Dorothy Adams Movies

An Affair to Remember, director Leo McCarey's scene-for-scene remake of his own 1939 film Love Affair, isn't really an improvement on the original, but it's equally as enjoyable. Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, high-profile types both engaged to be married to other people, meet and fall in love during an ocean voyage. To test the depth of their commitment to each other, Grant and Kerr promise that, if they're still in love at the end of six months, they will meet again at the top of the Empire State Building. Clips from An Affair to Remember were used as "reference points" throughout the 1993 romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle, which likewise concluded atop the Empire State Building. Disproving the theory that "Third Time's the Charm," Warren Beatty attempted to remake Affair to Remember, again titled Love Affair, in 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Broadway Musketeers is a remake of the 1932 Warner Bros. drama Three on a Match, with numerous concessions made to the now more stringent Hollywood censors. Brought up together in an orphanage, three young ladies-Isabel (Margaret Lindsay), Fay (Ann Sheridan) and Connie (Marie Wilson)-vow to remain friends through thick and thin. Fate, however, has other things in store for the three heroines, obliging them to trod widely divergent paths in life. One of the three girls deserts her husband in favor of a group of crooked gamblers, culminating in the kidnapping of her beloved child (Janet Chapman). Horace McMahon essays the tough-guy role originally played in Three on a Match by Humphrey Bogart. Producer Bryan Foy is careful to add several new plot twists and characters to prevent Broadway Musketeers from being a carbon copy of its predecessor, not least of which is transforming the character originally enacted by Joan Blondell into a dizzy-blonde type played by Marie Wilson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Circumstantial Evidence is so expertly acted and directed that the audience is willing to forget its gaping logic holes. Pugnacious family man Joe Reynolds (Milo O'Shea), blowing his top as usual, threatens violence to an unlikeable storekeeper (Ben Welden). When the latter is killed, Joe is arrested for murder. Thanks to circumstantial evidence and faulty eyewitness accounts, Joe is sentenced to death in what seems to be a matter of days-and never mind that the defense attorney hasn't the presence of mind to enter medical testimony into the record. While awaiting his fate on death row (one of the nicest, most inviting death rows in cinema history), Joe is regularly visited by his young son Pat (Billy Cummings), who has always believed in his dad's innocence. For Pat's sake, Joe escapes from prison on the eve of his execution. Meanwhile Pat and a family friend, postman Sam Lord (Lloyd Nolan), have sought out the eyewitnesses whose testimony cinched Joe's conviction; with a little gentle persuasion, the witnesses probe their memories and realize that they were mistaken, and that the victim's death was accidental. Armed with this new evidence, Pat and Sam convince Joe to break back into jail so that his release can be secured through the proper channels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Idealism vs. Practicality is the Disputed Passage in this lavishly mounted soap opera. Based on a novel by Lloyd C. Douglas (The Robe, Magnificent Obsession) the film stars John Howard as young medical student John Wesley Beaven. In the course of his education, Beaven is torn between two philosophies: the cold pragmatism of Dr. Forster (Akim Tamiroff) and the humanistic attitudes of kindly Dr. Cunningham (William Collier Sr.), who of course is author Douglas' alter ego. The crisis within Beaven comes to a head when he must choose between his career and his impending marriage to Audrey Hilton (Dorothy Lamour). A literally explosive climax in war-torn China brings the story to a logical and satisfying solution. Kudos again to director Frank Borzage for bringing warmth and credibility to the most sloppily sentimental of storylines. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) answer reports that a reclusive old man named Peter Collins (Vic Rodman) is terrorizing his neighborhood with a shotgun. It turns out that Collins is preparing to shoot and kill the person responsible for poisoning his beloved dog--and he intends to open fire on anyone who gets in his way. In a curious mixture of suspense and sentiment, the standoff is resolves by a small child with a big heart. This episode is based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of November 16, 1954. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Working in concert with FBI agent Tom Ashford (Douglas Kennedy), Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) inaugurate an intensive search for a bank robber. The most valuable clues are provided by bank guard Leon Gibson (Ben Morris), despite his being the target of several condescending remarks from his pompous boss Clifton Allen (Jonathan Hale). Nor is Mr. Allen the only unwitting impediment to the the investigation: Friday and Smith must also endure the eccentric behavior of "armchair detective" Mabel Hartford (Dorothy Adams), a neighbor of one of the suspects. One of the most accessible of the original black-and-white Dragnet episodes thanks to its current public-domain status, "The Big Number" is adapted from the Dragnet radio broadcast of October 26, 1952. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Otto Preminger directed this stylish film noir exercise, intended as a follow-up to his surprise hit Laura. Kicked off a bus traveling cross-country for not being able to come up with the fare, down-and-out press agent Eric Stanton (Dana Andrews) ends up in Walton, a small coastal town in California. Stanton fast-talks Joe Ellis (Olin Howland) into giving him a place to stay for the night in exchange for promoting Professor Madley (John Carradine), a "mentalist" whose show Ellis manages. While in Walton, Stanton makes the acquaintance of June Mills (Alice Faye), a wealthy but reclusive young woman, and has his eye on Stella (Linda Darnell), a good-looking waitress working at the local diner. Thanks to Madley, Stanton learns a few things about June, and when Ellis and the professor pull up stakes after a successful engagement, Stanton opts to stay behind, hoping to win Stella's heart. Gold digger Stella makes it known that she has no interest in Stanton unless he comes into a lot of money, but June has made her interest in Stanton quite clear. Stanton hatches a plan: he'll marry June, take her money, divorce her, and then take up with Stella. Stanton and June do in fact marry, but just as he's about to give her the brush-off, Stella turns up dead. Mark Judd (Charles Bickford), a retired cop-turned-detective, is investigating the murder, and while the initial suspect is Dave Atkins (Bruce Cabot), Stella's ne'er-do-well ex-boyfriend, Judd's focus eventually falls on Stanton. Stanton flees Walton for San Francisco, with ever-loyal June at his side; he quickly abandons her after taking her money, but he returns to her side when word reaches him that June has been charged with Stella's murder. Fallen Angel marked a dramatic change of pace for Alice Faye; however, she was very unhappy with how Preminger edited her performance, convinced that much of her best work ended up on the cutting-room floor. Faye was so angry that she quit the movie business altogether and didn't appear in another film until State Fair in 1962. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This cinemadaptation of John O'Hara's From the Terrace stars Paul Newman as Alfred Eaton, an unhappily married financial adviser, while his real-life wife Joanne Woodward portrays Mary St. John, his promiscuous screen spouse. Mary's libertine behavior is a by-product of her husband's inability to express love and affection, a trait he has inherited from his cold-blooded father. Mark Robson directs and Myrna Loy heads up a large supporting cast as Newman's alcoholic mother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

US Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) of Dodge City begins another year on the job as Gunsmoke launches its second TV season. On this occasion, the focus is on Doc Adams (Milburn Stone), who is summoned to the farm of Ben Pitcher (Robert H. Harris) for a "medical emergency." This confuses Adams for two reasons: the oafish Pitcher doesn't believe in medicine, and he despises Doc. Upon arrival, Adams discovers that his "patient" is a sick cow--and when he returns to Dodge, he is told that a human patient has died during his absence. This episode is adapted from the Gunsmoke radio broadcast of May 28, 1955. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The body of a young woman is found in a San Francisco park, and the evidence points to a notorious but unidentified criminal abortionist (this episode was of course filmed long before Roe-v-Wade). In order to flush out the criminal, Eve (Barbara Anderson) dons an elaborate disguise--including a brunette wig--and poses as an unwed pregnant girl. Will Ironside (Raymond Burr) and his team be able to trap the villain before Eve becomes the next victim? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Coadapted by David Harmon from his own TV play, the psychological western Johnny Concho stars Frank Sinatra as the title character, a callow young punk who lives off the reputation of his gunslinger brother. Most of the townsfolk consider Johnny to be nothing more than a cowardly bully; only Mary Dark (Phyllis Kirk), who loves Johnny, and gunfighter-turned-preacher Barney Clark (Keenan Wynn) can see the scared little boy beneath his swaggering facade. When word comes down that Johnny's brother has been killed and that the killers (William Conrad and Christopher Dark) intend to take over the town, Johnny runs like a scared rabbit. Eventually summoning up his innate courage, Johnny returns, hoping to convince the citizens to help him rid the town of the despotic killers. As "zero hour" approaches, however, Johnny is forced to go up against his enemies all by himself. The political symbolism in Johnny Concho is impossible to ignore, though it is up to the viewer to decide if this is an anti-Red or anti-McCarthy tract. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This adaptation of Vera Caspary's suspense novel was begun by director Rouben Mamoulien and cinematographer Lucien Ballard, but thanks to a complex series of backstage intrigues and hostilities, the film was ultimately credited to director Otto Preminger and cameraman Joseph LaShelle (who won an Oscar for his efforts). At the outset of the film, it is established that the title character, Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney), has been murdered. Tough New York detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) investigates the killing, methodically questioning the chief suspects: Waspish columnist Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb), wastrel socialite Shelby Carpenter (Vincent Price), and Carpenter's wealthy "patroness" Ann Treadwell (Judith Anderson). The deeper he gets into the case, the more fascinated he becomes by the enigmatic Laura, literally falling in love with the girl's painted portrait. As he sits in Laura's apartment, ruminating over the case and his own obsessions, the door opens, the lights switch on, and in walks Laura Hunt, very much alive! To tell any more would rob the reader of the sheer enjoyment of watching this stylish film noir unfold on screen. Everything clicks in Laura, from the superbly bitchy peformance of Clifton Webb (a veteran Broadway star who became an overnight movie favorite with this film) to the haunting musical score by David Raskin. Long available only in the 85-minute TV version Laura has since been restored to its original 88-minute running time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide