Harold Buchman Movies
American screenwriter Harold Buchman paid his early dues at Columbia, turning out such better-than-usual "B"s as The Case of the Missing Men (1935) and The Devil is Driving (1937). At 20th Century-Fox from 1940 to 1946, Buchman worked on a number of worthwhile programmers, including The Perfect Snob (1941) and Gentleman at Heart (1946). His timely Broadway stage farce Snafu ran into censorship problems when it was adapted for the screen in 1945--at least until he was able to persuade the Hays office that the title was an acronym for "Situation Normal, All Fouled Up". In 1951, Sidney Buchman was blacklisted from Hollywood after appearing as an "unfriendly" witness before the HUAC; he would not receive another screen credit until 1970's The Landlord. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1939
Sigrid Gurie, the Swede from Brooklyn who in 1938 was touted as Sam Goldwyn's answer to Garbo, was taking whatever work she could get in 1939. Forgotten Woman casts Gurie as a woman unjustly sent to prison. Four years go by before the DA unearths new evidence that proves her innocence. But first, the guilty party must be rounded up--and that's no walk in the park, since the miscreant is an influential gangster. Forgotten Woman ran its course, made back its cost, then became the Forgotten Movie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eve Arden, William Lundigan, (more)
- 1969
- R
Barry Newman stars as Tony Petrocelli, a maverick Midwestern attorney. Petrocelli is hired to defend a wealthy doctor (Robert Colbert), accused of murdering his wife. In the tradition of Sam Sheppard, the truculent doctor insists that the killing was committed by a mystery intruder who knocked him unconscious. Thanks to the doctor's healthy extramarital life, the case receives a surfeit of negative press coverage. Since he's already been tried by the public, it comes as little surprise to the doctor that he's found guilty. But during the appeal process, Petrocelli manages to locate a witness who opens the possibility that the murderer was the husband of the doctor's mistress. Five years after the theatrical release of The Lawyer, Barry Newman would star in a TV-series spin-off, Petrocelli. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barry Newman, Harold Gould, (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)
- 1954
The direction of The Sleeping Tiger was credited to Victor Hanbury, but this was actually a pseudonym for the blacklisted Joseph Losey, whose first British film this was. Alexander Knox stars as psychiatrist Clive Esmond, who believes that he can stem the criminal tendencies of young fugitive from justice Frank Clements (Dirk Bogarde). To this end, Esmond hides Clements in his own home. At first hostile towards the handsome crook, Esmond's wife Glenda (Alexis Smith) gradually warms up to her house guest, and before long she and Clements are casting lustful glances at one another. She intends to run off with Clements and make a new life for herself, when suddenly he decides that he actually wants to reform. If nothing else, The Sleeping Tiger is a fascinating precursor to the sexual tensions prevalent in Losey's later Harold Pinter adaptations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dirk Bogarde, Alexander Knox, (more)
Back in 1936 it was assumed that, once perfected, television would be a two-way device, enabling viewers to transmit as well as receive. In Trapped by Television, such a device is developed by inventor Fred Dennis (Lyle Talbot), who needs financial backing to complete his experiments. He is financed by crooked businessman Curtis (Thurston Hall), who has his own evil plans for television. A gang of crooks get into the act by attempting to steal Dennis' invention, intending to auction it off to the highest bidder. Wielding a futuristic television camera, heroine Bobby Blake (Mary Astor) manages to foil the crooks, while Dennis moves in to finish the job. Long unavailable for TV showings, Trapped by Television is currently and happily available on the home-video market. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Astor, Lyle Talbot, (more)
