Muriel Steinbeck Movies
- 1966
Based on a popular Australian novel, this comedy was produced Down Under in 1966. Nino Culotta Walter Chiari is an Italian journalist who is lured by his brother into coming to Australia to work for his paper there. But when Nino arrives in Sidney, he finds out that there is no paper; his brother has taken off with the investors' cash. Left in the lurch was his brother's business partner, Kay Kelly (Clare Dunne). Nino vows to pay off his brother's debt and gets a job as a bricklayer to do so. He also tries to woo Kay, but he is repeatedly rebuffed, with humorous results. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Chiari, Clare Dunne, (more)
Robert Newton repeats his Treasure Island role as Long John Silver in this Australian adventure film--and if anything, Newton is even more out of control this time around than he'd been in the earlier picture. Paying only lip service to the Robert Louis Stevenson original, the film is made up of several marginally related episodes. In the first, Silver rescues a governor's daughter, managing to save the day and crooked line his own pockets in the process. In the second, Long John quells a mutiny and prevents his young friend Jim Hawkins (Kit Taylor) from having to walk the plank. And in the third, Long John and Jim arrive at Treasure Island, where they're forced to duke it out with the minions of Silver's old enemy Mendoza (Lloyd Burrell). Connie Gilchrist costars as Purity, Long John's on-and-off pubkeeper sweetheart. Long John Silver was later sliced up into three separate half-hours and released to TV as part of the 26-episode Long John Silver TV series, which of course also starred Robert "Arr, matey!" Newton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Newton, Kit Taylor, (more)
- 1953
Famed Australian concert pianist Eileen Joyce stars as herself in the 1953 biopic Wherever She Goes. The film traces Eileen's life and work from childhood, when she first evinced the musical brilliance that would earn her international acclaim. Unfortunately, Eileen's poverty-stricken family is unable to finance a proper education for the girl. To pay for her lessons, the girl becomes a combination itinerant musician and high-stakes gambler. Eventually, Eileen is unofficially adopted by a group of miners, who begin a fund-raising campaign on her behalf. Suzanne Parrett plays the younger Eileen Joyce with unerring accuracy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eileen Joyce, Muriel Steinbeck, (more)
- 1950
Taking time out from his duties as head of Australia's Embassy Pictures, Tom O. MacCreadle served as director of Into the Straight. The film concentrates on a horse-raiser who becomes involved with the wrong kind of girl. The racing scenes are well done, the dramatic sequences less so. Charles Tingwell, the film's leading man, went on to TV popularity as star of such British action series as Emergency Ward Ten and Homicide. American distribution of Into the Straight was handled by Universal-International, which by and large confined the film to the lower half of double features. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles "Bud" Tingwell, Muriel Steinbeck, (more)
- 1946
Originally titled Smithy, Pacific Adventure is the story of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, Australia's first great aviator. In the cockpit of the legendary aircraft "Southern Cross," Smith sets records only for the pleasure of breaking them. The film's two focal points are Smith's romance with his aristocratic wife-to-be (Muriel Steinbeck) and his efforts to be the first Australian to fly solo across the Pacific. More a series of tableaux than a movie, Pacific Adventure doesn't give its star Ron Randell (in his film debut) much to do other than imitate every still picture of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith ever taken. Filmed in England and Australia in 1946, Pacific Adventure was picked up for American release by Columbia one year later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Randell, Muriel Steinbeck, (more)
- 1946
A Son is Born was the maiden directorial effort of Australian producer Eric Porter. Future international star Peter Finch heads the cast of this sprawling drama, dealing with the rivalry between a headstrong father and his rebellious son. Ron Randell and Muriel Steinbeck, who like Finch were big favorites "down under" in 1946, also appear. Distribution of A Son is Born throughout the rest of the British empire was handled by Ealing Studios, long before the company began specializing in domestic comedies. American audiences were denied an opportunity to see A Son is Born until it began making the TV "Late Show" rounds in the mid-1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Randell, Muriel Steinbeck, (more)
