Gaby André Movies
- 1970
- PG
This uneven comedy finds Fred (Ian McShane) as a writer living off his royalties in Italy. Married to the long-suffering Millie (Ann Calder-Marshall), Fred revels in a series of affairs with a bevy of Italian beauties. Millie soon grows tired of being alone and takes up with two Italian Don Juans (Sammy Pavel and Marino Mase). When she meets Grant Granite (John Gavin), the two immediately fall for each other and are unable to contain their animalistic passion. Joyce Van Patten also appears in this effort that barely scratches the surface of comedy outside of a few running gags. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian McShane, Anna Calder-Marshall, (more)
On the heels of muscleman Steve Reeves' low-budget Italian sword and sandal epics comes this unintentionally hilarious knock-off that is largely comprised of footage from an Italian mythic epic in which a brawny hero ("Maciste" in Italy and "Goliath" in the US) takes on wicked King Eurystheus' cheesy monsters that included a three headed fire belching dog, a gigantic, murderous bat (both of which appeared in the original film) and a ludicrously unscary dragon (in some scenes, only the huge head shows, while for long-shots the filmmakers used stop animation from Jim Danforth). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Forest, Broderick Crawford, (more)
- 1959
Originally released as La Granda Caccia, East of Kilimanjaro was filmed on location in Africa. Marshall Thompson plays American photojournalist Marsh Conners, assigned to cover a cattle epidemic. Falling in love with research scientist Dr. Marie Avedon (Gaby Andre), Conners attempts to help her convince the Masai tribesmen to have their cattle inoculated, and to locate the source of the disease. While the plot proper ends happily, the romantic subplot is less satisfying. East of Kilimanjaro was also distributed as The Big Search. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Eddie Constantine is "Lemmy Caution" in everything but name in Incognito. Constantine plays an American G-man named Stanley, who heads to a fictional South American dictatorship in search of a counterfeiting gang. Despite the urgency of his mission, Stanley has plenty of time to romance the local senoritas. Handled in a tongue-in-cheek fashion, Incognito often elicits as many laughs as gasps during the fight scenes. As a bonus, leading ladies Danik Patisson, Tilda Thamar and Gaby Andre (brunette, blonde and redhead, respectively) are very easy on the eyes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Constantine, Danik Patisson, (more)
- 1958
At a laboratory outside of a small village in the south of England, physicist Dr. Laird (Alec Mango), assisted by American scientist Gilbert Graham (Forrest Tucker), is performing a series of advanced experiments with magnetic fields -- dangerous experiments, using massive amounts of power in equipment which isn't designed to carry the load. An accident injures one of his assistants, and a request for a replacement to the Ministry of Defense brings Brigadier Cartwright (Windham Goldie) down to investigate, accompanied by a replacement for the injured man -- a woman computer expert, Michele Dupont (Gaby Andre), who helps to solve Laird's power problem, but not the larger risks inherent in his experiments. Cartwright is impressed when an interrupted experiment transforms several pieces of steel not in the test chamber into useless lumps of powder -- his report convinced the Deputy Defense Minister (Geoffrey Chater) to make Laird's project a top priority, and he sends a full security team, led by counter-espionage expert Jimmy Murray (Hugh Latimer), down to cover the laboratory. But it soon becomes clear that enemy agents are the least of the dangers manifesting themselves around Laird's project -- the hyper-magnetic fields that he has generated have been affecting the ionosphere, causing unnatural weather patterns, threatening ships at sea hundreds of miles away, and also weakening the magnetic layer that shields the surface of the earth from cosmic rays. The sudden burst of radiation from deep space causes brain damage in one man that turns him into into a homicidal maniac -- but it has also affected the insect life in the area, causing it to mutate. In the midst of this growing threat to the safety of the world, a mysterious Mr. Smith (Martin Benson) arrives in the village -- he's a well-spoken man with amazingly little knowledge of ordinary life, but a lot of awareness about magnetic fields and the work that Dr. Laird is doing. Murray is positive that he's a spy, but Gil and Michele decide that there's a lot less danger from him than from Dr. Laird, who has vowed to continue regardless of the risks. And even with Smith's warning, and Gil's and Michele's best efforts to alert the authorities and stop Laird, the forest adjacent to the town is soon swarming with gigantic beetles and other monsters. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Forrest Tucker, Gaby André, (more)
Verdi, the King of Melody, though lensed in color, is an essentially colorless Italian costume picture. Pierre Cressoy stars as famed composer Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901). The film covers Verdi's life from his first opera in 1838 to the last, Falstaff, in 1896, when Verdi was 83. Along the way we are treated to Verdi's amorous exploits, as well as his political activism in lobbying for an independent Italy. And of course we both see and hear snippets from Il Trovatore, La Traviata and Aida (the latter tied in with the opening of Suez canal). All of this is crammed into 80 minutes, giving indication of severe cutting before the film's US release. As a result of its international box-office failure, Verdi, the King of Melody is one of the most obscure of all musical biopics. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Cressoy
When German sympathizer Count Paul Rona (George MacReady) pilfers a valuable jeweled glove from a French church during World War II, it is up to American Michael Blake (Glenn Ford) to outwit his enemies and recover the artifact. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Ford, Geraldine Brooks, (more)
- 1952
In this drama, set in Italy during 1889, a young doctor meets and falls for the daughter of a renowned medical professor. The professor does not approve of the affair and suggests that the young medic leave Rome. The physician then goes to Obetello, and there he discovers a radical, but successful treatment for malaria. Trouble ensues when he spurns the advances of an amorous neighbor. For revenge she begins blaming the current malaria epidemic upon him. As a result he is tried and sentenced to four years in prison for using unorthodox methods. His medical license is also revoked. In jail, he is promoted to orderly. He promptly inoculates himself against the dread disease using his own treatment. He soon proves his innocence and is acquitted of all crimes. He then returns to Rome to marry his true love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1950
Filmmaker Andrew Stone was always a staunch believer in realism at all costs. Thus it was that much of Highway 301 was lensed on a genuine (and very busy) interstate highway. Based on fact, the film recounts the bloody exploits of the notorious "Tri-State Gang," which preyed upon truck drivers. Gang leader George Legenza (Steve Cochran) will kill anyone who stands in his way--even his own henchmen. Before meeting his well-deserved demise, Legenza leads the authorities on a not-so-merry chase through Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland. A few welcome comic moments are provided by Virginia Grey, playing the soap-opera-fan wife of one of the gang members. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Cochran, Virginia Grey, (more)
- 1950
Producer Val Lewton abandoned the "psychological horror" efforts of his RKO days when he moved to MGM in 1950. Lewton's Please Believe Me is a simple, sometimes simplistic romantic comedy, designed principally as a showcase for Deborah Kerr. The star plays Alison Kirbe, an English girl who inherits a Texas ranch. Once word gets out that Alison is in town, she is pursued by three bachelors. Terence Keath (Robert Walker) hopes to marry Alison so that he can square his gambling debts. Jeremy Taylor (Peter Lawford) is too wealthy to consider marriage, but he hopes to have a no-strings-attached good time with Alison. And Matthew Kinston (Mark Stevens) is Alison's all-business attorney, ever on the alert for any fortune hunters who might prey on his client. Guess who she winds up with in the end. As it turned out, Please Believe Me was Val Lewton's cinematic swan song; he died not long after the film's release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Deborah Kerr, Robert Walker, (more)
- 1939
This poignant drama peeks in at the lives and relationships between elderly thespians living in an actors' retirement home. The home is almost bankrupt and so the actors must support themselves. The residents include a faded sex symbol, an intellectual actor who kept a great distance between himself and the audience, and a depressed thespian who tries to conceal the fact that he was only an understudy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Simon, Madeleine Ozeray, (more)
