Boxoffice-December.20.1952

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FEATURE REVIEWS Story Synopsis; Adiines for Newspaper and Programs
THE STORY: "The Member oi the Wedding" (Col)
lalie Harris, a lonely 12-year-old living in the deep south,
•-; a dull, life, unhappy her only companion being Ethel
warm-hearted Negro maid, and her little cousin,
n De Wilde. When her brother, Arthur Franz, brings
nis bride-to-be, Nancy Gates, Julie envisons a way out
her difficulties: She'll go off with the newlyweds and,
:
:th them, live happily ever after. Ethel tries unavailingly
save Iiilie from inevitable disappointment, but after the
dding Arthur and Nancy go off alone and Julie, humiliated
r.d hurl, runs away. Alter a sordid experience v/ith a
unlcen soldier in a saloon, she returns home to find Branjn
very ill. His subsequent death changes her, and with
.pproaching adolescence she finds awareness ol the future's
wonderful possibilities.
CATCHLINES:
Meet the Unforgettable 12-Year-Old . . . Who Wanted
So Much to Stop Being Lonesome ... A Compelling,
Tender Story ... A Smash Film Version of the Broadway
Stage Success.
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THE STORY: "Never Wave at a WAC" (RKO)
Rosalind Russell, a Washington society leader and daughter
of a senator, is divorced from her husband, Paul Douglas.
Learning that her current boy friend, William Ching, an
army colonel, has been transferred to Paris, and that her
best friend and social rival, Hillary Brooke, has secured
a commission in the WACs, Rosalind instructs her father
to get her a commission immediately. Meantime Marie
Wilson, a burlesque queen, also decides to join. She and
Rosalind meet at Fort Lee, Va., to undergo basic training.
When things get too tough, Rosalind arranges to get released,
since her commission never arrived. However, when a rtew
truckload of WAC recruits rolls in, Rosahnd changes her
mind, rejoins the service and plans a reconciliation—perhaps
in Korea—with Douglas.
CATCHLINES:
. . It's Eyes Left for Rollicking Russell
. . . The
Here's a Whole Danged Regiment
Rosalind
Looking for Laughs? . . .
of 'Em .
. . And Eyes Right for Luscious Marie Wilson
Wackiest WACs in History.
THE STORY: "The Pathiinder" (Col)
THE STORY: "Tropic Zone" (Para)
George Montgomery, a white man raised by the Mohicans
and revered by them, sides with the English against the
French in their war to dominate the new continent in 1754.
Posing as a scout for the French, he carries out espionage
on their key fort, St. Vincente. He is aided by an English
girl, Helena Carter, who acts as his interpreter and an
Indian friend. Jay Silverheels. When they try to obtain the
French defense plans they are discovered by Carter's
ex-fiance who recognizes her as English and they are
sentenced to be executed as spies. The English forces attack
ne fort just in time to save the sweethearts.
CATCHLINES:
Rhonda Fleming operates a banana plantation in Puerto
Barrancas, located in the heart of tropical Central America,
where John Wengraf, the double-crossing tov/n boss and
owner of the only export ship, crookedly controls the independent
growers, backed by the town's commandant. Ronald
Reagan and Noah Beery, soldiers of fortune, arrive in Puerto
Barrancas, accompanied by Estelita, a dancer in love with
Reagan. Wengraf hires Reagan to serve as foreman on
Rhonda's plantation, but his real job is to disrupt the
banana-growing operations which heretofore have been
managed for her by Grant Withers. Instead, Reagan falls
for Rhonda, unites the independent plantation owners in
an all-out fight against Wengraf, cracks the crook-^-'
monopoly and wins Rhonda's love.
A Man a Woman—and a Wilderness to Win .
. The
Greatest Indian Fighter ol Them All Plainsman
Indian Against
Faces the Fury of the First Frontier . . .
Indian White Against White.
CATCHLINES:
Get Set for a Hard-Hitting Heat Wave ... As Fists Fly
and Romance Runs Riot ... In a Tropical Outpost Where
a Man's Past Is Forgotten .'.
. If He Can Stand and Deliver.
THE STORY:
"The Man Behind the Gun" (WB)
THE STORY: "Torpedo Alley" (AA)
Randolph Scott, an army major masquerading as a soldier
of fortune, arrives in Los Angeles in the 1850s and learns
that Lina Romay, singer in a gathering place for outlai*s
and rebels, is the ringleader in a plan to seize southern
California and make it a slave-owning empire. She offers
Scott vast acreage if he will help, but upon learning his
'rue identity tries unsuccessfully to have him killed. Subseluently
Scott discovers that Roy Roberts, a state senator,
..; the real leader of the rebels and leads a small army
contingent in an attack upon Roberts' hideout. A running
fight ensues, and Roberts, believing Lina has double-crossed
:im, kills her. The rebels surrender after Scott subdues
.•obert.'j in a hand-to-hand battle, and the conspiracy is
ma.'-.hed
CATCHLINES:
Torn From History's Pages ... A Story of Los Angeles a
Century Ago . the City of the Angels Was in Its
Brawling Infancy ... A Nest of Intrigue . . . Romance
Sin.
Mark Stevens, a carrier pilot in World War II, is rescued
at sea by a submarine after he freezes at the controls and
crashes, killing his two crewmen. Brooding over his weakness,
he is unsuccessful in civilian life after the wjt and
re-enlists, this time applying for submarine duty. At the
New London, Conn., training base he renews acquaintance
with Douglas Kennedy, executive officer aboard the submarine
which rescued him, and Kennedy's girl, Dorothy
Malone, a navy nurse. Stevens and Dorothy fall in love. He
and Kennedy are ordered to duty in Korea, where Stevens
proves his heroism in a dangerous shore ass!,gnment.
Wounded, he meets Dorothy aboard a hospital ship and
they realize their love is the real thing.
CATCHLINES:
Down Periscope . Spine-Tingling Exploits of the
USS Stingaree and Us Heroic Crew . Terror in
Hostile Seas . Ashore Behind Enemy Lines
in Korea.
THE STORY:
"The Strange Ones" (Fine Arts)
Nicole Stephane and her brother, Edouard Dermithe, have
•oen .sharing the same room and the same dream world
irice they were children. Dermithe, hurt by a snowball,
I i fo.-^cod to leave school and is nursed by his sister. When
l!.' ].' mother dies, Nicole gels a job as a model and meets
• Co-.ima, who is allowed to live with them. When
''
marries a wealthy widower, who dies before the
•noon, she is heir to a fortune and a huge house,
thoy all live. The girl gradually breaks up a budding
.'.o between Ronee and her brother. The heartbroken
iTkr-
; and dies and the sister goes mad
irid kill!; H'liio and herself.
CATCHLINES:
'
r>liango Story of a Brother and Sister Who Shared a
"
Write:! Hii! Fascinating Tale
Most
Cocleau,
Unusual
Author
and
of "Bcauiy and
ni I
I on Cocloau'a Celebrated Novel, "Lea Enfanta
Story of
and Memories.
the Secret Room With Its Treasliftiii
.
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THE STORY: "Battles of Chief Pontiac" (Realart)
While tensions mount on the frontier between the British
and the Indians, Chief Pontiac (played by Lon Chaney)
seeks to avert war. Lex Barker, a young ranger lieutenant,
clashes with Berry Kroeger, commander of a detachment of
Hessian mercenaries, who advocates violence to keep the
redskins in their place. The tribes agree to fight for their
land, and Barker, encountering a group of whites held by
the Indians, goes with them to confront Pontiac, to whom
he is a blood brother. While peace parleys are being
planned, Kroeger incites full-scale war, and leads his troops
into an Indian ambush. Kroeger is captured by Pontiac and
subjected to the same tortures he had inflicted on the
redskins. Peace agreements are drafted, and Barker plans
marriage to Helen Westcott, one oi the prisoners he had
rescued.
CATCHLINES:
Thrill to llie Story of an Exciting Chapter in Frontier
History ... As Renegade Soldiers Goad Redskins to Savage
Warfare
.
the Lives of Innocents Are Entrusted to
the Hands of One Man
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