J. Anthony Hughes Movies

Warlock offers us a mean-spirited, mercenary Henry Fonda and an honest, peaceloving Richard Widmark. A Wyatt Earp-like frontier marshal, Fonda agrees to protect the small town of Warlock from an outlaw gang, but only if he's permitted to plunder the town's cash reserve. Widmark, the town deputy, is a reformed outlaw whose willingness to fend off the invading criminals is motivated by his fondness for his new neighbors. Looming large in the proceedings is Anthony Quinn as the glory-grabbing Fonda's sidekick. Adapted by Robert Alan Aurthur from a novel by Oakley Hall, Warlock is a good example of the "thinking man's westerns" prevalent in the late 1950s-early 1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The catch-all title Tribute to a Bad Man had been floating around MGM for years (at one point, it was the working title for The Bad and the Beautiful) before it was finally affixed to this big-budget western. Originally intended as a vehicle for Spencer Tracy, the film was recast with James Cagney when Tracy walked out of his MGM contract. Cagney stars as no-nonsense land baron Jeremy Rodock, who plays by his own rules, his own sense of justice and his own code of honor. Young cowhand Steve Miller (Don Dubbins) learns the hard way what it means to incur Rodock's wrath when he falls in love with Jocasta Constantine (Irene Papas), whom Rodock considers his own personal property. Through the example of the even-tempered Miller, however, Rodock rediscovers his own essential humanity. The film's "money scene" takes place when Rodock punishes a group of scraggly horse thieves by forcing them to march barefoot through the sagebrush. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After a troubled, seemingly sleepless night, Perry White (John Hamilton) arrives at work at the offices of the Metropolis Daily Planet, only to find that -- as part of a civic program that he himself approved -- his job, like that of the mayor, chief of police, and every other important figure in Metropolis, has been given over for one day to the most junior male employee on the staff, part of what is called "Boys' Day." As a result, cub reporter Jimmy Olsen (Jack Larson) is now editor-in-chief of the newspaper, and vows to make an impact in his one day on the job by breaking the Legs Lemmy case -- seven years earlier, Legs Lemmy (Herb Vigran) pulled off a major armored car robbery, but the police were never able to find enough evidence to arrest him, and the statute of limitations for prosecuting the crime is set to run out in 24 hours. Olsen prints a front-page story about having new evidence in the case, which shakes up the mobster enough so that he and his two henchmen arrive at the Planet offices and take Olsen and Lois Lane (Noel Neill) hostage. Clark Kent (George Reeves) and Perry White discover what is happening in White's office, but are helpless to do anything about it, for fear of Lois and Jimmy getting hurt -- even Superman breaking in might cause the hoods to open fire. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

The "regeneration" of blacklisted director Edward Dmytryk was expedited when he was hired by producer Stanley Kramer to helm the location-filmed melodrama The Sniper. In the interests of political expediency, Dmytrk was required to direct Adolphe Menjou, one of the most virulent Red-baiters of the HUAC hearings. Shorn of his trademarked mustache, and with his famous expensive wardrobe replaced by a humdrum business suit, Menjou turns in one of his best performances as a world-weary San Francisco detective assigned to track down a mad sniper. From the beginning, the audience knows that the criminal is psycho Eddie Miller (Arthur Franz), who is possessed of the notion that he must kill every beautiful brunette woman who crosses his path. Some audience sympathy is elicited by Miller's pathetic attempts to rid himself of his obsession, but this never gets in the way of the film's suspense. The excellent supporting cast includes Richard Kiley as a police psychiatrist, Marie Windsor as Miller's first victim, and Mabel Paige as the sniper's snoopy landlady. An unbilled Wally Cox shows up briefly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Randolph Scott plays one of the members of Quantrill's Raiders, staging attacks on Kansas on behalf of the fallen Confederacy in the years following the Civil War. During one raid, Scott kills the man he holds responsible for the death of his brother. The dead man was innocent, and Scott becomes a fugitive from justice. Months later, he resurfaces as the marshal of a Kansas town, in which he routs a vicious gang with the help of another social outcast, Jesse James (Dale Robertson). Written by western "regular" Frank Gruber, Fighting Man of the Plains was one of a group of Randolph Scott oaters produced independently by Nat Holt and released through 20th Century-Fox. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Timber Queen is another of Pine-Thomas' rugged low-budget adventure films of the 1940s, most of which (like this one) starred Richard Arlen. It all begins when Russ (Arlen), a former Army pilot, comes home after a physical discharge. He befriends Elaine (Mary Beth Hughes), the widow of an Army buddy, who has inherited a financially-strapped timber camp. Elaine's financial future hinges on a huge timber shipment, which must arrive at its destination On Time-and that's where Russ and his little airplane come in. Sheldon Leonard is his usual surly self as Smacksie, a reformed racketeer who helps Russ complete his mission. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Pacific Rendezvous is a B-picture remake of the 1935 MGM A-picture Rendezvous, updated to accommodate WW2. Lee Bowman plays the old William Powell role as a American naval intelligence operative (this time named Lt. Bill Gordon) assigned to decipher enemy code. His mission is compromised by his romance with dizzy debutante Elaine Carter (Jean Rogers, in the role originated by Rosalind Russell). Despite Elaine's well-meaning ineptitude, our hero is able to foil the plans of a group of Nazi agents. Easy to take, Pacific Rendezvous may not be any classic-but then, neither was the original film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In a manner of speaking, Humphrey Bogart had George Raft to thank for his ascendancy to stardom: after all, if Raft hadn't turned down both High Sierra and The Maltese Falcon, Bogart might have continued playing second-billed gangsters to the end of his days. Adapted from W. R. Burnett's novel by Burnett and John Huston, High Sierra opens with gangster Roy Earle (Bogart) being paroled after a lengthy prison term. Though he enjoys the fresh air and sunshine of the outside world, Earle has no intention of giving up his criminal ways. In fact, his parole has been arranged by Big Mac (Donald MacBride), so that Earle can mastermind a big-time heist at a fancy California resort hotel. After a few unkind words with a crooked cop, Kranmer (Barton MacLane), in Big Mac's employ, Earle heads toward a fishing resort, where he is to commiserate with his inexperienced, hot-headed cohorts Babe (Alan Curtis) and Red (Arthur Kennedy). En route, he befriends a farm family, heading to LA in search of work. He falls in love with the family's club-footed daughter Velma (Joan Leslie)--though she never really gives him any encouragement--and makes a silent promise to finance an operation on her foot once he's gotten his share of the loot. At the mountain cabin rendezvous, Earle meets Marie (Ida Lupino), Babe's tough-but-vulnerable girlfriend. He angrily orders her to scram, but she stubbornly remains. Earle also finds himself the owner of a "jinxed" dog, whose previous masters have all met with early demises (a none-too-subtle foretaste of things to come). Marie is strongly attracted to Earle, but he refuses to have anything to do with her, reserving his affections for Velma. He arranges an operation for the girl with mob doctor Banton (Henry Hull), never suspecting that the self-serving Velma is planning all along to marry someone else. The robbery goes off without a hitch, save for the fact that "inside man" Mendoza (Cornel Wilde) panics and nearly gives the game away. While escaping, Babe and Red are killed in a car accident, but Earle and Marie escape. Having been disillusioned by Velma's indifference and by the fact that the untrustworthy Kranmer has taken over the late Big Mac's operation, Earle at last realizes that the only person he can truly depend upon is the faithful Marie. With the police hot on his trail, Earle tells Marie to look after herself, then heads alone into the High Sierras--where, in Greek Tragedy fashion, he "busts out" of life. As in Petrified Forest, Humphrey Bogart plays a burnt-out anachronism from an earlier era in crime in High Sierra; in the latter film, however, Bogart has an innate nobility that allows the audience to empathize with him throughout. It is nothing short of amazing that, despite his superb performance in this 1940 film, he still had to wait until The Maltese Falcon for top billing in an "A picture." High Sierra was remade in 1949 as Colorado Territory and in 1955 as I Died a Thousand Times. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Neither James Cagney nor Bette Davis were particularly pleased with the outdated screwball comedy The Bride Came C.O.D., but both performers behaved with thorough professionalism, doing a lot more for the film than the film did for them. Davis stars as flighty heiress Joan Winfield, whose impending marriage to bandleader Allen Brice (Jack Carson) does not rest well with her oil-rich father Lucius K. Winfield (Eugene Pallette). When Joan announces that she intends to defy her father's wishes and elope with Brice, Winfield hires charter pilot Steve Collins (Cagney) to kidnap the girl and deliver her back home, C.O.D. Nearly bankrupt, Steve goes along with the scheme, but on the return flight his plane crashes in the desert. Realizing that he's only a few miles from civilization, Steve schemes to keep Joan from signalling any potential rescuers by chasing her into an old tunnel and convincing her that they're hopelessly lost. When Joan tumbles to the scheme, she forces Steve to let her marry Brice. The surprisingly cooperative Steve agrees, knowing full well that he still has a few aces up his sleeve. So guess who Joan ends up with at fadeout time? Genuine laughs are few and far between in this hectic farce, but at least Bette Davis has one hilarious moment, predicated on her outraged delivery of the word "Mustard!" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Invisible Stripes is a cookie-cutter Warners prison drama which rounds up the usual suspects. George Raft and Humphrey Bogart are top-billed, and as is often the case in such a circumstance, it is Raft who is given the larger (albeit less interesting) role. Raft plays Cliff Taylor, an ex-convict who finds that his "invisible stripes" prevent him from getting a decent job. Cliff's younger brother (William Holden) shows unfortunate signs of following his older sibling's footsteps when he is pressured into crime to support himself and his girl friend (Jane Bryan). To save his brother, Cliff joins Humphrey Bogart's gang and earns enough dishonest money to set his brother up in business. But movie censorship prevails, and all of the miscreants in Invisible Stripes--even those motivated by good intentions--must pay the penalty. Side note: The prankish Humphrey Bogart spent so much time needling newcomer William Holden that Holden nearly came to blows with the older actor; the animosity persisted into the Bogart-Holden costarring feature Sabrina, made fourteen years later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two Girls on Broadway is an updated reworking of MGM's Oscar-winning 1929 musical Broadway Melody. Joan Blondell and Lana Turner play a vaudeville "sister" act, slightly more talented than the similar duo in Broadway Melody. The twosome have sworn never to break up, but that was before hoofer George Murphy entered the scene. Blondell realizes that it's Turner whom Murphy loves, so she nobly steps aside to make room for her baby sister. Two Girls on Broadway was another step in the right direction for the blossoming career of Lana Turner, here permitted to show off her terpsichorean skills. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hollywood films about the Revolutionary War almost invariably lost money at the box office, and The Howards of Virginia was no exception, despite the presence of Cary Grant in the lead. Most of the story takes place in the colonial capital city of Williamsburg, Virginia, where Matt Howard (Cary Grant) dedicates himself to the causes of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Remaining faithfully at Matt's side through his early years as a frontiersman and on into his life among the "landed gentry" is his wife Jane Peyton Howard (Martha Scott), the sister of unregenerate royalist Fleetwood Peyton (Cedric Hardwicke).

Most of the high points of the Revolution are herein recreated, including the Stamp Act riots, the Boston Tea Party, and Patrick Henry's "Give me Liberty" speech. Curiously, however, director Frank Lloyd stages these scenes in a flat, near-throwaway fashion; even the inflammatory Henry (Richard Gaines) is hampered by unimaginative camera angles. Other historical personages parading through the film include Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, played respectively by Richard Carlson and George Houston. Though it's rather rough sledding in its feature-length version, The Howards of Virginia plays quite well in the half-hour abridgement prepared by Columbia for schoolroom showings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, a grizzled cabbie is scammed out of his life savings by a fake finance company. He tries to no avail to get police assistance. Finally he becomes a wanted criminal and escapes to California where he meets the girl who will become his wife. She helps him go straight by helping him set up a garage. When she gets pregnant, she talks him into to confessing his crimes to the police. He agrees, but before he goes, he decides to commit one last crime to ensure that his wife and child will not starve while he serves his prison sentence. He then steals a million dollars only to learn that the money is worthless. He is subsequently killed in a police shoot-out. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide