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- 1987
Cornell Wilde guest stars as Duncan Barnett, the ruthless founder-CEO of Barnett Industries. Gathering his board of directors (and their wives and loved ones) to his lavish New York estage, Barnett seems poised to name his successor. Instead, he is killed in an accident--or, at least, it looks like an accident. Among the board members is a certain Maine-based mystery writer named Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury), who begins to suspect that there's dirty work afoot as she watches Barnett's employees wheel, deal, bicker and backstab incessantly throughout the balance of the episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
This peculiar thriller was directed by Paul Leder (I Dismember Mama) and features the husband-wife team of Greg Mullavey and Meredith MacRae, who appeared in several of his films. Another low-budget shocker concerning the murders of a greedy family gathering around the deathbed of a dying man, Vultures deserves points for its sheer outlandishness and an oddball cast. Female impersonator Jim Bailey appears in half a dozen different roles and does a Barbra Streisand imitation. Stuart Whitman, Aldo Ray, and Yvonne DeCarlo are among the suspects, and such obscure cult figures as Maria Perschy show up as well. Genre buffs are likely to find it amusing, while most other viewers will be left perplexed. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stuart Whitman, Yvonne De Carlo, (more)
- 1972
Incorporating themes from horror films of both the '50s and the '70s, this suspenseful TV movie stars Cornel Wilde and Jennifer Salt as an archaeologist and his daughter, who discover a strange skull on display at a roadside tourist trap. After the museum owner is killed during an attack from an unseen foe, the pair are subsequently pursued across the American Southwest by a tribe of humanoid creatures that bear a striking resemblance to the gargoyles of myth, leading to a manic game of cat-and-mouse across the desert. This enjoyably spooky film essentially riffs on this one-note premise for over 70 minutes -- sort of an inversion of Night of the Living Dead's claustrophobic scenario -- and fortunately comes off quite well thanks to superb use of the desert locations, an eerie score, uniformly good performances, and Emmy award-winning monster costumes from Stan Winston. A young Scott Glenn appears as a roguish biker who throws in with the good guys after taking a shine to the professor's daughter. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
Cornel Wilde produced, directed, and stars in this sincere, hard-edged look at World War II that doesn't flinch from the horrors of battle. The action takes place during a single American campaign to take an island held by the Japanese. Brief flashbacks to civilian life are the only escape from the gritty, dreary setting. The usual cliché characters are replaced by new ones, such as the captain (Wilde) who loves his wife but hates the war, the sergeant (Rip Torn) who gets sadistic pleasure out of battle, the minister's son (Patrick Wolfe) who keeps remembering the girl he left back home, and the Southern illiterate (Burr DeBenning) who finds a place for himself in the Marines. The screenplay (from a 1945 novel by Peter Bowman) avoids stereotypes yet doesn't make any of these men into fleshed-out characters. Still, the acting is solid and Wilde deserves commendation for taking a harsh, unromanticized look at the Big One, over thirty years before Steven Spielberg did it with Saving Private Ryan. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Rip Torn, (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)
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)
One of the many Italian sword-and-sandal adventure stories roughly depicting historical events -- sometimes too graphically -- this drama by director Lionello de Felice has its merits. The action moves along at a good clip, as Constantine's (Cornel Wilde) rise to power is depicted, amidst battling armies and political intrigue. All the well-publicized, old Roman entertainments such as feeding Christians to the lions are shown in more detail than might be necessary, leading to one of the main points of featuring Constantine at all -- he was the emperor who gave Christians the freedom to worship as they pleased. His cronies and his enemies, his loves and his successes all have their moment in the sun. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Christine Kaufmann, (more)
- 1959
A well-dressed older man drives a car along the winding mountain road adjacent to the Grand Canyon. Another man lies in wait for him where the road ends. They fight, and the car and one of the men plunge into the mile-deep gorge. Thus begins a series of four killings that fall into the lap of newly hired Mojave County deputy Les Martin (Cornel Wilde) and his boss, Sheriff Edwards (Edgar Buchanan). Les is an experienced homicide detective trying to redeem himself and his career after a series of personal tragedies and professional disasters, unsteady in his confidence and uncertain of his ability -- the only people he's especially close to are the sheriff who hired him and Scotty (Mickey Shaughnessy), the big-hearted keeper of the local tavern. And complicating his investigation of the murder case at hand is his constant crossing of paths with the beautiful, wealthy Janice Kendon (Victoria Shaw), who seems to have a knack for turning up around every corner of this case. He has to sort out his feelings about her and work out what the murders have to do with the one clue left behind by one of the victims, about the "dancing bucket" that carries men and material more than 7,000 feet across the mile-high chasm. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Victoria Shaw, (more)
- 1958
Maracaibo was actor Cornel Wilde's second directorial effort. Wilde casts himself as troubleshooting oil man Vic Scott, who has arrived in Venezuela to help put out a fire at an offshore well. It's a ticklish situation: if Scott fails, not only will he die in the blaze, but all of Maracaibo will likely be destroyed. When he isn't risking his life, Scott romantically pursues ice-princess journalist Laura Kingsley (played by Jean Wallace, at the time Mrs. Cornel Wilde). Joe E. Ross of Car 54 Where are You fame provides a few welcome laughs as a Brooklynese oil rigger. Filmed partially on location, Maracaibo was based on a novel by Stirling Silliphant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace, (more)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 1956
Hot on the heels of Safari came another Columbia-released, African-filmed adventure, Beyond Mombassa. Matt Campbell (Cornel Wilde) arrives in Kenya on a double quest. He hopes to locate a valuable uranium mine, and also to learn the "whos, whats and whys" of his brother's murder. Joing Campbell's safari are missionary Ralph Hoyt (Leo Genn) and Hoyt's niece Ann Wilson (Donna Reed). After several attempts are made on Campbell's life, he comes to the conclusion that one of his travelling companions was responsible for his brother's death. Sure enough, the villain has not only dispatched Campbell's brother, but has also arranged the evidence so as to place the blame on a legendary tribe of "leopard men". As for why he does it, it is best to see Beyond Mombassa for further details. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Donna Reed, (more)
- 1956
If Hot Blood is remembered at all today, it is for its ludicrous advertising blurb "Jane Russell shakes her tambourines and drives Cornel Wilde!" Set in the gypsy community of contemporary Los Angeles, the film stars Wilde as aspiring dancer Stephen Torino, who is tricked by his brother Marco Luther Adler into an arranged marriage with tempestuous Annie Caldash Jane Russell. Annie is willing to give the union a go, but Torino wants none of it. Several risque complications and lively musical numbers later, Torino changes his mind. Nicholas Ray imbues Hot Blood with the same erotic/neurotic energy he brought to such earlier cult favorites as Johnny Guitar and Rebel without a Cause, but the magic just isn't there this time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Russell, Cornel Wilde, (more)
- 1955
Ever on the prowl for Hollywood celebrities, Lucy (Lucille Ball) is thrilled to discover that movie star Cornel Wilde has rented the penthouse suite just above the Ricardos' Beverly Hills hotel room. Determined to catch a closeup glimpse of Wilde, Lucy first disguises herself as a bellboy, then hides under a luncheon cart that is wheeled into the actor's room. As expected, things go awry, and Lucy ends up trying to use a "rope" of blankets to escape from Wilde's high-rise terrace! ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Jellison
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
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)
- 1954
In this subtle 1954 comedy with feminist overtones, Clifton Webb plays Gifford, an executive with a large automobile manufacturer who is having trouble deciding who to hire as his chief sales manager. His three candidates are equally competent, so he brings their wives with them to New York headquarters, planning to hire the one whose wife is most suited to be an executive's wife. Elizabeth (Lauren Bacall) is the wife of Sid (Fred MacMurray), a company man. Elizabeth knows that Sid is such a workaholic that she will never see him if he gets the new job, but she is loyal to her husband and impresses the hiring team with her competency. Bill Baxter (Cornel Wilde) is handicapped in the competition by his wife Katie (June Allyson), a clumsy but sweet small-town girl from the Midwest. Katie dutifully tries to impress the big boss but proves inept at handling the social responsibilities. She would prefer to stay in Kansas City anyway. Jerry (Van Heflin) is married to Carol (Arlene Dahl), a seductive gold-digger who sexually teases various executives in the hopes that her assets can help land Jerry the job. Instead, her out-of-bounds behavior gets Jerry eliminated from the list, at least until Jerry tells Gifford that he doesn't sanction his wife's behavior. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clifton Webb, June Allyson, (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)
- 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)
- 1952
California Conquest is set in the early 19th century, when California was fighting for its independence from Mexico--and as such was up for grabs so far as several other nations were concerned. Wealthy landowner Fredo Brios (John Dehner) feverishly opposes all efforts by Californians seeking to become a part of the United States, and to that end Brios hires bandit Jose Martinez (Alfonso Bedoya) to help forge an alliance with Russia. But patriotic Don Arturo Bordega (Cornel Wilde) and his lady love Julia Lawrence (Teresa Wright) attempt to checkmate Brios by locating a cache of guns stolen by Martinez' men. Amusingly, the Russian characters in California Conquest spout Marxist-Leninist dogma nearly a century before the Revolution. Featured in the cast is Renzo Cesana, who in 1952 was immensely popular as TV's "Continental." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Teresa Wright, (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)
- 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)
