Cornel Wilde Movies
His father was a traveling salesman who did a lot of business in Europe, and Wilde spent much of his youth traveling in Europe with him, where he became fluent in several languages. For several years he studied medicine in college, but he gave it up to pursue acting; he also gave up a spot on the 1936 U.S. Olympic fencing team. He appeared in a number of plays in New York and on the road, playing everything from bit parts to leads. In 1940 he was hired as a fencing instructor and a featured player for the Broadway production of Hamlet with Laurence Olivier; some of the rehearsals were in Hollywood, where he landed a film contract. On-screen from 1940, Wilde played small roles as heavies in several films, then switched studios and began getting leads in B movies. His career took off after he played Chopin in A Song to Remember (1945), for which he received a Best Actor Oscar nomination. For several years he starred in major productions, such as the 1952 Best Picture winner The Greatest Show on Earth, then in the mid-late '50s he was back in B movies, often playing swashbucklers. In 1955 he formed his own company, Theodora Productions, to produce, direct, and star in his own films; he ultimately made 11 films in that capacity, but earned little critical respect for his work. Divorced from actress Patricia Knight, Wilde married his frequent costar, actress Jean Wallace. ~ All Movie Guide- 1957
Frank Freeman Jr., son of the longtime head of Paramount Pictures, made his debut as producer with the opulent but empty Omar Khayyam. Cornel Wilde stars as the legendary Persian poet, here depicted as not only a philosopher but a scientist, politician and great lover. As the Persians gear up for war against the Byzantines, Omar occupies his time by romancing Sharain (Debra Paget), the favorite wife of the Shah (Raymond Massey). He also does his best to foil a plan by Hasani (Michael Rennie), leader of the Cult of Assassins, to murder the royal family. While many of the characters and events are based on fact, it is difficult to believe the story or the dialogue for more than ten minutes at a stretch. Singer Yma Sumac, then famous for her four-and-a-half octave vocal range, is somehow woven into the proceedings. When Omar Khayyam laid an egg at the box-office, a Hollywood wit, taking into consideration the Southern heritage of Frank Freeman Jr., assessed the results as "A loaf of bread, a bottle of coke and you-all." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Michael Rennie, (more)
- 1952
Loosely based on the true story of Lieutenant Colonel Peter Ortiz, this mystery centers on an American WW II veteran who heroically served as both an officer and a member of the French Foreign Legionnaire. During the war he had been instrumental in assisting in the French Resistance. With such a sterling war record--his exploits are revealed via flashback-- it is therefore a great shock when he is charged with the murder of a Resistance leader. It does not help that the accused lieutenant is thought dead following a key mission and is not around to clear his sullied name. During the trial, several dubious witnesses tell their version of the tale. A former communist spy presents the most conclusive "proof" that the lieutenant killed the Resistance leader. Fortunately, the lieutenant is not dead and bursts in at the crucial moment to clear his name and point out which of the witnesses is the real killer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Steve Cochran, (more)
The winning combination of producer Benedict Bogeaus and director Allan Dwan once more struck box-office gold with Passion. Set in 19th century California, the film stars Cornel Wilde as a young rancher seeking vengeance for the murders of his wife Yvonne de Carlo and his parents. The guilty parties are a group of terrorists, headed by Rodolpho Acosta, whom Wilde, now a fugitive from justice himself, intends to knock off one by one. Loyally standing by her man is the sister of Wilde's slain wife, also played by Yvonne de Carlo (one character is demure, the other fiery). Featured in the cast is Raymond Burr as a police chief determined to follow the letter of the law--at least, until things get too personal. Passion was effectively color-photographed on location in the mountain ranges between California and Nevada. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Raymond Burr, (more)
Richard Widmark plays the borderline-psycho owner of a combination road house and bowling alley. Widmark's singer, Ida Lupino, begins exhibiting an interest in his manager, Cornel Wilde. To get even with Wilde, Widmark frames him on a robbery charge, then has the unlucky fellow released in his custody. The sadistic Widmark takes every opportunity to flaunt his control over Conte, but this only serves to deepen the relationship between Wilde and Lupino. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ida Lupino, Cornel Wilde, (more)
- 1953
Saadia is an MGM-ized version of the Francis D'Autheville novel Echeck au Destin. Produced, directed and written by the always fascinating Albert Lewin (The Moon and Sixpence, Picture of Dorian Gray), the film stars Cornel Wilde as Si Lahssen, the progressive ruler of the Moroccan province of Anahout. Henrik (Mel Ferrer), Anahout's chief physician, rescues a beautiful dancing girl named Saadia (Rita Gam) on the operating table. In doing so, he is in direct violation of local sorceress Fatima (Wanda Rotha). The sorceress vows to destroy Henrik -- and by extension, Saadia, whom he loves, and Si Lahssen, whom she loves. The film isn't entirely successful, but deserves an A for effort. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Mel Ferrer, (more)
- 1975
- PG
When a group of treasure hunters attempt to locate a sunken fortune, they enlist the help of an adventure-hungry fisherman (Cornel Wilde). This film was written, directed, and produced by Cornel Wilde, who has the starring role as well. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Yaphet Kotto, (more)
- 1949
Beauty contest winner Patricia Knight's one bid for screen stardom was Columbia's Shockproof. Knight plays Jenny Wright, a convicted murderess paroled in the care of probation officer Griff Marat (Cornel Wilde). What begins as an aloof professional relationship eventually blossoms into romance. The fly in the ointment is shady Harry Wesson (John Baragrey), the gambler who inveigled Jenny into committing murder. The girl is torn between creature comforts offered her by Wesson and the promise of a clean life offered by Griff. This early Douglas Sirk effort contains a smattering of the stylistic touches which distinguished his later work.The screenplay was written by famed director Samuel Fuller, known for his gritty realism and hard-boiled style. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Patricia Knight, (more)
- 1956
The roguish smile of Cornel Wilde and the impressive cleavage of Jean Wallace (Mrs. Cornel Wilde) are the principal attractions of the costume swashbuckler Star of India. Wilde plays a 17th-century French nobleman who embarks upon a search for a valuable emerald which has been stolen from a Dutch collection. Dogging the nobleman's trail is a Dutch spy (Jean Wallace) posing as a French aristocrat. Both hero and heroine are bedeviled by an epicene villain (Herbert Lom), who stole the gem in the first place but who enjoys the protection of King Louis XIV (Basil Sydney). Not unexpectedly, Star of India wraps things up with an outsized sword duel between the stalwart Wilde and the smirking Lom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace, (more)
- 1955
Much of this gripping crime drama takes place in a remote New England farm house owned by the brother of a bank robber. The crook is mortally wounded during his last heist and suddenly shows up seeking shelter. The brother reluctantly harbors the fugitive and his henchmen. Time passes and the henchmen are anxious to move on; unfortunately, their leader is healing. He is also still in love with his brother's wife with whom he had an affair. More trouble ensues when it is revealed that the woman's son was fathered by the crook, not her husband. Meanwhile, a farmhand manages to escape. He tries to alert the cops and this causes the criminals to flee. To help them through the woods the robber takes the boy to guide him. The boy is devastated when his heretofore "decent" uncle shoots his father. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace, (more)
Cornel Wilde co-produces, directs, and stars with his wife Jean Wallace in this uneven version of fabled King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Wilde, a skilled fencer, is Lancelot and appropriately enough, Wallace is his lady-love Guinevere. This time around, their traditionally chaste romance (Guinevere marries King Arthur) takes on a more modern veneer as she and Lancelot become intimate. Aside from their love story, several battles on horseback keep the knights busy as King Arthur struggles to hold onto his throne in the face of a challenge from King Leodogran (John Longdon). ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace, (more)
The story in this lavish cinemadaptation of Alexandre Dumas' The Man in the Iron Mask remains faithful to the original novel: the right heir to the throne of France is imprisoned in a dungeon by his evil twin brother, his identity kept secret with an uncomfortable iron mask. It's up to the aging D'Artagnan and his three Musketeer companions to set things aright. Though the action takes place in France, the film was rather obviously lensed in Austria, adding an exotic touch to the proceedings. Beau Bridges does double duty as the "right" and "wrong" King Louis, while Beau's dad Lloyd Bridges plays Aramis. Alan Hale Jr. essays the role of Porthos, just as he'd done in 1951's At Sword's Point; also carried over from the 1951 film is Cornel Wilde as D'Artagnan. Other seasoned veterans in the cast include Jose Ferrer (Athos), Ursula Andress (Mme. De la Valliere), Olivia DeHavilland (Queen Anne) and Rex Harrison (Colbert). The Fifth Musketeer was also released as Behind the Iron Mask. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvia Kristel, Rex Harrison, (more)
- 1946
The Technicolor swashbuckler Bandit of Sherwood Forest stars Cornel Wilde as Robert of Nottingham, son of the legendary Robin Hood (Russell Hicks). Robert elects to follow in his father's footsteps when oppression rears its ugly head in the form of a despotic Regent (Henry Daniell) and his partner in perfidy Fitz-Herbert (George Macrady). Our hero reunites the Merrie Men, including Friar Tuck (Edgar Buchanan) and Will Scarlet (John Abbott), determined to force the wicked Regent to recognize the Magna Carta. He also finds time to carry on romance with high-born Anita Louise, who has disguised herself as a scullery maid. If the film's huge castle set looks familiar, it is because it was reused in several of Columbia's Three Stooges comedies, most memorably The Hot Scots (1948). Based on a novel by Paul A. Castleton, Bandit of Sherwood Forest was more or less remade four years later as Rogues of Sherwood Forest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Anita Louise, (more)
- 1955
Police Lt. Leonard Diamond (Cornel Wilde) is criticized by his superior Capt. Peterson (Robert Middleton) for his obsessive but fruitless investigation of organized crime boss Mr. Brown (Richard Conte). Peterson calls it a waste of the taxpayers' money motivated by Diamond's love for Brown's girlfriend Susan Lowell (Jean Wallace). Watched at all times by henchmen Mingo (Earl Holliman) and Fante (Lee Van Cleef), and masochistically drawn to Brown, Susan is unable to walk away from him. She overdoses on pills in a suicide attempt and, in her delirium, utters the name "Alicia." Diamond follows up on that new lead, and as he gets closer to defeating his adversary, the arrogant and sadistic Brown retaliates by capturing and torturing Diamond. Meanwhile Brown's former boss but now humiliated underling, Joe McClure (Brian Donlevy), believing that Brown has gone too far in his personal vendetta against Diamond, tries to enlist Mingo and Fante in overthrowing him. However, they remain loyal, and, in a chillingly silent scene visually punctuated by flashes of gunfire, they shoot the deaf McClure after Brown removes his hearing aid. Though superficially a story of good vs. evil, Joseph H. Lewis's film noir presents a complex world, visually captured by John Alton's stark photography, in which the lines between good/evil and love/hate are not always clear. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, (more)
- 1969
- PG
In The Comic, Dick Van Dyke plays Billy Bright, silent-era film comedian. The opening scene is at his funeral in which his sidekick Cockeye (Mickey Rooney) honors his partner's last request by hitting the preacher in the face with a pie. Van Dyke's voice then narrates the life story of the comic in flashbacks. Steve Allen plays himself and is the man who revives Billy's career towards the end of his life. Bright's life deteriorates as the bitter man becomes a drunk and abusive, alienating his wife Mary (Michele Lee). Van Dyke combines the characters of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel for his interpretation of the fictional character Billy Bright. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Van Dyke, Michele Lee, (more)
- 1957
Actor Cornel Wilde branched out into directing with The Devil's Hairpin--reserving the starring role for himself. Wilde plays a motor racing champion who ruins his career through his reprehensible behavior on and off the track. Thrown off the racing circuit in disgrace after crippling his brother in an accident, Wilde tries to make a comeback, and to compensate for his past recklessness. Jean Wallace, who was Mrs. Cornel Wilde at the time, plays the girl who supervises Wilde's redemption. The Devil's Hairpin set the standard for Cornel Wilde's later directorial efforts: Pedestrian dialogue sequences, first-rate action highlights. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace, (more)
Cecil B. DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth is a lavish tribute to circuses, featuring three intertwining plotlines concerning romance and rivalry beneath the big top. DeMille's film includes spectacular action sequences, including a show-stopping train wreck. The Greatest Show on Earth won Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Story. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde, (more)
- 1947
In this drama, a Bostonian socialite marries the owner of a racehorse and begins a life of globe-trotting from international track to track until her hubby runs out of money. In desperation, he borrows money from an ex-girlfriend who decides that she will not let him leave her again. Meanwhile, the wife is beginning to wonder why she married him and begins contemplating divorce. Things change when her philandering spouse dumps the other, decides to rebuild his stables, and bets every last nickel on his one remaining horse's Kentucky Derby run. His horse barely loses to his wife's horse. Fortunately, the couple makes up and they live a long, happy life together. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Maureen O'Hara, (more)
- 1940
The notoriously temperamental Miriam Hopkins is ideally cast as equally contentious theatrical prima donna Mrs. Leslie Carter in The Lady With Red Hair. As rapidly paced as any Warner Bros. gangster picture, the film charts Caroline Carter's rise to fame on Broadway through the auspices of impresario David Belasco (Claude Rains). The screenwriters take great pains to cast Carter in a sympathetic light, suggesting that she turned to the lucrative world of the theater to regain custody of her son (Johnnie Russell), won by her husband in their acrimonious 1889 divorce settlement. Though at first she meets with nothing but failure, our heroine perseveres, and by 1904 she is the idol of millions throughout the world. Along the way, she marries visionary producer Lou Payne (Richard Ainley), but by film's end she is reunited with her mentor Belasco. A young Cornel Wilde makes his screen debut as an aspiring actor in a boarding-house sequence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Miriam Hopkins, Claude Rains, (more)
In the bush country of South Africa in the late 19th century, chauvinistic hunter Gert vanDen Bergh calculatedly offends a local tribal chief. Given several opportunities, he refuses to apologize. As consequence, vanDen Bergh and the rest of his hunting party are captured by the tribesmen and grotesquely tortured to death. The only white man spared is safari-guide Cornel Wilde, whom the natives respect and vice versa. The tribesmen offer Wilde a chance to survive; stripping him naked and giving him a knife to defend himself, they set Wilde free in the jungle, in preparation of hunting him down like a lion. Given a head start equal to the distance one of the tribesman can fire an arrow, Wilde is pursued by the tribe's six most accomplished warriors. The rest of this thrill-a-minute film follows Wilde into the underbrush in his desperate, resourceful flight for life. Cornel Wilde's The Naked Prey was filmed entirely on location under circumstances nearly as dangerous as the plight of its protagonist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Gert Van Den Bergh, (more)
- 1978
- PG
When his father does not return from the Norse colony in Vinland (Greenland) for years and years, warrior son Thorvald (Lee Majors) organizes an expedition to find him. He and his co-commander Ragnar (Cornel Wilde) arrive and swiftly discover that King Eurich (Mel Ferrer) and his company were abducted by Native Americans and taken to neighboring lands. With the help of a friendly tribal princess, and the comical assistance of the Norse shaman "Death Dreamer" (Jack Elam), Thorvald is able to locate and battle the tribesmen for the life of his father. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Majors, Cornel Wilde, (more)
- 1941
Ubiquitous 20th Century-Fox contractee Lynn Bari is the heroine of The Perfect Snob. Carefully raised by her social-climbing mother Martha (Charlotte Greenwood) to seek out a millionaire husband, debutante Chris Mason (Bari) throws herself at wealthy Freddie Browning (Alan Mowbray) during a Hawaiian vacation. But Chris secretly intends to follow the advise of her doctor father (Charles Ruggles) and marry for love rather than money. In this spirit, she pledges her troth to the handsome but apparently impoverished Mike Lord (Cornel Wilde). Much to everyone's surprise and delight, Mike turns out to be the owner of a thriving sugar plantation! Still several years removed from film stardom, Anthony Quinn goes through the "other man"paces generally reserved for Ralph Bellamy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Ruggles, Charlotte Greenwood, (more)
- 1955
The infamous Benedict Arnold affair is the basis of the lively MGM costumer The Scarlet Coat. Arnold is played with suitably subtle menace by Robert Douglas, while his principal co-conspirator, Major John Andre, is essayed by Michael Wilding. The largely speculative storyline concerns the efforts of one Major John Boulton (Cornel Wilde), a colonial counterspy, to foil Arnold's plans. Thanks to some deft scriptwriting, the much-abused Major Andre emerges as the most sympathetic character in the film, if only because he is willing to face the consequences for his actions. Less sympathetic is George Sanders in another of his patented "cad" roles, while Anne Francis is the spunky (if unnecessary) heroine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Michael Wilding, Sr., (more)
- 1948
The year is 1908 and the setting Jericho, Kansas, a veritable cesspool of sin and vice. Dave Connors is a politically ambitious lawyer married to Belle, the town lush, and is in love with beautiful colleague Julia Norman. Matters are worsened when Algeria Wedge, his best friend's wife, makes a pass at him. When Dave rejects her advances, she retaliates by printing vile things about him in the town paper. This effectively destroys his political career and causes him to leave town. Algeria then successfully helps to launch her husband's career so she can remain in town and cause even more trouble. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Art Baker, Griff Barnett, (more)
- 1953
Treasure of the Golden Condor is a Technicolor remake of 1942's Son of Fury; both films were based on the same novel by Edison Marshall. Cornel Wilde stars in the old Tyrone Power role as Jean-Paul, a Frenchman cheated of his birthright by his duplicitous uncle (George Macready). Retreating to South America with lovable reprobate MacDougal (Finlay Currie), Jean-Paul searches for buried treasure in the jungles of Guatemala. He also romances MacDougal's comely daughter Clara (Constance Smith). Eventually, Jean-Paul must bid Clara goodbye and return to France, there to settle accounts with his uncle. Clara prays for the day that Jean-Paul will come back for her and as the closing music swells . . . . ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Constance Smith, (more)
