Sam Zimbalist Movies

This 1959 version of Lew Wallace's best-selling novel, which had already seen screen versions in 1907 and 1926, went on to win 11 Academy Awards. Adapted by Karl Tunberg and a raft of uncredited writers including Gore Vidal and Maxwell Anderson, the film once more recounts the tale of Jewish prince Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston), who lives in Judea with his family during the time that Jesus Christ was becoming known for his "radical" teachings. Ben-Hur's childhood friend Messala (Stephen Boyd) is now an ambitious Roman tribune; when Ben-Hur refuses to help Messala round up local dissidents on behalf of the emperor, Messala pounces on the first opportunity to exact revenge on his onetime friend. Tried on a trumped-up charge of attempting to kill the provincial governor (whose head was accidentally hit by a falling tile), Ben-Hur is condemned to the Roman galleys, while his mother (Martha Scott) and sister (Cathy O'Donnell) are imprisoned. But during a sea battle, Ben-Hur saves the life of commander Quintus Arrius (Jack Hawkins), who, in gratitude, adopts Ben-Hur as his son and gives him full control over his stable of racing horses. Ben-Hur never gives up trying to find his family or exact revenge on Messala. At crucial junctures in his life, he also crosses the path of Jesus, and each time he benefits from it. The highlight of the film's 212 minutes is its now-legendary chariot race, staged largely by stunt expert Yakima Canutt. Ben-Hur's Oscar haul included Best Picture, Best Director for the legendary William Wyler, Best Actor for Heston, and Best Supporting Actor for Welsh actor Hugh Griffith as an Arab sheik. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

First filmed in 1934 with Norma Shearer, Fredric March and Charles Laughton, Rudolf Bessier's stage hit The Barretts of Wimpole Street was lavishly remade in CinemaScope and Metrocolor in 1957. This time around, Jennifer Jones stars as the beautiful invalid Elizabeth Barrett, who lives under the despotic rule of her Victorian-era father Edward Moulton Barrett (John Gielgud). Literally swept off her feet by dashing, romantic poet Robert Browning (Bill Travers), Elizabeth's hopes for happiness are dashed by her autocratic, implicitly incestuous father until Browning takes decisive action. Virginia McKenna, wife of star Bill Travers, plays Elizabeth's rebellious sister Henrietta. The Barretts of Wimpole Street was the final directorial effort of Sidney Franklin, who also helmed the 1934 version. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The catch-all title Tribute to a Bad Man had been floating around MGM for years (at one point, it was the working title for The Bad and the Beautiful) before it was finally affixed to this big-budget western. Originally intended as a vehicle for Spencer Tracy, the film was recast with James Cagney when Tracy walked out of his MGM contract. Cagney stars as no-nonsense land baron Jeremy Rodock, who plays by his own rules, his own sense of justice and his own code of honor. Young cowhand Steve Miller (Don Dubbins) learns the hard way what it means to incur Rodock's wrath when he falls in love with Jocasta Constantine (Irene Papas), whom Rodock considers his own personal property. Through the example of the even-tempered Miller, however, Rodock rediscovers his own essential humanity. The film's "money scene" takes place when Rodock punishes a group of scraggly horse thieves by forcing them to march barefoot through the sagebrush. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The 1953 Clark Gable film Mogambo is a remake of Gable's 1932 seriocomic adventure Red Dust. Where the earlier film was lensed on the MGM backlot, Mogambo was shot on location in Africa by director John Ford. Gable is safari leader Victor Marswell, who plays "host" to stranded Eloise Y. Kelly (Ava Gardner, who is no better than she ought to be but is just right for our raffish hero -- the Gardner role was originally played along franker pre-Code lines by Jean Harlow). Anthropologist Donald Nordley (Donald Sinden) hires Victor to lead him into the deepest, darkest jungle. Along for the ride is Donald's wife, Linda (Grace Kelly), outwardly cool as a cucumber but secretly harboring a lust for Victor. Scorned, Kelly tries to kill Victor, but true-blue Eloise takes the blame for the shooting. Reportedly, Grace Kelly carried on an off-camera romance with Clark Gable, which ended when the differences in their ages proved insurmountable. Even so, it is the easy rapport between Gable and Ava Gardner which stole the show in Mogambo. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Originally advertised as "Colossal Quo Vadis," this opulent MGM production is far and away the most elaborate of the many versions of Henryk Sienkiewicz's novel. The plot, as always, concerns the romance between a beautiful early Christian woman (Deborah Kerr) and the initially agnostic Roman soldier Marcus Vinicius (Robert Taylor). This love story is laid against the larger intrigues of the debauched emperor Nero (Peter Ustinov), who hopes to gain immortality by destroying Rome with a fire and remaking it in his own image. Part of Nero's master plan is the elimination of the Christian "threat," leading to the climactic lion picnics in the arena. In spite of the many more celebrated highlights (the burning of Rome, the rescue of Lygia [Deborah Kerr] from a rampaging bull, the upside-down crucifixion of Simon Peter), the scene that remains most vivid in the memory is the posthumous "final insult" delivered to Nero by his contemptuous former aide Petronius (Leo Genn). Sophia Loren can be briefly spotted as an extra during one of the crowd scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

MGM's expensive remake of the 1937 British adventure film King Solomon's Mines stars Stewart Granger as fearless-explorer Alan Quartermaine, and Deborah Kerr as the spunky Irish lass who hires him on to locate her husband. Kerr's spouse has disappeared somewhere in Africa while attempting to unearth the long-lost diamond mines of King Solomon. Quartermaine wants no part of so risky an undertaking until Kerr waves 5000 pounds of sterling under his nose. Coming upon a Watusi tribe, the explorers discover that their taciturn native bearer (Siriaque) is actually a deposed Watusi king, who intends to wrest the throne back from his usurpers. Quartermaine uses his wits to quell the natives and keep his party from being killed on the spot. The group finally reaches King Solomon's Mines, where rests the bones of Kerr's late husband. The ending of this version of King Solomon's Mines doesn't pack the same ironic punch as the climax of the 1937 version, but this MGMization is more concerned with the blossoming romance between the leading man and leading lady than with full fidelity to the H. Rider Haggard novel on which it is based. King Solomon's Mines was filmed on location in Africa, which proved an excellent decision in the long run: for several years afterward, MGM adventure films like Watusi (1959) and Trader Horn (1973) were able to economically lift huge chunks of Technicolor stock footage from King Solomon's Mines. The property would be remade once more in 1985, this time as an Indiana Jones rip-off starring Richard Chamberlain and Sharon Stone. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A middle-aged Clark Gable returned from active duty in World War II to star in this MGM release that was heavily advertised as his big comeback. Gable is Harry Patterson, the bosun mate on a merchant marine vessel, a tough sailor and fighter with the proverbial girl in every port. But while in a San Francisco library, looking up a book on the human soul for his sidekick Mudgin (Thomas Mitchell), who thinks his soul has departed his body, Harry meets librarian Emily Sears (Greer Garson), whom he woos, marries, and leaves to sail off on another freighter. When he returns, Emily has retreated to an old farm to await the birth of their child. Harry continues to resent staying in one place, but he ultimately changes his tune when his baby's life hangs in the balance. Garson and Joan Blondell, playing her outspoken best friend, are both terrific, and Gable gives a less heroic performance that's a thoughtful change for him, although critics at the time were less than charitable. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

Like the John Steinbeck novel on which it is based, Tortilla Flat is not so much a movie as a series of warm-hearted anecdotes, all linked to a small California fishing village populated by poor but happy immigrants. The focus is upon Pilon (Spencer Tracy), a good-natured, charismatic freeloader, and Danny (John Garfield), a hot-headed fisherman who is dragged kicking and screaming into the world of personal responsibility when he inherits two small houses. As Pilon toys with the notion of stealing the nest egg saved up by an old man known as "the Pirate" (Frank Morgan), Danny tries to spark a romance with sexy cannery worker Dolores "Sweets" Ramirez (Hedy Lamarr). Abandoning the robbery plans when he learns that the Pirate intends to use his money to purchase a candlestick for St. Francis, Pilon turns his attentions to stealing Sweets away from Danny. But when Danny is injured in a drunken fight, the mercurial Pilon switches gears again, devoting his energies to bringing Danny and Sweets back together. Of the film's many highlights, standouts include the surprisingly effective "straight" performance by comic actor Frank Morgan (for which he received an Oscar nomination), and the seemingly improvised songfest between Spencer Tracy and John Garfield. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this comedy/drama, a feisty taxi-dancer (Lana Turner in her first starring role) takes on a sorority full of snooty debutantes after an equally snobbish Ivy Leaguer (Lew Ayres) who goes on a bender, meets her and invites her to his school's annual weekend bash. The next day, the fellow forgets all about the invite. When the party begins, the low-class girl shows up. The fellow then warns her that the catty debutante crowd will gleefully unsheathe their claws and rip her to shreds. The taxi-dancer is not so easily frightened and not only stays, she also stands up to every one of the wicked sorority sisters. She then gets sweet revenge by making herself the most popular girl of the weekend. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

It's "Never the Twain Shall Meet" time again in the MGM romantic melodrama Lady of the Tropics. The lady in question is half-caste Manon De Vargnes (Hedy Lamarr), a resident of prewar Saigon. American playboy Bill Carey (Robert Taylor) falls madly in love with Manon, but both have their crosses to bear: she is affianced to an Indochinese prince, and he is unable to secure a passport to bring her back to the United States. Adding to the dilemma is influential bureaucrat Pierre Delaroch (Joseph Schildkraut), who agrees to arrange an exit visa for Manon in exchange for a few "favors." Nothing good can come from this, and nothing does. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Not a remake of the 1932 James Cagney vehicle of the same name, The Crowd Roars is set in the sweat-stained world of professional boxing. Handy with his fists, young Tommy McCoy (Robert Taylor) is virtually pushed into the ring by his alcoholic father Brian (Frank Morgan). During his climb to the championship, Tommy accidentally kills one of his opponents in the ring, and is thereafter tagged "Killer McCoy". He then falls in with crooked gambling czar Jim Cain (Edward Arnold), who uses various methods of persuasion to get Tommy to do his bidding. Though the film at first seems to holding the fickle fight fans responsible for the cesspool that professional boxing had become by 1938, the blame is ultimately laid squarely on the shoulders of men like Jim Cain. The Crowd Roars was remade by Mickey Rooney as Killer McCoy (1947). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Directed by Edwin L. Marin, Married Before Breakfast follows the hectic life of young inventor Tom Wakefield (Robert Young). After a leading razor company pays Wakefield (Young) $250,000 in order for him not to publicize his latest invention, a hair-removing shaving cream that rendors razors useless, he takes his socialite fiance June Baylin (June Clayworth) on a glamorous world cruise. June (Clayworth) hopes Tom's (Young) newfound wealth will encourage him to settle down, but Tom is determined to improve the lives those around him, including steamship employee Kitty Brent's (Florence Rice) romantic relationship. Informing Kitty (Rice) she'll be married by noon the next morning, Tom throws himself into a heap of trouble, loses June in the process, and nearly ends up in jail. Somewhere within the fiasco, Tom and Kitty realize it's each other they love. Kitty is married by noon the next morning--to Tom. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Produced under the working title The Capture of Tarzan, Tarzan Escapes was completely refilmed before release, eviscerating several blood-curdling sequences involving killer pygmies, torture murders and vampire bats. Wearing considerably more clothing than in 1934's Tarzan and His Mate, Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) and Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan) have taken up residence in their gadget-laden treehouse, replete with animal-powered elevator. Two of Jane's British relatives (Benita Hume and Willam Henry) come calling, together with an underhanded hunter (Hugh Buckler) who plans to kidnap Tarzan and put him on display in London. The Lord of the Jungle is briefly subdued, but escapes just in time to rescue Jane and her family from hostile natives, who practice the jolly ritual of spread-eagling their victims between two bent trees, then splitting the unfortunates in two (a harrowing but tastefully filmed sequence, later excerpted in 1941's Tarzan's Secret Treasure). Other than this grisly finale, Tarzan Escapes was strictly family fare. The familial aspects of the film extended into the film's credits; among the screenwriters were John Farrow, husband of leading lady Maureen O'Sullivan, and Cyril Hume, brother of supporting actress Benita Hume. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi