Jack George Movies

While Metropolis gears up to honor its most popular "citizen" during Superman Week, gangster Si Horten (Herburt Vigran) tries to figure out a way to rid the town of the Man of Steel. Taking reporter Jimmy Olsen (Jack Larson) into his confidence, Horten gives Jimmy a milkshake laced with truth serum, whereupon the boy reveals the location of some hidden Kryptonite--the only substance that can render Superman helpless. Meanwhile, the ever-suspicious Lois Lane (Noel Neill) eagerly anticipates the awkward situation awaiting Clark Kent (George Reeves), who has been assigned to interview Superman on TV. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lucky Me is a mixed-bag musical from Warner Bros., adhering to a tried-and-true formula that was wearing just a bit thin in 1954. Candy (Doris Day), Hap (Phil Silvers), Duke (Eddie Foy Jr.) and Flo (Nancy Walker) are four small-time performers who find themselves stranded in Miami. Forced to take domestic jobs in a fancy hotel, the foursomes's spirits are lifted when songwriter Dick (Bob Cummings) checks in. On the verge of writing a big-time Broadway show, Dick invites the four entertainers to participate. The hitch: In order to bankroll the show, Dick must woo and win the daughter (Martha Hyer) of a Texas oil magnate. . .and Candy has fallen in love with Dick. Sharp-eyed viewers will spot Angie Dickinson making her uncredited feature-film debut. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comical sci-fi adventure, two brave heroes take on a mad scientist and his legion of wicked aliens from the planet Ergo. Thanks to the efforts of the two brave fighters, Earth is saved again. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Though completed in 1950, Love Is Better Than Ever was held back from release until 1952, due in great part to the "political undesirability" of star Larry Parks, whose career was effectively ruined after he humbled himself before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Parks plays Broadway talent agent Jud Parker, who takes a fancy to small-town dance teacher Anastacia Macaboy (Elizabeth Taylor). Parker wines and dines Anastacia during her visit to New York for the purposes of seduction. But the girl assumes that his intentions are honorable, and sends word of her "impending" engagement to her hometown newspaper. With his reputation on the line, Parker agrees to confirm the engagement if asked, with the understanding that he doesn't really mean it. Rest assured that by fade-out time, he will mean it. Gene Kelly makes an unbilled cameo appearance in Love Is Better Than Ever, which also features such reliables as Ann Doran, Kathleen Freeman, and Dick Wessel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a dimwitted fellow bumbles off in search of the marriage license bureau and instead finds himself in a recruiting office for the Marines. Before he knows it, the jughead has become a jarhead. Fortunately, his fiancee also joins and they go through boot camp together. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Director Victor Fleming's final film features Ingrid Bergman as a vivid and luminous Joan of Arc, the 15th-century French peasant girl who led the French in battle against the invading English, becoming a national hero. When she was captured, tortured, and ultimately executed by the English, she was made a Catholic saint. Bergman's Joan is a strong and spiritual figure who proves her devotion to the Dauphin (Jose Ferrer), later to become the King of France. Joan is compelling as she wins an alliance with the Governor of Vaucouleurs and the courtiers at Chinon, leads her army in the Battle of Orleans, is betrayed by the Burgundians, and edicts that "our strength is in our faith." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

That Lady in Ermine tells two parallel stories, both taking place in the small Mittel-European duchy of Bergamo, but one set in the 19th century and the other in the 16th. In 1861, the Countess Angelina (Betty Grable) and her newlywed husband, Baron Mario, have just entered the bridal chamber when a Hungarian army regiment under the command of Colonel Teglash (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) invades. Mario flees the castle, leaving Angelina to face the invaders, just as her 16th --century ancestor Francesca (also Betty Grable) was forced to protect her turf under similar circumstances. Colonel Teglash is struck by a portrait of Francesca (the lady in ermine of the title), and the resemblance between her and Angelina makes it difficult for him to rule with his customary iron fist. Meanwhile, Francesca haunts the dreams of both Angelina and Teglash. She appears to advise Angelina to pretend interest in the colonel and then kill him, much as she herself did so many years ago. At the same time, Teglash dreams that Francesca/Angelina overcomes the desire to kill him and falls in love with him. The 19th-century couple play out their story against the backdrop of Francesca's own tale, but with the twist that Angelina really does find herself caring for Teglash. Although the direction is credited to Ernst Lubitsch, he died after 8 days of filming; the film was completed by Otto Preminger. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

In this musical, an orphan is under the false impression that her newly found relatives are filthy rich. Lacking the heart to tell her the truth, the relatives move into an abandoned mansion to entertain her and her fiance. Songs include: "That's Good Enough for Me", "A Man Is a Brother to a Mule", "Judy and Dick", and "Cheer for the Team". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Director Frank Borzage and star Ginger Rogers both came acropper in the lavish but dull historical biopic Magnificent Doll. The usually ebullient Rogers seems encased in wax as Dolly Madison, first lady of the United States in the early 19th century. The story begins as young Washington socialite Dolly Payne, previously and unhappily wed to one John Todd (Horace McNally), can't make up her mind romantically between idealistic politician James Madison (Burgess Meredith) and firebrand Aaron Burr (David Niven). Burr solves that problem when he flees the country after killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel, leaving the field clear for Madison. What should have been the film's highlight, Dolly's rescue of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution during the 1812 burning of Washington, is treated as a throwaway. Told in flashback, the film ends just before Madison's ascendancy to the White House, with Dolly chastely charming the current chief executive Thomas Jefferson (Grandon Rhodes). Magnificent Doll is anything but . ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title The Lady Confesses is slightly misleading, since it's the hero of the film is accused of murder. On the eve of his marriage to Vicki McGuire (Mary Beth Hughes), Larry Craig (Hugh Beaumont) discovers that his first wife Norma (Barbara Slater), long missing and presumed dead, is very much alive. Shortly thereafter, Norma is killed, and Larry is the number one suspect. To save her sweetie, Vicki becomes an amateur detective, hoping to expose the genuine murderer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

From a novel of the same name by "Elizabeth", the film begins in 1914, with Bette Davis cast as vain, flighty society woman Fanny Trellis. Informed by Jewish-American financier Job Skeffington (Claude Rains) that her brother Trippy (Richard Waring) has stolen money to pay his gambling debts, Fanny marries Job, securing his promise that he won't prosecute her thieving sibling. Angered by Fanny's agreeing to this loveless union, Trippy runs off to join the army, and is killed during World War I. Fanny holds Skeffington responsible for her brother's death, and demands a divorce with a generous cash settlement. Despite Job's oft-repeated belief that "a woman is only beautiful when she is loved," Fanny uses her coquettish beauty to flit indiscriminately from man to man. While on a sailing trip with her latest beau, Fanny comes down with diphtheria. The disease destroys her facial beauty, and before long the shallow Fanny is left completely alone. Her self-centered efforts to reunite all of her old boyfriends for a party is a failure due to her pathetic middle-aged efforts to be kittenish, and the grotesqueness of the mounds of facial makeup she apples. Meanwhile, Skeffington, who has resettled in Europe with his daughter, is captured by the Nazis and placed in a concentration camp. He manages to escape, returning to the US totally blind and utterly penniless. A chastened Fanny comes back to her husband, promising to care for him for the rest of his life. Most TV prints of Mr. Skeffington run 127 minutes; the videocassette and cable TV versions have been restored to the original length. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Secrets of Scotland Yard is Republic's spin on a plotline first elucidated in the old E. Phillips Oppenheim novel The Great Impersonation. After losing WW I, the German high command, with remarkable foresight, prepares for the next war by planting a spy in the British Admiralty. Edgar Barrier plays the dual role of the German spy and his British twin brother. When one twin is killed, the other assumes his identity. The question: is the surviving brother the "good" one or the bad? It is up to C. Aubrey Smith, cast as Scotland Yard inspector Sir Christopher Belt, to sort out the mystery. Though it owes a great deal to the aforementioned Oppenheim yarn, Secrets of Scotland Yard is actually based on a novel by Denison Clift, who also wrote the screenplay. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide