Cay Forester Movies

In the conclusion of a two-part story, new police commissioner Edna Dixon (Juanita Moore) insists upon accompanying mobile officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) during a night shift. It's something of an ordeal by fire for all three persons, inasmuch as Jim and Peter are virtually the only cops left standing during a flu epidemic. Although there are plenty of action scenes involving a neighborhood riot and a teenage car thief, the highlight of the evening is a battle royale between bar owner Jean Wagner (Rose Marie) and elderly drunk Fred Tiller (Burt Mustin)--who happens to be naked. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Johnny Cabot (Johnny Cash) is a bloodthirsty New Jersey gangster who is forced to hide out in a small California suburb after killing a cop during a job gone wrong. He's given a chance to get back in the game by Fred Dorella (Vic Tayback), a crook with a novel plan for a foolproof bank heist. Dorella has been studying the daily habits of the Harper Federal Trust vice president Ken Wilson (Donald Woods). He learns that Wilson and his wife Nancy (Cay Forester) are on a strict schedule every morning and Dorella plans to use their dull routine against them. After Wilson goes to work, Johnny tricks his way into the house with Nancy by pretending to be a door-to-door guitar salesman, and then holds her hostage. At the same time, Dorella visits Wilson at the bank and demands 70,000 dollars in cash. If he doesn't get the loot and contact Johnny by phone at a specified time, Nancy will be killed. What Dorella hasn't counted on is that the Wilson home is not a happy one, and Ken is planning on running away with his mistress that very evening. Meanwhile, the leering, sadistic Johnny taunts Nancy about being "the perfect wife." He does all he can to humiliate her, forcing her to put on makeup and a flimsy negligee, slapping her around and singing menacing songs. When the Wilsons' son Bobby (Ron Howard) comes home from school for lunch, a terrifying showdown with the police leads to tragedy. Guitar legend Merle Travis has a small role as a cowardly bowling alley owner in this crime drama, which was re-released in 1966 under the title Door-to-Door Maniac. ~ Fred Beldin, Rovi

Albert Dekker plays a crooked investment agent who embezzles a large sum from an estate, hoping to cover his crime by marrying the estate's heiress (Catherine Craig). The girl is already engaged, so Dekker arranges to have the fiance killed. The hit man's only means of identifying the victim-to-be is his picture in the society columns. But the girl changes her mind and agrees to marry Dekker--meaning that it is his picture that will appear in the columns, thereby condemning him to death. Desperately trying to contact the hit man, Dekker discovers that the man is dead...but the assassin's successor is still at large. A cheap but tidy "hoist on his own petard" melodrama, The Pretender was produced and directed by W. Lee Wilder, brother of the more famous (and frankly more talented) Billy Wilder. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

With a title like Violence, the audience knew what it was in for from the get-go. Nancy Coleman plays Ann Mason, troubleshooting journalist for an illustrated newsmagazine. Going undercover, Ann infiltrates the United Defenders, a so-called patriotic organization comprised of thugs and extortionists. Preying on disillusioned war veterans, the United Defenders are able to spread their own brand of bigoted propaganda on a wide scale. In the midst of her investigation, Ann is injured in an auto accident, and as a result loses her memory. It's up to government investigator Steve Fuller (Michael O'Shea) to apprise Ann of her true identity, and to rescue her from the clutches of the villains (including such powerhouse "heavies" as Sheldon Leonard and Peter Whitney). Violence would seem to be inspired by the final sequence in RKO Radio's Till the End of Time, wherein a trio of ex-GIs dukes it out with a small band of hate-spouting "patriots". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Nora Goodrich (Brenda Marshall) is a dedicated research scientist who is very close to a breakthrough in her field of anesthetics. She allows herself to be used as the subject of an experiment, and becomes the victim of sabotage by her jealous assistant (Hillary Brooke), who is her rival for the affections of the same man (William Gargan). Nora is scarred by the accident, but fate takes a hand when a vicious blackmailer (Ruth Ford), part of an extortion scam that was being worked on her, breaks in to her apartment. In the ensuing struggle, the lady grifter is killed and then mistaken for Nora, while the real Nora goes into hiding. Taking the identity of the dead woman, she realizes how she has been betrayed and maimed and plots an elaborate revenge, undergoing reconstructive surgery that changes her whole appearance. She then reintroduces herself into the lives of her former associates, in her new guise, and begins her revenge. Before her plans can be concluded, however, her masquerade backfires on her, when she finds herself accused by the police -- of the murder of Nora Goodrich. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Starring Monogram's low-budget answer to Gene Autry, the rather colorless Jimmy Wakely, this minor music Western was actually disapproved for export on the grounds that it depicted what the censorship boards deemed "general lawlessness." The "lawlessness" depicted centers around Denny (Dennis Moore), impersonating a federal agent after being falsely accused of killing Bruce Carter (Hugh Prosser), a guest at the Mesa Inn. As it turns out, the dead man isn't what he claimed to be, either, but with the help of Jimmy Wakely, grizzled sidekick Lasses (Lee "Lasses" White), and girl agent Dale Harding (Cay Forrester), Denny clears up the general confusion within the allotted 56 minutes or so. While Moore attempts to clear himself of the murder charge, Wakely croons his own "Too Bad, Little Girl, Too Bad," "Good Morning Mr. Sunshine," and two or three other selections, while Lee "Lasses" White performs "When the Sunset Bids the Desert Goodbye" and an aggregation calling themselves the Sunshine Girls take care of the traditional "Red River Valley" at the hotel's swimming pool. Johnny Bond & His River Valley Boys also join the fun. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi