Carol Forman Movies
"I liked being the heavy," Carol Forman stated in 1984. "Not everyone can be as convincing as I am." And it was as a "heavy" -- or rather as "Queen of Serial Villainesses" -- that this brunette starlet will be remembered. The former Carolyn Rawls earned a contract with RKO after essaying a bit part as a rather disagreeable employment adviser in From This Day Forward (1946) and she was henceforth typecast as vixens. RKO, however, foolishly let her go after a couple of B-Westerns and, freelancing, she embarked on her legendary career as a pulp fiction menace playing the title role in The Black Widow, a 1947 action serial that she completely stole from phlegmatic star Bruce Edwards and nominal heroine Virginia Lindley. Columbia's 15-chapter Brick Bradford (1947), starring Kane Richmond and featuring Forman as nasty Queen Khana followed, and if the role was little more than a bit, the opportunity led to her being cast as The Spider Lady in the studio's Superman (1948). This time, she stole a reducer ray gun that eventually proved something of a boomerang. Kirk Alyn starred as the man of steel and they were re-teamed by Republic in Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc. (1949), he playing a G-Man and she portraying Nila, a rather homicidal femme fatale with a desire to dominate the world through crime. She appeared opposite Alyn a third and final time in Columbia's Blackhawk (1952), but by then the serial era was coming to a close and budgets were plummeting. In between the chapterplays, Forman portrayed equally unsavory characters in a couple of B-movies, including Docks of New Orleans (1948), a Charlie Chan entry from Monogram, and did her fair share of television: The Cisco Kid, 77 Sunset Strip, and The Files of Jeffrey Jones. Retiring to marry television director William Dennis, Forman returned to the limelight in the 1980s as a popular guest speaker at various classic film festivals. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1966
Sombra, the Spider Woman is the feature-film abridgement of the 1947 Republic serial The Black Widow (which explains why a number of the listed actors had died by this film's listed year of release). The formidable Carol Forman stars as Sombra, whose fortune-telling establishment serves as a front for a vast criminal empire. Making things trickier for hero Steve Colt (Bruce Edwards) is the fact that Sombra is a master (or mistress) of disguise. Colt and plucky girl reporter Joyce Winters (Virginia Lindley) try to prevent Sombra from stealing the plans for a revolutionary atomic rocket engine. This is one serial in which the male actors are thoroughly overshadowed by the female leads. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
The Golden Hands of Kurigal is an edited, feature-length version of the 1949 Republic serial Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc. The story gets under way when archaeologist Professor Clayton (James Craven) is kidnapped by Underworld Inc. functionary Nila (Carol Forman). Federal agent Dave Worth (Kirk Alyn) and his lovely assistant Laura (Rosemary LaPlanche) try to find out why Clayton is suddenly so valuable. It turns out that the good professor has discovered the Golden Hands of Kurigal, the key to vast fortune hidden somewhere in Europe. Before justice can be done, Dave and Laura must endure all manner of perils, ranging from time bombs to booby-trapped warehouses. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1953
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By the Light of the Silvery Moon was a sequel to Warner Bros' On Moonlight Bay (1951); both films were loosely based on the "Penrod" stories by Booth Tarkington. Penrod himself (played by Billy Gray) takes a back seat to the main plot, concerning the hot-and-cold romance between Doris Day and Gordon MacRae. Gordon will not marry Doris until he is financially able to do so, which results in several breakups and reunions before the final clinch at the local ice rink. A silly subplot involves Penrod's suspicions that an attractive French schoolteacher (Maria Palmer) is not only romancing his father (Leon Ames), but is also an enemy spy! Set shortly after the end of World War I, Silvery Moon takes full advantage of that era's popular songs. The film isn't quite as good as On Moonlight Bay, but fans of Day and MacRae went home happy. Also: watch closely, and you'll spot Merv Griffin in a minor role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, (more)
- 1952
The 15-episode Columbia serial Blackhawk was based on the comic book created by Reed Crandall and Charles Cuidera. The title character is played by Kirk Alyn, previously the leading man in Columbia's Superman serial. Also returning from Superman is Carol Forman, here cast as slinky Soviet spy Laska. Together with his cohorts Olaf (Don Harvey), Andre (Larry Stewart) and Chop Chop (Weaver Levy), Blackhawk does his best to keep a revolutionary new death-ray from falling into the wrong hands. The film borrows a page from the 1937 Dick Tracy serial by having one of Blackhawk's freedom-fighters (Rick Vallin) replaced by his evil twin brother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Alyn, Carol Forman, (more)
- 1949
The siblings of the title are Tim Holt and Steve Brodie. Holt is the good guy (after all, the film was part of Holt's RKO western series), while younger brother Brodie is the hotheaded troublemaker. The film offers a wealth of fistfights, gun duels and pursuits on horseback, as well as a dash of romance. Holt doesn't get a leading lady--at least not at first--but Brodie's fiancee is played by newcomer Virginia Cox. Brothers in the Saddle was the third Tim Holt vehicle to be directed by western specialist (and future minor cult figure) Lesley Selander. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1949
Kirk Alyn, erstwhile Superman of the serials, plays government man Dave Worth in the Republic serial Federal Agents Vs. Underworld Inc. Worth is put on the trail of a famous archaeologist who has disappeared. He learns that the far-reaching criminal organization Underworld Inc. wants to get its mitts on the Golden Hands of Kurigal, the key to a huge fortune hidden away in an unknown foreign country. The brains of the bad-guy operation is bad-girl Neela (Carol Forman), a master-or mistress-of disguise. Former Miss America Rosemary LaPlanche portrays Dave Worth's ever-imperiled girl Friday. Federal Agents vs. Underworld Inc managed to sustain audience interest for a full 12 chapters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Alyn, Rosemary La Planche, (more)
- 1948
This adventure is the first live-action Superman serial and was one of the most successful multi-chapter films ever made. Superman is played by B-movie hero Kirk Alyn. The story centers upon the hero and the nefarious Spider Lady, who is trying to rule the Earth. If she cannot have complete control, she plans on shrinking it with her powerful reducer ray. Much of the episodes center upon Superman's relationship with Lois Lane and upon his ability to fly. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Alyn
- 1948
Docks of New Orleans was Roland Winters' second appearance as aphorism-spouting oriental sleuth Charlie Chan -- and like the first (The Chinese Ring) the film was based on an earlier "Mr. Wong" series entry. This time out, Chan attempts to solve a case involving a stolen shipment of chemicals. When murder enters the picture, the most likely suspect is a chap who claims that the victim had stolen his secret chemical formulas. Naturally, this fellow can't be guilty, which Chan proves in due time. Offering their usual ham-handed assistance are Charlie's son Tommy (Victor Sen Yung) and chauffeur Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland). Roland Winters is totally unsuited for the role of Charlie Chan, but at least he seems to be having fun in the part. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stanley Andrews, Virginia Dale, (more)
- 1948
In a sense, The Mozart Story can qualify as an international production. The balance of the film was lensed in Austria by director Karl Hartl, with Hans Holt as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the songs sung in German. When the American rights to the film were purchased by Screen Guild, director Frank Wisbar supervised the English dubbing, and even lensed a few new scenes, with Wilton Graff as Mozart's great rival Antonio Salieri (later the "protagonist" of the Oscar-winning Amadeus). Also appearing in the newly shot scenes were Carol Forman as Catherine Cavalleria and Anthony Barr as Ruffini. Despite its patchwork construction, The Mozart Story weaves a cogent and credible (if not altogether accurate) version of Mozart's life and work. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hans Holt, Winnie Markus, (more)
- 1948
In this entry in the long-running mystery series, Chan must find out who has been killing people over rare antiques. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1947
Honeymoon stars an attractively grown-up Shirley Temple as Barbara, the sweetheart of a GI corporal named Phil (Guy Madison). Eloping to Mexico City, Barbara discovers that her boy friend, stationed in the Panama Canal zone, is tied up in bureaucratic red tape and may not make it to his own wedding. The headstrong bride-to-be enlists the reluctant aid of American consul Flanner (Franchot Tone), leading to any number of compromising situations involving Barbara, Flanner, and Flanner's own girl friend Raquel (Lina Romay). The film extracts most of its laughs from the legal and language barriers facing Barbara and her beau while south of the Border. Posting a $675,000 loss, Honeymoon unfortunately proved that Shirley Temple's drawing power had slipped considerably since her 1930s heyday. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shirley Temple, Franchot Tone, (more)
- 1947
Based on a popular comic strip, this 15 episode Columbia chapterplay produced by legendary cheapskate Sam Katzman (aka "Jungle Sam") heralded the beginning of the end of the American movie serial. Starring the otherwise watchable Kane Richmond in the title role, Brick Bradford had pretensions of becoming the next Flash Gordon, but Katzman's notorious reluctance to part with a dollar bill sealed its fate. Perhaps the cheapest producer releasing through a major company (Columbia) in the '40s, Katzman employed a generous dose of carelessly inserted stock footage in his serials, thus earning the epitaph as the typical cigar-chomping hack producer who is in the movie business merely to make a fast buck (actor Mike Starr eminently portrayed the prototype in Ed Wood, 1995). A Secret Service agent employed by the United States government to protect the Interceptor Ray, a newly invented missile, Brick Bradford gets involved with a mysterious scientist, whose "crystal door" transports him to the moon and back, to 18th century Central America, etc. All of this demanded inspiring sets and special effects and not Jungle Sam's tired potted plants and moth-eaten stock footage fauna. Comic strip hero Brick Bradford deserved better and so did his portrayer, Kane Richmond. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1947
With 1947's Desperate, a disturbing, noirish twist on traditional moral values, responsibility, and guilt, director Anthony Mann entered the ranks of class-A directors, though he'd still have to spend a few more years in "B" pictures. In his first important role, Steve Brodie plays newlywed trucker Steve Randall, who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time during a fur robbery. Kidnapping Steve, the criminals, led by Walt Radak (Raymond Burr), threaten to mutilate Mrs. Randall (Audrey Long) unless Steve confesses to a murder committed by Radak's brother during the theft. Pretending to play along with the villains, Steve manages to escape with his wife in tow. The rest of the film is a prolonged chase, with the Randalls pursued by both the crooks and the cops. A surprise ending caps this film noir mini-classic, which is best appreciated when not seen in its computer-colorized version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Brodie, Audrey Long, (more)
- 1947
The Black Widow is a low-budget, surprisingly entertaining adventure, science-fiction serial produced by Republic Pictures. Steve Colt (Bruce Edwards) and Joyce Winters (Virginia Lindley) battle to save the world from the evil powers of Sombra (Carol Forman), a wicked woman who intends to rule using her psychic powers. This 13-episode series was directed by Fred C. Brannon and Spencer Gordon Bennett. These episodes, released on video, were produced and shown weekly in movie theatres prior to the main features. While not of the same quality as Flash Gordon, The Black Widow is entertaining and amusing and worth viewing for lovers of the genre. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
The third of western hero James Warren's trio of RKO Radio vehicles, Code of the West was like its predecessors based on a story by Zane Grey. Warren plays Bob Wade, a settler on the Arizona Strip, circa 1880. Representing his fellow settlers, Wade stands up to gambling boss Carter (Raymond Burr), who knows that the railroad intends to extend through Arizona and plans to drive the homesteaders out of the territory. Likewise defying the crooked Carter is Wade's Mexican-Irish sidekick, Chito Rafferty (John Laurentz). Code of the West was previously filmed in 1925 and 1934 (the latter version, titled Home on the Range, starred Randolph Scott). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Warren, John Laurenz, (more)
Bearing no resemblance to the two previous Westerns of the same title, Under the Tonto Rim retained little more than the title from Zane Grey's 1926 story. Tim Holt and sidekick Richard Martin are operating a stagecoach line. But when a gang of highwaymen steals the Wells Fargo box and abducts passenger Nan Leslie, Holt goes undercover to smoke out the leader, Dennison (Richard Powers aka Tom Keene). Nan is not quite who she presents herself to be, however, and the hero is forced to use trickery to get to the truth. A superior B-Western, Under the Tonto Rim was filmed on-location at Victorville and Lone Pine, CA. Lex Barker, a year away from becoming the screen's tenth Tarzan, appears in a bit part as a sheriff's deputy. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Holt, Nan Leslie, (more)
- 1946
When a scientist discovers a way to create synthetic diamonds, a group of criminals kidnap his daughter Meredith (Louisa Braganza) in an attempt to ransom her for the valuable formula. Rescuing Meredith from her kidnappers, the Falcon (Tom Conway) becomes the prime suspect in a string of murders--including that of the scientist. It is then up to the Falcon to prove his innocence by discovering the identity of the true criminals. This film is the last of the Falcon series to star Conway. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Barrett, Steve Brodie, (more)
- 1946
This prison reform-minded melodrama from B-movie director Gordon Douglas opens with an introduction from Lewis F. Lawes, the real-life prison warden turned author of 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932). Lawrence Tierney stars as Jim Roland, one of the founding members of the Inmate's Welfare League, a prisoners' rehabilitation group operating inside the California state prison San Quentin. The League keeps internal peace at the prison and helps career criminals go straight, training them for a law-abiding life on the outside. Upon his parole, Jim became one of the program's first success stories, but the same can't be said for Nick Taylor (Barton McLane). Once a model prisoner, Taylor has broken out of the facility and gone on a violent crime spree. When San Quentin officials, including Warden Kelly (Harry T. Shannon), consider shutting down the program, the membership feels responsible and appeals to Jim for help. The ex-con, now a responsible citizen, sets out to bring Taylor to justice and save the League, putting his own life at risk. Douglas employs a brisk pace in San Quentin (1946), which is also the feature film debut of actor Raymond Burr, who appears in the supporting role of Jeff Torrance. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lawrence Tierney, Barton MacLane, (more)
- 1946
The moody mystery melodrama Nocturne was produced by longtime Alfred Hitchcock associate Joan Harrison. The film wastes no time getting started, with a caddish Hollywood composer (Edward Ashley) dropping dead right after the opening credits. The police think it's a suicide, but maverick lieutenent Joe Warne (George Raft) suspects foul play. Checking around, Warne discovers that the dead man had broken at least ten female hearts in the past few years, providing a motive for murder for all ten. The principal suspect is Frances Ransom (Lynn Bari), who may or may not have been avenging her sister, nightclub thrush Carol Page (Virginia Huston). Pursuing the case with such dogged diligence that he's eventually tossed off the police force, Warne nonetheless refuses to give up, and by film's end he has collared the murderer. It wouldn't be fair to reveal the killer's identity, except to note that the actor in question went on to quite a different career at Universal Pictures. Like the previous RKO George Raft vehicle Johnny Angel, Nocturne was a box-office bonanza, posting a then-impressive profit of $568,000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Raft, Lynn Bari, (more)
