Bert Stevens Movies
- 1961
Peter Caine (Douglas Dick), the dissolute son of prominent building engineer William Harper Craine (John Hoyt), is being blackmailed by Debra Bradford (Diana Millay), who claims that Peter was involved in a hit-and-run accident while drunk. This act of extortion is somehow tied in with the murder of building contractor Roger Quigley (James Westerfield), for which Peter's father is charged. Initially hired by a citizen's group to prevent the construction of an aqueduct named after William Harper Crane, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) ends up defending the man in court. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An Affair to Remember, director Leo McCarey's scene-for-scene remake of his own 1939 film Love Affair, isn't really an improvement on the original, but it's equally as enjoyable. Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, high-profile types both engaged to be married to other people, meet and fall in love during an ocean voyage. To test the depth of their commitment to each other, Grant and Kerr promise that, if they're still in love at the end of six months, they will meet again at the top of the Empire State Building. Clips from An Affair to Remember were used as "reference points" throughout the 1993 romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle, which likewise concluded atop the Empire State Building. Disproving the theory that "Third Time's the Charm," Warren Beatty attempted to remake Affair to Remember, again titled Love Affair, in 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, (more)
- 1954
Director Henry Koster and writer Daniel Taradash speculate mightily in this historical tableau charting the rise and fall of Napoleon (Marlon Brando), all due to his unrequited love for noblewoman Desiree (Jean Simmons). The film takes a chronological view of Napoleon's reign and posits Napoleon's love of a woman he wanted to marry as a young general but abandoned for the sake of his career. Both Napoleon and Desiree go their separate ways -- he to become Emperor of France and loveless husband to Josephine (Merle Oberon) and she to become Sweden's disinterested Queen. Napoleon and Desiree meet up again in a whimsical confrontation in which Desiree urges the Little Corporal to surrender and go to St. Helena. The film is based on a novel by Annemarie Selinko that, like the film, takes wild liberties with the truth. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, (more)
- 1954
In this subtle 1954 comedy with feminist overtones, Clifton Webb plays Gifford, an executive with a large automobile manufacturer who is having trouble deciding who to hire as his chief sales manager. His three candidates are equally competent, so he brings their wives with them to New York headquarters, planning to hire the one whose wife is most suited to be an executive's wife. Elizabeth (Lauren Bacall) is the wife of Sid (Fred MacMurray), a company man. Elizabeth knows that Sid is such a workaholic that she will never see him if he gets the new job, but she is loyal to her husband and impresses the hiring team with her competency. Bill Baxter (Cornel Wilde) is handicapped in the competition by his wife Katie (June Allyson), a clumsy but sweet small-town girl from the Midwest. Katie dutifully tries to impress the big boss but proves inept at handling the social responsibilities. She would prefer to stay in Kansas City anyway. Jerry (Van Heflin) is married to Carol (Arlene Dahl), a seductive gold-digger who sexually teases various executives in the hopes that her assets can help land Jerry the job. Instead, her out-of-bounds behavior gets Jerry eliminated from the list, at least until Jerry tells Gifford that he doesn't sanction his wife's behavior. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clifton Webb, June Allyson, (more)
The opening credits appearing over a turbulent ocean serve as a foreshadowing of things to come in this standard-issue love triangle that shifts into high drama thanks to taut direction by Fritz Lang and a sizzling performance by Barbara Stanwyck. Returning to live with her brother, Joe (Keith Andes), at her family's home in a small fishing village, Mae Doyle (Stanwyck) has reached rock bottom. Reeling from the pain of her previous romances, Mae slowly pieces things together and begins dating Jerry (Paul Douglas), a simple-minded fisherman. More along Mae's speed is Jerry's slick, boozy pal Earl Pfeiffer (Robert Ryan), a film projectionist who makes his feelings for her known right away despite the fact that he is married. Mae spurns his advances and decides to marry Jerry. Meanwhile, Joe has grown close to ditzy factory worker Peggy (Marilyn Monroe). Some time later, Mae and Jerry have had a baby, and things appear happy, but Mae is not in love with Jerry, and soon finds herself in Earl's arms. Jerry discovers the affair, and during a confrontation with the deceitful couple, Mae reveals that she is leaving to be with Earl. After some booze and a pep talk from his Uncle Vince (J. Carrol Naish), Jerry confronts Earl and proceeds to nearly strangle him until Mae arrives. Jerry storms off, but when Mae comes to their home to retrieve the baby, she discovers that Jerry has taken the child. Desperately upset, she explains the situation to Earl, but as they talk, she begins to arrive at a new realization about her life and what it takes to find happiness. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas, (more)
- 1952
The Las Vegas Story features two of Hollywood's most impressive physiques. Victor Mature stars as Dave Andrews, a gambler, 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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Russell, Victor Mature, (more)
Billy Winder directed and co-wrote this bitterly satiric comedy-drama which turns a jaundiced eye towards both the news media and its consumers. Chuck Tatum (Kirk Douglas) is a talented but short-tempered reporter whose fondness for booze and unwillingness to bow to authority has cost him jobs at some of America's most prestigious newspapers. When Tatum's car breaks down in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Tatum persuades the editor of the local paper (Porter Hall) to give him a job until he can make enough to get his jalopy running and find a story that will put him back in the good graces of the Big City journals. After a year in Albuquerque, Tatum begins to wonder if a big scoop will ever cross his path, but when he's sent to Los Barios to cover the annual rattlesnake hunt, he lucks into a great human interest story -- Leo Minosa (Richard Benedict), who runs a local diner, motel and curio emporium, is caught in an abandoned mine shaft after a rockslide, which some superstitious locals attribute to an Indian curse. Tatum writes up the story with all the flourish he can muster, and portrays Leo's wife Lorraine (Jan Sterling) as a devoted spouse fearful for her husband's life, even though she can barely stand Leo and is planning to leave him. Tatum's story is picked up by the wire services and he makes friends with local sheriff Kretzer (Ray Teal) to insure he has an inside line on updates on Leo's rescue. When Tatum learns that Leo can be freed in a mere twelve hours, he persuades Kretzer and his men to adopt another rescue method that will take several days, which will generate more copy for Tatum, more press attention for Ketzer's re-election campaign, and more business for Lorraine's diner. Soon Los Barios is the biggest tourist attraction in the state, but as the media circus mounts, Leo begins to fall seriously ill. Also released as The Big Carnival, Ace In The Hole was a major box-office disappointment upon its original release in 1951, even though it was sandwiched between two of Wilder's biggest hits, Sunset Boulevard and Stalag 17. Despite never being released in home video until 2007, Ace In The Hole's bitter tone earned it an enthusiastic cult following, and it's now regarded as one of Wilder's best films of the Fifties. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, (more)
- 1942
In this drama, a dedicated forest ranger begins suspecting that a recent series of fires has been caused by arson. He investigates in a neighboring town. There he meets a beautiful rich girl, and they fall in love and get married. Unfortunately, the other rangers do not react well to the female's intrusion into their domain. Meanwhile, the daughter of a lumber baron, who has always secretly loved the ranger, is deeply disturbed by the nuptials. When the fires begin running wild, the two women rally together and help. Unfortunately, they are trapped by a wildfire and the ranger must save them by parachuting into their locale. While en route, he discovers that it is the pilot of the airplane who has been setting the fires. The two get into a fight, the arsonist torches the plane and jumps, and the ranger lies unconscious on the airplane floor as it spirals into a fatal nose dive. Fortunately, he wakes up just in time to jump out. He lands near the women, and together they put out the blaze. Later they learn that the arsonist died when his chute drifted into one of the blazes he himself had set. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred MacMurray, Paulette Goddard, (more)
