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MODESTLY conceived and executed by a pair of movie tyros and cheered and honored at the recent Cannes Film Festival, “One Potato, Two Potato,” which arrived yesterday at the Murray Hill, Embassy and other theaters, deserves its accolades and yet, like life itself, disturbingly shows its imperfections.
In simply mirroring cancerous injustices stemming from an interracial marriage, a terrible quandary is starkly, if patly, pictured. Gnawing doubts remain after the film’s climactic decision is made, but this festering problem of our flawed society, which could have been depicted sordidly and sensationally, is, instead, often made moving in basically honest terms.
The newcomers involved—Larry Peerce, the director, and Sam Weston, the producer— have not achieved anything new cinematically nor have they presented the problem in exceptional dramatic fashion. Nevertheless, they engage a viewer by the restraint and decency of their approach. They have focused sharply on an as yet unrelieved bigotry that should gain sympathy from audiences willing to understand and appreciate these traumas.
Their drama is set against the court action for the custody of a girl, the daughter of a white woman who divorced her husband after he had left her, and who is now married to a Negro. The meeting of these two lonely co-workers in a local plant, their blossoming love and their marriage is developed quietly and tenderly.
The story is realistically pointed in showing the initial reluctance of the Negro’s family to the marriage and their subsequent change of attitude. And, finally, it concentrates on the return of the errant first husband, his demand for custody and the upstanding, harassed judge’s decision to turn the child over to him.
It is here that “One Potato, Two Potato” — a title adopted from the juvenile jingle of choosing — becomes debatable, even impossible to accept. The first husband is portrayed as an unstable dreamer and wanderer who has never outgrown youthful irresponsibilities. The love and understanding of the well-bred Negro husband and his hard-working farmer parents toward their son’s white wife and her child is made crystal-clear. The judge is presented as an extremely dedicated arbiter whose soul-searching and hesitancy to make a quick cold judgment are all too apparent. It seems unlikely that he would have decided to keep a good home and family intact following his investigations under one circumstances portrayed.
A viewer is also left with doubts that the first husband would suddenly turn up after four years in South America to demand his daughter, as is flatly stated here. But in filming their sad tale in the small, well-kept confines of Painesville, Ohio, the producers have enhanced the documentary quality of their drama.
They have derived truly warm, evocative vignettes that are not only authentic but also touching. One vividly recalls the subdued playful courting in the town square that starts with a child’s game and ends with a groping but love-filled embrace. The final scene of the parting of mother and daughter poignantly blends the youngster’s fright and shock with a blind outburst of fury and tears that is neatly played against the mother’s anguished helplessness.
As the mother, Barbara Barrie, who won an acting ward at Cannes, justifies the prize with a portrayal that is perceptively naturalistic. She is timid, worried and, finally, feminine in the extreme as a woman fighting against impossible odds in defense of her love and family.
As the Negro husband, Bernie Hamilton, in keeping with the documentary treatment of the theme, is properly subdued and dignified, except for a moment moment uncontrolled anger.
Richard Mulligan, a tall, blond, handsome newcomer to films, is tense and sincere but unconvincing as the first husband. As the daughter fated by fate and the law, Marti Mericka is a realistically ordinary, nice child. And Robert Earle Jones and Vinette Carroll are pround but awkward as the Negro’s parents.
“One Potato, Two Potato” is woefully loose in conviction and reasoning. It does not soar on wings of artistry in keeping with its strong subject. But it speaks out resolutely on a generally shunned social theme that is a credit to the courage of its producers and the team that made it.
The Cast
ONE POTATO, TWO POTATO; screenplay by Raphael Hayes and Orville H. Hampton; directed by Larry Peerce; produced by Sam Weston; a Bawalco Picture Company production released by Cinema V Distributing, Inc. At the Murray Hill, 34th Street, east of Third Avenue; Embassy Theater, Seventh Avenue, 46th Street and neighborhood theaters. Running time: 92 minutes.
Julie Cullen Richards . . . . . Barbara Barrie
Frank Richards . . . . . Bernie Hamilton
Joe Cullen . . . . . Richard Mulligan
Judge Powell . . . . . Harry Bellaver
Ellen Mary . . . . . Marti Mericka
William Richards . . . . . Robert Earle Jones
Martha Richards . . . . . Vinette Carroll
Johnny Hruska . . . . . Sam Weston
Ann Hruska . . . . . Faith Burwell
Jordan Hollis . . . . . Michael Shane
Minister . . . . . Jack Stanberger
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barbara barrie, one potato two potato, bernie hamilton, barbara barry, richard mulligan
