Evening star., 1951-05-19


old Greeks. and naturally the mar
1t is obvious to the most make
which such talented performers
as these could be put.
To make the effect of its ex-
cessive talk doubly disagreeable is
that '"rhe Scarf" otherwise seems
to be trying to get away from the
cliches Of it's type. It stays away
from the conventionally fancy
settings of psychologist thrillers,
it dresses it's characters in leather
jackets-and cotton frocks. and
introduces a desert turkey farm
as one rather refreshing locale.
No picture with cast as able
as that in 1.-THE Scarf" could be a
total waste, Of course. Miss Nc
Cambridge is vivid and glowing
girl and what she can do with an
itinerant singing waitress role Is
more than any other actress you
can name. Ireland, of course, Is
another able type and his psyco-
path is none of your trite mental
patients.
Much the same is true CT such
performers as Barton and VIII
liams, but there they all are
trapped in the quotations from
everybody but Walt Whitman.
Come to think of it, he may be
there too,
E. A. Dupont and I. G. Gold
smith are director and author OF
this United Artists production.
Their hero is an escaped patient
from an asylum for the criminal
and incurably insane. This insti-
tuition is located in the south
western desert and usually its
escapes succumb to the sun and/
or snakes before they reach a
haven. Ireland is luckier. He
arrives at Barton's turkey fa4 IL,
is restored to health by the old
philosophic desert rat, and pretty
soon the two are conjecturing
whether Ireland really murdered
his f1ancee or whether he has been
framed.
They travel far in some vague
philosophic circles without find
ing an answer.
Then, into the case comes Miss
McCambridge, fresh breeze OF
a girl hitchhikin, her way from
one waitress job to another. Ire
land picks her up in the turkey
farms truck and they philoso-
phiZe for a while about life and
its hardships, injustices, and how
men can reach mental breaking
points through excessive suffering
That's three people working on
the problem of whether Ireland
is a murderer but there is an
other, and in some ways more
important one. This is psychia-
trist who has been studying the
case at the asylum. He is suspi-
cious that the thing is a frame
up and he is especially quizzical
about the actual part played in
the case by Emlyn Williams in the
role of a swank Los Angeles psy-
chologist.
The introduction of Williams is
what really gives 'The Scarf"
away. Ever since might Must
FALL" his soft smile has concealed
a sinister nature and any veteran
moviegoer inevitably pins all
crimes on him.
It takes the picture at the
Trans-Lux quite a bit longer to
deal out this justice.
Dupont's direction of "The
Scarf" is too ready to pin it's faith
on the skill of the several per-
formers in creating character.
Miss McCambridge, Ireland and
Barton are good for a lot of agree
able intervals, most especially the
former, but there are too many
tedious gaps in the script for them
to fill.
u " n X
Saturday summary: Two Wash
tngton trained ballerinaS are on
the way to South America for Bal
let Theater's annual spring sum-
mer tour. One is Christine
Mayer, a graduate of Western
High School and the Washington
School of Ballet which is directed |
by Lisa Gardiner and Mary Day. /
:. Second featured dancer in
Ballet Theater's group is Jenny
Workman, of Parkersburg, w. Va,
who learned her dancing here
under Marion Venable. She is
Agnes De Miles personal choice
as the Ballerina in "Rodeo," one of
the repertory company's high
lights. Four favorites of pre-
vious Olney Theater sessions will