George Slocum Movies
- 1952
Though filmed through the facilities of Hal Roach Studios and produced by Hal Roach Jr., Tales of Robin Hood was released by Lippert Pictures. Robert Clarke stars as the young Earl of Huntington, who after losing his property and title to the invading Normans heads to Sherwood Forest. Here he gains notoriety and adulation as beneficent outlaw Robin Hood. Mary Hatcher co-stars as Maid Marian, while Sir Guy of Gisborne and the Sheriff of Nottingham are played respectively by Paul Cavanaugh and Tiny Stowe. Robin's Merry Men are portrayed by Wade Crosby (Little John), Ben Welden (Friar Tuck), Robert Bice (Will Scarlet) and Bruce Lester (Alan A-Dale). Reportedly, Tales of Robin Hood was intended as the pilot film for a TV series; indeed, its structure resembles two half-hour TV episodes cobbled together. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Clarke, Mary Hatcher, (more)
- 1952
Mistaken identity and underhanded dealings set the stage for this adventure story based on Anthony Hope's classic novel. Rudolph Rassendyll (Stewart Granger) is a British tourist visiting the nation of Ruritania in the Balkans. A number of people comment upon Rassendyll's remarkable resemblance to Prince Rudolph, who in a matter of days is to be crowned the nation's new king, and the prince's staff even arranges a meeting between the two men. But Rudolph's devious brother believes it is he who should be the king, and he arranges for Prince Rudolph to be poisoned the night before his coronation. Desperate, Rudolph's minders beg Rassendyll to participate in the ceremony in Rudolph's place so that the usurper cannot take the throne. Rassendyll agrees, and the ceremony goes off without a hitch, but when the brother's men discover this subterfuge, they imprison the real Prince as they threaten to reveal the secret of the new "king." Rassendyll's dilemma is compounded when he finds himself falling in love with Princess Flavia (Deborah Kerr), Rudolph's intended. This was the fourth screen adaptation of The Prisoner of Zenda; a fifth, which focused on the tale's comic possibilities, starred Peter Sellers and was released in 1979. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr, (more)
- 1950
Produced at Agoura, CA, and directed by silent film action star Richard Talmadge, this minor Western starred bandleader and early television personality Spade Cooley. Actually, Cooley had very little to do in the film other than offer name recognition to a cumbersome Western tale of a special agent (Bill Edwards) unravelling a series of rustlings on and around Cooley's dude ranch. The rustlers, as it turns out, are in league with a smuggler known only as the Phantom Raider. The contraband in question was originally slated to be dope, but vehement objections from the Breen office, the Hollywood watchdog, caused it to be changed to diamonds. At one point in the film, the Cooley ranch hands are seen practicing acrobatic feats under the leadership of director Richard Talmadge, a veteran stuntman. The act was billed as "The Six Metzetti Boys," an obvious reference to Talmadge's real name, Sylvester Metzetti. Popularly known as "The King of Western Swing," Spade Cooley created less than admirable headlines in 1961 when he was convicted of beating his estranged wife to death. He died of a heart attack in 1969 while on a leave from Vacaville prison to perform in a benefit concert. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Spade Cooley, Maria Hart, (more)
- 1950
Don Barry stars as the Pecos Kid in Red Desert. The Kid is a federal agent, assigned by President Ulysses S. Grant to locate an outlaw wanted by the government. The outlaw is something of a frontier fuehrer, hoping to use his ill-gotten gains to set up a nation of his own. The Kid thinks he's gotten his man at the film's halfway point, but he and the audience are in for surprise. President Grant is played by Joseph Crehan, who made a comfortable living imitating our 18th Chief Executive in the movies. Red Desert was Lippert's final release for 1949, but was hardly Don Barry's last effort for the studio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Though the hit song "Mule Train" is most closely associated with Frankie Laine, it was Gene Autry who first sang the tune on film, in a picture titled ... what else? .... Mule Train. This time, Autry plays a federal marshal who comes to the aid of a grizzled old prospector who has been framed for murder. The villain, Sam Brady (Robert Livingston), wants to appropriate the prospector's land, and he isn't particular as to how he achieves that goal. Leading lady Sheila Ryan plays a female sheriff who is on Brady's side at first, but who later realigns herself with Autry. Ryan later became the wife of Pat Buttram, who also appears in Mule Train in his usual role as Gene Autry's comical sidekick. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Pat Buttram, (more)
- 1950
Timber Fury was based on a story by North-Woods specialist James Oliver Curwood. The plot concerns the efforts of a timber shipper to get his logs to the mill on time. Callow young engineer Jim (David Bruce) comes up with a new, efficient method to expedite the shipment, and in so doing wins the undying affection of heroine Phyllis (Laura Lee). Meanwhile, villainous rival McCabe (George Slocum) plots and plans to prevent the shipment from proceeding. Also featured in the cast is ubiquitous character-actor Sam Flint, playing an ill-fated lumberman who seems to have the words "Kill Me First" tattooed on his forehead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Bruce, Laura Lee, (more)
- 1950
Killer Shark was another of actor Roddy McDowall's self-produced film efforts for Monogram release. McDowall stars as Ted, the son of fisherman White (Roland Winters). Convinced that his college-bred son is too namby-pamby for the demands of his profession, White nonetheless allows Ted to accompany him on a dangerous shark-netting expedition. Proving an ineffectual seaman, the boy accidentally causes one of the crew to suffer a serious injury. Hoping to prove himself, Ted signs on with another fishing boat--only to fail again (McDowall didn't seem to be too concerned about projecting himself as a hero on-screen). Finally, Ted comes through by capturing a gang of shark thieves. Fans of director Oscar "Budd" Boetticher tend to write off Killer Shark as a training exercise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roddy McDowall, Laurette Luez, (more)
- 1948
Based on the play by Arthur Miller, All My Sons is a drama of man's duty to man that retains a potent impact. Edward G. Robinson plays a manufacturer of parts for World War II airplanes who lives a full, satisfied life in a small town. But his idyll is shattered by the arrival of the fiancée of the manufacturer's oldest son, who is missing in action. The younger son begins to fall in love with the girl, but her own brother is against the relationship because, he claims, the manufacturer and his partner delivered defective parts to the war effort. The younger son (Burt Lancaster) investigates, even going as far as visit his father's former partner in jail, and discovers the awful truth -- that his father's corrupt actions were responsible for both the partner's incarceration and the deaths of 21 U.S. pilots. The tale ends with a bitter and tragic confrontation that drives home the message that we are all our brother's keepers, and we cannot push aside that responsibility for personal gain. Thoughtful and intense performances by Robinson and Lancaster bring humanity and life to this powerful theme. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward G. Robinson, Burt Lancaster, (more)
