George W. Willoughby Movies

In this drama, David Rosen (Lee Strasberg) and his wife Becky (Ruth Gordon) have lived in the same Coney Island neighborhood for nearly all their married life. But the area is not what it used to be, and a gang leader named Strut (Kim Delgado) has decided to make Coney Island his new turf. Strut begins shaking down the merchants in the area, demanding payment for "protection" and using violence to deal with anyone who gets in his way. David refuses to give Strut protection money for the restaurant he owns, and as a result his diner is soon firebombed, while many of his neighbors are attacked and his synagogue is desecrated. When Becky dies, David decides that he can stand no more, and he plots his revenge against Strut and his underlings. Director Stephen F. Verona manages to combine a Death Wish-style revenge scenario with a mood piece that generates a very real nostalgia for what Coney Island once was -- and still is for many of the characters in this story. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Brother George (Walter Chiari) is the Italian monk who is the only one who knows the secret recipe of a popular liqueur. When he feels the local wine merchant won't give him a fair price, he moves to Australia. He meets Alfredo Brazzi (Jack Albertson) and the two agree to a partnership to make the liqueur. Alfredo is unaware George is a monk and that he sends 50% of the money back to his Italian monastery. Alfredo and his son-in-law Tim (Dave Allen) constantly try to steal the secret recipe. They recruit June (Rowena Wallace) for their underhanded cause, but she falls in love with George, also unaware of his religious calling. Finally, the Italian wine merchant travels to Sydney, willing to make a deal with Brother George. The merchant ends up paying double the price he had previously rejected in this amusing comedy. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Though based on two Edgar Allen Poe stories, Masque of the Red Death relies more upon its mood and atmosphere than its story values for its success. During a devastating 12th-century plague called "The Red Death," the decadent, devil-worshipping Prince Prospero (Vincent Price) holds court over a bizarre masked ball. Already established as a sadistic torturer, Prospero insists that his "guests" indulge in numerous depraved games, most of them ending with someone's death. Only two innocents are permitted to escape intact, but they go through the torments of the Damned to do so. Hazel Court is on hand as a Satanist who brands her breast for Price's bored amusement, while Patrick Magee is horribly burned to death by "Hop Frog" (Skip Martin), Price's demonic flunkey. The literally diabolical performance of Vincent Price is superbly complemented throughout by the crimson-dominated cinematography of Nicholas Roeg. Unlike many of Roger Corman's economical Price/Poe projects, The Masque of the Red Death boasts a generous budget, which the canny filmmaker exploits to the utmost. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this drama, set in a progressive Jamaican school, a hard working teacher endeavors to inspire a troubled young female student while simultaneously coping with his romantic troubles involving two women, a flight attendant, and the headmaster's wife who is always trying to break he and the other woman up. Not only does her jealousy affect his other relationship, it also destroys the trust between the teacher and his student, especially after the student catches him kissing the headmaster's wife. The ensuing scene causes the frightened young woman to flee into the face of a hurricane. Her death awakens the teacher who reconsiders his actions and returns to the flight attendant. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Valley of Eagles is set in northern Scandinavia, on the border between Sweden and Lapland. John McCallum stars as Swedish scientist Nils Ahlen, whose research data has been swiped by his assistant Nystrom (Anthony Dawson). Making things worse is the fact that Nystrom was aided in his perfidy by Ahlen's treacherous wife Helga (Mary Laura Wood). As he murderously pursues the thieves into the snowy wastes, Ahlen's trail is dogged by a police inspector (Jack Warner), who is sympathetic with the scientist but believes that the fugitives should be brought back alive. Nadia Gray co-stars as a pretty Laplander who offers aid and comfort to the embittered scientist. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi