Ruth Hampton Movies
Miss New Jersey of 1952 and a runner-up in the Miss USA pageant, dark-haired, exotic-looking Ruth Hampton appeared in Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953) with Miss USA herself, Jackie Loughery, and a cadre of Miss Universe contestants that included Miss Sweden, Anita Ekberg, and Miss Germany, Renate Hoy. The gig led to a contract with Universal-International and featured roles in such potboilers as Law and Order (1953), with Ronald Reagan, and Ricochet Romance (1954), with the Kettles. She retired in 1954 to marry actor-singer Byron Palmer. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1954
Tony Curtis stars as Johnny Dark, a moody automobile designer. Rejected by a major auto firm because of his "radical" notions, Johnny sets out to prove the efficiency of his cars on the racetrack. He is aided and abetted by pretty Piper Laurie and less pretty Paul Kelly, while motor mogul Sidney Blackmer fumes and fusses until he realizes that Johnny's designs will save his company. Most of the film is devoted to a marathon race, pitting Johnny against his friendly enemy Don Taylor. Johnny Dark is a must for racing buffs, as well as a prime example of Tony Curtis in his beefcake period. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Piper Laurie, (more)
- 1954
Marjorie Main is the whole show in the Universal programmer Ricochet Romance. Playing the outspoken new cook at a rundown dude ranch, Marjorie forces everyone around her to pitch in and bring some life back into the place. She also sets her sights on old layabout Chill Wills, scheming to rope the critter into marriage. Veteran comedy director Charles W. Lamont moves the proceedings along with style, never missing an opportunity for a low-comedy slapstick turn. The most surprising aspect of Ricochet Romance is that it is not an entry in Marjorie Main's Ma and Pa Kettle series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marjorie Main, Chill Wills, (more)
The Glenn Miller Story traces Miller's rise from pit-orchestra trombone player to leader of the most successful big band of his era. June Allyson is on hand as Miller's wife, Helen, who learns the value of patience when Glenn spends his wedding night jamming with Gene Krupa and Louis Armstrong. Given an officer's commission during World War II, Miller helms the swingin'est military band ever heard. In December of 1944, a plane carrying Miller disappears while flying over the English Channel. In memoriam, radio stations all over the world suspend their regular broadcasts to play such Miller standards as "Moonlight Serenade," "Chattanooga Choo Choo," and "Little Brown Jug." Many of Miller's contemporaries, including his first big-time boss, Ben Pollack, appear as themselves. The success of The Glenn Miller Story inspired Universal to give the go-ahead for another musical biopic, 1956's The Benny Goodman Story, with Steve Allen in the title role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Stewart, June Allyson, (more)
The first film version of W.R. Burnett's novel Saint Johnson was filmed as Law and Order in 1932. Essentially an all-names-changed retelling of the Wyatt Earp legend, the film scored on its humanity and restraint. The 1953 remake eschewed the shadings and subtleties of the original in favor of a traditional shoot-em-up, replete with gratuitous violence. Ronald Reagan stars as the Earp counterpart this time, who has sworn to bring criminal Preston S. Foster to justice. The original Law and Order had no love interest at all; the Reagan version pairs up the star with beautiful Dorothy Malone, and offers a second leading lady in the form of Ruth Hampton. The original had a hanging sequence which was treated as business as usual; the remake turns this sequence into a brutal lynching. Common to both films was the final showdown between Reagan and Foster, given added melodrama in the later version by the fact that Reagan had previously sworn to give up his guns for the love of his lady. Like most of Ronald Reagan's 1950s vehicles, Law and Order paid its way and was then forgotten. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Reagan, Dorothy Malone, (more)
- 1953
An outdoor adventure musical comedy, Take Me to Town features Ann Sheridan as Vermilion O'Toole, a barroom singer with a shady past who has taken refuge in a small timber town in the Pacific Northwest. She's on the run from a federal agent, Ed Daggett (Larry Gates). Just out of town lives Will Hall (Sterling Hayden), a logger and preacher who is widowed and raising three children. The children meet O'Toole and try to hook her up with their father -- because they want a mother to care for them. This arouses the jealousies of Mrs. Stoffer (Phyllis Stanley), a widow who was hoping to snare Hall herself. Hall comes to prefer O'Toole, but she must overcome the resentment of the local townspeople, who think she's a floozy. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sheridan, Sterling Hayden, (more)
