Gwen Caldwell Movies
- 1955
Dale Robertson stars as the Son of Sinbad in this tongue-in-cheek Arabian Nights romp. Hoping to rescue Bagdad from the forces of the dreaded Tamerlaine, Sinbad Jr. enlists the aid of the Khalif (Leon Askin) by promising to deliver the secret of "Greek Fire". To expedite this, he enlists the aid of the lovely Kristina (Mari Blanchard), who has memorized said secret. When the bad guys threaten the safety of hero and heroine, slave girl Ameer (Sally Forrest), who heads the all-female descendants of the original Forty Thieves, come galloping to the rescue. Personally produced by Howard Hughes, Son of Sinbad seems to be a clearing house for all of Hughes' voyeuristic fetishes; at one point, stripteaser Lili St. Cyr performs an exotic (and erotic) dance wearing the equivalent of a postage stamp, earning a Condemned rating from the Catholic Legion of Decency. The overabundance of feminie pulchritude gets a little wearing after a while, and it is up to Vincent Price to steal the show as Omar the Tentmaker, improvising passages of his unpublished "Rubiyat" (with a few anachronistic Shakespearean quotes thrown in) as he tries to keep apace with the hero. Also on hand is an uncredited (and fully clothed) Kim Novak as a handmaiden. More silly than sexy when seen today, Son of Sinbad is acceptable nonthink entertainment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dale Robertson, Sally Forrest, (more)
- 1951
For his initial effort from his own Norma Productions, Burt Lancaster picked a winner in Ten Tall Men. Lancaster stars as "Sergeant Mike," a two-fisted Foreign Legionnaire presiding over a lovable band of mercenaries, sneak thieves and cutthroats. While sitting in the stockade for the umpteenth time, Mike learns of a Riff plan to attack his fort. He and his men break jail and embark on their own attack of the Riffian encampment. Part of their strategy (much of which is improvised on the spot) is to kidnap Mahia (Jody Lawrence), the toothsome daughter of the Riffian sheik. Understandably, Mahia despises her captors until she realizes that the film's real villain is the covetous Caid Hussan (Gerald Mohr). This one's got everything, from a campy reenactment of a key scene in Beau Geste to the old reliable threat of a red-hot iron upon female flesh. Mari Blanchard, fully clothed for a change, shows up early in the film as a coquettish French mademoiselle who foments an all-out donnybrook among Mike and his fellow legionnaires. With the exceptions of Jody Lawrence and Gerald Mohr, no one in Ten Tall Men takes the proceedings too seriously; the film has some of the cheeky insouciance of Lancaster's subsequent swashbuckler The Crimson Pirate. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Jody Lawrance, (more)
- 1950
The people of a jungle village are suffering from a strange illness that is killing off the female population. The natives resort to kidnapping women from other regions -- including Jane (Vanessa Brown), the mate of Tarzan (Lex Barker). Never one to hold a grudge, Tarzan offers to deliver a serum that will wipe out the epidemic. Unfortunately, numerous unforeseen perils await Tarzan during his journey through the foliage. The "slave girl" of the title is played by Denise Darcel, whose role as a nurse is secondary but decorative. An 8 X 10 glossy of the underdressed Darcel, her wrists shackled, clinging desperately to Lex Barker's bare legs, turned out to be one of the biggest-selling "pin-ups" of the 1950s. Not bad for a post-Weissmuller Tarzan flick, Tarzan and the Slave Girl falters only during an extended comic sequence involving Cheta the chimp and a bottle of booze. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lex Barker, Vanessa Brown, (more)
