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Opinions on Current Productions; Exploitips<br />
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Flame of Araby<br />
Univ.-Int'l (207) 77 Minutes<br />
(rOR STORY SYNOPSIS ON EACH PICTURE, SEE REVERSE SIDE)<br />
Drama<br />
(Tcclmicolor)<br />
Rel. Ion. '51<br />
The shiiting sands of the Near East's deserts (they're really<br />
in California) have furnished the foundation for a long line<br />
of U-I's Arabian Nights-ish melodramas—into the construction<br />
of which have gone standardized ingredients, principal<br />
among them being curvaceous cuties, courageous caliphs,<br />
color photography and copious corn. They have been the<br />
despair of critics but the delight of exhibitors, inasmuch as<br />
most of them have proven to be highly profitable bookings,<br />
most especially in smaller cities and neighborhood houses.<br />
This entry differs but little from the others. The corn content<br />
is perhaps a mite more bountiful—but that's obviously an<br />
asset, rather than a liability. There's the usual array of<br />
action, riding, fighting, romance, spectacle, suspense, villainy<br />
and gore. Action addicts and juveniles will love it. Produced<br />
by Leonard Goldstein, directed by Charles Lament.<br />
Maureen O'Hara, Jeff Chandler, Maxwell Reed, Susan Cabot.<br />
Lon Chaney, Buddy Baer, Richard Egan, Royal Dane.<br />
:;)<br />
Westward the Women<br />
MGM ( ) 86 Minuiss ReL<br />
With heavy—oftimes loo heavy—stress on incident and<br />
characterizations, this etches a forceful picture of the part<br />
played by the indomitable pioneer women of the 13503 in<br />
the winning of the west. Bfecause of the unusual nature of<br />
the story, the film should have a dual appeal. Present are<br />
enough of the established ingredients of the standard western<br />
to attract the seekers of sagebrush faro, while its dramatic,<br />
comedy and romantic elements cue in sufficient quantity<br />
and quality for ticket buyers of more general tastes.<br />
There is plenty into which the live showman can sink his<br />
merchandising teeth, principally the offbeat yam and tof>liner<br />
Robert Taylor, who'll be hotter than a $4 shotgun<br />
because of his contemporary appearance in "Quo Vadis."<br />
Personally produced by Dore Schary, the feature is unstintingly<br />
mounted, while William Wellman's direction extracts<br />
good performances from the large cast.<br />
Robert Taylor, Denise Darcel, Hope Emerson, John Mclntire,<br />
Henry Nakamura, Lenore Lonergan, Julio Bishop.<br />
F<br />
The Browning Version A<br />
Drama<br />
Univ.-Int'l ( ) 90 Minutes Rel.<br />
A splendid, intensively moving drama about British school<br />
life, this I. Arthur Rank production is one of the finest from<br />
England this year. A mature study, which deals more with<br />
the teachers and their personal problems than with the students,<br />
it is adult fare, ideal for the art houses. In addition,<br />
Michael Redgrave, whose portrayal of an unhappy, middleaged<br />
professor is one of the year's best, has enough marquee<br />
value for audiences in the better neighborhood houses. Other<br />
selling angles are the stage play, in which Maurice Evans<br />
and Edna B'sst appeared on Broadway, and the fact that<br />
the picture received best acting and scripting awards at<br />
the Cannes Film festival. Brian Smith is completely natural<br />
as the pupil, Jean Kent is excellent as the embittered, heartless<br />
wife, who flaunts her infidelities, and Nigel Patrick and<br />
Wilfrid Hyde-White contribute outstanding performances under<br />
Anthony Asquith's expert direction.<br />
Michael Redgrave, Jean Kent, Nigel Patrick, Ronald Howard,<br />
Brian Smith, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Bill Trovers.<br />
It,<br />
The Model and fhe Marriage Broker<br />
F<br />
'°"'"<br />
20th-Fox (201) 105 Minutes BaL Ian. '52<br />
The increasingly popular character actress, Thelma Ritter,<br />
gets another vehicle tailored to her heart-warming, middleaged<br />
talents in an amusing comedy feature. While Jeanne<br />
Crain does a good acting job as the model of the lengthy<br />
title, it is Miss Ritter's performance as the kindly marriage<br />
broker that will keep audiences laughing, to the extent<br />
that occasional dialog is lost in the hilarity. It should do<br />
good business, particularly in neighborhood spots. Produced<br />
by Charles Brackett, who is also co-author, and directed by<br />
George Cukor, the picture's one fault is a multiplicity of<br />
characters and story angles which detract from fhe main<br />
theme. Scott Brady does nicely in the romantic lead and<br />
Frank Fontaine and Zero Mostel mug to their hearts' content<br />
as hard-to-please marriage prospects. There ore a few<br />
serious moments but these are less effective than the many<br />
comedy scenes.<br />
Jeanne Crain, Scott Brady, Thelma Ritter, Michael O'Sbea,<br />
Helen Ford, Zero Mostel, Frank Fontaine, Dennie Moore.<br />
Jungle of Chang F ;r<br />
RKO Radio (208) G7 Minutes ReL Nov. '51<br />
A novel travel film of life in primitive Siam which will<br />
satisfy as a supporting picture to a strong top feature. Best<br />
suited to the art houses. Although many adults will find<br />
dull and slow-moving, there are plenty of animal sequences<br />
it<br />
to appeal to the youngsters. Producer by Svensk Filmindustri,<br />
there is English commentary by Leonard Bucknall<br />
Eyre and a few subtitles to translate the occasional sing-song<br />
dialog. The two chief humans, PoChai and MeYing, play a<br />
young couple who start out their married life by trying to<br />
carve out a home in the jungle. There are a few exciting<br />
moments during their fight against the jungle beasts, but<br />
the most interesting part is PoChai's mastery of a rogue<br />
elephant. It is mainly a simple picture about a little-known<br />
people and the photography is above average while the<br />
tinkling musical score has a certain charm. Directed by<br />
Paul Fejos and Gunnar Skoglund.<br />
PoChai, MeYing, Chang, the elephant, Siia, the tiger, and<br />
other animals.<br />
Bo'<br />
,.do\in. I<br />
Street Bandits<br />
Republic (5130)<br />
54 Minutes<br />
Draaa<br />
ReL Nov. IS. '51<br />
Directly and unmitigatedly off of the rubber stamp is this<br />
modestly budgeted racket yarn, whose greatest asset in<br />
bidding for a supporting spot on the dualers—and that's the<br />
only booking niche it can hope to attain—is its brief running<br />
time. The feature's weakness lies mainly in the writing<br />
department. The story, after springboarding to a semidocumentary<br />
and promising start, gets itself bogged down in<br />
a single-idea situation which is stretched too thin, even for<br />
less than an hour of celluloid. The cast, while it boasts<br />
no top names, includes a number of young mummers who<br />
have proven their ability to do better, but they are stymied<br />
by the script, as are the directorial efforts of R. G. Springsteen.<br />
William Lackey produced. If thealremen want to tie<br />
the film into their merchandising, the civic cleanup angle<br />
is probably the best bet.<br />
Penny Edwards, Robert Clarke, Ross Ford, Roy Borcroft<br />
John Eldredge, Helen Wallace, Arthur Walsh.<br />
The Path of Hope<br />
Lux Films 104 Minutes ReL<br />
Another powerful, moving and realistic Italian-language<br />
feature dealing with unhappy humans in postwar Italy. In<br />
dramatic quality, it can be compared both to the recent<br />
"The Bicycle Thief" and "The Last Chance," a magnificent<br />
European-made film, released by MGM in 1945, which also<br />
told of a group's arduous trek over the snowy Alps. Winner<br />
of the Selznick "Silver Laurel" award for the best European<br />
film of 1951, as well as other foreign prizes, this can be<br />
exploited to garner strong returns in the art houses and in<br />
Italian neighborhoods. The slory, which starts in a Sicilian<br />
mine, and ends up in France, is filled with excitement, human<br />
interest and climactic suspense. The actors, many of them<br />
nonprofessionals, contribute fine portrayals of simple villagers.<br />
Raf Vallone, recently in "Bitter Rice," is outstanding as a<br />
young widower and Elena Varzi has a sullen, sultry beauty<br />
as an outcast. Pietro Germi directed.<br />
F<br />
Sni>.<br />
$n.50ll<br />
Young Scariace<br />
Draaa<br />
M. E. D. Distributors, Inc. 80 Minutes RoL Nov. 7, '51<br />
As a portrait of British gangsters this low-budget import<br />
may be true to life. As entertainment it's pretty grim stuff.<br />
There is little comedy relief. The skills of John and Ray Boulting<br />
who previously produced and directed "Seven Days to<br />
Noon," shine through in an effective finale and one other<br />
scene in an amusement park. Exploitation should emphasize<br />
their prior productions. Although the cast has no marquee<br />
value, the title may be capitalized upon as people may<br />
remember the original "Scarface." The dialog, spoken with<br />
thick cockney accents and delivered from the side of the<br />
mouth, is filled with English slang. Richard Attenborough,<br />
portraying a 17-yeaT-old killer, overdoes the role. The plot,<br />
while overly complicated, should hold audiences who like<br />
crime dramas. It should satisfy in fhe lower half of a dual<br />
bill. M. K. D. Distributors, Inc., is at 1501 Broadway, New<br />
York City.<br />
Raf Vallone, Elena 'Varzi, Saro UrzL Franco Navarra, Lilian<br />
Richard Attenborough, Hermoine Baddeley, Carol Marsh, William<br />
Hartnell, Harcourt Williams, Wylje Watson.<br />
Lattanzi, Giuseppe Priolo, Luciana Coluzzi.<br />
1322 BOXOFFICE November 24. 1951 1321
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