Tige Andrews Movies
The son of Lebanese parents, American actor Tige Andrews, born Tiger Androwaous, has played supporting roles on television and in films where he is usually cast as an amiable bad-guy. He is best known for his television work; he was a regular on the 1970s series Mod Squad. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1958
- NR
Based on a novel by William Chamberlain, Imitation General has a bit more story depth and character development than the average WWII service comedy. Glenn Ford stars as M/Sgt. Murphy Savage, who is forced to take drastic action when Brigadier General Charles Lane (Kent Smith) is killed in action. To assure the success of the General's mission, and to sustain morale within the ranks, Sgt. Savage poses as the deceased Lane. Standing on the sidelines to kvetch and moan is Red Buttons as Cpl. Chan Derby, who's certain that both he and Savage will be shot at sunrise for the sergeant's deception. Finnish actress Taina Elg is somewhat incongruously cast as a French farm girl. Given the fact that the story of Imitation General is motivated by the "passing of a torch", it's ironic that the film's first network showing in November of 1963 was postponed by the JFK assassination. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Ford, Red Buttons, (more)
Cliff Brandon (Victor Mature) is a US pilot serving in China in 1943, flying supplies to Allied soldiers in Burma. He's the best at what he does in the air, but he's also emotionally cut off from everyone around him, disillusioned by the loss of men in his command during nearly two years of war. When he's not in the air on a mission, or riding his new men (including Stuart Whitman, Tige Andrews and Johnny Desmond) to learn their jobs as fast as they can so they can survive, he's usually either passed out drunk or getting there on the ground. One night, while staggering out of his usual watering hole, he chances to meet an elderly Chinese man and, after a barely understood conversation, hands him a pile of money. When Cliff awakens the next day, he discovers that he's bought three months of housekeeping service from the man's daughter, Shu-Jen (Li Li Hua). At first he's at a loss over what to do about her -- he would gladly send her back to her father, until he learns from local missionary Father Cairns (Ward Bond) that Shu-Jen (whose name means "precious jewel") is the sole supporter of her family; and that if he sends her back, they'll return his money as a matter of honor, and have to sell her services as a housekeeper again; and that the next time that may be to someone who is a lot less honorable than Cliff, and could destroy the rest of the girl's life. So they're stuck with each other, and in the course of three months together Cliff discovers through Shu-Jen a joyous side to life that he'd forgotten -- his men even notice that he smiles occasionally, and he actually seems like a human being, enough so that Cliff soon wants more out of life than just day-to-day survival; he wants a life with Shu-Jen. And despite her initial misgivings, they decide to marry. But duty constantly beckons to Cliff, especially when he's moved to a forward base to support a new Allied offensive -- he isn't there for the birth of their child, but he is able to bring them both to him, only to find that the war is now on both their doorsteps. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Mature, Li Li Hua, (more)
- 1958
In his third starring feature, Onionhead, Andy Griffith plays a character somewhere inbetween the bucolic ingenuousness of Will Stockdale in No Time for Sergeants and the hotheaded truculence of Lonesome Rhodes in A Face in the Crowd. Griffith is cast as Al Woods, a college student majoring in girls and parties. When his grades drop and his relationship with girlfiend Jo Hill (Erin O'Brien) sours, Al joins the Coast Guard as assistant cook on the SS Periwinkle, fully expecting to sit out WW2 in peace and quiet. Instead, he runs afoul of navy protocol in general and mess officer Red Wildoe (Walter Matthau) in particular. In or out of trouble, Al remains a stubborn individualist, and it is this quality that attracts him to Wildoe's erstwhile fiancee Stella (Felica Farr). Strong support is provided by Roscoe Karns as Al Woods' crusty father, James Gregory as the skipper of thePeriwinkle, and Joey Bishop is the inevitable Brooklynite. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andy Griffith, Felicia Farr, (more)
- 1957
Matt (James Arness) has reason to believe that fugitive outlaw Jim Glass, former accomplice of Billy the Kid, is living in Tescosa under the name of Nate Timble. Investigating, Matt can't help but notice that the mild-mannered Trimble (Carl Betz) spends most of his time trying to rehabilitate a derelict cowboy. Just what exactly is Nate's game--assuming that it is a game? This episode is based on the Gunsmoke radio broadcast of August 22, 1953. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Wings of Eagles is filmmaker John Ford's paean to his frequent collaborator--and, it is rumored, drinking buddy--Cmdr. Frank "Spig" Wead. John Wayne stars as Wead, a reckless WW1 Naval aviator who (it says here) was instrumental in advancing the cause of American "air power". In private life, Wead becomes estranged from his wife Minnie (Maureen O'Hara) after the death of their baby. Drinking heavily, Wead tumbles down the stairs of his home, and as a result he is apparently paralyzed for life. With the help of happy-go-lucky Navy mechanic Carson (Dan Dailey), Wead is able to regain minimal use of his legs, but it seems clear that his Naval career is over. Fortunately, he manages to find work as a prolific Hollywood screenwriter, and after the attack of Pearl Harbor he is called back to active duty to oversee the construction of "jeep carriers". Not one of John Ford's more coherent films--in fact, it's downright sloppy at times--The Wings of Eagles nonetheless contains several highlights, not least of which are the "I'm gonna move that toe" scene with John Wayne and Dan Dailey, and Ward Bond's inside-joke performance as irreverent film director "John Dodge". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Dan Dailey, (more)
- 1957
- NR
Adapted by Robert Anderson from a story by James A. Michener, the Robert Wise-directed soaper Until They Sail is set in World-War-II New Zealand. Paul Newman plays been-there-done-that U.S. marine captain Jack Harding, assigned to investigate servicemen's requests to marry local girls. An unemotional cipher, Harding begins to warm up when he meets war widow Barbara Leslie Forbes (Jean Simmons), a woman with three sisters (played by Joan Fontaine, Piper Laurie, and Sandra Dee -- what a gene pool!). The Newman-Simmons relationship is played against the romance between uptight spinster Anne Leslie (Fontaine) and good-natured officer Richard Bates (Charles Drake), and the dysfunctional marriage between the emotionally desperate (and nymphomaniacal) Delia Leslie (Laurie) and slimy Shiner Friskett (Wally Cassell), who is off in battle. The fourth sister, Evelyn (Dee), watches her sisters' amorous pursuits longingly, her mind occupied by her own true love, who is off to war. Until They Sail was a copacetic reunion between star Newman and director Robert Wise, who'd previously collaborated in Somebody Up There Likes Me. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Simmons, Joan Fontaine, (more)
Henry Fonda returned to films after an eight-year absence in this masterful adaptation of the actor's Broadway hit Mister Roberts. Written and partially directed by Joshua Logan, the film stars Fonda as Lt. Doug Roberts, chief cargo officer of the supply ship "Reluctant." WW2 is in its last few months, and Roberts is itching for combat duty. But the Reluctant's surly, despotic captain (James Cagney), anxious to use Roberts to expedite his own promotion, refuses to sign any of Roberts' transfer requests. Helping to brighten Mister Roberts' humdrum existence are his best friends, Ensign Frank Pulver (Jack Lemmon, in an Oscar-winning performance) and the ship's philosophical doctor (William Powell, in his final film appearance). Most of the laughs are provided by Pulver, officer "in charge of laundry and morale." When he isn't wheeling and dealing to bring a bevy of beautiful nurses on board the Reluctant, Pulver is concocting elaborate schemes to avenge himself against the Captain -- even though he's spent 14 months on the Reluctant without ever meeting his nemesis. The film's highlights include the efforts by Roberts, Pulver, and Doc to mix a bottle of Scotch from Coca-Cola, Iodine, and other vital ingredients; and Mister Roberts' (and later Ensign Pulver's) assertion of manhood by tossing the Captain's precious palm tree overboard. Halfway through shooting, legendary director John Ford was replaced, ostensibly because of illness, by Mervyn LeRoy. One of the finest service comedies ever made, Mister Roberts spawned a less amusing sequel, Ensign Pulver (1964), as well as a 1965 TV sitcom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Fonda, James Cagney, (more)
