Ted Offenbecker Movies

Will Ballard (Rod Cameron) is the longtime foreman of the Hatcher ranch, a spread renowned for its size and the wealth it contains. When owner Phil Evarts dies suddenly, the speculation in the territory is that Hatcher will be broken up, especially since it was Evarts' determination coupled with Ballard's skills as a foreman and gunman that held it together -- but Ballard decides that the ranch is worth saving, even though the only help he really has is one top hand (Chill Wills, in a beautifully restrained performance) and a couple of young brothers (Al Caudebec, Roydon Clark) picked up on the trail. He figures it's worth saving for what it is, and also for Evarts' daughter, Celia (Ella Raines), who is engaged to marry neighboring rancher Sam Danfelser (Forrest Tucker). Ballard and Sam were once friends, but as the foreman discovers, there's been bad blood brewing on the other side of the friendship for a long time, mostly out of Sam's jealousy -- not only is Ballard a better rider and a better gun, but he's a better man than he is, and he can't abide the fact that Celia knows this deep in her heart, even though she and Sam are engaged. Then there's Bide Marriner (Brian Donlevy), a local "operator" who'd love to get a range war started and grab up some land and cattle, and immediately uses friends and intermediaries, plus a few hired guns, to start spreading the word, convincing the neighboring ranchers that Hatcher land is free and open. And then there's Lottie Priest, whom Ballard figured to marry soon -- is she more interested in what her greedy father can make from the breakup of Hatcher? Caught in the middle of it all is the county sheriff, Joe Kneen (J. Carrol Naish), who'd like to stay civil with all of those involved but soon finds out that he's going to have to choose sides, and that he's too good a man for that to be the "easy" choice. There's a lot of back-shooting in Ride the Man Down, as well as some brilliantly and cleverly designed action sequences, and a level of duplicity in the characters that makes this picture play at time almost more like a film noir of the period. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Through an incredible series of circumstances, the Bowery Boys sign up for a hitch in the Navy. While clumsily going about the shipboard duties, Slip (Leo Gorcey), Sach (Huntz Hall) and the rest of the gang search high and low for a couple of crooks disguised in sailor suits who've stolen a large sum of money intended for charity. They don't find the bad guys right away, but dimwitted Sach manages to replace the money through a lucky gambling streak. Finally collaring the villains, the Bowery Boys head to Navy headquarters for a reward--only to end up accidentally signing for another hitch at sea. Silly though it sounds, Let's Go Navy is one of the most believable Bowery Boys comedies, as well as one of the funniest. Contributing to the general hilarity is prune-faced Allen Jenkins as the Boys' chief petty officer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The backstory of The Red Badge of Courage involves the toppling of MGM's old Louis B. Mayer regime in favor of Dore Schary and his young Turks. It is also the tale of how an intended epic was ruthlessly whittled down to a lower-berth programmer. Since this story has already been related in detail in Lillian Ross' Picture (not to mention several John Huston biographies), the focus here will be what shows up on screen in Red Badge of Courage. Based on the novel by Stephen Crane, the film stars real-life war hero Audie Murphy as a Civil War soldier who must redeem himself in his own eyes after an act of cowardice. When he finally gets his opportunity, he realizes that he is no less frightened than before; it is simply that he has learned to push on in spite of that fear. A comparative newcomer to films, Murphy acquits himself magnificently in the difficult title role; equally impressive are political cartoonist Bill Mauldin as "The Loud Soldier," John Dierkes as "The Tall Soldier" and Royal Dano as "The Tattered Man." When Red Badge of Courage tested poorly in preview, the studio sliced it down to 69 minutes and added a narrator (James Whitmore) to clarify the more obscure plot passages. Further hurting the film was Bronislaus Kaper's overbaked musical score, which seemed more suited to a gung-ho John Wayne flick than a comparatively intimate tale of personal fortitude. Though the finished product plays like a Reader's Digest adaptation, a few brilliant passages remain, notably the sequence in which a commanding officer ingratiatingly lies to his troops for the sake of morale. Like Orson Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons, Red Badge of Courage is a truncated classic -- but a classic, all the same. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Three wives, played by Jeanne Crain, Ann Sothern and Linda Darnell, are about to embark on a boat trip when each receives a letter, written by a mutual friend named Addie, informing her that Addie is about to run off with one of their husbands. In flashback, each wife wonders if it is her marriage that is in jeopardy. Deborah (Crain) recounts her fish-out-of-water relationship with her up-and-coming hubby (Jeffrey Lynn); businesswoman Rita (Sothern) asks herself if she's been too rough on her professorial spouse (Kirk Douglas); and Lora May (Darnell), a girl from (literally) the wrong side of the tracks, questions the security of her marriage to a brash business executive (Paul Douglas). The voice of Addie, who is never seen, is provided by Celeste Holm. Thelma Ritter shows up in a hilarious unbilled bit as a slatternly domestic, while an equally uncredited Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer makes a quick entrance and exit as a bellhop. Written with perception and not a little witty condescension by director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, A Letter to Three Wives won two Oscars ,both for Mankiewicz. Based on a novel by John Klempner, the property was remade for television in 1985, with Ann Sothern back again in a supporting part. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When Homecoming was first released in 1948, some observers felt that Clark Gable's unusually sensitive performance was based on his own memories of losing his wife Carole Lombard in a 1942 plane crash. Intriguingly, Gable's Homecoming co-star is Lana Turner, with whom it was rumored that he was having an affair at the time of Lombard's death. Told in flashback, the story concerns the romance of war-time army surgeon Ulysses Delby Johnson (Gable) and Red Cross nurse Lt. Jane "Snapshot" McCall (Turner). Though married, Johnson cannot help to be drawn to Jane as they slog through the hellish battlegrounds of Italy and France. As the war draws to a close, Johnson is faced with a dilemma: how can he find happiness with Jane without bringing misery to his beloved wife Penny (Anne Baxter). As it turns out, Fate intervenes to solve Johnson's problem. Though well-acted and directed, Homecoming is just too thin to be spread out over 12 reels. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A Woman's Vengeance concerns a "likely" murderer, Henry Maurier, played by Charles Boyer. It is no secret that Maurier is enamored with young Doris (Ann Blyth), but is his love for the girl motive enough for Maurier to murder his invalid wife? Only family friend Dr. Libbard (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) believes in Maurier, and it is Libbard who eventually extracts a confession from the real killer -- just seconds before Maurier is to be executed. Without giving the game away, we'll note that the supporting cast includes Jessica Tandy, Mildred Natwick, and John Williams (Rachel Kempson couldn't have played the murderer, inasmuch as she's the victim). A Woman's Vengeance was adapted by Aldous Huxley (the same) from his own story The Gioconda Smile. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Director Frank Borzage and star Ginger Rogers both came acropper in the lavish but dull historical biopic Magnificent Doll. The usually ebullient Rogers seems encased in wax as Dolly Madison, first lady of the United States in the early 19th century. The story begins as young Washington socialite Dolly Payne, previously and unhappily wed to one John Todd (Horace McNally), can't make up her mind romantically between idealistic politician James Madison (Burgess Meredith) and firebrand Aaron Burr (David Niven). Burr solves that problem when he flees the country after killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel, leaving the field clear for Madison. What should have been the film's highlight, Dolly's rescue of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution during the 1812 burning of Washington, is treated as a throwaway. Told in flashback, the film ends just before Madison's ascendancy to the White House, with Dolly chastely charming the current chief executive Thomas Jefferson (Grandon Rhodes). Magnificent Doll is anything but . ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Lucille Ball stars as the wife of a war correspondent, anxiously awaiting her husband's return. Ball is convinced that hubby (George Brent) is looking forward to feminine companionship after four long years at the front. Imagine her surprise when it looks as though her husband wasn't quite as lonely as she'd thought--thanks to sexy combat photographer Vera Zorina. Ball files for divorce, but the outcome is tipped off by the title: the Lovers come back. Lucille Ball is merely decorative for the most part in this film, though she has one delightful comic scene involving an attempt to smoke a cigar. To avoid confusion with a 1962 Doris Day/Rock Hudson epic of the same name, Lover Come Back was retitled When Lovers Meet for television. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Sullivans attempts to find the positives in one of the most tragic chapters of World War II. Edward Ryan, John Campbell, James B. Cardwell, John Alvin and George Offerman Jr. play the Sullivan brothers, sons of an Iowa railroad worker (Thomas Mitchell) and his wife (Selena Royle). The film traces the boys from childhood, maintaining a relatively lighthearted tone until the Sullivans sign up en masse for the navy at the outbreak of the war. Refusing to be separated, the boys are all assigned to the cruiser Juneau--and all are killed when the vessel goes down at Guadalcanal. This appalling incident (which made something of a celebrity of the brothers' grieving father when he went on a nationwide patriotic lecture tour) resulted in the Navy's decision to never again allowed all the enlisted members of one family to serve on the same ship. Even from the vantage point of fifty years, the scene in which the family receives the wire from the war department is impossible to watch with a dry eye. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this frothy musical comedy, Ann Carter (Deanna Durbin) is an aspiring singer from the Midwest who decides to move to New York in hopes of advancing her career. Her half brother, Martin Murphy (Pat O'Brien), is already living in the Big Apple, and has told her that he's doing well as a businessman; however, when she arrives at his door, she discovers that he's actually working as a valet for Charles Gerard (Franchot Tone), a well-known composer. This is good news for Ann, since Charles could doubtlessly do a great deal to give her career a boost, but Martin is hesitant to talk to his boss about Ann. Charles is inundated with pleas from semi-talented would-be musicians all day long, and putting another in his path would earn Martin no favors. However, Martin soon has bigger worries; it seems that Charles has developed an interest in Ann which Martin is convinced has nothing to do with music. As you might expect, Durbin sings several songs, including "In the Spirit of the Moment," "When You're Away," and an aria from Puccini. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This second film version of the George and Ira Gershwin's Broadway hit Girl Crazy stars reigning MGM musical prince and princess Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. The 1932 version of Girl Crazy de-emphasized the main plot, building up the comic subplot involving a timorous temporary sheriff and a city slicker con man -- the better to accommodate that film's stars, Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey. The 1943 remake does without the comic relief, concentrating on Rooney, a teenaged playboy who is sent to a Western mining school by his father (Henry O'Neill), in the hopes that the Rooney will forsake his wastrel ways. Judy Garland is cast in the role originated on stage by Ginger Rogers: the feisty, lovelorn frontier postmistress Ginger Gray, who falls in love with the hero -- the difference being that Garland has been promoted from postmistress to the daughter of mining-school dean Phineas Armour (Guy Kibbee). The new plot involves a contest for rodeo queen, pitting Ginger against Marjorie Tait (Frances Rafferty), who is also her rival for Rooney's affections. The contest serves a double purpose: Rooney is hoping that the publicity engendered by the rivalry will attract students to the failing school, proof positive that for all of his bravado, he's a swell, altruistic guy underneath. These plot complications are merely prologue for a gargantuan musical finale built upon the Gershwin standard "I Got Rhythm," staged by the film's original director, Busby Berkeley. Other musical carryovers from the stage play include "Embraceable You," "Bidin' My Time," and "But Not for Me." Featured in the cast are June Allyson, Rags Ragland, and the Tommy Dorsey Band. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this crime drama, an ambitious law student begins working for a corrupt finance company and becomes the neighborhood pennypincher. He is romantically interested in a wealthy young woman, but unfortunately, he is being pursued by a neighborhood girl. His company assigns him to repossess the girl's father's taxi cab. The law student's friends try to dissuade him from this path. They eventually succeed, and the fellow turns the company in to the authorities. Mayhem ensues, but in the end, he wins the wealthy woman's heart and goes on to found a credit union for his former neighbors. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi