Yvonne De Carlo Movies

David Niven plays the new squire in a small Irish community. As snooty and restrictive as the old squire was warmhearted and generous, Niven quickly earns the animosity of the locals. Eventually they draw lots for the privilege of bumping Niven off. Before the cad is humanized by the love of Yvonne DeCarlo, the villagers contrive to scare him off the premises by faking a local ghost--which rouses the fury of the town's genuine wraith. Tonight's the Night was originally released in Great Britain as Happy Ever After. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Victor Hugo's Toilers of the Sea was none too faithfully adapted for the screen as Sea Devils. The hero is Guernsey-Island smuggler Gilliat (Rock Hudson); the heroine is glamorous British spy Drouette (Yvonne de Carlo). Set during the Napoleonic wars, the plot finds Gilliat and Drouette trying to outsmart one another for the first few reels. Gilliat even kidnaps Drouette at one point, believing her to be in league with the hated French. Eventually, of course, Gilliat must rescue Drouette from the French, thereby preventing Napoleon's planned invasion of England. Shot on location, Sea Devils was directed with verve by Raoul Walsh. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this adventure, set in Algiers, a French cabaret singer tries to expose the identity of an Arab leader who is conspiring to attack the French. She hopes that by cozying up to him in his palace that she will be able to steal his plans and thwart the conspiracy. Unfortunately, she is soon unmasked and must be rescued by her real lover, a soldier in the French Foreign Legion. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Joel McCrea plays 19th-century miner Rick Nelson in The San Francisco Story. The year is 1856, and Frisco is a wide-open town. To stem the activities of crooks and con artists, newspaper editor Jim Martin (Onslow Stevens) organizes a group of peace-keeping vigilantes. Nelson, an old friend of Martin's, arrives in the Golden Gate city to help out. The villain of the piece is political boss Andrew Cain (Sidney Blackmer), who regards San Francisco as his own personal fiefdom. When not battling Cain's bought-off flunkies and hulking henchman, Nelson dallies with Cain's erstwhile girlfriend Adelaide McCall (Yvonne DeCarlo). Not so much a western as a historical actioner, The San Francisco Story is tip-top entertainment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Nineteenth-century saloon gal Roxy McClanahan (Yvonne DeCarlo) manages to inveigle herself into the uppermost rungs of polite New Orleans society. But Roxy has not reckoned with her old friendly nemesis, merchant seaman Frank Truscott (Rock Hudson), whose bankroll Roxy had lifted back in her wilder and woollier days. For a price, Frank agrees not to blow the whistle on Roxy's checkered past. He further agrees to allow her to pass off an orphaned child as her own daughter, the better to maintain her pose as a fabulously wealthy widow. Several rambunctious scenes later, Frank and Roxy finally realize that they're made for each other, and to heck with Society. More fun than most costume melodramas of its kind, Scarlet Angel benefits from attractive production values and a top-flight supporting cast, included future Gunsmoke co-star Amanda Blake as a viper-tongued society belle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though Yvonne de Carlo is top billed in Hotel Sahara, the film is stolen hands-down by second-billed Peter Ustinov. The scene is a desert hotel, smack dab in the middle of neutral territory during WW II. Hotel owner Emad (Ustinov) cheerfully changes the decor--and his loyalties--depending upon which army is enjoying his hospitality. Likewise, Emad's sexy fiancee Yasmin (Yvonne DeCarlo) is equally effusive to both the Allies and the Axis. Complications ensue when the British, German and French armies converge upon the hotel all at once. The film's punchline is a beauty. Hotel Sahara is an early directorial effort by Ken Annakin, who later helmed such serious war flicks as The Longest Day and Battle of the Bulge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Desert Hawk deserves to be seen on the basis of its cast alone. No more believable than any of Universal's other sword-and-sand epics, this one stars Yvonne de Carlo as Princess Shaharazade (sic) and Richard Greene as Omar, aka the Desert Hawk. By day a humble blacksmith, the Desert Hawk spends his evenings battling against the oppresive regime of Prince Murad (George Macready). One of the Hawk's tactics is to trick Shaharazade into marriage, so that he can enlist the aid of the army commanded by the Princess' father. Murad retaliates by kidnapping Shararazade, leading to an exciting climactic rescue. Never mind all that: the real fun in Desert Hawk is spotting the celebrities-to-be in the supporting cast. Playing the villainous Captain Ras is none other than Rock Hudson, while the Desert Hawk's loyal companions Aladdin and Sinbad are played, respectively, by Jackie Gleason and Joe Besser--and surprise, Joe is heavier than Jackie! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

For some reason, whenever Universal used the word "Gal" in a film's title, Yvonne de Carlo usually headed the cast. In Gal Who Took the West, de Carlo plays Lillian Marlowe, an New York songstress who heads Thataway. She becomes the romantic bone of contention between the feuding O'Hara cousins, Grant (John Russell) and Lee (Scott Brady). The hostilities boil over into an all-out range war, and federal troops are summoned. Can Lillian succeed where other, better-armed negotiators have failed. The lighthearted nature of Gal Who Took the West is underlined by staging the film in flashback, as related by a pair of toothless old codgers (Clem Bevans and Houseley Stevenson). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Casbah is a musical remake of the 1938 film Algiers, which was itself a remake of the French film Pepe Le Moko. Tony Martin stars in the old Jean Gabin/Charles Boyer role as Pepe Le Moko, a master thief who lives in the Casbah section of Algiers. A French police inspector (Peter Lorre) would love to capture Pepe, but realizes that as long as the thief remains in the Casbah he is protected by his vast network of criminals. When Pepe falls in love with a beautiful tourist (Marta Toren), he schemes for the first time to leave his little "empire". Betrayed by a former lover (Yvonne De Carlo), Pepe is shot down by the police as he emerges from his sanctuary. Casbah lacks the atmosphere of the earlier non-musical versions of the story, but Tony Martin is reasonably convincing as Pepe Le Moko, even when bursting into song. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Yvonne DeCarlo dons 19th century "adventuress" garb once more in River Lady. This time she's a 19th century gambling queen, in charge of a profitable Mississippi riverboat casino. DeCarlo falls in love with logger Rod Cameron; when he won't succumb to her charms, she tries to buy his affections by setting up a logging empire. DeCarlo's partner Dan Duryea is also fascinated with her, but he's his usual slimy self and hasn't got a chance of either winning the girl or surviving to the fade-out. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Burt Lancaster had one of his first starring roles in this hard-hitting prison drama. Capt. Munsey (Hume Cronyn) is a cruel, corrupt prison guard who has his own less-than-ethical ways of dealing with inmates, enough so that Joe Collins (Lancaster) -- the toughest inmate in the cell block -- has decided to break out. Collins tries to persuade Gallagher (Charles Bickford), the unofficial leader of the inmates and editor of the prison newspaper, to join him, but Gallagher thinks Collins' plan won't work. However, Collins does have the support of his cellmates, most of whom, like himself, wandered into a life of crime thanks to love and good intentions. Tom Lister (Whit Bissell) was an accountant who altered the books so he could buy his wife a mink coat. Soldier (Howard Duff) fell in love with an Italian girl during World War II and took the rap for her when she murdered her father. Collins pulled a bank job to raise money to pay for an operation that could possibly get his girl out of a wheelchair. And Spencer (John Hoyt) made the mistake of getting involved with a female con artist. After Munsey drives Tom to suicide and prevents Gallagher from obtaining parole, Gallagher joins up with Collins and his men in the escape attempt. Director Jules Dassin would next direct the influential noir drama The Naked City; six years later, he would move to Europe after political blacklisting prevented him from continuing to work in the United States. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Bearing little resemblance to reality, this musical biography of 19th century Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov takes liberal poetic license with the truth. Jeanne-Pierre Aumont stars as Nicky, a Naval Academy cadet assigned to a vessel undergoing a world cruise. On shore leave in Morocco, Nicky goes in search of a piano intending to pursue his true passion, music. Accompanied by the ship's singing doctor, Klin (Charles Kullmann), Nicky makes the acquaintance of a cabaret dancer named Cara de Talavera (Yvonne De Carlo). The daughter of a Spanish colonial family that was once prominent but has fallen upon difficult times, Cara now dances in secret as Scheherazade in a revue at the nightclub. Inspired by her, Nicky sets about composing his most famous song for inclusion in a ballet. Although fate conspires to keep Cara and Nicky apart for a time, his piece is a success and is scheduled for a performance at the St. Petersburg Opera House, where none other than Cara turns up as the lead dancer. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Johnny Hart (Rod Cameron) is on the run from the law after killing one of the men who shot his partner. He passes through a town and stops at a saloon owned by singer Lorena Dumont (Yvonne de Carlo). The two seem a good, albeit tempestuous match, although Johnny has no plans to marry -- Lorena has other ideas and a shotgun wedding ensues. Blackie (Sheldon Leonard), an outlaw who is jealous of the marriage, informs Lorena of Johnny's wanted status, and he ends up getting caught by the law after their wedding night. He serves six years and returns to find that he and Lorena don't get along any better than they did before, and that he's also the father of a five-year-old girl (Beverly Simmons). Also lurking about is Blackie, whom he recognizes as one of the men who killed his partner, and Blackie wants Johnny out of the way so he can marry Lorena. Johnny and Lorena fight over custody of their daughter and Blackie nearly gets them each killed at one point or another. He kidnaps their daughter before Johnny dispatches him. He finally realizes that the only way he can win Lorena is to meet her cup for cup and blow for blow, until she understands that he loves her. The film, a sort of Western Taming of the Shrew, ends on a note of romance and reconciliation. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide