John Elliott Movies

In this swashbuckler, a princess is raised by gypsies and becomes their queen. The trouble really begins when a count is murdered and the evil, ambitious baron who really did it blames the crime on the gypsies. The baron's messenger knows the truth and tries to prove it. When he notices that the gypsy queen is wearing a pendant bearing the slain count's crest, he reveals her true identity--the count's estranged sister and heir to the throne. The messenger then accuses the baron of the death. The baron has him thrown into the same dungeon as the gypsies and together they team up and escape. Meanwhile the gypsy girl, who has finally promised to marry the wicked baron in exchange for her clan's freedom, is kidnapped by the baron. The gallant messenger rescues her, kills the baron, and gets to marry the young queen. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Heavenly Days was the last of three RKO Radio film vehicles for the popular radio duo of Fibber McGee and Molly (aka Jim and Marion Jordan). Unlike their first two films, which were cacophonous, plotless musical farces, this one actually has a coherent storyline and not a little "heart appeal." Self-styled expert on everything Fibber McGee takes it upon himself to leave the safe environs of Wistful Vista to go to Washington DC, intending to present himself as the "common man" before the US Congress. Naturally, Fibber's wife Molly goes along for the ride, if only to keep her husband from making a fool of himself. Fibber's actions are given credibility when pollster George Gallup (played by Don Douglas) selects the McGees as Mr. and Mrs. Average Man (or Person). While at large in DC, the McGees also become involved with a group of wide-eyed war orphans. The film's highlight is an impromptu musical interlude with Fibber, Molly, and a group of GIs, played by the King's Men Quartet (regulars on the Fibber McGee and Molly radio show). Perhaps because it took itself a bit too seriously, Heavenly Days failed to match the box-office success of RKO's earlier Fibber-and-Molly efforts, posting a loss of $205,000. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this western, a courageous cowboy stops the land-grabbing conspiracy of a corrupt banker. The banker was planning to wait until hard-working local ranchers made their mortgage payments and then was going to stage a phony robbery so he could foreclose upon their land. Fortunately, the hero finds out about it and brings the crook to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Like many of Johnny Mack Brown's western vehicles of the 1942-43 season, Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground draws its title from a popular song. Brown plays Wade Benson, head of a road-building project in the wild frontier. In their efforts to sabotage Benson's efforts, the villains lure his workers into the raucous saloon owned by dance-hall girl Kay Randolph (Jennifer Holt). But when the baddies resort to murder, Kay aligns herself with Benson, saving the day for both the road project and an ancillary government mail contract. Since Johnny Mack Brown could hardly qualify as a singer (as his later attempts at carrying a tune in his Monogram films would prove), the film's title song is warbled by Jimmy Wakely. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A young buckaroo gallops off after the conniving crooks who framed his bank president daddy for embezzlement. Plenty of western action ensues until justice prevails and the ornery varmints are jailed. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

With Dorothy Arzner in the director's chair, it's no wonder that First Comes Courage has a more feminist slant than most WWII "underground" films. Merle Oberon plays Nicole Larsen, a member of the Norwegian resistance. To obtain important war information, Nicole romances Nazi major Paul Dichter Carl Esmond, enduring the slings and arrows of those villagers unaware of her motives. Her mission is further complicated when she is reunited with British commando Allan Lowell Brian Aherne, with whom she'd had a prewar affair. Forced to choose between love and duty, Nicole makes the only decision possible under the circumstances. First Comes Courage was based on The Commados, a novel by Elliot Arnold. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this first of Universal's "Inner Sanctum" mysteries, Lon Chaney Jr. plays a neurologist plagued by a faithless wife. He suffers a bout of insanity, blacks out, and loses all track of time. Upon returning to his home, he discovers that his wife has been murdered. Investigating detective J. Carroll Naish is certain that Chaney is the murderer, and tries to browbeat the suspect into a confession. Chaney himself is half-convinced that he is guilty, and in conducting his own investigation learns the truth. All we can say without spoiling the film is that the truth hurts. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this wartime propaganda film, two Marine officers and their company go on leave when the Army takes over during the Guadalcanal invasion. Their leave is spent in Australia where one of the officers falls in love with a woman. His pal, afraid that there will be no turning back for his buddy, receives orders that send them both back to the US to train recruits. Naturally, his enamored friend is quite upset by this sudden turn and refuses to talk to his pal until a subsequent mission gives them the chance to stop briefly in Australia. There the lovers are finally wed, just before he goes to battle. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this western, the courageous Range Busters, round up the rabble-rousing rustlers who've been rendering Rock River really rowdy. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In one of his better early Westerns, Tim Holt, as Deputy Marshal Larry Durant, is sent to Spencerville where a gang of vigilantes has been terrorizing the citizenry. Going undercover as a gunsmith, Larry quickly learns that the leader of the vigilantes, John Spencer (John Elliott), is an honest man who only seeks to establish law and order. The real brains behind the crimes, meanwhile, are revealed to be Spencer's brother-in-law, Lou Harmon (Roy Barcroft), and his chief henchman, Leighton (Charles King), who speculate in the coming of the railroad by forcing the townspeople to relinquish their land. When Harmon learns from innocent tattle-tale Ike (Cliff Edwards) that the railroad will be bypassing Spencerville in favor of neighboring East Spencerville, the vigilantes shift their operations to that community. Spencer is killed by Leighton in the ensuing melee but with the assistance of the East Spencerville townspeople, Larry manages to trap Harmon and his gang in the local saloon. When not making life difficult for Tim Holt, comedy relief Cliff Edwards performs "Grandpap" and "Where the Mountain Meets the Sunset," both by Fred Rose and Ray Whitley. Pirates of the Prairie was a remake of Legion of the Lawless, a '40s Western starring Tim Holt's predecessor at RKO, George O'Brien. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Orson Welles' followup to Citizen Kane (1941) was utterly different from Kane in style and texture, but just as brilliant in its own way. Writer/director Welles does not appear on camera, but his voiceover narration superbly sets the stage for the movie's action, which fades in valentine fashion on Amberson Mansion, the most ostentatious dwelling in all of turn-of-century Indianapolis. Its mistress is the haughtily beautiful Isabel Amberson (Dolores Costello). When Isabel's beau, erstwhile inventor Eugene Morgan (Joseph Cotten), inadvertently humiliates her in public, she breaks off the relationship and marries colorless Wilbur Minafer (Donald Dillaway). The neighbors are certain that, since Isabel can't possibly love Wilbur, she will spoil her children rotten. As it turns out, she has one child, George Minafer (Tim Holt), and that one is enough as far as the rest of Indianapolis is concerned. There are those who live for the day that the arrogant, insufferable George will get his comeuppance. When George returns home from college, his mother and grandfather (Richard Bennett) hold a gala reception in his honor. Among the guests is the older-and-wiser Eugene, now a prosperous automobile manufacturer, and his pretty daughter Lucy (Anne Baxter). George takes to Lucy immediately, but can't warm up to Eugene, especially after learning from his uncle Jack Amberson (Ray Collins) and his maiden aunt Fanny (Agnes Moorehead) that Eugene and Isabel had once been sweethearts. After the death of Wilbur Minafer, the widowed Eugene feels emboldened enough to propose to Isabel again. This time she is willing, but the obstreperous George refuses to allow his mother to see Eugene. His imperious bullheadedness will lead to tragedy for all concerned--and, at long last, a chastened George Minafer will indeed receive his comeuppance. The film's real villain is not George but that old intangible bugaboo called "Progress." As the automobile age comes to fruition, the elegant, cloistered lifestyle of the Ambersons fades from view, finally disappearing altogether. This is superbly foreshadowed in the "winter outing" sequence (filmed in an L.A. icehouse) in which George's two-horse sleigh is abandoned in favor of Eugene's clunky horseless carriage. Welles evokes performances that his actors seldom (if ever) matched in later years; even the very limited Tim Holt is wholly believable-and even a bit pitiable-as the blinkered George Amberson Minafer. The current version, however, is but a pale shadow of Welles' original concept. Out of time and overbudget, the movie previewed badly and was eventually sliced down to an abrupt 88 minutes (by, among others, editor Robert Wise, who would go on to direct such films as West Side Story and The Sound of Music). Even though the film therefore must be regarded as a marred masterpiece, the remaining two-thirds of Welles' original concept is still a thrilling cinematic experience, especially whenever Agnes Moorehead is on the screen. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this contemporary western, clever cattle rustlers use shortwave radios to harvest lost doggies. Two brave heroes get government assistance to solve the case and soon discover the location of the troublesome transmitter. The heroes then sing a song over the shortwave to inform the government of the transmitter's location. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi