Stanley Andrews Movies

Originally filmed at Republic in 1948, Montana Belle was purchased by producer Howard R. Hughes, who'd loaned the services of the film's star, Jane Russell. After laying on the shelf for three years, Montana Belle was finally released by Hughes' RKO Radio Pictures in October of 1952. Russell plays notorious western outlaw Belle Starr, who after being saved by the Dalton Gang from the hangman's noose, falls in love with Bob Dalton (Scott Brady). This doesn't stop Belle and Dalton from trying to stab one another in the back for the next 8 reels. It is gambler Tom Bradfield (George Brent) who finally offers Belle a new start in life--and, incidentally, a new romance. The film's high point of imbecility arrives when Jane Russell disguises herself as a man. In other words, Montana Belle is lots of fun so long as no one takes it too seriously (it is clear that the people who made the film didn't!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Superman, the comic-book "Man of Steel" created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, made his feature-film debut in Lippert's Superman and the Mole Men. The story takes place in the small town of Silsby, where the local oil company is drilling what will become the world's deepest well. When the drillers reach the six-mile point, the results are astonishing: four subterranean Mole Men (Jack Banbury, Billy Curtis, Jerry Marvin and Tony Barvis) emerge from the well. Though basically harmless, the Mole Men are regarded as a threat by the citizens of Silsby, especially lynch-happy Luke Benson (Jeff Corey). Reporters Clark Kent (George Reeves) and Lois Lane (Phyllis Coates) arrive in town to do a story on the well. When Kent realizes that the Mole Men are in danger of falling victim to mob violence, he tears off his glasses and street clothes to become Superman. In this guise, he endeavors to rescue the Mole Men and to convince the townsfolk that blind prejudice is both stupid and dangerous. Rather mild by today's standards (the audience never gets to see Superman fly), Superman and the Mole Men served its primary purpose: to act as a theatrical pilot for the very popular Superman TV series, which also starred Reeves and (for the first season, at least) Coates. The feature film was later edited into two half-hour installments of the Superman series, and retitled "The Unknown People." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

During the 1845 battle for Texas' independence, a cattle baron (Clark Gable) spars with an evil senator (Broderick Crawford) over the state's future and for the affections of newpaperwoman Ava Gardner. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

This 1951 Gene Autry vehicle is based on a supposedly true incident. At the close of the Civil War, a band of Southern guerillas disguised themselves as Union soldiers, the better to perform acts of sabotage in Utah. Autry plays a cavalry scout who goes after guerilla leader McQuarrie (Jim Davis). Though heavily outnumbered, Gene manages to come out on top. Hardly plausible, Silver Canyon is enhanced by an excellent supporting cast, including Pat Buttram as Autry's sidekick, Bob Steele as an all-around louse, and perennial Autry leading lady Gail Davis as the spunky heroine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The old "Cain and Abel" plot device is redefined within Western terms in MGM's Vengeance Valley. Burt Lancaster stars as ranch-hand Owen Daybright, who has been raised as a son by rancher Arch Stroble (Ray Collins). Stroble's natural son Lee (Robert Walker) has always been envious of Owen, who in turn has spent most of his life pulling Lee out of trouble and keeping the boy's misdeeds a secret from the elder Stroble. When Lee fathers an illegitimate child, he tries to shift the responsibility on Owen, leading to a life-threatening confrontation with the vengeance-seeking brothers of the baby's mother (Sally Forrest). There's plenty more plot twists before virtue finally triumphs. Joanne Dru co-stars as Lee's long-suffering wife Jen, who harbors a secret yen for Owen. Since lapsing into public domain, Vengeance Valley has shown up with increasing frequency on cable television; it has also been made available in a narrated version for the visually impaired. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Damon Runyon's Broadway fable The Lemon Drop Kid was filmed twice by Paramount Pictures, but only the 1934 version with Lee Tracy paid more than lip service to the original Runyon story. The second version, filmed in 1951, was completely retooled to accommodate the talents of Bob Hope. Known far and wide as the Lemon Drop Kid because of his fondness for that particular round, yellow confection, Hope is a bookie who finds himself deeply in debt to Florida gangster Fred Clark. Magnanimously, Clark permits Hope to head to New York to raise the money--but he'd better have the dough ready by Christmas, or else. Ever on the lookout for Number One, Hope decides to exploit the Christmas spirit in order to get the money together. With the help of unsuspecting nightclub-singer Marilyn Maxwell, Hope sets up a charity fund to raise money for an "Old Doll's Home"--that is, a home for down-and-out little old ladies. He claims to be doing this on behalf of big-hearted Jane Darwell, but he has every intention of double-crossing Darwell and all the other elderly women by skipping town with the charity funds and leaving them at the mercy of the authorities. By the time Hope has seen the error of his ways and tries to do right by the old dolls, Maxwell's boss Lloyd Nolan has decided to muscle into the racket by using the ladies' home as a front for a gambling casino. To set things right, Hope finds it necessary to disguise himself as a fussy old spinster at one point. The best line in the film goes to William Frawley, playing one of many Broadway toughs who are being pressed into service as street-corner Santas. "Will you bring me a doll for Christmas?" asks a little girl. "Naw, my doll's workin' Christmas Eve" is Frawley's salty reply. The Lemon Drop Kid is the film in which Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell introduced the enduring Yuletide ballad "Silver Bells", written (reportedly in a real hurry) by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set just after the close of the Civil War, a former Confederate officer (Ray Milland) joins a vaudeville target-shooting show to avoid detection by the Union army. Working his way West, he falls in league with a group of Southern copper-miners being harassed as they try to make a living. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Allan "Rocky" Lane rides again in Salt Lake Raiders. This time, action takes a back seat to mystery and suspense. Lane arrives in a ghost town where his saddle pal Nugget Clark (Eddy Waller) is being held captive by outlaws. Also on hand is accused murderer Fred Mason (Myron Healey). With only 60 minutes' screen time at his disposal, Lane must free Nugget and prove Mason's innocence. The villains are Roy Barcroft and Clifton Young, as if there was any doubt the moment that their names appeared in the credits. The heroine is played by Martha Hyer, a pretty young ingenue on the threshold of bigger things. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Faith Domergue, the latest of Howard Hughes' protegees, made her film debut in 1950's Where Danger Lives. Domergue plays Margo Lannington the wife of Frederick Lannington (Claude Rains), an elderly millionaire possessed of a sadistic streak. Robert Mitchum co-stars as Jeff Cameron, a poor soul who falls in love with Margo without knowing that she's married. During a violent confrontation with the jealous Frederick, Cameron knocks the older man out and stumbles out of the room. Upon his return, he discovers that Frederick is dead. Margo had smothered her husband during Cameron's absence, but she insists that Cameron is the killer. The desperate lovers flee to Mexico, where Cameron at long last discovers that his travelling companion is more than a little unhinged. Masterfully directed by John Farrow, Where Danger Lives might have been one of the classic "film noirs," were it not for the acting deficiencies of Faith Domergue, who flounders in a role that Jane Greer could have played blindfolded. ~ 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

Two Flags West is set in the waning days of the Civil War. Colonel Clay Tucker (Joseph Cotten) is one of several Confederate prisoners who agree to fight alongside Union soldiers against the Indians in New Mexico. Tucker's Union commander Kenniston (Jeff Chandler) despises all "Johnny Rebs," holding them responsible for the death of his brother. Kenniston has other problems too; he is deeply in love with his sister-in-law Elena (Linda Darnell), but refuses to express his devotion out of loyalty to his dead sibling. He also hates Indians with a passion, and has endangered the safety of his fort by brutally killing a chief's son. There seems to be only one way for Kenniston to purge the demons within him, and he finds that way during a climactic Indian attack. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Those westerns produced by the team of star Randolph Scott and producer Harry Joe Brown tended to be several notches above the norm, and The Nevadan is no exception. Scott is cast as U.S. marshal Andrew Barkeley, who goes undercover in a federal pen to get a line on $250,000 in stolen money. Barkeley arranges for chief suspect Tom Tanner (Forrest Tucker) to escape from jail, the better to trail Tanner to the hiding place for the loot. If it were that easy, of course, the film would be over in 15 minutes. Complicating matters is avaricious rancher Edward Galt (George Macready), who also covets the stolen cash. Dorothy Malone adds "heart interest" as Galt's daughter. The chase and fistfight scenes are well-integrated into the suspenseful screenplay. The director was Gordon Douglas, an efficient craftsman who nonetheless wasn't nearly as skilled as Randy Scott's future collaborator Budd Boetticher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide