Evening star., 1952-04-10


Centerpiece of the display is
White" still the charmer of the
is one of those new and vivid
nature studies, THE Olympic
Elk" a companion piece to such
earlier earth works as Beaver
Valley" and Natures Half Acre "
Like its predecessors. the new
nature film underscores the dra-
matte truth that whether Disney
works in fact or fantasy, he is an
Incompatible sort of movie maker
Infinite painstaking care obviously
went into the making of his film
on the Olympic Elk. 1t has brought
the reward that is traditionally
associated with infinite pains, a
dramatic and comprehensive film.
The Elk actors, a giant ballet
troupe, are followed around the
calendar, from their lowland re-
treat in winter to the mountain
meadows where they live in peace
and plenty when the sun is at its
zenith. The dramatic revelation
of their story is that while they
do have their problems, the lives
of elk are simple and full of pre-
dictable order.
AS Disney's patient cameramen
follow them through the seasons,
they are shown to be intrepid
travellers. unafraid of the most
precipital and treacherous high
lands. They are beset, to be sure.
by broken legs and hungry bears
but in the main, an Olympic elk
is able to provide himself with
fairly sunny life.
The one persistent distress in
the life of Disney's latest real-life
creatures is biological. The mating
season is a furious festival in
which the selfish and polygamous
practices of the older males in the
herd result in a large number Of
broken necks. And in a larger
number of broken hearts.
THE Olympic Elk film goes
rather thoroughly into the din
raised by the male of the species
at mating time. It is possible that
this exhaustive treatment makes
the nature film something less
than the idyllic companion for
Snow White"
It may be Disney's reasoning
on the subject, however. that he
can count on the innocence of his
Snow White" audience to see it
through.
AS for the re-released fairy tale
feature, modern time is as inca
pable of diminishing it's charm as
was that long interval between its
writing and Disney's film version,
made in the late 1930s. Snow
White is the irresistible heroine
she always has been and no doubt
always will be. Prince Charming
is everything a girl no longer can
expect in a man and the dwarfs
are as attractive as the day they
were conceived in the imagination
of their creator.
It is likely that by more precise
measurement than that Of the
naked eye, Disney's fairy tale tech
nique has become more effective
than it was more than decade
and a half ago when it made
"Snow White" Since it is the
naked eye by which most humans
Rill have to measure it, however,
shis makes small difference.
It is always a delight to see
Snow White" again.
X X X
Bulletin board: Those better
quality movies that have been
making midtown exhibitors hap
pier than in years, are flowing in
quantity into the Nations neigh
borhood houses this Spring. :. A
Few of the current and choice
Items now making the rounds 10
eally include "Viva Zapata," d"
bend of The River" "a Place in
the Sum-" Want YOU" detective
Story" Decision Before Dawn
when Worlds Collide" Room
for One More" and the Academy
Award winner, can American in
Paris" On next weeks neigh
borhood schedule are such titles as
"a Streetcar Named Desire,
african Queen" Retreat He'll,
Belle of New York" Submarine
Command" and I'll See You in
My Dreams" It's been long
time since the happy likes of these
have turned up in a neighborhood
movie house fortnight.
The three-act opera. Martha,
will be presented by the music
department of Catholic University
April II, 18, 10. The May 81
performance of Ethel Norman ir
"Call Me Madam at the National
Theater has been set aside as
benefit for the B'nai Birth Hille
Foundation. One hundred dis
abled veterans of service hospital:
in the area will be special guests