Glenn Thompson Movies
Columbia Pictures tried to create a tongue-in-cheek American James Bond with this, the first of five motion pictures based on the character of Matt Helm, a spy created in a series of novels by Donald Hamilton. Dean Martin stars as Helm, a boozing, womanizing cad of a spy coaxed out of retirement by ex-girlfriend Tina Batori (Daliah Lavi). His mission: stop the evil Big O organization, whose leader, Tung-Tze (Victor Buono), schemes to sabotage an atomic missile and thus spark World War III. Producer Irving Allen had once been partners with Albert R. Broccoli in the British film production company Warwick Films, their alliance ironically disintegrating over the merits of creating a Bond series. When Broccoli's instincts proved correct, Allen attempted to create his own spy franchise with the Helm character. The sequels to The Silencers (1966) were Murderers' Row (1966), The Ambushers (1967), and The Wrecking Crew (1968). Allen unsuccessfully tried to resurrect the character as a TV movie, Matt Helm (1975). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dean Martin, Stella Stevens, (more)
- 1957
The 8-year-old "Ma and Pa Kettle Series" came to an end with The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm. In her last screen appearance, Marjorie Main is back as Ma Kettle, while Parker Fennelly replaces the defecting Percy Kilbride as Pa Kettle. This time, Ma and Pa try to smooth the path of romance for newlyweds Sally Flemming (Gloria Talbot) and Brad Johnson (John Smith). Despite her wealthy parents' objections, Sally intends to "rough it" with her back-to-the-soil husband by living on the Kettles' old, ramshackle farm. Ensuing comic complications include a set-to with a bunch of crooked loggers and a wild appearance at a rodeo. A worthwhile finale to this durable series, The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm was still making the second-run-theater rounds as late as 1960. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marjorie Main, Parker Fennelly, (more)
- 1954
Jeff Chandler may be the top-billed star of Sign of the Pagan, but the film belongs to Jack Palance, cast as no less than Attila the Hun. As Attila's hordes advance upon Rome, noble centurion Marcian (Chandler) mounts a counteroffensive. Alas, the Scourge of God cannot be stopped by weaponry or sheer brute strength. No, Attila can be halted in his tracks only by the hand of God Himself. Through a deft combination of historical fact and movie magic, this is precisely what happens. Ballerina Ludmilla Tcherina, her voice dubbed by an anonymous American actress, co-stars as Marcian's lady love, while Rita Gam is sublimely cast as Attila's long-suffering daughter. Also appearing as Attila's slave bride is Allison Hayes, some three years away from her starring turn in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. Filmed on a more spectacular scale than one usually associates with Universal-International, Sign of the Pagan loses some of its scope when shown on television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Chandler, Jack Palance, (more)
- 1951
In Prairie Roundup, Fred F. Sears' direction brings a welcome jolt of vitality to Columbia's aging "Durango Kid" western series. Once again, Charles Starrett stars as Steve Carson, a lawman who is forced to assume the identity of masked do-gooder Durango. Framed for murder, Carson escapes to locate the real killer. It turns out that he was set up by cattle baron Buck Prescott (Frank Fenton), who eliminates competition by stealing livestock from other ranchers. Before Prescott is brought to justice (there's seldom much suspense in one of these westerns), Starrett's sidekick Smiley Burnette sings a couple of comic ballads. Reviewers were quick to comment upon director Sears' clever camera compositions and his skill at maintaining a respectable level of tension. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Starrett, Smiley Burnette, (more)
- 1951
Lorna Doone is based on the oft-filmed novel by Richard D. Blackmore. Set in 17th century Scotland during the reign of Britain's Charles II, the story concerns young Lorna (Barbara Hale), a member of a much-hated landowning family. Lorna falls in love with a humble villager (Richard Greene), who like the rest of community has suffered under the rule of the despotic Doones. The villagers revolt against their oppressors, but when it is revealed that Lorna is not a genuine Doone, she is able to marry her low-born swain. Star Barbara Hale was pregnant throughout the filming of Lorna Doone; thus it can be said that the film "co-starred" her son, future actor William Katt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Hale, Richard Greene, (more)
- 1950
William Bendix is perfectly cast as a diehard baseball fan who hates umpires with every fibre of his being. Bendix' devotion to baseball has lost him job after job, so his father-in-law (Ray Collins)--who happens to be an umpire--forces Our Hero to enroll in umpire school. Eventually Bendix learns to respect his new job, even gaining a measure of popularity by earning the nickname "Two-Call Johnson" (the result of double vision brought about by an overdose of eye drop medicine). But when Bendix calls a play against a popular pitcher, he is accused of cheating by the angry fans. Forced to disguise himself to get to the Big Game, Bendix arrives at the ball park to a chorus of "boos." Exonerated by the pitcher, who praises the umpire's honesty, Bendix is the hero of the day...until he makes another unpopular call two seconds later. Kill the Umpire is climaxed by a zany chase sequence scripted by former cartoon director Frank Tashlin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Bendix, Una Merkel, (more)
- 1950
With Dallas, Gary Cooper revived his long-dormant association with westerns. Cooper plays ex-Confederate officer Blayde Hollister, who rides into Dallas in search of the men who killed his family and stole his land. Because he is considered to be an outlaw by the authorities, Hollister is compelled to switch identities with U.S. marshal Martin Wetherby (Leif Erickson). This ruse requires Hollister to explain his plan to Wetherby's lady friend, Tonia Robles (Ruth Roman). One by one, Hollister gets rid of the men responsible for the murders of his loved ones. The most formidable of his enemies, Will Marlow (Raymond Massey), proves to be a bit too clever to fall into Hollister's trap...at least until Marlow shows his hand in the final scene. There's more talk than action in Dallas, but Gary Cooper's laconic performance holds the audience's interest throughout. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Ruth Roman, (more)
- 1949
Eliot Ness may have gotten lots of publicity (especially long after the fact) for breaking the Capone mob, but as Joseph H. Lewis' The Undercover Man reminds us, it was the accountants and the numbers-crunchers that brought down Capone and his mob. Frank Warren (Glenn Ford) started out as an accountant, but now serves as an investigator for the Treasury Department. His job has frequently required him to go undercover, masquerading as a criminal to get the goods on the top-level tax-law violators that his unit targets. But now his assignment is to gather evidence on the operations of the nation's number-one crime boss and get proof of the income that he and his lieutenants are not declaring, and this proves not only frustrating but dangerous. Potential stoolies are murdered and witnesses intimidated, and when one otherwise "respectable" lawyer (Barry Kelley) starts mentioning Warren's wife (Nina Foch) in casual conversation, he takes the hint. He's ready to quit until the mother (Esther Minciotti) of a witness-turned-victim tells him about what life was like in Italy under the Black Hand, and why she came to America to raise her sons. Warren and his men (James Whitmore, David Wolfe) make one last attempt to get the proof they need, tracing signatures and handwriting to get evidence implicating a small man in the operation, using it to turn him and going for bigger fish. Finally, even the shyster lawyer who has been dogging Warren every step of the way ends up in the sights of the feds, and the mob turns its attention to getting rid of this new "liability" and taking care of Warren as well. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Ford, Nina Foch, (more)
- 1949
Though Humphrey Bogart is the official star of Knock on Any Door, the film is essentially a showcase for Columbia's newest young male discovery John Derek. The first production of Bogart's Santana company, the film casts Bogart as attorney Andrew Morton. A product of the slums, Morton is persuaded to take the case of underprivileged teenager Nick Romano (Derek), who has been arrested on a murder charge. Through flashbacks, Morton demonstrates that Romano is more a victim of society than a natural-born killer. Though this defense strategy does not have the desired result on the jury thanks to the badgering of DA Kernan (George Macready), Morton does manage to arouse sympathy for the plight of those trapped by birth and circumstance in a dead-end existence. As Nick Romano, John Derek would never be better, nor would ever again play a character who struck so responsive a chord with the audience. Nick's oft-repeated credo--"Live fast, die young, and leave a good-looking corpse"--became the clarion call for a generation of disenfranchised youth. Director Nicholas Ray would later expand on themes touched upon in Knock on a Any Door in his juvenile delinquent "chef d'oeuvre" Rebel without a Cause. Viewers are advised to watch for future TV personalities Cara Williams and Si Melton in uncredited minor roles. Knock on Any Door spawned a belated sequel in 1960, Let No Man Write My Epitaph. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Humphrey Bogart, John Derek, (more)
- 1949
Lucille Ball is Miss Grant, an efficient but naïve secretary hired by William Holden. Ostensibly a legit real estate salesman, Holden is actually the brains of a bookie ring. It takes forever for Ball to tumble to what's going on, but when she does she settles matters in the same fashion as her later I Love Lucy character would--by adopting a disguise and a line of snappy patter. The chastened Holden marries Ball and agrees to devote his life to running an honest real-estate firm on behalf of the deserving homeless. Among the contributors to the success of Miss Grant Takes Richmond are producer S. Sylvan Simon, director Lloyd Bacon and scenarist Frank Tashlin, all of whom would later team up again for the zany Lucille Ball vehicle The Fuller Brush Girl. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucille Ball, William Holden, (more)
- 1949
A blend of melodrama and film noir, The Reckless Moment stars Joan Bennett as Lucia Harper, a suburban housewife whose husband is away on business. Her daughter, Bea (Geraldine Brooks), an aspiring artist, has fallen for Ted Darby (Shepperd Strudwick), a shady older man from Los Angeles who claims to be an ex-art dealer. One night, after a secret rendezvous in the Harpers' boathouse that turns into an argument, Bea accidentally kills Darby. When Lucia discovers his body in the morning, she panics and dumps it in the lagoon instead of contacting the police, who would surely charge her daughter with murder. Her problems only increase when a suave Irish gangster named Donnelly (James Mason) shows up with a package of love letters from Bea to Darby, and blackmail on his mind. With her husband out of town, Lucia has no choice but to give in to his demands, and brings him along on a desperate quest to raise the money that takes them from bank to loan office to pawn shop. Along the way, Donnelly seems to develop sympathy -- even affection -- for her. When his boss shows up to pressure him into finishing the job, Donnelly's surprising decision sets up the film's startling climax. The Reckless Moment was remade in 2001 by Scott McGehee and David Seigel as The Deep End. ~ Tom Vick, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Mason, Joan Bennett, (more)
- 1949
- NR
Though not acknowledged by contemporary reviewers, Colorado Territory is a westernized remake of the 1941 crime drama High Sierra. Raoul Walsh, director of the earlier film, returns to helm the remake, doing a grand job on both occasions. Joel McCrea stars in the Humphrey Bogart role, playing a veteran outlaw who hopes to pull off one last, spectacular heist. Virginia Mayo portrays the Ida Lupino counterpart, a "bad" dance-hall girl who proves to be the only person who genuinely cares about McCrea's well-being. As in the earlier film, the climax finds McCrea making a futile bid for escape in the mountains, with tragic consequences. High Sierra was good for at least one more remake, the 1955 Jack Palance-Shelley Winters starrer I Died a Thousand Times. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joel McCrea, Virginia Mayo, (more)
