John Carroll

In this Western, a good-hearted gunfighter helps a young cowboy find the cruel cattle baron who killed his daddy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this romantic comedy, four children are seemingly orphaned and remanded to their aunt and uncle's custody after their parents, renowned explorers, are lost. The proper English aunt is the sister of the missing mother; the playboy uncle is the brother of their father. Both are single and whichever marries first is the one who will get full custody. Naturally, the disparate duo dislike each other at first. But this is a movie, and after much mayhem, they fall in love, marry and adopt the children. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Stan Freberg fans are advised to keep an eye open for the obscure Republic musical Geraldine. Freberg plays recording star Billy Weber, a devastating takeoff of "crying tenor" Johnnie Ray. Looking for a new song, Billy chances to hear an old folk tune, rearranged by college music professor Grant Sanborn (John Carroll). Several incredible intrigues later, Billy's star has eclipsed and it is Sanborn who's the new singing heartthrob. Mala Powers, Jose Ferrer's vis-a-vis in Cyrano de Bergerac}, is rather overshadowed by the male stars in her nondescript role. The songwriting credits on Geraldine are most impressive, including Freberg, Victor Young, Irwin Koster, and even western comic sidekick Fuzzy Knight. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This latest in Republic's semi-annual "Hit Parade" series stars John Carroll, Marie McDonald and Estelita Rodriguez. Carroll plays a dual role, as a high-rolling gambler named Joe Blake and a radio crooner named Eddie Paul. Faced with mounting debts, Joe persuades Eddie to take his place, with the expected results. As the erstwhile girlfriend of both John Carrolls, Marie McDonald amply demonstrates why she was nicknamed "The Body," while Estelita Rodriguez, as the gambler's moll, renders a couple of mildly satirical Latin-American tunes. Appearing as a dimwitted gambler is Frankie Fontaine, doing a virtual dry run of his "Crazy Guggenham" character. Unlike previous "Hit Parade" musicals, Hit Parade of 1951 was not given a new title for its TV release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Of the many attempts by Republic Pictures' CEO Herbert J. Yates to turn his lady friend Vera Ralston into a star, Surrender is one of the better efforts. Ralston plays a conscienceless "femme fatale" who works out a complex scheme to secure her financial comfort. The plan, enacted in a western border town, involves bigamy, betrayal, and ultimately murder. She plays one man against another all too well; in the end Vera's perfidy backfires, and she falls victim to her own machinations. Vera Ralston tries hard indeed but the audience can sense that she is basically too nice to be making such mean faces. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this courtroom drama, a French girl stands trial for murder. Flashbacks tell the grim story of how, during the Great War she got involved with a wealthy soldier and married him. He disappeared after the war. She then came to the U.S. There she finds him married to another woman. To cover himself, he tries to get her deported. In the ensuing argument, she accidently kills him. She is found guilty, but when they learn that she is expecting, the widow helps her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Angel in Exile represents a one-time-only directorial collaboration between cult favorite Allan Dwan and B-western workhouse Philip Ford. Upon his release from jail, hardened criminal Charlie Dakin (John Carroll) heads to Mexico in search of his stolen gold, hidden in a mine shaft by Dakin's confederates. Posing as an honest prospector, Dakin mixes the gold with sand so that the local villagers will assume that he's merely coming up with the riches that were already in the mine. But the impoverished locals are overjoyed that the long-dormant mine has proved active once more, attributing this "miracle" to the town's guardian angel. Touched by the villagers' simple faith, Dakin reforms his evil ways-which is more than can be said for his less sentimental cohorts Max (Barton MacLane) and Carl (Paul Fix). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Promoted from Republic B westerns to "A" productions, William "Wild Bill" Elliot found himself in the sort of roles previously essayed by John Wayne, Richard Dix and Errol Flynn. In the Republic "special" Wyoming, Elliot plays Charles Alderson, a wealthy Wyoming Territory ranch owner who takes an adversarial position against the congressional Homestead Act of the late 19th century. Alderson's grown daughter Karen (Vera Ralston, whose foreign accent is "explained" by the fact that she's been educated in Europe!) tries to dissuade her father from his ruinous path, but it is only through the villainy of crooked landgrabber Duke Lassiter (Albert Dekker) that Alderson realizes he's been all wrong about the incoming homesteaders. Only in a Republic picture would a film's supporting cast include both Maria Ouspenskaya and Gabby Hayes! This Wyoming, incidentally, is not a remake of the 1940 Columbia film of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Esther Williams moves from the swimming pool to the bull ring in this musical drama. Antonio Morales (Fortunio Bonanova) was once a champion bullfighter; now in retirement, Antonio and his wife (Mary Astor) have high hopes that their son Mario (Ricardo Montalban) will follow in his father's footsteps as a matador. However, Mario's great passion is music, and he longs to pursue a career as a composer. But there is a budding toreador in the family: Mario's sister Maria (Esther Williams), who has learned the basics of bullfighting from her sibling. Not wanting to be thought a coward, but with no desire to enter the ring, Mario allows Maria to disguise herself as him and take his place in the bullring, allowing her to compete in a traditionally male sport while Mario devotes his time to his music. Fiesta gave Ricardo Montalban his first English-speaking role, with Cyd Charisse appearing as Conchita, his love interest and dancing partner. Classical music buffs might notice that Mario's composition "Fantasia Mexican" is actually Aaron Copland's "El Salon Mexico." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The 1922 silent comedy Don't Write Letters was updated to the war years and remade as A Letter for Evie. Marsha Hunt is the title character, a girl who does her patriotic bit by sending affectionate letters to a soldier overseas. The soldier (Hume Cronyn) comes to visit on leave, accompanied by his best friend (John Carroll). Evie wants to be loyal to her pen-pal, but the pen-pal's pal is so doggone cute. Letter for Evie represents one of the earliest feature film assignments for Jules Dassin, who would eventually contribute such notable films as Rififi and Never on Sunday. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this charming episodic comedy, a giddy group of adolescent girls form a movie-star fan club. Their favorite pastime is collecting the autographs of major stars. Led by their determined president, the gals stalk the streets and train stations of New York in search of big-name stars. Their expeditions are frequently successful, and during the film they garner the John Hancocks of such stars as Lana Turner, Greer Garson, William Powell, Walter Pidgeon, and Robert Taylor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide