Clancy Cooper Movies
A distinguished member of Broadway's famed Group Theater, with whom he appeared in Casey Jones (1938) and Night Music (1940), Clancy Cooper entered films with Warner Bros. in 1941. But despite his distinctive theater pedigree, Cooper's busy screen career proved middling at best and he mainly played bit roles. A notable exception came in the 1944 serial Haunted Harbor, as one of hero Kane Richmond's two sidekicks. A veteran of more than 100 feature films, the veteran actor went on to also embrace television, appearing in over 200 episodes in shows such as The Lone Ranger, Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Gunsmoke, Twilight Zone, Maverick, Dr. Kildare, and The Wild Wild West. Married to novelist Elizabeth Cooper, Clancy Cooper died of a heart attack while driving in Hollywood. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1962
Rod Serling penned the story on which this crime melodrama was based. The trouble begins when as a policeman rushes toward the scene of a robbery. En route he hears a woman scream in a dark alley and gets there just in time to see someone tearing away. The cop calls out, but the runner does not stop. The cop opens fire and fatally shoots a young teenage boy. Apparently the youth had only accidentally bumped the lady and knocked her down. Though the cop is eventually acquitted, his reputation amongst his peers is destroyed. This leads the disgraced officer to launch his own investigation in hopes of clearing his sullied name. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Warfield, Erin O'Donnell, (more)
- 1962
Two young women have been murdered in the woods surrounding the campus of a college, and in each case the victim's body was sliced up in surgical fashion. While the police investigate the possibility that one of the faculty members is the killer, medical student Daphne Grey (Vera Miles) lives in mortal fear that she might be the next victim. Even so, Daphne agrees to act as bait in a scheme concocted by her psychology-professor boyfriend, Harold (Jeffrey Hunter), to trap the murderer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
In this comedy, two small-time con men steal an honest ex-convict's car and use it to rob a bank. They then hide the loot in the car's spare tire. Unfortunately for the ex-con, his car ends up repossessed and eventually sold to a parish priest who immediately drives off for a much-needed fishing trip. The priest is then stopped by a cop who recognizes the vehicle from the robbery. The priest is blamed for the crime and jailed; he is then released and the ex-con is arrested in his place. Because the police claim that the priest has been harboring criminals in his parish, his monsignor transfers him. The good parishioners are so distraught that the con men feel remorse and confess to their crime. Peace is restored, and happiness ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Bryar, Stanley Clements, (more)
- 1961
Upon discovering that his business partner Jimbo Cobb (Buddy Ebsen) possesses psychokinetic powers enabling him to move things with his brain power alone, café owner and compulsive gambler Ace Larsen (Dane Clark) hightails it to Las Vegas with Jimbo in tow. It is Ace's contention that Jimbo's unsual gift will enable him to "fix" dice games and roulette wheels without detection, and for a while this proves to be the case. But what Ace hasn't counted on is the fact that Jimbo has a conscience -- and that Jimbo is disgusted by Ace's cavalier treatment of his erstwhile girlfriend Kitty Cavanaugh (Christine White). Scripted by Charles Beaumont from a story by George Clayton Johnson, "The Prime Mover" made its Twilight Zone debut on March 24, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buddy Ebsen, Dane Clark, (more)
- 1960
The scene is Las Vegas, where William Benson (Arthur Hill) has dropped a bundle at the gaming tables. But Benson's luck seems to change when he finds a fancy money clip containing 92,000 dollars. Ultimately determining that honesty is the best policy, Benson turns the clip over to the authorities -- only to find that it originally contained 102,000 dollars, and thus he is now suspected of stealing the missing ten grand. Surprisingly, the clip's owner, Curtis Newsome (Rod Cameron), gets Benson off the hook by telling the cops that he'd only lost the original 92,000...but as it happens, Newsome is not quite the generous glad-hander he appears to be. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
A formerly rough-and-tumble Western mining town has lived in peace and tranquility ever since the arrival of gentle giants Jamie and Ben McMahon (Arch Johnson, Read Morgan). All this changes when an odd-looking little man (Norman Lloyd) shows up in town, promptly challenging the McMahon brothers' authority. Despite their combined brawn, Jamie and Ben prove utterly incapable of standing up to the Little Man -- who seems to possess demonic powers! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Juvenile delinquents run afoul of big-league dope dealers in this low-budget crime thriller. Frankie (Robert Arthur) is a hotheaded teenager whose impulsive streak has led him to the State Honor Farm for wayward boys. Frankie engineers an escape with the help of his curvaceous girlfriend, Donna (Jan Brooks), but he makes the mistake of bringing along fellow delinquent Switch (Steve Rowland), who's behind bars for attacking his father with a knife. Switch doesn't make a secret of his attraction to Donna, which slowly infuriates Frankie, and things become no more comfortable when their car breaks down and they're forced to hitchhike. The three teenagers catch a ride with Rivas (John Goddard) and his wife, Madge (Carol Ohmart), but this isn't the stroke of good fortune it might seem. Rivas is a ruthless criminal who has killed a narcotics agent en route from Mexico while smuggling a large parcel of heroin into the United States. When the delinquents discover they're dealing with a bona fide mobster, they part company with Rivas but inadvertently steal his stash, which is hidden in a large doll, putting the bloodthirsty gangster on their trail. Naked Youth was originally released as Wild Youth, but received more play under its more exploitive title, though doubtless a few viewers were disappointed that it didn't actually feature any youths naked. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1959
The fourth season of Maverick gets under way minus the series' popular star James Garner, who'd vacated the role of frontier gambler Bret Maverick after a contract dispute with Warner Bros.. Garner's costar Jack Kelly is still on hand as Bret's brother Bart Maverick, along with a newcomer to these parts: future "James Bond" Roger Moore in the role of Bart's British cousin Beau Maverick, the "white sheep" of the Maverick clan. No sooner has Beau arrived in the American West than he agrees--for a price, of course--to pose as Freddie Bogner (Robert Casper, scion of a wealthy and aristocratic European family. But the $4000 that Beau is to collect for this assignment may not be worth the danger involved when he is kidnapped by an ill-tempered gent with a long-standing grudge against the real Freddie. Featured in the cast is Max Baer Jr., still two years away from TV immortality as Jethro Bodine on The Beverly Hillbillies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Kenneth More portrays a British gunsmith who travels to the American West. After winning a rigged poker game, More is appointed sheriff of Fractured Jaw, a wide-open town where law officers are plugged and planted on a regular basis. He befriends hard-bitten saloon gal Jayne Mansfield, who doesn't give the gentlemanly More much chance of survival. Using his wits, and blessed with a generous amount of raw luck, Sheriff More escapes death at every turn, finally becoming the "blood brother" of a previous hostile Sioux tribe. With the help of his Native American friends, More brings law and order to Fractured Jaw. The film's main advantages are Kenneth More, who is superb as always, and Jayne Mansfield, giving one of her best and least mannered performances. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenneth More, Jayne Mansfield, (more)
- 1958
Douglas Sirk directed this doomed World War II love story, seen from the German side of the war, as filtered through a distinctly late-'50s Hollywood banality. The film is based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque, the author of the classic World War I anti-war novel All Quiet On the Western Front -- and who makes a cameo appearance in the film as an elderly schoolteacher. The film stars John Gavin as Ernst Graber, a young Nazi soldier home on leave during the height of World War II. While on leave, he falls in love and marries Elizabeth Kruze (Lilo Pulver). With bombs falling all around the young couple, they set up house with a kindly old woman. Then Elizabeth becomes pregnant. But before Ernst can grasp the reality of his becoming a father, he is sent back to the war -- to fight the brutal battle along the Russian front. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Gavin, Liselotte Pulver, (more)
- 1957
Former Army officer Emmett Egan (Herbert Rudley) arrives in Dodge City, in hopes of eventually replacing Matt Dillon (James Arness) as the marshal. Hoping to prove to Egan that his job is no bed of roses, Matt allows him to spend a week following him around as he carries out his duties. But Egan is not satisfied with just being an observer, and he insists on showing off his peacekeeping skills--with disastrous consequences. Featured in the cast as Clarise is country music legend June Carter Cash, here billed under her maiden name. This episode is based on the Gunsmoke radio broadcast of March 18, 1956. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Actually, this retelling of the life of outlaw Jesse James is only as true as its predecessor, the highly fanciful 1939 Tyrone Power-Henry Fonda starrer Jesse James. Generous chunks of stock footage from the earlier film are reused here, albeit reframed to accommodate the CinemaScope process. Robert Wagner makes an interesting James, though he is upstaged throughout by Jeffrey Hunter as his brother Frank. Adhering to the Canon, the film insists that the James boys were forced into a life of crime by greedy railroad men -- hence, their ongoing vendetta against trains. Director Nicholas Ray adds a few psychological nuances not found in the more prosaic 1939 film. John Carradine, who played "dirty little coward" Bob Ford in the original Jesse James, appears in the remake as Rev. Jethro Bailey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Wagner, Jeffrey Hunter, (more)
- 1957
Edward Chodorov's stage farce Oh, Men! Oh, Women! is somewhat unnecessarily overburdened by star names in this 1957 film version. Dan Dailey plays psychiatrist Arthur Turner, who is somewhat put out when he discovers that one of his patients is the ex-boyfriend of his supposedly "normal" fiancée, Myra Hagerman (Barbara Rush). Having always prided himself on keeping his professional and personal life separated, Dr. Turner finds that he's just as mixed up as any of his patients in matters of the heart. Nominally, David Niven and Barbara Rush are the stars, but top billing is bestowed upon Dan Dailey and Ginger Rogers as bickering married couple Arthur and Mildred Turner, two secondary characters in the original play. Director Nunnally Johnson's screenplay also fleshes out the roles played by Dailey and Rogers with a lengthy, amusing "fantasy" sequence wherein Ginger offers a highly fanciful version of her marital life. In his motion picture debut, Tony Randall is hilarious as Cobbler, Myra Hagerman's neurosis-ridden former beau. Watch for Franklin Pangborn and Roy Glenn Sr. in unbilled cameo roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Dailey, Ginger Rogers, (more)
- 1956
- NR
Once you get past the fact that handsome Paul Newman could never pass for plug-ugly boxer Rocky Graziano in real life, you will be able to accept Somebody Up Their Likes Me as one of the more accomplished movie biopics of the 1950s. Based on Graziano's autobiography (co-written with Rowland Barber), the film accurately depicts the teen-aged Rocky as an unregenerate punk, evidently doomed by his slum environment, and his own lousy attitude, to a life of petty crime. Determining that the only way he'll make a living is with his fists, Rocky becomes a boxer, at first willing to participate in a series of fixed fights. Eventually, Rocky develops a conscience and sense of self-respect, no small thanks to his sweetheart (and later wife) Norma (Pier Angeli). The film ends on an optimistic note after Rocky wins a "clean" bout with Tony Zale (playing himself). Training extensively with Graziano prior to and during production, Newman is quite impressive in his first worthwhile film role (this was only his third film, following the execrable The Silver Chalice and the forgettable outing The Rack). The title song in Somebody Up There Likes Me was written by Bronislau Kaper and Sammy Cahn, and performed by Perry Como. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Anna Maria Pier Angeli, (more)
- 1955
The splendid physique of Tony Curtis is given generous screen exposure in the boxing melodrama The Square Jungle. Curtis plays Eddie Quaid, who turns to pugilism to bail his wino father (Jim Backus) out of jail. Gaining fame as "Packy Glennon," Quaid inevitably forgets the things in life that are truly important, including his faithful girlfriend Julie Walsh (Pat Crowley). Only after he nearly kills a longtime rival in the ring does Quaid get his act together. The most compelling performance is delivered by Ernest Borgnine as Quaid's trainer; Borgnine plays the character as a shy, studious type, adding a highly original touch to this otherwise predictable production. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Ernest Borgnine, (more)
- 1954
The 1954 Martin-and-Lewis romp Living It Up is an amusing remake of the 1937 comedy classic Nothing Sacred. More specifically, it is the film version of the Broadway musical Hazel Flagg, which was based on Nothing Sacred. The heroine of the original undergoes a sex change to become feckless Homer Flagg (Jerry Lewis), who is led to believe that he's dying of radiation poisoning. Manhattan newspaperwoman Wally Cook (Janet Leigh), hoping to improve circulation of her paper, convinces her boss, Oliver Stone (Fred Clark), to fete Homer as a hero with an all-expenses-paid trip to the Big Apple. Meanwhile, Homer learns from local doctor Steve (Dean Martin) that he isn't dying at all. But Steve talks Homer into taking advantage of the celebrity treatment bestowed on him by Wally, and a good time is had by all -- until medical specialist Dr. Egelhofer (Sig Rumann) insists upon examining Homer. Highlights include a hilarious bit at Yankee Stadium, and an energetic jitterbug number featuring Jerry Lewis and Sheree North. The handful of songs retained from Hazel Flagg include "Every Street's a Boulevard in Old New York." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, (more)
- 1953
Previously adapted to film in 1923, Ben Ames Williams' rousing sea adventure All the Brothers Were Valiant was given the prestige MGM treatment in 1953. Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger star as seafaring siblings Joel and Mark Shore. When Mark disappears during a whaling expedition, Joel and his wife Priscilla Holt (Ann Blyth) set sail in search of his missing brother. They discover to their chagrin that Mark has become a conscienceless reprobate, a disgrace to his family. Not only does Mark make a play for Priscilla, but he foments a mutiny on board Joel's ship so that he may commandeer the vessel and embark on a search for a valuable bed of pearls. Eventually, one of the brothers comes to a literally sticky demise, with Priscilla looking on in wide-mouthed horror. Cast as Priscilla's father is that grand old trouper Lewis Stone, in his final film role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Taylor, Stewart Granger, (more)
Samuel Fuller scarcely used Dwight Taylor's source material, a languid courtroom romance, in crafting this pugnacious potboiler. Pickup on South Street is strictly Fuller film noir -- lean and wicked straight to its core. Barely out of prison, loner and pickpocket Skip McCoy (Richard Widmark) quietly helps himself to the contents of a woman's purse. His beautiful victim, Candy (Jean Peters), turns out to be an unwitting courier for the communist underground; McCoy's booty is actually microfilmed U.S. government secrets, formerly en route to Moscow. Both the FBI and Candy's employers are desperate to retrieve the film. The apolitical and arrogant McCoy has a plan to play both ends against the middle and come up ahead. However, dealing with the authorities may mean life in the clink, and the sadistic communists would rather kill McCoy than pay him off. He quickly becomes embroiled with Candy, who will risk everything to right her wrongs, and eventually even more to save her new man. When McCoy loses a cohort and Candy is almost killed, the cocksure pickpocket finds a stronger motivation than personal gain. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, (more)
- 1953
The Silver Whip stars Dale Robertson as Race Crim, the guard on a stage coach driven by his best friend, young Jess Harker (Robert Wagner). Wounded during a holdup, Crim vows to get even with bandit Slater (John Kellogg). Meanwhile, Harker, fired from his job as driver, manages to become the deputy for Sheriff Tom Davisson (Rory Calhoun). When the sheriff captures Slater and throws him in jail, a lynch mob, headed by Crim, converges upon the jailhouse. Harker is placed in a delicate dilemma: should he protect Slater and uphold justice, or should he allow his old friend Crim to satisfy his thirst for vengeance? The Silver Whip was based on a novel by Jack Schaefer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dale Robertson, Rory Calhoun, (more)
- 1952
Twenty-one-year-old Anne Francis carries off the title-character duties in 20th Century-Fox's Lydia Bailey with class and finesse. Set in Haiti during the Napoleonic era, the film concerns aristocratic landholder Lydia Bailey and her more-than-professional relationship with American attorney Albion Hamlin (Dale Robertson). The idealistic Hamlin becomes involved in the Haitian uprising against the French, aligning himself with rebel leader--and former slave--King Dick (William Marshall). At first, Lydia sides with the French, but she eventually realizes that Hamlin's way is the right way. Based on a novel by Kenneth Roberts, Lydia Bailey was slated for TV presentation on NBC's Saturday Night at the Movies in 1963, but was pulled from the schedule because of a subplot involving miscegenation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dale Robertson, Anne Francis, (more)
- 1952
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
- Starring:
- Humphrey Bogart, Ethel Barrymore, (more)
- 1952
Filmed on location in Canada, The Wild North stars Stewart Granger as renegade trapper Jules Vincent. Forced to kill in self-defence, Vincent hides out in the wilderness, obliging RCMP constable Pedley (Wendell Corey) to chase after him in some of the most treacherous territory in Northern America. After braving the elements and various wild animals, Vincent and the wounded Pedley are compelled to join forces in order to survive their ordeal. Though his common sense advises him to leave Pedley to die, Vincent's essential decency wins out, and the trapper struggles against the odds to bring the constable back to civilization. Third-billed Cyd Charisse does a little box-office duty in the thankless role of an Indian maiden smitten by Vincent's charms. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stewart Granger, Wendell Corey, (more)
- 1952
Man Behind the Gun is a standard-issue Randolph Scott western elevated by good performances and exciting action sequences. Scott plays Callicut, newly arrived in the bustling mid-19th century metropolis of Los Angeles. Outwardly just another soldier of fortune, Callicut is actually an undercover agent for the government, sent to LA to investigate a covert organization that hopes to make Southern California a separate state. When he finds the time, he romances schoolteacher Lora Roberts (Patrice Wymore), whose life he'd previously saved during a stagecoach holdup. Callicut's rival for Lora's attentions is Roy Giles (Philip Carey), a hotheaded Army captain who may be in on the secessionist movement. Once Callicut finds out who's behind the movement, all hell breaks loose. Robert Cabal makes a brief appearance in Man Behind the Gun as a supposedly harmless Latino who turns out to be firebrand desperado Joaquin Murietta. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Randolph Scott, Patrice Wymore, (more)
- 1952
Fans of Loretta Young were rather taken aback by the early scenes of Because of You, wherein Young is seen as brash, uninhibited bleach-blonde Christine Carroll. On the verge of marrying gangster Mike Monroe (Alex Nicol), Christine is arrested by the cops, and sent to prison on the strength of incriminating evidence slipped into her purse by the duplicitous Monroe. Through the kindness of prison psychiatrist Dr. Breen (Alexander Scourby), Christine turns her life around in prison, becoming a nurse's aid in the infirmary. Upon her release, Christine gets a job at a respectable hospital, where she falls in love with wounded combat pilot Steve Kimberly (Jeff Chandler). Will she ever be able to reveal her sordid past without sending the emotionally fragile Steve off the deep end? And what about that no-good Mike Monroe? The supporting cast of Because of You includes two of Loretta Young's contemporaries of the 1930s, Frances Dee and Mae Clarke, in strongly defined character roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loretta Young, Jeff Chandler, (more)
- 1951
Filmed on location in Florida's Everglades, Distant Drums stars Gary Cooper as Indian fighter Quincy Wyatt. At the height of the Seminole wars, Wyatt leads a small group of soldiers into the Everglades to offer resistance. Along the way, they rescue Judy Beckett (Mari Aldon), one of several white prisoners of the Seminoles. Judy proves to be as worthy a "soldier" as Wyatt and his men during the final Seminole attack. Prominent among the supporting players is Robert Barrat as General Zachary Taylor. Distant Drums was produced independently by Milton Sperling's United States Productions, and distributed by Warner Bros. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Mari Aldon, (more)
