Joan Caulfield Movies
"I happen to be darn lucky that I photograph well in Technicolor," peaches-and-cream complexioned Joan Caulfield readily admitted, having just romped through Paramount's Blue Skies (1946), opposite Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, and the equally colorful Monsieur Beaucaire (1946), with Bob Hope. One of those sexually non-threatening blondes who decorated postwar Hollywood escapism, Caulfield had been a model for Harry Conover when discovered by Broadway producer George Abbott, who cast her in the lead of Kiss and Tell (1943), a typical piece of Americana that lasted a whopping 480 performances and turned the novice into a hot commodity. She signed a contract with Paramount and went on to decorate a series of rather bland musical extravaganzas (her time-stepping with Astaire in Blue Skies is hardly memorable) and comedies. Warner Bros. borrowed her for The Unsuspected (1947), a pale imitation of Laura (1944) with Caulfield as the girl who returns from the grave, so to speak. But cast against such scene-stealers as Audrey Totter and Constance Bennett -- not to mention an especially hammy Claude Rains -- a star-billed Caulfield found herself thoroughly upstaged.She was much better suited to playing the title role in Dear Ruth (1947), from Norman Krasna's Broadway hit, and offers a restrained performance as the girl whose enterprising kid sister (Mona Freeman) mails her likeness to an Army lieutenant (William Holden) based overseas. The popular comedy spawned two sequels, Dear Wife (1950) and Dear Brat (1951), but Caulfield's role was eliminated in the latter. Cinematically, the 1950s proved anticlimactic and Caulfield mainly appeared in films produced by her husband (from 1950), Frank Ross, but she was a success on the small screen, especially opposite Barry Nelson on My Favorite Husband. Much to her later regret, she left the situation comedy in 1954 when film replaced live performances and it would be Vanessa Brown who went on to receive rerun residuals. Another attempt for sitcom stardom, the self-produced Sally struggled on for a season or so before being canceled in 1958.
Like so many of her contemporaries, Caulfield turned up in A.C. Lyles' Westerns in the 1960s, earned fourth billing in the equally retro The Daring Dobermans (1973), and, now a mature character player, decorated such popular television shows as High Chaparral, Baretta, and, inevitably, Murder She Wrote. An unspectacular actress, Joan Caulfield is nevertheless fondly remembered for adding a bit of dignity and Dresden doll beauty to the immediate postwar years, a nice and comforting counterpoint to the often fatal femmes that defined the era. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
An interesting bit of casting enlivens this psycho-thriller set in a California boarding house run by eccentric Karen Black with a rogue's gallery of bizarre tenants and more dark secrets than the Bates Motel. Tenants have a habit of disappearing rather abruptly from this particular residence -- but not without first signing over their Social Security checks to the landlady, netting her a tidy fortune. This leads to the inevitable visit from a federal agent (Arte Johnson), who begins an investigation into Black's shady affairs, and uncovers the true identity of the killer. Despite presenting Black as a blatant red herring from the outset, the filmmakers manage to provide a few interesting twists, though they eventually stray a bit too deeply into Psycho turf. A cast full of familiar faces (including Virginia Mayo, Martine Beswick and Michael Berryman) tends to counterbalance the occasional moments of sleaziness, but there is little originality to distinguish the film from standard slasher fare. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1987
When Mary Rose Welch (Joan Caulfield) is injured in a car accident, she prevails upon Jessica (Angela Lansbury) to travel to the town of Eden, where Mary's sister has recently died under mysterious circumstances. Figuring that the best way to get to the truth is to adopt a guise, Jessica poses as Mary and shows up in Eden for the funeral. It doesn't take her long to determine that this "idyllic" community is hardly Edenlike, and that skeletons in the closet abound! Among the suspects on this occasion are Sheriff Landry (Roy Thinnes), Dr. Lynch (MacDonald Carey) and realtor C.J. Dobbs (Stuart Whitman)--all of whom knew Mary a little more intimately than they're willing to reveal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
In this sci-fi mystery set in deep space, crew members aboard an intergalactic spaceship suddenly begin vanishing until only one crewman remains. Investigators look into to the incident to determine the reasons why. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Designed for the regional family trade, Pony Express Rider is a fond harkback to the Saturday afternoon westerns of old. Stewart Paterson plays the title character, a young frontiersman hoping to avenge his father's death. He takes a job with the Pony Express mail service in hopes of running across his dad's murderer. The supporting cast is populated with such always-welcome reliables as Joan Caulfield, Henry Wilcoxon, Ken Curtis, Slim Pickens and Dub Taylor. Pony Express Rider was directed by Robert J. Totten, a specialist in episodic television horse operas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
The long-standing blood feud between the Hatfield family of West Virginia and the McCoy clan of Kentucky is effectively dramatized in this made-for-TV movie. Jack Palance and Steve Forrest star as the family's respective patriarches, Devil Anse Hatfield and Randall McCoy. Remaining faithful to the facts (more so than the 1949 Sam Goldwyn production Roseanne McCoy), the film charts the fluctuating relationship between the two warring factions -- sometimes they actually made overtures of peace, which of course didn't last too long -- as well as the star-crossed romance between Devil Anse's daughter Rose Ann (Karen Lamm) and Randall's son Johnse (Richard Hatch). Featured in the cast are Palance's former wife Virginia Baker as Devil Anse's present wife Levicy and his daughter Brooke as Mary Hatfield. The Hatfields and the McCoys first aired January 15, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
- G
This sequel to The Doberman Gang finds the same set of dogs again being trained to rob banks and commit other crimes. The difference is that there's another group of crooks who have hatched the plan. A young boy with an emotional attachment to the canines is their only hope for a fresh start. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1973
This TV movie stars Bill Bixby as a professional magician who is wrongly accused of a crime and sent to prison. Upon his release, Bixby swears to fight criminals and wrongdoers and to champion the underdog, using his prestidigitory skills to accomplish this. The film proudly states in its prologue that all the illusions seen during the story are actual magic tricks, minus special camera effects--though it strains credibility to assume that Bixby carries a prop for every occasion to confound the crooks at a moment's notice. The Magician was transformed into a weekly 60-minute series in the fall of 1973. The series lasted only one season, the victim of executive indecision over whether to play the series straight or with tongue in cheek. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
Chaddock (Barry Sullivan) is the straight-shooting marshall of Gloryhole, Montana. Wealthy rancher Rep Marlowe (Wendell Corey) practically owns the town by way of his gambling saloons, shady land deals and hired guns who intimidate the law-abiding citizens. Sheriff Tangley (Lon Chaney Jr.) calls on Chaddock when Marlowe holds the town hostage by damming the river and cutting off the water supply. Barbara Hale plays Sarah Cody, whose young son is killed by gunfire in the ensuing melee. The saloon girl Nora (Joan Caulfield) is a former schoolteacher forced into her tawdry occupation by the menacing Marlowe in this routine western film. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barry Sullivan, Joan Caulfield, (more)
- 1967
In this routine western, Captain Tom York (Howard Keel) tries to warn the residents of Deadwood of an impending Sioux Indian attack in the wake of the Custer massacre. The people mistake him for a deserter and pay no heed to Tom's warning. Local gunfighter Ep Wyatt (Scott Brady) convinces the locals that York should be taken seriously and combines forces with the Captain. The two fortify the town with a pair of Gatling guns that are later transported to help defend the cavalry under attack from Sioux warriors. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Howard Keel, Joan Caulfield, (more)
- 1963
Robert Taylor closed out his MGM contract with the 1963 western Cattle King. Taylor plays a Wyoming rancher at odds with cattle baron Robert Middleton, who is dead set against barbed wire being erected on "his" land. Just so we know the film isn't kidding around, leading lady Joan Caulfield is shot full of holes some thirty minutes before the fade-out. Taylor finally vanquishes the evil Middleton, but not without help from Caulfield's previously spineless brother William Windom-not to mention the legal support of President Chester A. Arthur (Larry Gates). Cattle King was released in England as Guns of Wyoming. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Taylor, Joan Caulfield, (more)
- 1955
After The Rains Came (1939), this epic romantic melodrama was the second version of author Louis Bromfield's novel to get the deluxe, big-budget treatment from Twentieth Century Fox. Lana Turner stars as Lady Edwina Esketh, the spoiled and hedonistic wife of Lord Esketh (Michael Rennie), a British royal. Intending to purchase some horses, the Eskeths accept an invitation to the Indian city of Ranchipur by the Maharani (Eugene Leontovich). Once there, Edwina meets and unsuccessfully attempts to seduce Dr. Safti (Richard Burton), a handsome Hindu doctor and the Maharani's chosen heir. While in Ranchipur, Edwina also runs into an old acquaintance, Tom Ransome (Fred MacMurray), now the town drunk. As Edwina begins to realize that she's feeling real love for Safti, the doctor succumbs to her charms and a torrid affair begins, as a series of earthquakes and a devastating flood strike Ranchipur. The Rains of Ranchipur (1955) was Oscar nominated for Best Visual Effects. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lana Turner, Richard Burton, (more)
The lady of the title is author Dorinda Hatch (Joan Caulfield), who writes a scathing best-seller in which she trashes all men. Photographer Bill Shelby (David Niven) vows to make Dorinda eat her words, thereby proving the superiority of the male of the species. Suffice to say that he doesn't succeed--at least until the very, very end. The middle portion of The Lady Says No consists of a surrealistic dream sequence in which Dorinda realizes that she loves Bill despite his rampant chauvinism. This film is not a likely candidate for screening at the next N.O.W. meeting. Lady Says No was produced and directed by Frank Ross, who at the time was married to star Joan Caulfield. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Caulfield, David Niven, (more)
- 1950
Back in the 1930s, '40s and '50s, artist George Petty was famous for his "Petty Girl" illustrations; lovingly detailed renderings of ripe young damsels wearing next to nothing, and sometimes not even that. In The Petty Girl, George Petty is portrayed by Robert Cummings, while Joan Caulfield co-stars as strait-laced college professor Victoria Braymore. The plot contrives to have Petty abandon his nubile creations in favor of avant-garde art, all because he's been told to do so by his new patroness (Audrey Long). Somewhere along the way, Petty and the prim Miss Braymore find themselves in a compromising situation at a Greenwich Village nightclub. Thus it is only a matter of time before Petty goes back to the sort of artwork he does best, and Miss Braymore loosens her inhibitions -- and everything else -- to serve as Petty's latest model. Incredibly, this amusing exercise in old-fashioned male chauvinism was based on a story by novelist Mary McCarthy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Cummings, Joan Caulfield, (more)
- 1949
A sequel to 1947's Dear Ruth, this movie has William Holden and Joan Caulfield portraying a young married couple with some definite in-law problems. When Caulfield's younger sister gets Holden to run for the State senate, a whole new kettle of worms is opened--his opponent is his Father-in-law. In spite of former suitors trying to break up their relationship and the obvious stress caused by the campaign, everything works out Hollywood-style. This was followed by a sequel for the younger sister, entitled Dear Brat. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Holden, Joan Caulfield, (more)
- 1948
Never mind Veronica Lake and Joan Caulfield: the real star of The Sainted Sisters is Barry Fitzgerald, dispensing Hibernian blarney by the wheelbarrowful. The story begins as turn-of-the-century golddiggers Letty and Jane Stanton (Lake and Caulfield) escape New York after divesting a gullible millionaire of $25,000. En route to Canada by way of Maine, the girls are caught in a storm and forced to seek shelter in the home of canny New Englander Robbie McCleary (Fitzgerald). Quickly figuring out that his pretty guests aren't the winsome innocents they pretend to be, McCleary draws upon his own larcenous impulses to convince the sisters to dispense their money amongst the needy and deserving. Letty and Jane not only accede to McCleary's wishes, but reform themselves in the process. Though George "Superman" Reeves is the nominal leading man, The Sainted Sisters belongs to its character actors: Fitzgerald, William Demarest, Beulah Bondi, Chill Wills,et. al. Incidentally, when first released, the word "Sainted" was italicized in the main titles, lest the producers be accused of sacrilege. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Veronica Lake, Joan Caulfield, (more)
- 1948
John Payne is the no-good lowdown rat who tries to capitalize on postwar patriotism and grief. He finagles a war widow (Joan Caulfied) into giving up her savings for a nonexistent memorial. When Payne falls in love with the widow he has pangs of conscience, but he reckons without his con-artist boss (Dan Duryea), who tends to bolster his arguments with muscle and bullets. Larceny is a second-echelon "film noir" based on The Velvet Fleece, a novel by Lois Ely and John Fleming. When costar Shelley Winters (who plays Duryea's moll) was asked years later what she did in Larceny, she snapped "lousy acting." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Payne, Joan Caulfield, (more)
- 1947
Director Michael Curtiz masterfully tells the fictional story of radio host Alexander Grandison (Claude Rains) as derived from a novel by Charlotte Armstrong. Grandison spookily recites murder mysteries on his radio show, with intimate and excruciating details. The reason he's so good and popular is that some of the murders he presents really are his own. He kills one of his female workers, but her fiancée, Steven Francis Howard (Michael North), threatens to take revenge for her death. Howard tries to convince Grandison's niece, Matilda Frazier (Joan Caulfield), that he is her long-lost husband. Much mystery and intrigue follows. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Caulfield, Claude Rains, (more)
- 1947
This story of two young hopefuls who come to Hollywood is merely a thin device to feature almost every star working for Paramount Studios in 1947. Mary Hatcher plays Catherine Brown, a woman of humble origins who arrives in Hollywood, where she meets another wanna-be movie star, Amber La Vonne (Olga San Juan). They work their way through the Paramount studios, trying to impress every important person. Mostly, the film is a cavalcade of songs by various stars that take place at several studio and Hollywood locations, including the famous Brown Derby restaurant. Many of the film's songs were written by Frank Loesser. Dorothy Lamour and Alan Ladd sing "Tallahassee"; Bing Crosby and Bob Hope play golf and sing a duet, "Harmony"; the Original Dixieland Jazz Band plays "Tiger Rag"; and a host of other top performers of the era appear in brief cameos. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Alden, Mary Hatcher, (more)
- 1947
A curmudgeonly small-town doctor resents the presence of a new younger physician and his newfangled ways. He is especially dismayed by the new doctor's tendency to sing, a behavior the older fellow deems inappropriate. When the new doc meets a pretty young school teacher, romantic sparks fly. Unfortunately, she is engaged to the town pharmacist. This coupled with the older doctor's disapproval convinces the new fellow to leave town. The elder physician's maid intervenes and changes the young ones mind. It's a good thing too, for he saves the older one from a near fatal attack of appendicitis and earns both the veteran medic's gratitude and respect. Later the two take on a snooty new surgeon whose ambition has blinded him to simple common sense. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Beddoe, Bing Crosby, (more)
- 1947
Adapted from the popular stage play of the same name, Dear Ruth features Mona Freeman as teenaged Miriam Watkins, who can't keep her nose out of other people's affairs. Fired up by patriotism, Miriam inaugurates a warm pen-pal relationship with an overseas air force officer (William Holden), hinting at a future marriage. When the airman arrives in town, he insists upon seeing Miriam's older sister Ruth (Joan Caulfield). It seems that Miriam, in an effort to appear older, signed her letters with her sister's name, and even enclosed her sister's picture. Ruth, however, is engaged to her nerdish employer (Billy DeWolfe), and it isn't hard to imagine the plot convolutions that ensue from this set-up. Dear Ruth was written by Norman Krasna, who based the Watkins household on the family of his old friend Groucho Marx (whose first wife's name was Ruth). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Caulfield, William Holden, (more)
- 1946
Monsieur Beaucaire, Booth Tarkington's novel about an 18th-century French barber who poses as a swashbuckling aristocrat, was the surprising source for this Grade-A Bob Hope comedy. While in the original novel the tonsorial hero pretended to be someone he wasn't by choice, in this 1946 film Hope is coerced into posturing as a nobleman on the threat of death. It's "out of the frying pan" time here, since Hope will be a target for execution the moment he weds a Spanish princess in place of genuine noble Patric Knowles. Bob's actions will prevent a war between Spain and France, but it's likely he won't be around to celebrate the Peace. Hiding his cowardice by cracking wise at every opportunity, Hope manages to save both the day and himself; he even rescues Joseph Schildkraut, the film's nominal villain, from the guillotine. The female contingent is represented by Joan Caulfield as Bob's covetous girl friend, Marjorie Reynolds as a princess, and Hillary Brooke as a haughty schemer (who is given her just desserts in an early slapstick set-piece). Woody Allen has long expressed his affection for Monsieur Beaucaire, an affection made doubly obvious in "homage" fashion by Allen's 1975 costume comedy Love and Death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hope, Joan Caulfield, (more)
- 1946
Jed Potter (Fred Astaire) is a popular radio personality who was once a famous dancer. He also used to be friends with Johnny Adams (Bing Crosby) until they became rivals for the affections of Mary O'Hara (Joan Caulfield). Jed lost out when Johnny and Mary got married, but life hasn't been too rosy for the couple since; Johnny's career in business was a washout, and not long after the birth of their daughter, the couple decided to divorce. Mary gave Jed another chance with her, but in time she chose to patch things up with Johnny, leading Jed to a close partnership with alcohol that ended with an accident, preventing him from ever dancing again. However, the aftermath of this tragedy helps bring the three former friends back together. Blue Skies was not much more than a framework for a bunch of musical numbers featuring great tunes from the Irving Berlin catalog, but when you've got Bing singing and Fred dancing to songs like "Puttin' on the Ritz," "You Keep Coming Back Like a Song," "A Couple of Song and Dance Men," and "White Christmas," why carp? Noted stage actor and tap dancer Paul Draper was originally cast as Jed, but he was fired after several days of filming and replaced by Astaire; Draper would make only one more movie before his film career came to an end after he was branded a Communist sympathizer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, (more)
- 1945
Based on the novel by Augusta Tucker, the provocatively titled Miss Susie Slagle's is actually a leisurely, sentimental story set in a turn-of-the-century boarding house. The title character, played by Lillian Gish, is the house's landlady, catering exclusively to young doctors and nurses in training. Miss Susie Slagle takes pride in the fact that not one of her boarders has ever failed medical school, but for a while it looks as though this perfect record will be spoiled by Elijah Howe Jr. (Bill Edwards), the seemingly irresponsible son of one of Susie's former tenants (Ray Collins). The bulk of the storyline is carried by med student Pug Prentiss (Sonny Tufts), who carries on a romance with Howe Jr.'s sister Margaretta (Joan Caulfield, in her film-starring debut). Flamboyant comic actor Billy DeWolfe is uncharacteristically restrained as pragmatic third-year student Ben Mead, though the script contrives to allow DeWolfe to do one of his celebrated female-impersonation routines! In true open-ended fashion, the film ends as it begins, with Miss Susie Slagle welcoming another crop of students to her lodgings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Veronica Lake, Sonny Tufts, (more)
- 1945
Several of Paramount Pictures brightest stars make cameo appearances in this comedy set in "Duffy's Tavern," a favorite watering hole from old time radio shows. The trouble begins when the neighborhood bar is in danger of closing. The trouble begins when the proprietor, Archie, discovers that one of his regulars, Michael O'Malley, owner of a record company is going broke. This means that many veterans will soon be unemployed and therefore, unable to pay their tab at the tavern. Archie immediately begins recruiting famous stars to donate their services and help. They do, the record company is saved and so is the tavern. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bing Crosby, Betty Hutton, (more)
