Anne Dore Movies
- 1965
Although John (Guy Williams) has warned his son Will (Bill Mumy) to stay away from the matter-transfer "maser beam" left behind by the Taurons in the earlier episode "The Sky is Falling", Will activates the device to keep Dr. Smith (Jonathan Harris) from messing with it. Instantly, the beam transports Will all the way back to earth, where in addition to searching for some much-needed carbon tetrachloride to help repair the Robinsons' ship, the boy also attempts to tell the citizens of a rural community who he is and where he comes from. But the locals don't believe his story--after all, weren't the Robinsons supposed to have perished in space?--and prepare to pack Will off to an orphan asylum. Featured in the cast is Sheila Matthews, the wife of Lost in Space producer Irwin Allen. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1961
In this socially conscious drama, based on a true-story, a high school teacher gets in trouble for having his students write compositions describing their feelings about sex. He is suspended; his students unite to defend him. A confrontation with the prudish school board ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- William Shatner, Lee Kinsolving, (more)
In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock was already famous as the screen's master of suspense (and perhaps the best-known film director in the world) when he released Psycho and forever changed the shape and tone of the screen thriller. From its first scene, in which an unmarried couple balances pleasure and guilt in a lunchtime liaison in a cheap hotel (hardly a common moment in a major studio film in 1960), Psycho announced that it was taking the audience to places it had never been before, and on that score what followed would hardly disappoint. Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) is unhappy in her job at a Phoenix, Arizona real estate office and frustrated in her romance with hardware store manager Sam Loomis (John Gavin). One afternoon, Marion is given $40,000 in cash to be deposited in the bank. Minutes later, impulse has taken over and Marion takes off with the cash, hoping to leave Phoenix for good and start a new life with her purloined nest egg. 36 hours later, paranoia and exhaustion have started to set in, and Marion decides to stop for the night at the Bates Motel, where nervous but personable innkeeper Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) cheerfully mentions that she's the first guest in weeks, before he regales her with curious stories about his mother. There's hardly a film fan alive who doesn't know what happens next, but while the shower scene is justifiably the film's most famous sequence, there are dozens of memorable bits throughout this film. The first of a handful of sequels followed in 1983, while Gus Van Sant's controversial remake, starring Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche, appeared in 1998. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, (more)
- 1957
Hoping to win a movie projector, Beaver (Jerry Mathers) and Wally (Tony Dow) answer a mail-order ad and end up selling perfume door to door. Unfortunately, the aroma of the perfume is...well, it has a kind of...it's not quite...well, confidentially, it stinks! It is up to dad Ward (Hugh Beaumont) to figure out a clever sales angle that will help the boys unload their merchandise. (If only the "grand prize" was worth all the effort). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1953
Everyone involved with Siren of Bagdad decided early on that this adventure could never be taken seriously; thus it's played strictly for laughs, and actually earns a few. Paul Henried stars as an Arabian-Nights magician who becomes involved with a passel of harem girls and an usurping sultan. We know what to expect from the rest of the film when, in the very first scene, Henried burlesques his Now Voyager role by smoking two hookahs, then handing one to a lady friend ("Nine out of ten Arabian doctors recommend this brand"). As Henried's comic sidekick, Hans Conried is forced to deliver such lines as "Excuse me, sir; I know they haven't been invented yet, but have you got a match?" Hardly a gut-buster, Siren of Bagdad is fitfully amusing if you're willing to go along for the ride. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paul Henreid, Patricia Medina, (more)
A sequel to Bob Hope's 1948 box-office success The Paleface, 1952's Son of Paleface is a superior product in every way, thanks largely to the spirited, creative direction of Frank Tashlin. Hope is cast as Junior Potter, a Harvard-educated dude who heads West to claim the inheritance left him by his gunslinger father. Much to his chagrin, Junior discovers that his dad has left him nothing but debts. To stave off Potter Sr.'s angry creditors, Junior pretends that his father has salted away a fortune somewhere in the hills. This arouses the attention of curvaceous saloon owner Mike (Jane Russell), who doubles as a mysterious masked bandit known as The Torch. Meanwhile, Roy Rogers (playing a federal agent named Roy Rogers) keeps tabs on Junior, hoping that he'll lead him to The Torch and her gang. True to form, ex-cartoonist Tashlin fills the screen with a wealth of inventive sight gags and inside jokes: Cecil B. DeMille shows up as a photographer in one scene, while in another, Hope, about to embark on the film's wild climactic chase sequence, shoos away a couple of vultures wearing bibs, warning them that "You'll make the whole thing look impossible." Our favorite scenes: Hope's Wile E. Coyote-like reaction to a particularly potent drink, and his bedroom scene with Roy Rogers' wonder horse Trigger. And don't forget the film's slightly risque punch line "Let's see them top that on television," (you have to be there). Songs in Son of Paleface include "You Are My Valley of Sunshine," "Four-Legged Friend," "Wing Ding Tonight," "What A Dirty Shame," and a reprise of The Paleface's Oscar-winning "Buttons and Bows," performed by Hope, Russell and Rogers. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bob Hope, Jane Russell, (more)
- 1952
The Las Vegas Story features two of Hollywood's most impressive physiques. Victor Mature stars as Dave Andrews, a policeman, while Jane Russell plays Linda, the love of his life. Assuming that Andrews has forgotten her, Linda marries Lloyd Rollins (Vincent Price) on the rebound. All three main characters are reunited in Las Vegas, where they become enmeshed in a robbery scheme that results in murder. Clearly inspired by Casablanca, the film even includes a philosophical piano player, portrayed by Hoagy Carmichael who also wrote the film's incidental songs. Though Las Vegas Story was largely scripted by Paul Jarrico, producer Howard Hughes refused to give Jarrico screen credit because of the latter's alleged pro-communist sympathies. Jarrico promptly sued Hughes and RKO, sparking one of the more famous cause celebres of the Blacklist era. As it turned out, nobody came out ahead with The Las Vegas Story: the film posted a loss of $600,000. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jane Russell, Victor Mature, (more)
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