Arch Johnson Movies
Actor's Studio graduate Arch Johnson was first seen off-Broadway in 1952's Down in the Valley, and on-Broadway the following year in Mrs. McThing. Johnson's most famous Broadway role was bigoted NYPD detective Schrank in West Side Story (1956). In films from 1953, the burly Johnson was usually cast as western heavies, occasionally with a swarthy tongue in cheek and a roguish twinkle in the eye. Some of his non-western movie assignments include The Sting (1973), Walking Tall (1977) and The Buddy Holly Story (1978). In the spring of 1961, Arch Johnson was seen as Captain Gus Honochek on the weekly TV version of The Asphalt Jungle. ~ Hal Erickson, 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
- Starring:
- Elvis Presley, Juliet Prowse, (more)
- 1960
Beau (Roger Moore) finds himself in the middle of some deadly intrigue (not to mention a bitter family feud) when he wins half-ownership of the Golden Wheel Casino. Shortly after this windfall, Bart's new partner Rand Storm is shot and killed in self-defense by dance-hall gal Flo Baker (Kathleen Crowley). When Flo disappears, Rand's brother Luke (played by Bing Russell, the father of film star Kurt Russell) takes advantage of the situation by framing Bart for murder and claiming the Golden Wheel as his own. This episode was cowritten by actor Leo Gordon, whose wife Lynn Cartwright (best known as the "older" Geena Davis in the 1992 theatrical feature A League of Their Own) appears in a supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
In big trouble after delivering some "hot" money, Lucy Stevens (Connie Hines) fakes her own suicide by driving her empty car into the ocean. She then assumes the identity of her own (fictional) cousin, Carole Morgan, and assumes that her problems are over. Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) enters the scene when the body of Marjorie Ralston (Mary Webster) is found in the wreckage of the "empty" car and Lucy is charged with her murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
Showing up in Virginia City to collect a $4000 debt from Captain Rory Fitzgerald (David Frankham), Bart has trouble believing that the prosperous-looking Fitzgerald is as penniless as he claims. Rather than absorb the loss, Bart decides to hang around in town until the Captain is able to make good his debt--which proves to be a big mistake when our hero ends up kidnapped and bound hand and foot. Roxane Berard appears in another of her duplicitous-damsel roles, while Robert Shore goes through much the same ingenue paces as in her later costarring gig on TV's The Virginian. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1957
Originally titled Man of the West (the name of the Philip Yordan novel on which it was based), Gun Glory was rechristened to avoid confusion with a like-vintage Gary Cooper vehicle of the same title. Stewart Granger plays gunslinger/gambler Tom Early, who tries a bit too late to make amends for past misdeeds. Hoping to regain the respect of his community in general and his teenaged son Young Tom (Steve Rowland) in particular, Early vows to hang up his guns and live a respectable life. This proves well nigh impossible when the community is threatened by the incursions of evil cattle baron Grimsell (James Gregory). Rhonda Fleming costars as Jo, the only person in town who truly cares whether Early lives or dies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stewart Granger, Rhonda Fleming, (more)
- 1956
- NR
Once you get past the fact that handsome Paul Newman could never pass for plug-ugly boxer Rocky Graziano in real life, you will be able to accept Somebody Up Their Likes Me as one of the more accomplished movie biopics of the 1950s. Based on Graziano's autobiography (co-written with Rowland Barber), the film accurately depicts the teen-aged Rocky as an unregenerate punk, evidently doomed by his slum environment, and his own lousy attitude, to a life of petty crime. Determining that the only way he'll make a living is with his fists, Rocky becomes a boxer, at first willing to participate in a series of fixed fights. Eventually, Rocky develops a conscience and sense of self-respect, no small thanks to his sweetheart (and later wife) Norma (Pier Angeli). The film ends on an optimistic note after Rocky wins a "clean" bout with Tony Zale (playing himself). Training extensively with Graziano prior to and during production, Newman is quite impressive in his first worthwhile film role (this was only his third film, following the execrable The Silver Chalice and the forgettable outing The Rack). The title song in Somebody Up There Likes Me was written by Bronislau Kaper and Sammy Cahn, and performed by Perry Como. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Anna Maria Pier Angeli, (more)
Belated honeymooners Polly (Jean Peters) and Ray Cutler (Casey Adams) arrive at their Niagara Falls cottage only to find that Rose (Marilyn Monroe) and George Loomis (Joseph Cotten) have not yet checked out. Though the Cutlers temporarily take another cabin, the lives of the two couples are bound together for the next two days. Polly discovers that Rose is having an affair and that George, though emotionally unstable, has good reason for his jealous rage. George accurately suspects that Rose openly flaunts her sexuality to make him act crazy in front of witnesses. This is part of Rose's plan: her lover Patrick (Richard Allan) will kill George and make it look like suicide or a disappearance. Instead, George kills Patrick, and he returns to kill Rose, but finds Polly instead. As she had been sympathetic to him, he asks her not to tell anyone that he is alive so he can simply disappear. But, realizing that he wants to kill Rose, Polly informs the police. What follows is escalating terror, with George stalking Rose, Rose desperately trying to leave town, the police searching for both of them, and finally George and Polly adrift in a boat heading for the precipice. In Henry Hathaway's Technicolor film noir, Niagara Falls serves as an apt metaphor for the destructive power of out-of-control carnal and murderous obsessions. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten, (more)
