Wilton Graff Movies

In this crime drama, naive Lonnie allows a Spanish revolutionary and his henchman to rent his car. Unfortuantely, the duo use the car to escape after pulling off a diamond heist (the money will be used help support the Spaniard's cause). Lonnie begins investigating and along the way learns that his long-lost love has also joined the cause and works as a hooker to make her own financial contributions. Later, the Spaniard captures Lonnie and makes him drive the boat they commandeered. Also on board is the former owner's lovely daughter, with whom Lonnie falls in love. Together, Lonnie and the girl manage to stop the criminal activities of the "revolutionary" for good. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this comedy caper based on a novel by Nathaniel Benchley, a gang of crooks begin exploiting an innocent ex-Navy officer who, wanting to impress his employer's daughter, is sailing a fleet of ramshackle scows. One of the crooks cons the fellow into believing he is a shipwright. The thief then plots to use the vessel for a bank robbery. The hero is then forced to sail the ship himself after he and his girlfriend are captured. Meanwhile another villain tries to commandeer the vessel, but the officer is able to signal the Coast Guard by using his girl friend's bra as a slingshot. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Widow Carol Taylor (Rebecca Welles) hires Perry (Raymond Burr) to prove that her late husband didn't steal $130,000 before his death in a plane crash. As it turns out, Carol will need Perry more than she imagined: when Howard Walters (Simon Oakland) turns up murdered, Carol is arrested for the crime. While mounting Carol's defense, Perry unearths a hotbed of intrigue involving (among other things) a double murder and some VERY creative bookkeeping. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The target of a smear campaign instigated by crooked hospital committeeman Marshall Scott (Bartlett Robinson), Waring County DA Brander Harris (Hugh Marlowe) faces political ruin when he is framed by a compromising photograph. The situation becomes more serious when Scott is murdered and Harris is charged with the crime. In order to handle this case, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) must keep a grand jury in session, requiring him to become a temporary DA himself! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of producer Walt Disney's more blatant efforts to duplicate the success of his early TV miniseries Davy Crockett, the eight-part Swamp Fox featured another flamboyant frontiersman hero who wore coonskin-style headgear and whose adventures were introduced with a catchy, memorable theme song. Based on a book by Dr. Robert D. Bass, The Swamp Fox stars Leslie Nielsen as real-life American patriot Francis Marion, a wealthy landowner who during the Revolutionary War led a hardy band of guerilla fighters against the Redcoats and pro-British tories in his native South Carolina. The villain of the piece (at least in the first few episodes) was another actual historical figure, the ruthless Banastre Tarleton (John Sutton), an officer in the British Green Dragoons (Marion and Tarleton later served as the models for the hero and villain, respectively, of the 1999 Mel Gibson film Patriot). In the first episode, Marion is prevailed upon by his friends and neighbors to help free South Carolina from the grip of British rule. His task is made difficult by the fact that his sweetheart, Mary Videaux (Joy Page), is from a pro-Tory family. "The Birth of the Swamp Fox" originally aired as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Richard Connell's story The Most Dangerous Game has offered a big, fat target for dull low-budget thrillers since the dawn of movie-making itself, and this is truly one of the dullest. The first (and apparently the last) directorial effort from Ralph Brooke was saved from cinematic obscurity only through its movie-trivia value, thanks to the presence of Brady Bunch dad Robert Reed as the thick, hunky non-hero in upsettingly-tight clothing. There is little variation on the timeworn theme of a wealthy madman (Wilton Graff) hunting shipwreck survivors for sport -- perhaps aside from this villain's tendency to store his human trophies in cleverly-designed, glass-walled dioramas which presaged the popular horror model kits of the 1960's. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

This filmed biography of Vincent Van Gogh was adapted by Norman Corwin from the best-selling novel by Irving Stone, which was in turn inspired by the written correspondence between Van Gogh and his brother Theo. Kirk Douglas plays the tormented genius, whose obsessive devotion to his art engulfs, consumes, and finally destroys him. James Donald costars as Theo Van Gogh, who provides financial and moral support to his brother from the time Vincent leaves his Holland home in 1878 to his death in Auvers in 1890. Anthony Quinn won an Oscar for his eight-minute turn as Van Gogh's fast friend and erstwhile rival Paul Gaugin. Nearly 200 of Van Gogh's original paintings were borrowed from private collections for brief display in the film: some are "recreated" before our eyes, as the artist stands before his easel, spattered with paint and with a look of white-hot intensity burned into his countenance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Wayne plays anti-Nazi Prussian sea captain Karl Erlich in Sea Chase, one of the many film commentaries released post WWII. Though staunchly opposed to the Nazi regime, Karl (Wayne) feels it would nevertheless be unpatriotic should he refuse to save his ship from destruction. His ship--an old, rusty 5,000 ton freighter named the Ergenstrasse--is being pursued by a British warship on his journey from Australia back to Germany. Captain Erlich does everything he can to save his ship and his crew, but the process is long and dangerous, particularly without a plentiful supply of fuel and provisions. Erlich must face obstacles ranging from horrendous sea storms and shark attacks to false murder accusations, and it seems his only devotee is Elsa (Lana Turner), a beautiful German spy. Despite nearly falling to the determined English ship and a mutiny attempt by his own crew, Captain Erlich manages to survive what was anything but a routine trip back to his home country. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon were together again for the last time in Scandal at Scourie. Filmed on location in Canada, the plot concerns a childless Protestant couple, the McChesneys (Garson and Pidgeon), whose lives are profoundly altered by an orphaned Catholic girl named Patsy (Donna Corcoran). Through a series of far-fetched coincidences, Patsy wanders into the McChesney home, immediately capturing the heart of Mrs. McChesney. Mr. McC, a local politician, is a bit harder to win over, but eventually his wife convinces him to adopt the child. This stirs up a tempest in a teapot, as McChesney's political enemies accuse him of using Patsy to win over his Catholic constituents, while one of Patsy's former orphanage classmates spreads a rumor (backed up by circumstantial evidence) that the little girl is a "firebug." Sentimental to a fault, Scandal at Scourie is also undeniably effective. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Young Man with Ideas in this MGM production is idealistic lawyer Maxwell Webster (Glenn Ford). Too self-effacing for his own good, Webster vegetates in Montana with his wife Julie (Ruth Roman) and children for nearly 10 years before starting life anew in California. Living penuriously while studying for his California bar exam, Webster tries out several moneymaking schemes, most of which come acropper. Along the way, he inadvertently gets involved with a bookie ring, culminating in a climactic courtroom scene wherein Webster defends himself -- and surprise, he doesn't have a fool for a client. In typical Hollywood fashion, the script requires the talented Ruth Roman to express jealousy when a brace of lovely females played by Nina Foch and Denise Darcel briefly set their caps for the ingenuous Glenn Ford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Springfield Rifle was Gary Cooper's third western in a row, released not long after the classic High Noon. Cooper plays Union army officer Lex Kearney, who undertakes a covert investigation to find out why the North's supply of horses has suddenly diminished. Because of the top-secret nature of his mission, Kearney is forced to distance himself from everyone he knows, including his wife Erin (Phyllis Thaxter) and son Jamie (Michael Chapin). Heading to a remote cavalry post, he discovers that renegade soldiers have been stealing horses and selling them to the South. Someone at the post has been operating as the thieves' "inside man," and Lex, posing as a dishonorably discharged soldier, aims to ferret out the traitor. Had it not followed directly on the heels of the critical and financial success of High Noon, Springfield Rifle might have fared better with audiences and reviewers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Who else but Esther Williams could star in a romantic drama (with musical numbers) bearing a title like this? In Million Dollar Mermaid, Williams plays Annette Kellerman, a real-life Australian swimming star who took up the sport as a child to strengthen her legs, which were severely weakened by a birth defect. The treatment proves effective, and as she grows to adulthood, Annette shows that she has the talent to be a champion swimmer, though she prefers to follow her dream of becoming a ballet dancer. When Annette's father Frederick (Walter Pidgeon) accepts a position in London teaching music, Annette opts to go with him, and along the way she meets James Sullivan (Victor Mature) and Doc Cronnol (Jesse White), the joint-owners of a boxing kangaroo they intend to exhibit in London. James is already aware of Annette's abilities as a competitive swimmer, and he offers to be her manager and help her earn a living from her aquatic skills. At first Annette isn't interested, but when Frederick's job falls through and she can't find work as a dancer, Annette reluctantly agrees to work with James. He arranges a publicity stunt in which Annette swims 30 miles down the Thames River, which attracts the avid attention of the British press and wins her some work as a dancer. Convinced that the big money is in America, James persuades Annette to travel with him to the U.S., where she creates a scandal in Boston by staging another long swim in a one-piece bathing suit, considered shockingly-revealing at the turn of the Century. The stunt nearly lands Annette in jail, but she escapes the long arm of the law and becomes the star of a water ballet revue. Annette had fallen in love with James, but after an argument, he resigns as her manager and Annette takes up with Alfred Harper (David Brian), the male lead in her show. Annette and Alfred agree to marry while working on a movie together, but James returns on the last day of shooting, determined to win back the heart of the woman he loves. Legendary choreographer Busby Berkeley staged the film's elaborate water-ballet sequences. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide