Anne Jeffreys Movies
Trained for a career in opera, blonde leading lady Anne Jeffreys supported herself as a singer and model before going to Hollywood in 1941. Among her first film assignments was a modest Columbia 2-reeler, Olaf Laughs Last, starring El Brendel; she then worked briefly at MGM before signing at RKO. Jeffreys now insists that she was rushed through so many "B" pictures during her first few years at the latter studio that she's forgotten most of them. When reminded by a fan that she played Tess Trueheart in the first two Dick Tracy films, she refused to believe it until she saw the pictures herself on TV. Her roles, and the quality of her films, improved towards the end of her RKO stay, but by 1948 Jeffreys briefly abandoned Hollywood for Broadway. Appearing in several productions throughout the 1950s, Jeffreys was at one time the highest-paid actress on the New York musical stage. In 1951, Jeffreys married her second husband, actor Robert Sterling, with whom she co-starred in the very popular TV sitcom Topper (1953-55), as well as the very unpopular 13-week wonder Love That Jill (1958). Except for a few isolated films like Clifford (1992), Anne Jeffreys has limited her acting to television and the stage in the last few decades; she was a regular on the daytime drama General Hospital, and briefly hosted a fashion-and-health series on cable TV. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A murder investigation uncovers a plot that could destroy the world as we know it in this thriller. When a scientist doing research on nuclear weapons is murdered during a hospital stay, federal investigator Dave Pomeroy (Howard Duff) is called in to find out who killed him and why. With the help of Dr. Paula Stevens (Linda Cristal), the late scientist's assistant, Pomeroy learns that the scientist fell victim to a group of communist renegades whose members include two brilliant but unstable weapons experts, August Best (Nehemiah Persoff) and Myra Pryor (Anne Jeffreys). Pomeroy discovers that Best and Pryor have constructed an atomic bomb of their own -- and that they're threatening to use it to start World War III, forcing the detective to take swift action to prevent worldwide devastation. Panic in the City also features Dennis Hopper in the small role of Goff, just a year before Easy Rider would make him a star. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Howard Duff, Linda Cristal, (more)
- 1948
- NR
The success of 1947's Badman's Territory prompted RKO Radio to assemble another "outlaw rally," Return of the Badmen. Randolph Scott plays US marshal Vance, assigned to rid the Oklahoma Territory of outlaws. This proves to be quite a challenge, inasmuch as virtually every frontier bad guy has converged upon the territory. Led by the surly Sundance Kid (Robert Ryan), the rogue's gallery includes the Younger Brothers (Steve Brodie, Richard Powers, Robert Bray), the Daltons (Lex Barker, Walter Reed, Michael Harvey) and Billy the Kid (Dean White). For all the formidable villainy, the film's most fascinating conflict develops between the two heroines: feisty Cheyenne (Anne Jeffreys) and prim 'n' proper Madge Allen (Jacqueline White). Return of the Badmen posted a huge profit, spawning yet another "all-star" western from RKO, 1951's Best of the Badmen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Armstrong, Walter S. Baldwin, (more)
- 1947
No relation to the 1935 Jean Harlow-Spencer Tracy vehicle of the same name, RKO Radio's Riff-Raff is an action-packed vehicle for aging but still virile Pat O'Brien. At large in Panama, American private eye Dan (O'Brien) hopes to get his hands on a valuable map showing priceless oil concessions. He finds himself up against a formidable cartel of villains headed by Molinar (Walter Slezak), who likewise want to get their mitts on the map and are willing to commit murder to do so. Mixed up in the proceedings is worldly nightclub singer Maxine (Anne Jeffreys), whose reputation is such that O'Brien immediately distrusts her--an opinion he has good reason to reverse as the film rolls along. Percy Kilbride provides a few chuckles as a dry-witted Panamanian taxi driver. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pat O'Brien, Walter Slezak, (more)
- 1945
In this musical comedy, an arrogant war journalist is sailing back to the Big Apple after the end of WW II. En route, he has been assigned to watch over a band of teenagers who were trapped in Europe four years ago while entertaining the troops. Their entrapment has done nothing to dim their enthusiasm for performing and while waiting for passage the crews entertain everyone at every opportunity. Songs include: "I'll Buy That Dream" (sung by Anne Jeffreys), "Heaven Is a Place Called Home," "Seven O'Clock in the Morning (Waking up Boogie)," "Somebody Stole My Poor Little Heart" (Herb Magidson, Allie Wrubel), and "The Lord's Prayer" (arranged by Albert Hay Malotte). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Haley, Marcy McGuire, (more)
- 1973
Bushy-mustached character comedian Avery Schreiber and Jesus Christ Superstar leading man Ted Neely are among the participants in Southern Double Cross. It all begins when an American couple go on holiday to Mexico. Unbeknownst to the billing and cooing vacationers, they've been set up as smugglers. Certain bad guys have slipped valuable artifacts in the couple's luggage, intending to reclaim it-and rub out the two innocents-at a later date. We've seen this plot before in several other films, in locales ranging from Europe to India. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Space Prison consists of two tenuously linked 60-minute episodes of the TV series Battlestar Gallactica. Heavily influenced by Star Wars, the futuristic series starred Lorne Greene as Adama, commander of the mile-wide Gallactica battlestar. Adama's younger cohorts (read: the series' Luke Skywalker and Han Solo) were Captain Apollo (Richard Hatch) and Lieutenants Starbuck (Dirk Benedict) and Boomer (Herb Jefferson Jr.); the resident damsel in distress was Athena, played by the luscious Maren Jensen. The villainy was in the hands of the treacherous Count Balter (John Colicos) The two episodes included herein are "The Long Patrol", first telecast October 15, 1978, and "Man With 9 Lives", originally shown January 28, 1979. In the first, Starbuck is taken prisoner in a space penitentiary where all the inmates are descendants of long-forgotten criminals. In the second, Fred Astaire guest-stars as a glib stranger who may well be Starbuck's father. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Previously filmed as a so-so Marx Brothers vehicle in 1938, the John Murray-Alan Boretz Broadway hit Room Service was effectively musicalized in 1944 as Step Lively. The plot remains intact: Fly-by-night theatrical producer Gordon Miller (Groucho Marx in the 1938 film, George Murphy in the remake) struggles to keep his production and cast together, despite severe deficiencies in the money department. Hotel-chain supervisor Wagner (Adolphe Menjou) threatens to throw Miller and his actors off the premises, an eventuality Miller hopes to forestall until he can obtain $50,000 from a wealthy backer. Meanwhile, Glen Davis (Frank Sinatra), the author of Miller's play, shows up to see how things are going. Before long, Glen is swept up in a desperate plot hatched by Miller and his underlings Binion (Wally Brown) and Harry (Alan Carney) to stay in the hotel despite Wagner's efforts to oust them. Caught in the middle are hapless hotel manager Gribble (Walter Slezak), potential backer Jenkins (Eugene Pallette), Glen's sweetheart Miss Abboli (Anne Jeffreys) and Miller's leading lady Christine (Gloria DeHaven). This being a musical, the outcome hinges on Glen's hitherto untapped singing ability, which might save the day if he overcomes a bout of psychosomatic laryngitis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, George Murphy, (more)
- 1946
In this espionage drama, a WW II veteran teams up with a government secretary and begins hunting a gang of Nazi agents who are seeking the secret documents carried by the G-man they killed. The two heroes are hindered on their hunt by fellow government agents who believe the two are responsible for the FBI agent's death. Mayhem ensues until the two prove their innocence, capture the culprits, and save the US from fascism. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lawrence Tierney, Anne Jeffreys, (more)
- 1942
This final "Tarzan" entry from the MGM assembly line is arguably one the least effective of the series, though it certainly has its adherents. It all begins when Boy (Johnny Sheffield), adopted son of Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) and Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan), is kidnapped from the jungle by crooked circus promoters Rand (Charles Bickford) and Shields (Paul Kelly) and spirted off to America. This requires Tarzan and his mate to adopt "civilized" clothes and head to New York City, with the troublesome Cheeta the Chimpanzee along for the ride. There are some amusing moments as Tarzan tries to acclimate himself with the Big Apple, and some less amusing ones as Cheeta gets hold of a powder puff and lays waste to an expensive hotel room. The film's highlight, Tarzan's leap from the Brooklyn Bridge, comes at the film's halfway point, and accordingly things slow down considerably during the final reels. Tarzan's New Adventure works better as a stunt than as an official series entry, but it is still preferable to some of the so-so RKO Radio Tarzan films which were to follow. One racially questionable sequence involving black comedian Mantan Moreland has been understandably removed from some TV prints. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, (more)
- 1943
In this western, a cowboy and his pals must stop outlaws from stealing a cache of gold ore. Action ensues, and they succeed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1942
In this entry in the "Weaver Family" series, the town of Farmington is being plagued by a crime wave. The angry citizens are ready to impeach the mayor, June Weaver, and the police chief, Leon Weaver. To end the crime and preserve her career, June feigns corruption and hires a real gangster to get rid of the local mobs. Unfortunately, a bona fide crooked councilman intervenes and makes real mob connections causing an earnest journalist to launch a front page attack. Things look bleak until the police chief rallies to the rescue and arrests all the guilty parties. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leon Weaver, Frank Weaver, (more)
- 1945
Robert Young stars as a WW2 pilot named Hank, who accompanies his pal Jerry (Bill Williams, in his film debut) on a furlough. Jerry introduces his girlfriend Helen (Laraine Day) to Hank, a notorious and unrepentent womanizer. In a twinkling, Hank tries to steal Helen away from Jerry-but succeeds only after proving that he's a nice guy after all. Ann Harding, one of RKO Radio's leading star of the early 1930s, returns to her old studio to play Helen's all-knowing mother. Those Endearing Young Charms is based on a Broadway play by Edward Chodorov, originally purchased for the screen by independent producer Sam Goldwyn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Young, Laraine Day, (more)
- 1953
Based on the novel by Thorne Smith-and partly on the book's spinoff feature films-The Adventures of Topper stars Leo G. Carroll as Cosmo Topper, a mild-mannered banker with ghost problems. It seems that Topper's home is haunted by its previous owners: George and Marion Kirby, a fun-loving young couple who were killed in an avalanche (they died in a car crash in the original story, but this didn't sit well with potential automobile-manufacturing sponsors). Anne Jeffreys plays Marion, "The Ghostess with the Mostess", while Ms. Jeffrey's real-life husband Robert Sterling is cast as George, "That Most Sportive Spirit". Featured players include Lee Patrick as Henriette Topper, Thurston Hall as Topper's combustible boss, and a St. Bernard named Buck as "Neil", a ghostly pooch with a fondness for liquor ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo G. Carroll
- 1947
Quick-draw legend Bat Masterson is summoned to Kansas to end a small-town feud between local farmers and criminal ranch owners in this western starring Randolph Scott. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan, (more)
- 1946
With Vacation in Reno, RKO contract actress Anne Jeffreys proved herself an accomplished comedienne, a fact verified by her later work on TV's Topper. Jeffreys is cast as Eleanor, the wife of would-be prospector Jack Carroll (Jack Haley). When hubby goes off to find a cache of hidden loot near Reno, Eleanor becomes convinced that he's actually gone to the Nevada city to secure a quickie divorce. She trails him to a dude ranch on the outskirts of Reno, where Jack has somehow gotten mixed up with a gang of thick-witted bank robbers (Morgan Conway, Alan Carney, Iris Adrian). No opportunity for a slapstick setpiece is ignored throughout the film, culminating with the inevitable "wild ride" through the desert. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Haley, Anne Jeffreys, (more)
- 1943
In this western, Wild Bill and his assistant, try to learn why a young med school graduate is being spurned by the members of his own Native American tribe. The heroes learn that the clan's medicine man is a phony in cahoots with a corrupt Indian agent and that these two are working for a wicked rancher who has been polluting the local drinking water with his illegal irrigation project. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George "Gabby" Hayes, Anne Jeffreys, (more)
X Marks the Spot was the first of eight brisk wartime-oriented melodramas, each running slightly under an hour, produced and directed in rapid succession by George Sherman. Private detective Eddie Delaney (Damian O'Flynn) swings into action when his father (Robert E. Homans), a police sergeant, is gunned down by rubber racketeers (please recall that rubber was a valuable commodity during WW2). With the help of heroine Linda Ward (Helen Parrish) and police lieutenant Decker (Dick Purcell), Delaney chases after the villains, experiencing all sorts of serial-like dangers along the way. Numbered among the bad guys are the typecast Jack LaRue and the cast-against-type Neil Hamilton (later Batman's Commissioner Gordon). Though the script covers familiar ground, X Marks the Spot is exhilarating entertainment in the true Republic Pictures tradition. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Damian O'Flynn, Helen Parrish, (more)
- 1942
In this musical comedy, a country bumpkin spends most of his free time watching movies and becomes such an expert that he can accurately predict which ones will be hits and which will fail at the box-office. An employee at a failing Hollywood studio finds the fellow and takes him back to Tinsel Town. Trouble ensues when the rube convinces the studio to put a no-talent gangster in the leading role of an upcoming gangster movie because he is involved with the mobster's sister. Eventually, the hayseed extricates himself from it all and happiness ensues. Songs include: "Comes Love," "It's Me Again," "Let's Make Memories Tonight," "I Can't Afford to Dream" (Lew Brown, Charles Tobias, Sammy Stapt), and "Jim" (Caesar Petrillo, Nelson Shawn, Edward Ross). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Albert Dekker, Joan Davis, (more)
- 1944
This irresistably-titled comedy is arguably the best of RKO Radio's Wally Brown-Alan Carney vehicles. The daffy duo is cast once more as Jerry Miles and Mike Strager, this time employed as Broadway press agents. Mike and Jerry's latest scheme is to hire a genuine zombie for the opening of a new nightclub. The boys head to a mysterious tropical island with cabaret singer Jean la Dance (Anne Jeffreys), where they cross swords with looney zombie expert Professor Renault (Bela Lugosi). Barely escaping with their lives, Jerry and Jean return to Manhattan with a "zombified" Mike, who is under the spell of Renault's secret formula. When Mike snaps out of his trance, the boys must face the wrath of nasty nightclub owner Ace Miller (Sheldon Leonard), who's a lot more frightening than any zombie. Zombies on Broadway turned a neat profit for RKO, encouraging the studio to reteam Brown, Carney, Anne Jeffreys and Bela Lugosi in the far less satisfying Genius at Work (1946). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Carney, Bela Lugosi, (more)
