Steven Geray Movies
Czech character actor Steven Geray was for many years a member in good standing of the Hungarian National Theater. He launched his English-speaking film career in Britain in 1935, then moved to the U.S. in 1941. His roles ranged from sinister to sympathetic, from "A" productions like Gilda (1946) to potboilers like El Paso (1949). He flourished during the war years, enjoying top billing in the moody little romantic melodrama So Dark the Night (1946), and also attracting critical praise for his portrayal of Dirk Stroeve in The Moon and Sixpence (1942). Many of Geray's film appearances in the 1950s were unbilled; when he was given screen credit, it was usually as "Steve Geray." Geray's busy career in film and television continued into the 1960s. Steven Geray worked until he had obviously depleted his physical strength; it was somewhat sad to watch the ailing Geray struggle through the western horror pic Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter (1965). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1937
Mai Lanyok (Modern Girls) is all about five young ladies who set up their own interior-decorating firm. One of the girls is an heiress but won't be permitted to claim her legacy until she is married. To save her friends' business, she agrees to wed a perfect stranger. It is only after a series of comic complications that our heroine decides it's high time to fall in love with her husband -- or at least, to try her best. Among the leading players in Mai Lanyok is Steven Geray, who went on to a lengthy career as a character actor in Hollywood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Magda Kun, Margit Dayka, (more)
- 1941
Fresh from his contract-player duties at Warner Bros., future TV "Superman" George Reeves heads the cast of 20th Century-Fox's Man at Large. Reeves is cast as FBI agent Bob Grayson, working in collaboration with Max (Richard Derr), a British agent posing as a fugitive German aviator. Meanwhile, fearless girl reporter Dallas Dayle (Marjorie Weaver) is assigned by her editor to track down the enemy aviator and get an exclusive story. When she catches up with Grayson and Max, Dallas is under the impression that Grayson is a rival reporter and Max is the genuine fugitive, leading to the usual complications. All three protagonists ultimately pool their resources to expose a German spy ring operating in the United States. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marjorie Weaver, George Reeves, (more)
- 1944
MGM's musical extravaganza Meet the People top-bills two future powerful TV executives: Dick Powell and Lucille Ball. Ball plays a popular but stuck-up Broadway star who leaves the bright lights to become a welder in a shipyard. Here she meets and falls in love with coworker Powell. This being a wartime musical, the plotline is periodically abandoned for the guest-star turns of the likes of Virginia O'Brien, Bert Lahr, Spike Jones and His City Slickers, Vaughn Monroe, and Mata and Hari. Buried beneath this cornucopia of corn is a stage play by Louis Lantz, upon which Meet the People was supposedly based. (Note: some sources mistakenly list Edward Dmytrk as the director of this film). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucille Ball, Dick Powell, (more)
- 1945
In this musical comedy, a popular Mexican singer finds himself tiring of the constant adulation of rabidly adoring females and decides to fake a marriage so that will stop ripping the clothing off his body after concerts. Unfortunately, he and the woman he chooses seldom agree and mayhem ensues. Songs include: "Mexicana," "Lupita," "See Mexico," "Heartlessness," "Time Out for Dreaming," "De Corazon a Corazon," "Somewhere There's a Rainbow," and "The Children's Song." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tito Guizar, Constance Moore, (more)
- 1946
Columbia's Mr. District Attorney was the second attempt to launch a film series based on the popular radio series of the same name. Adolphe Menjou plays the title role, DA Craig Warren, though top billing is bestowed upon Dennis O'Keefe as Warren's assistant Steve Bennett. Resenting his boss' constructive criticism and presumed interference, Bennett goes astray, ultimately getting mixed up with trouble-prone Marcia Manning (Marguerite Chapman). Warren quickly realizes that Marcia is a no-good, but Bennett refuses to listen. Eventually, two men meet their deaths at Marcia's manicured hands, and by the last reel it looks as though Bennett will be third on her list. A moneyspinner upon its first release, Mr. District Attorney did indeed spawn a brief series, as intended. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis O'Keefe, Adolphe Menjou, (more)
- 1951
Bob Hope is up to his famous nose in danger in this espionage comedy. Second-rate burlesque comic Peanuts White (Hope) is approached by federal agents who think that he's international spy Eric Augustine, to whom Peanuts bears a striking resemblance. When they realize that Peanuts and Eric are two different people, the FBI persuades him to travel to Africa posing as Eric and fetch a batch of microfilm that could prove vital to national security. With reluctance, Peanuts flies to Tangiers and arranges a rendezvous with Lily Dalbray (Hedy Lamarr), Eric's beautiful girlfriend and an agent of shifting alliances herself. However, Lily's superior Karl Brubaker (Francis L. Sullivan) wants the microfilm, and he will stop at nothing to get it. As Peanuts tries to rescue the microfilm, make time with Lily, and avoid Karl, things become even more confused when Eric escapes from hiding and re-enters the picture. Both Bob Hope and Hedy Lamarr contribute songs to the soundtrack, though unlike Bob, Hedy's vocals were dubbed in by a studio vocalist. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hope, Hedy Lamarr, (more)
- 1955
New York Confidential is based on the Jack Lait-Lee Mortimer bestseller of the same name. Richard Conte plays Nick Magellan, a "torpedo" for Manhattan crime boss Charlie Lupo (Broderick Crawford). Pleased with Magellan's work, Charlie promotes him to the topmost rungs of the Syndicate. He regrets this act of largesse when the powers-that-be demand that Lupo be rubbed out. . .by good old Magellan. The most fascinating aspect of New York Confidential is that there isn't a sympathetic character in the bunch; even Anne Bancroft as Lupo's maladjusted daughter is a bit on the obnoxious side. The original Lait-Mortimer book was later adapted into a 1958 TV series, starring Lee Tracy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Broderick Crawford, Richard Conte, (more)
- 1942
An adequate wartime filler, Night Plane from Chungking features Robert Preston as the captain of the titular aircraft. En route from Chungking to India, the plane crashes, leaving captain and passengers stranded in a jungle surrounded by Japanese troops. It has been learned that one of the passengers is a Nazi spy; Preston hopes it isn't the lovely Ellen Drew. Night Plane from Chungking was a remake of the earlier, and more expensive, Paramount adventure Shanghai Express, substituting planes for trains. When movie villains shifted from Nazis to Communists in the 1950s, the story was filmed once more as Peking Express (53). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Preston, Ellen Drew, (more)
- 1952
Given to violent, unpredictable behavior, composer Richard Morton (Gary Merrill) is an accident waiting to happen. Attempting to drown his problems in drink, Morton awakens with a monumental hangover -- and the nagging belief that he has murdered a woman. Did this, in fact, happen? And was the victim his wealthy, quarrelsome wife (June Vincent), his former mistress (Hildegarde Neff) or the movie star (Linda Darnell) with whom he has been carrying on a casual romance? As he attempts to contact the three women, Morton flashes back to his experiences with each one. The ending is pure Hitchcock, even though the director of the moment was future Saint helmsman Roy Baker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Darnell, Gary Merrill, (more)
This anthology film assembles five respected directors and a top-notch cast to bring a handful of stories by the great American author O. Henry to the screen. In The Cop and the Anthem, a tramp named Soapy (Charles Laughton) tries to get arrested so that he can spend the winter in jail, only to find that is not as easy as it used to be. Marilyn Monroe appears in this episode as a streetwalker. The Clarion Call features Dale Robertson as Barney, a cop forced to arrest an old friend, Johnny (Richard Widmark). Anne Baxter stars in The Last Leaf as Joanna, an elderly woman who sees her own illness reflected in the fall of the autumn leaves; she's convinced that when the last leaf drops from the tree outside her window, her life will go with it. The Ransom of Red Chief concerns Sam (Fred Allen) and Bill (Oscar Levant), two novice kidnappers who kidnap a child, only to discover that his parents don't want him back -- and after a few hours with the brat, they find out why. And The Gift of the Magi tells the story of a pair of cash-strapped newlyweds, Della (Jeanne Craine) and Jim (Farley Granger), who struggle to get each other the perfect Christmas gift, with unexpected results. John Steinbeck narrates. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Laughton, Marilyn Monroe, (more)
- 1949
After the film-noir melodramatics of Lady in the Lake and Ride the Pink Horse, actor/director Robert Montgomery turned to comedy in Once More, My Darling. Montgomery plays a former movie idol hired by the government to woo a young heiress (Ann Blyth). Someone had previously given the girl some jewelry stolen by the Nazis during the war, and the government wants to find out who that someone was. In the grand tradition, Montgomery pursues Blyth until she finally catches him. Produced by longtime Alfred Hitchcock associate Joan Harrison, Once More, My Darling is more conservatively directed than Montgomery's earlier works, though the director earns at least one laugh by playing a clever editing joke. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Montgomery, Ann Blyth, (more)
- 1940
This lightweight but elaborately produced musical melodrama was originally released in Great Britain as Premiere. While watching the opening night of a Parisian stage extravanganza, the show's principal backer is murdered. Inspector Bonnard (John Lodge) deduces that the fatal shot was fired from the stage-meaning that everyone involved in the production is a suspect. Bonnard demands that the cast and crew restage the play so that he can witness the proceedings and ascertain the killer's identity. One thing is certain: heroine Carmen (Judy Kelly) is not the guilty party, though she should have shot whoever designed her unflattering costumes and makeup. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Lodge, Judy Kelly, (more)
- 1954
Paris Playboys was lensed on the same sets used for the Bowery Boys' previous opus Loose in London, indicating that Allied Artists was nothing if not cosmopolitan. This time, Sach (Huntz Hall) turns out to be the exact double of brilliant French scientist Le Beau (also Huntz Hall). The mistaken-identity gimmick results in Sach, his fellow Bowery Boys Slip (Leo Gorcey), Chuck (David Condon) and Butch (Bennie Bartlett), and sweet-shop owner Louie (Bernard Gorcey) being whisked off to Paris, where Sach is expected to duplicate Le Beau's revolutionary new rocket fuel. It must needs be that the real Le Beau emerges from hiding to thoroughly confuse Slip et. al. Adding to the merriment are a bunch of foreign spies, headed by the always disreputable Steven Geray. Though out of favor with most Bowery Boys aficionados, Paris Playboys comes through with the usual quota of bellylaughs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
- 1958
Accused of murdering her Uncle Martin (Alexander Price), Nadine Marshall (Christine White) makes a detailed confession of the crime while under drugged hypnosis. The doctor handling the case informs Perry Mason (Raymond Burr), who despite this damning evidence is convinced that Nadine is innocent. The key to the solution would seem to be Nadine's engagement to one John Locke (Sherwood Price)--which under normal circumstances would be a happy occasion, but which for reasons unknown prompted Nadine to attempt suicide! This episode is based on a 1954 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Mob boss Big Jahnchek (Peter Whitney) escapes Federal custody and makes a beeline for his brother Gregory (R. G. Armstrong), who has managed to bury his connection to Big Steve by changing his name to John Gregory and establishing a successful fleet of tuna boats. Motivating Big Steve's getaway is the fact that the $100,000 trust fund of Helen Gregory (Susan Seaforth), whom each brother has at one time or another claimed as his own daughter, is being mismanaged by crooked Franz Moray (Steven Geray). When Moray is murdered, Gregory is charged with the crime, and a disturbing Jahnchek family secret is in danger of being exposed. It is up to Perry Mason to clear Gregory in court and to provide a happy ending for those who truly deserve one. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1943
Pilot No. 5 is an oddly liberal-minded film to come from conservative old MGM. Franchot Tone plays an army pilot stationed in Java who volunteers for a suicide mission. He is chosen from five possible Allied candidates, hence the title. We learn via flashback just why Tone holds his life at so low a price; among his less pleasant reminiscences are his brief association with a demagogic Southern governor, blatantly based on Huey Long. Pilot No. 5 served to introduce Gene Kelly in a supporting role--as a nasty, pugnacious young jerk. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franchot Tone, Marsha Hunt, (more)
- 1948
Fans of TV's Dennis the Menace should get an extra kick out of Columbia's Port Said, wherein Gloria Henry, aka Dennis' mother Alice Mitchell, essays a dual role. The story concerns the pursuit of neo-Nazis in the exotic titular port city. Henry plays both Gina Lingallo, daughter of itinerant magican The Great Lingallo (Edgar Barrier), and cold-blooded murderess Helena Guistano. The hero of the piece is Leslie Sears (William Bishop), who makes it his mission in life to bring the bad guys to justice when his best friend is murdered. Meanwhile, Gina poses as her treacherous cousin Helena to infiltrate the villains' lair, setting the stage for the slam-bang finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gloria Henry, William Bishop, (more)
- 1950
Pygmy Island was entry number five in Columbia's "Jungle Jim" series. Johnny Weissmuller is back as Jungle Jim, who this time around leads a search for missing WAC officer Ann Kingsley (Ann Savage). He'd better hurry; enemy agents are also on the trail of the heroine, who became lost while searching for material vital to the U.S. defense program. Somewhere in the foliage is a tribe of white pygmies (!), who cast their lot with Jungle Jim against the bad guys. Highlights in Pygmy Island include a stampeding elephant herd and a couple of fierce jungle battles pitting our hero against a crocodile and a gorilla. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Weissmuller, Ann Savage, (more)
- 1951
Presumably, Savage Drums was an attempt by Lippert Studios to launch an adventure series along the lines of "Jungle Jim" and "Bomba the Jungle Boy". The inimitable Sabu stars as Tipo, a native of a tropical island who returns home after establishing himself as a boxer in the U.S. Tipo soon discovers that his friends and family are in danger of falling under the influence of invading communists. Aligning himself with island king Maou (H.B. Warner), Tipo squares off against Red provincial ruler Chang (Steven Geray) and his minions. The film's feminine angle is provided by Lita Baron (good girl) and Margia Dean (bad commie), while comedy relief is in the hands of Lippert perennial Sid Melton and master dialectician Bob Easton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sabu, Lita Baron, (more)
- 1942
Secret Agent of Japan sometimes looks like a B-grade "answer" to Warner Bros.' Casablanca, except that the answer was released several months before the question. The principal character is Roy Bonnell (Preston Foster), the cynical American owner of Shanghai nightclub. On the lam from a criminal charge in the US, Bonnell prefers to keep a low profile, especially in political matters. His long-dormant patriotism is revived when he finds out that Japanese spies are buying up property in Shanghai and are mistreating the local citizens. Teaming up with glamorous British secret agent Kay Murdock (Lynn Bari), Bonnell turns spy himself, secretly reporting Axis activities to the British government-even though he's putting his own life on the line by doing so. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Preston S. Foster, Lynn Bari, (more)
The first person the audience sees in Ship of Fools is dwarf Michael Dunn, who speaks to viewers directly and acts as a Greek chorus throughout the film. It begins on the deck of an ocean liner travelling from Vera Cruz to Bremerhaven. The time is the 1930s, so close and yet so far from war. The cross-section of humanity on board includes ship's doctor Oscar Werner, Spanish political activist Simone Signoret, aging coquette Vivien Leigh, hedonistic baseball player Lee Marvin, philosophical Jew Heinz Ruhmann, a smattering of pro- and anti-Hitlerites (Jose Ferrer plays the nastiest and most vocal "pro") and young lovers George Segal and Elizabeth Ashley. Yes, it's Grand Hotel at sea, a feast for stargazers and an endurance test for those who aren't comfortable with non-stop speechmaking. Despite such lines as "What can the Nazis do? Kill all six million of us?," Ship of Fools manages to stay afloat throughout its 148 minutes. Michael Dunn was nominated for an Academy Award for his interlocutory characterization; the rest of the performances range from brilliant to merely filling up the room. Other Oscars were presented to cinematographer Ernest Lazslo and to the art-direction staff. Ship of Fools was adapted by Abby Mann from the novel by Katharine Ann Porter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vivien Leigh, Simone Signoret, (more)
- 1949
Set virtually in its entirety in an airborne TWA Constellation (evidently the company agreed to the use of its name in exchange for free advertising), Sky Liner stars Richard Travis as FBI agent Steve Blair. At the beginning of the film, a government courier is murdered by a foreign spy during a transcontinental flight. Blair manages to collar the spy, who is then promptly murdered himself. Now Blair is forced to play detective, sifting out the guilty party (or parties) from the passenger list. Pamela Blake and Rochelle Hudson play the standard "good" and "bad" girls, while the rest of the cast is a film-buff's dream: Steven Geray, Bess Flowers, Jack Mulhall, George Meeker et. al. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Travis, Pamela Blake, (more)
- 1946
This well-plotted and executed film noir suffered from its lack of star power, but has become something of a cult classic. Steven Geray stars as Henri Cassin, a French detective from the Paris Surete, who takes his first vacation in many years to St. Margot and the country inn of the Michaud family. There, he falls in love with the innkeeper's daughter Nanette (Micheline Cheirel), who is already engaged to a local farmer, Leon Archard (Paul Marion). Urged to pursue a romance with Cassin by her social-climbing mother, Nanette agrees to wed the lawman. Leon pledges that he will never stop pursuing Nanette, and when she runs off, Cassin realizes that his betrothed loves another. When Nanette is found strangled to death, Cassin believes that the obvious suspect is Leon, but soon he is also found murdered. His only clues are some handwriting and a footprint, so Cassin returns to Paris, where his investigative techniques put him on the trail of the killer. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steven Geray, Micheline Cheirel, (more)
As Alfred Hitchcock's classic psychothriller opens, the staff of a posh mental asylum eagerly awaits the arrival of the new director. When the man in question shows up, it turns out to be handsome psychiatrist John Ballantine (Gregory Peck). But something's wrong, here: Ballantine seems much too young for so important a position; his answers to the staff's questions are vague and detached; and he seems unusually distressed by the parallel marks, left by a fork, on a white tablecloth. Dr. Constance Peterson (Ingrid Bergman) comes to the conclusion that Ballantine is not the new director, but a profoundly disturbed amnesiac--and, possibly, the murderer of the real director. But is she correct in her inferences? Scriptwriters Angus MacPhail and Ben Hecht soon add to this the complication that Constance begins to fall in love with John. Director Hitchcock tapped surrealist artist Salvador Dali to design the visually arresting dream sequences in the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, (more)
- 1956
Stagecoach to Fury was one of several "pocket westerns" released through 20th Century-Fox's Regal Films subsidiary. The titular coach is robbed by Mexican bandits, who hold the passengers prisoner at a relay station. As both captors and captives nervously await the arrival of a gold shipment, the true natures of the passengers are slowly revealed. Realizing that he and his fellow passengers will be killed the moment the bandits get their hands on the gold, the cavalry captain (Forrest Tucker) tries to organize a united front against the villains. Director William Claxton was later a primary director of the TV series Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Forrest Tucker, Mari Blanchard, (more)
