Variety (June 1959)

FILM REVIEWS PfoRIETY Wednesday* June 17, 1959 John P»ul Jones (COLOR; TECHRIAMA) Biff. long, slow historical pic; B.O. fair. Hollywood, June 12;: Warner Bro>. i«*.o;;stf ei Samuel F.ion- cten p'vtiui'tiun. Slars Robert stack; lew¬ s’ Mansi P»».\an. ' t’iir.rle* .Coburn. Erin O'iMcn. Directed b> John Farrow. Sv.’eer.Plav. Farrow and Jcs-e Lasky Jr.; camei u 'Technaolor*. *I:rhel Kelber: niirx.e. M: x SViuer; editor. Kit a warren. I’liriewed at the j-tuiito, June 2, ’39. Kis li¬ ning time, 126 MINS. John Paul Jonis Aimee de TelLsen . . Benjamin Ftvnktm Dorothea Danders Patrick "Henry Louis XVI. Pearscn Marie Antoinette Russian Chamber!:;;! Peter Woole* Gunner I.ov.rie Sir ■William Young Duncan MueBeaii ! rors in. the heart of Africa. The | authenticity pays off, and “Tar- izan’s Greatest Adventure,” a Sy l Weintraub-Harvey Hayutin Pro- ! duction for Paramount release, is ! wholesale violence. While the com . • runs deep, so does the blood, male-; ing the film a hearty boxofficej prospect. ! In 90 Eastman Color minutes; death and.trauma are the stars,’ and the supporting players are .bul-. lets, arrows, knives, hatchets, dyna- The Heart of a Man (BRITISH) Frankie Vaughan provides!; some marquee appeal in this : light yarn about a dowri-and-{ out sailor who becomes a disk star; set Against a London background of night life and; gambling. -A. . London, June . 9,: ..-, ,----- Rank. release of an. Anna. Xeagl'e ’ pfor i mite, neck-choking paraphernalia, j Wnyf Marisa Paean crocodiles, lions, snakes, spideis, - Herbert Wilcox. Screenplay,* Jack; Trevor. ,. a iU Coburn ‘ boulders, spikes, pits, quicksand story and Pamela Bower from, story by j as his henchmen. -Har . and- prickly cactus. It's, a ‘ furious superb amalgam-of Erin Muc&mald Carey ; !. tor. Basil 'Warren; music, Wally Stott. AC Je m Pie-re Vumont ! affair. With an exciting chase or RFD Private Theatre, London. Running' SSHSS i ‘wo. and it’s packed t^the hilt with; Frankie : vauiton ’ ” -Anne.Heywood Tony*'Britton of the time she has merely to Reg¬ ister admiration for her boy friend. She also sings one number with charm and poise. The major acting contribution comes from Anthony Newley, who !. Is wryly funny as an absent-! minded. opportunistic 10-percenter. ! He garners yocks with-..; aecom-; plished ease. Tony Britton is a; debonair, and handsome crook'who runs the gambling parties and ! clashes with Vaughan over Miss !; Hey wood. Michael Medwin, Harry ' Fpwler and George Rose also score i as his henchmen. Harold Kasket f every West; ;. Sl jor" a e mvfirl' exploitable gore. j,■ V*®** Tom Brannum , Tarzan, as played , by Gordon ‘Tony ' Bas^s^dhcJ ! Scott * is ’ a modern he-man, still^ Archie Duncan : adorned in loincloth but. more coilr f Johnnie . Peter Sinclair .. Michael Medwin .-.. Anthony Newley ..... Harry Fowler .;..... George Rose ..; ...Harold Basket . Vanda . Leslie- Mitchell; ersational than Edgar Rice Bur-' {g£[: e - ‘’John Paul Jones” has some roughs pictured him. It has even j 0s car :‘ spectacular sea action scenes and gotten, to the point that the: now- ; .cha.cha : achieves some freshness in dealing famous Tarzan posture and . yell j As e Kcnt Walton, Hogan vKid” Bassey with the Revolutionary War.: a seem almost out of time and place, j. . V period seldom explored in motion Scott piits little emotion into liis i , . V, pictures. But the Samuel Bronsfon greatest adventure, but he swings !. . ine ileart 01 A Man production for Warner Bros, does- neatly from tree to tree, takes good I Vaughan's fourth : starring pic for ri’t get much fire-power into rits care of-’a Crocodile, even if it does Anna Neagle and his personality characters. They end. as they : be- appear dead from the start, de-, 1 i hbp - lf i guarantee' a -' Vturdv "success' gin. as historical personages rather eiphers with ease the sounds of his l sh ° Llci ; fuai,antee a !? ccei ? than human being. . animal friends and, morethan any- , in family houses m the U:KI. and Photographed in remarkably. thing else, looks .the .part. ’ i some U.S. spots. “Heart” is faithful Technicolor and Icclini-, “Greatest Adventure” was screen- j shrewdly designed to exploit his rama. the film could be shortened played by Bernie Giler and director ! growing statute as. a film star.! But, drastical y and tightened to give John Guillermiri from a story by: wisely. Miss Neagle . has not put it better pace and emphasis. The Les Crutchfield. The drama is all her eggs in the Vaughan basket, strong portions would then show subordinate to the danger, and the She has assembled a very sound to better advantage and eliminate script makes nb bones about giving cast around . him.- Result , is an the drag of unnecessary plotting. Tarzan fans what.Tarzan fans Vant. | amiable . re “antic comedy, with John Farrow’s direction of . such Guillermin’s direction brings but < three hep pop songs injected for scenes as the battle of Jones’; Bon! occasionally interesting, perform^ good measure. End night club owner while Peter ^Sinclair brings some homespun ^philosophy and a touch of pathos aY the eccentric hobo. Herbert Wilcox’s direction is straighforward and polished while. Reginald Wyer's photography; is excellent. Those familiar with the slick. world against which . “The. Heart Of A Mari” is staged will get • a lot of quiet amusement out . of identifying the types pinpointed ” is Frankie j by the author! Those to whom the world of Mayfair is a closed book should also get fun out of a peep at a luxury and seemingly incred¬ ible strata of society which does, in fact, exist. Rich. . Homme Richard with the British ances, but, for the.-riibst part, the . . it’s a London varn with a back- Serapis is fine, colorful and excit- screenplay’s stereotypes remain.so,, ground of the' West End smart se.t, inrf P^rhrsnc hppmi^fk .TnnPS himself . Wie nf tho ViicrH ar»iinn i;r A >ru M . The Legend ;of Tom Dooley Good; grim little enactment of the pop song. Teener draw, especially good. Howard Wright : ' Moody ' _ Cliff ; Cheerio Meredith ; Gary Hunley - Anthony Jochim ... Jeff Marris : .. Jason Johnson.: ,.. Joe Yrigoven - ..Sandy Sanders ; ... Ju'ney Ellis '. Maudie Prickett figures tend to be stiff or uribe-■■miniature Sophia Loren, is^^ easy to man AVho. eventually becomes a .tcip as ; a strong double-bill item .with ; llevab T e Charles Coburn as Ben- look at. Miss Shane, nearly as un- disk and tv singer. He is inspired ! special appeal for. younger fans. : ■! iainin FranVlin has a fussv charm, emotional as Tarzan,. does display by a chance meeting with an ec- I .Stan Shpetner v s production and , Mrcdonr^d Carev, as Patrick. a light touch and a luscious mobd centric; hobo .On the Embankment .Ted Post’s direction do not ahvays ' If'.'Urt*’ ,V 0 ' 0 ; d However the trjeat- that adds a spark and a good deal: and by his. love for a night club, live hp to the high concept of the menVof Wasliington is stagev shot of interest along the way:;. singer whom he meets when he is, project. TheJilm slips , from time entirely from his b^ck ! /arid! the . Ted Scaife’s color photography a bouncer for a shady character, to time, and the \vay is made more; brief aooearancc of Bette Davis as is first-rate, writh an off-beat angle running, . gambling: parties on. a. slippery by lines from the heroine Catherine the Great of Russia is here and there. Art direction by > ship in the Thames,. The singing ] such as ^ I always wondered what it. the dieiie portrait of that vigorous Michael Stringer, editing, by Bert'angle enables Vaughan to put over ; \vas that, made a. girl into a .-woman,; empress, a Woman bordering on Rule and music by. Douglas Gamley three songs which. stand a good now I. know. .. .These lapses, .;liow- ; nymphomania. ' i! are: fine, and sound, recorded by chalice of clicking in the popularity j ever, are j* Jones has two romances ini:the Charles Knott and Bob. Jones,' is ’.parade ... “The Heart Of - ■&;} noticea^e• because .the rest of the { storv, one with a high-born i\’ir- outstanding enough to be one of F Man -’’“Sometime, Somewhere’Vand ;.tH^ sets^ mgn stanaara.. ^. . gink n. Erin ; xO’Brien. and- .another ^ the "Greatest Adventure’s” great- | “Walking Tall.” “Sometime Some-1 : With a titled Frenchwoman of the es t additions. , ' Son. I ** k kt tfaetive it”™® ‘be theme of Jhe song^abnost. bar sinister. Marba Pavah. Neither -1-•-:--- -- ; .[ditty, marred, in one instance bv i-®X ac t{y -.,™ee >oung confeder , is verv convincing, and in DRIVE-IN NEXT TO AIRFIELD *^ dream dance-sequence in ' vhich t : cases Jones is thwarted because of .. “ v- tw t’w/ir i accompanied by a celestial choir, I Dee Pollock, are behind-the- his pleheian background. i; • . Grand Pr^ufie,.Tex,. June. 16. •• ...Vaiighari.. and Aiine Heywdod um Robert Stack in the title j role m , Chisholm Trail Drive In easily and gingerly daince on clouds - nac • hpPn nnpn pH nprp t mi-* ^ A Hitchcock mmmm ^ Continued from page 3 s=Z' cock stated, it’s; almost impossible to develop new ;faces. “The . only way to devolqp. new. faces is to expose them in hit pictures. And ., not enough pictures: are being made , today 1 to accomplish this.” Hitchcock, who produces a suc¬ cessful tv suspense series, sees no conflict in his video arid theatrical film work. His tv films, .hie noted, usually have doWnbeat - endings. “Yoii. can’t get- away. With that in pictures,”, he said. "It seems the public will go. for a doWnbeat end¬ ing if. it doesn’t have to pay for. it. However, in pictures,, the public wants a happy ending to compen¬ sate for what it has had to pay for admission, - the. baby sitter and parking,” “North By Northwest,” a film Written. by Ernest Lehman with Hitchcock providing the “cojncep- . ..tirin' of tlie canvas,” is, according to the thrill-maker,. a departure for! him ! in that it represents his : first spy-intrigue story With an American setting^ It takes place in. New York, on the 20th-Century Limited; (“I wanted to use an American train before they be¬ come obsolete;”). Chicago, and ends in Rapid. City; S.D, He fol¬ lows his usual theme in getting “an average man in adventures he never anticipated.” He stressed that the' film “is not about the atom bomb, but involves intrigue and espionage.” He . placed it in the area of his “Foreign Cprres- pondent:” Although he is identified vith suspense films; Hitchcock empha¬ sized that he. varied themes, em¬ ploying : psch.ological angles, com¬ edy, pure suspense, political .in¬ trigue .and . espionage.! “I. rarely . make films . about professional criminals,”, he. pointed out. For his next effort, scheduled. for Paramount. Hitchcock will, tackle a horror film—-“a real shocker., bn the :line of' the French TMabo- lique.’ ” He has -acquired a novel, but he. wants, to preserve its “anoriimity.”. “i : . wish they’d strip selling the book;":..-.he..,'said; “I don’t want, the ingredients to get out,”' •/..; Asked if he ever thought, rif. abandoning his ■ suspense policy arid trying rsomething else, he re-, plied: “I wouldn!t he allowed to and: anyway I'd be handicapped.. I’ve, beeri so identified. with these stories that the public would ex-, pect to: find a body in ariidhing. I did.”- • ■' ;•• ' that look rather like a White deter¬ gent. This scene is readily expend¬ able; ’■ Vaughan’s virile personality, sense of humor and singing Voice ) carry him easily through his role. gives a robust portrayal. Miss Theatre has been opened here Pavan is sweet but rather lifeless, across from Hensley Field by W. while Jean Pierre Aumont, as S. Chisholm, The ozorier has a Louis XVI, seems a stronger mon- capacity for 600 cars. Cecil Thed- arch than the usual portrait of [that ford has been named manager, . doomed king. Others who register ; Chisholm also operates the Chis-. caoiiJ U uvu S u n U include David Farrar. Peter Cush- - holm Trail Drive . in Theatre at iviiss. Heywood is a .fittingly attracr ing, Tom Brannum. Bruce Cabot.- Alvarado, Tex. ! tive heroine even though for much Thomas. Gomez. Mitchell Kowal; • and Eric Pohlmatin. Two young-. i --■■ - ■■■■ ■ . -, . . . . — . sters, John Charles Farrow l and! Patrick Villiers. do verv \yell. ? Michel Kelber’s Technirama' camera work is fine, and so is Max Steiner’s score. Poil’e. Tarzan‘s Cireatesf Advents (EASTMAN COLOR) ! A knock-’em-down, drag-’em- out jungle yarn which Tarzan fans will eat up. !'. Hollywood. June 8. , Paramount release of a Sy Weintraub- Harvey Havutin Production, Stars Gordon Srott. Ant her. v Quayie. Sara Shane; Pro¬ duced bv S.v Weintraub. Dtrected bj-John Gu'llermin Sr-re.ennlav by Bernie ! Giler ami Jr.bn Guillenr.in. from a story hv Les <’rutchfie T d: r'rner”. Ted Scaife: music. Douglas G ’mlev:. editc-r. Bert Rule;: Pre-. v'f.ved -t »’’ > studio; June 8, ’o9. Running j ♦.’Kip. 90 Mi NS. ! Tnrren ... Gordon: Scott ! Sla^'e ... Anth^nv' Quavle i . Anne .. Sora iShanc j ’Kreimr . N!-.!l Macpinnis ! O'P. mnv r . Seao Tonnerv , r Drr.o A1 Mulock ! Tm: Syillal Gabel ? ’•Tarsrm, evo o’ nni *\ more -tx f:n:ii!y Ir :> HotN'-m-d's pi- r-om-.d hi- olivet a V'a D'lrk Cor.H- - h-h»* -ted nal ; ve>, • •■•ed awav |jfrom ; ‘(--s v to j mid i.uihvntiit ter- i Two neW. films aimed at business executives were unveiled last week by two industrial film firms. “More Than. Words,” a 14-min¬ ute color offering,by Henry Strauss & Co.,' is. desigiied to drama¬ tize the problems and principles involved in obtaining understand¬ ing, acceptance and action from subordinates and fellow employees. Combining animation and live action, the latter cleverly; employed in that the faces of the performer! are never seen, “Mo^e .Than; Words” stresses the need for better comriiunicatiori between peo¬ ple in business, sales, education, community relations and. gov-. eminent. The Strauss film, adapted from a film originally made for. Part American Airways; is being offered for sale in conjunction with a 24-page study booklet and discussion leader’s outline. : . 'The Big . Chance in World Markets,” a 3l-miriute color . film, is based oh editorial matter from, the pages, of Fortune magazine. It is being presented by Fortune Films, a division of Time Inc.. Transfilm Inc. proddeed and the First National City Bank of New York is the sponsor.! " ■ ; ; / The film, also employing .animation, and live action, reports the growth of. international trade, the reasons behind, it, and the opi- portunitics for, American companies. The pic, ,the first Fortune Film presentation to be sponsored by an outside company; shows aspects of the economic briom in some 25- countries., The. material, is based, cn the world markets series which appeared in Fortune from Q.;t.. lC57 to June, 1958. lines raiders. They discover after they have ambushed a , Yankee stagecoach and killed two Union soldiers that the war is over. Wliat's iegal killing in Wartime, is murder in peacetime, and if the boys are caught by the nearest authorities they will swing for their work. They must flee tri the South, but first! Dooley (LandonV wants to get his Northern girl, Jo : Morrow. He gets- through to her and they, elope, but as in the song, the girl is.accidentally killed and Landon is apprehended. The fi¬ nal scene shows him being led off —“Hang. Down Your Head, Tom Dooleyr Poor Boy, You’re Cfonna Die;” And he does. Shpetner and. Post deserve a great deal of credit for their han¬ dling of the theme and the story. The young men are believable in the inevitable, situation in which they become involved. There seems, without straining, a relation between these youths and. the frus¬ trated younger men of today. Landon is partiriularly fine as the -title character, and he. gets good support from Richard Rust,, another interesting young actor. Jo Morrow- is capable as the girl involved, and. other cast meinbers Who contribute include Jack Ho¬ gan, Dee Pollock, Ken Lynch,. Ralph Moody, Cheerio Meredith, and Gary Hunley: . Gilbert Warrenton’s camera work, Ronald Stein's music, arid Robert S. Eisen’s Film editing are all plus ! factors. v Pou'e. Jack 1. Warner Contihuedfrompape5 —j .. pictures has been offset by the -.in*' creasing number of television films being made by . studios. He; re- pprted that the television depart¬ ment of Warner’s is ., presently filming, some, eight, hours of tv pro- grains a week, arid will, shortly in¬ crease this schedule. : Queried on the Western, trend in tv, Warner, said he; felt there Would be an increase in this, type of video fare. “Western movies have. ^ been , griirig ' strong sirice 1909,” he said, “and will probably stay popular, for years.” Warner was enthusiastic about the possibilities; of pa^rtv. predict¬ ing. the boxoff ice [type, video would be with us “in la matter of time.” “The! appeal ; of many presently popular shows will, like any nov¬ elty^ wear off . and the -public will demand quality only tojlvision can. provide” he declared. However, Warner, forecast a continuation of ad-sponsored tv but with programs which could: measure up to the quality of those supplied on a pay- as-ypu^see basis. . . ' . Columbia is finding it hard to ; hire a professional femme, stilt- •The film is available on free loan from, the; public relations de- , , walker .for the promotion of “The partment of tl-e'First Natioiial City Bank. ; . Holl., \ 30-Foot Bride of Candy Rock.” ‘ Continued from page. 5 would take over the company, and provide it with, the necessary funds to rebuild,. He! added that these sources -had. not been available to him at the. time DCA found itself in difficultiris.,! • Hal Roach Distributing main¬ tains 10 offices. Schwartz said that; With the art theatre market diffi¬ cult, his[ company would. continue to veer in tlie direction of the ex-, ploita.tioh..:fiim. :.“We’ve ■showrilwith ‘Go, Johnny,;. Go’ iwhat. a ‘hungry^ company can do,With a solid ex¬ ploitation approach,”- he corn- mented.