CONTEMPORARY ARTS
THE CINEMA Rope of Sand." (Plaza.)—" Family Honeymoon." (Odeon, Marble Arch.)—" Knock on Any Door." (New Gallery and Tivoli.)—" Conspirator." (Empire.)
Rope of Sand, directed by Mr. William Dieterle, throws a light on diamond-mining in South Africa which, I confess, comes as a blind- ing surprise to me. For one thing I did not know that you found diamonds by scrabbling with your hand in the desert sand—I fancied a more complicated mechanism altogether—and for another I did not know that when these were found upon you the South African police beat you with enormous dog-whips until you were practically dead. As exemplified by Mr. Paul Henreid and his gang this noble force is brutal to a melodramatic degree, and the violence of their passion makes this film incredible and ridiculous. Mr. Burt Lan- caster is the American who knows of a secret cache of diamonds ; Mr. Claude Rains is the suave business manager ; Mr. Peter Lorre is, appropriately enough, called Toady ; and Miss Corinne Calvet is what is politely known as an adventuress—one of those with a warm heart beating beneath the black lace. Miss Calvet is a new star.
She is wonderful to look at, but just at present her French accent is a handicap. A slight one is adorable, but a strong one unintel- ligible; nevertheless it is perhaps sufficient to gaze upon Miss Calvet and be grateful. This picture is finely directed and finely acted, but as every character, including the heroine, is knocked about like a punch ball it becomes, quite soon, absolute nonsense. At least, I hope so ! * *
It is true that Family Honeymoon has only one joke and that some people may not think it particularly funny, but the opinion of one of my colleagues that this film is a lascivious bedroom farce is surely wishful thinking. Mr. Fred MacMurray and Miss Claudette Colbert play the parts of a newly-married couple,- she a widow with three children, who are forced by circumstance to take the children on their honeymoon. This is the joke.. Personally I found the 'tribulations attendant upon their journey to the Grand Canyon delightful if obvious' but then I carry a torch for Miss Colbert which only the grave will extinguish. Her efforts to be honeymoonish, while listening with a mother's cars to the unnatural silence of her offspring, I found completely endearing. This is a family picture, bringing no message, proving no point, solving no problem ; and I think families, unless they are very sophisticated, will enjoy it enormously.
* * * * Knock on Any Door, on the other hand, is impregnated with "message," and points an accusing finger at that amorphous group known as Society, commanding it, for a couple of hours, to be serious about slums. Mr. Humphrey Bogart, defending Mr. John Derek on a charge of murder, reveals to us, in a series of flashbacks, how this boy never had a chance. Raised in Skid Row, he perforce kept bad company. His father died in prison from neglect ; he went to a cruel reform school where one of his pals died of the harsh treat- ment; his wife committed suicide. Dismissing without a thought the number of boys who in similar circumstances do not take to crime, Mr. Bogart nevertheless sermonises very effectively, and Mr. Derek as Pretty Boy Romano gives an excellent performance as the weakling murderer, as well as being very pretty indeed. The highest honours, though, must go to the director Mr. Nicholas Ray. His minor characters are superbly alive, and in each sequence he catches the mood, the atmosphere, of the moment with rare skill. We have known many court-rooms, but the heat in this one is so palpable that one can feel one's nerves twanging with exhausstion.
Based on a novel by Mr. Humphrey Slater, Conspirator gives us an original character in a Guards officer who is an active Communist. This viper nursed in the scarlet bosom of the Brigade is admirably played by Mr. Robert Taylor, and, although he does not state his case with much conviction and it is hard to believe he loves the Party more than parties, he is just plausible enough to get by. Miss Elizabeth Taylor as the wife who finally betrays him is also excellent, and the smaller parts, be they officers, aunts or beastly foreigners, bear a pleasant stamp of authenticity. It is doubtfhl, perhaps, Whether Mr. Taylor's masters would have assigned him the task of eliminating his wife, but at least they afford him the opportunity
for climbing into his " blues " and eliminating himself in the most gentlemanlike style. To Mr. Victor Saville, the director, and to Miss Sally Benson, who wrote the script, my compliments. VIRGINIA GRAHAM.
Previous page
