Linda Christian Movies

Too long by at least two reels, Holiday in Mexico is nevertheless one of the more enjoyable MGM Technicolor musicals of the 1940s. Walter Pigeon is top billed as Jeffrey Evans, American ambassador to Mexico. Captivated by the charms of her adopted homeland, Evans' impulsive daughter Christine falls in love with the decidedly mature piano virtuoso Jose Iturbi (cast as himself). Amused by Christine's ardor, Iturbi agrees with Evans that the girl would be far better off with someone closer to her own age-namely, British ambassador's son Stanley Owen (Roddy McDowell). Meanwhile, Christine plays matchmaker between her widowed father and glamorous Hungarian Toni Karpathy (Ilona Massey). Holiday in Mexico was Jane Powell's first MGM effort, and it is clear that producer Joe Pasternak intended to transform the teenaged soprano into the "new Deanna Durbin", though of course Powell eventually developed her own distinctive style. In addition to the musical contributions of stars Powell and Iturbi, the film costars the inimitable Xavier Cugat, doing his Xavier Cugat thing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "mermaids" are really tribal pearl divers in this diverting Tarzan adventure. Their livelihood is threatened by an evil white trader (Fernando Wagner), who sets himself up as a "god." With the help of lovely diver Linda Christian (later Mrs. Tyrone Power), Tarzan defeats the wicked despot, but not before several underwater battles, not the least of which involves an octopus. If the jungle settings of Tarzan and the Mermaids don't look particularly African, that's because the film was shot at the Churubusco Studios in Mexico. Mermaids represents the final appearance of Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Happy Time was adapted from the long-running Broadway play by Samuel Taylor, which in turn was based on the novel by Robert Fontaine. Set in Quebec during the early part of the 20th century, the film concentrates on the activities of a large French-Canadian family headed by Charles Boyer. Most of the humor arises from "coming of age" complications and sexual awakenings, especially when worldly prodigal son Louis Jourdan returns to the fold and exercises his influence on impressionable young Bobby Driscoll. Not permitted to include the racier portions of the play, director Richard Fleischer compensated by adopting a frenetic, farcelike pace, which works about half the time. Happy Time was later musicalized on Broadway in the 1960s, with Robert Goulet in the Louis Jourdan part. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This live television adaptation of Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, much more closely adheres to the source material than the jokey 1967 version with David Niven and Woody Allen. When a dangerous Russian spy manages to lose millions of his country's money, the spy attempts to make the money back at a high-stakes casino. Secret agent James Bond is assigned to go to the casino and outsmart the enemy at the gaming tables. If Bond succeeds, the enemy spy's own government will liquidate him. Barry Nelson portrays the hero, and the great character actor Peter Lorre also makes an appearance. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Thunderstorm was produced in Spain by actress Binnie Barnes, though one suspects that most of the production details were handled by her husband Mike Frankovich. Carlos Thompson plays fisherman Diego Martinez, who while casting his nets one day comes up with quite a catch -- Maria Ramon (Linda Christian), whom Diego saves from drowning. It isn't long before practically every male in the village, including mayor Pablo Gardia (Charles Korvin) and Gardia's son Miguel (Gary Thorne), has fallen madly in love with Maria. Alas, her presence brings only misfortune for all concerned, leaving her no alternative to leave the village by returning whence she came -- the open sea. Thunderstorm was released in the U.S. by Allied Artists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Reminiscent of the film noir detective films like The Maltese Falcon, The House of Seven Hawks is really the same type of bird. Aptly directed by Richard Thorpe, the story features Robert Taylor as John Nordley, the captain of a charter-boat service on the British sea coast. Nordley's problem is that he tends to ignore regulations, and when a passenger is murdered on board, his already tarnished reputation is no help in trying to prove his innocence. As the mystery of the murder is unraveled, the story jumps back to the end of World War II and a cache of valuable diamonds that suddenly disappeared. Nordley had been trying to track down the whereabouts of this treasure trove -- would that be connected to his passengers death? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This undistinguished drama from Austrian director Arthur Maria Rabenalt overdoses on melodrama and clichés as it tells the story of a young girl who tries to help her father find happiness. He is an important conductor who has been living alone with his daughter since his wife died. The daughter knows what her father needs is the right woman and is not likely to sit back and let him handle his own romantic life. Even well-known actors like Linda Christian and Edmond Purdom cannot overcome the deficiencies in the script. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Terrence Rattigan, the playwright who brought us the multicharactered, multistoried Separate Tables, again offers us an episodic cross-section of humanity in The V.I.P.'s. When a heavy London fog paralyzes all air traffic, the lives of several people are profoundly affected. As indicated by the title, most of the characters in this portmanteau film are of the social and/or financial elite. Elizabeth Taylor wishes to leave her enormously wealthy husband Richard Burton in favor of playboy Louis Jourdan. Peripatetic European film producer Orson Welles is hoping to escape London with his newest protegee Elsa Martinelli in order to avoid paying his income tax. Australian businessman Rod Taylor, accompanied by his devoted (and adoring) secretary Maggie Smith, is anxious to head to New York to stave off a hostile takeover of his firm. And impoverished aristocrat Margaret Rutherford (who won an Oscar for her performance) would rather not go to Florida to accept a job as a social arbiter, but the wolf must be kept from the door. Before the fog disperses, you can be sure that at least one of the many plotlines will intersect with another. David Frost, in a tiny part as a reporter, was fond of recalling in later years that, while the major stars of The VIPS were introduced in the opening titles with animated limousines, he was consigned a tiny Volkswagen; alas, no such cartoon joke appears in the film, though on occasion the actors-particularly Mr. Welles-behave as though they were cartoons. Mercilessly skewered by the critics, The VIPS was a winner at the box-office, due in great part to the Cleopatra-inspired publicity concerning the top-billed Liz Taylor and Dick Burton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As young and penniless Rik roams about Rome, he finds lady luck on his side for a spell. Not only does he receive a bounty of coins from a weighing machine, but he also wins cash from a restaurant which awards him as its 10,000th customer. Not to mention the car. And the job. And the women. Before long, however, his luck changes, but not before he finds true love with a journalist. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

World class toreador Mateo Miguelin plays an impoverished Spanish lad who becomes a bullfighter in this routine drama. He quickly rises to the top and is soon appearing before capacity crowds in the bullrings of Barcelona. Linda Christian plays the beautiful society woman who is intrigued by the macho Mateo. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The Beauty Jungle can hardly be considered an expose of the beauty-contest business, since most of what happens in the film is what the average viewer has suspected all along. The lovely and graceful British leading lady Janette Scott stars as an ambitious typist who enters the "Miss Globe" pageant. She doesn't care what she does or whom she hurts along the way, the result being that she wins the competition. But when the anticipated decline sets in, she confronts the same embittered people on the downward spiral that she stepped over during her upward climb. Cliched though it may seem on paper, The Beauty Jungle is fascinating in its own garish way; the film was issued to the US under the title Contest Girl. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide