Frank Gerstle Movies
Tall, stony-faced, white-maned Frank Gerstle is most familiar to the baby-boomer generation for his many TV commercial appearances. In films from 1949 through 1967, Gerstle was generally cast as military officers, no-nonsense doctors and plainclothes detectives. His screen roles include Dr. MacDonald in DOA (1949), "machine" politician Dave Dietz in Slightly Scarlet (1954) and the district attorney in I Mobster (1959). Some of his more sizeable film assignments could be found in the realm of science fiction, e.g. Killers From Space (1953), The Magnetic Monster (1953) and Wasp Woman (1960). A prolific voiceover artist, Frank Gerstle pitched dozens of products in hundreds of TV and radio ads, and was a semi-regular on the 1961 prime-time cartoon series Calvin and the Colonel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
"I want to report a murder...mine." So begins D.O.A. Told in flashback, the story tells of how vacationing CPA Frank Bigelow (Edmond O'Brien) becomes the recipient of a deadly poison known as iridium. Told by a doctor that he hasn't long to live, Bigelow desperately retraces his movements of the previous 24 hours, trying to locate his murderer. Through the aid of his secretary Paula Gibson (Pamela Britton) (who doesn't know of her employer's imminent demise), Bigelow traces a shipment of iridium to a gang of criminals who've used the poison in the commission of a crime. But for much of the film, it remains unclear why Bigelow himself was targeted. Though we know from the outset that Bigelow isn't long for this world, the film builds up an incredible amount of suspense towards the end, when Bigelow is taken "for a ride" by a psychopath (Neville Brand). with a penchant for pummeling his victims in the belly. DOA was remade in 1988 with Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edmond O'Brien, Pamela Britton, (more)
- 1951
Highly respected defense attorney Dwight Bradley Mason (Walter Pidgeon) is able to clear young Rudi Wallchek (Keefe Brasselle) of a murder rap. When it's all over, however, Rudi lets slip a careless comment which leads Mason to believe that his client was guilty after all. Using the evidence at hand, the attorney retraces his steps, only to discover that one of the town's leading citizens is a criminal mastermind. The solution to this ethical dilemma is straight out of the "postman always rings twice" school of crime fiction. Even after justice has been served, however, Mason's conscience dictates that everyone responsible for all previous legal miscarriages be punished -- including himself! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Pidgeon, Ann Harding, (more)
- 1951
The real Matt Cvetic was a borderline alcoholic with a nasty disposition (he once allegedly beat his sister-in-law so badly she required hospitalization). But Cvetic was also a fervent anti-communist, and so, for a brief period in the early 1950s, he was a folk hero. I Was a Communist for the F.B.I. is the semi-true story of how Cvetic (played by Frank Lovejoy) renounced his friends and family and embraced the Red cause--on behalf of the F.B.I., for whom he was a volunteer undercover agent. The film recounts how Cvetic used his job as a Pittsburgh steelworker to contact various American Communist cell leaders, and how he exposed their insidious plans to overthrow the American government. Since the script infers that among the Reds' "subversive" plans was the Civil Rights Movement, I Was a Communist for the FBI is an embarrassing experience when seen today. Cvetic's memoirs were better dramatized by a 1951 radio series of the same title, starring Dana Andrews. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Lovejoy, Dorothy Hart, (more)
- 1951
The most delightful aspect of You Never Can Tell is the film's ability to successfully sustain its single joke for 78 minutes. The story begins when King, a German shepherd, falls heir to a fortune. Ellen Hathaway (Peggy Dow), trustee of King's estate, spends most of her time fending off would-be fortune hunters -- with the exception of personable Perry Collins (Charles Drake), who claims to have been King's "commander" in the wartime K-9 corps. Soon afterward, King dies of strychnine poisoning, and though no evidence exists, Ellen is held responsible. The film then shifts to the celestial way-station for animals known as "Beastatory." Here, the ghost of King implores a heavenly jury to be given an opportunity to return to earth and expose his genuine murderer. King gets his wish, and in a twinkling he is reincarnated in the form of private-eye Rex Shepard (Dick Powell). Shepard's girl Friday is Goldie (Joyce Holden), a reincarnated racehorse who insists upon outrunning buses just for the exercise. In his new human form, Rex returns to his mansion, where despite his animal instincts he can't help falling in love with Ellen as he endeavors to clear her name. To reveal more would rob the viewer of thoroughly enjoying this captivating piece of whimsy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Powell, Peggy Dow, (more)
- 1952
Sergeants Friday (Jack Webb) and Jacobs (Barney Phillips) investigate when an elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Guthrie, are found dead in a rooming house--along with their pet parrot. Evidence indicates that the killer set fire to the Guthries' room to cover his tracks, using a homemade timing device connected with the heater (ironically, all this occurs during Fire Prevention Week). The final interrogation sequence with the chief suspect is all the more powerful thanks to Jack Webb's unusually subtle direction. This episode was adapted from a Dragnet radio play originally heard on November 16, 1950. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1952
Working undercover, Friday (Jack Webb) poses as a hit man, hired by Charles Stone (Vic Perrin) to kill Stone's wife (Helen Kleeb). Not unexpectedly, the killing doesn't take place and Stone is arrested--but there's a surprise in store for Friday, courtesy of the incredibly forgiving Mrs. Stone. Based on a radio episode of Dragnet which originally aired on September 28, 1950, this TV version features Ken Peters as Friday's temporary partner Sgt. Bill Cummings, replacing the late Barton Yarborough as Ben Romero (Romero's absence is explained away as "A pretty bad case of the virus.") ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1952
- NR
Above and Beyond is the story of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, as told from the perspective of the man who flew the mission. Robert Taylor stars as Col. Paul Tibbetts, commander of the Enola Gay. Once selected for this extremely dangerous mission, Tibbetts must hand-pick a crew worthy of the task. He is also forced to keep his mission a closely guarded secret, even unto withholding all information from his loving and patient wife Lucey (Eleanor Parker). The film concentrates on the strain placed upon Tibbetts, his crew and their families in the crucial days before the "big drop". The bombing itself is handled with taste and decorum, though the horror and mixed emotions of the moment are brilliantly conveyed on the faces of Tibbetts and his men. Above and Beyond represents a rare noncomedy endeavor from the writer-director team of Melvin Frank and Norman Panama. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Taylor, Eleanor Parker, (more)
- 1953
In this comedy, a housewife schemes to make her dreams of feeling the soft touch of mink on her hardworking shoulders a reality. Unfortunately her husband does not have enough money for such a luxury. Being a resourceful lass, the wife decides the only viable alternative is to raise her own mink. Unfortunately, her project doesn't set well with the landlord and the family ends up having to move into the country. More trouble follows when the husband loses his job. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis O'Keefe, Ruth Hussey, (more)
- 1953
The Glory Brigade is a standard Korean War combat drama with a few interesting plot wrinkles. Victor Mature stars as Lt. Sam Prior, an American of Greek extraction. While trying to cross a bridge into Red territory, Prior loses most of his men, a fact he attributes to the seeming cowardice of the Greek UN troops. Eventually he realizes that his assumptions about the Greeks were mistaken, and further proof of their courage is offered during a later confrontation with the North Koreans. Alexander Scourby co-stars as Lt. Nikias, CO of the Greek detachment, while Lee Marvin enjoys one of his best early roles as Prior's corporal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Mature, Alexander Scourby, (more)
- 1953
Curt Siodmak's The Magnetic Monster (1953) is a truly novel science fiction film, in terms of its rather cerebral plot and low-key, quietly intense execution. As much a mystery and, in its first half, a manhunt, as it is a sci-fi-thriller, the movie pushed lots of suspense buttons for viewers in 1953 and still holds up more than a half century later. Richard Carlson (who also co-produced) plays Dr. Jeff Stewart, an agent for the Office of Scientific Investigation. Stewart and his colleague, Dr. Dan Forbes (King Donovan), begin searching for a dangerously radioactive element, which they have good reason to believe is somewhere in the Los Angeles area. They soon learn that this is no ordinary investigation -- among its other attributes, the unknown element generates enough radiation to kill, and also manifests a powerful magnetic field. The trail leads them to Dr. Howard Denker (Leonard Mudie), a rogue scientist who, working on his own, has created a new isotope of an element called serranium, which proves to be not only highly radioactive, but dangerously unstable in ways that science has never seen before. Every 11 hours, the serranium mass enters a growth cycle requiring massive amounts of energy, which it obtains by absorbing the energy from the atomic structure of any matter around it, releasing huge amounts of radiation in the process. The serranium mass doubles in size with each cycle, doubling its energy needs in the process, as well as the potential destructiveness of the next cycle. The danger lies not only in the potential for destruction in the serranium's rapidly increasing energy absorbtion, but its ever-increasing mass, which, at some point, will threaten to unbalance the Earth itself, in its rotation and orbit. Long before that, however, the resulting radiation is going to start killing large numbers of people, and the destructive force accompanying it will threaten to split the Earth's surface apart. Stewart and Forbes soon recognize that the only hope they have of stopping the process is to get ahead of it, by bombarding the serranium with enough energy to force it to divide into two relatively stable elements. The only possible source of sufficient energy is the world's largest cyclotron, which has been built by the Canadian government in Nove Scotia -- but is even it powerful enough to do the job, and can they get the deadly isotope there in time? ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Carlson, King Donovan, (more)
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ethel Merman, Donald O'Connor, (more)
Although a few character names and minor details are different, Vicki is a fairly faithful remake of the 1941 murder melodrama I Wake Up Screaming. The title character, Vicki Lynn, played by Jean Peters, is a waitress who is transformed into a top fashion model by press agent Steve Christopher (Elliot Reid). When Vicki is murdered, psychotic detective Ed Cornell (Richard Boone) tries to pin the blame on Christopher. In fact, Cornell knows who the real killer is, but he was so desperately (and hopelessly) in love with the dead girl that he intends to railroad Christopher into the electric chair. With the help of Vicki's sister (Jeanne Crain), Christopher tracks down the genuine culprit and exposes Cornell for the nutcase that he is. Featured in the cast is future TV producer Aaron Spelling. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeanne Crain, Jean Peters, (more)
At the height of their TV fame, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were contracted by MGM to make two theatrical films. The first of these, The Long, Long Trailer, stars Lucy and Desi as an upwardly mobile couple who decide to buy a trailer so they can live together while his job takes him around the country. Thanks to their naivete in such matters, they end up with a huge, bulky RV that costs five times what they planned. Their "seeing America" trip turns out to be a slapstick disaster, topped by Lucy's foolish decision to hide a heavy rock collection in the trailer; as Desi tries to maneuver a treacherous mountain road, the weighted-down home-on-wheels nearly loses its balance and almost tumbles off a cliff. The story is told in flashback, as Desi 'splains the breakup of his marriage to a motel court manager. Happily, Lucy shows up, goes "Waaaaah" a little, and all is forgiven. Despite the fact that audiences were getting Ball and Arnaz for free each week on television, The Long, Long Trailer was a big hit at the box-office. The film was adapted by Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich from a novel by Clinton Twiss, with uncredited assistance from the I Love Lucy writing staff. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, (more)
The Killers from Space in this low-budget sci-fier are a group of aliens bent on conquering the earth. To this end, they overtake the mind and body of atomic scientist Peter Graves, using the poor man as a combination spy and saboteur. When Graves realizes this, he tries to warn mankind, but no one believes him. Marching defiantly back to the aliens' Bronson Canyon headquarters, where the slimy villains are busily syphoning off electrical power from a nearby generator, Graves vows to stop the extraterrestrials at any cost...including his own life (or what there's left of it). The makeup used for the aliens is laughable, but the film works so long as it concentrates on Graves' plight. Produced and directed by W. Lee Wilder, the brother of the more celebrated Billy Wilder, Killers from Space was distributed in the US by RKO Radio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, James Seay, (more)
- 1954
Single mother Betty Dixon has been savagely stabbed to death with a bollo knife. A lack of additional evidence makes it extremely difficult for Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) to locate the perpetrator; all that is certain is that the killer is a madman. Ultimately, the detectives track down a recently discharged mental patient--who insists the victim "dared" him to murder her! This episode was adepted from the Dragnet radio broadcast of August 3, 1950. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1954
When police officer Jack Conley is murdered in cold blood on New Years' Eve, Joe Friday (Jack Webb) has the unenviable task of breaking the news to Conley's wife Betty (June Whitley)--just as she is preparing a big party. Making it his personal mission to track down Conley's killer, Friday pieces together the evidence and determines that the assailant was a drug addict. Future TV producer Aaron Spelling contributes a memorable cameo as a former dope pusher who has "seen the light." This episode is based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of March 8, 1951. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1955
Tight Spot is based on Leonard Kantor's novel Dead Pigeon, which in turn was obviously inspired by Virginia Hill's appearance before the Kefauver Committee. Ginger Rogers plays hard-boiled model Sherry Conley, who is serving a prison term for a crime she didn't commit. Sherry is offered her freedom -- and immunity -- by U.S. attorney Lloyd Hallett (Edward G. Robinson) if she'll agree to appear as a material witness in the trial of mobster Benjamin Costain (Lorne Greene). Unfortunately, Costain has a long reach, and is able to coerce Vince Striker (Brian Keith), the detective assigned to guard Sherry, to allow Costain's hired guns to invade the hotel room where Sherry is being hidden. The star witness is surly and uncooperative, but she finally decides to testify when her escort, policewoman Willoughby (Katherine Anderson), is murdered by Costain's goons. But Striker is still around and about, still determined to do Costain's bidding. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ginger Rogers, Edward G. Robinson, (more)
- 1955
In this drama, a divinity student endeavors to help the police break up the rackets by impersonating his jailed brother, a gangster. In his disguise, he gets into his brother's gang and cons them into to uniting with other gangs to improve efficiency. He then coerces them into keeping careful records of their various rackets. Trouble ensues when the real gangster brother busts out of jail and threatens to expose his brother. Fortunately, he is accidently killed by one of his own men. The good brother's actions bear fruit when all the racketeers are exposed, rounded-up, and sent to jail. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean McClory, Joanne Jordan, (more)
- 1955
Based on the radio series of the same name, Gang Busters was an episodic documentary-style tale of criminals brought to justice. Veteran screen baddie Myron Healey plays John Omar Pinson, a real-life criminal once rated Public Enemy #4. The film recounts the many prison breaks staged by Pinson, all of which resulted in his recapture. Gangbusters was comprised of three half-hour episodes from the Gangbusters TV series (53), stitched together into an ersatz feature film. This pastiche approach proved successful enough to spawn two subsequent films, again culled from Gang Busters TV footage: Guns Don't Argue (57) and Ma Barker's Killer Brood (60). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Myron Healey, Don C. Harvey, (more)
- 1955
A storekeeper has been robbed and killed by two thieves, who have also wounded a police officer. The wife of the unfortunate storekeeper provides Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) with a vital clue: one of the thieves kept an unfolded handkerchief in his breast pocket. As often happens on this series, the perp's sloppiness proves to be his undoing. This episode was adapted from the Dragnet radio broadcast of June 22, 1954. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1955
This time the criminal at large is a con artist who poses as a "displaced person" in need of quick cash. Each of the con man's victims is offered a handful of genuine "perfect cut" blue-white diamonds for a fraction of what they are worth--but by the time the victim has made the purchase, the real gems have been switched with all-but-worthless zircon. When Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) catch up with the phony diamond merchant, he minces no words congratulating himself for proving the old adage "You can't cheat an honest man." This episode is based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of February 16, 1954. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1955
Forced to leave New York in a hurry, impoverished gambler Charlie Raymond (Peter Lawford) answers a newspaper ad from a fellow Londoner named Walter Hendricks (John Williams), who wants someone to drive with him to San Francisco and share expenses. En route to the West Coast, Raymond discovers that Hendricks is on his way to collect a huge inheritance. Seizing the opportunity, Raymond murders Hendricks and assumes his identity, certain that the Frisco authorities will fall for the ruse and that he will fall heir to 200,000 dollars. Want to bet that things don't quite work out as planned for our "hero"? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1955
Investigating a missing-persons report, Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) are handed a clue when a ring worth $1500 shows up in a pawn shop. At this point, the missing man, Garfield Hunt (James Stone) resurfaces. It turns out that Hunt had been fleeced by a pair of clever con artists, and had hocked the ring so his wife would not find out he had lost all his money. Ultimately, the detectives catch up with the crooks--or do they? Peggy Webber, a charter member of the "Jack Webb Stock Company", shows up as a lachrymose drunk. Based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of February 8, 1955, this episode is currently available in several public-domain VHS and DVD collections. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1955
Another of Disney animation director Ward Kimball's "outer space" projects, this Disneyland episode was intended as a followup to the highly praised 1955 entry Man in Space. In the early animated sequence, the Disney staff illustrates the various theories and superstitions surrounding Old Man Moon throughout the centuries. We then move on to the pioneering tales of space travel, notably the fanciful moon flight undertaken by Cyrano de Bergerac (the same). Finally, a combination of animation and live action offers a speculation of what the first manned moon flight will actually be like. With rocket scientist Wernher Von Braun providing both narration and technical advice, the film was remarkably accurate, even though it would be 13 years before Man actually set foot on the lunar surface. Rebroadcast in 1959 under the title Tomorrow the Moon, Man and the Moon was later excerpted in one of the "Ludwig Von Drake" episodes on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. ~ 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
- Starring:
- John Payne, Arlene Dahl, (more)
