Susan Cummings Movies
- 1966
In this melodrama, a teenage girl is desperate to escape her domineering mother and unhappy home life so when an older man proposes, she readily accepts. To sway her parents, the man offers a $200 dowry, It works and they marry. Unfortunately, soon after, the young bride learns that her husband is a pimp; he convinces her to help him, and she ends up arrested and imprisoned. Upon her release the poor girl cannot find a job and so returns to her husband and becomes a hooker. She leaves when she discovers him sleeping with another woman. She then begins drinking heavily and becomes the lowest sort of streetwalker until she has a terrible fight with a drunken john, tumbles into a street and is run down by a car. She does not die, and later during her recovery in a hospital, her parents appear and offer to help her make a new start. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shary Marshall, John Harmon, (more)
- 1962
Everybody knows the "punchline" of this classic Twilight Zone episode, but that doesn't make this entry any less entertaining. Told in flashback (a last-minute decision, judging by the original script), this is the story of the Kanamints, a race of giant space aliens who arrive on Earth, ostensibly on a mission of goodwill. The Kanamints offer all manner of scientific advancements; all they ask in exchange is that the earthlings trust them without question. Meanwhile, a team of scientists, headed by Dr. Chambers (Lloyd Bochner), work day and night to translate a Kanamint book, the title of which is, of course, "To Serve Man." Richard Kiel, the 7-foot-plus actor who gained fame as "Jaws" in the James Bond series, appears as the Kanamint leader (though his voice is dubbed by Marvin Miller. Scripted by Rod Serling from a short story by Damon Knight, "To Serve Man" was originally telecast March 2, 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Bochner, Richard Kiel, (more)
- 1960
"Little Egypt" is what they call the town of Morraine, Illinois, which is ruled with an iron hand by Major Charlie Byron, a former military officer turned mob boss. Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) sends his fellow "Untouchable" Cam Allison (Anthony George) undercover to get the goods on Byron, and to send messages back to Chicago via carrier pigeon. Meanwhile, exotic dancer Hazel Stanley (Susan Cummings) is ordered by Byron's flunkeys to play up to Allison to see if he can be trusted--and in the process, she finds herself falling for the big lug. Majel Barrett of Star Trek fame appears unbilled as a waitress in this episode, which was loosely based on the life of Charlie Birger, the last gangster to be hanged in the state of Illinois. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
Hoping to divorce her husband Walter (Walter Prescott) so she can marry her sweetheart Jimmy McLain (Biff Elliot), Ruth Prescott (Stacy Graham) is terrified that Walter is trying to kill her. Actually, it may be the other way around: Walter turns up dead, and Ruth is charged with the crime. Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is convinced that Ruth is innocent, and that there is more to this seemingly open-and-shut case than meets the eye. Based on a 1936 novel by Erle Stanley Gardner, this is the final episode of Perry Mason's second season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
Director Samuel Fuller skillfully intercuts footage of the German death camps with scenes from this thought-provoking drama about a forbidden, post-war love affair. David (James Best) is a G.I. stationed in Germany with the American Military Government. He falls in love with Helga (Susan Cummings), a young German woman, and she reciprocates his feelings. But their romance is not condoned by either culture and made all the more difficult because a troublesome gang of neo-Nazis is on the rampage, killing, stealing, and helping war criminals evade capture. Helga's younger brother is a member of the gang who suddenly breaks down when he attends the Nuremburg trials and sees footage on the death camps. That changes his mind and he is ready to help the American military, and maybe the relationship between his sister and David as well. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Best, Susan Cummings, (more)
- 1958
In this western, a trigger happy sheriff is asked to step down by the townsfolk who want to have a quieter, safer town. He obliges and then travels to Sundown where he and a war buddy team up and drive all the criminals out of the town. When the streets are safe, he then falls in with a saloon girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Montgomery, Randy Stuart, (more)
- 1957
Rory Calhoun is Utah Blaine in this pinch-penny Sam Katzman-produced western. Adapted from a novel by Louis L'Amour, the story concerns the efforts of gunslinger Blaine to save a group of ranchers from an outlaw gang. When one the ranchers is killed, Utah finds himself half-owner of a valuable spread, placing him directly in the line of fire along with his attractive "business partner" Angie Kinyon (Susan Cummings). Ray Teal is all snarls as the outlaw leader, while former boxer Max Baer Sr. does a brief turn as a slow-witted hooligan. Like most Sam Katzman efforts, Utah Blaine turned a tidy profit for Katzman's home base of Columbia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Cummings, Angela Stevens, (more)
- 1957
After witnessing an automobile accident, Perry (Raymond Burr) and Della (Barbara Hale) see a young Mexican woman fleeing the scene. Perry later discovers that the girl is exotic dancer Cherie Chi-Chi (played by Judy Tyler in one of her last appearances before her death in a real-life car accident). He also finds out that the girl is in big trouble, and the reason is a fellow named John Callender (Hugh Sanders), who is quite dead. Based on a 1947 novel by series creator Erle Stanley Gardner, this was the first Perry Mason episode to be filmed, but not the first shown. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1957
In this western, angry Apaches begin a series of raids on a cavalry outpost. First they steal all the horses from a regiment on maneuvers forcing them to march back to the fort. Upon their return, the soldiers discover that everyone at the fort has been massacred. Now a rookie West Point officer is left in charge, and unfortunately, he is too green to lead. Fortunately, a sergeant is there to take over the reins. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Smith, Susan Cummings, (more)
- 1956
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Extensive stock footage from 1949's Lust for Gold is used to flesh out the Columbia potboiler Secret of Treasure Mountain. The producers went so far as to hire one of the actors of the earlier film, William Prince, in order to match the old footage with the new. The plot is set in motion some 200 years ago, when a Spanish soldier buries a fortune in gold somewhere in Apache country. Angered at this invasion of their sacred land, the Indians place a curse upon the gold -- and, by extension, upon all those who will come into contact with the precious mineral in the future. The story proper begins in The Present, as a group of adventurers, many of them on the shady side (none shadier than villain Raymond Burr), embark upon a search for the gold. Sure enough, these modern-day prospectors fall victim to the curse one by one, usually as a result of their own greed or lust -- yes, lust, since shapely Valerie French and Susan Cummings are among the gold-seekers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Valerie French, Raymond Burr, (more)
Swamp Diamonds is the family-trade title for the sweaty Roger Corman crime melodrama Swamp Women. Policewoman Carole Mathews dons her torpedo bra and tight jeans to infiltrate a dangerous all-female criminal gang, currently serving time in a Louisiana Prison. The ladies escape and head to the swamp, where they've hidden a fortune in diamonds. Along the way, they kidnap geologist Touch Connors (later known as Mike Connors). For a while, it looks as though the girls will get away with their perfidy and Connors will end up as alligator bait, but Mathews saves the day. The supporting cast of Swamp Diamonds is a roll-call of 1950s "tough broads": Marie Windsor, Beverly Garland, Susan Cummings, Jil Jarmyn. Watch for Jonathan Haze, future star of Little Shop of Horrors, and Ed Nelson, future talk-show host and politician, in minor roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Windsor, Carole Mathews, (more)
