Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-10

EeI1IG WIllCIl nave 1UuIIQ llldt
the casualties of one walk-down
can be more exciting than a
succession Of gun battles.
A walk down. if you are not
a western addict, is that slow.
head-on meeting of the hero
and the villain in the climactic
scene. Its dramatic virtue is to
be found in the fact that audi
ences have had a chance to
study the inner men involved
in this duel.
On the whole, Man With The
Gun" makes expertly chilling
use Of the device that has re-
suited in the best horse operas
Of recent seasons.
Mitchum, a tactful choice on
young Goldwyn's part, plays a
"toWn-tamer" in the new film
at the Capitol.
This is to say that he is a
man who specializes in killing,
not for its, or his. own sake but
to enable peace-seeking COM
munitieS to rid themselves OF
lawless elements. No one pie
tends it is not a violent way of
getting rid of community vio-
lence. Nevertheless it has the
merits Of being quick and work.
able. both to the degree that the
town-tamer is the fastest draw
in the neighborhood.
AS a way of life, Mitchum's
story leaves no doubt, town.
tanning has little to recommend
it. The pay is good. true, but
the job exposes a man to more
hostilities than seem bearable.
He is a target not only for the
guns Of the areas bad men but
also for the acute dislike of the
good ones who have employed
him to do their dirty work.
1t is a trinity made SCREEN
play that N. B. Stone, jr.. has
written and Richard Wilson
directs in Man With The Gun. -
While its principal element of
suspense is whether Mitchum
can get his quarry before 1t gets
him. there is a romantic subplot
to fill in any gaps.
The other characters in this
are played by Jan Sterling.
Mitchum's wife who ran away
from him in loathing for his
work, and Karen Sharpe, the
mayors young daughter UNIV ill.,
ingly attracted by the town.
tanners manliness.
Man With The Gun" is a
tidy package which comes ad-
mirably up to the Goldwyn pro-
duction standard, one on which
moviegoers learned long ago
they can depend.
SURPRISE, SURPRISE: A cou-
pie of the towns film critics
took time out of a busy day yah,
there they go again yesterday to
check on rumor.
The rumor went to the effect
that Inside Girls Dormitory".
at the Little must come as a
surprise to those who interpreted
the title as sex exhibit. Obvi-
ously this was not the original
French title, not in the freest
possible translation of whatever
that might have been.
The films setting is a girls
school in France. all right. and
the basic instincts of the species
are dealt with in the screenplay.
Beyond this. however, Inside a
Girls Dormitory" is a subtly Gym
ical, Gallo melodramatic farce.
1t is deity played by a large and
clever cast whose members might
well be astonished at the Amer
lean title and the treatment of
their work.
Not quite so astonished, per-
haps. as the sensation-seeker
who might be lured by the title
into seeing a picture in which
the word "philosophie" in French
turns out to mean the same thing
in English.
The French, importers of their
film wares should know, are too
deft at this sort of thing to have
their work debased. No matter
how hard anyone may try.
+
SATURDAY SUMMARY: The
alter Lobby this afternoon will
present the third performance of
its double bill, Kurt WELLS
Down in the Valley" and
Strindbergs Miss Julie"
The time, S pm; the place. the
theater at IT st. Matthew's
Court. Arlington Players an
nounce t1youts next Tuesday and