Nick Dennis Movies
Greek-born actor Nick Dennis may have been short of stature, but that didn't prevent him from cutting a prominent and memorable image onscreen (and on-stage) in a career that crossed 40 years and two coasts. Indeed, his diminutive physique was more than matched by an outsized talent, and an ability to steal almost any scene he was in, working among the stars of whatever the production happened to be. Dennis was born in Thessaly in 1904, and his American stage career dated from the mid-'30s. He made his debut on Broadway in September 1935 playing a telegraph boy in the Howard Lindsay/Damon Runyon comedy A Slight Case of Murder; and in April 1936, he played a thug in the original Broadway production of Richard Rodgers' and Lorenz Hart's On Your Toes, starring Ray Bolger. His other early stage credits included On Borrowed Time and The World We Make, of which only the latter was a conspicuous success at the time. He continued to find steady work through the Second World War and beyond, including roles in José Ferrer's Broadway production of Cyrano De Bergerac. It was around the time of the latter's run that he made his big-screen debut with a role in the New York-filmed drama A Double Life (1947). But it was the part of Pablo Gonzales in A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by Elia Kazan, that brought him to Hollywood, to appear in the Kazan-directed film version. Dennis' screen credits multiplied by the dozens over the next few years, in pictures such as Sirocco (1951) and Eight Iron Men (1952), as well as television work on anthology shows such as Fireside Theatre. Kazan used him in East of Eden (1955), and Robert Aldrich gave him the role of extrovert garage mechanic and car enthusiast Nick in Kiss Me Deadly, which also offered him a prominent exit scene and key role in the plot. It was in that picture, with Dennis running on all cylinders, so to speak, that one could see him at his flamboyant best, stealing at least two key scenes from star Ralph Meeker. Aldrich also used Dennis in The Big Knife, and he would show up in numerous films and television shows across the 1950s, sometimes in delightfully bizarre moments; in a gypsy wedding scene in Nicholas Ray's Hot Blood, his character is leading a trained bear on a leash. Dennis became something of a cinematic specialty act during this period with his outsized, flamboyant persona, and he was much-loved by audiences in all genres. Additionally, he appeared in dozens of television shows over the next six years, and it was television where he made his biggest long-term impression as an actor. In 1962, he became a regular, recurring character as hospital orderly Nick Kanavaras on Ben Casey, where he frequently provided lighter moments in the drama. Following the series' cancellation, he continued to work, mostly in television, into the mid-'70s, including several made-for-TV features and a string of appearances on the series Kojak, starring Telly Savalas. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
In 4 for Texas, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin star as Zack Thomas and Joe Jarrett, a pair of rival mountebanks who spend most of the film battling over who will control the gambling and wenching in 1870 Galveston. Though they'd as soon cut each other's throats than cooperate, Zack and Joe are forced to unite against a pair of common enemies: crooked banker Harvey Burden (played by Victor Buono, a favorite of director Robert Aldrich) and cold-blooded outlaw/hired-gun Matson (Charles Bronson, virtually the only person in the film who takes his role seriously). The heroes also battle over the affections of well-endowed heroines Elya Carlson (Anita Ekberg) and Maxine Richter (Ursula Andress), both of whom are sharp-witted businesswomen who match Zack and Joe scam for scam. The Three Stooges show up for a moment, in which they repeat their "point to the right" and "State of Texas" routines, and get into a fracas with feisty little old lady Jesslyn Fax. Also making guest appearances are Arthur Godfrey and Teddy Buckner and His All Stars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, (more)
Ronald Colman won an Academy Award for his portrayal of an off-the-beam actor in A Double Life. A beloved stage star, Anthony John (Colman), has problems with his private life due to his unpredictable outbursts of temper. This trait has already cost him his wife, Brita (Signe Hasso), and threatens to sabotage his career. Nonetheless, Anthony makes his peace with Brita, and the two actors star in a new Broadway staging of Othello. The play is a hit, running over 300 performances, but the pressures of portraying a man moved to murder by jealousy takes its toll on Anthony. In a fit of delirium, he strangles his casual mistress, Pat (Shelley Winters), but retains no memory of the awful crime. Press agent Bill Friend (Edmond O'Brien), unaware that Anthony is the killer, uses Pat's murder as publicity for Othello. Anthony becomes enraged at this cheap ploy, and attacks Friend. At this point, Anthony realizes that he has been living "a double life" and is in fact Pat's murderer. A Double Life was written for the screen by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, who occasionally digress from the melodramatic plotline to include a few backstage inside jokes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Colman, Whit Bissell, (more)
In the classic play by Tennessee Williams, brought to the screen by Elia Kazan, faded Southern belle Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh) comes to visit her pregnant sister, Stella (Kim Hunter), in a seedy section of New Orleans. Stella's boorish husband, Stanley Kowalski (Marlon Brando), not only regards Blanche's aristocratic affectations as a royal pain but also thinks she's holding out on inheritance money that rightfully belongs to Stella. On the fringes of sanity, Blanche is trying to forget her checkered past and start life anew. Attracted to Stanley's friend Mitch (Karl Malden), she glosses over the less savory incidents in her past, but she soon discovers that she cannot outrun that past, and the stage is set for her final, brutal confrontation with her brother-in-law. Brando, Hunter, and Malden had all starred in the original Broadway version of Streetcar, although the original Blanche had been Jessica Tandy. Brando lost out to Humphrey Bogart for the 1951 Best Actor Oscar, but Leigh, Hunter, and Malden all won Oscars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, (more)
- 1959
Set in the new state of Alaska, this 1959 "B" drama features both a romantic quadrangle, if not pentagon, and a failing trucking company. Al (Bill Williams) manages the company out of a small town where the trucks make regular runs to Fairbanks. On top of rock slides and bad weather, he now has to handle the visit of his off-site partner Mason (Leslie E. Bradley) and his wife Janet (Lyn Thomas). This is more complex than usual because the company is in the red, and Janet was Al's former girlfriend -- she left him for Mason and his money. Add in the attractive Tina (Nora Hayden) who has her own interest in Al, who is interested in Janet, who is not that interested in Mason anymore, and the story could be set anywhere. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Williams, Nick Dennis, (more)
- 1952
George and Helen Pasashvily's colorful memoir Anything Can Happen was delightfully brought to the screen by the Paramount producing team of William Perlberg and George Seaton. Jose Ferrer heads the cast as Eastern European immigrant Giorgi Pasashvily, whose wide-eyed innocence and uncertain grasp of the English language causes him no end of trouble during his first months in America. Things take an upward turn when Giorgi falls in love with American girl Helen Watson (Kim Hunter). The film, like the book that preceded it, is told episodically, with moments of high comedy alternating with scenes of tender pathos. As miserly-but-golden-hearted Uncle Besso, Oscar Karlweis has a death scene that is one of the best and most moving of its kind. When originally released in 1952, Anything Can Happen was heralded with a coming-attractions trailer hosted by Edmund Gwenn, which was every bit as enjoyable as the film itself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- José Ferrer, Kim Hunter, (more)
In this film based on a true story, Burt Lancaster plays Robert Stroud, a withdrawn prison inmate who cures a sick bird that flies into his cell and eventually becomes a world-renowned ornithologist -- all while serving a life sentence. An overbearing warden (Karl Malden) eventually transfers Stroud to the notoriously brutal prison on Alcatraz, but he is able to continue his research, abort a riot, start a romance, and eventually get his story out through a determined reporter (Edmond O'Brien). Directed with his usual solid craftsmanship by John Frankenheimer, Birdman Of Alcatraz tells a quietly moving tale for which Lancaster, Telly Savalas (as one of Stroud's fellow inmates), and Thelma Ritter (as Stroud's mother) all received Oscar nominations. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Karl Malden, (more)
This truncated screen version of John Steinbeck's best-seller was the first starring vehicle for explosive 1950s screen personality James Dean, who plays Cal Trask, the "bad" son of taciturn Salinas valley lettuce farmer Adam Trask (Raymond Massey). Although he means well, Cal can't stay out of trouble, nor is he able to match the esteem in which his father holds his "good" brother Aron (Richard Davalos). Only Aron's girlfriend Abra (Julie Harris) and kindly old sheriff Sam Burl Ives) can see the essential goodness in the troublesome Cal.
When Adam invests in a chancy and wholly unsuccessful method of shipping his crops east, his wealth plummets. In an effort to save the business, Cal obtains money from his estranged mother (the proprietor of a whorehouse) and invests it in a risky new bean crop. The gamble pays off (thanks in no small part to the war), but Adam refuses to take the money from Cal, and the resultant quarrel causes Adam to have a stroke. Released the same year as Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden provided Dean with his first Oscar nomination, for Best Actor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When Adam invests in a chancy and wholly unsuccessful method of shipping his crops east, his wealth plummets. In an effort to save the business, Cal obtains money from his estranged mother (the proprietor of a whorehouse) and invests it in a risky new bean crop. The gamble pays off (thanks in no small part to the war), but Adam refuses to take the money from Cal, and the resultant quarrel causes Adam to have a stroke. Released the same year as Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden provided Dean with his first Oscar nomination, for Best Actor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Harris, James Dean, (more)
- 1952
Bonar Colleano, who spent the war years playing brash Americans in British films, makes his final screen appearance in the Stanley Kramer production Eight Iron Men. Set during WW II, the film follows the exploits of a small Army squadron, billeted in a bombed-out house on the front lines. Tensions mount as the men attempt to save one of their number, who is trapped behind enemy lines and heavily surrounded. Essentially a single-set film (it was based on A Sound of Hunting, a stage play by Harry Brown), Eight Iron Men works better as a character study than a war flick. Colleano dominates the proceedings as a self-styled Lothario, while Arthur Franz, Lee Marvin, Richard Kiley, Nick Dennis, James Griffith, George Cooper and former child-star Dick Moore likewise register well. For no discernible reason, the screenplay manages to include several extra characters, including Mary Castle as "The Girl" in a dream sequence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bonar Colleano, Arthur Franz, (more)
- 1966
Gunpoint stars Audie Murphy as a Colorado sheriff -- and never mind that the film was shot in Utah. Sheriff Lucas (Murphy) sets out to bring bad guy Drago (Morgan Woodward) to justice. If the sheriff doesn't succeed, that will be fine and dandy with deputy Hold (Denver Pyle), who's out to get Murphy's job. Edgar Buchanan took a break from Petticoat Junction to play the sort of comic relief he'd been doing in westerns for years. Gunpoint's well-photographed but economical highlights include a wild horse stampede and a shootout with disgruntled Apaches. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Audie Murphy, Joan Staley, (more)
- 1957
In this Award-winning episode, Paladin (Richard Boone) is extended the hospitality of Samuel Abajinian (Harold J. Stone), a prosperous Armenian winemaker. But before Paladin can partake of any vintage wine, Abarjinian asks him to track down his "helpless" daughter Helen (Lisa Gaye), who has run off with a ranchhand whom the winemaker regards as weak and unworthy. As it turns out, Helen is fiercely self-reliant--and as usual, there is more to the story than it seems at first glance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1956
If Hot Blood is remembered at all today, it is for its ludicrous advertising blurb "Jane Russell shakes her tambourines and drives Cornel Wilde!" Set in the gypsy community of contemporary Los Angeles, the film stars Wilde as aspiring dancer Stephen Torino, who is tricked by his brother Marco Luther Adler into an arranged marriage with tempestuous Annie Caldash Jane Russell. Annie is willing to give the union a go, but Torino wants none of it. Several risque complications and lively musical numbers later, Torino changes his mind. Nicholas Ray imbues Hot Blood with the same erotic/neurotic energy he brought to such earlier cult favorites as Johnny Guitar and Rebel without a Cause, but the magic just isn't there this time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Russell, Cornel Wilde, (more)
- 1969
Judith Coleman (Victoria Shaw), recently widowed friend of Chief Ironside (Raymond Burr), is being plagued by weird phone calls, strange disembodied voices, and mysterious "accidents". Can it be that Judith has been driven insane by her husband's death? Ironside doesn't think so; he is convinced that someone is trying to drive the woman crazy--but who, and why? This episode boasts a particularly strong supporting cast of reliable "heavies" and eccentric character players. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Regarded by many critics as the ultimate film noir, and by many more as the finest movie adaptation of a book by Mickey Spillane, Kiss Me Deadly stars Ralph Meeker as Spillane's anti-social private eye Mike Hammer. While driving down a lonely road late one evening, Hammer picks up a beautiful blonde hitchhiker (Cloris Leachman), dressed in nothing but a raincoat. At first, Hammer assumes that the incoherent girl is an escaped lunatic; his mind is changed for him when he and the girl are abducted by two thugs. The men torture the girl to death as the semiconscious Hammer watches helplessly. He himself escapes extermination when the murderers' car topples off a cliff and he is thrown clear. Seeking vengeance, Hammer tries to discover the secret behind the girl's murder. Among those who cross his path in the film's tense, tingling 105 minutes are a slimy gangster (Paul Stewart), a turncoat scientist (Albert Dekker), and the dead woman's sexy roommate (Gaby Rodgers). All clues lead to a mysterious box -- the "Great Whatsit," as Hammer's secretary Velda (Maxine Cooper) describes it. Both the box and Velda are stolen by the villains, at which point Hammer discovers that the "Whatsit" contains radioactive material of awesome powers. The apocalyptic climax is doubly devastating because we're never quite certain if Hammer survives (he doesn't narrate the story, as was the case in most Mike Hammer films and TV shows). Director Robert Aldrich and scriptwriter Jack Moffit transcend Kiss Me Deadly's basic genre trappings to produce a one-of-a-kind melodrama for the nuclear age. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, (more)
- 1975
Bruno Kirby, here billed as Bruce Kirby Jr., essays one of his first important roles as Keith Wicks, a deranged ex-soldier turned serial sniper. As Wicks embarks upon a citywide killing spree, he finds an unexpected co-conspirator in the form of Seymour Hayward (Eugene Roche), a bored accountant who hopes to add some excitement to his life. Needless to say, Kojak (Telly Savalas) works overtime to stop the carnage. (Trivia note: Bruno Kirby's father Bruce Kirby Sr. shows up in several other Kojak episodes in the recurring role of police sergeant Al Vine). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Theo Kojak (Telly Savalas) is both disturbed and perplexed by the appearance of Peter Ibbotson (John R. Ryan, an ex-convict whom the lieutenant had sent to prison. Staying carefully within the limits of the law, Ibbetson begins methodically stalking Kojak and his family just before the wedding of Theo's niece. Clearly, Ryan has revenge in mind--but what exactly is he planning, and how can Kojak figure it out before it's too late? Listen for Kojak's now-famous warning to the slippery villain, which was used repeatedly in the promotional material for the series' first season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Crime doesn't take a holiday on Christmas Eve, and detectives Kojak (Telly Savalas) and Stavros (Demosthenes) have plenty to keep them busy. For starters, there's a gun-wielding man on the loose, determined to kill his cheating wife--and anyone else who gets in his way. At the same time, Stavros tries to help a young girl search for her boyfriend, who is likewise heavily armed and very dangerous. Keep an eye out for two future stars, John Larroquette and Edward James Olmos), in very minor roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Fashion model Janelle Rawlings (Cristina Raines) is being terrorized with anonymous letters, threatening the lives of the people closest to her. Unfortunately, the evidence has been manipulated in such a way that Janelle is convinced that she herself is a murderess. It is up to Kojak (Telly Savalas) to determine the identity of the deranged person who has mounted this campaign of terror against the hapless model. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Kojak (Telly Savalas) is startled to learn that his nephew Johnny (Michael Mullins) has turned to drugs--and even more so that the boy may have been an accomplice in the murder of a pusher. In order to get to the truth of the matter, Kojak must subject Johnny to a grueling interrogation--which may prove impossible unless the boy goes "cold turkey." In desperation, the detective turns to an ex-addict named Sonny (Neville Brand) to scare Johnny straight. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Circumstantial evidence has implicated Nico Triforos (George Pan Casselman), a reclusive young Greek immigrant, in the murder of a prostitute. Assigned to solve the case, Kojak (Telly Savalas) runs afoul of his fellow Greek-Americans, who disapprove of his "persecution" of a downtrodden countryman. Featured in the supporting cast as heavily accented Greek characters are Alan Napier (Batman) and Oscar Beregi, respectively born in England and Hungary. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Kojak (Telly Savalas) is both frustrated and confused when New York City is terrorized by a mad bomber. The frustration arises from the fact that the bomber's explosive devices cannot be disarmed; the confusion is sparked by the fact that the perpetrator seemingly has no motive, nor does he ask for any ransom money. The key to solving the mystery can be found in the episode's title...and that's all we'll say for now. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
