Evening star., 1944-07-01

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obscured in the process of growing
up, you should be completely
charmed by this bedtime story of
little boy and his dancing cater
pillar.
"Once Upon a Time" certainly
wasn't made with a child's audience
in mind, but bring the kids along.
Besides driving you crazy collecting
caterpillars for the next two months,
they will probably want to stay for
two features regardless of the fact
that. they will probably miss the
point of the whole story. To them it
will be just another story of a
kid with his pet Tin this case
CATERPILLAR who refused to allow
any one or anything to separate
them.
The story was filmed with an
adult audience in mind-and then
only a special part of this group
who would appreciate the mold OF
a morality play. Fitting Cary Grant
into the mold must have worried
even Mr.. Grant, especially when
love interest is only limited at. Janet
Blair is here and there but never
for one minute in Mr.. Grants arms.
In past roles the gay Grant-About-
Town never had to work too hard
to accomplish the fade-out clinch
with any one of Hollywoods fair
damsels. This is because Grant has
a very special little boy" approach
to everything he does. He laughs,
he clowns, and on the surface every
thing including the script seem one
big lark. NO..
1t was exactly what producers
needed in this picturesque one to
cast as the grown-up little boy. He's
the Broadway bigshot who knows
what he wants until he gets it and
then goes crying back to mamma,
or in this instance. the kid sister
played phlegmatically by starlet
Janet Blair. incidentally, it's hard
to forgive Hollywood some of her
box office tricks After sending out
those luscious stills of Miss Blair
all done up in decollete and black
lace she spends most of the picture
looking too sisterly in a starched
apron and domestic surroundings.
y X X
To be more specific, the ogre in
the story is Cary Grant, who isolates
himself from the rest of the good
and bad people in the cast, behind
the pretenious office desk of his
own prestige as success producer.
Something happens somewhere and
Mr.. Grant find his theater one week
away from receivers hands and
himself with fat hotel bill and
one thin nickle. Its with this nickle
that he buys the happy ending to
the picture.
When he throws the nickle away
it is picked up by a freckled face.
wide-eyed juvenile, who doesn't
have to act at being a very normal
and honest 10-Year-old boy. The
coin is traded for look at a very
miraculous caterpillar and a scheme
behind which Mr.. Grant sees
100000 and his theater and position
reinstated. Overnight with the aid
of a few well-planned publicity
stunts and some unexpected help
from commentator Gabriel Heater,
the caterpillar, which never actually
appears on the screen, becomes the
by-word Of the Nation, pushing
Sinatra and Hitler apologies to Mr..
Sd off the front page.
In the meantime the kid becomes
Just as fond as Mr.. Grant as of the
bug which complicates matters when
the hardboiled producer goes back
on his word and decides to sell the
talented insect to Walt Disney for
the exact sum needed to save the
theater. Needless to say. Grant
DOESN'T go through with the deal
ana the outcome of the emotional
crisis finds him changed man and
the story a happy ending. You'll
nave to see for yourself what ham