Tom Tryon Movies

In Fedora, Billy Wilder approaches Hollywood stardom in the same fashion as he did in Sunset Boulevard--with cynicism, regret, understanding, and awe. Fedora (Marthe Keller) is film's most intriguing movie queen. Rumored to be well into her sixties, the actress has remained a starlet for over four decades--retaining youth and radiance despite her advancing years. The mystery behind her numinous persona has never ceased to captivate audiences. Even now, as she lives in seclusion on the beautiful Greek island of Corfu, the public buzzes for her to return to the screen. When producer Barry Detweiler (William Holden) travels to Corfu, staking his faltering career on Fedora's return, he discovers the actress's tragic secret. Fedora's eternal loveliness may not be the result of defying her age, but of concealing her youth. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide

This crime thriller with occult overtones puts a spine-tingling twist on the Jungian psychological notion of "the shadow." In the '30s, Holland and Niles Perry are 10-year-old twins growing up on an idyllic farm in the Connecticut countryside. Niles is a wholesome, outgoing lad, loved by the whole family. Holland's brooding mischief causes untold trouble. Eventually, the Perry family experiences a series of tragic accidents which may not be accidents. Unraveling the circumstances of these tragedies is a fascinating and subtle business. This film was adapted by Tom Tryon from his novel The Other and includes a film debut by the famous acting teacher Uta Hagen, as the twins' grandmother. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Director John Frankenheimer, extrapolating from his earlier films The Gypsy Moths and Grand Prix, examines machismo and how men test themselves to the limits of endurance in The Horsemen. The film takes place in modern day Afghanistan. Uraz (Omar Sharif), the son of Tursen (Jack Palance), the stable master for a feudal lord, is a master horseman who lives by a primitive code of honor. Uruz's family honor is damaged when he breaks his leg playing the game which is the Afghani equivalent of polo. His father, who lost a lot of money betting on his son, will barely speak to him. To regain the family honor (and wealth) he must somehow re-learn how to ride -- after his injuries cost him his leg below the knee. In the face of great obstacles, and despite the derision and treachery of others, he gains the chance to play in the games given by the king of Afghanistan. The footage of the horsemanship in these dangerous and anarchic games is one of the real highlights of this film. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This is an English-dubbed version of the Spanish and Italian-made 1967crime action feature, also released with the name The Narco Men. It stars Tom Tryon, who shortly after this period left acting completely and went on to become a quite successful novelist. Harry Bell (Tryon) is an Interpol agent who has been framed and sent to prison. On his release, he finds work with a gangster who is desperate to recover some stolen heroin. If he fails to find the drugs, he will be killed. Along the way, Harry seeks to find the woman who framed him. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In Harm's Way, based on James Bassett's novel Harm's Way, has enough plot in it for four movies or a good miniseries (when it was shown on network television in prime time, it was broken into two very full nights). On the morning of December 7, 1941, a heavy cruiser, commanded by Captain Rockwell Torrey (John Wayne), and the destroyer Cassidy, under acting commander Lieutenant (jg) William McConnell (Thomas Tryon), are two of a handful of ships that escape the destruction of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Under Torrey's command, the tiny fleet of a dozen ships carries out its orders to seek out and engage the enemy fleet. But lack of fuel and a daring maneuver (but tragic miscalculation) by Torrey causes his ship to be seriously damaged. He's relieved of command and assigned to a desk job routing convoys in the shakeup following the attack, and his exec and oldest friend, Commander Paul Eddington (Kirk Douglas), is reassigned after a brawl, the result of his anger after identifying the body of his wife (Barbara Bouchet) who was killed during the attack while cavorting with an Marine Corps officer.

Torrey's shore assignment leads him to reestablish contact on a very hostile level with his estranged son, Ensign Jere Torrey (Brandon de Wilde), from his long-ended marriage; he establishes a romantic relationship with Lt. Maggie Haynes (Patricia Neal), a navy nurse; and he also befriends Commander Egan Powell (Burgess Meredith), a special-intelligence officer. Partly as a result of his contact with Powell, Torrey is chosen by the commander of the Pacific Fleet (Henry Fonda) to salvage an essential operation called Sky Hook, which has become bogged down through the indecisiveness of its area commander, Vice Admiral Broderick (Dana Andrews). Promoted to rear admiral, with Eddington -- who'd been rotting away on a shore assignment, drunk most of the time -- assigned as his chief of staff, Torrey gets Sky Hook rolling and finally finds his purpose in this war, gaining the belated admiration of his son in the process. Eddington is similarly motivated but is still haunted by the violent, ultimately self-destructive demons that blighted his marriage and his life -- he is particularly attracted to a young nurse, Annalee Dohrn (Jill Haworth), not knowing that she is already involved romantically with Jere Torrey. Meanwhile, McConnell survives the sinking of his ship and is ordered to join Torrey's staff. Matters all come to a head when the Japanese begin a counter-offensive to Torrey's planned troop landing. And just at the time Torrey needs his men at their best, Eddington's violence and rage boil to the surface in a way that will destroy him and blight both men's lives. In a final attempt at redemption, Eddington provides Torrey with the information he needs to set up a battle that he has at least a chance of winning, pitting his small task group of destroyers and cruisers against the Japanese task force led by the Yamato, the largest battleship ever built. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Tom Tryon plays the title role in this Otto Preminger version of the Henry Morton Robinson novel. In his matriculation from Monsignor to the College of Cardinals, Stephen Fermoyle (Tom Tryon) must undergo several grueling life experiences: standing up to bigots in Georgia, defying Nazis in Austria, and so on. The film boasts cameo appearances by Dorothy Gish, Cecil Kellaway, John Saxon, John Huston, Robert Morse, Burgess Meredith, Raf Vallone, Ossie Davis. Incidentally, Tryon eventually quit acting and became a popular novelist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This western is created from a popular serial that starred Tom Tryon playing a rancher who was once a sheriff. Tryon later went on to become a best-selling author. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Longest Day is a mammoth, all-star re-creation of the D-Day invasion, personally orchestrated by Darryl F. Zanuck. Whenever possible, the original locations were utilized, and an all-star international cast impersonates the people involved, from high-ranking officials to ordinary GIs. Each actor speaks in his or her native language with subtitles translating for the benefit of the audience (alternate "takes" were made of each scene with the foreign actors speaking English, but these were seen only during the first network telecast of the film in 1972). The stars are listed alphabetically, with the exception of John Wayne, who as Lt. Colonel Vandervoort gets separate billing. Others in the huge cast include Eddie Albert, Jean-Louis Barrault, Richard Burton, Red Buttons, Sean Connery, Henry Fonda, Gert Frobe, Curt Jurgens, Peter Lawford, Robert Mitchum, Kenneth More, Edmond O'Brien, Robert Ryan, Jean Servais, Rod Steiger and Robert Wagner. Paul Anka, who wrote the film's title song, shows up as an Army private. Scenes include the Allies parachuting into Ste. Mere Englise, where the paratroopers were mowed down by German bullets; a real-life sequence wherein the German and Allied troops unwittingly march side by side in the dark of night; and a spectacular three-minute overhead shot of the troops fighting and dying in the streets of Quistreham. The last major black-and-white road-show attraction, The Longest Day made millions, enough to recoup some of the cost of 20th Century Fox's concurrently produced Cleopatra. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the final episode of Walt Disney's 17-part miniseries Tales of Texas John Slaughter, John (Tom Tryon), in his capacity as sheriff of Tombstone, AZ, has captured vicious robber and murderer Jimmy Deuce. As a result, every other outlaw in Tombstone has fled for the hills -- thereby utterly ruining the town's economy and causing the populace to turn against Sheriff Slaughter. Urged to give up his badge by his wife Viola (Betty Lynn), John refuses, insisting that his job is far from finished. Meanwhile, professional gunfighter Frank Clell (Ralph Meeker) rides into town, insisting that he's mended his murderous ways -- but has he? Originally telecast as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology, "Frank Clell's in Town" and the previous episode, "A Trip to Tucson," were in 1966 excerpted for use in the expanded theatrical-feature version of the earlier Tales of Texas John Slaughter entry "A Holster Full of Law." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the 15th episode of Walt Disney's 17-part miniseries Tales of Texas John Slaughter, John (Tom Tryon) has vowed to permanently hang up his guns and live a peaceful life as a cattle rancher and family man. But upon learning that his old enemy Billy Soto (R.G. Armstrong) is rustling his cattle, John prepares to settle matters with hot lead. Persuaded by his wife, Viola (Betty Lynn), to seek a more peaceful solution, John agrees to file a complaint against Soto with Tombstone's Sheriff Hatch. As usual, however, one thing leads to another, and before long, Slaughter himself has pinned on the sheriff's badge. Originally telecast as part of the Walt Disney Presents antholgy, "A Holster Full of Law" was released as a theatrical feature in 1966, its running time padded with footage from the subsequent episodes "A Trip to Tucson" and "Frank Clell's in Town." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Part of the Walt Disney series, Tales of Texas John Slaughter, this film finds Geronimo warring with a group of settlers, while a friendly ranch owner finds himself caught between the conflicting groups. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Originally aired on TV from Walt Disney, these episodes are combined to form a feature about a Texan man who is forced to defend settlers against Indian friends after Geronimo attacks some innocents. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

In the 12th episode of Walt Disney's 17-part miniseries Tales of Texas John Slaughter, widower John (Tom Tryon) has finally wed the lovely Viola Howell (Betty Lynn), thus providing a mother for his children Willie (Brian Corcoran) and Addy (Patricia Gorman). En route to register his land claim, John rescues his old friend Ashley Carstairs (Darryl Hickman) from ambushers. Having returned to Tombstone to deliver the two Kentucky Thoroughbred horses that he promised John a few episodes back, Ashley proves to be much more short-tempered and quicker to use his guns than before. Fueling Ashley's anger is the fact that he himself was once in love with John's new bride Viola. "Kentucky Gunslick" first aired as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide