Peter Seal Movies
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
- Starring:
- Ingrid Bergman, Selena Royle, (more)
In this documentary-inspired thriller, P.J. McNeal (James Stewart) is a reporter who is asked by his editor to look into a potential story: their newspaper has been carrying an ad offering a substantial reward for information regarding the murder of a policeman that occurred eleven years ago. It turns out the ad was placed by a cleaning woman named Tillie Wiecek (Kasia Orzazewski); her son Frank (Richard Conte) was convicted of the crime, but she is thoroughly convinced her son had nothing to do with the killing. McNeal doesn't believe for a moment that Frank could be innocent, but he sees a good human interest story in Tillie and writes a piece that receives a great deal of favorable attention. Brian Kelly (Lee J. Cobb), McNeal's editor, thinks there might be more to this story and asks P.J. to look into the original murder case. To McNeal's surprise, Frank passes a lie detector test in which he proclaims his innocence, and the more he digs into records on the case, the more he finds wrong with the original investigation; some evidence is missing, much is inconclusive, and the reporter begins to wonder if Frank might have been railroaded after all, or if the police might be trying to keep something quiet. Call Northside 777 was based on a true story. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Stewart, Richard Conte, (more)
- 1947
Backed by the "American GI Chorus", Nelson Eddy made his final screen appearance in the unusually elaborate Republic musical Northwest Outpost. The story is set in the 1830s, when a good portion of California was owned by Russia. US cavalry officer James Laurence (Nelson Eddy) arrives at one of the Russian colonies to pave the way for the eventual American takeover of the territory. He faces resistance in the form of Prince Nikolai Balinin (Hugo Haas), who has no intention of weakening his despotic hold over the local peasants. The plot thickens when Laurence falls in love with Natalie Alanova (Ilona Massey), the wife of disgraced nobleman Count Igor Savin (Joseph Schildkraut). The script draws several unsubtle parallels between Russian California of 1830 and Communist Russia of 1947, but this can be chalked up to the political tenor of the times. Rudolf Friml's soaring musical score evokes fond memories of Friml's earlier Rose Marie, which of course also starred Nelson Eddy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nelson Eddy, Ilona Massey, (more)
- 1947
Based on a novel by Yolanda Foldes, this confusing romantic adventure concerns a love affair and international espionage. Told in flashback, British officer Ralph Denistoun (Ray Milland) recounts the story to American journalist Quentin Reynolds. Before WWII, British Intelligence officers Ralph and Richard (Bruce Lester) were held captive by Nazis who wanted to know about Prof. Otto Krosigk's (Reinhold Schunzel) secret formula. Ralph and Richard escape, deciding to look for Krosigk separately with the plan to meet up again in Stuttgart. Then Ralph meets gypsy woman Lydia (Marlene Dietrich) in the forest. She disguises him, gives him golden earrings to wear, and leads him through the forest. Ralph eventually fights the gypsy leader Zoltan (Murvyn Vye) and wins his respect. He joins the band of gypsies and heads to Stuttgart where he meets Richard and reads the horrible fate in his palm. He then meets Krosigk, who gives him the secret formula. He is then able to escape, but promises to return for Lydia. The story ends with Lydia and Ralph meeting again in the forest after the war is over. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Milland, Marlene Dietrich, (more)
- 1946
This Universal B-musical casts Desi Arnaz as himself: a Cuban bandleader making it big in the United States. Shawnee (Joan Fulton) schemes to draw Arnaz from his homeland and transform the Havana musician into a star in New York City by having him perform on a successful radio show. Adding urgency to her efforts is the show's sponsor, who threatens to pull out if Arnaz doesn't play. Her efforts prove ineffective until she gets support from Arnaz's beloved niece, who persuades him that the gig is worth taking. Songs include "El Cumbanchero" and "Rhumba Matumba". ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Desi Arnaz, Beverly Simmons, (more)
- 1945
This campy little drama launched the career of B-girl Yvonne De Carlo. It is set during the Franco-Prussian war and chronicles the exploits of Salome, a beautiful Viennese dancer who falls for an American reporter and for him gets involved in cloak-and-dagger activities involving the Bismarck, before returning to Arizona with him. There, she uses her talent and abundant charms to inspire the lawless residents of his hometown to reform. They in turn, name the town after her. She then goes to San Francisco where she seduces and marries a wealthy Russian who builds her an opera house and gives her the happy life she had always craved. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yvonne De Carlo, Rod Cameron, (more)
- 1943
If you believe all-American Fred MacMurray as an Oxford don, you'll probably swallow the rest of Above Suspicion. Newly married to Joan Crawford, MacMurray goes on a honeymoon in prewar Germany. Actually it's more business than pleasure: they are secret agents for the British, attempting to smuggle back information about a new superweapon being developed by the Nazis. Evil, mean, cruel and also wicked German officer Basil Rathbone imprisons and tortures Crawford (though she still looks like a million bucks), but McMurray comes to the rescue, paving the way for a suspenseful race-to-the-border climax. The tenor of Above Suspicion can be summed up in a scene in which, after being confronted by a monolingual stormtrooper, Fred MacMurray says in English "Nuts to you, dope!," whereupon the Nazi scratches his head and wonders aloud, "Vass iss das 'dope'?" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Crawford, Fred MacMurray, (more)
Ghosts on the Loose (which features no ghosts whatsoever) is perhaps the best-known of Monogram's "East Side Kids" series. This time, Muggs (Leo Gorcey), Glimpy (Huntz Hall), and the rest of the kids offer to decorate the honeymoon cottage of Glimpy's sister, Betty (Ava Gardner), and her new husband, Jack (Rick Vallin). Unfortunately, the boys end up at the wrong house, a sinister mansion that serves as the headquarters for a Nazi spy ring headed by Emil (Bela Lugosi). The rest of the film is an extended chase -- first the Nazis chasing the boys, then the boys chasing the Nazis. Incidentally, this is the film in which Bela Lugosi allegedly sneezes out an obscenity. Ghosts on the Loose has been reissued under several titles, notably The East Side Kids Meet Bela Lugosi. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bela Lugosi, Ava Gardner, (more)
- 1942
- NR
The surrealistic opening sequence, featuring a WW2 calendar as written "by A. Hitler", should be indication enough that Once Upon a Honeymoon is no ordinary lighthearted romantic trifle. Ginger Rogers plays Katie, an American chorus girl who seeks to better herself by marrying titled European Baron von Luber (Walter Slezak), despite the warnings of reporter Pat (Cary Grant). Katie thinks Pat is just jealous, but both he and the audience are aware that Von Luber is secretly a high-ranking Nazi, whose "unofficial" visits to Czechoslovakia, Poland and France precipitate the German invasions of those countries. When Katie wises up, she agrees to help counterespionage agent LeBlanc (Albert Dekker) in his efforts to stop Von Luber before he can reach New York-and along the way, she falls in love with the ubiquitous Pat. The bizarre ending, in which one of the main characters is casually murdered, is played for laughs, as if WW2 is merely fodder for a screwball comedy. In the film's most unsettling scene, Katie and Pat, mistaken for Jews, are briefly interred in a Polish concentration camp; their outrage over this treatment seems to be founded not on Germany's crimes against humanity, but over the fact that the Gestapo would have the audacity to incarcerate two non-Jewish Americans! A curious and often tasteless misfire from producer-director Leo McCarey, One Upon a Honeymoon is an undeniably fascinating historical artifact. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ginger Rogers, Cary Grant, (more)
