Joe Dominguez Movies

Produced for PBS by the network's Seattle affiliate KCTS, the semi-satirical documentary Affluenza dissects America's "rampant materialism" and "epidemic of overconsumption." After exploring the causes of affluenza, the film provides a diagnosis of the symptoms and suggests possible treatments -- or "escapes" -- for the afflicted viewer. National Public Radio personality Scott Simon serves as host, while guest stars include Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin, who suggest how to get off the "work and spend treadmill" by citing their best-selling book Your Money or Your Life; Kalle Lasn, published of Adbuster magazine and creator of anti-manipulative "subvertisements"; Jennifer Gallus and Olivia Martin, teenaged authors of the award-winning play Barbie Get Real, which skewers the conspicuous-consumption cult of the Barbie Doll; and Gleen Stanton, social research analyst for public policy on behalf of James Dobson's Focus on the Family group, who discusses religious conservatism's response to materialism in everyday life. The 56-minute Affluenza made its PBS debut on September 15, 1997, and was followed by 1998's Escape from Affluenza. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season eight of Perry Mason begins with Perry (Raymond Burr) in the middle of a natsy child-custody battle between divorcing couple Janice and Dirk Blake (Julie Adams, Ed Nelson). The child in question is the Blakes' five-year-old daughter Button (Claire Wilcox), who has just inherited a four-million-dollar trust fund. With both Janice and Dirk behaving deplorably, Perry arranges for Button to be placed in the temorary custody of her cousins Lois and Roger Gray (Dee Hartford, Alan Baxter). As it turns out, the Grays may end up with the kid for keeps: dad Dirk has been charged with the murder of Vince Rome (Anthony Eisley), who had earlier conspired with Dirk to "kidnap" Button from her mother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Western bandit Kid Rio (Marlon Brando) is betrayed by his partner, Dad Longworth (Karl Malden). Escaping from prison, Rio learns that Longworth has become a wealthy and influential lawman. Rio thirsts for revenge, but bides his time, waiting for the right moment to strike. In the meantime, Rio spitefully seduces Longworth's adopted daughter, Louisa (Pina Pellicer). After killing a man in self-defense, Rio is publicly whipped by the powerful Longworth. When Rio's old gang accidentally kills a child during another holdup, Longworth has the perfect excuse to eliminate the troublesome Rio once and for all by hanging him. But that's not what happens at all. Stripped to its fundamentals, One-Eyed Jacks is a workable Western, worthy of perhaps 90 minutes' running time. But when Marlon Brando succeeded Stanley Kubrick in the director's chair, he allowed the film's 60-day shooting schedule to stretch into six months, and delivered a finished product running in excess of four hours. The current 141-minute version of One-Eyed Jacks isn't as ponderous as some critics have claimed, but it's still too much of a good thing. While Brando the director isn't precisely in the Kubrick class, Brando the actor delivers one of his finest and most focused performances (though he is upstaged throughout by Karl Malden). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Whitney Blake, who played the first client of Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) in the series opener "The Case of the Restless Redhead", returns in this episode as blonde Diana Reynolds, who shows up in Perry's office clad in a bathrobe and sporting a black eye. As Perry and Della listen attentively, Diana weaves an incredible tale of being framed for a jewel theft. But this turns out to be the least of the girl's problems when she is charged with the murder of Marian Shaw (Judith Ames). A long-lost grandson also figures prominently in this episode, which is based on a 1944 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Lesley Selander, a western specialist with humble ambitions whose work has fostered a minor cult, was the man behind the megaphone in Broken Star. Bill Williams stars as a deputy sheriff who encounters stiff resistance when he investigates the murder of a Mexican. Only dance hall girl Lita Baron and marshal Addison Richards seem interested in bringing the culprit to justice. When Williams locates the guilty man, he wishes he hadn't; it turns out to be his best friend and fellow deputy Howard Duff. Striking a blow for tolerance (in standard western terms, of course), Broken Star is a solid medium-budget job from a modest but talented craftsman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Gypsy Colt was based on a story by Eric Knight, better known for his enduring dog saga Lassie Come Home. This time, a beautiful black colt subs for Lassie, undergoing all sorts of perilous adventures out of love for its mistress, little Meg McWade (Donna Corcoran). Living with her mother and father (Ward Bond, Frances Dee) in a drought-ridden farming community, Donna is dismayed to learn that her parents may be forced to sell her beloved colt to pay off their mounting debts. But the colt manages to escape its new owner, making a 500-mile journey back to Meg's waiting arms. Future spaghetti-western star Lee Van Cleef has a meaty supporting role as a dour groom. A 60-minute version of Gypsy Colt was made available in 1967 as part of the weekly TV anthology Off to See the Wizard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in the southernmost regions of Texas, Ride, Vaquero stars Robert Taylor as a steely-eyed gunman named Rio. In league with Mexican bandit Jose Esqueda (Anthony Quinn), Rio participates in the sacking of Brownsville. Only one man seems to have the intestinal fortitude to stand up to the villains: homesteader King Cameron (Howard Keel), who's already been burned out of one home by Esqueda and doesn't intend to allow it to happen again. Cameron's wife Cordelia (Ava Gardner) stands by her husband, which of course puts her in harm's way when Rio sets his romantic sights upon her. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Daniel Mainwaring took this story right out of the headlines of the day, penning this true story of a mass murderer who was eventually executed in San Quentin's gas chamber. Released during McCarthy's witch-hunt, Mainwaring was not given credit because Howard R. Hughes, who produced it under RKO, refused to give credit to any "radicals." The story is that of two men on a fishing trip who pick up a hitchhiker. He turns out to be a sadistic psychopath who has committed multiple murders, a sociopath who hates humanity because of his own abuse as a child. He also has an affliction which terrifies these two men: an eye which is permanently open, thereby never allowing them to know if he is really asleep or just faking it--something which he does with regularity to scare them...letting them take off and then meeting up with them just as they feel they have escaped from him. A tense thriller skillfully directed by the only female director of the time, Ida Lupino, it is a suspenseful tale of terror on the highways. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

The original title for Rancho Notorious was Chuck-a-Luck, which is also the title of the soundtrack ballad (written by Ken Darby) which unifies the plotline, à la High Noon. Frontiersman Vern Haskell (Arthur Kennedy) wanders throughout the West in search of the man who robbed and murdered his fiancée. He is told that he'll probably find the culprits at Chuck-a-Luck, a combination horse ranch and criminal hideout overseen by saloon chanteuse Altar Keane (Marlene Dietrich). To gain entrance to Chuck-a-Luck, Haskell poses as an escaped prisoner. Keane warns him that the ranch has only one rule: "Don't ask questions." Still, he has ways of finding things out. Haskell is compelled to keep up his charade when the dirty denizens of Chuck-a-Luck plan a big bank holdup, but this has the result of exposing the killer of his girl. Director Fritz Lang had a rough time with RKO head Howard R. Hughes, who insisted upon making changes in the film that might have hurt it irreparably. The biggest argument centered over the title; Hughes complained that no one overseas would understand the meaning of Chuck-a-Luck, whereupon Lang riposted sarcastically that "I'm sure that everyone will understand Rancho Notorious." One of the principal villains was Lloyd Gough, but you'd never know it from the opening titles; Hughes, incensed that Gough had refused to testify at the HUAC "witch hunt," ordered that the blacklisted Gough's name be removed from the credits. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With Dallas, Gary Cooper revived his long-dormant association with westerns. Cooper plays ex-Confederate officer Blayde Hollister, who rides into Dallas in search of the men who killed his family and stole his land. Because he is considered to be an outlaw by the authorities, Hollister is compelled to switch identities with U.S. marshal Martin Wetherby (Leif Erickson). This ruse requires Hollister to explain his plan to Wetherby's lady friend, Tonia Robles (Ruth Roman). One by one, Hollister gets rid of the men responsible for the murders of his loved ones. The most formidable of his enemies, Will Marlow (Raymond Massey), proves to be a bit too clever to fall into Hollister's trap...at least until Marlow shows his hand in the final scene. There's more talk than action in Dallas, but Gary Cooper's laconic performance holds the audience's interest throughout. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One Way Street stars James Mason in a variation of his Odd Man Out role. Mason plays Doc Matson, a gangland physician who has stolen $200,000 from powerful mob boss Wheeler (Dan Duryea). Forced to go on the lam, Matson takes Wheeler's girl Laura (Marta Toren) along. Knowing he is doomed from the start, the Doc dispenses reams of fatalistic philosophy, so much so that one wishes Laura would shout "Enough, already!" Finally finding a purpose in life tending to impoverished Mexican peasants, Doc decides to go back to LA and return both the money and Laura to Wheeler. Not surprisingly, the mobster isn't in the mood to forgive and forget. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Streets of Laredo is a streamlined and Technicolorful remake of Paramount's 1936 box-office champ The Texas Rangers. William Holden, William Bendix and MacDonald Carey star as roguish outlaws Jim Dawkins, Wahoo Jones and Lorn Remming. After rescuing a little girl named Rannie Carter from a wicked tax collector, Dawkins and Jones decide to switch to the right side of the law; Remming, however, has other ideas. Years later, Rennie has grown up quite prettily into Mona Freeman, while Jim and Wahoo have become scrupulous members of the newly-formed Texas Rangers. Jim is in love with Rennie, but she has eyes for the still-crooked Lorn -- at least until Lorn proves to be the louse that the audience knew he was from the first reel. Streets of Laredo meticulously recreates the most famous scene from Texas Rangers, wherein one of the film's more sympathetic characters is abruptly shot to death from under a table; the scene still works, though it packed a bigger wallop in the original. Alfonso Bedoya, the "I don't have to show you any stinking badges" bandit from Treasure of the Sierra Madre, is appropriately menacing as the tax collector. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Federal agent Robert Taylor journeys to a mythical South American community, there to break up a war-surplus contraband racket. American playboy Vincent Price is the brains of the outfit, aided and abetted by the disreputable Charles Laughton and John Hodiak. Ava Gardner, Hodiak's wife, takes over for her husband when he's sidelined by a heart condition. Taylor tries to get to the gang boss by romancing Gardner; she eventually shifts loyalties, but Price tries to frame both Gardner and Taylor so that he can get off scot-free. Taylor finally manages to overcome Price during a oversized fireworks display at a local festival. Hampered by the old-fashioned direction of Robert Z. Leonard, The Bribe is slow going until its spectacular climax, which was later excerpted in toto and re-used in Steve Martin's detective spoof Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (82). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide