Jody Lawrance Movies

When a passenger seems to develop small pox, she and five fellow travellers are kicked off a stagecoach and stranded in the desert. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Once again, Perry (Raymond Burr) handles a case way outside his normal "jurisdiction" of Los Angeles, when Ellen Sabin (Jody Lawrence) is charged with murdering her husbnad (Maurice Manson). In fact, Perry proves his client's innocence during the coroner's inquest, in which the key witness is a talking parrot named Casanova (voice supplied by Mel Blanc)! Based on a 1939 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner, this is allegedly the first dramatic TV episode to feature a chalk outline of the victim's body at the murder scene, though there may have been a few precedents in various live telecasts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Scarlet Hour was a relatively bold experiment for a mid-1950s Paramount release. The studio expended a great deal of money on the project and enlisted the services of top-flight director Michael Curtiz -- then populated the cast with young unknowns. Carol Ohmart and Tom Tryon (yes, the future novelist) star as Paulie and Marsh, respectively the film's villainess and protagonist. Knowing that Marsh is hopelessly in love with her, Paulie uses him as a dupe in an upcoming jewelry heist. Only after a killing has occurred does Marsh come to his senses. Jody Lawrance, whose previous career as a Columbia contract player had led nowhere, is "introduced" as the good girl to whom Marsh eventually retreats. Other comparative newcomers in the cast include Elaine Stritch, James Gregory and Edward Binns. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Co-written by director Richard Quine and Blake Edwards, All Ashore has so many excellent individual components that one wishes the sum total was better than it is. Mickey Rooney, Dick Haymes and Ray McDonald play a trio of eternally broke sailors, on shore leave at Catalina Island. Because of his propensity for getting into trouble, Rooney is the drudge of the group. Even so, it is Rooney who stands the best chance of succeeding when all three gobs set their sights on lovely millionaire's daughter Barbara Bates. McDonald's perennial dancing partner Peggy Ryan is on hand for a few musical numbers, while Haymes gets to display his rich singing voice as he woos Jody Lawrance. Highlights include an elaborate "opera bouffe" dream sequence and a running gag involving a pianist with twelve fingers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After Columbia's 1951 biopic Valentino laid an egg, leading man Anthony Dexter was persona non grata at the studio. Still, Columbia couldn't very well pay Dexter his weekly salary for doing nothing, and that's why The Brigand was born. Dexter does his best in the dual role of King Lorenzo, monarch of a mythical Latino country, and adventurer Carlos DeLargo. When Lorenzo is seriously wounded in an assassination attempt, DeLargo is coerced into posing as the ailing King. Scheming would-be usurper Prince Ramon (Anthony Quinn), sensing that something's fishy, plots to do in both the King and his look-alike. Meanwhile, DeLargo discovers the fringe benefits of royal life as he woos the King's betrothed Princess Teresa (Jody Lawrance) and Lorenzo's mistress Countess Flora (Gale Robbins). The story is supposedly based on an Alexandre Dumas novel, though it more closely resembles Prisoner of Zenda. It is fun to watch Anthony Quinn, clearly contemptuous of his role, pulling all sorts of thespic tricks to add variety to the proceedings: during one dungeon scene, Quinn delivers all his lines with a cigar clenched firmly between his teeth! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

The Son of Dr. Jekyll is Edward Jekyll, played by Louis Hayward. The film's events take place long after the unpleasantness involving Dr. J's doppelganger Mr. Hyde. Young Edward hopes to prove that his father was a dedicated scientist, and not merely a mad monster. His nemesis in this endeavor is Curtis Lanyon (Alexander Knox), executor for the Jekyll estate, who hopes to drive Edward into insanity and irrational behavior so he can keep the late doctor's legacy for himself. Much to the disappointment of the audience, Eddie Jekyll never turns into Hyde, no matter how hard he and Lanyon try to re-create the original doctor's experiments. Thus, Son of Dr. Jekyll can scarcely be designated a horror film; it looks more like a period-costume Charlie Chan picture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide