Joyce Holden Movies
Miss California of 1948 and Miss Television the following year, blonde Joyce Holden (born Jo Ann Heckert) enjoyed some popularity at bustling Universal-International in the early '50s, although she was busier performing than actually appearing onscreen. Today, her reputation rests with a couple of minor sci-fi "classics," The Werewolf (1956) and Terror From the Year 5000 (1958), and for creating the role of Mary Wallace Grant on the long-running daytime soap Guiding Light. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1958
The Terror from the Year 5000 works its way to the 20th century by way of a time machine. On a remote island near Florida, scientist Howard Erling (Frederick Downs) uses an elaborate time-travel device to trade various artifacts with denizens of the Past and Future. A woman from the future, the mutated victim of atomic radiation, "trades" her body with that of a nurse (Salome Jens) whom she murders. It is the Future Woman's intention to repopulate the post-apocalyptic world of 5000 AD with uncontaminated children, and to do this she must forcibly take Erling's assistant Victor (John Stratton) "back to the future". Curiously, well-known Broadway actress Salome Jens, who plays the title character, wasn't listed in either the advertising or the official resumés of Terror From the Year 5000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ward Costello, Joyce Holden, (more)
- 1956
Columbia's The Werewolf is not nearly as generic as its title would suggest: in fact, it is one of the better films of its kind. Steven Ritch plays Duncan Marsh, who after being seriously injured in a car wreck is used as a guinea pig by a pair of none too scrupulous scientists (S. John Launer and George M. Lynn). Seeking a cure for radiation poisoning, the scientists inject Marsh with wolf serum (what this has to do with radiation poisioning is never fully explained). Before long, Marsh is a full-fledged lycanthrope, wreaking havoc in the Big Bear Lake region. Some truly startling vignettes--including one lulu of a sequence in a jail cell--lift this Sam Katzman production well above the norm. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steven Ritch, Don Megowan, (more)
- 1953
Juvenile delinquency is the subject of the misleadingly titled Universal-International potboiler Girls in the Night. Patricia Hardy plays Hannah Haynes, the sister of good-boy-gone-bad Chuck Haynes (Harvey Lembeck). When Chuck ends up facing a murder charge, Hannah takes decisive action. She goes after crime boss Irv Kelleher (Don Gordon), risking life and limb in the process. Top-billed Joyce Holden plays Hannah's best friend, who helps cook up a scheme to entrap Kelleher. Glenda Farrell delivers the film's best performance as Chuck and Hannah's careworn mother. Ironically, Girls in the Night co-star Harvey Lembeck would go on to play one of the most lovable "j.d."s in screen history: Eric Von Zipper in the "Beach Party" series of the 1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joyce Holden, Glenda Farrell, (more)
- 1953
Craig Stevens offers a seminal version of his "Peter Gunn" TV characterization in Allied Artists' Murder Without Tears. Stevens plays homicide detective Steve O'Malley, who doesn't buy Warren Richards' (Eddie Norris) alibi that he killed Mrs. Norris while suffering an alcoholic blackout. If Richards is able to persuade the jury that he wasn't responsible for his actions, he'll get off, and under the "double jeopardy" law will not be forced to stand trial again. O'Malley intends to see that Richards is duly punished -- even if he has to take matters in his own hands. Joyce Holden co-stars as the woman torn between her love for O'Malley and her obligation to Richards. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig Stevens, Joyce Holden, (more)
- 1953
In this entry in the long-running Bowery Boys series, Sach becomes a mind-reader after he is punched in the nose. To capitalize on his new talent, he and the boys open the Eagle Eye Detective Agency. Their first client, a forgetful fellow, desperately needs them to find the combination to the vault where he placed an envelope containing secret information about a group of gangsters. The young detectives then don disguises and sneak in to the gangsters' lair to stop them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1952
Noted Western director Budd Boetticher helmed this contemporary cowboy story. Tom Moody (John Lund) is a champion rodeo rider who sees real potential in newcomer Bart Eaton (Scott Brady). However, while Bart may have a knack for riding a bull, he's not much for loyalty, and he betrays his mentor by stealing Tom's girlfriend, Judy Bream (Joyce Holden). Tom wallows in self-pity until the death of his buddy Dan Bream (Chill Wills), a rodeo clown, forces him to rethink his life. For added realism, Boetticher incorporated genuine Western footage alongside staged sequences with his actors. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Lund, Scott Brady, (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)
- 1951
Set during WW II, Target Unknown follows the exploits of a group of American flyers who crash behind enemy lines. Captured by the Germans, the flyers are interrogated separately. The Nazi higher-ups are eventually convinced that they've gleaned enough information to know where and when the next Allied bombing will occur, but the Americans prove to be a step ahead of them. Mark Stevens stars as Air Force captain Jerome Stevens, while Robert Douglas is Col. Von Brock, Steven's German opposite number. The feminine angle is handled by Suzanne Dalbert and Malu Gatica, cast respectively as a loyal Frenchwoman and Nazi sympathizer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Stevens, Alex Nicol, (more)
- 1951
A remake of the 1931 film of the same name, Iron Man stars Jeff Chandler as up-and-coming boxer Cokie Martin. A relatively pleasant fellow outside the ring, Martin turns into a monster whenever he dons boxing gloves and trunks. As a result, he becomes "the man you love to hate" so far as the fans are concerned. Only his fiancee Rose (Evelyn Keyes) is willing to stand by him, but even her devotion is sorely tested when Cokie continues displaying his killer instinct. Only the intervention of "clean" fighter Speed O'Keefe (Rock Hudson) prevents Cokie from destroying himself. Told in flashback, Iron Man is at its best in its expository scenes, showing the hero working his way out of a coal mining town and into the championship. Joyce Holden co-stars as a good-time girl who enjoys a brief fling with the hero; in the original 1931 version, Holden's character was played by Jean Harlow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Chandler, Evelyn Keyes, (more)
- 1950
The Milkman is a low-key variation of a theme explored in such slapstick festivals as The Fuller Brush Man and The Yellow Cab Man. Donald O'Connor plays Roger Bradley, who hopes to become a top-flight milkman to please his father (Henry O'Neill), the owner of the milk company. Jimmy Durante co-stars as Breezy Albright, the older milkman who teaches Roger the ropes. After several comic set pieces, the plot rears its ugly head in the form of John Carter (Jess Barker), the nephew of rival milk-company proprietress Mrs. Carter (Elizabeth Risdon). Carter has gotten mixed up with a nasty bunch of gamblers, led by Mike Morrel (William Conrad). This leads to an exciting, albeit chucklesome finale wherein Roger, Breezy and ingenue Chris Abbott (Piper Laurie) combine forces to rout the bad guys. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald O'Connor, Jimmy Durante, (more)
- 1950
The second of Universal's "Ma and Pa Kettle" series, Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town stars, as ever, Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride. This time, the Kettles win a letter-writing contest, which offers as first prize an all-expense-paid trip to New York City. Once in Manhattan, the huge Kettle brood raises all sorts of Holy Ned, culminating in an episode involving stolen bank money. Somehow this all ends with a riotous, slapstick-laden square dance. The film's romantic subplot is handled by Richard Long as oldest son Tom Kettle and Meg Randall as his high-society wife Kim. Also carried over from the first Kettle entry are Ray Collins and Barbara Brown as the Kettle's wealthy in-laws. A winner at the box-office, Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town helped pay for many of Universal's "prestige" releases of 1950. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marjorie Main, Percy Kilbride, (more)
