George Zuckerman Movies

Jeff Chandler plays big-city lawyer James Gordon Blane, who heads to a small Nevada town to defend a playboy (Phillip Reed) accused of murder. Blane wins the case, but is then himself charged with accepting bribes. The man behind this accusation is vindictive town sheriff Nick Hoak (Jack Carson), who controls all illegal activities in the area. When Blane's legman Billy Giles ends up dead, the lawyer deduces that Hoak was also behind the killing for which the playboy was blamed. Blane struggles to defend his reputation in court while his wife (Jeanne Crain) attempts to mount evidence against Sheriff Hoak. Despite its stellar cast and slick direction (by Jack Arnold), The Tattered Dress comes across as cheap and tawdry -- befitting its seedy subject matter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

During the summer lay-off of the TV series Wyatt Earp, Hugh O'Brian found time to star in the superior sagebrusher The Brass Legend. O'Brien plays a sheriff who takes full credit for the arrest of dangerous outlaw Raymond Burr. In fact, young Donald McDonald, the brother of O'Brien's fiancee Nancy Gates, was largely responsible for Burr's capture, but the sheriff refuses to reveal McDonald's part in the arrest for fear that the boy will be killed by Burr's cohorts. Unfortunately, the local newspaper editor believes that O'Brien simply wants to cheat the boy out of his share of the reward money. The editor blithely prints up the full story in his paper, leading to a near-disastrous denoument. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Audie Murphy may have had top billing in Ride Clear of Diablo, but the film is bushwhacked and stolen by co-star Dan Duryea. As notorious gunslinger Whitey Kincaid, Duryea is hired by sinister forces to kill Murphy, who is out to avenge the murders of his father and brother. Instead, Kincaid befriends Murphy, and helps him track down his family's killers. Since Murphy is the star, it is he who exacts final vengeance, but the script makes clear that he couldn't have done this without the aid of the snide, smirking Kincaid. Ride Clear of Diablo's supporting cast includes singer Abbe Lane, who handles her "bad girl" role with class. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lex Barker trades his Tarzan loincloth for buckskins in the Universal western Yellow Mountain. Barker stars as gold prospector Andy Martin, who has a serious falling out with his partner Pete Menlo (Howard Duff) over the affections of pretty Nevada Wray (Mala Powers). But Andy and Pete patch up their differences to rescue Nevada's father (William Demarest) from the evil machinations of land baron Bannon (John McIntire). William Fawcett, who looks like he was born during the original Gold Rush, once more goes through his "grizzled old prospector" routine. Yellow Mountain was one of a group of Universal oaters designed as double-feature fodder in larger markets, and main-feature status in smaller movie houses. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ernie Driscoll (John Payne) is an ex-fighter who came within seconds of winning the world championship. He's now forced to eke out a living driving a cab. A basically decent guy, he has lots of people who care about him, including Linda James (Evelyn Keyes), a slightly ditsy actress friend -- but Ernie also has a short fuse, especially where his wife Pauline (Peggie Castle) is concerned. His rage boils over when he spots her kissing another man, but her unfaithfulness turns out to be the least of his worries. The man she's seeing, Vic Rawlins (Brad Dexter), is a career criminal with both the police and his former partners after him, and he sees Ernie as the perfect fall-guy. The law and Rawlins' criminal associates are soon closing in on Ernie, while he tries desperately -- with Linda's help -- to buy the time he needs to unravel this nightmare. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Richard Conte plays a big-city racketeer whose luck runs out on him. He is sent to a Southern prison, but vows to be out and about before long. Applying a little psychology and a lot of cynicism, Conte manages to pull off his escape by firing only one shot. He wheedles his way into becoming a prison trustee, then earns a parole by shooting down an "escaping" convict. Under the Gun is a lively second-feature meller, with Richard Conte exuding his patented cold-blooded charm. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When nearly perfect counterfeit 20-dollar bills start turning up, the Treasury Department recognizes them as the work of Tris Stewart (Lloyd Bridges), a man already doing a long prison stretch. They offer Stewart a break on his sentence if he'll help them find out who got hold of his old plates, but he initially refuses. Some weeks later, while being transferred to another prison, Stewart escapes from custody -- it turns out that this is a set-up to free Stewart to search for the plates with a treasury agent keeping tabs on him; then he turns on the T-man as well, escaping for real. What Stewart doesn't know is that the agents expected and desired this move, believing that he would only go for the plates if he thought he could make some money from the bills and get out of the country with his girlfriend Laurie (Barbara Payton). They've got her apartment bugged, and one of their own men, Downey (John Hoyt), has been put in place as a customer at the nightclub where she works, quietly establishing himself as a man with some angles of his own and a yen to know her better. Stewart follows the trail to one of his ex-distributors, now in business for himself with the plates. But the man needs money, and Stewart thinks he can get it with help from Downey -- he doesn't like him trying to impress her, but does like it that he is a grifter with some money. They become partners, putting up Downey's cash to get the 250,000 dollars in counterfeit twenties, which Stewart will spend at face value where he and Laurie are going, in countries where they need U.S. currency and there are no treasury agents around to help identify counterfeit bills. Before the deal can be closed (and the arrest made), a new round of possible double-crosses starts between the hoods, and Downey's cover is suddenly blown by accident -- Stewart tries to kill him but is captured instead. Downey's superiors want to pull him out, but the agent thinks he can still salvage the operation if he can get to the plates before Laurie can talk to anyone. That leads to the denouement, an extended series of split-second plot developments with several lives at risk. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

In an on-the-run investigation, a female reporter is in a race against time to capture a prominent attorney who has been implicated in a murder committed years before when she receives an inside tip. As she collects evidence, she must stay one step ahead of him so that she doesn't become his latest victim. Good scripting and direction makes this a suspense-filled movie. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide