Charles Evans Movies

Elvis Presley stars as Mike Windgren, a former trapeze artist who's suffered from vertigo ever since accidentally dropping his partner during a performance. Working as a lifeguard/entertainer at an Acapulco resort, Mike falls in love with social director Margarita Dauphine (Ursula Andress). With her help, he overcomes his fear of heights in a spectacular high-dive finale. Presley songs featured include "Vino, Dinero y Amor," "Marguerita," "Bossa Nova Baby" and the title tune. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Too Much, Too Soon was adapted from the warts-and-all autobiography of actress Diana Barrymore, the troubled daughter of "great profile" John Barrymore. As played by Dorothy Malone, Diana is a basically decent young lady who suffers mightily from lack of parental love. Her famous father, played with boozy bravado by Errol Flynn, is the soul of graciousness and affection when sober, but a human monster when drunk -- which is often. Her poetess mother, Michael Strange (Neva Patterson), is too preoccupied by her bitterness against Barrymore to pay much attention to Diana. Striking out on her own as an actress, Diana vainly seeks personal happiness with several husbands: actor Vincent Bryant (actually Bramwell Fletcher), played by Efrem Zimbalist Jr.; jealous, possessive tennis player John Howard (Ray Danton); and another actor, alcoholic Robert Wilcox (Ed Kemmer). Unable to find satisfaction in her work or her private life, Diana follows family "tradition" by turning to liquor; this leads to extended sanitarium stays and innumerable suicide attempts. It is suggested at the end of the film that she is on the road to recovery, thanks in part to her biographer Gerold Frank (Robert Ellenstein); the sad truth is that two years after the release of Too Much, Too Soon, Diana Barrymore killed herself at the age of 39. This filmed version of Diana's tragic life seldom rises above soap-opera level, save for Errol Flynn's knowing performance of his old friend and drinking companion John Barrymore. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The endearingly awful Shake, Rattle and Rock! serves as a showcase for four top rock-and-roll talents of the 1950s. Fats Domino heads the cast as "himself", performing "I'm in Love Again", "Ain't it a Shame" and "Honey Chile". Likewise, Joe Turner offers renditions of "Feelin' Happy" and "Lipstick, Powder and Paint", while Tommy Charles and Annita Ray let loose with "Sweet Love on My Mind" and "Rockin' on Saturday Night". The plot is one of the oldest known to man: a quartet of buttinsky do-gooders, played by screen veterans Douglass Dumbrille, Margaret Dumont, Raymond Hatton and Percy Helton, try to impose a ban on rock-and-roll, while TV producer Touch (later Mike) Connors does his best to convince the "squares" that the new musical style is harmless fun. Sterling Holloway is a riot as Connors' jive-talking assistant, who lays on the hipster slang so heavily in one scene that he requires English subtitles! Shake, Rattle and Rock was (sort of) remade for TV in 1994 as one of Showtime Cable's "Rebel Highway" entries. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Crusading publisher Austin Spenser (Sidney Blackmer) wants to prove a point about the insufficiency of circumstantial evidence. Spencer talks his prospective son-in-law Tom Garrett (Dana Andrews) into participating in a hoax, the better to expose the alleged ineptitude of conviction-happy DA (Philip Bourneuf). Tom will plant clues indicating that he is the murderer of a nightclub dancer, then stand trial for murder; just as the jury reaches its inevitable guilty verdict, Spencer will step forth to reveal the set-up and humiliate the DA. Somewhat surprisingly, Tom eagerly agrees to this subterfuge. Unfortunately, an unforeseen event renders their perfectly formed scheme useless. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt was the last American film of director Fritz Lang. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Anyone who's seen the 1996 science-fiction lampoon Mars Attacks may have trouble watching Earth vs. the Flying Saucers with a straight face. Hugh Marlowe plays scientist Russell Marvin, who is on-hand when an alien spacecraft lands on earth. The saucermen at first insist that they've come in peace, but Marvin suspects otherwise. Sure enough, the visitors eventually declare their intention to take over the earth within the next 60 days, adding that the military's weapons are useless against them. The two-month window gives Marvin and his cohorts plenty of time to build-up superweapon, and thus stave off the seven-saucer invasion force. Special effects maestro Ray Harryhausen does a nice job laying waste to Washington DC in the film's memorable finale. The supporting cast of Earth vs. the Flying Saucers includes those two sci-fi flick stalwarts of the 1950s, Morris Ankrum and Thomas Browne Henry. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this western, an adventurous gambler goes on the lam when he is falsely accused of a riverboat killing. He hides out for three years before returning to prove his innocence, and to find the girl he loves. Unfortunately, the girl is involved with a gambler, the ringleader of the gang responsible for the killing. The fugitive, assisted by a comic sidekick, soon brings them all to justice, and reclaims his lady love. Songs include: "Give Me Your Love," "Happy Go Lucky," and "The Gypsy with the Fire in His Shoes." ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

New York Confidential is based on the Jack Lait-Lee Mortimer bestseller of the same name. Richard Conte plays Nick Magellan, a "torpedo" for Manhattan crime boss Charlie Lupo (Broderick Crawford). Pleased with Magellan's work, Charlie promotes him to the topmost rungs of the Syndicate. He regrets this act of largesse when the powers-that-be demand that Lupo be rubbed out. . .by good old Magellan. The most fascinating aspect of New York Confidential is that there isn't a sympathetic character in the bunch; even Anne Bancroft as Lupo's maladjusted daughter is a bit on the obnoxious side. The original Lait-Mortimer book was later adapted into a 1958 TV series, starring Lee Tracy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A gangster is killed by a big man who pays no attention to bullets, and who leaves glowing fingerprints. Police scientist Chet Walker (Richard Denning) discovers that the fingerprints are radioactive -- as well as those of a dead man. We soon learn that this walking corpse was created by Dr. Wilhelm Steigg (Gregory Gaye); he's allowing secretly-returned deported gangster Buchanan (Michael Granger) to get revenge on those who were responsible for his conviction. Steigg removes part of the brains of recently-dead men, and replaces them with a device that allows them to control the body from a distance, like a robot; they can even see through the creature's eyes via television. Another atomic zombie kills the district attorney who convicted Buchanan, which leads Chet and his homicide detective friend Dave Harris (S. John Launer) to deduce that the killings are connected to the Buchanan case. Warnings are issued to other possible targets, but they're unable to prevent another death. The last two go into hiding. The movie concludes with a headline: "Creatures with the Atomic Brains Destroyed." This entertaining but cheesy little movie is completely unpretentious. Broad, surprisingly gruesome and well-paced, it's obviously aimed straight at the juvenile market -- and it hits it, too. A sterling artifact of its time: brisk, efficient and entertaining, even if it is awfully silly. ~ Bill Warren, Rovi

Adapted by Don M. Mankiewicz from his own novel, Trial is a surprisingly timely story of how justice can sometimes be compromised by "special interests". It all begins when Mexican youth Angelo Chavez (Rafael Campos) is placed on trial for the murder of a white teenaged girl. Battling the lynch-mob mentality in and out of the courtroom is relatively inexperienced defense attorney David Blake (Glenn Ford). Believing that anything done on behalf of his client is for the common good, Blake approves the organization of an "Angelo Chavez Society" to pay the boy's court costs and ostensibly see that justice is done in the face of small-town prejudice. Soon, however, Blake discovers that both he and his client are being used as dupes by a Communist lawyer, who hopes that Chavez will be found guilty and executed, thereby creating a martyr for the Red cause. Much was made in 1955 of the fact that the presiding judge is a black man, played by Juano Hernandez. A bit creaky at times, Trial nonetheless still packs a wallop when shown today. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

George Montgomery heads the virile cast of the B-plus western Battle of Rogue River. Montgomery plays Cavalry major Frank Archer, assigned to protect the settlers in Oregon territory. Archer tries to find out why the previously peaceful Indians have suddenly become warlike. What he doesn't know is that duplicitous settler Stacey Wyatt (Richard Denning), working in concert with crooked land speculator Matt Parrish (Charles Evans), has been deliberately aggravating the Indians so that the other whites will be erased from the territory, thereby allowing Wyatt and his chums to plunder the land's rich mineral deposits. Curiously, the film's titular battle never takes place! Martha Hyer provides a dash of feminity to the otherwise all-male proceedings. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Vanquished represented another winner from Paramount's Pine-Thomas unit. John Payne plays Rock Grayson, a Civil War POW who returns to his Southern home to find carpetbagger Roger Hale (Lyle Bettger) in charge of things. An old enemy of Grayson's, Hale has commandeered the Grayson family-mansion as his headquarters. He has also set his sights upon Grayson's girlfriend Jane Colfax (Colleen Gray) as his own. Urged by the townsfolk to spearhead a revolt against the despotic Hale, Grayson surprises everyone by agreeing to become Hale's chief tax collector. What no one knows is that Grayson is secretly planning to gather enough evidence to topple Hale through legal methods. Even so, the film is capped by a cathartic outburst of violent action. The Vanquished is based on a novel by cinematographer/screenwriter/director Karl Brown. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the year 1783, as the British surrender to the colonists, Dr. Carlos Morales (Fernando Lamas) is one of many new Americans to rejoice in the victory. But his joy is muted by the impending death of General Victor Darby (Lester Matthews), his benefactor, who raised and educated Morales as though he were his own son. On his deathbed, the general insists that Carlos take over the running of Sangaree, his plantation outside of Savannah. It is a wish that Carlos heartily wishes to avoid carrying out, in part because he can't wholly forget the fact that Sangaree was where his own father toiled as an indentured servant and where aristocratic neighbors still regard him, medical degree or not, as nothing more than an upstart bond-slave; and also because the geeeral's dying wish will put Carlos on a collision course with Nancy Darby (Arlene Dahl), the general's headstrong, British-raised daughter, who expects to control the plantation herself. And sure enough, Nancy and her fiance Harvey Bristol (John Sutton), the son of the wealthy, deeply prejudiced Dr. Bristol (Francis L. Sullivan), do their best to undermine Carlos, challenging her father's will in court and humiliating and belittling him in public at every turn. Carlos prevails, through a mixture of courage, boldness, and good sense, even winning Nancy over, at least in part, but he soon discovers that securing control of Sangaree is only a small battle in the larger war he faces against greed, prejudice and ignorance -- there are pirates to contend with, and the lurking threat of plague, the latter complicated by Dr. Bristol's unaccountabl refusal to allow the inspection of his warehouses. And just as urgent as those larger problems are the lingering vengefulness of Harvey Bristol, who is prepared to kill Carlos by any means at his disposal, and the mysterious machinations of his best friend's wife Martha (Patricia Medina),like Carlos the descendant of a bond-slave; and the enigmatic Frenchman Pagnol (Charles Korvin), who seems to have an agenda of his own that includes piracy. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Although The Stooge had been filmed right after Martin and Lewis' Sailor Beware, the film was temporarily shelved so that the team could continue their winning streak of military comedies with Jumping Jacks. This time, Dean Martin plays Chick Allen, a paratrooper-in-training whose commanding officer intends to do away with all camp variety shows. In desperation, Chick sends for his old nightclub partner Hap Smith (Jerry Lewis) to change the CO's mind. In order to gain entry to the military base, Hap is forced to pose as a GI, and thus the plot proper gets under way. Most of the "awkward squad" gags are straight out of Abbott and Costello, with Lewis messing up at each and every turn while Martin lags behind for damage control. The film concludes with a routine from Abbot and Costello's Keep 'Em Flying, wherein Martin and Lewis bail out from a plane in flight, with one parachute between them. Robert Strauss repeats his Sailor Beware duties as Lewis' irascible topkick, while nominal leading lady Mona Freeman does practically nothing magnificently. Dean's songs include the deathless "Do the Parachute Jump". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi