Richard Garrick Movies

To fully enjoy the rugged outdoors adventure The Mountain, one must accept the notion that 55-year-old Spencer Tracy and 25-year-old Robert Wagner are brothers. Tracy plays veteran mountain guide Zachary Wheeler, who is coaxed out of retirement when a passenger plane crashes on high mountain. He decides it isn't worth risking his life to recover the bodies of the passengers, but hot-headed younger brother Chris (Robert Wagner), hoping to claim the victims' valuables, talks Zachary into accompanying him to the mountaintop. After their treacherous upward journey, the brothers discover that one of the passengers, a Hindu girl (Anna Kashfi), is still alive. Zachary wants to bring her back to safety, but the greedy Chris would rather abandon her and make off with the valuables. It is, inevitable, then, that not everyone involved is going to get off the mountain alive. A worthwhile character study enhanced by superb location photography, The Mountain is compromised by its overreliance on phony-looking studio "exteriors". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A Man Called Peter is the story of Scottish-born Presbyterian minister and world-renowned author Peter Marshall, here played by Richard Todd. In his youth, Marshall moves to Washington DC, where he becomes pastor of the Church of the Presidents. His wisdom and conviction enables Marshall to communicate with men of all faiths. In private life, the pastor is given moral support by his loyal wife Catherine Marshall (Jean Peters). At the time of his comparatively early death, Marshall has become chaplain of the US Senate. Interestingly enough, while Marshall and his family are identified by name, the peripheral political characters are given fictional monickers--and sometimes, as in the case of the President played by William Forrest, no names at all. Director Henry Koster expertly avoids filming Marshall's sermons in a static, declamatory fashion. As Catherine Marshall, Jean Peters does wonders with a comparatively limited role; her best scene is her last, when she overcomes her lifelong fear of the ocean for the sake of her son (Billy Chapin). A Man Called Peter was certainly not conceived out of any box-office considerations, but it still paid its way. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this western, a shotgun rider on a stagecoach must clear his reputation after some outlaws accuse him of being a crook. Gunplay ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

"Winning isn't everything -- it's the only thing." These words were spoken not by Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi but by Steve Williams, the fictional college athletics instructor played by John Wayne in Trouble Along the Way. Recently divorced, Williams has trouble finding a job due to his inability to get along with his superiors. If he doesn't find work soon, he'll lose custody of his daughter Carole (Sherry Jackson). Meanwhile, St. Anthony's College, heavily in debt, may have to close its doors. Father Burke, rector of St. Anthony's, reasons that the school could get back on its feet if it had a winning football team, thereby securing the support of the alumni. Thus, against his better judgment, Father Burke hires the troublesome Steve Williams, who'll stop at nothing to assemble a winning team. Somehow, Williams has to turn into a regular human being, and that's where social worker Alice Singleton (Donna Reed) comes in. More sentimental than most Wayne vehicles, Trouble Along the Way is well worth the ride. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The System was one of several "exposé" films inspired by the Kefauver crime committee. The title refers to the manner in which a major gambling syndicate can so insinuate itself in "respectable" business circles that it becomes virtually impossible for justice to prevail. Big-city syndicate head John Merrick (Frank Lovejoy) is targeted for investigation by a crusading newspaper. The publisher (Fay Roope) uses this opportunity as a means to squelch his daughter's (Joan Weldon) romance with the unscrupulous Merrick. Called to testify before a crime commission, Merrick at first invokes the Fifth Amendment. But a series of crushing personal blows, coupled with the realization that his fellow hoods have left him to twist slowly in the wind, leads to an abrupt change of heart on the witness stand. The System boasts one of the most impressive supporting casts in any 1953 film, including virtually every actor who's ever played a thug or lowlife: Dan Seymour, Frank Richards, Vic Perrin, Henry Corden, Bruno VeSota, etc. etc. etc. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Ethel Merman reprised her role as a socialite turned diplomat in this screen adaptation of Irving Berlin's hit Broadway musical. Sally Adams (Merman) has made it her business to know everyone worth knowing in Washington D.C., and her penchant for parties pays off when she's appointed United States Ambassador to Lichtenburg. Once she is installed in her new position, she falls in love with suave Foreign Minister Cosmo Constantine (George Sanders), while Princess Maria (Vera-Ellen) has her head turned by Sally's press attaché, Kenneth (Donand O'Connor). Call Me Madam is a showcase for Merman's roof-raising musical comedy style, and here she gets to sing a handful of Berlin tunes, including "You're Just In Love," "Can You Use Any Money Today?" and "Hostess With The Mostes' on the Ball." Vera-Ellen's singing was dubbed by Carol Richards. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Dreamboat stars Clifton Webb as Thornton Sayre, the perfectionist professor of literature at a sedate Midwestern university. Widowed and with a pretty daughter (Anne Francis), Sayre has given no clue to his previous life before becoming a teacher. But thanks to television, everyone discovers that Sayre is actually Bruce Blair, a former silent screen star known as "America's Dreamboat." Sayre's onetime leading lady (Ginger Rogers) has made a comeback hosting screenings of her old films on TV, and the result is acute embarrassment for both the professor and his college. Sayre takes the case all the way to court, where he wangles a compromise agreement: he will permit his films to be televised as long as they're not "doctored" to accommodate commercial endorsements (this was based on a real-life lawsuit involving cowboy Gene Autry -- which Autry lost). The ensuing publicity costs Sayre his college job, but the renewal of interest in his old films results in a new movie contract. Although silent movies and singing commercials are easy satirical targets, Dreamboat still delivers the laughs, and it's fun to see Clifton Webb camping it up as a "Doug Fairbanks" type. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Stars and Stripes Forever is the highly fanciful filmed biography of "march king" John Philip Sousa. Clifton Webb does a fine job as Sousa, while Ruth Hussey is equally good in the less-demanding role of Sousa's wife. The problem faced by screenwriter Lamar Trotti (who adapted the film from Sousa's autobiography Marching Along) was that, outside of Sousa's early travails in organizing his own band after leaving the Marine Corps, there just wasn't much drama in the great composer's life. Thus, a secondary (and wholly fictional) romance involving young musician Willie (Robert Wagner) and ex-chorus girl Lily (Debra Paget) is given special emphasis. Willie invents the Sousaphone on behalf of his mentor, and upon returning from the Spanish American War minus one of his legs, Willie makes an inspirational solo appearance with the Sousa band. The best scenes include Sousa's ongoing efforts to break free from the "march king" onus and write romantic ballads, and Lily's high-kicking rendition of the music-hall ballad "Father's Got 'Em." When first telecast on NBC's Saturday Night at the Movies in 1962, Stars and Stripes Forever was accompanied by a short newsreel clip of the real John Philip Sousa in action. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Something for the Birds is a toothless satire of Washington, filmed during the McCarthy era. For lack of a political target that wouldn't get them labeled as Communists, the producers decided to go after lobbyists. Patricia Neal comes to Washington on behalf of the preservation of the California Condor; she finds herself the object of ridicule for almost everyone, including leading man Victor Mature, a lobbyist for the oil interests who threatens a large bird sanctuary. Edmund Gwenn is one of the few Washingtonians willing to financially back Neal's cause; unfortunately he turns out to be a charlatan with nary a nickel to his name. Eventually Mature is made to realize that the plight of the Condor is worthy worrying about, and he is able to dissuade the agreeable oil executives from drilling on the bird's territory. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this drama, based on a novel by Mary O'Hara, the relationship between humans and animals is paralleled as they struggle to live and find love on a wild ranch in Wyoming. The human story centers around a rancher's niece who falls in love with a neighboring rancher's son. The equine story follows the romantic exploits of a wild-eyed black mare and a wild white stallion, Thunderhead. One night, the sly stud sneaks upon the other's land and steals the mare. The rancher's boy brings them back. The rival ranchers get involved in a horse race and the niece's uncle wins over the other's pregnant mare. The two youngsters find love and as Thunderhead's baby is foaled, happiness ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Reverend Albert Richards (Alexander Gaden), is the minister for a fashionable congregation, and he falls in love with Lousie Alvord (Lucille Taft), whose father (Charles W. Travis) owns the mill. But Louise decides that the drab life of a preacher's wife is not for her, and she marries society leader Guy Carleton (John Reinhard) instead. The employees at Alvord's mill are unhappy with the working conditions, and Richards comes to sympathize with them. Because of this his fancy congregation leaves him. While working for the laborers, he meets Marna (Gertrude Robinson), a prostitute, and he helps her reform. In turn, she gives him emotional support as he reaches a financial bottom. Finally his literary efforts pay off and he goes from unemployed minister to famous writer. Louise, meanwhile, has tired of her husband and sets her sights on Richards. But Richards shuns her and sticks by Marna. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi