Joan Connors Movies
- 1963
Allied Artists' Gun Hawk puts Rory Calhoun through his usual paces as an aging gunman. Calhoun has pretty much retired from shoot outs, and now runs a small town populated by outlaws. He befriends hotheaded fast gun Rod Lauren, who behaves as impulsively as Calhoun had in his earlier days. When the outlaws turn on Calhoun and shoot him down, the mortally wounded gunslinger tries to goad Lauren into a fight so that he can die with a modicum of dignity. Producer Richard Bernstein co-wrote the screenplay of Gun Hawk from his own story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Rod Cameron, (more)
- 1963
Dime with a Halo was designed in part as a showcase for MGM's new child actor Manuel Padilla, who was featured shortly afterward in the studio's The Young and the Brave (63) and as a regular on the Tarzan TV series. Director Boris Sagal transcends the cold-cash motives of Dime by fashioning a touching Mexican-based comedy centering around five street urchins. The oldest (Roger Mobley) leads the kids in stealing a dime from a church collection box; they bet this "windfall" on a horse race, using the winnings to jointly purchase a sweepstakes ticket. All their dreams of sudden luxury are dashed when they find they're too young to cash the ticket when it hits the jackpot. Manuel Padilla manages to steal focus from his formidable kiddie opposition, but Dime with a Halo didn't quite establish Padilla as the Mickey Rooney of the 1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Luna, Roger Mobley, (more)
- 1959
This socially-conscious drama claims to provide an examination of the problems inherent in teen-age marriages. It centers on a 17-year-old girl who marries a much older medical student. Her parents are terribly upset, but her former boyfriend nearly goes berserk with jealousy. One day she innocently accepts his invitation to meet him on an empty sound stage at his father's studio. He attacks and attempts to rape her. Fortunately, her husband finds out about the meeting and in a nail-biting climax stalks the would-be rapist from a narrow catwalk high above until he can stop the killer in the film's shocking conclusion. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anita Sands, Ron Foster, (more)
