William Adams Movies

Julie Harris repeats her stage portrayal of the irrepressible Sally Bowles in John Van Druten's I Am a Camera. Set in pre-Hitler Berlin, the film details the curious, chaste relationship between Sally, an entertainer at a bawdy nightclub, and fledgling writer Christopher Isherwood (Lawrence Harvey). Shelley Winters co-stars as Natalia Landauer, whose impending marriage to a wealthy young Jewish man is imperiled by the anti-Semitism which envelops Berlin as the Nazis gain political power. If all this sounds familiar to you, it is because I Am a Camera is the non-musical precursor to the Broadway musical hit Cabaret. Both properties were based on Christopher Isherwood's Berlin Stories. Those familiar with the film version of Cabaret will notice that certain plot elements have been watered down in Camera. Examples: Isherwood's homosexuality is left unmentioned, save for Lawrence Harvey's opaque opening comment that he is "a confirmed bachelor;" and Sally Bowles' third-act abortion is changed into a false-alarm pregnancy. Also, Julie Harris' dynamic but rather overbaked interpretation of Sally is not nearly as memorable as Liza Minelli's Oscar-winning interpretation of the character in Cabaret. Still, I Am a Camera is well directed and deftly adapted for the screen (by John Collier); and even taking into consideration Ms. Harris' hamminess, she remains one of the most fascinating stage personalities of the mid-20th century. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Billed as a "Universal Thrill Feature," this airborne action melodrama featured real-life aviator Al Wilson playing identical flying twins. "Sky High" Saunders is searching for his twin brother, Michael, whom he suspects has joined a gang of smugglers. After saving pert schoolmarm Helen Leland (Elsie Tarron) from gang leader Delatour (Bud Osborne), Sky High goes after the gang but accidentally shoots down his brother Michael's plane, killings the occupants. Pretending to be Michael, Sky High keeps a rendezvous with the gang and manages to dynamite their mountain stronghold. Leading lady Elsie Tarron was a former Mack Sennett Bathing Beauty and the wife of slapstick comic Andy Clyde. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Martha Beck (Shirley Stoler) is a lonely nurse who takes care of her invalid mother in Mobile, Alabama. Starved for affection, she places an ad in a lonely hearts column and soon receives a letter from Ray Fernandez (Tony LoBianco). He meets her and runs off with her dowry to New York City. Martha puts her mother in a nursing home and follows the handsome con artist. She agrees to pose as his sister as the two fleece lonely, unsuspecting women out of their money. Martha's jealousies of Ray's victims leads to murder. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, an elderly matron is killed and her child is drowned in a washing machine. Martha considers confessing to the police when she finally realizes Ray will never be true to her or any other woman. The story was taken from actual events, and the real-life couple were eventually executed in Sing Sing prison in 1951. The black-and-white photography adds an aura of authenticity to the documentary-style production. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

As The Hustler's "Fast" Eddie Felson, Paul Newman created a classic antihero, charismatic but fundamentally flawed, and nobody's role model. A pool player from Oakland, CA, as good as anyone who ever picked up a cue, Eddie has an Achilles' heel: arrogance. It's not enough for him to win: he must force his opponent to acknowledge his superiority. The movie follows Eddie from his match against billiards champ Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) as he falls in love with Sarah (Piper Laurie), an alcoholic would-be writer and sometime prostitute, and falls under the spell of Bert Gordon (George C. Scott), a successful gambler who offers to take Eddie under his wing and teach him how to play in the big time. However, when Sarah joins Eddie and Bert on a trip to Louisville for a high-stakes match with a dandy named Findlay (Murray Hamilton), the consequences prove tragic. Along with a classic performance by Newman, The Hustler also features turns by Scott, Laurie, and Gleason, in a rare dramatic role. Cameos from pool champ Willie Mosconi and boxer Jake LaMotta add to the atmosphere of Harry Horner's grubby production design and Eugen Schüfftan's camerawork. Director Robert Rossen, who had been working in films since 1937, was to direct only one more film, Lilith (1964), before his death in 1966. In 1986, Newman returned to the role of "Fast" Eddie in Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money, for which he finally earned an Academy Award as Best Actor. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Stunt pilot Al Wilson is right in his element in the Universal actioner Three Miles Up. Wilson plays a former criminal who distinguishes himself as an air ace during WWI. Upon returning home, however, Wilson is unable to get a job, forcing him back into his old crooked ways. Hoping to escape his larcenous cronies, our hero fakes his own death in a parachute accident. The plan goes awry, and Wilson is nearly killed for real. Nursed back to health by the daughter of a former army officer who greatly admires Wilson, the young flyboy vows to go straight -- and he does. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide