Steve Cochran Movies
The son of a California lumberman, actor Steve Cohran spent his youth in Laramie, Wyoming, where he graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1939. After learning his craft at the Barter Theatre and the Carmel (California) Shakespeare Festival, he went on to work at Detroit's Federal Theatre, and was co-starred in the touring companies of Without Love and My Sister Eileen before his Broadway debut in the eight-performance flop Hickory Stick. During the war, Cochran directed Army camp shows. From 1945 through 1948, he was under contract to Sam Goldwyn, mostly playing secondary roles as gangsters. He left Hollywood to co-star with Mae West in Catherine Was Great and Diamond Lil; perhaps as a reward for not being acted off the stage by the formidable West, Cochran was signed by Warner Bros., where from 1949 through 1952 he was seen in rugged leading roles. In 1953, Cochran formed his own production company, Robert Alexander Productions, but he would not be seen in another film until 1956's Come Next Spring, which he produced for Republic Studios. He then headed for Europe, where he was given a starring assignment in Michelangelo Antonioni's The Outcry. In 1965, after several years of unimpressive movie and TV appearances, Cochran revived his production company and headed for Central and South America to scout locations. He hired three women, ages 14 through 25, to work as assistants, then headed for Costa Rica aboard his forty-foot yacht. On June 25, 1965, the yacht drifted into Port Champerico, Guatemala; on board were the three very distraught women--and the body of Steve Cochran, who had died some ten days earlier of a lung affection. Steve Cochran's last film project, Tell Me in the Sunlight (which he had produced, directed, written, scored and starred in back in 1964), was reedited and released posthumously. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1945
Boston Blackie's Rendezvous quite transcended its B-picture origins, and was easily the best of Columbia's "Boston Blackie" series. In this one, crook-turned-sleuth Blackie (Chester Morris) tries to track down homicidal maniac James Cook (Steve Cochran). This time it's personal: Cook has been committing a number of violent murders while posing as Blackie. Stuck in the middle is Sally Brown (Nina Foch), who is kidnapped by the villain so that Blackie will lay off. When asked in later years about Boston Blackie's Rendezvous, Nina Foch couldn't remember too many plot details, but did note with pride that costar Richard Lane (cast as Blackie's perennial nemesis Inspector Farraday) later became a prominent TV sportscaster. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chester Morris, Nina Foch, (more)
- 1945
In this lively entry in the Boston Blackie mysteries, Blackie gets in trouble when he helps a friend auction off a first-edition Charles Dickens book and discovers that it was counterfeit. As a result of his involvement in the con, Blackie must clear himself after being accused of murder. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1945
In this drama, a young building contractor falls for a pretty Mexican woman who convinces him not to evict the inhabitants of a California barrio so he can replace it with developments. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1945
Danny Kaye plays the first of his cinematic dual roles in Goldwyn's Wonder Man. Kaye appears as timid librarian Edwin Dingle and Edwin's extroverted twin brother, nightclub entertainer Buzzy Bellew. When Buzzy witnesses a gangland shooting, he himself is rubbed out by mob boss Ten-Grand Jackson (Steve Cochran, in his movie debut). Before long, Edwin is visited by Buzzy's ghost, who persuades his bookish brother to help bring Jackson to justice. For the rest of the film, poor Edwin is possessed by his brother's sportive spirit, causing no end of confusion for Edwin's demure lady friend Ellen Shanley (Virginia Mayo) and Buzzy's more outgoing girlfriend, dancer Midge Mallon (Vera-Ellen, also making her first film appearance). Done up in splashy Technicolor, Wonder Man is perhaps Kaye's best Goldwyn-produced vehicle, permitting him to play a character (or characters) rather than a caricature. Highlights include an opera spoof (a variation of which showed up in Kaye's 1954 feature Knock on Wood), Danny's allergic rendition of "Otchi Chornya," and a wonderful vignette wherein Kaye imitates all the "inhabitants" of a pet shop. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, (more)
Originally slated for release through Monogram Pictures, The Chase was ultimately distributed by United Artists. Adapted by Philip Yordan from Cornell Woolrich's The Black Path of Fear (a perennial of the radio series Suspense), the film stars Robert Cummings as Chuck, shell-shocked ex-GI. Tormented by bizarre dreams, Chuck is drawn into the orbit of racketeer Roman (Steve Cochran). Hired as Roman's chauffeur, Chuck deals as best he can with his boss' faithless wife Lorna (Michele Morgan) and sinister henchman Gino (Peter Lorre). Persuaded by Lorna to help her escape the brutish Roman, Chuck agrees, only to end up accused of a murder he didn't commit. Thus begins the chase of the title, with Chuck eluding not only the authorities but also the stiletto-wielding Gino. Just when it seems that Chuck has cleared himself and all's right with the world, the story takes an unexpected turn, thrusting the hero back into a nightmarish maelstrom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Cummings, Michèle Morgan, (more)
The postwar classic The Best Years of Our Lives, based on a novel in verse by MacKinlay Kantor about the difficult readjustments of returning World War II veterans, tells the intertwined homecoming stories of ex-sergeant Al Stephenson (Fredric March), former bombadier Fred Derry (Dana Andrews), and sailor Homer Parrish (Harold Russell). Having rubbed shoulders with blue-collar Joes for the first time in his life, Al finds it difficult to return to a banker's high-finance mindset, and he shocks his co-workers with a plan to provide no-collateral loans to veterans. Meanwhile, Al's children (Teresa Wright and Michael Hall) have virtually grown up in his absence. Fred discovers that his wartime heroics don't count for much in the postwar marketplace, and he finds himself unwillingly returning to his prewar job as a soda jerk. His wife (Virginia Mayo), expecting a thrilling marriage to a glamorous flyboy, is bored and embittered by her husband's inability to advance himself, and she begins living irresponsibly, like a showgirl. Homer has lost both of his hands in combat and has been fitted with hooks; although his family and his fiancée (Cathy O'Donnell) adjust to his wartime handicap, he finds it more difficult. Profoundly relevant in 1946, the film still offers a surprisingly intricate and ambivalent exploration of American daily life; and it features landmark deep-focus cinematography from Gregg Toland, who also shot Citizen Kane. The film won Oscars for, among others, Best Picture, Best Director for the legendary William Wyler, Best Actor for March, and Best Supporting Actor for Harold Russell, a real-life double amputee whose hands had been blown off in a training accident. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fredric March, Myrna Loy, (more)
- 1946
Danny Kaye's The Kid From Brooklyn is a virtual scene-for-scene remake of Harold Lloyd's The Milky Way (1936), with music and Technicolor added to the proceedings. Kaye is cast as timid milkman Burleigh Sullivan, who through a fluke knocks out prizefighting champion Speed McFarlane (Steve Cochran). Sensing a swell publicity angle, McFarlane's manager Gabby Sloan (Walter Abel) promotes Burleigh as the next middleweight champ-and to insure this victory, Gabby fixes several pre-title bouts. Unaware that his fighting prowess is a sham, Burleigh develops a swelled head, which alienates him from everyone he cares about, including his sweetheart Polly Pringle (Virginia Mayo). The truth comes out during the climactic title fight, but a chastened Burleigh emerges victorious thanks to a series of incredible plot twists. The strong supporting cast includes Vera-Ellen as Burleigh's sister Susie, Eve Arden as Gabby's wisecracking girl friday Ann Westley, and, repeating his role from Milky Way, Lionel Stander as Speed's lamebrained trainer Spider Schultz. Danny Kaye does his best to play Burleigh Sullivan rather than Danny Kaye, though his efforts are undermined by the interpolated "specialty" number "Pavlova," which just plain doesn't belong in this picture. Like The Milky Way, The Kid From Brooklyn was adapted from the Broadway play by Lynn Root. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, (more)
Groucho Marx made his first solo film appearance away from his brothers in the musical comedy Copacabana. Groucho plays two-bit theatrical agent Lionel Q. Devereaux, whose favorite client--indeed, his only client--is fireball Brazilian entertainer Carmen Novarro (Carmen Miranda). Hoping for a double commission, Devereaux gets Carmen two different singing jobs at the Copacabana nightclub, through the simple expedient of having Carmen wear a veil and pose as a French chanteuse. Steve Hunt (Steve Cochran), manager of the Copa, falls in love with one of the Carmens, much to the dismay of pretty bookkeeper Anne (Gloria Jean). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Groucho Marx, Carmen Miranda, (more)
A Song is Born is a musical remake of the 1941 comedy Ball of Fire, with the same producer (Sam Goldwyn) and director (Howard Hawks) at the helm. It will be recalled that the original film, co-scripted by Billy Wilder, was an amusing spin on "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," wherein seven pedantic professors, working on a dictionary of slang, "adopted" an authority on the subject, breezy burlesque dancer Sugarpuss O'Shea. In the remake, the septet of scholars are working on an encyclopedia of music, but they're held up on the subject of "swing." When nightclub singer Honey Swanson (Virginia Mayo), escaping from her gangster suitor Tony Crow (Steve Cochran), takes refuge in the professors' home, she offers to introduce them to the world of popular music. This proves to be quite a tuneful undertaking, since two of the professors are played by Danny Kaye and Benny Goodman! The tang and zest of original plotline has been muted to the point of harmlessness, but the film is saved by the presence of Goodman, his fellow bandleaders Charlie Barnet, Tommy Dorsey and Mel Powell, and specialty performers Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton and Buck & Bubbles. A Song is Born was Danny Kaye's final starring vehicle for Sam Goldwyn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, (more)
In later years, James Cagney regarded White Heat with a combination of pride and regret; while satisfied with his own performance, he tended to dismiss the picture as a "cheap melodrama." Seen today, White Heat stands as one of the classic crime films of the 1940s, containing perhaps Cagney's best bad-guy portrayal. The star plays criminal mastermind Cody Jarrett, a mother-dominated psychotic who dreams of being on "top of the world." Inadvertently leaving clues behind after a railroad heist, Jarrett becomes the target of the feds, who send an undercover agent (played by Edmond O'Brien) to infiltrate the Jarrett gang. While Jarrett sits in prison on a deliberately trumped-up charge (he confesses to one crime to provide himself an alibi for the railroad robbery), he befriends O'Brien, who poses as a hero-worshipping hood who's always wanted to work with Jarrett. Busting out of prison with O'Brien, Jarrett regroups his gang to mastermind a "Trojan horse" armored-car robbery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, (more)
A woman's desire to rise above her drab lower middle-class life take her down the road to destruction in this gripping crime melodrama. The story opens as she cowers insider her old home, fearing the inevitable arrival of the murderous gangsters pursuing her. Her tragic tale unfolds via flashback. It all began when she became frustrated by her humble life in a squalid factory town. She was married to a laborer and lived with her parents. Soon after her child accidentally dies, the distraught woman abandons her old life to take a job where she meets an exceptional, but dull as dishwater accountant. He is a bit spineless and so allows the woman to convince him to get involved with a powerful gangster. Though she had promised to marry the accountant, she reneges and becomes the illicit moll of the married gangster. Wanting her to be a bit more elegant so he can pass her off as a Texas heiress to his west-coast rival, the gangster hires an impoverished socialite to teach her social graces. Soon she appears as an elegant, cultured woman. Still, despite her sophisticated exterior, she is conniving and ruthless inside and tries to double-cross both her new lover and his rival. Eventually the two crime lords meet in a bloody confrontation that leaves one mobster dead. Her lover is about to shoot her but the accountant (who still loves her) intervenes and she escapes back to her home town. She waits there through the night and the next morning goes outside and finds her gangster lover waiting to get his revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Crawford, David Brian, (more)
- 1950
With Dallas, Gary Cooper revived his long-dormant association with westerns. Cooper plays ex-Confederate officer Blayde Hollister, who rides into Dallas in search of the men who killed his family and stole his land. Because he is considered to be an outlaw by the authorities, Hollister is compelled to switch identities with U.S. marshal Martin Wetherby (Leif Erickson). This ruse requires Hollister to explain his plan to Wetherby's lady friend, Tonia Robles (Ruth Roman). One by one, Hollister gets rid of the men responsible for the murders of his loved ones. The most formidable of his enemies, Will Marlow (Raymond Massey), proves to be a bit too clever to fall into Hollister's trap...at least until Marlow shows his hand in the final scene. There's more talk than action in Dallas, but Gary Cooper's laconic performance holds the audience's interest throughout. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Ruth Roman, (more)
- 1950
In Storm Warning, Ginger Rogers stars as a model visiting relatives in an unnamed small town. She happens to witness the beating death of a man at the hands of the KKK. Rogers soon discovers that the whole town is controlled by this vigilante group, and that her loutish brother-in-law Steve Cochran is one of the group's members. D.A. Ronald W. Reagan is the man who breaks the stranglehold of the hooded terrorists--through the simple expedient of walking into one of their meetings and calmly identifying each of them by name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ginger Rogers, Ronald Reagan, (more)
- 1950
Filmmaker Andrew Stone was always a staunch believer in realism at all costs. Thus it was that much of Highway 301 was lensed on a genuine (and very busy) interstate highway. Based on fact, the film recounts the bloody exploits of the notorious "Tri-State Gang," which preyed upon truck drivers. Gang leader George Legenza (Steve Cochran) will kill anyone who stands in his way--even his own henchmen. Before meeting his well-deserved demise, Legenza leads the authorities on a not-so-merry chase through Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland. A few welcome comic moments are provided by Virginia Grey, playing the soap-opera-fan wife of one of the gang members. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Cochran, Virginia Grey, (more)
Burt Lancaster stars as Jim Thorpe, the Native American sports whiz whom many consider the greatest athlete of the 20th century. We first see Thorpe as a child on the reservation, highly resistant to the notion of going to school. He proves to be an excellent student, eventually attending the all-Indian college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Still, Thorpe doesn't feel like mixing much with the other students until coach Charles Bickford encourages the lad to go out for the track team. Thorpe finds that he can be more "articulate" as an athlete than as a scholar, and soon excels at all school sports. He also marries his college sweetheart, non-Indian Phyllis Thaxter. After graduation, Thorpe tries to get a coaching job, but is frozen out by the white establishment. Determined to make a name for himself, he enters the 1912 Olympics at Stockholm, where he earns more gold medals than anyone else and is praised as the world's greatest athlete by the King of Sweden. Unfortunately, the fact that Thorpe briefly played semi-professional baseball while attending Carlisle costs him his amateur status--and every one of his medals. Things go from bad to worse for Thorpe after this; his son dies, his marriage disintegrates, and he crawls into a bottle. Thorpe has hit rock bottom when he is reunited with his old coach Bickford, who offers Jim a ticket to the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. It is the first small step on the road to regeneration for Jim Thorpe (alas, real life was not so kind; Thorpe died in near-poverty, and it was not until years after his death that his Olympic medals were restored). Jim Thorpe, All American was directed by Michael Curtiz, who previously had secured small acting roles for the real Thorpe in such films as Knute Rockne: All American (1940). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Charles Bickford, (more)
- 1951
A prison guard at one of California's most notoriously brutal correctional facilities during the 1920s attempts to enact more humane ways of controlling the inmates in this drama. Much of the story was filmed on location and centers the relationships between the steel-tough inmate, Steve Cochran, the ruthless, sadistic warden de Ted de Corsia and his thuggish guards and David Brian, the caring captain of the guard who to enact prison reform and promote rehabilitation programs rather than senseless violence. Steve Cochran and his followers are constantly scheming to escape while de Corsia and crew are trying to beat them into submission. To make things better, Brian, constantly defies de Corsia and as a result gets fired. This infuriates Cochran and the others and a bloody riot ensues. Though many die in the desperate melee, something good comes out of it all. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Cochran, David Brian, (more)
- 1951
Raton Pass is a curious western based on the rules of Community Property. Dennis Morgan and Patricia Neal portray a recently married husband and wife, each of whom owns half of a huge cattle ranch. Neal is a tad more ambitious than her husband, and with the help of a little legal chicanery she tries to obtain Morgan's half of the spread. He balks, so she hires a few gunslingers to press the issue. In a 1951 western, the greedy party usually came to a sorry end; Raton Pass adheres strictly to tradition. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Morgan, Patricia Neal, (more)
- 1951
When Margaret Mitchell originally submitted her manuscript for Gone with the Wind, its title was Tomorrow Is Another Day. The 1951 film of that title has nothing to do with Gone with the Wind, as will be obvious before the credits fade. Steve Cochran plays an ex-convict who thinks he killed a man. He takes it on the lam with Ruth Roman, a taxi dancer whose boyfriend is the supposed murder victim. Cochran is careful to marry Roman before transporting her across state lines; she doesn't really love him, but anything is better than her present lifestyle. Both husband and wife head for California, hoping to bury their past and start life clean, but society just won't let them. From the looks of things, Tomorrow Is Another Day might well have originally been intended for John Garfield, who died in 1951. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ruth Roman, Steve Cochran, (more)
- 1951
Actual combat footage is deftly blended in with dramatized re-enactments in The Tanks Are Coming. Steve Cochran stars as Sergeant Sully, the hard-bitten new leader of an arrogant, fiercely independent tank platoon. Despite protests from his commanding officer and his men, Sully runs the platoon ragged, teaching them the value of humility and teamwork under fire. The sergeant's training methods pay off during the 3rd Armored Division's assault into France in the summer of 1944. Though Mari Aldon shows up briefly as a female war correspondent, Tanks are Coming is an essential all-male enterprise, featuring good performances by such dependable players as Philip Carey, Paul Picerni, Harry Bellaver, James Dobson and George O'Hanlon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Cochran, Philip Carey, (more)
- 1952
The Lion and the Horse is one of the best efforts to come out of Bryan Foy's "B"-picture unit at Warner Bros. Steve Cochran stars as Ben Kirby, an easygoing cowboy who is dead set on owning a magnificent wild stallion. After Kirby and his partners capture the horse, the animal is purchased outright by nasty rodeo operator Dave Tracy (Ray Teal). Cruelly exploiting the horse as a bronco-busting attraction, Tracy refuses all entreaties to sell back the steed to Kirby, whereupon the latter "appropriates" the horse and heads for the high country. Taking refuge on the ranch owned by Cas Bagley (Harry Antrim), Kirby begins to train the horse himself. When Tracy catches up with Kirby, the horse panics and kills the villainous rodeo owner. Slated for destruction, the horse redeems itself in a manner that explains the film's title. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Cochran, Ray Teal, (more)
- 1952
Loosely based on the true story of Lieutenant Colonel Peter Ortiz, this mystery centers on an American WW II veteran who heroically served as both an officer and a member of the French Foreign Legionnaire. During the war he had been instrumental in assisting in the French Resistance. With such a sterling war record--his exploits are revealed via flashback-- it is therefore a great shock when he is charged with the murder of a Resistance leader. It does not help that the accused lieutenant is thought dead following a key mission and is not around to clear his sullied name. During the trial, several dubious witnesses tell their version of the tale. A former communist spy presents the most conclusive "proof" that the lieutenant killed the Resistance leader. Fortunately, the lieutenant is not dead and bursts in at the crucial moment to clear his name and point out which of the witnesses is the real killer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Steve Cochran, (more)
- 1953
Virginia Mayo stars in this unofficial follow-up to her 1952 musical hit She's Working Her Way Through College. Mayo plays movie star Catherine Terris, who after three box-office flops in a row, returns to the Broadway stage whence she came. Her co-star in this endeavor is Rich Sommers (Steve Cochran), who still harbors a grudge against Catherine because of her walkout during her last Broadway appearance. Predictably, Rich and Catherine bury the hatchet by midfilm, and when fadeout time rolls around they're in each other's arms. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Virginia Mayo, Gene Nelson, (more)
- 1953
Nobody has an easy time of it in the costume actioner Shark River. Wanted for murder, Clay Webley (Warren Stevens) and his wounded cellmate Curtis Parker (Robert Cunningham) hack their way through the Florida swampland. With the help of Clay's brother Dan (Steve Cochran), Clay is able to elude the authorities, but Parker dies of a snakebite. Subsisting on alligator meat, Dan and Clay make their way to the tiny cabin inhabited by widowed Jane Daughterty (Carole Mathews), her mother-in-law, and her son Johnny (Spencer Fox). The brothers rest here awhile, formulating plans to cross the Gulf of Mexico and head for Cuba. An Indian attack scotches these plans, and also ties up several loose plot ends and eliminates any and all extraneous characters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Cochran, Carole Mathews, (more)
- 1953
The Desert Song is the third film version of the famous Sigmund Romberg/Oscar Hammerstein Jr. stage operetta. Gordon MacRae plays the wimpish American tutor of lovely Kathryn Grayson, the daughter of a military officer stationed in Arabia. Under cover of night, MacRae assumes the identity of the Red Shadow, head of the Riffs, who fights against the oppression of a cruel local potentate (Raymond Massey). Circumstances force MacRae to kidnap Grayson and spirit her away to his desert headquarters, where she eventually sees the wisdom of his mission and falls in love with him. With Grayson's help, the Red Shadow thwarts Massey's plans to massacre all "foreigners" living in his domain. The story was old-fashioned even when Desert Song was first produced in the 1920s, but the songs, including One Alone, The Riff Song and the title tune, still retain their audience appeal. The only serious detriment to the 1953 Desert Song is the comedy relief of Dick Wesson as a wisecracking American reporter, a wearisome carryover from the stage original. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathryn Grayson, Gordon MacRae, (more)
- 1953
The oft-filmed James Oliver Curwood yarn Back to God's Country is given the Technicolor treatment in this 1953 cinemadaptation. Set in the Great White North, the story concerns a romantic triangle consisting of sea captain Peter Keith (Rock Hudson), his wife Dolores (Marcia Henderson), and his jealous rival Paul Blake (Steve Cochran). Things come to a head during a treacherous trek through the snow, to seek medical aid for the injured Keith. Despite the crooked chicanery of Blake and dishonest guide Frank Hudson (Hugh O'Brien), the day is saved by Keith's faithful Great Dane. Back to God's Country overcomes its old-fashioned plotting with spirited performances and excellent cinematography. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rock Hudson, Marcia Henderson, (more)
