Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-06-25

Mohawk" is a sort of harm
less movie. even though it may
not do as much to advance the
art Of the motion picture as
Riff" 1t at least will not make
life so intolerable that you are
driven from the protection of
the cooling system into the heat
of the day. In fact, its stock Sit
uations are given some freshness
by Director Kurt Neumann and
his players.
The busiest of the latter are
Scott Brady, Allison Hayes. Rita
Gam and Lori Nelson and they
have earned their money if not
any Academy awards. They are
aided here and there by John
Hoyt. Vera Vague. Rhys Will
liams and sundry others.
#**
Mr.. Brady plays a landscape
artist commissioned to paint the
Mohawk Valley. 1t is no hard
ship assignment, though some OF
the complications in the paint
er's life would give less care
free man some uncomfortable
moments.
One of these is the barmaid
miss HayeS) at the outpost fort
he uses as headquarters. He has
a fine time going out in the
woods to paint her in semidiSh-
abille in front of his landscapes.
Then his f1ancee miss Nelson)
turns up to see what's keeping
him so long out there in the will
derness. And before she can get
settled down. he is involved with
a trim Indian princess tMiss
Gam, whose buckskins are al
most as tight as her own.
Brady's man could have quite
a pleasant life as the quarry of
these three predatory damsels,
except for the poltroon played
by Hoyt. Born in the valley, he
thinks it is getting too crowded.
He keeps trying to foment a
war between the white settlers
and the Indians, apparently on
the theory that each group will
drive the other out and he'll
again have room to breathe.
He foments a real rouser in
the end, too, and there is a great
hullabaloo of shooting, shouting
and blood-letting before Brady
can settle down in peace and a
wigwam with his Mohawk
Those who remember Miss
Hayes as Mary Jane and Miss
Washington of several years
back will be happy to know that
she COMFORTS herself most be-
comingly in Mohawk. It's a
good part and her def and good
humored playing of it ought to
do things for her movie career.
Those whose memories are
longer, incidentally, are likely
to be haunted by a face seen
here several times. So there's
no point in keeping its owners
identity secret. That wife Of the
peace-loving Mohawk chief (this
sounds just like Bill Stern) is,
under the brown paint, Mae
Clarke.
CELEBRANT - Jake Flax,
manager of Republic Pictures
Washington exchange, is taking
a day off from his film row &C
tivities today. He's spending the
day reading congratulatory let
tiers and kilograms, marking the
45th anniversary of his union
with the movie business.
WELCOME NEWS-It's an i'll
wind that blows no good and
that holds true of the blast from
MGM last week that shivered
the timbers of the Nations
movie theaters. The studio, in
case you missed the news, an
nounced it was preparing to re-
lease a flock of its used cinemas
to television.
This was looked upon by
most movie exhibitors as a
mortal blow. But the confirmed
addicts who just couldn't turn
of a late TV movie, no matter
how inept and dull, should con-
slider this welcome news indeed.
MGM has turned out some
memorable motion pictures
through the years. Its vaults
hold as much riches as Jack
Benny's.
There was a list Of Is MGM
pictures included in the lot to
be made available to television
in Film Daily the other day. 1t
was an impressive list. too.
On it. for instance, were four
Academy award-winners. vim
tage. but choice. Oldest of these
was the Carlo John Barrymore
Jean Harlow-etc. topper for
1882, Grand Hotel" The other
winners were "Mutiny on the
Bounty" 1885,, 1.-THE Great
Ziegfeld" (1936) and Mrs,
Miniver" (1942).
OF the IS pictures, 10 landed
on the annual 10-best lists COM
piled by vote Of the country's