June C. Ellis Movies
- 1962
Philanthropist Carleton Gage (Everett Glass) hires Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) to alter his will so that the orphanage he supports will remain open. Unfortunately, Gage lapses into a coma just before the will can be finalized. As Gage's life ebbs away, two of his beneficiaries, his cousin George (Jacques Aubuchon) and his employee Ernest Demming (John Morley) demand that the orphanage be shut down--while Gage's sister-in-law Joane Proctor (Jan Shepard) just as insists that the place will stay in business. By and by, Demming is murdered, and Joane is charged with the crime--meaning that Perry will have to redirect his energies to save Joane from being convicted. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
For reasons beyond comprehension, the Earth has changed its orbit and is moving inexorably toward the sun, sending temperatures soaring into the triple digits. Though most of New York City has been deserted, art student Norma (Lois Nettelton) and her landlady Mrs. Bronson (Betty Garde) elect to stay behind, braving the intense, blistering heat until the bitter end. And don't be misled by that "is it all a bad dream?" finale. Written by Rod Serling, "The Midnight Sun" made its Twilight Zone debut on November 17, 1961 (imagine the audience reaction had the episode been telecast in August). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lois Nettleton, Betty Garde, (more)
- 1959
A surprisingly serious and well-acted major studio variation on the "teens in trouble" films that AIP and Allied Artists cranked out in the 1950's, Blue Denim stars Brandon De Wilde and Carol Lynley as Arthur and Janet, a pair of high school sweethearts who find in each other the love and understanding they don't receive from their emotionally distant parents. However, teenage romance leads to adult consequences when Janet finds herself pregnant; neither of the teens can broach the subject with their parents, and since they're regarded as too young to get married, they're forced to seek out an illegal abortion before Janet is no longer able to hide her condition. While time has dated the story, Blue Denim still comes off as sincere and well-crafted (the sequence where the teen lovers meet the abortionist is still a bit spooky all these years later), and was considered quite frank in its day. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carol Lynley, Brandon de Wilde, (more)
- 1957
Kim Novak is clearly out of her depth as legendary Broadway actress Jeanne Eagels, but one can't fault her for trying very hard. As this filmed biography gets under way, wide-eyed Eagels finds herself stranded in a tank town by a smooth-talking traveling salesman. Carnival operator Sal Satori hires Eagels as a kootch dancer, but her ambition is to become a serious dramatic actress. When she and Sal reach New York, she signs up for acting lessons under the tutelage of a Mme. Neilson (Agnes Moorehead). Before long, Jeanne is understudying on Broadway, and in 1922 she takes audiences and critics by storm with her unforgettable portrayal of Sadie Thompson in Rain, a role she landed by ruthlessly double-crossing the actress originally slated for the part (Virginia Grey). When her rival commits suicide, the chastened Jeanne turns to booze and drugs to assuage her conscience. The real-life Jeanne Eagels died of narcotics addiction in 1929, a fact that the Hollywood version skims over. Eagels' family sued Columbia Pictures over the "distortions" offered in Jeanne Eagels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kim Novak, Jeff Chandler, (more)
- 1953
Legendary German director E. A. DuPont didn't have much luck lining up worthwhile projects in Hollywood. DuPont's 1953 potboiler Problem Girls is set in a seedy private school for emotionally disturbed young women. The school's operator (Helen Walker), working in concert with the athletic instructor (James Seay), schemes to pass off a drug-addicted girl (Susan Morrow) as the heiress to an oil fortune. Luckily, school psychologist John Page (Ross Elliot) gets wind of the scheme; unluckily, this puts Page next in line on the villains' ever-mounting "hit list." Essentially an excuse to parade a group of buxom young starlets across the screen, Problem Girls was a far cry from such earlier DuPont films as Variety and Atlantic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Walker, Ross Elliott, (more)
