Evening star., 1944-06-16
Nv PATRICIA SIMMONS.

If crime re-echolng the days OF
violent gangsterdom is your special
dish, then Roger Touhy Gangster,"
which began yesterday at Loew's
Capitol, is for you as well as the
kids. If not, don't say you weren't
told.
There's been much talk about
escapist fare of late but tagging
that classification to this movie
depends whether you consider a get
away in the eyes OF the law a worth
while substitute for a getaway from
submarines and snipers, dive bomb
erse and hand grenades. In any case
lit supplements a battle Of nations
and international figures with fight
ing between murderous individuals
in big city (the fighting being just
as dirty.
Only reference to present-day
conflict .(the story; begins back In
1930) concerns the problem Of draft
cards after a prison break some 10
years later. Their acquisition called
| for no less than six holdups, netting
the right number of draft cards for
Mr.. Touhy and his gang. Front
page holdups provided only a min
imum of the expected earmarks OF
goth Century-Fox's crime saga.
There is the usual compilation OF
side-swiped cars, broken-up booze
parties and city-wide police nets.
In fact more than one scene is rem
iniscent of that other famous gang
ster story, big House"
One novel twist, however, shows
Mr.. Touhy and a buddy called
OWL sitting in movie theater
watching Fox Movietone newsreel
of their own prison break. Owl,
played by Veteran Victor McLaglen,
is the best-educated member OF the
gang, whose pedagogic tendencies
continually crop up (often to his
own Disadvantage in correcting
Touhy's "don't's" for "doesn't's" and
"aint's's" for 'isnt's." 1t furnishes
the most humor when bullets are
flying fastest. Another old-timer
(not in years but in collection OF
roles lis Anthony Quinn, who does a
good job of being badman.
Most we can say for Daisy, only
female in the cast and played by
Lois Andrews, is that she filled a
size IL and did it in an exceptionally
becoming manner. The real one
man show was staged by Preston
Foster. AS Touhy, the crime-hard-
ened gang leader, who put too much
faith in horoscopes, he was convinc-
ing through colorful career which
led in and out of the penitentiary
and finally back for good. The
handsome gray-haired Foster to-
ward the end of the picture should
give a few Hollywood leading ladies
something to think about, especially
with the current shortage of per-
sonable males who can act.
Doubtless, to please Edgar Hoover
and his boys, throughout the entire
plot the men OF the law are con-
tinually one step ahead of the crime
Iplotters. Trouble starts when Touhy
wants wealthy Broker Joe Sutton
(played without too much eXertion
by William Post, jrD to come across
with cash on an old gambling debt
so he can finance his next deal
Sutton refuses, is kidnapped by the
gang and held for staggering ran
som. Brought to trial, Touhy and
his gang are convicted and sent up
for 99-year stretch because Smoke
Reardon, former member of the
gang, squeals. A little humor is
added to the civil proceedings when
Touhy, nonchalantly paging his
horoscope, reads. "a new door is
open to you. Your future is as
sured." At that moment the verdict
Of guilty is returned.
And so the audience is admitted
to eight years of celluloid prison
life. which, thanks to script writers
lasts all of 20 minutes. Touhy s
trigger finger gets tired of baking
| bread and spectacular prison
break brings the real suspense in
the picture However, the usual
clues: medicine bottles, broken glass
and discarded newspaper, lead the
law to the desperados lair. Com
pletely trapped and surrounded by
Federal agents, there is typicaI
| Hollywood touch in the microphone
| warning through which the gun.
men are made to surrender. A
| two-minute commentary ending the
picture tells everybody to make nc
mistake about gunmen and glamour
Crime does pay" the gentleman
warns, sit pays room and boarc
for an awfully long time"
There was confusion and more
confusion during Sam Jack Kauf.
mann's overture (the perennial Or.
! pheus number) including q birth