and-white standard size, by Georges C. Stilly s above par, and incidental music by Walter Baumgartner, including several jazz themes, is unobtrusive. Mezo. Der Schinderliannes (GERMAN-COLOR) Berlin. April 7. Europa release of Real (Gyula Trebitsh) production. Stars Curt Juergens and Maria Schell; features Christian Wolff, Fritz Tillmann, Siegfried Lowitz. Til Kiwe. Bobby Todd, Walter Buschoff. Di¬ rected by Helmut Kaeutner. Screenplay. Georg Hurdalek, after a legit play by. Carl Zuckmaver; camera (Eastmancolor), Heinz Pehlke; music, Bernard Eichhom; editors. Klaus Dudenboefer. At Marmor- haus, Berlin. Running time- 115 MINS. Schinderhannes . Curt Juergens Julchen . Maria Schell Carl von Cleve-Boost ... Christian Wolff Hans Bast .;. Fritz Tillman Benzel ..’ Siegfried Lowitz Gendarme Adam . Til Kiwe Siebert . Bobby Todd Leyendecker . Joseph Offenbach litis Jakob .Walter Buschhoff W T elscher Jockel . Guenther Jerschke Philipp . Michael Burt Latest Swiss entry is a departure from the usual type of local prod¬ uct depicting either peasant life or the man from the street. Filmed partly on location at Zurich’s his¬ torical Cafe Odeon, onetime ren¬ dezvous of artistic and literary greats from all over Europe, this iv the first Swiss attempt at a prostie theme within a typical big- city frame. Lack of marquee names for consumption .abroad (though most players are familiar here) is compensated by obvious exploitation values, although maud¬ lin aspects often found in pix deal¬ ing with streetwalkers have been avoided. Good performances and tight editing also help to make this a bet for U.S. offbeat bookings. Plot concerns a girl from the provinces, whose husband is serv¬ ing a jail term, coming to Zurich to stay with her sister, a prostie. Latter headquarters, as many of her trade, at the Cafe Odeon. The girl’s attempt at making quick money by following her sister’s example, fails when she falls in love with a married man. The Odeon’s old headquarters straight¬ ens things out for her, and when her husband breaks jail to join her, they reconcile with a view to a better life when he has finally served his term. Kurt Frueh. directing from his own original screenplay, has garn¬ ished the story with dramatic and WHEN IN HOLLYWOOD Slay oir Famed Sunset Strip SUNSET TOWER WEST 8400 SUNSET ILVD. Complete Hotel Facilities Htated Pool & Private Patios Daily—Weekly— & Monthly Rates OL 6-0733 Mrs. Ralston, Mgr. Brochure on Request New York Theatre r-mio cm music hill— • Roch.frihrC.ntar . Ci 6-4,00 AUDREY HEPBURN . ANTHONY PERKINS in “fiREEN MANSIONS” Co-starring LEE J. COBB SBSUE HAYAKAWA • HENRY SUVA In METROCOLOR and CinemaScope An M-G-M Picture •ntfTg mac mi’s am asm stme ant A cast of 83. headed by Curt Juergens and Maria Schell. 4.000 extras, the names of Helmut Kaeutner and Carl Zuckmayer and a big budget are this pic’s exploita¬ tion values which, no doubt, will impress the local public and guar¬ antee mass bookings here. Also, “Schinderhannes” looks to have better chances than most other German pix finished lately in the foreign market. On names and pro¬ duction dress, tills Europa release is undeniably an extraordinary German film. Films of this type do not seem to be Kaeuther’s forte. The direc¬ tor doesn’t seem quite at home do¬ ing this spectacular subject. Al¬ though there’s quite a bit of action in this, pic comes often close to being dull. Curt Juergens. who portrays Schinderhannes. the legendary German robber-chief who stood up against the bourgeoisie and Napoleon’s occupation forces, has he-man quality. He’s too much of a carpet-knight to make the role of a wild revolutionary believable. Maria Schell who enacts Julchen, his moll, has some impressive mo¬ ments. But generally this is just another Maria Schell performance, with routine smiles and emotions. More believable are the supporting members such p c Christian Wolff, as a young nobleman who turns against his class; Joseph Offen¬ bach, in a particularly effective study of a shoemaker who sides with the rebels, and Paul Esser, a robust blacksmith, one of Juergen’s pals. Also the script by Georg Hur¬ dalek (Zuckmayer took care of the dialog) has its flaw*. Another weak¬ ness is the (Eastmancolor) photog¬ raphy. The color photography treats the players’ faces not too kindly. Hans. Poliearpo (Color* (ITALO-FRANCO-SPAXISH) Titanus release of a Titanus-S. G. C.- Hispamex coproduction. Stars Renato Rascel; features Peppino DeFilippo, Ren¬ ato Salvatori, Carla Gravina, Luigi DeFilippo, Lidia Maresca. Romolo Valli. Directed by Mario Soldati. Screenplay, Age and Scarpelli. Camera (Eastman¬ color), Giuseppe Rotunno. Previewed in Rome. Running time, 100 MINS. Poliearpo .:...Renato Rascel Cesare Pancarano ....Peppino DeFilippo Mario ...Renato Salvatori Celeste . Carla Gravina Gege .*.Luigi DeFilippo Am elia ..Lidia Maresca Charming and colorful period item (one of Italy’s 52 entries at Cannes) which chronicles the vari¬ ous battles fought on a human as well as bureaucratic level by Poli- carpo, a lowly but conscientious scrivener in a government office, in order to win a minute pay raise. When Policarpo’s daughter be¬ comes the fiance of his boss’ son, things begin looking up. But the youngsters soon turn to other lean¬ ings, and it’s only by chance that Poliearpo gets his raise anyway. Renato Rascel, who played a similar role in “II Capotto” some years ago, is here again at his measured best, giving the role warmth and just the right dose of eccentric innocence. He gets top support from Peppino DeFilippo, as the boss whose one desire is to find a noble strain of blood in his family tree; from Carla Gravina, as Policarpo’s romantic daughter, from Luigi DeFilippo and Renato Salvatori, well chosen as her two suitors; and from a host of other fine thesps, including Romolo Val¬ li, as a government official. There are also some amusing one-shot guest stints by top Italian actors. Just as big a performer in this item, however, is the period set¬ ting and the nostalgic memories it revives. Director Mario Soldati obviously has made this part of his efforts a labor of love down to the last detail of setting, action, dia¬ logue and other shading. It should go a .long way, together with the film’s other values, towards help¬ ing “Poliearpo” to a healthy home- market gross. Elsewhere, some of the local nuances may be lost, but some markets should prove respon¬ sive on film’s general values. Vehicle is slow in getting start¬ ed, and the story’s pace often lags overly long. But the total effect is charming. Humor is ever-pres¬ ent, even in the dark moments, but never hilarious. Cameraman Giuseppe Rotunno, obviously working closely with Sol¬ dati, has come up with some of the best color work seen here in ages, being perfectly suited to the pe¬ riod caught. Other technical cred¬ its. including costume and set de¬ sign, are likewise first-rate. Hawk. 26 Writing at Metro ", Hollywood, April 14. Twentysix writers, said to be a new high for the year, are currently assigned to 26 prop¬ erties in active preparation by Metro for the 1959-60 schedule. A story department break¬ down reveals that of the 26 properties in work. 19 are novels or books, two are Broadway plays and five are originals. Among writers working on Metro properties are Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. Isobel Lennart, Ar¬ nold Schulman, Alfred Bren¬ ner, Robert'Thom, James Lee, Garson Kanin, Ruth Brooks Flippen, - Fred Gipson, Karl Tunberg, Robert Anderson, Millard Kaufman. Robert Ar- drey, Ranald MacDougall. Wil¬ liam Roberts, Charles Kauf¬ man, Robert Smith and Valen¬ tine Davies. Les Mo tar ds (The Motorcycle Cops) (FRENCH) Paris. April 17. Lux release of Telefrance production. . Stars Jean-Marc Thibault, Roger Pierre; ’ features Francis Blanche, Veronique Zu- ber, Colette Doreal. Directed by Jean j Laviron. Screenplay, Tibault, Pierre, ! Laviron; camera, Claude Matalou; editor,! Denise Baby. At Triomphe, Paris. Run- ning time. 90 MINS. i Marc .Jean-Marc Thibault; Roger ... Roger Pierre ! Veronique .Veronique Zuber i Ambassador .Francis Blanche. Wanda ...Colette Doreal i Lightweight comedy entry has a couple of engaging young comics who give this a lot of yocks. This looks like a good local entry with possibilities for offshore dualer or video situations on its okay gen¬ eral entertainment qualities. Story is the.familiar one about a harassed motorcycle cop both¬ ered by his silly future brother-in- law who also wants to be a cop. They manage to break up a spy ring, after a flock of zany adven¬ tures. Nothing is forced in this and it flows along agreeably with some well worked out gags and timing as well as tongue-in-cheek takeoffs on bureaucracy. Comic tandem of Jean-Marc Thibault and Roger Pierre looks to be heard from in the future. This slight but okay entry is technically well made hav¬ ing good pacing. Mosk. Les Orageurs (The Girl Hunters) (FRENCH) Paris. April 14. Fernand Rivers release of Lisbon Films production. Stars Jacques Charrier. Charles Aznavour: features Dany Robin, Dany Carrel, Estella Blain. Margit Saad, Anouk Aimee, Inge Schoener, Nicole Berger. Belinda Lee. Directed by Jean- Pierre Mocky. Screenplay, Mocky, Jean- Charles Pichon, Louis Sapin; camera, Ed¬ mond Sechan; editor, Armand Psenny. Preemed in Paris. Running time. 75 MINS. Freddy . Jacques Charrier Joseph ...Charles Aznavour Denise .Dany Robin Dadou . Dany Carrel Sylviane .Estella Blain Jeanne ...Anouk Aimee Ingrid .-. Margit Saad Monica ..Inga Schoener Franchise ...Nicole Berger Ghislaine ....Belinda Lee Made by a producer and direc¬ tor, both under 30, this emerges a looksee at the sex and morals of contemporary French youth told via a night .of girl hunting by two young men. Both hope for that miracle of finding the ideal girl. Instead, they discover mostiy a hopeless array of searching and disoriented women and girls. The two young men go through a wide variety of experiences in one night with one lad finally meet¬ ing a girl he has some feeling for. The other goes off to loneliness or easy conquest. Director Jean-Pierre Mocky has filled this with some fairly acute observation on pickups and Paris nightlife, wdth a wild party also thrown in. It is sometimes sketchy and one-track but has exploitation handles on its looksee of Paris at night. Jacques Charrier and Charles Aznavour give body to the roles of the two searchers. The women remain facets of the female pysche. However, they are all lookers and dress up the pic. Tech¬ nical credits and production values are fine, with on-the-spot lensing a help. This is an offbeater with possibilities for offshore specialized programs. Mosk. Cohan, Robinett Depart 20th In Reshuffle The first field changes, resulting from 20th-Fox’s streamlining of its distribution setup in the States, have been made by Alex Harrison, general sales manager. New 20th setup sees the eliminating of all supervisory sales personnel, with branch managers becoming “au¬ tonomous” in their areas. Jack Cohan, Minneapolis branch manager, has resigned. His post is being taken over by Moe Levy, formerly midwest district man¬ ager. Also, Chilton Robinett, branch manager in Seattle, has resigned and is being replaced with Marc Sheridan, formerly southwest dis¬ trict manager headquartering in Dallas. Under the new setup, the branch manager no longer has to refer deals to New York. Only in ex¬ treme cases will the decision be re¬ ferred to Harrison. The branches even are being allocated their own publicity budgets, to spend as they see fit according to local condi¬ tions. Mike Mindlin Becomes Raoul Levy’s U.S. Rep! Michael Mindlin is tying up with I France’s Raoul Levy. He’ll be! Levy’s publicity rep in the States. ’ but also will engage in production j on his own. He’ll also assist Levy i In Europe. Latter has an extensive ; film production deal with Colum¬ bia. Mindlin is currently with David Merrick, a legit producer. Before that, he was ad-pub head for Jo¬ seph L. Mankiewicz. Final contracts were signed in New York last week for Columbia to finance and release “Pepe,” star¬ ring Mexican comedian Cantinflas. The picture will be co-produced by George Sidney, under his own pro-. duction company banner, and j Jacques Gelman, head of Posa In-1 ternational Films. Sidney will di- ; rect. Leonard Spigelgass wrote j the screenplay. Plans are to shoot ■ the picture in Hollywood, Las Ve- ‘ gas, Mexico and other parts of Latin America. Cantinflas and Gelman left New York for Europe over the weekend on an advance promotion jaunt and to seek European performers for vignette roles In the picture. Pair Acquire Circle 81 San Antonio, April 14. Bill Rau and Charles Albert have purchased the Circle 81 Theatre here. Jesse Walker will remain as manager of the ozoner. Rau is owner of the Alamo Book¬ ing Center, while Albert is part- owner and manager of the San Pe¬ dro Drive-In Theatre. DRIVE-IN BOARD FULL Dallas, April 14. Harold Novy, of Trans-Texas Theatres, Phil Isley, head of the circuit bearing his name and Dow- lin Russell with Lone Star Thea¬ tres, have been voted three-year terms as directors of the Texas Drive-In Theatre Owners Assn, This completes the board of the ozoner association headed by Tim Ferguson. H’wood-Vegas Continued from page 2 traction at the nearby Tropicana where her groom-to-be Eddie Fish¬ er headlines. The Liz & Eddie headlines gave Fisher’s Tropicana engagement ex¬ tra impact to the degree that, where he might have done his cavalcade of ballads in conven¬ tional manner, now they take on added autobiographical values. He did not exactly gloss over the head¬ line phase in the small-talk, nor did his “There’s A Time And Place For Us” minimize it, but by and large Fisher did a solid songalog, and in fact seemed more mature and possessed of firmer stage pres¬ ence than heretofore. The Hollywood-Vegas scuttlebutt naturally focused around Liz and Debbie and Eddie. It was height¬ ened by Miss Reynolds’ last-minute bowout from the Academy show. Some of the chitchat, since given open headlines, focused on whether Miss Taylor was “seeing the image ( of Mike Todd in Eddie Fisher,”’ etc. There is a feeling that the publicity pendulum is swinging a bit more in their favor and, with time, the public will concede the genuineness of the romance. Incidentally, Eddie Fisher has been given a bum rap on the “our song” bit as regards an Israeli folk song, "Haga Nogila,” which is merely interlarded in a pot-pourri of international folk songs. There is not even mention made that this is Hebrew folk song; he does it as part of a medley. The nearest thing to “our” song, in actuality, is a paean to “Philadelphia.” which happens to be his hometown, and which he accents as being also that of Manie Sacks, his mentor and friend, who was recently saluted on an NBCVTV spectacular, accord¬ ing to Fisher’s personal tribute. Mae West Mae West at the Sahara evi¬ dences that there's no potency to warmed-over s-e-x and while the former s.a. symbol still retains her voluptuous looks the too-broad stage business with her “muscle men” seems to leave the customers cool. Louis Prima and Keeley Smith—due into the N. Y. Copaca- bana—outdraw the main-room at¬ traction at their Casbar Lounge, doing a grind that chums the casi¬ no traffic like the subway rush hour at Times Square. Understood that the Stardust-Desert Inn (Wil¬ bur Clark) syndicate would like them, offering them a bigger- capacity lounge at either of these two plusheries. but they are con¬ tractually tied to the Morris Prell operation. Last Frontier has gone Gay 90s with Beatrice Kay and former cow¬ boy Hoot Gibson, now a Nevada resident, for the marquee; so far b.o. NSG. The adjacent Silver Slipper, via impresario Eddie Fox, has beefed-up the always surefire Hank Henry burleyeue with Sally Rand and Maxie Rosenbloom but, somehow, that hasn’t jelled as it should. Tony Martin at the Los Angeles Ambassador’s Cocoanut Grove is a slimmer, more effective balladeer but his dollar-sign accent, in sign- off, is a new wrinkle in saloonan- tics. “Well, here’s another $2,500 earned tonight, of which I take home $400, ,,l or words to that effect, is a statistic that doesn’t belong. It is a gratuitous, sordid economic contribution—mayhaps irritation— that has no place in the repose of a dinner divertissement, or at any other time. That’s for the agents. Colony Less Jittery Picture biz morale in the studios is past that “nervous” stage. Uni¬ versal is high with its unexpected bull market in “Imitation of Life”; Metro’s “Gigi” sweep (10 Oscars, a new high, including the “honor¬ ary” award to Chevalier) has the Culver City plant looping, among other things: UA has its independ¬ ent steamroller in high; Sam Bris- kin is making kindred-style indie deals; Sam Goldwyn observes “maybe those theatres deserve not to do business,” again pitching for the quality picture at special prices, viz., his upcoming “Porgy and Bess”; Paramount has its own independent units finishing some new product; Warners is zinging, not only with “Auntie Marne,” but its video productions. Mike Frankcvich, Columbia’s London production topper, stayed on a few days east, following the Las Vegas Variety Club conven¬ tion and a Hollywood detour, be¬ fore returning to England.