Joe Downing Movies

Three sisters are called to New York to hear the reading of their mysterious late father's will. The lawyer informs them of an eccentric stipulation: The sisters and their husbands must all spend three days together in the family mansion "in sexual harmony" before any of the considerable fortune can be divided. It is revealed that their father and mother never loved each other, and it is the deceased's wish that the house know connubial bliss for the duration of his daughters' stay. Though the youngest sister experiences strange premonitions of doom, the rest of the group are eager to reminisce together and strengthen their familial bonds. The servants the girls knew as children are still the caretakers of the old house, two spinster sisters and their brain-damaged brother. The trouble starts the very first night, when a gutted rabbit is found beneath a bed sheet, and a giant X is painted on a bedroom door in blood. The next morning one husband is found hanging from the staircase, and since the mansion is on an isolated island without electricity or phone, the rest have no choice but to stick it out for the weekend. The silent killer continues the murder streak with pitchfork, hacksaw, and axe, until a shocking family secret reveals the culprit and the motive behind the slayings. Also known as Legacy of Blood, Legacy of Horror is a remake of director Andy Milligan's own 1968 film The Ghastly Ones. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide

Though Slaughter on Tenth Avenue's background music relies heavily on the Richard Rodgers composition of the same name, the film itself bears no relation to the ten-minute ballet for which Rodgers wrote the piece. Instead, this Albert Zugsmith-produced crime meller attempts to expose waterfront union racketeering. In trying to solves a murder on the docks, deputy DA Richard Egan runs up against the stevedores' code of silence. It also dawns on Egan that his own boss (Sam Levene) shows little interest in pursuing justice in this instance. The DA is finally able to mount a case, but at the crucial courtroom moment he may have to pull out due to lack of evidence--a lack engineered by crooked boss Walter Matthau, who has several local politicians in his pocket. A last-minute dockside battle enables Egan to bring the racketeers to justice. Slaughter on Tenth Avenue was based on New York district attorney William J. Keating's memoirs The Man Who Rocked the Boat. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hoping to murder the man who has swindled him, Ray Clements (Mark Damon) worms his way into the remote monastery where his intended victim is convalescing after a serious car accident. Father Vincent (Everett Sloane), head of the monastery, senses that Ray is up to no good, and tries to persuade him to forget about his murder scheme -- and to forgive his enemy. Ultimately, Ray sees the error of his ways -- and, incidentally, discovers that a murder is entirely unnecessary. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

20th Century-Fox mixed together elements of its own Jesse James and Selznick's Gone with the Wind, and the resultant brew was Belle Starr. Looking precisely nothing like the real Belle, Gene Tierney plays the title role, whom the screenplay suggests was the daughter of a Southern aristocrat. When those Damn Yankees march in and appropriate Belle's land, she heads to Missouri and joins forces with a Confederate guerilla fighter (Randolph Scott). Belle marries the man, and together they become outlaws, hoping to avenge the fallen South. For reasons best known to the studio, Belle Starr is overloaded with offensive African American stereotypes, including the faithful old ex-slave (George Reed) who narrates the story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Robert Taylor toughened up his image considerably with this gangster movie, which was unusual both in its plot and origins, having come from MGM, which was generally not known for its crime movies. Taylor plays a parolee who is pretending to follow the straight-and-narrow as a hardworking cabbie, but is really the mastermind behind a dog-racing track being built with mob money. Eager works every angle, has a gang that's generally in line, and also has a loyal right-hand man in Jeff Hartnett (Van Heflin, who won an Oscar), his educated assistant, who drinks too much and waxes poetic when he isn't looking after Johnny's interests (and sometimes when he is, too). Eager has only one problem, special prosecutor John Benson Farrell (Edward Arnold) -- who was also the attorney instrumental in sending Eager up -- who has gotten an injunction against the track's opening. But the hood sees an opening when he accidentally crosses paths with a young sociology student, Lisbeth Bard (Lana Turner), who is drawn to him romantically, and then finds out that she's Farrell's step-daughter. After romancing her for a few months, he sets her up in a scam, making her believe that she killed one of Eager's men (Paul Stewart). He "generously" gets her away from the scene and then informs Farrell of what has happened, pointing out that he holds the evidence against Lisbeth. Farrell has no choice but to withdraw the injunction, and the track opens, but problems ensue when rival mobsters decide to try and cut in on Eager and his racket, and he finds out that Lisbeth is so guilt-ridden over her "crime," that she's destroying herself mentally. Eager can't figure out why she feels the way she does or what to do about it, or even if he should do anything to help her, but with Jeff's help, he discovers a nobler side to his nature. Realizing that she really does love him, and knowing it's not possible for the two of them to be together, he goes out in a blaze of glory -- laced with a special irony built into the plot -- solving Lisbeth's problem and also curing her of her love for him, and settling a score or two in the process. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, an ex-crook uses his skills as a forensic scientist to solve crimes. He forms a secret society of forensic scientists. Their main mission is convince skeptical police departments that modern science has a lot to offer them. To prove their point, the scientists randomly choose one large American city. There they enlist the aid of the police chief's daughter and using chemistry, solve a series of puzzling murders. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A young punk hooks up with a mobster and helps him rob a gas station in this crime drama. From there the crimes become more serious and the boy is very happy until something goes wrong and the gangster shoots someone using the stolen gun of the boy's sister's lover. The innocent lover is given the death sentence. The guilt-plagued youth wants to take the rap, but the gangster threatens him and he remains quiet. Later they are caught stealing a car and end up in Sing Sing where the boy finds a mentor who advises him to come clean. Meanwhile the gangster hears of this and devises a way to silence the youth forever. Not one of Bogie's best. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this crime comedy, a fortune is stolen and every gangster in town is looking for it. They all end up staying at a young woman's inn. The crooks all end up jailed thanks to the work of an innocent fountaineer. Not only does he collect a substantial reward, he returns the missing loot and wins the heart of the innkeeper. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide