Marcia Henderson Movies

A curious "gimmick" movie in the William Castle tradition (though not itself a Castle project), screenings of this film featured a hokey but creative "Hypno-Magic" process allegedly designed to hypnotize the theater audience. The otherwise mundane psycho-thriller plot features Jacques Bergerac as stage mesmerist "The Great Desmond," whose act includes hypnotizing entire audiences into performing rather dull Simon-says maneuvers and such. The real trick, it turns out, involves Desmond's Svengali-like seduction of his more comely female patrons -- most of which end up horribly disfigured the next morning, the victims of apparent self-mutilation. Thanks to several scenes hinting at the obvious hatred Desmond's wife and assistant, Justine (Allison Hayes), harbors toward her husband's pretty subjects, there's not much of a mystery here. Nevertheless, the police are baffled, leading one victim's best friend to set herself up as bait and trap the guilty party -- whose secret is revealed in the "shocking" climax. The Hypno-Magic gimmick, though certainly ineffective, provides some of the film's more hilarious diversions, and thoroughly disarms any potential for suspense. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

In this children's drama, an angry little boy is adopted by a ranching couple. The mean little tyke takes an immediate dislike to his new parents, but his life changes for the better when he finds a wounded German Shepherd that was especially trained by the Marines. The troubled youth begins spending all his time nursing the hurt animal. One day he discovers a gun that the dog had brought with him when he ran away from his master's house after his owner was murdered. The boy's life is jeopardized when he accidentally stumbles across the killer. Fortunately, the brave dog saves him by attacking the killer and making him drop the gun. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Conflicting views on how to handle juvenile delinquents are not convincingly brought across in this teen melodrama by Edward Cahn. Colonel Walton (John Hoyt) is the repressive head of an institution for young male juvenile delinquents. Responsibility for the deaths of two teens is indirectly laid on Walton's doorstep, and he is replaced by liberal-minded Dr. Paul Furman (Jerome Thor). Furman throws out the old rule book when he decides to change the attitude to the young men by housing female delinquents in the prison. Although warned against this action by a matron and the former warden, Furman goes ahead with his plan. The result is friction between two of the young men over two of the women, and an attempted rape, putting Furman's views and control in jeopardy. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Canyon River stars George Montgomery as trail boss Steve Patrick. Reversing the procedure usually depicted in westerns of this nature, Patrick is assigned to guide a cattle drive from the west-coast state of Oregon to the wilds of Wyoming. En route, our hero must fend off attacks from both rustlers and Indians. He is also being undermined from within by foreman Bob Andrews (Peter Graves), who dearly covets Patrick's job. The romantic interest is provided by widowed camp cook Janet Hale (Marcia Henderson). Canyon River was produced by Richard Heermance, who, for the record, was (a) the brother of announcer Bud Collyer and actress June Collyer and (b) the brother-in-law of comedian Stu Erwin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ross Hunter hadn't yet completely graduated to glossy, star-studded soap operas when he produced the taut crime meller Naked Alibi. Chief of detectives Joseph E. Conroy (Sterling Hayden) is busted after failing to prove that "solid citizen" Al Willis (Gene Barry) is a maniacal cop-killer. Despite his lack of authority, Conroy puts so much heat on Willis that the latter skips town with his floozy lady friend Marianna (Gloria Grahame). Conroy follows the two fugitives to a wide-open border town, then slowly and methodically maps out the villain's doom. Essentially a cat-and-mouse game for most of its running time, Naked Alibi slowly but surely builds up to a nailbiting rooftop-chase climax. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The oft-filmed James Oliver Curwood yarn Back to God's Country is given the Technicolor treatment in this 1953 cinemadaptation. Set in the Great White North, the story concerns a romantic triangle consisting of sea captain Peter Keith (Rock Hudson), his wife Dolores (Marcia Henderson), and his jealous rival Paul Blake (Steve Cochran). Things come to a head during a treacherous trek through the snow, to seek medical aid for the injured Keith. Despite the crooked chicanery of Blake and dishonest guide Frank Hudson (Hugh O'Brien), the day is saved by Keith's faithful Great Dane. Back to God's Country overcomes its old-fashioned plotting with spirited performances and excellent cinematography. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Thunder Bay was another inspired collaboration between star James Stewart and director Anthony Mann. Stewart plays an ex-GI named Steve, who has a hankering to drill for oil in the Gulf of Mexico. Together with his army buddy Gambi (Dan Duryea, in a rare good-guy role), Steve attains the financial backing of irascible oil-company chieftain Kermit MacDonald (Jay C. Flippen) and the two head southward. Before they can even place their drills in the clamps, Steve and Gambi run afoul of local shrimp fishermen who consider the presence of oil speculators as a threat to their livelihoods. Things get dicey when Steve falls in love with Stella (Joanne Dru), the daughter of combative fisherman Dominique Rigaud (Antonio Moreno). Mob mentality threatens to overcome common sense until a clever -- and mutually beneficial -- compromise between the drillers and the fishermen is reached. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The popular radio show was turned into a successful series of films in the 1940s starring Jimmy Lydon, and this live television production was an attempt to cash in on that popularity. In this episode, Henry Aldrich is upset because he hasn't received an invitation to a costume party. Program sponsors included Jello, Swans Down cake mixes, and Birds Eye Foods. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide