Boxoffice-April.07.1958

FEATURE
REVIEW
A Time to Love and a Time to Die'
Universal-International
By AL, STEEN
TJNrVERSAL-INTERNATIONAL has taken
Erich Maria Remarque's latest novel and
has wrought it into a sensitive and stirring
motion picture whose lx)xoffice ix>tential is
unlimited. As a picture dealing with young
love in the midst of a war-torn world, it rates
high in every department, from script and
production to acting and staging. The entire
production is an achievement of the first
magnitude and should take its place as one
of the real important pictures of the year.
The story tells of a young German soldier
whose disillusioning experiences on the Russian
front has shattered his belief in Naziism.
Back home on furlough, he finds his
city in ruins, inhabited by people who are
hopeless and starving. His search for his
parents, mi.ssing as a result of an Allied air
raid, leads him to the lovely young daughter
of his family physician. Against stark backgrounds
composed of concentration camps, air
raids and debauched S. S. district leaders, the
young soldier falls deeply in love with the
20-year-oId brunette who once had been a
school mate. The love story that ensues is
delineated with tenderness and warmth. The
story of two lovers snatching love and remnants
of gayety on a waning furlough is
heightened considerably by the grim realities
of w"hat war and Nazi tyranny have spelled
out for the city.
In the role of the soldier, John Gavin,
heretofore unknown, gives a highly effective
performance w-hich is sure to skyrocket him
to stardom. Tlie girl, Lisa Pulver, is a Swiss
actress who, although unknown to American
audiences, is a f)opular personality in France
and Germany. She, too, was a wise selection
by the producer and director, Robert Arthur
and Douglas Sirk, respectively. It took a certain
amount of courage to gamble this val-
Universal-lrvfernational presents
Erich Mono Remarque's
"A TIME TO LOVE AND A TIME TO DIE"
In CinemoScope and Eastman Color by Pottie
Running time: 133 minutes
CREDITS
Produced by Robert Arthur. Directed by Douglas
Sirk. Screenploy by Orjn Jannings from the
novel by Erich Mono Remorque. Director of
photogrophy, Russell Metty, ASC. Art direction,
Alexander Golitzen ond Alfred Sweeney. Set
decorotions, Russell A. Gausmon. Sound, Leslie
A. Corey ond Vernon Kromer. Unit production
monager, Normon W. Deming. Assistont to Deming,
Henz Gotze. Militory technical adviser,
Copt. Hermon Ulbricht, West German Army.
Film editor, Ted J. Kent, ACE. Gowns, Bill
Thomos. Mokeup, Bud Westmore. Special photography,
Clifford Stine, ASC. Music by Miklos
RozsQ.
THE CAST
Ernest Groeber John Gavin
Elizobeth Kruse Lisa Pulver
Immermon Jock Mohoney
Boettcher Don DeFore
Reuter Keenan Wynn
Professor Pohimonn. .. .Erich Mario Remorque
Coptoin Rohe Dieter Borsche
Woman Guerilla Borbora Rutting
Oscar Birxling Thayer David
Frou Lieser Dorothea Wieck
Joseph Charles Regnier
Frou Witte Agnes Windeck
and Kurt Meisel, Clancy Cooper, Klaus Kinski,
John Von Dreelen, Alice Treff, Alexonder Engel,
Dono J. Hutton, Wolf Hornisch, Korl-Ludwig
LirKJt, Lisa Helwig.
Lisa Pulver and John Gavin in Erich
Maria Remarque's "A Time to Love and
a Time to Die," a Universal-International
picture in CinemaScope and Eastman
Color.
uable story property with unfamiliar faces
in the top roles. But the gamble has paid off.
In other roles, Keenan Wynn as a hospitalized
soldier, Eton DeFore as another veteran
and Jock Mahoney as a rank-and-file
infantryman offer standout performances.
Interesting, too, is the appearance of the
author EJ'ich Remarque in his first film role,
that of a profe.ssor whose human beliefs and
practices eventually land him in a concentration
camp.
In order to capture the true realism of the
story, the picture was made on location in
Germany. As explained in the credit sheets,
the most effective backgrounds were found
within the almost inaccessible devastation
of the Tiergarten. Here the once lavish embassies
have not been rebuilt. Camera crews
bulldozed and blasted througli the rubble to
build entrances, exits and stairways for the
buildings and were obliged to reinforce gutted
structures where action was planned. Interiors
were shot at the Central Cinema Co.
studios, a former poison gas factory.
Sirk's direction has taken full advantage of
the author's work, retaining the tense situations
and the few moments of almost synthetic
frivolity. He has made his characters
real. Qif course, much credit must go to the
fine screenplay by Orin Jannings who has
made the pages of Remarque's novel come
alive. Russell Metty's photography, in Eastman
Color by Pathe, and in CinemaScope, is
in keeping with each sequence, from the snow
covered terrain of the Russian front to the
jammed confines of the air raid shelters.
There may be a tendency to compare this
picture with Remarque's first great success,
"All Quiet on the Western Front." There is
some resemblance, in that both present the
Germans' side of the war—and incidentally,
in "A Time to Love and a Time to Die" the
enemy, in this case the Allied, is never seen.
The closest contact to them is the bombs
that rain on the city. As great as "All Quiet"
was, the great technical advances of today
would make that picture almost insignificant
if the two could be presented side by
side.
All-in-all, Universal has a powerful property
which should be financially fruitful for
the company and for the theatres that play
it.
Finds
Theatre Patrons
Remember Screen Ads
LITTLE ROCK-Movie theatre patrons remember
the advertisements they see on the
screen, and the rate of recall is high. This
was reported to the Arkansas Independent
Theatre Owners Ass'n at its convention here
this week by Harvey Posert, research director
of the Theatre-screen Advertising Bmeau.
Surveys .sponsoied by the Bureau by the Sindlinger
organization revealed that almost every
patron remembered the advertiser or the
product.
In the study, these who had .seen the theatre
advertising were divided into two groups,
tho.se who had seen the ads in the last week
and those who had seen it within one or two
weeks.
Of those who had most recently seen theatre
commercials, 72 per cent remembered the advertising
and 64 per cent could correctly
name one or more advertisers and/or products.
In the one-to-three month category, 44
remembered the advertising and more than
25 per cent could correctly name the ad
and/or product,
Posert said that the 25-34 year old group,
comprising mostly young couples, showed the
highest percentage of recall. Eigihty-one per
cent of these rememljered seeing advertisements,
and 66.8 per cent could remember one
or more advertisements or products.
The interviewees were broken into three
other age groups. Of the 35-54 year olds, 73
per cent could remember advertising and
62.3 per cent could remember one or more
products and/or advertisements. In the 12
to 24 age group, 63.2 per cent remembered
ads and 51.7 per cent could identify one or
more particular advertisements or products.
For the 55 year olds and over, recall shrank
to 45.7 per cent for those who could recall
advertising, and a quaiter who could remember
one or more ads and/or products.
Fifth Cinerama Picture
Gets South Seas Title
NEW YORK—The fifth
Cinerama presentation
has been titled "Cinerama—South Seas
Adventure," the Stanley Warner Corp. has
reported. It is scheduled to open at the
Warner Theatre here early in July.
Producer Carl Dudley has completed photography
in Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji, New Hebrides,
Australia and New Zealand. Orson
Welles will narrate the production, which
traces the voyages of Captains Cook and Bligh
of the Bounty in the South Pacific.
The current Cinerama film at the Warner
Theatre, "Search for Paradise," will complete
its run early in May and be followed by
a return engagement of "This Is Cinerama,"
the Lowell Thomas-Merian C. Cooper production.
Drive-Ins Now Receiving
H-H-L High-Key Prints
NEW YORK—De Luxe Laboratories
have
begun delivery to drive-ins of 100 of the
special, high-key prints of Hecht-Hill-Lancaster's
"Run SOent, Run Deep" for United
Artists release. The first of them have been
shipped to UA exchanges in New Haven,
Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Kansas City, Salt
Lake City and Calgary to service dates in
those areas in April. The film has been set
for 213 Easter holiday dates across the country.
18 BOXOFFICE :: April 7, 1958