Troy Patterson Movies
- 1971
- PG
During the late '60s and early '70s, retired pro-football quarterback Joe Namath made a number of films. Last Rebel is one of them. Set in Missouri near the end of the American Civil War, Confederate soldiers Burnside Hollis (Joe Namath), a pool shark, and his friend Matt Graves (Jack Elam) rescue a black man from a lynching. Burnside begins to win pool matches for bigger and bigger stakes, and his friends begin to fall by the wayside as he woos the ladies and wins the games. The local madam (Victoria George), however, has a soft spot in her heart for him and watches with concern as the situation builds up for a showdown with his former friend Matt. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Namath, Jack Elam, (more)
- 1971
- R
David Niven is Alex, a scholar who has won the Nobel Prize for developing a universal language. The U.S. State Department has decided to honor him with a statue, to be displayed in London's Grosvenor Square. The commission for the project went to Alex's wife Rhonda (Virna Lisi), who has designed a statue that is completely nude, without even a fig leaf. Husband Alex sees that is it a perfect replica of himself, except for the part usually covered by fig leaves. He accuses his wife of using one of her lovers as a model and begins a hilarious search for the original. Robert Vaughn has some good lines as the American Ambassador, discussing the couple's controversy with the President. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1959
This undistinguished teen melodrama features Brett Halsey as Nick, a lowlife who is hiding out from the law because he killed a man in a mugging. He escapes to another town and starts working as a mechanic in an auto repair shop. Not one to keep a low profile for long, Nick alienates just about everyone by beating out the competition in sports-car races, beating his own drum as loudly as he can, and just plain beating up on other men. He complements those activities by hitting on any attractive female, regardless of her status. Both Nick and the viewers are clearly being set up for his ultimate just desserts. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brett Halsey, Yvonne Lime, (more)
- 1958
This war drama is set during the Korean War and follows the exploits of four men and their tank as they fight their battles behind enemy lines. During their many skirmishes, they discuss their past romantic exploits. One of them is currently involved with an Army nurse. The four find themselves in a real bind when the tank breaks down against a cliff. One of the soldiers risks it all to sneak out and retrieve the needed part to fix the tank. It is a dangerous, exciting journey, but he succeeds and saves his buddies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Kelly, Marjorie Hellen, (more)
- 1958
Two men have been committing robberies throughout Los Angeles. Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) have a single solid clue to go on: One of the bandits has huge feet--and he wears a pair of distinctively fancy cowboy boots. Joby Baker delivers another of his patented Dragnet portrayals as a young man with big problems. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Attack of the Puppet People is one of the few "mad scientist" opuses of the 1950s to be motivated by loneliness rather than megalomania. John Hoyt plays Franz, a seedy European doll-maker who harbors a crush on his secretary Sally (June Kenney). When Sally makes plans to marry Franz' top employee Bob (John Agar), strange things begin to happen. Before long, both Bob and Sally have been shrunken to doll-size by Franz, who keeps a retinue of living "puppet people" to avoid being left alone. Eventually, the little ones rebel against their addlepated but basically harmless keeper, though there's never any "attack" per se. Most of the acting is amateurish, with the exception of the always reliable John Hoyt; the special effects are somewhat better, but still nothing to write home about. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Agar
- 1958
A man driving along a lonely back road at night is suddenly startled by what he sees, and is promptly killed by something that crashes through his windshield. The next day, in the nearby town of River Falls, teenagers Carol Flynn (June Kenney) and Mike Simpson (Gene Persson) decide to go looking for her father, who didn't get home last night. They find his wrecked truck and enter a nearby cave to begin searching for him. There they find his blood-covered hat and other signs of human remains and, as they go deeper inside, suddenly get trapped in a huge web -- then they spot its maker, a spider the size of a small house. They manage to escape and alert the county sheriff (Gene Roth), who doesn't take them seriously but does heed the warning of Mr. Kingman (Ed Kemmer), the science teacher at the local high school, to bring a pest-control crew along with his deputies, and a tanker loaded with DDT. They encounter the creature, and, after losing one of their men, dispatch it with the insecticide. Kingman persuades the sheriff to bring the carcass into town so that he can arrange to have it studied, leaving it in storage at the high school recreation room, for lack of anywhere bigger to keep it. As it turns out, the creature isn't dead, just stunned. As the local rock & roll band rehearses, the giant spider comes to bloodthirsty consciousness, breaking out of the building and ravaging the town. Bullets won't hurt it -- as Kingman says, you could punch holes in it all day without hitting a vital spot -- and the town is soon cut off when the telephone lines are knocked down. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ed Kemmer, Gene Persson, (more)
- 1957
Another "pocket" adventure film from 20th Century-Fox's Regal Films subsidiary, Under Fire is set during WW2. Four American soldiers are charged with desertion and murder. Their counsel (Rex Reason) tries to get to the bottom of his clients' motivations. It turns out that the actual culprits were Germans dressed as American GIs. Why, then, won't the accused men tell this to the judge? Surprisingly, the answer lies in the old adage "Love of money is the root of all evil." Billed second in Under Fire is Henry Morgan--not the comedian of the same name, but instead the character actor better known as Harry Morgan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rex Reason, Henry "Harry" Morgan, (more)
