Dorcas Cochran Movies

Steve McQueen stars as the Cincinnati Kid, a crackerjack New Orleans stud poker player. Tired of chicken feed, the Kid decides to challenge The Man (Edward G. Robinson), the reigning poker champ, who is in town for a private game. The Shooter (Karl Malden), another gambling pro, arranges a game between the Kid and the Man, with the Shooter dealing. The game is compromised by the intervention of Slade (Rip Torn), an old foe of the Man's who tries to fix the outcome. The Kid finds out about this and tells Slade to get lost, preferring to win fair and square. The outcome is in the cagey hands of The Man, who is smart enough to do (as one reviewer put it) the wrong thing at the right time. The Cincinnati Kid was based on the novel by Richard Jessup. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed in less than glorious two-strip Cinecolor, this average Eddie Dean western benefited from Dean performing "Ride on the Tide of a Song", "Journey's End"and "I Can Tell by the Stars". The story surrounding all this warbling, however, was the standard one of a gang of thugs interfering with the building of the telegraph. Headed by Drake Dawson (Terry Frost) and a crooked lay judge (Warner P. Richmond), the gang stirs up trouble among the local Indians, who are persuaded that the telegraph may mean the end of the buffalo. Enter retired rangers Eddie Dean, Soapy Jones (Roscoe Ates) and Stormy Day (Al "Lash" La Rue), who are persuaded back in harness to secure the prompt continuation of the building project. Carrie Bannister (Sarah Padden), the widow of a slain ranger captain, persuades her friend Chief Black Fox (Chief Yowlachie) to help secure the telegraph rather than oppose its construction. On their way to gather more information on the outlaws, Soapy and Skinny (Robert "Buzzy" Henry, Mrs. Bannister's young son, are ambushed by Dawson's men. Discovering an abandoned gun near a wounded Skinny, Soapy recognizes the weapon as belonging to the murdered Captain Bannister. When Eddie learns that Dawson himself is carrying a matching gun, Bannister's murderer has finally been found. The rangers arrive just in time to round up the gang and, peace finally restored, a recovered Skinny is made an honorary ranger. A truncated black and white version of this film was released in 1948 under the title of Prairie Outlaws, presumably in order to cash in on the appearance of Al "Lash" La Rue, who by then had his own starring series. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

That The Girl in the Case is not to be taken seriously is demonstrated in the scene wherein its dignified leading man Edmund Lowe dons a gaudy zoot suit. Lowe is cast as lawyer William Warner, who also happens to be an expert lock-picker. Both his legal and illegal talents are pressed into service when Tommy Rockwood (Robert Scott) hires Warner to open an old chest. This particular prop turns out to be a veritable Pandora's Box, unleashing an onslaught of intrigue, espionage, and murder. Janis Carter costars as Warner's Nora Charles-like wife, whose inability to mind her own business nearly results in her demise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Back in the 1940s, it was not uncommon for recording artists to cut records exclusively for the jukebox trade, and sometimes to perform musical numbers "live" to jukeboxes via telephone hookup. Perhaps it is necessary for one to know these things before viewing Jukebox Jenny, very much a product of its time. Vaudevillian Ken Murray stars as Malcolm Hammond, sales manager for the record-company owner by Roger Wadsworth (Don Douglas). Engaged to Genevieve Horton (Harriet Hilliard), daughter of his financial backer (Marjorie Gateson), Wadsworth is strong-armed into a marriage with brash Jinx Corey (Iris Adrian). Hammond tries to rescue Wadsworth from this contentious union, but in the process he falls in love with Genevieve himself, and endeavors to turn her into a top recording star, utilizing his know-how of the mechanics of the "juke" business. With eight musical numbers, it's a wonder that there's time in Jukebox Jenny for any plot at all! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Universal contractee Irene Hervey, generally required to stand by the sidelines while the leading men did all the acting, was given a vehicle of her very own with Frisco Lil. Irene plays a law student whose father is framed for a crime he didn't commit. Going undercover as a gambling-joint croupier, Harvey tries to sniff out the genuine crooks. She does, but it's fortunate that Kent Taylor is on hand to keep her from winding up in a cement kimono. Irene Hervey would continue to act into middle age, retiring periodically to devote herself to her family (she was married to singer Allan Jones, and was the mother of another vocalist, Jack Jones); in 1965, she popped up in a colorful recurring role on the TV series Honey West. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide