Melville Tucker Movies
- 1984
- PG
In yet another rubber-stamped, mid-'80s teen dancing film, hot on the success of Flashdance, a group of high schoolers called the "Adventurers Eight" from Sandusky, Ohio (known by Midwest teens for its large amusement park), decide to undertake a journey to New York City to enter the Big Showdown, a dance competition with corporate sponsors. As though Sandusky were somehow insulated from the teen culture that otherwise spreads new trends like wildfire, these teens are not aware of the latest dance crazes on the streets of New York, something they pick up while in the city. But misfortune strikes, and they lose their one connection to entering the big contest. They then have to survive the usual con artists or worse -- look for another way to get into the competition. If this script had been rehauled by teens familiar with their real language and attitudes, then the title Fast Forward would apply more to the action in the movie than the remote control. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Scott Clough, Don Franklin, (more)
Gene Wilder stars as Michael Jordon, an architect on the run from false murder charges, who hooks up with Kate Hellman (Gilda Radner), the sister of a recent suicide victim. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Wilder, Gilda Radner, (more)
After the excellent audience response to their teaming in Silver Streak, Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor reunited for this zany comedy. Wilder and Pryor play a couple of out-of-work numbskulls who take a promotional job that requires them to dress up like gigantic woodpeckers. Unfortunately, a pair of thieves, likewise decked out in woodpecker suits, pull off a bank job not long after Wilder and Pryor make their first public appearance. The boys are arrested and sentenced to 120 years each (at this point, we know we're not dealing with real life). After a concerted (and hilarious) effort to make the best of things "in stir," Wilder and Pryor break out of jail, hoping to track down the genuine thieves. The mess never really works itself out, suggesting that perhaps the stars had a Stir Crazy II lurking in the recesses of their minds. Written by Bruce Jay Friedman and directed by Sidney Poitier, it never did spawn a sequel, though a TV series spin-off, starring Larry Riley and Joseph Guzaldo, briefly surfaced in 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor, (more)
Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier, co-stars of the comic capers Uptown Saturday Night and Let's Do It Again, team up again for this socially conscious comedy-adventure. This time out, Poitier and Cosby play Manny Durrell and Dave Anderson, Windy City con artists with a long history of cheating crooks who rip off the poor. They are blackmailed by retired cop Joshua Burke (James Earl Jones) into "giving back to the community." Manny and Dave soon find themselves posing as career counselors for a group of surly inner-city youths at a local community center. Despite the efforts of such unruly kids as class clown Gerald (Eric Laneuville) and bitter Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph), Manny actually begins to take pride in the help he's giving to his students. Soon, though, he's forced to deal with two additional obstacles: the arrival of his girlfriend's obnoxious parents (Gammy Burdett and Wonderful Smith) and the attentions of a local mobster (Titos Vandis) upset that he's been had. As with his previous Cosby collaborations, Poitier directed A Piece of the Action, whose cast also includes Denise Nicholas as a community center leader, Tracy Reed as Manny's girlfriend, Nikki, and Ja'net DuBois as Nikki's tipsy aunt, Nellie. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hope Clarke, Bill Cosby, (more)
A pair of blue-collar buddies use hypnosis to turn a wimpy boxer into a champ in this crime comedy, which reunites actor/director Sidney Poitier and comedian Bill Cosby, stars of the similarly themed Uptown Saturday Night. Clyde Williams (Poitier) and Billy Foster (Cosby) want to help raise funds to sustain the Sons and Daughters of Shaka Lodge, their local community group. Given that Clyde was trained as a hypnotist while in the military, the pair decide to con mobster Biggie Smalls (Calvin Lockhart) by placing a high-stakes bet on a boxing match and then using hocus-pocus to transform skinny underdog Bootney Farnsworth (Jimmie Walker) into a bruiser. When Biggie finds out about their ruse, he and his thugs move in to reclaim their money, setting the stage for further laughs and sleight-of-hand. With a supporting cast that includes Denise Nicholas and Lee Chamberlin as the protagonists' wives and Ossie Davis as an elder at their lodge, Let's Do It Again also reunited Good Times stars Walker and John Amos to the silver screen. Cosby and Poitier would return two years later with A Piece of the Action, though Lockhart, another veteran of Uptown Saturday Night, would sit out the final team-up. Hip-hop fans will note that Lockhart's character provided one of the aliases for slain '90s rap star Christopher Wallace, also known as the Notorious B.I.G. The soundtrack for Let's Do It Again featured Curtis Mayfield songs performed by the the Staple Singers. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, (more)
Uptown Saturday Night is a delightful comedy directed by and starring Sidney Poitier. Steve Jackson (Sidney Poitier) is a factory worker. One evening, when boredom gets the best of him, Steve and his pal Wardell (Bill Cosby) decide to go to an underground gambling club to have some fun. While they are there the place is held-up and Steve's wallet is stolen. When Steve and Wardell learn that the wallet contains a winning lottery ticket, the friends go on a desperate search to find it. Shape Eye Washington (Richard Prior), an incompetent private eye, is enlisted to aid them in their search through the criminal underworld where they come up against Geechie Dan Beauford (Harry Belafonte) the mobster who runs the town. Belafonte, in a hilarious parody of Marlon Brando in The Godfather, steals the show. The movie was a huge success and led to two sequels, Let's Do It Again and A Piece of the Action, both also directed by Poitier. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, (more)
- 1973
- PG
The second directorial effort from Academy award-winning actor Sidney Poitier, this romantic drama is about widowed American doctor Matt Younger (Poitier) who travels to London with his daughter, Stefanie (Yvette Curtis). There, he meets Catherine (Esther Anderson), the daughter of African Ambassador George Oswandu (Earl Cameron). A romance develops between them, and Dr. Younger realizes that the strange men that follow Catherine around have been hired by her father in order to keep an eye on her sickle cell anemia. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Poitier, Esther Anderson, (more)
- 1969
- PG
Jason Higgs (Sidney Poitier) is an angry black man who plans to rob a factory payroll. With the help of his accomplices Dennis (Al Freeman Jr.) and his white girlfriend Cathy (Joanna Shimkus), a racially motivated demonstration diverts attention from the crooks while they rob the safe. Jason is somewhat of a modern-day Robin Hood who wishes to use the money to help the children of incarcerated soul brothers. He only places his hope in the youth who have not been sullied or scalded by the hatred of racial prejudice. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- 1954
Tony Curtis always seemed a little uncomfortable in costume epics, but this trait serves him well in Black Shield of Falworth. Based on the robust novel Men of Iron by Howard Pyle, the film casts Curtis as Miles, the son of a disgraced knight. Through the sponsorship of the Earl of Mackworth Herbert Marshall, Miles is trained for knighthood, an arduous process that earns him the ridicule of his fellow trainees, who regard him as little better than a peasant. Eventually, Miles proves his mettle by squelching a plan to oust King Henry IV Ian Keith from the throne of England. On a more personal level, Miles carries on a romance with Mackworth's daughter Lady Anne Janet Leigh, while Miles' sister Meg Barbara Rush finds happiness in the arms of knight-in-training Francis Gascoyne Craig Hill. The heavy of the piece is the Earl of Alban David Farrar, whom Miles must ultimately face down in a well-directed climactic set-to. Torin Thatcher, who'd previously costarred with Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh in Houdini, delivers another topnotch characterization as the no-nonsense trainer of Miles and his fellow aspirant knights. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, (more)
- 1954
Audie Murphy is at his taciturn best in the Universal western Drums Along the River. Murphy is cast as Gary Brannon, a peaceful homesteader living a quiet existence with his father Sam (Walter Brennan). No-account Frank Walker (Lyle Bettger), hoping to open up the Ute Indian territory for gold-mining purposes, tries to foment a war between the Utes and the local whites. As an added filip, he steals a gold shipment and pins the blame on Brannon. Now a fugitive from justice, Brannon joins Walker's gang, much to his father's dismay. Actually, it's all part of a plan to expose Walker's perfidy and prevent Ute hostilities, but no one knows this until Brannon wants them to. Jay Silverheels, best known as Tonto on TV's Lone Ranger, co-stars as Ute warrior Taos. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Audie Murphy, Walter Brennan, (more)
- 1951
The Rodeo King and the Senorita stars Rex Allen (playing himself); it shouldn't be necessary to indicate which of the title roles he plays. In this Republic sagebrusher, Allen tries to determine whether or not a fatal accident was truly accidental. The victim's preteen daughter is Juanita Morales (Bonnie De Simone), the titular Senorita who now legally owns the Wild West show which employs singing cowboy Allen. With the help of heroine Janet Wells (Mary Ellen Kay) and sidekick Muscles Benton (Buddy Ebsen), Allen discovers who was behind the death of Juanita's father, and why. With such powerhouse villains as Roy Barcroft and Tris Coffin in the cast, the mystery is over almost before it begins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rex Allen, Mary Ellen Kay, (more)
- 1951
Rex Allen, aka "The Arizona Cowboy," again stars as himself in Republic's Silver City Bonanza. Allen and his sidekick Gabe Horne (Buddy Ebsen) are hot on the trail of a murderer who has stabbed a blind man to death. Their chief witness is the victim's seeing-eye dog, who is a better actor than some of the human players. The finale is an exciting underwater set-to between Allen and the killer (whose identity will remain hidden for the benefit of those who haven't seen the picture). The teaming of Rex Allen and Buddy Ebsen proved successful, and the two actors would remain saddle pals until Ebsen was spelled by Slim Pickens in 1952. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buddy Ebsen, Mary Ellen Kay, (more)
- 1951
"Arizona Cowboy" Rex Allen and his faithful horse Koko head the cast of Republic's Utah Wagon Train. Allen plays a modern-day cowpoke who agrees to shepherd a group of Easterners along the same route used by a long-ago wagon train. The purpose is to hopefully locate a fortune in gold, left behind by the original pilgrims. There's something suspicious about the whole enterprise: for starters, Rex's uncle is killed just before he was to join the expedition. The plot gradually evolves into a murder mystery, complete with the Least Likely Suspect who turns out to be the killer. Penny Edwards co-stars as the pert heroine who instigates the reconstructed wagon train, while Buddy Ebsen once more proves to be a suitable sidekick for the personable Rex Allen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rex Allen, Penny Edwards, (more)
- 1951
Republic singing cowboy Rex Allen is once again teamed with bucolic Buddy Ebsen in Thunder in God's Country. This contemporary western casts Ebsen and Harry Lauter as WW II pals who meet for a reunion in a corruption-ridden community. When a murder occurs, the former servicemen immediately fall under suspicion. Coming to the rescue is Allen, a professional artist on assignment in the West. Our Hero soon learns that the key to the mystery is a taped recording of the genuine killer. Well, one can't say that Thunder in God's Country didn't at least try to be different. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rex Allen, Mary Ellen Kay, (more)
- 1950
Breaking from the Republic tradition, cowboy star Monte Hale does not play a character named Monte Hale in The Old Frontier. Instead, Hale is cast as town marshal Barney Regan. It is Barney's formidable task to round up a gang of bank robbers and expose the "Mr. Big" behind all the robberies. Some novelty value is provided by comical sidekick Paul Hurst, here cast as a seafaring man named Skipper Horton, who insists upon imposing his nautical vernacular on every frontiersman he meets. The villainy is in the capable (if unwashed) hands of Tristam Coffin and William Haade. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monte Hale, Paul Hurst, (more)
- 1950
Despite its somewhat lofty, Zane Grey-flavored title, The Vanishing Westerner is a modest Republic western, off and on the screen in about an hour. Cowboy hero Monte Hale is accused of the murder of sheriff Arthur Space. The principal accuser is Space's look-alike British cousin, who stirs the townsfolk into a lynch-mob mentality. While on the run, Hale discovers that the "murder" sheriff was never dead in the first place; he's disguised himself as his own cousin, in order to cover up his criminal activities with bandit Roy Barcroft. With the help of his grizzled sidekick Paul Hurst, Hale brings the villains to justice and clears his name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monte Hale, Paul Hurst, (more)
- 1950
Singer-bandleader Vaughn ("Racing with the Moon") Monroe made a tentative stab at movie stardom in 1950. Singing Guns casts Monroe as western outlaw Rhiannon, who robs from the rich and keeps it. Rhiannon's particular target is a gold mine that he feels rightfully belongs to him. Whether it does or doesn't, it takes three people -- saloon gal Nan Morgan (Ella Raines), doctor/minister Dr. Mark (Walter Brennan) and sheriff Caradac (Ward Bond) -- to capture Our Hero. Though he's a passable actor, Monroe's strong suit remains his mellow baritone, which he displays in four different musical numbers, one of which is his Hit-Parade success "Mule Train." Singing Guns is based very loosely on a novel by Max Brand. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vaughn Monroe, Ella Raines, (more)
- 1950
This Monte Hale western casts the tall-in-the-saddle hero as a wandering cavalier who strikes a blow for tolerance. Hale is sheriff of a jerkwater frontier town where Polish/American Robert Neil is treated with contempt by certain prejudiced townsfolk. Neil's kinsman Roy Barcroft comes to town with the intent of pulling off a robbery. Implicated in the crime, Neil is cleared by Hale, who also makes a heartfelt speech against judging one by his heritage. As in all of his Republic program westerns, Monte Hale is given an opportunity to sing in The Missourians, though in this case the musical elements take a back seat to the story and its moral. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monte Hale, Paul Hurst, (more)
- 1950
Under Mexicali Stars spotlights Republic's newest singing cowboy, Rex Allen. Our hero plays a U.S. treasury agent, hot on the trail of gold smugglers. It's a plot as old as the movies itself, but Allen was a fresh new personality in 1950, thus the film takes on some of his freshness. Besides, the methods utilized by the smugglers are intriguing, especially to the coin collectors in the audiences. Republic's all-purpose leading lady Dorothy Patrick co-stars. Under Mexicali Stars manages to evenly balance its action highlights and musical numbers, to everyone's satisfaction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rex Allen, Dorothy Patrick, (more)
- 1949
An above-average entry in Republic Pictures' fine Monte Hale series, this Western was directed by John Ford's nephew, Philip Ford. Hale stars as legendary lawman Pat Garrett, here winning the Fourth of July buckboard race in a small Nevada town against the unscrupulous Fred Smith (Ted Mapes) and pretty Lavinia White (Jeff Donnell). Lavinia blames Garrett for sending her pa, Ivory White (John Gallaudet), to jail for robbing 100,000 dollars. White, who has stashed the loot away someplace, is about to be released and plans to return the money to the express office for the sake of his children, Lavinia and Chad (Tommy Ivo). Nasty Jim Judd (Roy Barcroft), however, forces Lavinia to help him rob the coach carrying Ivory and the money, counting on the fact that White will keep quiet for his daughter's sake. Garrett's sudden appearance ruins the plan and Ivory is able to make good on his promise. Not about to say goodbye to a windfall, Judd breaks into the express office safe and takes off with the loot, kidnapping little Chad White along the way. The villain chooses a wagon loaded with explosive for his getaway vehicle, but the pursuing Garret manages to rescue the boy just as the wagon explodes. Hale, whose hero has absolutely nothing to do with the historical Garrett, is fine and even makes his crooning of "I Wish I Was a Boy Again" seem less out of place than could be expected. But the studio's public enemy number one, Roy Barcroft, at his despicable best, easily steals the show, going as far as using spunky little Tommy Ivo to get what he wants. Close behind him is Hollywood's perennial undertaker, the cadaverous Milton Parsons, here playing a crooked express office clerk with a phony British accent. The comedy relief is provided by yet another veteran Bad Guy, Paul Hurst, as an absent-minded barber-dentist. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monte Hale, Paul Hurst, (more)
- 1949
Many observers felt that western star Monte Hale finally hit his stride with Law of the Golden West. This time, Hale plays young William Cody in his pre-Buffalo Bill days. When his wagon train is raided by bandits and his father is killed, Cody doggedly pursues the villains, with only a hotel-room key as a clue to the head culprit's identity. The bad guys include John Holland as a well-Educated easterner with a predilection for quoting Shakespeare to his nonplussed henchmen (including the inevitable Roy Barcroft) Gail Davis, who went on to play TV's Annie Oakley, is Hale's spirited leading lady, while Paul Hurst provides chuckles as a grizzled hotelier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monte Hale, Paul Hurst, (more)
- 1949
Singing cowboy Monte Hale rides back into view in Republic's South of Rio. Borrowing a page from Hollywood's gangster-flick lexicon, Hale tackles a group of protection racketeers who were responsible for his dishonorable discharge from the Arizona Rangers. Making things dicey is the fact that one of the gang members (Douglas Kennedy) is Monte's own brother. The fact that Roy Barcroft is the head of the crooks comes as no surprise; it is surprising, however, to find traditional comic relief Paul Hurst in a relatively straight role as a newspaper reporter. South of Rio was one of several Monte Hale starrers directed by Philip Ford, the nephew of John Ford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monte Hale, Kay Christopher, (more)
- 1949
Monte Hale stars in the Republic oater Pioneer Marshal. This time, Hale is cast as Ted Post, a Texas marshal who's on the trail of embezzler Larry Forester (Myron Healey). His search takes him to a remote frontier town that serves as an outlaw hideaway. All previous lawmen have been disposed of by town boss Bruce Burnett (Damian O'Flynn), who demands a hefty price for his services. By travelling incognito, Post manages to escape detection by Burnett -- at least for five reels. Pioneer Marshal is capped by one of the most fascinating variations on the traditional hero-villain shootout ever conceived for a "B" western. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monte Hale, Paul Hurst, (more)
- 1949
Singing cowboy Monte Hale was relying more on action than songs by the time he starred in Republic's Prince of the Plains. Hale is cast as none other than Bat Masterson, who in this film is in the process of becoming a famed gunslinger. The reason for this metamorphosis is the brutal murder of a banker by a crooked photographer (Rory Mallinson). Masterson recognizes the villain as a member of the gang responsible for the death of his own father, and the guns start a-blazin'. Republic "regulars" Roy Barcroft and Lane Bradford do their usual, while Shirley Davis proves feminine appeal. Unlike the previous season's Monte Hale vehicles, Prince of the Plains was lensed in black-and-white rather than color, providing the film with an aura of gritty austerity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monte Hale, Paul Hurst, (more)
- 1949
Republic singing cowboy Monte Hale headlines San Antone Ambush. It's the usual melange of fast action, black-hearted villains and blazing guns, expertly assembled by veteran western helmsman Philip Ford. Hale plays an Army officer who investigates the robbery charges levelled against rancher Clint Wheeler (James B. Cardwell). The crimes are actually the handiwork of crooked federal commissioner Roberts (who else but Roy Barcroft). Evidently Hale was trying to shed his musical image, since he doesn't sing at all in the film's 60 minutes. Director Ford's father Francis Ford (brother of John) shows up in a supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
