William Hamel Movies

Western writer/director Charles Marquis Warren makes one of his periodic excursions into horror with The Unknown Terror. Filmed in Mexico, the story focuses on three American adventurers (John Howard, Mala Powers and Paul Richards) who search for a missing explorer. They stumble across the Cave of Death, the forbidden domain of a mad scientist (Gerald Milton) who has developed a "killer fungus." Before long, one of the trio has fallen victim to the homicidal mold. It is up to the survivors to escape the scientist's clutches and warn the rest of the world of the now-known terror that festers in the wilds of Mexico. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After closing down his film studio, producer Robert L. Lippert took charge of Regal Films, a subsidiary of 20th Century-Fox designed to turn out low-budget, non-CinemaScope productions. One of the first of these films was the modest western The Black Whip. Colleen Gray, Angie Dickinson, Adele Mara and Dorothy Schuyler play four women of questionable morals who conspire to help a notorious outlaw escape the law. The ladies are ushered into a stagecoach by the village elders and ordered to get out of town and stay out. En route to their next destination, the ladies' coach breaks down at a way station managed by Hugh Marlowe. As Marlowe repairs the wheels, an outlaw gang rides up, demanding that the girls be handed over to them. By this time, the ladies have no use for the bad guys, but Marlowe is too mild-mannered to intervene. He finally outfoxes the villains by using brains instead of brawn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The action in this loose adaptation of a popular 1925 silent tells the galloping (and largely untrue) tale if the formation of the U.S. rapid transcontinental mail system with a focus on the adventures of Buffalo Bill Cody (Charlton Heston) and Wild Bill Hickock (Forrest Tucker). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

With Lucy (Lucille Ball) about to give birth at any minute, Ricky (Desi Arnaz) is determined that her trip to the hospital will be staged in as calm and orderly a manner as possible. To that end, Lucy, Ricky, Fred (William Frawley), and Ethel (Vivian Vance) go through a series of painstakingly detailed "dress rehearsals," with each person handling one of the crucial responsibilities. Not surprisingly, when the big moment finally arrives, all of Ricky's carefully calculated planning goes right out the window -- and when he, Fred, and Ethel have finally rushed out of the apartment, poor Lucy has been left behind! Perhaps the most famous of all I Love Lucy episodes, this program was originally seen by more viewers than any previous show in TV history. ~ All Movie Guide

This western stars Sterling Hayden as a man who innocently tends to the needs of a mysterious stranger. When it turns out that the stranger was part of a notorious gang of mercenaries, Hayden is condemned as a conspirator and sent to Hellgate Prison in New Mexico. He earns a pardon thanks to his courage and medical expertise during an epidemic. Hellgate was one of a handful of ambitious 1950s projects from the otherwise cost-conscious Lippert Studios. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

No one is as good as Barbara Stanwyck when she's bad. Here Stanwyck plays Thelma Jordon, a woman who late one night shows up in the office of happily married Assistant DA Cleve Marshall (Wendell Corey) to seek help in solving the string of robberies at her wealthy aunt's estate. Before Cleve can stop himself, he and Thelma are involved in an illicit affair. But Thelma is a mysterious woman, and Cleve can't help wondering if she is hiding something. His suspicions are confirmed when Thelma confesses to him that she is married to Tony Laredo, though she swears that she never wants to see him again. When Thelma's aunt is found murdered, Cleve's suspicions are aroused once again, but he is too love-struck to keep himself from being drawn into the complicated series of events that ultimately lead to his ruination. Siodmak directs with his usual skill and polish, but the film really belongs to Barbara Stanwyck who is magnificent as Thelma. Unlike the usual cold, passionless femme fatale of film noir, Thelma has a heart and a conscience. She comes to love Cleve, and has concern for his life and his future. However, despite her wish that her life could be different, she realizes that she belongs in Tony's world, and despite her attempts to sacrifice herself to save Cleve, he is doomed, by his love for her and by his own weaknesses. The File on Thelma Jordan is a romantic, unusual mystery, with a great performance and superior direction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide