Richard Derr Movies
American leading man Richard Derr made his first film appearances as a 20th Century-Fox contractee in 1941 and 1942. Physically indistinguishable from most others of his ilk, Derr nonetheless was an above-average actor, as he occasionally proved in such films as When Worlds Collide (1951). In 1957, Derr was cast as Lamont Cranston in the New Orleans-filmed pilot episode for the TV version of radio's The Shadow; the series didn't sell, but the pilot was released theatrically as Invisible Avenger. Richard Derr spent the 1970s and 1980s as a utility character man in films like The Drowning Pool (1975) and American Gigolo (1980). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Producer/director/star Clint Eastwood takes his sweet time getting Firefox started. Eastwood plays Mitchell Gant, a past-his-prime U.S. pilot, smuggled into the Soviet Union to steal a new Russian supersonic fighting plane. Fortunately the KGB men are as burnt out as Gant, enabling him to abscond with the plane with the greatest of ease. The rest of the film is a protracted chase, pitting Gant against scores of impersonal MIG pilots. Based on a novel by Craig Thomas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, Freddie Jones, (more)
- 1981
In this made-for-TV movie, a married politician (Richard Jordan) and a spunky congressional aide (Lucie Arnaz) start up an adulterous affair that could land them both in hot water. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Elaine (Marilu Henner) has come up with a seemingly foolproof plan to solve her fellow cabbies' financial woes. She has received inside informatioin about an art auction involving the paintings of an artist who is not long for this world. Once the artist dies, the paintings' value will skyrocket. All her friends have to do is bid on the paintings before the artist's expiration -- and all they need is a mere 2000 to do this! Onetime 20th Century-Fox leading man Richard Derr and former Western heroine (Peggy Stewart) appear in cameo roles. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marvin Newman, Richard Derr, (more)
A slick Los Angeles callboy finds love and redemption in Paul Schrader's ultra-stylish drama. High-living prostitute Julian Kay (Richard Gere, stepping in for John Travolta) has it all: the Mercedes, the clothes, access to Beverly Hills' swankiest establishments, and a stable of rich, older female clients. But it all falls apart after he does a favor for his former pimp (Bill Duke) and the trick turns up dead a short while later; Julian's actual client won't give him an alibi, and police detective Sunday (Hector Elizondo) doesn't believe the gigolo's denials. The one person who can help him is frustrated politician's wife (and sole non-paying bedmate) Michelle (Lauren Hutton), if only Julian could let down his defenses and accept her gesture of love. Mixing his admiration for European art cinema with a voyeuristic view of the seamier side of sex and affluence, Schrader renders Julian an inscrutable, emotionally disengaged purveyor of pleasure, decked out in Giorgio Armani clothes coordinated with Ferdinando Scarfiotti's meticulous production design. Amid critical doubts about its artiness and distanced eroticism, American Gigolo surprised everyone by not dying on the box office vine. With some audiences reportedly showing up for repeat viewings of Gere's seductive charms, it became a moderate hit, turning Gere into a star and Armani into the new fashion sensation. Whatever reservations one may have about the movie, it provided two indelible images of 1980s decadence to come: Gere's perusing his "artist's palette" of shirts, ties, and jackets, and Gere's cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway in his convertible to the New Wave strains of Blondie's "Call Me". ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton, (more)
- 1977
A rapist, disguised in surgical garb, has been attacking on-duty student nurses at a hospital during the night shift. To flush out the assailant, the Angels go undercover at the hospital, bringing Bosley (David Doyle) along for backup. As Sabrina (Kate Jackson) poses as an investigative reporter, Jill (Farrah Fawcett-Majors) and Kelly (Jaclyn Smith) don nurse's uniforms and Bosley gets himself checked in as a patient. To no one's surprise, the rapist tries to strike again -- but will he succeed in making one of the Angels his next victim? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Farrah Fawcett-Majors, Kate Jackson, (more)
- 1975
- PG
Paul Newman returns as private detective Lew Harper is this tale of blackmail and murder based on a novel by Ross MacDonald. Iris Devereaux (Joanne Woodward), the wife of a wealthy oilman from Louisiana, hires Harper after she receives a threatening letter. A blackmailer is threatening to tell Iris' husband James (Richard Derr) about a recent extramarital affair; she claims this indiscretion never happened, though she has been unfaithful in the past, and years ago had a brief fling with Harper. Matters become more complicated when Iris' mother-in-law Olivia (Coral Browne) is found murdered. Eventually, Harper traces the blackmail letter to Kilborne (Murray Hamilton), another bayou oil baron, and along the way encounters Schuyler (Melanie Griffith), Iris' young but ripe daughter; Pat Reavis (Andy Robinson), Olivia's former chauffeur and a key suspect in her murder; and Detective Broussard (Tony Franciosa), a police investigator who, like Harper, was once involved with Iris. This was Coral Browne's first film after her marriage to actor Vincent Price in 1974. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, (more)
- 1974
Dick Van Dyke put his image and his career on the line with this searing TV movie about a "social drinker" who becomes a full-fledged alcoholic. Van Dyke plays a loving husband and father with a solid job and an excellent reputation, who blows it all with his excessive drinking. His wife (Lynn Carlin) tries to be supportive, but even she throws in the towel as Van Dyke's illness worsens. The film refuses to cop out with a happy ending, leaving Van Dyke as low as he can get short of sleeping in the gutter. Morning After was something of a public "A.A." testimonial for Dick Van Dyke, who had recently come to grips with his own real-life alcoholism. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Earl Holliman plays one of two disreputable insurance agents involved in a deadly scam. A wealthy philatelist has been murdered, an 1850 Guyana stamp worth $300,000 has been stolen, and the crooks are trying to turn a huge profit on a counterfeit of the missing stamp. Also prominent in the proceedings is Jessica Walter, fresh from her bravura villainy in Clint Eastwood's Play Misty for Me. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Two men kidnap Wendy Rankin (Belinda J. Montgomery), the daughter of a thief (Ray Rankin) who absconded with $400,000 ten years earlier. As the FBI endeavors to locate the kidnappers, Wendy is forced to relive a horrifying experience that occurred at the same time as the robbery. Interestingly, the part of Wendy's mother is played by Leave It to Beaver's Barbara Billingsley--whose character name is "June". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Looking like a high-school junior, Michael Douglas plays a college professor in Adam at 6 AM. Tired of academia, Douglas opts for the supposed tranquility of rural Missouri. After working as farm hand for a few weeks, he realizes that his "normal" neighbors are as screwed up as any of his more sophisticated friends. To punch up the film's leisurely screenplay, a great deal of sex talk is injected, which may have sounded daring in 1970 but which plays like an episode of Married: With Children nowadays. Adam at 6 AM is blessed with a superb supporting cast: among the secondary actors is 1940s leading lady Anne Gwynne, making a one-time-only film comeback. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Douglas, Lee Purcell, (more)
- 1968
A modern Don Juan pays the price when he "two-times" three different women. Paxton Quigley (Christopher Jones) is the campus Casanova who sleeps with Caucasian coed Tobey (Yvette Mimieux), the black beauty Eulice (Judy Pace) and the Jewish hippie girl Jane (Maggie Thrett). The three women discover the extra curricular activities of the man, and they seek revenge by locking Paxton in a attic where they feed him steak and try to kill him with sex. Soon Paxton goes on a hunger strike as the viewer is left to wonder whether or not a man's ultimate sexual fantasy can lead to his downfall -- or even death. What a way to go. Chad and Jeremy provide the music, which includes the title track in this feature plagued by lines like "Is it possible for a woman to be Jewish and psychedelic at the same time?" ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yvette Mimieux, Christopher Jones, (more)
- 1967
While doing a routine survey of a seemingly uninhabited planet, the Enterprise is suddenly hit by an inexplicable disruption of physical laws, gravity disappearing and the mass of everything within Spock's sensors suddenly dropping to zero. Captain Kirk is informed that the phenomenon extended throughout the known galaxy and far beyond, but was centered on the planet the Enterprise is orbiting, which suddenly has a single inhabitant. Ordered to investigate, Kirk discovers the man to be Lazarus, according to him the sole survivor of his race, who claims to be in battle against a hideous monster. As he seems to be a raving lunatic much of the time and there is no evidence of any "monster," Kirk is inclined to disbelieve him, except that the same disruption in the fabric of the universe reappears, centered on Lazarus, who seems to change personalities from moment to moment. Kirk and Spock eventually sort out the truth, that Lazarus is really two different people, one from a matter universe and one from an anti-matter universe, one sane and compassionate, the other insanely violent and bent on destroying his counterpart, even if that act results in the destruction of both universes. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Rosie! is directly based upon Ruth Gordon's play A Very Rich Woman, which was itself based upon a French play by Philippe Heriat, but the indirect source for all three versions is Shakespeare's King Lear. Rosalind Russell has the Lear part, here transformed from a powerful king into a rich, madcap grandmother by the name of Rosie Lord. Unlike in Shakespeare, however, Rosie does not abandon her wealth voluntarily; instead, her viperish children make an assault on her in an attempt to claim their inheritance while Rosie is still alive. They succeed in getting her declared mentally incompetent and thrown into a grotesque asylum, an experience that is so traumatic that she nearly does go insane. Fortunately, Rosie's beloved granddaughter Daphne (Sandra Dee) is appalled at what has happened; she moves into high gear, contacting an ex-lover of Rosie's (played by Brian Aherne) who also happens to be a powerful and skilled attorney. A lengthy court battle ensues, with both sides determined to come out triumphant. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosalind Russell, Sandra Dee, (more)
- 1963
This episode is unusual in that there is no defendant as Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) attempts to solve a murder during a coroner's inquest in the mining town of Gold Gulch. Having learned that someone has been selling phony gold mines in the area, Perry disguises himself as a prospector to draw out the culprit. Meanwhile, Perry's associate Paul Drake, searching for clues, stumbles upon the body of James Bradisson. Former light-heavyweight boxing champ Archie Moore plays a supporting role in this episode, which was based on a 1943 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Now working as a health club instructor, former college athletic star Ward Nichols (Ed Nelson) hopes to marry Casey Daniels (Maggie Pierce), the niece of his boss Bernard Daniels (Les Tremayne). Unfortunately, Nichols' estranged wife Veronica (Leslie Parrish) refuses to let him go, and claims to be pregnant so she can shake him down for "hush money." Making matters worse, Mr. Daniels accuses Nichols of forging his name on the checks sent to Veronica. When Daniels is crushed to death by a barbell, the police think they've got Nichols dead to rights--but they haven't reckoned with the poor fellow's attorney Perry Mason (Raymond Burr). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A man who was the lone survivor of a shipwreck is rescued, only to discover that he's in greater danger than ever before in this horror story inspired by H.G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau. After his ship sinks in the midst of an ocean crossing, William Fitzgerald (Richard Derr) is near death when he finds his way to a remote island off the shore of Peru. Fitzgerald is discovered and given shelter by Dr. Girard (Francis Lederer), a scientist who has set up a lab on the island with his wife Frances (Greta Thyssen). It seems that most of the natives have fled the island in fear of what Girard is doing, and Fitzgerald soon discovers why -- the doctor has unusual theories about the links between humans and animals, and he has performed bizarre experiments on a panther that has transformed the feline into a man. The creature has gotten loose from Girard and now prowls the island with a thirst for blood; Fitzgerald's danger is only increased when he discovers that Frances has fallen in love with him. Terror Is a Man was also distributed under the titles Blood Creature, Creature from Blood Island, and The Gory Creatures. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Francis Lederer, Greta Thyssen, (more)
Invisible Avenger is an ultra-cheap melodrama set in New Orleans. The hero, Lamont Cranston (Richard Derr), is a student of mysticism and mind control. At crucial points, Cranston is able to hypnotically "cloud men's minds" so that they cannot see him. If this sounds familiar, it's because Invisible Avenger was the unsold pilot film for a TV series based on the famed pulp-novel and radio detective "The Shadow". This hour-long pilot was released theatrically by Republic after the TV series failed to sell. The plot concerns the machinations of a banana-republic dictator who fakes his own death in order to draw his country's true ruler out of exile, the better to kill the man. Cranston and his mentor Jogendra (Mark Daniels) set things right by pulling their invisibility act. Filmed on location using "natural light" by legendary photographer James Wong Howe, Invisible Avenger is dramatically uninvolving, but holds marginal interest for modern viewers due to the curiously "close" relationship between Lamont Cranston and his instructor Jogendra (who at one point exhibits jealousy when Cranston eyes a pretty girl!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1952
Something to Live For is the last of director George Stevens' "small" films, before he concentrated full-time on such blockbusters as Shane and Giant. Joan Fontaine plays a popular actress who descends into alcoholism. Ray Milland, in an unofficial extension of his Lost Weekend role, plays a reformed drunkard who comes to Fontaine's rescue. He encourages her to join Alcoholics Anonymous--one of the first times that this organization was given any kind of screen treatment. Milland's concern strains his relationship with his wife (Teresa Wright), who doubts that Ray's interest in Fontaine is merely humanitarian. But Milland refuses to endanger his marriage no matter how strong his feelings towards Fontaine--nor how much the audience wants him to. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Fontaine, Ray Milland, (more)
First published in 1932, Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer's speculative novel When Worlds Collide was immediately purchased by Paramount as a possible project for director Cecil B. DeMille. But because none of Paramount's scriptwriters were able to come up with an adequate screen treatment, the property lay on the shelf until 1950, when producer George Pal was casting about for a follow-up to his successful sci-fier Destination Moon. Though the film was top-heavy with special effects, Pal was able to bring When Worlds Collide in for under a million dollars, thanks to an inexpensive cast and a heavy reliance upon stock footage. The story is set in motion when Dr. Cole Henderson (Larry Keating) announces that a extraterrestrial planet is on a collision course with the Earth. No one believes Henderson's story, save for crippled financier Stanton (John Hoyt), who finances the construction of a gigantic spaceship, built for the purpose of transporting selected survivors from the doomed Earth to another Earthlike planet. As it becomes obvious that Henderson's predictions will come true, a worldwide lottery is held to select those people who will be rescued from oblivion by Stanton's spaceship. In the climactic scenes, the worlds do indeed collide, with appropriately spectacular results. But will the spaceship, overloaded with humanity, be able to take off and seek out a Brave New World? Amidst the thrills, a romantic triangle emerges, involving Richard Derr, Barbara Rush and Peter Hanson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Derr, Barbara Rush, (more)
Made in the same atmosphere and paranoia that spawned the infamous Joseph McCarthy, this is an anti-communist propaganda movie looking more at the dark side of communism than at its subject matter--the life and times of Joszef Cardinal Mindszenty of Hungary. Mindszenty was imprisoned as an enemy of the State for his outspokenness and, during his trial, it was revealed that his confession was obtained by the use of torture, hypnosis and drugs. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bickford, Paul Kelly, (more)
- 1948
In this funny tale of deception and romantic fireworks, a rather prissy New England school marm finally gets a chance to achieve her dream and become a commercial artist when she is hired to illustrate the beloved "Uncle Bump's" latest children's book. She adores Bump's earlier works and is anxious to meet this gentle fellow in New York. Imagine her shock to discover that Bump is actually a boozy, cynical, young man who despises all children. Appalled, she decides to expose him as a fraud. The author's publisher nearly goes bazinga when he thinks of all the money to be lost and so tells the teacher a whopper about how the writer became bitter after his wife died and left him with a troublesome son. This melts the teacher's heart and she decides to help out. But first she wants to speak to the boy. In desperation, the publisher pays a tough, wiseacre urchin to impersonate the nonexistent son. This tough little cookie helps to bring the two opponents closer and love blooms until she learns the truth. Broken-hearted and angry, the teacher returns to New England to marry an old beau. Fortunately, the cagey orphan, who has come to love them both, has a few aces up his sleeve and insures that the two are reunited. A happy family is born and romantic bliss ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Johnson, June Allyson, (more)
Director Victor Fleming's final film features Ingrid Bergman as a vivid and luminous Joan of Arc, the 15th-century French peasant girl who led the French in battle against the invading English, becoming a national hero. When she was captured, tortured, and ultimately executed by the English, she was made a Catholic saint. Bergman's Joan is a strong and spiritual figure who proves her devotion to the Dauphin (Jose Ferrer), later to become the King of France. Joan is compelling as she wins an alliance with the Governor of Vaucouleurs and the courtiers at Chinon, leads her army in the Battle of Orleans, is betrayed by the Burgundians, and edicts that "our strength is in our faith." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ingrid Bergman, Selena Royle, (more)
- 1948
MGM whipped up another musical salad with Luxury Liner, featuring a glittering lineup of contractees including Jane Powell, Lauritz Melchior and Xavier Cugat. George Brent plays the skipper of a "love boat"-type cruise ship, while Ms. Powell plays his daughter. She entertains the passengers at every opportunity with a string of forgettable songs, and finds love herself in the form of Thomas E. Breen(you remember him). The highlight of the film features Jane Powell in male drag, singing "Spring Came to Vienna" to an uncomfortable-looking ingenue (Shirley Johns). Luxury Liner is the sort of lavish trifle that could only have come out of the Hollywood Studio System. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Brent, Jane Powell, (more)
- 1946
The Secret Heart is a psychological drama starring June Allyson as a disturbed teenager obsessed with the memory of her dead father and unable to embrace her stepmother. Following the suicide of her father, Penny Addams (Allyson) begins to behave strangely, even locking herself in her room and playing the piano in his memory. Greatly worried, Penny's brother, Chase (Robert Sterling), and stepmother, Lee (Claudette Colbert), consult a psychiatrist, Dr. Rossiger (Lionel Barrymore), who suggests that Penny be returned to the family's country home. Since the site is where the suicide took place, Rossiger believes that confronting the scene will force the young woman to mentally face the reality of her father's death. Once there, however, Penny becomes disenchanted with her father's memory -- which causes her to become even more despondent than ever. Eventually, Penny tries to kill herself in the same manner of her father, but she fails, and the healing process proceeds for all concerned. This dark tale, offbeat for its time, was narrated by Hume Cronyn. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudette Colbert, June Allyson, (more)
A timely film when first released in 1943, Tonight We Raid Calais survives as an entertaining adventure some fifty years later. John Sutton plays a British intelligence officer, sent into occupied France with a small unit to local a German munitions depot. While travelling under cover of darkness, Sutton confronts a French maiden (Annabella) who hates the British and the Germans with equal fervor. She eventually determines which side is the right side and allows Sutton to continue his mission. The officer is captured by the Nazis, but his comrades locate the munitions plant and notify the Allied bombers. The screenplay for Tonight We Raid Calais was written by future blacklistee Waldo Salt, whose liberal stance was politically correct during wartime but considered a "no no" once peace was declared. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annabella, John Sutton, (more)
