Jack Diamond Movies
- 1958
The Terror from the Year 5000 works its way to the 20th century by way of a time machine. On a remote island near Florida, scientist Howard Erling (Frederick Downs) uses an elaborate time-travel device to trade various artifacts with denizens of the Past and Future. A woman from the future, the mutated victim of atomic radiation, "trades" her body with that of a nurse (Salome Jens) whom she murders. It is the Future Woman's intention to repopulate the post-apocalyptic world of 5000 AD with uncontaminated children, and to do this she must forcibly take Erling's assistant Victor (John Stratton) "back to the future". Curiously, well-known Broadway actress Salome Jens, who plays the title character, wasn't listed in either the advertising or the official resumés of Terror From the Year 5000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ward Costello, Joyce Holden, (more)
- 1956
Matt (James Arness) is forced to kill Sam Kertchner (Fredd Wayne), a wild-eyed outlaw who'd come to Dodge looking for trouble. Before long, Sam's 16-year-old brother Peyt (Jack Diamond) shows up in town, determined to avenge his brother's death. Matt must somehow straighten Peyt out before one of them ends up full of holes. Based on the Gunsmoke radio broadcast of August 23, 1954, this episode reunites actor James Arness) with director Christian Nyby, who'd previously worked with Arness in the 1951 sci-fi film classic (The Thing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1956
Produced by low-budget maven Bryan Foy, Battle Stations is a standard wartime melodrama with the usual assortment of cliches. John Lund plays Father Joe McIntyre, who is assigned as chaplain of an Essex-class aircraft carrier. Father Joe finds himself in conflict with the carrier's Captain (Richard Boone), a strict disciplinarian with little room for compassion. Among the chaplain's allies on board are tough-but-tender chief bos'un Buck Fitzpatrick (William Bendix), hotheaded sailor Chris Jordan (Keefe Brasselle), and young pilot Pete Kelly (William Leslie), whose doom is assured the moment he learns that he's about to become a father. The economies in Battle Stations extend to its opening-credit music, which has been lifted bodily from Max Steiner's score for The Caine Mutiny. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Lund, William Bendix, (more)
- 1955
In this film noir, five college students laughingly devise a perfect plan for robbing a casino in Reno. At first they do it just to pass the time, but one of them is deeply in debt and becoming increasingly distraught about it. He successfully cajoles his peers into carrying through with their plans. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Guy Madison, Kim Novak, (more)
- 1955
A mysterious thief has been stealing groceries and other necessities from a suburban LA neighborhood. The only clue the thief has left behind are a couple of books on science and math. Following up the nameplate in one of the books, Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) consult with college professor Winderman (Jack Diamond), who reveals the existence of a brilliant teenager named Peter Siler (Jack Diamond)--a misfit genius who has secluded himself in a cave in the Hollywood Hills. This episode was adapted from the Dragnet radio broadcast of July 12, 1955. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1954
Charles Bronson guest stars as a neurologist trying to assess a boy's brain damage with a team of specialists, while the boy's family deals with guilt and anger over the car accident that caused it. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1954
The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters may not be the best of the "Bowery Boys" series, but it was unquestionably the most profitable. It all begins when Slip (Leo Gorcey) and Sach (Huntz Hall) try to gain permission to use a local vacant lot for baseball games. The boys make a trip to the mansion of the lot's owners, the sinister Gravesend family. It soon develops that all the Gravesends are looney, and none loonier than mad scientists Derek (John Dehner) and Anton (Lloyd Corrigan). Derek wants to transfer Sach's brain (what there is of it) to the body of a gorilla, while Anton wants to use Sach's graymatter for his robot. Meanwhile, Amelia Gravesend (Ellen Corby) makes plans to feed Slip to her carnivorous plant. Along the way, Sach is periodically transformed into a hideous beast, terrifying one and all, including his would-be rescuers Louie (Bernard Gorcey), Butch (Bennie Bartlett) and Chuck (David Condon). There isn't a single gag or situation in Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters that wasn't used earlier by the Three Stooges or Abbott & Costello, but that doesn't make the film any less hilarious. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
- 1953
Taxi stars Dan Dailey as Ed Nielson, a been-there-done-that Manhattan cabbie. Nagged by his mother (Blanche Yurka) to find himself a wife, Ed must also contend with a blood-sucking loan company, demanding huge payments for his cab. His life is further complicated when he falls in love with one of his fares: Mary, a young Irish immigrant (Constance Smith), freshly arrived in New York in search of her husband. The girl discovers that her hubby is a louse, but she's forced to stay with him lest she face deportation. Despite his own problems -- not to mention the huge cab fare that Mary's running up while searching for her husband -- Ed vows to rescue his new love from an ungovernable fate. Though running only 77 minutes, Taxi boasts no fewer than six screenwriting credits. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Dailey, Constance Smith, (more)
- 1950
Farley Granger plays a casually larcenous New York City mailman who steals a shipment of money. Granger's excitement over this windfall turns to terror when he discovers that the money was part of a transaction between gangsters. Harassed by both crooks and cops, Granger lives to regret his impulsive theft--especially when it is tied in with a murder. The story is wrapped up in spectacular fashion with a climactic car chase. Farley Granger's costar in Side Street is Cathy O'Donnell; both were on loan to MGM from Samuel Goldwyn, and both were banking on their previous successful teaming in RKO's They Live By Night. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Farley Granger, Cathy O'Donnell, (more)
