Lance Fuller Movies

Writer-director Montgomery Pittman's final Twilight Zone offering was the bucolic comedy "The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank." As the youthful title character (James Best) lies in his coffin during his funeral, the assembled mourners listen to the droning words of the local pastor (William Fawcett) -- whereupon Jeff sits bolt upright, very much alive! Doc Bolton (Edgar Buchanan) assumes that he made a misdiagnosis when he declared Jeff dead, but the townsfolk are convinced that the boy has been possessed by the devil, especially after Jeff handily beats up his longtime antagonist Orgram Gatewood (Lance Fuller), something he has never been able to do before. Only Orgram's cousin Comfort (played by director Pittman's daughter-in-law Sherry Jackson) remains unafraid of Jeff, but even she begins to have her doubts during the diabolically amusing final scenes. Blessed with a semi-satirical harmonica score by Tommy Morgan, "The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank" made its first TV appearance on February 23, 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in an isolated, snow-covered town in the far West, this story has a renegade army officer named Jack Bruhn (Burl Ives) and his henchmen riding into the town threatening their worst to the men and women there. Blaise Starrett (Robert Ryan) decides to agree to Bruhn's demands for someone knowledgeable to lead them away from the law and the town, to safety. Mortally wounded himself, Bruhn opts to take Starrett up on his offer in one last act of generosity toward the townspeople, sparing them the mayhem threatened by his men. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Wedded bliss for a young couple (Lance Fuller and Charlotte Austin) is marred slightly by the bride's discovery of her husband's pet gorilla, for which she begins to develop an unnatural attraction; her husband's understandable jealousy leads him to destroy the ape. Hypnotic past-life regression leads Austin to the conclusion that she was actually a gorilla herself in a previous existence, which explains her obsession... sort of. The pair decide to get away from it all, journeying through some tedious stock footage to the jungles of Africa for a hunting safari, where yet another chest-pounding primate (besides Fuller, that is) has been waiting for just such a golden opportunity to have his way with the young lady. If this has the feel of an Ed Wood sub-classic, that's because it is -- at least by way of the screenplay. This may serve to explain the array of chic angora sweaters sported by Austin and the abundance of incongruous stock footage. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Advertised as an out-and-out horror picture, Voodoo Woman is more of a "greed and revenge" melodrama than anything else. Mad scientist Dr. Roland Gerard (Tom Conway) squirrels himself away in the jungle, hoping to create a race of super-beings. What he comes up with is a passel of hideous-looking female monstrosities, one of whom is played by ace monster creator Paul Blaisdell (who, last time we looked, was a guy). The film goes off on a slightly different tangent when mercenary murderess Marilyn Blanchard (Marla English) invades Dr. Gerard's private domain. It is inevitable that Gerard will transform Marilyn into a monster, leading to a lively if barely credible finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Extensive stock footage from 1949's Lust for Gold is used to flesh out the Columbia potboiler Secret of Treasure Mountain. The producers went so far as to hire one of the actors of the earlier film, William Prince, in order to match the old footage with the new. The plot is set in motion some 200 years ago, when a Spanish soldier buries a fortune in gold somewhere in Apache country. Angered at this invasion of their sacred land, the Indians place a curse upon the gold -- and, by extension, upon all those who will come into contact with the precious mineral in the future. The story proper begins in The Present, as a group of adventurers, many of them on the shady side (none shadier than villain Raymond Burr), embark upon a search for the gold. Sure enough, these modern-day prospectors fall victim to the curse one by one, usually as a result of their own greed or lust -- yes, lust, since shapely Valerie French and Susan Cummings are among the gold-seekers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This little film noir is freely adapted from James M. Cain's novel Love's Lovely Counterfeit, the story of a gangster working for a powerful Don who is fighting to retain control of the city's criminal activities when an honest mayoral candidate launches a strong anti-crime campaign. In a desperate attempt to derail his career, the Don assigns the hood to go digging for any dirt that can be used against the troublesome candidate. He finds some, but during the investigation he has fallen in love with the candidate's beautiful red-headed secretary and ends up double-crossing his boss. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

For reasons that defy logic, the excellent This Island Earth was held up for ridicule as an allegedly bad movie in the film version of TV's Mystery Science Theater. If not the best science-fiction film of the 1950s, Earth is certainly one of the most intelligent and elaborate. The story begins when the image of Exeter (Jeff Morrow), a huge-domed scientific genius from the planet Metaluna, appears on an experimental 3D television screen. Exeter invites several noted scientists from around the world to work on a top-secret project at Exeter's earthly mansion. Among those accepting the invitation are Cal Meacham (Rex Reason) and his ex-fiancee Ruth Adams (Faith Domergue). Soon, Cal and Ruth learn Exeter's true motives; to use the Earth's atomic knowhow in building a defense shield to protect Metaluna against the enemy planet Zahgon. Eventually, Exeter boards his high-tech flying saucer and whisks Cal and Ruth off to his dying planet, where, among other perils, they are menaced by a hideous mutant. Based on a novel by Raymond F. Jones, This Island Earth is one of those rare 1950s speculative films that holds up as well today as it did when first released, despite the comparative quaintness of the special effects and high-tech paraphernalia. Incidentally, the climactic Metalunan scenes were directed by Universal's resident sci-fi specialist, Jack Arnold. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In 1870s Arizona, Anne LeBeau (Joan Taylor) is caught between two cultures in a conflict that may kill her and her brother Armand (Lance Fuller). They're the children of a white French father and an Apache mother (the daughter of a chief, no less), and they find that they're equally despised by both sides. With a series of raids on the stage-line killing whites, and apparently carried out by the Apaches, there's very little prospect for peace in their lives. Enter Rex Moffet (Lloyd Bridges), sent in by the government to try and settle the situation -- instead of being a militarist, Moffet is a conciliator, much to the outrage of the townspeople, who want all of the Apaches driven out or killed, starting with the LeBeaus. When Moffet starts to fall in love with Anne (and visa versa), he must face the wrath of her embittered brother and the Apaches as well as the whites. It turns out that Armand -- who is college educated, and a lawyer, no less -- is the man leading the attacks, out of his bitterness and anger over the rejection he's faced by the whites all of his life. One thing that Rex has on his side is the truth, that the raids are actually the work of a small band of renegades working in tandem with opportunistic whites from the town. But can he stay alive long enough to uncover the identities of those responsible and prevent an Indian War? ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

In this unusual Western directed by Douglas Sirk, Rock Hudson stars as Taza, whose legendary father Cochise (Jeff Chandler) is on his deathbed. Taza promises his father that he will keep the tribe -- which Cochise united and ruled -- at peace. But Taza's brother wants the tribe to join with another bloodthirsty tribe, headed by Geronimo (Ian MacDonald), which is tangling with white settlers and other Indian tribes. Taza must battle his brother and try to keep his promise to his father. This film was originally shown in 3-D, and many of the battle scenes feature shots of warriors rushing headlong toward the screen. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a filmmaker emigrates to the States and ends up marrying the studio head's daughter. Later, he gets into trouble when he refuses to give the studio prima donna the part she wants. For revenge she slips him a mickey, frames him, and the blackmails him for $50,000. The desperate director does the only thing he can--he kills her and blames a nearby vagrant. In the end, he is captured and justice prevails. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

War Arrow is another of Universal's efficiently produced A plus/B minus Technicolor westerns of the early 1950s. Maureen O'Hara and Jeff Chandler star as, respectively, army major Howell Brady and his former sweetheart Elaine Corwin. As Elaine awaits anxiously on the sidelines, Major Brady trains a group of Seminole Indians to aid the army in quelling an impending Kiowa uprising. Commanding officer Col. Meade, a man with a deep abiding hatred for all Indians, thinks that Brady is crazy to trust the Seminoles. Well, he might be, but it's best to wait until the climactic battle scene to decide whether or not Brady knows what he's doing. The ever-reliable Henry Brandon is a tower of strength as Maygro, the Seminole chief whose daughter Avis (Suzan Ball) falls in love with Brady. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide