Film Of The Week

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 28, 3 December 1948, Page 3

Film Of The Week

. “THE WALLS OF r JERICHO” “The Walls of Jerichio.,” a new 20th Century Fox film, is the story of life in a small town, where one of the main citizens —a young news : paperman—marries a smart city girl. From' the moment she arrives in Jericho, upheavals begin in the peaceful lives of various members of the community. Her husband’s best friend is the first object of her attentions, and when he constantly rebuffs her approaches, the woman —whose name, Algeria, seems to fit her to perfection—makes up her mind that she will make him sorry he scorned her. From then onwards, Algeria does everything in her power to upset the plans of young Dave Connors, even going so far. as to deliberately cause a breach in the friendship of Dave, ahd her husband, Tucker. She then persuades Tucker to oppose Dave when he stands for election, and uses Tucker’s newspaper as a subtle means of publicly yet 'cleverly attacking Dave and all his actions. Scenting a romance is developingbetween Dave, who is already' a married man, and Julia Norman, Dave’s fellow-attorney, Algeria does her best to gain concrete evidence on which to base her suspicions, and very nearly succeeds in wrecking the lives of four people, just to’gain her own selfish ends. Cornel Wilde is seen as Dave Connors, the young country attorney, whose career, and chances of happiness are endangered by the wiles of a jealous woman, whose attentions he scorns. Linda Darnell portrays Algeria Wedge, the selfish, scheming woman, whose consideration of other people and their feelings is only secondary in her attempts to gain her own ends. Lovely Anne Baxter, whose role as “Sophie” in “The Razor’s Edge” won her the Academy Award, appears as Julia Norman, the girl who braves the gossip and scandal of a small town for the man she loves. Kirk Douglas, a comparative newcomer to stardom, portrays Tucker Wedge, Jericho’s young newspaperman, who marries Algeria, and then becomes her unwitting ‘tool’ in her attempts at vengeance. Set against the era of the early 190 p’s, “The Walls of Jericho” features a large supporting cast headed by Ann Dvorak, who. portrays Dave’s sulky, drunken wife. The fiftn is taken from the best selling novel of the same name, written by Paul Wellman.