Howard Negley Movies

Ray Milland made his directorial debut with the Republic western A Man Alone. Milland also starred in the film, playing fugitive gunslinger Wes Steele. While escaping a lynch mob, Steele stumbles onto an Arizona ranch that has been quarantined due to Yellow Fever. During his enforced stay, he falls in love with sheriff's daughter Nadine Corrigan (Mary Murphy), who is as much a "lost soul" as Steele. The only hope the lovers have for a happy future is Steele's exoneration, but this won't happen so long as crooked town banker Stanley (Raymond Burr) holds all the cards. A Man Alone did well enough to encourage future directorial efforts by Ray Milland, which included the well-paced espionager Lisbon and the above average sci-fi exercise Panic in the Year Zero! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Are You with It? is a Universal vehicle for Donald O'Connor, who in 1948 was just making the transition from juvenile parts to romantic leads. O'Connor plays an uptight insurance executive, Milton Haskins, and mathematics genius who is constitutionally incapable of having fun. He attends a carnival, and for the first time in his life enjoys himself. Falling in love with one of the performers (Olga San Juan), Milton joins the carnival, and ultimately saves it from ruin through his wizardlike math skills. Are You With It? was adapted from the Broadway musical by Sam Perrin and George Balzer -- both stalwart members of Jack Benny's writing staff. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed with the full cooperation of the U.S. Army, Breakthrough is a lean, no-nonsense war film set during the 1944 invasion of the continent. Led by Captain Hale (David Brian), a small group of infantrymen march through Normandy. The war-weary foot soldiers resent the presence of 90 Day Wonder lieutenant Joe Mallory (John Agar), but before long he proves his value to the platoon. The supporting characters are the usual aggregation of "types," though for the most part the usual cliches are avoided (so far as can be determined, nobody mentions the Brooklyn Dodgers). The only woman in the cast is Suzanne Dalbert, playing a Normandy villager with whom the GIs briefly dally. Near the beginning of Breakthrough, several scenes of actual combat training are deftly inserted into the dramatized sequences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed on location in the Canadian Rockies, this historical adventure spins a fanciful account of the building of the Canadian Pacific railroad. Randolph Scott heads the cast as Tom Andrews, a rough-and-ready surveyor who meets and conquers all obstacles in the railroad's path. The biggest fly in the ointment is trapper Dirk Rourke (Victor Jory), who perceives the Canadian Pacific as a threat to his livelihood. Rourke foments an Indian uprising which very nearly destroys the railroad. But Andrews and his hardy band persevere. Jane Wyatt plays the heroine among more intelligent and self-reliant lines than is usual in films of this nature. Highly suspect on a historical level, Canadian Pacific is nonetheless an exciting piece of filmmaking, evocatively photographed in Cinecolor by Fred Jackman Jr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Randolph Scott western Colt .45 was retitled for TV so as not to be confused with the TV series of the same name. The new title, Thundercloud, misleads the audience into expecting a Native American epic. Actually the film involves a gun salesman (Randolph Scott) whose sample case of Colt 45's is stolen by an outlaw (Zachary Scott--no relation to Randolph). Accused of being a member of the outlaw gang when they start using the Colts in their holdups, the salesman is obliged to track down the crooks. Thundercloud, or Colt .45, represented the last film of supporting actor Alan Hale Sr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An abundance of subplots are expertly woven together by screenwriter/director Richard Brooks in Deadline - USA. Humphrey Bogart stars as crusading editor Ed Hutcheson, whose newspaper is on the verge of closing thanks to the machinations of the mercenary daughter (Audrey Christie) of Mrs. Garrison (Ethel Barrymore), the paper's owner. Though he and his staff will all be out of work within a few days, Hutcheson intends to go out with a bang, exposing the criminal activities of "untouchable" gang boss Rienzi (Martin Gabel). Despite numerous disappointments and setbacks, Hutcheson achieves a pyrrhic victory as the film draws to a close. Throughout the story, the many pressures brought to bear upon a big-city newspaper--political, commercial, etc.--are realistically detailed, as is the relationship between Hutcheson and his ex-wife Nora (Kim Hunter). The cast of Deadline USA is uniformly excellent, from featured players Warren Stevens, Jim Backus, Paul Stewart Fay Baker and Ed Begley to such unbilled performers as Tom Browne Henry, Raymond Greenleaf, Tom Powers, and Kasia Orzazewski (essentially reprising her unforgettable characterization in Call Northside 777). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the final episode of Walt Disney's ten-part miniseries Elfego Baca, frontier lawyer Baca (Robert Loggia) embarks upon a mission to bring fugitive gunslinger Gus Tomlin to justice. Upon hearing that Tomlin is dead, Baca is all for giving up the search -- until a citizen of the small town of Granite claims that Tomlin and his family are living on a farm under an assumed name. The father of a man allegedly killed by Tomlin begins forming a lynch mob, but Baca offers to personally bring Tomlin back for a fair trial -- if he lives long enough to do so. "Gus Tomlin Is Dead" was originally telecast as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One wonders if Donald O'Connor would have consented to star in Francis if he knew that a series was to follow. Adapted by David Stern from his own novel, the film stars O'Connor as GI Peter Sterling, who appears to be bucking for a Section Eight. Seems that Sterling keeps insisting that Francis, a cantankerous Army mule, has the power of speech. It turns out that Francis not only can talk, but is also a superb military strategist. With Francis' help, Sterling breaks up a Nazi spy ring and becomes a hero -- but this is only the beginning, as the future entries in Universal's Francis series would prove over and over. Providing able support to the hapless O'Connor are Patricia Medina, Ray Collins, and especially ZaSu Pitts as a bewildered Army nurse. The voice of Francis is provided by Chill Wills, who likewise showed up in most of the Francis sequels, and who, like O'Connor, bailed out before the final entry, Francis in a Haunted House (1956). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted by Moss Hart from the novel by Laura Z. Hobson, this film stars Gregory Peck as recently widowed journalist Phil Green. With a growing son (Dean Stockwell) to support, Green is receptive to the invitation of magazine publisher John Minify (Albert Dekker) to write a series of hard-hitting articles on the scourge of anti-Semitism. In order to glean his information first hand, Green decides to pose as a Jew. As the weeks go by, Green experiences all manner of prejudice, the most insidious being the subtle, "gentleman's agreement" form of bigotry wherein anti-Jewish sentiments are merely taken for granted. Green's pose takes a toll on his budding romance with Minify's niece Kathy (Dorothy McGuire), who comes to realize by her own example that even those who insist that they harbor no anti-Semitic feelings are also capable of prejudice. Watching from the sidelines is Green's lifelong Jewish friend Dave (John Garfield, in what may be his best performance), who despite his inherent rage over the iniquities of racism has learned to be philosophical about the failings of his fellow man-but not to the extent that he's willing to give up the fight against blind hatred. Though warned by several Jewish film moguls that to produce the film would merely "make trouble," 20th Century-Fox chieftan Daryl F. Zanuck (who was not himself Jewish) saw the project through to its conclusion. The wisdom of Zanuck's decision was proven when Gentleman's Agreement not only made a fortune for Fox, but also won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Elia Kazan) and Best Supporting Actress (Celeste Holm). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted from the high school drama-class perennial by Jerome Chodhorov and Joseph Fields, Junior Miss stars Peggy Ann Garner as a troublesome teenager. Garner means well, but can't help meddling in the affairs of her father (Allyn Joslyn) and other unsuspecting grownups. Most of the story revolves around Peggy's matchmaking habits: she pairs up her uncle (Milo O'Shea) with the daughter of her father's employer, which nearly loses dad his job. The mess sorts itself out before the third-act curtain, with Garner promising to mind her own business...until next time. Keep an eye out for a brief appearance by a young Mel Torme. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An honest football player single-handedly takes on a professional gambler and the crooked publisher of a sports magazine to bust up their game-fixing scheme. Unfortunately, his efforts get him killed. This crime drama chronicles the efforts of a different player and an earnest D.A. to bring the killers to justice. Matters are not helped by the fact that the attorney is publisher's stepson. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Dorothy Patrick, the sweetheart of Republic Pictures' "B" unit, stars in Lonely Hearts Bandits. Patrick plays Louise Curtis, a petty crook who teams with mobster Tony Morelli (John Eldredge) to fleece the lonely. Victim number one is a lovelorn farmer, who is summarily robbed and murdered by Morelli. The second victim is a small-town widow Nancy Crane (Ann Doran). Passing themselves off as brother and sister, Louise and Tony intend to fleece Nancy for every penny she's got and to bump her off if she gets in the way. This time, however, Nancy's erstwhile fiancé Aaron Hart (Richard Travis) suspects that something is amiss. Hopefully, Hart's realization hasn't come too late. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An unusually matronly Jane Wyman plays the title character in Lucy Gallant. Adapted from a novel by Margaret Cousins, the story concerns the efforts by Lucy Gallant to make the wide-open spaces of Texas a mecca for High Fashion. Jilted at the altar, Lucy retreats to a booming oil town, where she courageously opens up a gown shop. Rancher Casey Cole (Charlton Heston) is disdainful of "working women", but he never hides the fact that he's madly in love with Lucy. As the film progresses, Lucy nearly loses her business due to financial reverses, but Casey secretly pumps money into her operation, all the while declaring publicly that she's doomed to failure. Lucy's gowns were actually designed by Edith Head, who makes an appearance towards the end of the film, as does the then-governor of Texas, Allan Shivers. Lucy Gallant was the last of the incredibly successful Pine-Thomas productions for Paramount Pictures; there might have been more had not William H. Pine died shortly after completing the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide