Tristram Coffin Movies

Not technically a feature film, Aliens from Another Planet consists of two 60-minute episodes from the vintage Irwin Allen sci-fi TV series The Time Tunnel. James Darren and Robert Colbert star as Tony Newman and Doug Phillips, two research scientists working on a huge, high-tech time machine. Sucked into the mechanism in Episode One, Doug and Tony are compelled to pay danger-laden visits to the past and future, courtesy of the 20th Century-Fox stock-footage department. The first episode included herein is Chase Through Time, originally telecast February 24, 1967, in which the Time Travellers are projected into the far distant future by an unhinged nuclear technician (played by no less than Robert Duvall). In the second installment, Visitors From Beyond the Stars (original air date: January 13, 1967), a group of extraterrestrials land on Earth in the year 1885. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Disgusted by the smarminess of his 1963 vehicle Under the Yum Yum Tree, Jack Lemmon vowed that his next effort would be a wholesome family picture. Good Neighbor Sam is suitable for all ages, to be sure, but that doesn't stop producer-writer-director David Swift from injecting plenty of double-entendre dialogue and harmlessly risque situations. Lemmon plays ad executive Sam Bissell, happily married to all-American blonde Minerva (Dorothy Provine). Anxious to land the Nurdlinger's milk account, Sam is carefully scrutinized by the prudish Simon Nurdlinger (Edward G. Robinson), a staunch advocate of old-fashioned family values.

Meanwhile, Minerva welcomes her old school friend, sexy Janet Langerlof (Romy Schneider) into her home. Janet is in line to inherit a fortune, but only if she's married. Unfortunately, Janet is currently separated from her insanely jealous spouse Howard Ebbets (Michael Connors), so big-hearted Minerva volunteers Sam to pose as Janet's husband. The ensuing comic complications come to a head when Nurdlinger elects Sam and Janet as the nation's ideal "married" couple, and posts their pictures on billboards all over town! Some of the smaller pleasures in this film are provided by Louis Nye as a high-tech private eye, Barbara Nichols as a squeaky-voiced call girl, Robert Q. Lewis as Sam's lascivious neighbor, and an uncredited Gil Lamb as a genial wino. An amusing running gag involved the Hertz "man in the driver's seat" commercials of the 1960s has sometimes been cut from TV prints of Good Neighbor Sam. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A teenage boy, the son of a recently widowed policeman's wife, accidentally witnesses a wrestler killing his girl friend in a domestic dispute involving a robbery he just committed on her behalf. The boy had been delivering papers at the time and when the wrestler, who has a weak heart, finds out he begins searching for him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The story of America's most notorious gangster mother is chronicled in this crime drama. The tale starts in Oklahoma during the Depression. It is she who encourages her sons to become criminals. So sage is her advice, that other infamous mobsters such as Dillinger, and Machine Gun Kelly come to her for advice. She and her outlaw progeny go on the lam until the police finally corner her in her richly appointed Florida hide-out. A bloody shoot-out ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This Sam Katzman-produced sci-fier was originally released on a double bill with Katzman's Giant Claw. The plot is motivated by a newly discovered element called E-112, which festers at the Earth's core. Rising to the surface in the form of liquefied stone, E-112 becomes extremely dangerous when it is mixed with nitrogen. Before long, the entire world is threatened with the explosive power of the volatile element. To save Mankind from being blown to smithereens, seismologist David Conway (William Leslie) tries to neutralize E-112 with a combination of volcanic gases and silver iodide. Despite all the scientific doublespeak, The Night the World Exploded is doggedly nonintellecutal in its execution and appeal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A pre-I Dream of Jeannie Barbara Eden guest stars as Diana Jordan, a sexy young lass who attends a country club dance along with the Ricardos, the Mertzes, and the Ramseys. Much to their wives' dismay, Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz), Fred Mertz (William Frawley), and Ralph Ramsey (Frank Nelson) are all much smitten by the flirtatious Diana. In order to regain their husbands' attentions, Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball), Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance), and Betty Ramsey (Mary Jane Croft) all purchase expensive new clothes and subject themselves to an elaborate "glamour" treatment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This meticulous and unusually long cinemadaptation of Sloan Wilson's best-selling novel The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit stars Gregory Peck as an ex-army officer, pursuing a living as a TV writer in the postwar years. Hired by a major broadcasting network, Peck is assigned to write speeches for the network's president (Fredric March). Peck comes to realize that the president's success has come at the expense of personal happiness, and this leads Peck to ruminate on his own life. Extended flashbacks reveal that Peck had experienced a torrid wartime romance with Italian girl Marisa Pavan, a union that produced a child. Peck is torn between his responsibility to his illegitimate son and his current obligations towards his wife (Jennifer Jones), his children, and his employer. Among the many life-altering decisions made by Peck before the fade-out is his determination to seek out a job that will allow him to spend more time with his family, even if it means a severe cut in salary. The superb hand-picked supporting cast of The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit includes Ann Harding as March's wife, Keenan Wynn as the man who informs Peck that he'd fathered an Italian child, Henry Daniell as a detached executive, and an unbilled DeForrest Kelley as an army medic (who gets to say "He's dead, captain"!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A gangster is killed by a big man who pays no attention to bullets, and who leaves glowing fingerprints. Police scientist Chet Walker (Richard Denning) discovers that the fingerprints are radioactive -- as well as those of a dead man. We soon learn that this walking corpse was created by Dr. Wilhelm Steigg (Gregory Gaye); he's allowing secretly-returned deported gangster Buchanan (Michael Granger) to get revenge on those who were responsible for his conviction. Steigg removes part of the brains of recently-dead men, and replaces them with a device that allows them to control the body from a distance, like a robot; they can even see through the creature's eyes via television. Another atomic zombie kills the district attorney who convicted Buchanan, which leads Chet and his homicide detective friend Dave Harris (S. John Launer) to deduce that the killings are connected to the Buchanan case. Warnings are issued to other possible targets, but they're unable to prevent another death. The last two go into hiding. The movie concludes with a headline: "Creatures with the Atomic Brains Destroyed." This entertaining but cheesy little movie is completely unpretentious. Broad, surprisingly gruesome and well-paced, it's obviously aimed straight at the juvenile market -- and it hits it, too. A sterling artifact of its time: brisk, efficient and entertaining, even if it is awfully silly. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide

The 1954 musical remake of A Star is Born could have been titled A Star is Reborn, in that it represented the triumphal return to the screen of Judy Garland after a four-year absence. The remake adheres closely to the plotline of the 1937 original: An alcoholic film star, on his last professional legs, gives a career boost to a unknown aspiring actress. The two marry, whereupon her fame and fortune rises while his spirals sharply downward. Unable to accept this, the male star crawls deeper into the bottle. The wife tearfully decides to give up her own career to care for her husband. To spare her this fate, the husband chivalrously commits suicide. His wife is inconsolable at first, but is urged to go "on with the show" in memory of her late husband. In the original, Janet Gaynor played Esther Blodgett, who with no training or contacts came to Hollywood hoping for stardom. The remake, scripted by Moss Hart, is a shade more realistic: Garland's Esther, though far removed from fame, is a working professional singer/dancer when first we meet her. Both Gaynor and Garland are transformed from "Esther Blodgett" to "Vicki Lester" after being screen-tested, though Gaynor goes on to star in fluffy costume dramas while Garland more logically headlines big-budget musicals. The 1937 Star is Born costarred Fredric March as Norman Maine, Esther/Vicki's sponsor-cum-spouse. March patterned his performance after the tragic John Barrymore, reining in his emotions in favor of pure technique; James Mason's interpretation is more original, more emotional, and far more effective (who can forget the scene where Norman sobbingly overhears Vicki planning to give up her career for his sake?) As the studio's long-suffering publicist, the 1937 version's Lionel Stander is more abrasive and unpleasant than the 1954 version's introspective, intellectual Jack Carson; on the other hand, Adolphe Menjou and Charles Bickford are fairly evenly matched in the role of the studio head. Several important omissions are made in the remake. The 1937 Star is Born included Esther's indomitable old grandma (May Robson), a helpful assistant director (Andy Devine) and a soft-hearted landlord (Edgar Kennedy); all three characters are missing from the 1954 version, though elements of each can be found in the "best friend/severest critic" character played by Tommy Noonan. Wisely, both versions end with the grieving Vicki Lester coming out of her shell at a public gathering, greeting the audience with a proud, defiant "Good evening, everybody. This is Mrs. Norman Maine". Though directors William Wellman (1937 version) and George Cukor (1954 version) handle this finale in their own distinctive manners, the end result is equally effective emotionally. What truly sets the 1954 A Star is Born apart from other films of its ilk is its magnificent musical score by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin. The songs include The Man Who Got Away (brilliantly performed by Garland in one long take, sans dubbing), It's a New World, Somewhere There's a Someone, I Was Born in a Trunk, Lose That Long Face and Gotta Have Me Go With You. When originally previewed in 1954, the film ran well over three hours, thanks to the lengthy-and thoroughly disposable-Born in a Trunk number, added to the film as an afterthought without the approval or participation of director George Cukor. The Warner Bros. executives trimmed the film to 154 minutes, eliminating three top-rank musical numbers and several crucial expository sequences (including Norman's proposal to Vicki). At the instigation of the late film historian Ronald Haver, the full version was painstakingly restored in 1983, with outtakes and still photos bridging the "lost" footage. Though nominated in several categories, A Star is Born was left empty-handed at Academy Award time, an oversight that caused outrage then and still rankles Judy Garland fans to this day (Footnote: Judy Garland had previously played Vicki Lester in a 1942 Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of the original A Star is Born). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Another entry in the 3D sweepstakes, Hannah Lee is all but forgotten today. That's too bad, because the film at least has historical interest, representing one of the few forays into directing by actor John Ireland, who co-stars in the film with his then-wife Joanne Dru. MacDonald Carey heads the cast as vicious outlaw Bus Crow, who is paid a substantial sum to wipe out a group of homesteaders. Opposing Crow at every turn is U.S. marshal Rochelle (Ireland), who suspects that Crow is responsible for a recent rash of murders but who can prove nothing. Meanwhile, Crow's erstwhile lady friend Hallie (Dru) turns on the bandit when he guns down an innocent little boy. The title Hannah Lee has far less relevance to the plot than Wicked Water, the title of the MacKinlay Kantor novel upon which this film is based. Credited as co-director is the film's cinematographer, Oscar-winner Lee Garmes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lana Turner stars in this musical/romantic comedy amalgam from director Mervyn Leroy. Turner plays Nora Taylor, a wealthy heiress who finds herself seeing a psychiatrist because she can't decide whether she is loved for herself or her money. When her rich boyfriend (John Lund) takes off for Brazil, Nora tags along with him, hinting that the trip will improve their relationship. But once in Brazil, her boyfriend seems more interested in business dealings than love. As she waits around for her disinterested suitor, she meets a handsome Latin millionaire (Ricardo Montalban), and his charm makes her fall for him immediately. While this relationship is coalescing, Nora's boyfriend is beginning to notice her vivacious secretary Anne Kellwood (Jean Hagen). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide