Leo Curley Movies

Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) investigate a robbery at a liquor store in which several case lots of valuable booze has been stolen. The two detectives are provided with some unexpected assistance when the attractive girlfriend (Norma Ward) of a young cop reveals that an acquaintance has approached her with a lucrative business offer--involving expensive liquor. Featured in the cast is radio announcer Dudley Manlove, later immortalized as the arrogant space alien Eros ("All you of Earth are idiots!") in filmmaker Ed Wood Jr.'s "masterpiece" Plan 9 From Outer Space. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Gladys Glover (Judy Holliday) is an unsuccessful model and actress who believes that a jolt of publicity will do her career a world of good. She gets that publicity by renting a billboard in the middle of Manhattan, emblazoned with her name and photograph. As a result, Gladys is showered with endorsement by (Peter Lawford). He becomes enamored with Gladys, which irritates her "unofficial" boyfriend, documentary-director Pete Sheppard (Jack Lemmon) (in his film debut). Pete grows tired of Gladys' publicity stunt, feeling that it is turning her into an object rather than a human being, but Gladys luxuriates in the fame and fortune. A happy ending may be inevitable, but it's a hard-won happiness for both hero and heroine. Scriptwriter Garson Kanin had intended this as a vehicle for Danny Kaye, but Kanin's wife Ruth Gordon suggested the gender-switch to Judy Holliday, noting that what might seem aggressive from Kaye would appear merely whimsical from Holliday. In one of the best scenes, real-life celebrities Melville Cooper, Ilka Chase and Constance Bennett show up as talk-show panelists -- the ideal magnet for the likes of Gladys Glover, who has become famous merely for being famous. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The President's Lady is an historical drama starring Charlton Heston as Andrew Jackson and Susan Hayward as his wife Rachel, Jackson marries Rachel after she divorces her unfaithful first husband (Whitfield Connor), with scandal resulting when the ex-husband refuses to finalize the divorce. Jackson climbs up the military and political ladder, but Rachel is never socially acceptable due to her "tainted" past. Nonetheless, Jackson stands staunchly beside his wife, even fighting a duel for her honor. On the eve of Jackson's presidential election, Rachel dies, but "Ol' Hickory" takes comfort in recalling a marriage that remained happy against all odds. The best sequence in The President's Lady is a comic vignette which explodes the legend of the "pipe-smoking" Rachel Jackson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This simplified (but lavish) remake of the 1933 melodrama The Mystery of the Wax Museum was the most financially successful 3-D production of the 1950s. In his first full-fledged "horror" role, Vincent Price plays Prof. Henry Jarrod, the owner of a wax museum, whose partner, Matthew Burke (Roy Roberts), intends to burn the place down for the insurance money. When Jarrod tries to prevent Burke from torching the museum, he himself is trapped in the conflagration. Years pass: though now confined to a wheelchair, Jarrod manages to open up a new museum in New York, boasting the most incredibly lifelike wax statues ever seen. At the same time, a masked prowler has been stalking the city, murdering people and then stealing their bodies from the mortuary. One of the victims is Jarrod's old nemesis Burke; another is Cathy Gray (Carolyn Jones), the roommate of art student Sue Allen (Phyllis Kirk). On a visit to the wax museum, Sue can't help but notice that the wax likeness of Joan of Arc is a dead ringer for her deceased friend Cathy -- while the courtly Jarrod declares joyously that Sue is the living image of Marie Antoinette. Guess where this is going to wind up? Frank Lovejoy and Paul Picerni co-star as the nominal heroes, while Charles Bronson -- still billed as Charles Buchinsky -- is a menacing presence as Jarrod's deaf-mute chief sculptor (appropriately named "Igor"). No opportunity to show off the 3-D process is wasted during House of Wax; the most memorable stereoscopic moments are provided by garrulous "paddle-ball man" Reggie Rymal. Ironically, Andre De Toth, the film's director, had only one good eye, and had to constantly ask his cast and crew if the various 3-D effects had come off properly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Nineteenth-century saloon gal Roxy McClanahan (Yvonne DeCarlo) manages to inveigle herself into the uppermost rungs of polite New Orleans society. But Roxy has not reckoned with her old friendly nemesis, merchant seaman Frank Truscott (Rock Hudson), whose bankroll Roxy had lifted back in her wilder and woollier days. For a price, Frank agrees not to blow the whistle on Roxy's checkered past. He further agrees to allow her to pass off an orphaned child as her own daughter, the better to maintain her pose as a fabulously wealthy widow. Several rambunctious scenes later, Frank and Roxy finally realize that they're made for each other, and to heck with Society. More fun than most costume melodramas of its kind, Scarlet Angel benefits from attractive production values and a top-flight supporting cast, included future Gunsmoke co-star Amanda Blake as a viper-tongued society belle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though the film is called Speed Devils, the only racetrack scenes occur at the very beginning of the picture. After cracking up during a race, the driver of the car (Paul Kelly) is advised to get into another line of work. Picking up on this, he and his buddy (Russell Hardie) open up a garage, only to be pounced upon by crooked politicians who want a chunk of the profits. The friend agrees to play ball with the crooks, but his partner balks at the idea. The villains then contrive to frame the reluctant man for a crime he didn't commit, and when this fails they lock our hero and his girlfriend (Marguerite Churchill) in a burning building. His pal comes to the rescue, and the two then team up to smash the corrupt politicos once and for all. Speed Devils was directed by former D. W. Griffith protégé Joseph Henaberry, who spent much of his talkie career on Poverty Row. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide