Charles Horvath Movies

After years of dumb-blonde and best-friend roles, Jane Wyman proved her skills as a dramatic actress -- and won an Academy Award in the bargain -- in Johnny Belinda. Adapted from a stage play by Elmer Harris, the story takes place in Nova Scotia, where deaf-mute Belinda (Wyman) leads a lonely existence on the hardscrabble farm of her father Black Macdonald (Charles Bickford) and her aunt Aggie (Agnes Moorehead). Newly arrived doctor Robert Richardson (Lew Ayres) takes a special interest in Belinda, vowing to ease her road in life by teaching her sign language. Despite initial resistance from her father and aunt, Belinda quickly learns how to communicate with others, opening a whole, wonderful new world for her. But things take a sorry turn when local lout Locky (Stephan McNally) corners poor Belinda after a village dance and rapes her. If the ending seems a bit ambiguous, it is because director Jean Negulesco intended it that way, allowing the viewer to draw his or her own conclusion regarding Belinda's future relationship with her mentor Dr. Richardson. Upon accepting her Oscar, Jane Wyman commented on the fact that she accomplished this feat through the simple expedient of "keeping my mouth shut." But there is nothing simple or facile in Wyman's astonishing performance as Belinda, which far outclasses the actresses who repeated the role in the two TV remakes. Also worthy of praise is the lush musical score by Max Steiner, one of his best post-Casablanca efforts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With Dallas, Gary Cooper revived his long-dormant association with westerns. Cooper plays ex-Confederate officer Blayde Hollister, who rides into Dallas in search of the men who killed his family and stole his land. Because he is considered to be an outlaw by the authorities, Hollister is compelled to switch identities with U.S. marshal Martin Wetherby (Leif Erickson). This ruse requires Hollister to explain his plan to Wetherby's lady friend, Tonia Robles (Ruth Roman). One by one, Hollister gets rid of the men responsible for the murders of his loved ones. The most formidable of his enemies, Will Marlow (Raymond Massey), proves to be a bit too clever to fall into Hollister's trap...at least until Marlow shows his hand in the final scene. There's more talk than action in Dallas, but Gary Cooper's laconic performance holds the audience's interest throughout. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The real Matt Cvetic was a borderline alcoholic with a nasty disposition (he once allegedly beat his sister-in-law so badly she required hospitalization). But Cvetic was also a fervent anti-communist, and so, for a brief period in the early 1950s, he was a folk hero. I Was a Communist for the F.B.I. is the semi-true story of how Cvetic (played by Frank Lovejoy) renounced his friends and family and embraced the Red cause--on behalf of the F.B.I., for whom he was a volunteer undercover agent. The film recounts how Cvetic used his job as a Pittsburgh steelworker to contact various American Communist cell leaders, and how he exposed their insidious plans to overthrow the American government. Since the script infers that among the Reds' "subversive" plans was the Civil Rights Movement, I Was a Communist for the FBI is an embarrassing experience when seen today. Cvetic's memoirs were better dramatized by a 1951 radio series of the same title, starring Dana Andrews. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A sequel to West of Dodge City (1947), this below-average Charles Starrett oater reveals that rather than drowning, nefarious Henry Hardison (Fred F. Sears) is still very much alive and engaged in blackmailing his brother, Judge Anthony Dillon (Luther Crockett). Enter the Durango Kid, alias Steve Ramsey (Starrett), who is in Bonanza Town looking for $30,000 stolen from a bank in Dodge City. Also present, needless to say, is bumbling Smiley Burnette, who once again perform a few of his own compositions. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Man Behind the Gun is a standard-issue Randolph Scott western elevated by good performances and exciting action sequences. Scott plays Callicut, newly arrived in the bustling mid-19th century metropolis of Los Angeles. Outwardly just another soldier of fortune, Callicut is actually an undercover agent for the government, sent to LA to investigate a covert organization that hopes to make Southern California a separate state. When he finds the time, he romances schoolteacher Lora Roberts (Patrice Wymore), whose life he'd previously saved during a stagecoach holdup. Callicut's rival for Lora's attentions is Roy Giles (Philip Carey), a hotheaded Army captain who may be in on the secessionist movement. Once Callicut finds out who's behind the movement, all hell breaks loose. Robert Cabal makes a brief appearance in Man Behind the Gun as a supposedly harmless Latino who turns out to be firebrand desperado Joaquin Murietta. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Voodoo Tiger was the ninth of Columbia's "Jungle Jim" "B"-pictures, with seven more on the docket before the series expired in 1955. Johnny Weissmuller returns as Jungle Jim, who this time comes to the aid of anthropologist Phyllis Bruce (Jean Byron), who has arrived in Africa to study tribal customs. Jim is sidetracked when asked to join the search for a French treasure of art that disappeared during the war. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Onetime big-league independent producer Walter Wanger had to make do with Monogram Pictures' distribution channels for his low-budgeter Aladdin and His Lamp. Johnny Sands plays the title role, but it's Patricia Medina, as "Jasmine", who is afforded top billing. The traditional story is honored to the letter, with pickpocket Sands using his three wishes to woo and win Medina. The golden-throated John Dehner is a persuasive villain, though he's a tad too young for the assignment. The two-toned Cinecolor process adds a touch of class to this threadbare costumer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Randolph Scott is as strong and silent as ever in Thunder Over the Plains. The scene is Texas, in the years just following the Civil War. Carpetbaggers have taken hold of the Texas government and imposed a near-dictatorship, hiding behind the legal protection of the Union Army of Occupation. Though his heart belongs to Dixie, Captain David Porter (Scott) is honor-bound to uphold the law of the land, even though it protects criminals and persecutes the innocent. Eventually, Porter reveals his true feelings as he tries to clear Texas patriot Ben Westman (Charles McGraw) from a murder charge framed by villains Standish (Elisha Cook Jr.) and Balfour (Hugh Sanders). Meanwhile, caddish Captain Bill Hodges (Lex Barker) tries to make time with Porter's long-suffering wife Norah (Phyllis Kirk). Perhaps a bit too complicated storywise for western fans, Thunder Over the Plains is right to the point when it comes to the action highlights. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Frightening though the prospect may sound, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis appear in Technicolor and 3-D in the musical comedy Money from Home. Cashing in on the success of Guys and Dolls, the script is based on a Damon Runyon story. Martin plays gambler Honey Talk Nelson, whose "markers" have been called in by gangster boss Jumbo Schneider (Sheldon Leonard). In need of money in a hurry, Honey Talk tries to honey-talk his gawky assistant-veterinarian cousin Virgil Yokum (Jerry Lewis) into "fixing" the outcome of an upcoming Maryland steeplechase competition. Along the way, Virgil is forced to impersonate British jockey Bertie Searles (Richard Haydn), and also gets mixed up with a visiting Arab potentate (Romo Vincent) and his harem. Pat Crowley and Marjie Millar fulfill the leading-lady obligations, while Dean Martin gets to sing three songs, one of them co-written by Guys and Dolls composer Frank Loesser. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The oft-filmed James Oliver Curwood yarn Back to God's Country is given the Technicolor treatment in this 1953 cinemadaptation. Set in the Great White North, the story concerns a romantic triangle consisting of sea captain Peter Keith (Rock Hudson), his wife Dolores (Marcia Henderson), and his jealous rival Paul Blake (Steve Cochran). Things come to a head during a treacherous trek through the snow, to seek medical aid for the injured Keith. Despite the crooked chicanery of Blake and dishonest guide Frank Hudson (Hugh O'Brien), the day is saved by Keith's faithful Great Dane. Back to God's Country overcomes its old-fashioned plotting with spirited performances and excellent cinematography. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rails into Laramie is one of the more obscure Universal-International western programmers of the 1950s, but this is no reflection on its entertainment value. John Payne stars as "town tamer" Jefferson Harder, who intends to clean up the wide-open community of Laramie. Everyone knows that the outlaw gang headed by Jim Shanessy (Dan Duryea) is responsible for preventing the railroad from building a line into Laramie, but Shanessy always manages to intimidate the all-male juries into releasing him. He and saloon-hall gal Lou Carter (Mari Blanchard) want to keep the rails out of Laramie so that both can pursue their criminal activities unabated. But when Lou switches sides and aligns herself with Harder, it's the beginning of the end for the scurrilous Shanessy. The film's resolution is "borrowed" from the 1941 western The Lady From Cheyenne and works just as well here as it did in the earlier picture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Border River stars Joel McCrea as idealistic Confederate major Clete Mattson and Yvonne DeCarlo as saloon owner Carmelita Carlas. With the South facing defeat, Mattson desperately tries to save his army by stealing $2,000,000 in Union gold. He then heads to a raucous border town on the Rio Grande, hoping to make a munitions deal with Mexican general Calleja (Pedro Armendariz). But first, Mattson must contend with Calleja's double-crossing German military advisor Baron Von Holden (Ivan Triesault), not to mention Calleja's tempestuous sweetheart Carmelita, who is likewise not to be trusted. Alfonso Bedoya engagingly goes through one of his "We don't got to show you any stinkin' badges" characterizations as Calleja's aide-de-camp. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"The Silent Partner" is, along with John Ford's "Rookie of the Year", perhaps the best-known episode of the TV anthology series Screen Directors' Playhouse. Buster Keaton stars as Kelsey Dutton, a former silent-film comedian fallen upon hard times. While visiting a neighborhood tavern, Kelsey is recognized by Selma (ZaSu Pitts), herself an ex-actress. Their happy reunion is spoiled by the Academy Award telecast being shown on the bar's TV set, in which prominent actor-director Arthur Vail (Joe E. Brown), accepting an Oscar, flippantly refers to Kelsey and Selma as washed-up hasbeens. As it turns out, however, Vail's apparent cruelty has a noble purpose. Directed and cowritten by George Marshall, who in his movie heyday worked with the likes of Bob Hope, W.C. Fields and Laurel and Hardy, the film is at its best when recreating the Golden Days of silent slapstick comedy, of which Keaton was an acknowledged master. Unavailable for many years, The Silent Partner was put back in circulation for collectors and aficionados alike by Blackhawk Films in the mid-1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide