Martha Hyer Movies
The daughter of a Texas judge, Martha Hyer majored in speech and drama at Northwestern University. Her work at the Pasadena Playhouse led to a 1946 contract with RKO. Free from her contract in 1951, Hyer free-lanced in films made both in the U.S. and abroad. She earned an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of a prim small schoolteacher in Some Came Running (1958), but has also played "hot to trot" roles in films like Pyro (1966) and spoiled-little-rich-girl types in films such as The Happening (1967). The widow of producer Hal B. Wallis, Martha Hyer has set forth her life story in the 1990 autobiography Finding My Way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
A passionate affair sends a married engineer on a deadly roller coaster ride of death and vengeance in this grim horror outing. The trouble begins after he moves to Spain where he will oversee the construction of his invention: a generator shaped like a ferris wheel. He is busy looking for a place to house his wife and daughter when he sees a desperate young woman trying to burn down her home for the insurance money she so badly needs. He stops the woman and they become passionate lovers. The affair is so hot that the engineer fears it will consume him and so he hastily extinguishes it. The jilted mistress flares up into a jealous rage and gets revenge by immolating the engineer's wife and child. He himself is horribly scarred and swears he will have his revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barry Sullivan, Martha Hyer, (more)
- 1964
In this western, the sole survivor of an Apache ambush rides out to save a young boy who has been captured. The hero was a captured outlaw en route to his trial. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
First Men in the Moon is an H.G. Welles cinemadaptation from director Nathan Juran. When scientists in the year 1964 are confused by evidence of a long-ago space flight, nonagenarian Arnold Bedford (Edward Judd) explains all. Back in 1899, Bedford, eccentric scientist Joseph Cavor (Lionel Jeffries) and heroine Kate Callender (Martha Hyer) took a trip to the moon in a home-made space vehicle. Once on the lunar surface, they encountered an alien civilization resembling an ant colony, complete with "queen," soldiers and workers. How they returned, and the aftereffects of their journey, comprise the film's final third. Peter Finch appears briefly as a messenger; he happened to be visiting the set when the actor hired to play the bailiff's assistant failed to show up. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Judd, Lionel Jeffries, (more)
- 1963
In this romantic comedy, Bill Austin (Van Johnson) is an unsuccessful writer who lives in a forlorn New York tenement while his wife Bertie (Janet Leigh) earns an income for both of them. Their lives change dramatically when Bill's first novel becomes a best-seller. Bill persuades Bertie to quit her job and move to a grand house in an upscale suburb. Leaving his wife alone most of the time, Bill begins working long hours on Broadway adapting his novel for the theater, and he spends increasing amounts of time with his attractive agent, Lucinda Ford (Martha Hyer). Bertie suspects the worst and begins courting an actor, Gar Aldrich (Jeremy Slate). ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Janet Leigh, Van Johnson, (more)
- 1963
Heavy on slapstick and light on the more subtle forms of humor, this standard comedy by Frank Tashlin is still an amusing junket with Danny Kaye at the forefront as Ernie Klenk, a bumbling employee of the Diner's Club credit card company. Ernie has his hands full trying to manage the new computers (maybe they were all new at this point in time) and a bullying boss. His job is to okay the credit line of new customers and after he does just that with Foots Pulardos (Telly Savalas) he may have made his last serious mistake. Foots is facing trial for tax evasion and when he discovers that he and Ernie have an odd physical trait in common, he hits upon a scheme to fake his own death by immolating most of the hapless employees and then escaping the country disguised as Ernie. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Cara Williams, (more)
- 1962
Alfred Hitchcock's long-running TV suspense anthology moved from NBC to CBS for its eighth season on the air, and in the process expanded from 30 to 60 minutes, necessitating a change in title from Alfred Hitchcock Presents to The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. Gig Young guest stars in the first of these "hours" as Duke Marsden, businessman by day, high-rolling gambler by night. Although his wife, Alice (Martha Hyer), has threatened to leave him if he doesn't give up poker, Duke enters into a high-stakes game in order to save his younger brother, Chuck (Robert Redford), from catching the gambling bug himself. Unfortunately, Duke's main opponent in the big game is a former gangster who is a notoriously sore loser. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Certain film historians are perpetually amazed that the doggedly unappetizing Laurence Harvey became a major film star. In Girl Named Tamiko, Harvey is once more the embittered heel, this time playing a Eurasian photographer who pretends to be in love with numerous American ladies. His only true interest is obtaining American citizenship, something most of his erstwhile amours find out all too late. Harvey's latest prospect is Martha Hyer; his true love, however, is innocent Japanese girl France Nuyen, the Tamiko of the title. Stuck with a cold fish for a leading man, producers Hal Wallis and Paul Newman and director John Sturges work overtime to get the audience to "pull" for the luckless Ms. Nuyen. A Girl Named Tamiko was one of several early-1960s Paramount films shot on location in the Orient--though certainly not the best of the group. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Harvey, France Nuyen, (more)
- 1961
This is a routine drama about Leo Mack (Frankie Vaughn) a good-for-nothing, aspiring actor who goes to Hollywood and then ruins one life after another. Based on a stage play by the late Garson Kanin and adapted by his brother, scripters Michael Kanin and his wife Fay Kanin, the story is one long series of disasters wrought by Leo. Alleviated by several pop songs, Leo first wrecks the relationships between five young men who had been living equitably together in a bachelor pad. He goes on to mess up his budding romance with Ursula (Juliet Prowse) and Anne (Martha Hyer) and continues in that way until fame is almost certain. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juliet Prowse, Frankie Vaughan, (more)
- 1961
The title character in this standard comedy about the foibles of military life is Archie Hall (Robert Mitchum), a puffed-up dandy whose strutting personality makes the other privates in a Civilian Pilot Training program absolutely certain he is a spy. They figure him for a multiple-star general, out to entrap a Japanese spy by the unlikely name of Cindy (France Nuyen). A series of enlisted men and officers contribute to the misadventures due to the misunderstanding, including comics like Don Knotts as Captain Little and Louis Nye as Private Sam Beecham. Jack Webb directs, and plays the role of Archie's sidekick. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Mitchum, Jack Webb, (more)
- 1960
Raymond Burr was already three years into Perry Mason when he decided to return to his movie-villain roots with Desire in the Dust. Burr, playing the patriarch of a Southern family, befriends the ex-convict (Ken Scott) who'd supposedly killed Burr's son in an auto accident. Actually the accident was caused by Burr's daughter (Martha Hyer), who hopes that she can buy the accused man's silence and thus secure her daddy's political future. The ex-con goes along with the deception, having fallen in love with the daughter, but soon learns that Burr plans to double-cross him. Based on a novel by Harry Whittington. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raymond Burr, Martha Hyer, (more)
- 1960
Based on the Edna Ferber novel, this engrossing period piece covers the triumphs, tragedies, loves, and sorrows of a few generations of Alaskan settlers between the first World War and the granting of statehood in 1959. Zeb (Richard Burton) is a local despot whose tough personality dominates the region. He is openly bigoted against the Inuit, and his greedy nature has led him to reject the woman he really loves to marry another with plenty of money. Thor (Robert Ryan) starts out as Zeb's ally and friend, but due to their diametrically opposed natures, that friendship turns into an entrenched hatred. In this unpredictable, harsh wilderness Zeb discovers that he ultimately cannot control his daughter and irony of ironies, he and Thor end up connected through the marriage of a son and daughter. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Burton, Robert Ryan, (more)
- 1959
In this film based on an earlier German silent serial, a Swedish scientist (Gino Cervi) has invented a device which can alter the control of gravity. Soon after, Chinese spies intervene and try to swipe the machine, while the Swedish government sends help in the form of two agents (Lino Ventura, Carlos Thompson). ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martha Hyer, Carlos Thompson, (more)
- 1959
The lush romanticism of director Frank Borzage (Seventh Heaven, Street Angel) is subsumed by the plodding reverence of producer Rowland V. Lee's screenplay (co-written with Howard Estabrook), based on the best-selling novel by Lloyd C. Douglas. Howard Keel stars as a stalwart Simon-Peter, the apostle of Christ called "the fisher of men" and the "Rock" upon whom the Christian Church was founded. The film, on the surface, deals with Simon-Peter's conversion from a self-sufficient fisherman to a believer in the inspirational teachings of Christianity. Simon-Peter also serves the needs of the real story: how Simon-Peter succeeds in joining together two lovers from the other side of the tracks. John Saxon is Voldi, an Arab prince who wants to follow in his father's footsteps as the chief of an Arab tribe and marry his beloved, Fara (Susan Kohner). But Fara, wants to see her father, Herod Antipas (Herbert Lom), dead for the misery he has inflicted upon her mother -- abandoning her for the lustful Herodias (Martha Hyer). When Voldi and Fara hear the teachings of Christ, they realize that their love must be put in abeyance to their Christian beliefs. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Howard Keel, Susan Kohner, (more)
A star-studded cast enlivens this glossy '50s soap opera, based on a novel by Rona Jaffe. The action unfolds at the Gotham-based Fabian Publishing, where numerous women work as typists under the aegis of power-wielding, shark-like editor Amanda Farrow (Joan Crawford). Farrow has achieved wealth and success, but is far from idolized by her underlings, who understand clearly that their boss has chalked up all of her accomplishments at the expense of a satisfying personal life. Caroline Bender (Hope Lange) is a recent graduate of a prestigious women's college whose sole desire in life is to marry her college sweetheart Eddie (Brett Halsey; she admits openly that she cares little for power, ambition or career advancement. She gets a job in the secretarial pool of Fabian Publishing and soon takes an apartment with some female co-workers. Caroline quickly realizes that she has a catbird seat to witness the romantic entanglements and office politics of Fabian's many female employees. Farrow is having an affair with a mysterious married man, and Caroline's roommates have tales of their own to tell: April (Diane Baker) has become pregnant by the unscrupulous Dexter (Robert Evans), who suggests she have an abortion; and Gregg (Suzy Parker) has become involved with smooth-talking Broadway director David Wilder Savage (Louis Jourdan), not the most faithful man in the world. Robert Evans's career as an actor came to an end after this film, and he later enjoyed success as a studio head at Paramount Pictures in the 1970s, supervising The Godfather, and serving as producer of such films as Chinatown and Marathon Man. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hope Lange, Stephen Boyd, (more)
Cary Grant scored still another box-office smash with his 1958 vehicle Houseboat. Grant plays a widowed father who packs himself and his spoiled kiddies off to a ramshackle houseboat. Enter Sophia Loren, who is attempting to break loose from her tyrannical father's (Eduardo Cianelli) iron grip. She hires on as Grant's housekeeper and his children's governess. Though Grant struggles valiantly to maintain a "hands off" policy, he and Loren are billing and cooing by fadeout time--but not before plenty of reversals, recriminations and sitcom-style mishaps. As a bonus, the kids end up behaving like little angels (not surprising, since Loren has threatened from time to time to turn them into genuine angels if they don't toe the line). According to most sources, the on-screen romance between Cary Grant and Sophia Loren in Houseboat spilled over into their private lives as well, though Sophia put an end to this dalliance when she married Italian movie mogul Carlo Ponti. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, Sophia Loren, (more)
- 1958
Having gained a measure of TV fame by 1958, the nightclub comedy duo of Dan Rowan and Dick Martin decided to give movies a try with Once Upon a Horse. Dan and Dick play Dan Casey and Doc Logan, a pair of nitwitted cowboys who turn to outlawry because they can't make a go at any honest profession. Stealing a valuable herd of cattle, the boys' dreams of financial security are dashed when they're forced to raise money to feed their stolen bovines. Martha Hyer costars as Miss Amity Babb, a resourceful saloon hall owner who applies 20th century business methods to her 19th century operation. For nostalgia buffs, several western-movie favorites (billed as "Our Old Pals") make cameo appearances, including Tom Keene, Bob Livingston, Kermit Maynard and Bob Steele. Hal Kanter's screenplay is full of clever, satirical touches, most of which proved to be too smart for the room in 1958. A financial disappointment, Once Upon a Horse (aka Hot Horse) would be Rowan and Martin's last joint film effort until 1969's The Maltese Bippy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Rowan, Dick Martin, (more)
After the success of From Here to Eternity, pairing Frank Sinatra with another James Jones novel made perfect sense. Set in the aftermath of World War II, the film stars Sinatra as a recently discharged soldier whose promising writing career has derailed. After a drunken card game, Sinatra finds himself aboard a bus for his Indiana hometown of Parktown, with recent acquaintance Shirley MacLaine in tow. An unrefined good-time girl, MacLaine allows her affections to settle on the hard-drinking Sinatra, who wants little to do with her as he reluctantly sets about re-establishing ties he thought to have abandoned over a decade before. These include a brother (Arthur Kennedy) unable to discard his salesman's persona, his disapproving wife (Leora Dana), and their teenage daughter (Betty Lei Keim). Meanwhile, Sinatra makes a variety of new acquaintances both respectable and otherwise, including a local gambler (Dean Martin) and a creative writing instructor (Martha Hyer) smitten with his writing and possibly with him. Shaking up the complacency of his small hometown more by accident than design, Sinatra forces all those around him to reevaluate their behavior. After a variety of smaller parts, this is the role that cemented MacLaine's name, earning her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. ~ Keith Phipps, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, (more)
- 1957
Kelly is a big, lovable, immensely talented German Shepherd. "Me" is Len Carmody (Van Johnson), a third-rate vaudevillian. Carmody's fortunes take an upswing when he teams with the personable Kelly for professional reasons. When talking pictures come in, Carmody is signed to appear in short subjects, only to discover that it's the dog the producers want, rather than him. As if this wasn't enough for Carmody to worry about, Kelly's original owner pops up out of nowhere, demanding that the dog be returned to him. As something of a balm, Carmody enjoys the romantic attentions of two lovely ladies: Mina Van Runkel (Piper Laurie), daughter of movie-studio owner Walter Van Runkel (Onslow Stevens), and cinema vamp Lucy Castle (Martha Hyer). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Johnson, Piper Laurie, (more)
- 1957
Mister Cory represented the first of several successful collaborations between star Tony Curtis and director Blake Edwards. Adapted from a story by Leo Rosten, the story details the rise of Mr. Cory (Curtis) from summer-resort busboy to high-stakes gambler. Along the way, Cory uses several close associates to get ahead, including sluttish socialite Abby Vollard (Martha Hyer) and Abby's virtuous young sister Jen (Kathryn Grant). Charles Bickford delivers a sturdy performance as the worldly-wise older gambler who becomes Cory's partner and severest critic. Judging by the number of times it has recently popped up on Cable TV, Mister Cory is one of the most enduringly popular of Tony Curtis' 1950s vehicles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Martha Hyer, (more)
- 1957
The Depression-New Deal subtext of the original 1936 My Man Godfrey was understandably dispensed with in this so-so 1957 remake. David Niven steps into the old William Powell role as hobo-turned-butler Godfrey, while June Allyson does her best in the Carole Lombard part as Irene Bullock, the spoiled, impulsive heiress who brings Godfrey into her zany household. The remake follows the original with reasonable fidelity so far as the basics are concerned, with Godfrey, a wealthy lawyer who dropped out of society after an unhappy romance, rescuing the screwball Bullock family from bankruptcy and self-destruction simply by applying a soupcon of common sense. The supporting cast is able, though not as "perfect" for their roles as their 1936 counterparts: the most interesting bit of casting is Jay Robinson, who rose to fame as Caligula in The Robe, as the parasitic "protégé" originally portrayed by Mischa Auer. In keeping with the custom of the times, My Man Godfrey is fitted out with an opening theme song, written by Peggy Lee and Sonny Burke, and performed by Sarah Vaughan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- June Allyson, David Niven, (more)
Two of filmdom's finest farceurs--Hollywood's Bob Hope and France's Fernandel--are teamed in the location-filmed Paris Holiday. Since Hope coauthored the script, however, guess which actor has the largest part. Cast more or less as himself, Hope plays an American comedian who comes to Paris to purchase a script. Little does his suspect that the script contains secret messages pertaining to a vicious gang of counterfeiters. With the help of villainess-turned-heroine Anita Ekberg, Hope is committed to an insane asylum to protect him from the bad guys; he then must rely upon Fernandel to spring him from the looney bin. Throughout Paris Holiday, Bob Hope looks too old and too rich to be indulging in such nonsense. Film buffs will enjoy the brief, unbilled appearance by famed producer-director-writer Preston Sturges. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1956
Strong acting and direction overcomes the more cliched aspects of Red Sundown. It all begins when gunslinger Alec Longmire (Rory Calhoun), weary of living up to his reputation, decides to hang up his firearms and start life anew as a cowpuncher. Before long, however, Alec is obliged to strap on his shooting irons as the deputy of sheriff Jade Murphy (Dean Jagger). It's for a good cause, of course: Murphy hopes to avoid a violent range war with a nonviolent show of force. Will Longmire be able to keep the peace without resorting to his six-guns, or will his hand be forced by crooked land baron Rufus Henshaw (Robert Middleton) and Henshaw's menacing hired gun Chet Swann (Robert Middleton)? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Martha Hyer, (more)
Jerry Lewis' first solo effort was also his first headlong plunge into pathos. The Delicate Delinquent stars Jerry as mixed-up teenaged janitor Sidney Pythias, a nice kid on the verge of throwing in with a not-so-nice street gang. Sensing potential in Sidney, police officer Mike Damon (Darren McGavin, in role originally intended for Lewis' ex-partner Dean Martin) takes the boy under his wing. To prove that Sidney can be weaned away from bad influences, Mike arranges for the boy to become a rookie cop, with fitfully hilarious results (the best scene, involving a monolingual Japanese gentleman, is also the most politically incorrect). Martha Hyer costars as an idealistic social worker with whom Mike (and briefly, Sidney) falls in love. The film's tenuous balance between juvenile-delinquent drama and slapstick comedy is never more pronounced than in the opening scene, wherein the clumsy Sidney, carrying a bulky garbage can, stumbles into the middle of a gang rumble. Though not Jerry Lewis' best film, Delicate Delinquent was a hit, proving he could carry a picture himself; as a bonus, Jerry gets to sing the significantly titled ditty "By Myself". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jerry Lewis, Darren McGavin, (more)
Battle Hymn was inspired by the true story of American minister Dean Hess, played here with rare sensitivity by Rock Hudson. A bomber pilot during World War II, Hess inadvertently releases a bomb which destroys a German orphanage. Tortured by guilt, Hess relocates in Korea after the war to offer his services as a missionary. Combining the best elements of Christianity and Eastern spiritualism, Hess establishes a large home for orphans. The preacher's efforts are threatened when the Korean "police action" breaks out in 1950. Battle Hymn was one of several collaborations between Rock Hudson and director Douglas Sirk--though Sirk felt that Robert Stack would have been better suited to the role of Rev. Hess. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rock Hudson, Anna Kashfi, (more)
- 1956
In this western, the ex-sheriff of Abilene returns from the Civil War a changed man. Traumatized by the horrors of war, the man wants little to do with guns and killing. The veteran sheriff is further disturbed by the fact that during a great battle, he accidentally killed the brother of an old friend. He finally gets back into town to discover that his friend has become a landgrabber, and has also stolen the sheriff's girl friend. Now to stop his greedy pal, the sheriff is forced to forget about his own troubles. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jock Mahoney, Martha Hyer, (more)
