Nick Cravat Movies

This musical spoof of Westerns featured Lee Marvin in dual roles that won him a Best Actor Oscar. Jane Fonda stars as the title character, a prim schoolmarm returning to her hometown of Wolf City, Wyoming, after receiving an Eastern education. On the train ride, Cat meets up with a pair of friendly, charming crooks, Clay Boone (Michael Callan) and his uncle, Jed (Dwayne Hickman), the former becoming hopelessly smitten with the naive but tough Cat. Upon arriving home, Cat discovers that her eccentric father, Frankie (John Marley), is being threatened with bodily harm by a development company that desperately wants his land. When Frankie is murdered by ruthless, noseless killer Tim Strawn (Marvin), Cat straps on a pair of six-shooters and persuades Clay, Jed, and her father's loyal Native American hand Jackson Two-Bears (Tom Nardini) to sign on as her posse. In her quest for revenge, Cat also recruits Kid Shelleen (also played by Marvin), a one-time fearsome gunslinger who's now a hopeless alcoholic. Cat Ballou (1965) is interspersed throughout the narrative with appearances by Stubby Kaye and Nat King Cole as a pair of balladeers who comment on the action musically in Greek chorus style. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

The jewel in the crown of the TV anthology Disneyland's first season was the phenominally successful three-part miniseries Davy Crockett, an entertaining mixture of fact and legend surrounding fabled frontiersman Davy Crockett (Fess Parker). All three episodes were originally introduced with series host-producer Walt Disney reading a chapter from Davy Crockett's Journal, whereupon a series of semi-animated tableaux faded into the live-action portion of the program. In the third and final episode, Davy and his pal Georgie Russell (Buddy Ebsen) team up with a crooked but lovable gambler named Thimblerig (Hans Conried) and head off to Texas, there to join the Army in its battle for independence against Mexican general Santa Ana. Effectively assuming command of the Alamo from an incapacitated Jim Bowie (Kenneth Tobey), Davy realizes he is fighting a lost cause, but manages to rally the remaining troops for one last courageous stand against the Mexicans. If Davy's ultimate demise seems to be "fudged", it was because Walt Disney had tumbled into a merchandising bonanza with the Davy Crockett miniseries, and was reluctant to show the New American Hero being shot to death. In 1955, the three Emmy-winning Davy Crockett episodes were re-edited and released as the theatrical feature Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

My Friend Irma was supposed to be a straightforward adaptation of the popular radio sitcom of the same name. The film's focus therefore was supposed to be on air-headed Irma Peterson (Marie Wilson), her levelheaded roommate, Jane Stacy (Diana Lynn, taking over from the radio series' Cathy Lewis), and their various romantic misadventures. But the audience tended to ignore Irma, Jane, and the others in favor of two movie newcomers: Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, cast respectively as would-be singer Steve Laird and dumb-dumb restaurant employee Seymour. Having risen to the top of the heap in the nightclub world, Martin and Lewis were discovered for films by producer Hal Wallis, who decided to test the boys out in secondary roles in an established property. Wallis felt that while Martin had potential as a singing star, Lewis was hopelessly inept as an actor. As the whole world knows by now, it was Lewis who ended up as the team's main attraction with his own inimitable brand of wacko humor. Even as early as Irma, Lewis manages to dominate every scene he's in, often by sheer force of will. Pretty soon, the viewer has forgotten the gossamer-thin plot (Irma's Runyonesque boyfriend, Al, played by John Lund, tries to promote Dino into stardom) and is waiting anxiously to get back to Jerry. When time came for the 1950 sequel, My Friend Irma Goes West, virtually the entire plot revolved around Martin and Lewis, with the official "stars" relegated to supporting roles. Like Marie Wilson, several of the My Friend Irma cast members were holdovers from the radio series, including Hans Conried as Professor Kropotkin. Felix Bressart had originally been slated to play Kropotkin on film, but when he died during shooting, Conried was brought in to complete his scenes (Bressart can still be glimpsed in a few medium and long shots). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

For his initial effort from his own Norma Productions, Burt Lancaster picked a winner in Ten Tall Men. Lancaster stars as "Sergeant Mike," a two-fisted Foreign Legionnaire presiding over a lovable band of mercenaries, sneak thieves and cutthroats. While sitting in the stockade for the umpteenth time, Mike learns of a Riff plan to attack his fort. He and his men break jail and embark on their own attack of the Riffian encampment. Part of their strategy (much of which is improvised on the spot) is to kidnap Mahia (Jody Lawrence), the toothsome daughter of the Riffian sheik. Understandably, Mahia despises her captors until she realizes that the film's real villain is the covetous Caid Hussan (Gerald Mohr). This one's got everything, from a campy reenactment of a key scene in Beau Geste to the old reliable threat of a red-hot iron upon female flesh. Mari Blanchard, fully clothed for a change, shows up early in the film as a coquettish French mademoiselle who foments an all-out donnybrook among Mike and his fellow legionnaires. With the exceptions of Jody Lawrence and Gerald Mohr, no one in Ten Tall Men takes the proceedings too seriously; the film has some of the cheeky insouciance of Lancaster's subsequent swashbuckler The Crimson Pirate. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

No one is as good as Barbara Stanwyck when she's bad. Here Stanwyck plays Thelma Jordon, a woman who late one night shows up in the office of happily married Assistant DA Cleve Marshall (Wendell Corey) to seek help in solving the string of robberies at her wealthy aunt's estate. Before Cleve can stop himself, he and Thelma are involved in an illicit affair. But Thelma is a mysterious woman, and Cleve can't help wondering if she is hiding something. His suspicions are confirmed when Thelma confesses to him that she is married to Tony Laredo, though she swears that she never wants to see him again. When Thelma's aunt is found murdered, Cleve's suspicions are aroused once again, but he is too love-struck to keep himself from being drawn into the complicated series of events that ultimately lead to his ruination. Siodmak directs with his usual skill and polish, but the film really belongs to Barbara Stanwyck who is magnificent as Thelma. Unlike the usual cold, passionless femme fatale of film noir, Thelma has a heart and a conscience. She comes to love Cleve, and has concern for his life and his future. However, despite her wish that her life could be different, she realizes that she belongs in Tony's world, and despite her attempts to sacrifice herself to save Cleve, he is doomed, by his love for her and by his own weaknesses. The File on Thelma Jordan is a romantic, unusual mystery, with a great performance and superior direction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

David Hurst guest stars as the tenacious old uncle of Sr. Bertrille's English-fracturing colleague Sr. Sixto (Shelley Morrison). Despite his utter lack of talent and success as a fisherman, Uncle stubbornly insists upon heading out to sea for one last big haul. Sr. Bertrille tries to help the old man by becoming an airborne "fish spotter," high-powered telescope and all. Written by John McGreevey, "A Fish Story" originally aired on January 11, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One night after finishing his rounds as security chief at Jordan College, Quartz Willinger (Cameron Mitchell) stops by an after-hours club for a drink and walks in on the middle of a robbery, during which he is savagely beaten by three hillbilly thugs. While recovering from his injuries, he needs a replacement and arranges to hire an old friend, Jim Slade (Burt Lancaster), an ex-cop who has just been paroled on a murder conviction, for killing the man he caught with his wife. He finds the job an awkward fit but a welcome relief from prison, especially once he meets his parole officer, Linda Thorpe (Susan Clark). On his first night on the job, there's a break-in at the office of the college's resident psychiatrist (Robert Quarry), and the theft of some tapes made by students, only one of whom -- Natalie Clayborne (Catherine Bach), a pretty yet troubled coed, and daughter of a very powerful politician (Morgan Woodward) -- isn't upset by the incident. The next night, Slade finds her getting drunk in town and gets her back to the campus. When Natalie turns up dead, the county sheriff, Casey (Harris Yulin), glances at him briefly as a suspect before arresting the custodian Ewing (Charles Tyner), who was a religious nut with a collection of pornography and a fixation on Natalie. But Slade isn't convinced of Ewing's guilt and starts to investigate the crime himself with help from Linda. Despite Casey's pressuring him to stay out of it, the ex-cop soon discovers Jordan College, the town, and the surrounding county are a nasty border-state version of Peyton Place, populated by lots of people with skeletons in their closets, including blackmail, incest, and murder, with hardly an institution not corrupted by some part of it. What's more, in a series of twists worthy of The Big Sleep (book or movie), he uncovers a connection between the thugs who beat up Quartz and the stolen tape and the murder, which results in the brutal killing of his witnesses and Slade fighting for his life. And he still has to face the truth about the two people in the midst of this corruption that he trusted. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Future "Master of Disaster" Irwin Allen produced this curious but inarguably fascinating adaptation of Henrik Willem Van Loon's best- selling historical volume. A Celestial Tribunal has been convened to decide the fate of the Earth after the invention of nuclear weapons, with The Devil (Vincent Price) and The Spirit of Man (Ronald Colman) debating if humankind should be allowed to continue or be exterminated once and for all. Both men present examples of human behavior at its best and worst, including Dennis Hopper as Napoleon, Hedy Lamarr as Joan of Arc, Virginia Mayo as Cleopatra, Peter Lorre as Nero, Edward Everett Horton as Sir Walter Raleigh, and Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, and Chico Marx as, respectively, Peter Minuit, Sir Isaac Newton, and a monk (yes, the producers had the daring and vision to cast the Marx Brothers without having them play any scenes together). The Story of Mankind proved to be the last film for both Ronald Colman and Hedy Lamarr; it was also the last time the three Marx Brothers appeared in the same film, though the individual Marxes appeared in a few films following this. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

It's a toss-up as to who looks better unclothed in Universal's Veils of Bagdad: Hero Victor Mature or heroine Mari Blanchard. Mature plays a Robin-Hood type named Antar, who travels with a troupe of jugglers and wrestlers, all of whom double as thieves, pickpockets and second-story men. When the evil Pasha of Bagdad (Leon Askin) conspires with the equally evil Vizier (Guy Rolfe) to steal tax money to finance a private war, Antar and his gang swings into action. Blanchard plays Selima, the toothsome daughter of a murdered tribal chieftain who works as a cabaret dancer while searching for her dad's murderer. TV fans are advised to keep an eye out for future Baretta star Robert Blake, who shows up in a bit as a youthful beggar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

According to some eyewitness reports, the feud between Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis was at its peak during the filming of Three Ring Circus. Other observers have noted that the boys behaved with thorough professionalism throughout the shoot. Whatever the case, the film offers a comparatively relaxed Martin and Lewis, wandering through a thinnish plot with amiable finesse. The boys play a couple of ex-GIs who use their discharge money to finance a trip to Florida, where Jerry Hotchkiss (Lewis) hopes to land a job as a circus clown. Pete Nelson (Martin) isn't quite as ambitious, though he decides to stick around when he meets gorgeous circus owner Jill Brent (Joanne Dru). As the plot rolls merrily on, Pete finds himself assisting temperamental aerialist Saadia (Zsa Zsa Gabor), while Jerry does his best (which is none too good) as the assistant to lion tamer Schlitz (Sig Ruman). When Puffo the Clown (Gene Sheldon) drinks himself into oblivion, Jerry takes Puffo's place, proving his worth by getting a crippled child to laugh. The songs are mostly forgettable, with the exception of the now-standard "It's a Great, Wide, Wonderful World." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted from an Elmore Leonard novel, Valdez is Coming stars Burt Lancaster in the title role. A scrupulously honest Mexican-American marshal, Bob Valdez is double-crossed and humiliated by wealthy, unscrupulous rancher Jon Cypher. Since Cypher has the law on his side, Valdez is obliged to mete out his own justice. He kidnaps Cypher's mistress Susan Clark to force the rancher's hand. At first, Cypher is able to rally a group of tough hombres against Valdez, but one by one they side with the marshal. Director Edwin Sherin, who'd helmed the Broadway production of The Great White Hope, makes several rather anachronistic points regarding the film's racial issues; on the other hand, Valdez is Coming is one of the most-authentic looking westerns ever made-right down to the deglamorization of Susan Clark, who in a 1950s film might have looked as though she'd just visited a frontier branch of Max Factor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide