John Hudson Movies

The conversations of an ill-suited couple who came together through personal ads form the framework of this French film that is comprised of a series of five strange, outworldly tales. The first tale, "Burning Revenge," tells of a man who pours gasoline over a service station in the dead of night and then uses a lit cigarette to threaten the attendant. The second, "Panic FM," follows a pizza delivery boy on his bicycle. While on his route, he is listening to a gory radio show and keeps encountering scary ghosts. "Dead End" depicts a couple who experience the same accident over and over while cruising down a country road. The fourth vignette "Sado's Blues" takes a darkly comedic turn as it chronicles the tale of a masochistic woman who invites a timid fellow up to her apartment and demands that he use her "toys" while having sex with her. The final tale "Happy Birthday" follows a wife and lover as they kill the husband using a diving outfit and a forest fire. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The later years of the life of author D.H. Lawrence are dramatized in this screen biography. Following the controversial reception of his novel The Rainbow, David Herbert Lawrence (Ian McKellen) and his wife Frieda (Janet Suzman) leave England for the U.S., where they hope that Lawrence's bold themes will be received in a more tolerant climate. Such is not the case, and the Lawrences travel first to Mexico, and then to Italy while David attempts to complete and then publish his best known (and most controversial) work, Lady Chatterley's Lover. However, as the furor over the book taxes David's well being, tuberculosis saps his physical health. The supporting cast includes John Gielgud as censorship crusader Herbert G. Muskett and Ava Gardner as Mabel Dodge Luhan. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The Season Six opener of The F.B.I finds federal agents Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) and Colby (William Reynolds) canvassing an era ranging from Pennsylvania to Oregon in search of two elusive bank robbers. Perry Victor (Martin Sheen) is the suave schemer of the pair, while Shep Buford (Tim McIntire) is the bucolic triggerman. Their ultimate goal is to steal the payroll for an Oregon tunnel project--but neither man had figured on the duplicity of Shep's girlfriend Cindy (Joan Van Ark). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Captain Uri Litman (Robert Fuller) must lead a small group of soldiers in a vital mission to destroy a key Arab radar station during the Six-Day War. A woman transports the special troops by boat before sinking the vessel so it won't fall into the hands of the enemy. Actual black-and-white footage of the war is mixed in with the color photography to give the feature a documentary feel. The special troops travel over rugged terrain as they race against time to keep from being captured behind enemy lines in this war picture based on historical events. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

General Stone (Byron Morrow), the father of Tony's fiancée Melissa (Karen Sharpe), invites him to join him overseas as his military attaché. Melissa of course is delighted by this turn of events, hoping to move the wedding date closer. The fly in the ointment is Jeannie, who of course harbors a deep, dark jealousy for Melissa--and who is determined to prove to Tony that "there's no place like home"--particularly a home with a genie bottle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Weakly etched characters are one of the problems in this simple story of three thieves on the run. Wayne (John Hudson), Jan (Lyn Bernay), and Dino (Ed Nelson) try pulling off a heist of a lumber company's payroll, and everything seems to go wrong right from the beginning, in spite of Dino's expertise. The trio take off for the woods in Canada with Wayne suffering from a wound and the law in hot pursuit. To complicate matters slightly there is a romantic tie-up with Jan, someone too tough and efficient to be easily won over. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Elvis Presley stars in GI Blues as Tulsa McLean, a soldier stationed in Germany, who pulls strings to stage a big show for his fellow GI's. In the tradition of the musical chestnut The Fleet's In, Tulsa also bets his buddies that he can date "ice princess" entertainer Lili (Juliet Prowse). Song highlights include "Wooden Heart," "Blue Suede Shoes" and the title number. The spectacular box-office performance of G.I. Blues proved that Elvis' popularity had not only survived his Army tenure, but had actually increased. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

For reasons best known to local TV programmers, the modest shocker The Screaming Skull was telecast on what seemed to be a daily basis in the 1960s. The hero-villain is Eric (played by John Hudson, who later billed himself as William Hudson), the husband of neurotic millionairess Jenni Peggy Webber. By strategically placing miniature skulls all over the house, Eric hopes to drive Jenni into madness so that he can take control of her fortune. The police suspect that Mickey the gardener Alex Nicol, who also directed the film) is the man behind the campaign of terror, but the truth finally surfaces in the last reel, wherein Eric gets what's coming to him-and more besides. Perhaps it's worth noting that the 10-minute abdridgement of Screaming Skull, made available to the 8-mm home movie market in the 1970s, is just as entertaining as the full-length feature. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Of the many filmed versions of the October 26, 1881, O.K. Corral shootout in Tombstone, Arizona, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was one of the most elaborate and star-studded. Burt Lancaster plays Wyatt Earp, the renowned lawman, while Kirk Douglas is consumptive gambler (and gunfighter) Doc Holliday -- the two meet in difficult circumstances, as Earp discovers that Holiday, for whom he initially feels little but loathing, is being held on a trumped up murder charge and being set up for a lynching, and intercedes on his behalf. The action shifts to Dodge City, Kansas, where Earp is marshal and Holiday, hardly grateful for the good turn, shows up right in the middle of all kinds of trouble, this time mostly on Earp's side of the ledger. And, finally, the two turn up in Tombstone, Arizona, where Wyatt's brother Virgil is city marshal, and where Wyatt finally gets to confront the Clanton/McLowery outlaw gang (led by Lyle Bettger as Ike Clanton). Since the time-span of the actual gunfight was at most 90 seconds, the bulk of the film concerns the tensions across many months leading up to the famous battle. As scripted by Leon Uris (from a magazine story by George Scullin), the story involves two unrelated but parallel plot-lines -- a long-standing vendetta against Holliday and the efforts of Earp to bring the Clanton/McLowery gang to justice -- that are eventually drawn together on the streets of Tombstone. Woven into these proceedings are Earp's and Holliday's romantic dalliances with lady gambler Laura Denbow (Rhonda Fleming) and Kate Fisher (Jo Van Fleet), whose switch in affections from Holiday to outlaw fast-gun Johnny Ringo (John Ireland) only rachets up gambler's rage and the reasons behind the bloody climax. There are plenty of bribery attempts, terse dialogue exchanges and "Mexican standoffs" before the inevitable gunfight takes place. Director John Sturges takes some dramatic license with this confrontation, as well, stretching things out to nearly six minutes, but this is after all an "A" production, and a minute-and-a-half of gunfire just wouldn't cut it. The huge cast of western veterans includes Earl Holliman as Charles Bassett, Dennis Hopper as Billy Clanton, Kenneth Tobey as Bat Masterson, Lee Van Cleef as Ed Bailey, Jack Elam as Tom McLowery, and John Hudson, DeForest Kelley and Martin Milner as Virgil, Morgan, and James Earp, respectively. And there's that Dimitri Tiomkin score, pushing the movie's momentum as relentlessly as the two driven heroes, complete with a song (sung by Frankie Laine) underscoring the major transitions of scenes that's impossible to forget, once heard. Sturges himself would produce and direct a more fact-based and realistic version of the story -- focusing mostly on its aftermath -- a decade later, entitled Hour of the Gun, starring James Garner, Jason Robards, Jr., and Robert Ryan, which wasn't nearly as attractive or successful. But after Gunfight At The OK Corral, there would not be so impressive a lineup of talent at the OK Corral again until the twin Earp biopics of 1994, Wyatt Earp and Tombstone.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, mobsters swear to get revenge upon a zealous public prosecutor as he tries to get them put into prison. The desperate mobsters try to stop him by using his innocent daughter in a blackmail scheme. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this western, a white man kills an Apache Chief and starts a war. This time the Apaches choose an interesting way to exact their revenge: they will dress up as federal soldiers and sneak into the fort. The problem is that they must attack a supply column in order to get the uniforms. They do so and massacre the soldiers. Unfortunately, one escapes and is able to warn the fort of the impending attack. The Apaches soon find themselves gallantly marching right into a deadly massacre. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

During her brief stay at MGM, starlet Jarma Lewis received starring roles in two programmers. One of these was The Marauders, in which she appeared with Dan Duryea, Keenan Wynn and Jeff Richards. The bulk of the film's drama is handled by Richards, cast as a homesteader who refuses to move despite the threats of land baron Harry Shannon. After Shannon's death, the persecution of Richards is supervised by Dan Duryea, an unhinged frustrated soldier who fancies himself a second Napoleon. The looney Duryea manages to kill James Anderson, weak-willed husband of Jarma Lewis, with the help of hired gun Keenan Wynn. But Richards stands his ground, winning Jarma in the process. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide