Anthony Caruso Movies

Veteran boxing trainer Jimmy West (played by Robert Armstrong of King Kong fame) thinks he's finally found a "golden boy" in the form of young pugilist Davey Carroll (a young, pre-2001 Gary Lockwood). But sports promoter Tod Richards (Mark Roberts) also wants control of Danny, and is willing to resort to any means, fair or foul, to get what he wants. When Richards turns up dead, Perry Mason enters the ring to defend West from a charge of first-degree murder. Seen in a very small role is Mae Clarke, immortalized as the recipient of James Cagney's grapefruit in the 1931 gangster drama Public Enemy; ironically, Ms. Clarke and Robert Armstrong had previously shared costar billing in 1932's The Penguin Pool Murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Essentially a chase film from beginning to end, this standard adventure yarn by director Ronald Neame is set in "Zahrain," a barely-disguised Middle Eastern nation. Sharif (Yul Brynner) is a rebel who has taken up arms against the country's corrupt government and the forces of Western imperialism. Now he and a small party of supporters (one a kidnapped woman about to become a supporter) take off across the desert with soldiers in hot pursuit. As the group flees through untamed country, there are brief moments of respite but no immediate escape in sight. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Flamboyant mob chief Eddie Candell (Ron Randell), who was framed for murder by jealous associate Andy Damon (Anthony Caruso), makes a break while on his way to the death house. Fleeing across the desert, he suddenly finds himself on an atomic testing range, just as an experimental bomb goes off. Instead of being killed instantly, Eddie is bombarded by radiation from Cobalt Isotope X, a newly discovered element that leaves him alive but transformed -- reacting to the radiation and the steel of the handcuffs on his wrists, his body takes on the hardness of steel and can absorb the metal on contact, including any bullets that might be fired at him. In addition to making him all but indestructible, the mutation gives Eddie the strength of ten men, which he uses to tear his way through the ranks of his former associates, terrorizing the woman (Debra Paget) who betrayed him and crushing the life out of anyone who gets in his way as he tries to get to Damon. However, his psyche has been affected as well; he was already consumed by a desire for revenge, but he slowly loses any ability to perceive pleasure or compassion as he slowly transforms into a kind of living metal and the body count around him rises. Only Carla Angelo (Elaine Stewart), his girlfriend and also a genuinely "nice" girl, can reach him, and she must decide whether to help to try and save him or to destroy him. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

In the concluding episode of Walt Disney's four-part miniseries based on the life of frontiersman Daniel Boone, several members of Boone's wagon train are angered when Daniel (Dewey Martin) orders them to lighten their loads so they can negotiate the mountains and have turned back to North Carolina. Only a tiny band of faithful followers remain with Daniel and his family as they begin the last leg of the arduous journey to Kentucky. Alas, once again the wagoneers are attacked by vengeance-seeking Indian chief Crowfeather (Dean Fredericks), who has a personal score to settle with Daniel. "The Promised Land" originally aired as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As a reward for saving Ben Cartwright's life, an Indian named Matsou (Ricardo Montalban) is given a small parcel of Ponderosa land. Ben's Indian-hating neighbor Ike Daggett (Karl Swenson) violently objects to Matsou's presence. When his wife is killed in a raid, Daggett, holding Matsou responsible, and kills the Indian's wife (Madlyn Rhue) in retaliation. Written by R. Hamer Norris and Leonard Heideman, "Day of Reckoning" first aired October 22, 1960. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bret (James Garner) is hired by pretty Connie Coleman to protect her ranch's cattle drive to Abilene. While our hero has his hands full with Indians and such, poor Connie sells her herd for several thousand dollars--in counterfeit money. None too pleased that all his work is for naught, Bret sets about to catch the counterfeiter and make him fork over some genuine greenbacks. And yes, that timid, somewhat chubby youngster playing Connie's brother is indeed a 23-year-old Robert Redford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) dispatches his team to Calum City, a mob-controlled town 30 miles south of Chicago (and obviously based on the real-life Calumet City), when honest mayoral candidate Leon Zabo (Raymond Greenleaf) dies in a suspicious accident. Zabo's demise was actually ordered by Guido Morelli (Anthony Caruso), who controls all gambling activities in Calum City. With the help of Zabo's duaghter Rosetta (Gail Kobe), Ness sets in motion a plan to break Morelli by getting hold of his incriminating financial records--and this time he isn't above using some slightly unethical methods to sweat the truth out of secondary hoodlum Nick Bravo (Jack Elam). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Only one of three films directed by screenwriter Charles Lederer, known for movies as disparate as The Thing (1951) and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), this crime comedy-drama-musical obviously defies categorization. Mixing James Cagney as a gangster out to control a big union, with musical numbers and cute songs is about like mixing onions and vanilla pudding. Jake MacIllaney (Cagney) wants to be elected president of Longshoreman's union 26 and, being a top mob boss, is used to getting his way. He is not past almost any stunt or method of coercion to get votes. Dan Cabot (Roger Smith) is Jake's lawyer, and after Jake meets Cabot's wife Linda (Shirley Jones), he sets his sights on conquering her affections. Disregard the husband, he can be taken care of. Setting this to music introduces some entertaining songs (I'm Sorry -- I Want a Ferrari) but the seriousness of the mobster's immorality and power is hard to reconcile with a perky tune about not stealing the small stuff. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Unscrupulous trader Mike Wilson (Jack Warden molests two Paiute Indian women, then manages to place the blame on Adam Cartwright. This incident, added to others sparked by Wilson, mushrooms into a full-scale war between the Paiutes and the California Militia. In the thick of the hostilities, the Indians take Adam hostage. Also appearing are Anthony Caruso as Chief Winnemuca and Mike Forrest as the Chief's son. First telecast October 3, 1959, "The Paiute War" was written by Gene L. Coon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this western, an embittered cavalry sergeant must take over his regiment after their commanding officer is killed during an ambush. To save them, he leads the troop through Apache territory because it is the quickest way to reach the fort. The members of the regiment do not trust their new leader's reasoning. They suspect he is taking them through the restricted territory so that he can get revenge upon the Apaches who killed his wife and kids several years ago. The troop find themselves suffering a series of increasingly deadly attacks. Many die, until the soldiers, believing that the sergeant has lost his mind, rebel and kill him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Produced by Alan Ladd's own Jaguar company, The Big Land stars Ladd as Texas cattleman Morgan. As a means to expedite shipment of his stock to Missouri, Morgan convinces several Kansas farmers to build a small town as a railroad link between the Rio Grande and Kansas City. He is opposed in this by crooked cattle buyer Brog (Anthony Caruso), who realizes that any speed-up of Morgan's shipments will increase livestock prices. Surprisingly, Alan Ladd seems tired and listless throughout the proceedings; in fact, Virginia Mayo, cast as a saloon hall gal, delivers the film's liveliest performance. Still, the Ladd name brought in plenty of business, encouraging the star to stick with westerns well into the next decade. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fittingly directed by Illinois native and bad-guy filmmaker Don Siegel, this action-packed film stars Mickey Rooney as the unflinching, trigger-happy member of the infamous Dillinger gang that besieged the Midwest circa 1933. Rooney is Lester "Baby Face Nelson" Gillis and Carolyn Jones his gun moll, Sue, in this fictionalized tale of a scrawny street tough turned psychotic gangster. After being released from prison, Nelson goes to work for mob boss Rocca (Ted De Corsia), who eventually recognizes that a madman is in his service and turns him in to the cops. Managing to elude capture, Nelson kills Rocca and takes Sue with him. He then joins Dillinger's gang in a series of savage robberies, obliterating anyone who gets in his way. Inevitably, FBI agents ambush and injure Nelson, who finally admits his own ruthlessness to himself and Sue, conceding that he would even murder children if necessary. He orders Sue to kill him before he commits any more savage acts. This is a coarse and deliberately aggressive film, distinguished by Rooney's frenzied performance as an unruly and deranged criminal. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

A tall horseman (Jock Mahoney) rides into the small town of Arborville, deserted except for redheaded Jody (Luana Patten), who's uncomfortable about it. Outside town, the rider finds all the townspeople working on an oil rig on a small ranch. They're led by Cal Moore (Charles McGraw), and include brothers Aaron (Claude Akins) and Adam Grant (Lee Van Cleef). The stranger asks a few questions, rousing the ire of the hot-tempered brothers, who toss him into a pool of oil. Glossy black but unconcerned, the stranger ambles out and rides back to town. Jody helps him clean up, so he tells her he has come to meet an old Indian who lived on the property where the oil well now is; he's clearly surprised when she refers to the old man, now missing, as Joe Dakota. Meanwhile, the townspeople gather, and we learn that Cal is a newcomer to town, an oil expert who decided to cast his lot with Arborville. We also learn that something happened to the old Indian, and that the townspeople were involved. The townspeople later are horrified when the stranger announces that he owns the land where the oil well is, and that his name is Joe Dakota.

Later, Jody comes to see Joe at the ranch, and reveals that the old man was her friend; she often came out to visit him. Joe tells her that the old man, whom he'd known well some years before, had simply borrowed his name. Jody says that the last time she'd visited the old Indian, he'd been drunk and had attacked (but not raped) her. Egged on by Cal, the townspeople had lynched him. The next day, Joe hangs a noose on the Arborville town sign, and puts a cross on the old man's grave. He explains that he was a captain in the infantry, and the old man was the finest scout he'd ever known. Everyone gathers at the oil well, where Joe explains that it was Cal who had attacked Jody, framing the old man for the crime to get the town to lynch him. He and Cal have a fight, but the townspeople, ashamed of what they've done, side with Joe.

Universal-International turned out quite a number of well-down, medium-budget westerns in the late 1950s, often starring Audie Murphy. This time, however, the lead is former stuntman Jock Mahoney, whom the studio was trying to groom as a star; his easy-going but very masculine personality made him ideal for roles such as this. The movie, co-written by Perry Mason's "Hamilton Burger," (William Talman), seems to owe something to Bad Day at Black Rock, but the plot works well in this context, too. There are good small details, like a wine store instead of a saloon, the town's beloved water trough, and the stranger's midnight shave. Richard H. Bartlett's direction is as low-key as the movie -- scarcely a shot is fired, and few wear guns -- and as likable. Joe Dakota is "just another movie," but it's a very good example of its long-gone kind. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide