Wheaton Chambers Movies

The story you are about to see would probably be more at home on a contemporary "procedural" series like CSI or Bones. While playing in the hills just outside LA, two kids stumble upon a human skeleton. When it turns out the bones or those of a man who was killed 25 years earlier, Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) try to determine what happened to the poor fellow. Evidently, however, there are only two people in town who care about the outcome of the case: the dead man's former sweetheart--and the person who murdered him. This is one of a handful of black and white Dragnet episodes written especially for television, with no prior radio version. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

James Mitchell stars as a gunslinger-turned-parson in The Peacemaker. Arriving in a hostile western town, Rev. Terrall Butler (Mitchell) intends to win over the townsfolk with faith rather than force. His religiosity is immediately put to the test when Butler tries to mediate a feud between the local ranchers and farmers. He then must face down the vicious gunmen hired by railroad mogul Gray Arnett (Herbert Patterson), who intends to lay his tracks through the territory despite the protests of the farmers. The Peacemaker was the first and last effort from Hal B. Makelim Productions. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Producer Sam Katzman once more rummages through stock footage from the 1953 Columbia costumer Salome and comes up with another "instant epic." Slaves of Babylon stars Richard Conte as Nahum, the muscular young representative of Hebrew leader Daniel (Maurice Schwartz). On behalf of his master, Nahum pulls strings so that Cyrus the Persian (Terence Kilburn) can reclaim Babylon from usurpers Balthasar (Michael Ansara) and Nebuchadnezzar (Leslie E. Bradley). Several Biblical incidents are thrown into the stew, with the added ingredient of a romance between Nahum and one "Princess Panthea" (Linda Christian). For another viewpoint of the historical events offered herein, the reader is referred to D. W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair was Number Four in Universal's immensely successful "B"-picture series. It is giving away nothing to reveal that Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride once more assume the title roles. The plot is motivated by Ma's desire to send daughter Rosie (Lori Nelson) to college. To that end, she intends to win a big cash prize at the upcoming county fair. Meanwhile, Pa uses his half of the winnings (which no one, as yet, has really won!) to purchase a race horse. When Mafails to win the money, the Kettles are forced to rely on the horse to save the day during a sweepstakes race. Towards the end of Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair, a close-up of the racing statistics sheet is shown, revealing that one of the owners is "Quinn Martin"--a cute inside joke, inasmuch as Mr. Martin was a prolific scriptwriter and a friend of Ma and Pa Kettle producer Leonard Goldstein. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Webb Garwood (Van Heflin) is a cynical policeman who believes that success comes from lucky breaks. Responding to a prowler complaint at the home of Susan Gilvray (Evelyn Keyes), he is immediately attracted to her and her wealth. He returns to "check up" on Susan, and they begin an affair, conducted while listening to her husband John (Sherry Hall)'s all-night radio program. Feeling guilty, Susan ends the relationship, but Garwood remains obsessed. He pretends to be a prowler on the Gilvray property so he can respond to another police call. Drawing William outside, he shoots him and makes it appear accidental. When Garwood manipulates Susan's confusion about the shooting, she buys his story, and the lovers marry. However, upon discovering that Susan is pregnant "too soon," they flee to give birth in secret, but eventually Susan learns the devastating truth. ~ Steve Press, Rovi

Though director Budd Boetticher is best known to western fans for his collaborative efforts with star Randolph Scott, Boetticher also turned out several worthwhile actioners with other cowboy stars. The Cimarron Kid stars Audie Murphy in the title role. After being falsely accused of a payroll heist, the Kid heads for the high country, where he joins the outlaw Dalton gang. When the Daltons are decimated during a daring daylight bank robbery, the Kid takes over what is left of the gang and hides out at a local ranch. Here he is reformed by the love of rancher's daughter Carrie Roberts (Beverly Tyler), but not so reformed that he doesn't embark upon one last robbery. Universal contractee Yvette Dugay has a high old time in the role of that notorious sagebrush camp follower, Rose of Cimarron. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

All of Washington, D.C., is thrown into a panic when an extraterrestrial spacecraft lands near the White House. Out steps Klaatu (Michael Rennie, in a role intended for Claude Rains), a handsome and soft-spoken interplanetary traveler, whose "bodyguard" is Gort (Lock Martin), a huge robot who spews forth laser-like death rays when danger threatens. After being wounded by an overzealous soldier, Klaatu announces that he has a message of the gravest importance for all humankind, which he will deliver only when all the leaders of all nations will agree to meet with him. World politics being what they are in 1951, Klaatu's demands are turned down and he is ordered to remain in the hospital, where his wounds are being tended. Klaatu escapes, taking refuge in a boarding house, where he poses as one "Mr. Carpenter" (one of the film's many parallels between Klaatu and Christ). There the benign alien gains the confidence of a lovely widow (Patricia Neal) and her son, Bobby (Billy Gray), neither of whom tumble to his other-worldly origins, and seeks out the gentleman whom Bobby regards as "the smartest man in the world" -- an Einstein-like scientist, Dr. Barnhardt (Sam Jaffe). The next day, at precisely 12 o'clock, Klaatu arranges for the world to "stand still" -- he shuts down all electrical power in the world, with the exception of essentials like hospitals and planes in flight. Directed by Robert Wise, who edited Citizen Kane (1941) and The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) for director Orson Welles before going on to direct such major 1960s musicals as West Side Story (1961) and The Sound of Music (1965), The Day the Earth Stood Still was based on the story Farewell to the Master by Harry Bates. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Ray Milland plays a happily married college professor whose wife and child perish in a fire. Despondent, Milland loses himself in drink, despite the efforts of his friends and fellow faculty members. He is on the verge of suicide before he is salvaged the love of Nancy Davis (who off-screen was busy becoming Nancy Reagan). Virtually plotless, Night into Morning is held together by the performance of Ray Milland and by the incisive direction of radio veteran Fletcher Markle. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Between Midnight and Dawn is a solid, no-frills detective drama from the Columbia studio mills. Mark Stevens and Edmond O'Brien star as police officers Barnes and Purvis, who tool around in their prowl car in the wee hours of the morning. Vengeful gangster Ritchie Garris (Donald Buka) would like nothing better than to get Barnes and Purvis out of his hair, especially after breaking out of jail. In a thrill-packed climax, Garris makes a desperate escape using a little kid as a shield, while Purvis tries to second-guess the homicidal gangster. As Kate Mallory, Gale Storm has little to do except serve as the bone of romantic contention between the two male protagonists. Curiously, Storm doesn't get to sing, though supporting actress Gale Robbins does--three times, in fact. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

James Cagney delivers a vibrant performance as a down-on-his-luck Broadway musical director in The West Point Story, featuring songs by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne. Cagney plays out-of-work director Elwin "Bix" Bixby, who reluctantly accepts a job from producer Harry Eberhart (Roland Winters) to stage a show at West Point written by Harry's nephew Tom Fletcher (Gordon MacRae). Harry thinks Tom's show could be a Broadway success if he would only quit West Point. Bix travels to West Point, with his girlfriend, Eve (Virginia Mayo), in tow, to whip the show into shape. But Bix is frustrated by the academy's rules, which interrupt his rehearsal schedule. In frustration, Bix hits a cadet. In order to continue to work on the show, Bix must become a cadet himself, and deal with the attendant hazing that entails. When the one of the show's stars, Jan Wilson (Doris Day), is brought out to work on the production, Tom falls in love with her and goes AWOL to return with her to Hollywood. Bix, in order to save Tom's military career, has to go to Hollywood and bring Tom back to West Point. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Samuel Fuller wrote and directed this lively drama based on the real-life adventures of James Addison Reavis, one of the most ambitious swindlers of the 19th Century. In 1871, Reavis (played by Vincent Price) began hatching an elaborate scheme to claim the Arizona territory (then three decades away from statehood) as his own. At the time, land grants established during Spanish rule of Arizona were still valid, and one rainy evening Reavis visited Pepito Peralta (Vladimir Sokoloff) and his daughter Sofia (Karen Kester) with some exciting news. While working as a real estate clerk, Reavis found documents which granted ownership of nearly the whole of the Arizona territory to one Miguel Peralta, who was named Baron of the new land by Spain's rulers, and as his heir Sofia will become Baroness when she reaches adulthood, giving her claim to the territory. After giving Pepito and Sofia money and hiring a governess (Beulah Bondi) to educate the girl in a manner befitting the Barony, Reavis sailed for Spain on business; unknown to the Peraltas, Reavis posed first as a monk and then as a gypsy in order to revise old land grant documents to conform with his story. Several years later, Reavis returned to Pepito and Sofia's home, and asked the young woman (now played by Ellen Drew) to marry him. Once wed, Reavis presented his carefully forged paperwork to the Arizona authorities which gave him and his bride royal claim to the land; however, not everyone believed Reavis's elaborate tale, and John Griff (Reed Hadley), an expert in falsified documents, was brought in to examine the evidence. The Baron of Arizona gave Vincent Price a rare leading role in a non-horror vehicle, and he cited it as one of his favorite performances on film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Based loosely on the Dostoyevsky novel, The Gambler stars Gregory Peck as a sensitive 19th-century Russian author. His "great sin" is gambling, which starts when he attempts to rescue aristocratic Ava Gardner from the gaming tables. He succeeds, only to lose himself to gambling fever, which costs him his friends, his reputation and his talent. Director Robert Siodmak was never happy with the screenplay for The Great Sinner, constant revisions bloated the film's rough-cut running time to nearly six hours! After Siodmak pared the film down, MGM insisted that the director reshoot the love scenes. Siodmak refused, thus the new sequences were filmed sans screen credit by Mervin LeRoy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Eliot Ness may have gotten lots of publicity (especially long after the fact) for breaking the Capone mob, but as Joseph H. Lewis' The Undercover Man reminds us, it was the accountants and the numbers-crunchers that brought down Capone and his mob. Frank Warren (Glenn Ford) started out as an accountant, but now serves as an investigator for the Treasury Department. His job has frequently required him to go undercover, masquerading as a criminal to get the goods on the top-level tax-law violators that his unit targets. But now his assignment is to gather evidence on the operations of the nation's number-one crime boss and get proof of the income that he and his lieutenants are not declaring, and this proves not only frustrating but dangerous. Potential stoolies are murdered and witnesses intimidated, and when one otherwise "respectable" lawyer (Barry Kelley) starts mentioning Warren's wife (Nina Foch) in casual conversation, he takes the hint. He's ready to quit until the mother (Esther Minciotti) of a witness-turned-victim tells him about what life was like in Italy under the Black Hand, and why she came to America to raise her sons. Warren and his men (James Whitmore, David Wolfe) make one last attempt to get the proof they need, tracing signatures and handwriting to get evidence implicating a small man in the operation, using it to turn him and going for bigger fish. Finally, even the shyster lawyer who has been dogging Warren every step of the way ends up in the sights of the feds, and the mob turns its attention to getting rid of this new "liability" and taking care of Warren as well. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi