Alex Finlayson Movies
Deliberately casting his established screen image to the four winds, Cary Grant plays Walter Eckland, an unkempt, uncouth and unshaven beach bum in Father Goose. During World War II, Walter keeps busy relaying radio reports of Japanese air activity. But he's no hero, and in fact volunteered for this mission only because he's been promised a shipment of liquor by Australian naval officer Frank Houghton (Trevor Howard). Making matters worse for the misanthropic Eckland is the arrival of French schoolmistress Catherine Freneau (Leslie Caron) and her seven little-girl charges, whose plane has crashed nearby. The animosity between Walter and Catherine erupts into a slapping contest, with Walter dishing it out as well as taking it. Only when Catherine is bitten by a deadly snake does Walter express his affections for her. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, Leslie Caron, (more)
This uneven farce by director Richard Quine has its hilarious and witty moments as American diplomat William Gridley (Jack Lemmon) inadvertently gets caught up in a jewel theft and mayhem. After William lands in London to take up his new position and get settled in his new digs, he becomes involved with his gorgeous landlady Carlye Hardwicke (Kim Novak). Carlye's husband is missing, and she is suspected of doing him in. But then he unexpectedly comes back home where an argument with Carlye over some jewels makes him as dead as everyone had assumed -- with her wielding the murder weapon. Carlye is eventually acquitted thanks to a witness who has designs on the jewels herself -- but the story is far from over. First there is an exciting helicopter ride and a wild chase to decide just who will end up with the loot. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kim Novak, Jack Lemmon, (more)
- 1959
- G
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There was neither a heroine nor a villain in Jules Verne's 1864 novel Journey to the Center of the Earth, but scenarist Charles Brackett evidently knew what he was doing by adding both to the 1959 film version. The picture proved to be a significant success in an otherwise disappointing year for 20th Century Fox. James Mason stars as amusingly absent-minded professor Oliver Lindenbrook, whose first step on a fabulous journey is prompted by a lump of lava brought to him by his student Alec McEwen (Pat Boone -- and, yes, he gets to sing). Melting down the curiously composed lump, Lindenbrook discovers a hastily scrawled message from long-lost explorer Arne Saknussem, with directions for reaching the earth's core. Accompanied by Carla (Arlene Dahl), widow of a famed geologist, and Icelandic guide Hans (Peter Ronson), Lindenbrook and Alec head down, down below. They are closely followed by the villainous Count Saknussem (Thayer David), descendant of the lost explorer who wrote the directions; the count hopes to use Lindenbrook's discoveries for his own personal and political gain (we know he's really bad when he eats Han's lovable pet goose). What follows is a festival of superb special effects, fabulous subterranean sets, and gigantized reptiles posing as dinosaurs, all brilliantly accompanied by Bernard Herrmann's ominous musical score. Journey to the Center of the Earth would later be adapted into a Saturday-morning cartoon series, again produced by 20th Century Fox. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Pat Boone, James Mason, (more)
We don't see much of Omaha Beach in D-Day, the Sixth of June. Instead, the film concentrates on a romantic triangle involving American officer Robert Taylor, British officer Richard Todd and the lovely Dana Wynter. Taylor and Todd spend the last hours before D-Day reminiscing about Wynter. The romantic dilemma is eventually solved shortly after the invasion, when one of the men conveniently steps on a land mine. Lionel Shapiro's novel was geared more for the beach-and-bonbons crowd than war buffs, and the film follows suit. 20th Century-Fox gives a far more thorough account of D-Day itself in 1963's The Longest Day. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Taylor, Richard Todd, (more)
- 1955
The first of two Clark Gable films produced by 20th Century-Fox, Soldier of Fortune casts Gable as an American mercenary, running a successful smuggling operation in and out of Hong Kong. Gable is hired by Susan Hayward, who hopes to locate her missing husband, photographer Gene Barry. Upon discovering that Barry is being held by the Communists somewhere on the Chinese mainland, Gable risks his neck to rescue the man. Along the way, he falls in love with Hayward, which may or may not compromise his dedication to saving Barry's neck. Filmed largely on location, Soldier of Fortune deserves to be seen in its original CinemaScope form--or, at the very least, in the "letterboxed" version recently made available to cable television. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Clark Gable, Susan Hayward, (more)
- 1926
Easily one of the fastest and funniest of the silent Our Gang comedies, Thundering Fleas is set in motion with a sidewalk performance of Professor Clements' Trained Flea and Insect Circus. When the Professor's star attraction, Garfield the flea (depicted via animation) escapes, Clements offers to pay the Our Gang kids a dollar if they can locate the wayward insect. Alas, all of the fleas manage to get away thanks to the gang's "assistance," and pretty soon the entire city is scratching and writhing. The limit comes when the kids -- and the fleas -- attend the fancy wedding reception of Mary Kornman's older sister. Comedy buffs will be amused by the presence of three major Hal Roach stars in minor roles: Oliver Hardy as a pants-less policeman, Charley Chase (hidden behind a huge walrus moustache) as a twitching wedding guest, and a moustache-less James Finlayson -- of the raised eyebrow and the spectacular double take -- as the justice of the peace. Originally released on July 18, 1926, Thundering Fleas is also available in a shortened, TV version retitled The Flea Circus. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mickey Daniels, Mary Kornman, (more)
