Stanley Andrews Movies

After a dying outlaw confesses to a crime for which Jedd Ferris (Richard Crane) has been sentenced to jail, Bret (James Garner) sets upon the task of securing Jedd's release. Trouble is, Jedd's wife Martha (Joan Vohs) is coveted by a tough customer named Ben Maxwell (Richard Webb), who will stop at nothing to make certain that Jedd remains behind bars. The first Maverick episode directed by series "regular" Douglas Heyes, "The Long Hunt" is a particular treat for fans of 1950s TV science-fiction shows, inasmuch as Richard Webb, aka "Captain Midnight", is cast as the bitter enemy of Richard Crane, aka "Rocky Jones, Space Ranger." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Just before achieving TV stardom as The Sheriff of Cochise, John Bromfield headed the cast of Frontier Gambler. Coleen Gray co-stars as the ruthless boss lady of a frontier town. When Gray disappears, suspicion immediately falls upon her former lover Bromfield. Others who had reasons to see Gray dead include Jim Dallas Davis, Kent Taylor and Veda Ann Borg. Frontier Gambler was stitched together by the reliable (if parsimonious) producer-director team of Sigmund Neufield and Sam Newfield (they were brothers, despite the spelling differences). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rory Calhoun stars as veteran gunfighter Brett Wade in Dawn at Socorro. In a lengthy flashback, the audience learns why Wade has hung up his guns and turned to gambling. Upon meeting dance-hall girl Rannah Hayes (Piper Laurie), he vows to take her out of the shady saloon run by Dick Braden (David Brian). He engages Braden in a card game, winner take all, with Rannah as the stakes--only to lose everything. Sorely tempted to strap on his guns again to claim Rannah, Wade is saved from this fateful decision by the timely arrival of another notorious fast gun, Jimmy Rapp (Alex Nicol). Less of a traditional western than a character study, Dawn at Socorro received better-than-usual reviews when it first came out in July of 1954. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Like its predecessor Duffy of San Quentin, The Steel Cage is made up of episodes from a never-telecast TV series based on the career of progressive prison warden Clinton T. Duffy. Paul Kelly plays Duffy, while his wife is portrayed by Maureen O'Sullivan. Divided into three separate playlets, the film begins with the semi-comic story of an ill-tempered chef (Walter Slezak) who is railroaded into San Quentin by a gourmet prisoner. The second story concerns a tense hostage situation fomented by would-be escapees John Ireland and Lawrence Tierney. The closing story deals with an incarcerated painter (Kenneth Tobey), whose belief in God is renewed by an idealistic young priest (Arthur Franz). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When Lou (Lou Costello) accidentally shoots his neighbor Mrs. Crumbcake (Elvia Allman) out of a tree and perforates her bucket, he ends up in court, being defended by a less-than-competent attorney (Sidney Fields) recommended by Abbott (Bud Abbott). He manages to land in jail over a 79 cent dispute, in the same cell as a lost soul (Sidney Fields) who reacts with comic violence whenever anyone mentions Niagara Falls. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

This concluding episode of a two-part story was excerpted from the theatrical feature Superman and the Oil Man. The digging of an oil well in the town of Silsby has caused a race of subterranean "Mole Men" to escape to the earth's surface. All the Mole Men want is to be left in peace, but their bizarre and grotesque appearance arouses the fear and bigotry of the local citizens. It is up to visiting reporter Clark Kent (George Reeves to prevent the situation from getting completely of hand--and the only way he can do this is to transform himself into Superman. Note that Phyllis Coates, who plays Lois Lane, has lighter hair than usual: This is because Superman and the Mole Men was filmed before production began on the Adventures of Superman TV series proper--even though this two-part adaptation was not telecast until the end of the series' first season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Clark (George Reeves), Lois (Phyllis Coates) and Jimmy (Jack Larson) head to Canada to investigate reports of a werewolf who is allegedly attacking lumberjacks. Clark is certain that there's a logical explanation to these "supernatural" events, which is quite a statement coming from a man who periodically transforms himself into Superman. At any rate, by the time the episode comes to a climax, all the people whom we care about are imperiled by a forest fire. Watch for an error in the rigging when Superman takes to the air--a faulty special effect that nearly resulted in a serious on-set injury for actor George Reeves. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

El Paso Stampede was the last of Republic Pictures' 38 Allan "Rocky" Lane westerns. Happily, the
series maintained a fairly high batting average right to the end. This time, the action takes place in 1898, during the Spanish-American war. Someone has been stealing cattle that was intended for the U.S. troops in Cuba. Government agent Lane heads westward to find out who's the brains behind the rustlers. El Paso Stampede delivers the goods in the action department, and then some. After the cessation of his 6-year western series, Allan "Rocky" Lane had some trouble lining up acting work; by 1961, however, he was gainfully employed as the voice of TV's Mr. Ed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Young Robert Fontaine, Jr. (Billy Gray) lives with his hard-working father (George Murphy) and mother (Nancy Davis), who is soon to give birth to a second child, on their northern California citrus farm. He's lonely on the farm and has been saving to buy a dog. One day, a mysterious stranger (Kurt Kasznar), who gives his name as Matlock, moves into the empty house adjacent to the farm -- he's not only highly strung but downright hostile to any friendly overtures that Robert Sr. or anyone else makes. Meanwhile, young Robert finds a stray dog that he adopts, and his whole life seems to blossom with his new companion -- but one day he finds the dog dead. He becomes fixated on the notion that Matlock poisoned the dog, and insists that his father do something -- but when Matlock angrily denies knowing about it, the boy's frustrations start to build. He tries to report to the poisoning to the police; when they won't help, he tries to get Mr. Wardlaw (Lewis Stone), the owner of the newspaper that he delivers, to run a news story about it, and when Wardlaw tries to reason with the boy, his rage finally boils over and he goes out-of-control. The boy decides to try and gather evidence against Matlock and follows a trail that takes him across the state hitchhiking, to the home of the former owner of the house Matlock is living in, and there he confronts a rumor that the other man was murdered. Stories and whispers begin to spread through the town about Matlock that make him seem even more sinister. The populace are getting stirred up, and Robert Jr., in his rage, commits an act of vandalism that threatens the entire community. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Cowboy hero Wild Bill Elliot (whose trademark was wearing his six-shooters backwards in his holsters) stars in this oater. After his brother is murdered by crooked cattlemen, Elliot is determined to bring honest business to the plains of North Dakota, and he pioneers the use of barbed wire to fence in his property. The supporting cast includes Phyllis Coates, Jack Ingram, Denver Pyle, and Fuzzy Knight. This 1952 feature is not to be confused with 1996 crime comedy of the same name, which gave new life to the expression "You betcha!" ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The Waco depicted in this film is a wide-open Texas frontier town, in desperate need of a strong authority figure to clean out the criminal element. The man needed is the man found: Matt Boone, played by Wild Bill Elliot. Though himself a fugitive from justice (he killed a man in self-defense), Boone takes his responsibilities as sheriff very seriously. Flying in the face of standard "good badman" movie cliches, Boone is often as brutal and ruthless as the desperadoes he comes up against. Waco was one more feather in the cap of cowboy star Bill Elliot, who appeared in some of the toughest -- and best -- medium-budget westerns of the 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide