Raymond Greenleaf Movies

Moving from Saturday to Thursday evening for its sixth season on CBS, Perry Mason kicks off the new year with another baffling murder case. This time the victim is Joseph Kraft (Maurice Manson) a crooked book dealer who traffics in forgeries of rare first editions. Not long after firing his clerk Ellen Carter (Phyllis Love) for misplacing a copy of Tristam Shandy), Kraft is found dead in a locked room, apparently the victim of a gas leak. Ultimately, the police decide that Kraft was murdered, and that Ellen is the most likely suspect. Enter Perry Mason (Raymond Burr), who intends to prove Ellen's innocence while setting a trap for the real killer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rock 'n roll king Elvis Presley stars as Glenn Talbot, a country boy with a problem temper and a yen for literary greatness in this typical Presley vehicle directed by Philip Dunne. After Glenn is sent packing by his father for mixing it up one too many times with his brother, the court makes him a ward of his uncle. His inner turmoil leads him into therapy with the older and very attractive Irene (Hope Lange), a patient-doctor relationship that is misconstrued by their small town. The two spend a platonic night in the same room in a motel, but no one is believing it was innocent. Glenn's romantic interests include Noreen (Tuesday Weld), with whom he shares a drink or two or more, and a song, and Betty Lee (Millie Perkins). Between the singing and carousing and fist fights, it still looks like a happy resolution looms large on the horizon. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In the final episode of Walt Disney's ten-part miniseries Elfego Baca, frontier lawyer Baca (Robert Loggia) embarks upon a mission to bring fugitive gunslinger Gus Tomlin to justice. Upon hearing that Tomlin is dead, Baca is all for giving up the search -- until a citizen of the small town of Granite claims that Tomlin and his family are living on a farm under an assumed name. The father of a man allegedly killed by Tomlin begins forming a lynch mob, but Baca offers to personally bring Tomlin back for a fair trial -- if he lives long enough to do so. "Gus Tomlin Is Dead" was originally telecast as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, 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

A suspenseful courtroom drama, The Story on Page One was the second and last film directed by the distinguished American playwright Clifford Odets (who also wrote the screenplay). Jo (Rita Hayworth) and Larry (Gig Young) are lovers accused of murdering Jo's husband. Their trial lawyer, Victor Santini (Anthony Franciosa) has his work cut out for him on two different fronts. For one, he has to overcome his own tendency to hit the bottle, and for another, he has to somehow win this case. As revealed in the beginning, Jo's husband died accidentally. Yet the unpredictability of the courtroom proceedings indicate that a verdict of "not guilty" is going to be anything but automatic. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

When Cecil B. DeMille was set to direct a re-make of his 1938 swashbuckler The Buccaneer and suddenly became ill, his son-in-law, Anthony Quinn, jumped into DeMille's jodhpurs. In this version, Yul Brynner plays the starring role of debonair pirate Jean Lafitte, who is contacted by General Andrew Jackson (Charlton Heston) to come to the aid of the United States when the British attack New Orleans during the War of 1812. Lafitte immediately falls in love with Annette Claiborne (Inger Stevens), the daughter of William Claiborne (E.G. Marshall), the first governor of Louisiana. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This Sam Katzman-produced sci-fier was originally released on a double bill with Katzman's Giant Claw. The plot is motivated by a newly discovered element called E-112, which festers at the Earth's core. Rising to the surface in the form of liquefied stone, E-112 becomes extremely dangerous when it is mixed with nitrogen. Before long, the entire world is threatened with the explosive power of the volatile element. To save Mankind from being blown to smithereens, seismologist David Conway (William Leslie) tries to neutralize E-112 with a combination of volcanic gases and silver iodide. Despite all the scientific doublespeak, The Night the World Exploded is doggedly nonintellecutal in its execution and appeal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Kim Novak is clearly out of her depth as legendary Broadway actress Jeanne Eagels, but one can't fault her for trying very hard. As this filmed biography gets under way, wide-eyed Eagels finds herself stranded in a tank town by a smooth-talking traveling salesman. Carnival operator Sal Satori hires Eagels as a kootch dancer, but her ambition is to become a serious dramatic actress. When she and Sal reach New York, she signs up for acting lessons under the tutelage of a Mme. Neilson (Agnes Moorehead). Before long, Jeanne is understudying on Broadway, and in 1922 she takes audiences and critics by storm with her unforgettable portrayal of Sadie Thompson in Rain, a role she landed by ruthlessly double-crossing the actress originally slated for the part (Virginia Grey). When her rival commits suicide, the chastened Jeanne turns to booze and drugs to assuage her conscience. The real-life Jeanne Eagels died of narcotics addiction in 1929, a fact that the Hollywood version skims over. Eagels' family sued Columbia Pictures over the "distortions" offered in Jeanne Eagels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Every time Republic Pictures head honcho Herbert J. Yates starred his minimally talented wife Vera Ralston in a film, the studio's stockholders began trembling in their boots. Like most of its predecessors, the 1957 Ralston vehicle Spoilers of the Forest just barely made back its cost. Vera plays Joan Milna, who shares several thousand acres of valuable Montana timberland with her stepfather (John Alderson). Coveting Joan's property, lumber baron Eric Warren (Ray Collins) sends out his foreman Boyd Caldwell (Rod Cameron) to persuade her to sell. Instead, Caldwell falls in love with the girl, vowing to protect her trees from the eco-unfriendly Warren. Republic's wide-screen Naturama process is shown to good advantage throughout Spoilers of the Forest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in the American West after the Civil War, this drama is the pull-no-punches story of a lethal family feud. Colt Saunders (Charlton Heston) fought for the Confederacy in the war, and he returns to his family's Texas cattle ranch after impulsively marrying Lorna Hunter (Anne Baxter) following a very short courtship. During the war, Mexican foreman Innocencio (Gilbert Roland) and his sons have run the ranch. Colt's one-armed brother, Cinch (Tom Tryon), who hasn't been much of a help, wants Colt to give him money for his part of the land. When Colt refuses to give him gold in exchange for his share of the inheritance, Cinch launches a scheme to sell the place to a wealthy Northerner. Colt chafes at the notion of selling to a former enemy. Lorna gets pregnant with their first child, and Colt then discovers that she once worked as a prostitute. Soon after, a plot to kill Colt is unleashed. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

This emotional drama concerns a WWII medic who marries a German woman but leaves her in a jealous rage, taking their baby with him. They lose touch after she is arrested behind the Iron Curtain after the war. Eight years later, she sees him in a Chicago cafe, rushes across the street to see him, and is hit by a truck. He operates on her and saves her life, and they get back together. Eventually, the daughter accepts her mother, and the whole family is reunited. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide

You Can't Run Away From It is a musical remake of Frank Capra's Oscar-winning classic It Happened One Night, complete with same-named characters and word-for-word scene reconstructions. It all begins when spoiled heiress Ellie Andrews (June Allyson) is literally kidnapped from the altar by her wealthy father (Charles Bickford). Escaping from her daddy's yacht with only a handful of clothes and minimal finances, Ellie hops a bus, intending to travel cross-country to be reunited with her fortune-hunting husband. Reporter Peter Warne (Jack Lemmon), sensing a swell newspaper story, tags along. Though Peter and Ellie aren't terribly fond of one another (that's putting it mildly!), by the end of their journey they've fallen in love -- but there are still several last-minute complications before a happy ending can be reached. Most of the musical numbers in the remake are awkwardly inserted during the more famous scenes from the Capra original: the "Walls of Jericho," the impromptu singalong on the bus, the hitchhiking bit, etc. Benefiting from the breezy performances of Jack Lemmon and June Allyson, You Can't Run Away From It is easy to take, but hardly within shouting distance of the original film's brilliance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Three bank robbers (J. Carroll Naish, Lee Marvin, Stephen McNally) case a small Arizona mining town prior to pulling a holdup. The audience get to know the various townsfolk as they're scrutinized by the crooks. Victor Mature plays a man who is a disappointment to his son because he didn't serve in the war. Tommy Noonan is a meek bank manager with a habit of spying on a pretty customer as she undresses in her second-story bedroom. Sylvia Sidney is a petty thief who has deposited her stolen funds in the bank. Margaret Hayes is the cheating wife of a local leading citizen, who is killed in the holdup. And Ernest Borgnine is a pacifistic Amish farmer, forced to take violent action when his children are threatened by the criminals (Borgnine's pitchfork-wielding scene was reproduced for the print ads of this film, leading some critics to assume that he was the villain!) The hero of the day turns out to be the "unheroic" Mature, who after being kidnapped by the crooks frees himself and prevents their escape. Violent Saturday is based on a novel by William I. Heath. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide