Ron Ely Movies

Set in 19th-century Africa, this film chronicles the horrors of the slave trade and the relationship between an Arab slave-trader and the people he sees as goods to be bought and sold. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

George Pal's final film is a kiddie action saga based on the popular comic strip and action book series by Kenneth Robeson. Ron Ely is all flash and charmless brawn as the blonde-haired superhero Doc Savage, the Man of Bronze. When his father is mysteriously murdered, Savage gathers together five of his cronies -- The Amazing Five -- to head off on an expedition to South America to find some answers. There he battles Captain Seas (Paul Wexler) and "the green death." Along the way, he charms native girl Mona (Pamela Hensley), who immediately falls for the blonde chiselhead. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Ron Ely, of Tarzan fame, stars in this German action adventure, adapted from Jack London's novel, The Son of the Wolf. This movie has lots of derring-do, fistfights and gunfights: all the traditional paraphernalia of a western. That is to be expected from the folks who brought many of the novels of Karl May to the screen. This film tells the story of Bill Robinson (Ely), who saves Jack Harper from certain death under an avalanche. Ironically, Harper is a bounty hunter, and Robinson is the man he was hunting. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Broadway musical star Joel Grey appears in this episode as jockey Eddie Yeager, who is suspected of throwing several horse races. Ironside (Raymond Burr) wonders if Eddie is the real culprit, or if the brains of the operation is a certain Scott Bradley (played by TV's former "Tarzan" Ron Ely). Complicating matters is the fact that Bradley is the ex-fiance of Ironside's assistant Eve (Barbara Anderson). Featured in the cast is future movie-studio executive Sherry Lansing. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Tarzan (Ron Ely) tries to stop a bloodthirsty Colonel (Jock Mahoney) from taking over an African village with his soldiers of fortune. The ape-man has been rendered deaf by an exploding hand grenade, effectively limiting one of his keen senses. Tarzan relies on his telepathic powers to stop a lion. Woody Strode also appears in this film that combines two made for television episodes. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Based on a successful stage play, The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker loses in this adaptation to film by becoming more serious than an all-out farce. The setting is the end of the 1800s and the intrepid Pennypacker (Clifton Webb) runs a sausage company with two thriving plants in Philadelphia and Harrisburg. He shuttles back and forth between the cities and with equal aplomb, between two households. He maintains one wife (Dorothy McGuire) and eight children in one city, and another wife (Jill St. John) and nine children in the other. When one of the Mrs. Pennypackers finds out about his deception, the unruffled businessman sees no reason for her emotional reaction. Victorian inhibitions and rigidities are set against ultra-modern thinking, embodied in the people the bigamist admires -- like Darwin, the feminists (!), and free-thinkers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Producer/director Joshua Logan's long-awaited filmization of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Pulitzer Prize winning musical South Pacific was not the classic that everyone hoped it would be, principally because of some curious creative choices made by the production personnel. Adapted from James A. Michener's best-selling novel Tales of the South Pacific, the film stars Mitzi Gaynor as WAVE officer Nellie Forbush, who while stationed overseas during World War II falls in love with wealthy French planter Emile De Becque (Rosanno Brazzi). The Navy would like DeBecque to help them in a reconnaissance mission against the Japanese, but he refuses; having run away from the outside world after killing a man in his home town, De Becque sees no reason to become involved in a war which he did not start and in which he has no interest. But when Nellie, her inbred bigotry aroused when she discovers that Emile has two mixed-race children, refuses his proposal of marriage, DeBecque, having nothing to lose, agrees to go on the mission. His partner in this venture is Lt. Joseph Cable (John Kerr), who like Nellie is a victim of prejudicial feelings; Cable has previously thrown away a chance at lasting happiness by refusing to marry Liat (France Nuyen), the dark-skinned daughter of Tokinese trader Bloody Mary (Juanita Hall). When Cable is killed and DeBecque is seemingly lost in battle, Nellie, realizing the stupidity of her racism, prays for Emile's safe return. The dramatic elements of South Pacific are offset by the low-comedy antics of "Big Dealer" seabee Luther Billis (Ray Walston). Outside of Walston and Hall, both repeating their stage characterizations, South Pacific suffers from a largely noncharismatic cast. Mitzi Gaynor never rises above cuteness in the difficult role of Nellie Forbush, while Rosanno Brazzi (whose singing is dubbed by Giorgio Tozzi) seems to be striking poses rather than acting as Emile DeBecque. These casting deficiencies might have been ignored had not South Pacific been laboring under an additional handicap: director Joshua Logan's decision to use colored filters in several key scenes, representing the emotions experienced by the actors. The constant color shift is more unsettling than attractive, drawing attention to Logan's technique and thereby taking the audience "out" of the picture. With all this going against it, however, South Pacific has much to be treasured. For one thing, all of Rodgers & Hammerstein's immortal songs--"Some Enchanted Evening," "Bali H'ai," "There is Nothing Like a Dame," "I'm in Love With a Wonderful Guy," "Younger Than Springtime" etc.--are retained, and, as a bonus, a song cut from the original stage production, "My Girl Back Home," is revived herein. In addition, the film is a bonanza for movie buffs who enjoy playing "spot the bit player:" among the supporting-cast ranks are Tom McLaughlin, Ron Ely, Doug McClure, John Gabriel and James Stacy (rumors persist that Joan Fontaine shows up unbilled as a nurse, but we've yet to spot her). Though artistically disappointing, South Pacific ended up one of the biggest box-office gold mines of the 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi