Victor Jory Movies
After a rough-and-tumble adolescence, Victor Jory attended high school in California, studying acting with Gilmor Brown at the Pasadena Playhouse. Jory's subsequent tenure at the University of California lasted all of one year before he was bitten by wanderlust; he joined the coast guard, where he distinguished himself as a champion in several contact sports. Sharp-featured, muscular, and possessed of a rich theatrical voice, Jory made his New York stage bow in 1929, and one year later co-starred in the original Broadway production of Berkeley Square. Inaugurating his film career with Renegades (1930), Jory spent the next five decades in roles ranging from romantic leads to black-hearted villains. Highlights in his screen career include a sinister but strangely beautiful performance as Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935); the vicious Injun Joe in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938); white-trash carpetbagger Jonas Wilkerson in Gone With the Wind (1939); Texas patriot William Travis in Man of Conquest (1939); the hissable, crippled patriarch in The Fugitive Kind (1960); the taciturn father of Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker (1962); and the ancient South American Indian chief in Papillon (1973). In 1940, Jory starred in the Columbia serial The Shadow (1940), essaying the dual role of the mind-clouding Shadow and his alter ego Lamont Cranston (with several disguise sequences along the way).The outspoken Jory was supremely confident of his talents, remarking on several occasions that he was "damn good" -- though he was tougher than any movie critic in assessing his lesser performances. He was also more than generous with young up-and-coming actors (except for self-involved "method" performers), and was a veritable fountain of Broadway and Hollywood anecdotes, some of which were actually true. An occasional theatrical director and playwright, Jory wrote the Broadway production Five Who Were Mad. On TV, Jory starred in the popular syndicated detective series Manhunt (1959-1960) and guested on dozens of other programs. Long married to actress Jean Innes, Victor Jory was the father of Jon Jory, who for many years was artistic director of the Actors Theatre of Louisville. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
In this made-for-TV "roman a clef", Joe Don Baker stars as Tommy Vanda, a Hoffa-esque labor leader. Told in flashback, the film recounts Vanda's humble beginnings on the Chicago docks, where he gains fame and notoreity amongst his coworkers and his bosses by spearheading a wildcat strike. Rising to top dog of the Cartage Union, Tommy doesn't care whon he has to crush on the way up the ladder. Inevitably, Tommy's peccadilloes catch up with him, resulting in federal charges, an arrest, and (remember who he's supposed to be) a mysterious disappearance in the night. Written by Ernest Tidyman of The French Connection fame, Power was telecast in two two-hour installments by NBC on January 14 and 15, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
This program is part of a series that chronicles the stories of some of the great heroes of the Old Testament of the Bible. The colorful stories have made an indelible mark on Western consciousness, as they illustrate great spiritual truths in the plain narratives about ordinary people. This episode tells the story of Daniel who had a gift for interpreting dreams. This asset aids him in his audience with King Nebachadnezzar, who wants very much to understand a dream that has been troubling him. The ensuing drama is one of the most beloved stories in the Christian repertoire, exemplifying the importance of faith in an all-powerful God. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Rocky (Noah Beery Jr.) decides to open up a roadside restaurant with a chance acquaintance named Vinnie Whithead (Ken Lynch). From the outset of this enterprise, Rocky can't help but notice that an elderly man is watching every move he and Vinnie make. . .and no sooner has the restaurant opened than someone breaks into the joint. Investigating, Jim (James Garner) discovers that Vinnie is a retired mob boss, and that his trail has been dogged for the last 50 years by retired federal officer Eddie LaSalle (Victor Jory). Somehow, all this is tied in with a lawsuit brought about by Bruce Woodstock (Jess Nadelman), a total stranger who has managed to fall off the roof of Jim's trailer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
This video provides an excellent lesson about who can be trusted in life and which human values are the most important ones. In this Biblical story, Delilah's greed causes her to repeatedly betray Samson as she seeks to tell his enemies how his great strength can be taken away from him. At first, Samson is clever and deceives Delilah. Eventually, he trusts her, only to have her accept money in exchange for his secret. Men arrive to subdue Samson, once Delilah tells them the best way to take away his mighty strength. This video can generate reflection on the most important traits that adults should try to nurture within themselves. ~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide
Though not actually a film addressing the evil lure of cream-filled chocolate cakes, this amusingly cheesy made-for-TV opus from director Curtis Harrington pits a relatively normal suburban family against a slavering, demonically-possessed German shepherd whose hunger for human souls far exceeds that of the normal household pet. Although not above resorting to the usual throat-maulings, the satanic psycho-pup's preferred method of attack is to supernaturally cause the deaths of various friends and neighbors, in a style reminiscent of The Omen. Though the gory potential of this scenario is obviously dulled by the TV-movie format, there are enough implied shocks and chills to keep up the pace -- particularly a grueling scene in which Dad finds himself unable to resist the urge to plunge his hand into a spinning lawnmower blade, while the possessed pooch looks on with tongue-wagging glee. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Victor Jory guest stars as a wizened old man who claims to be a Navajo Indian. He also claims that Mel's Diner has been built on a sacred Navajo burial ground, and he intends to plant himself on the floor and fast until restitution has been made. While it cannot be said that the ending of this episode comes as a surprise, it works beautifully thanks to the brilliant ensemble playing of the stars and supporting cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
In this actioner, a rebel leader hijacks a boat and holds the passengers hostage in the hopes of beginning a coup. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Victor Jory assumes the title role in The Man Who Talks to Whales. Jory plays a Hemingwayesque codger who goes on a search for the rare California grey whale. Along the way, he must fend off those short-sided "sportsmen" who would wipe the whales from the face of the earth if given a chance. Filmed in 1976, the 91-minute The Man Who Talks to Whales wasn't shown theatrically until 1979, at which time it was pointlessly retitled The Man Who Talks With Whales. The film's TV exposure has been generally limited to PBS pledge weeks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
A priceless religious relic is transported from Mexico to LA under armed guard. As an added precaution, the case which contains the artifact is handcuffed to the wrist of a priest. Even so, the item vanishes before it reaches its destination. It's up to detective Banacek (George Peppard), a specialist in "unsolveable" mysteries, to find out what's happened. Broderick Crawford, Victor Jory, and Louise Sorel guest-star in this 90-minute episode of the TV series Banacek. No Sign of the Cross was first telecast October 11, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
This unique western centers on an innocent farm boy with a talent for handling guns who decides to make it big. He begins as a bounty hunter. Later he encounters a crazed gunslinger and ends up fatally shot. Before the fateful encounter, the young man is visited by a number of mythical western heroes including Judge Roy Bean, seen as a sentimental drunk, and Jesse James who gives the boy some good advice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1968
In this thriller, Jonathan Fields (Bradford Dillman) awakens in a strange apartment and finds a dead woman floating in the bathtub after he suffered an LSD-flashback the night before. Finding blood upon his hand, he can only wonder how he is involved in the woman's death. He hires private detective Arthur Belding (Harry Guardino) who has him take another dose of LSD in order to see if he can remember what had happened. They learn that Fields' co-worker Lew Haley (Pat Hingle) had slipped acid into his coffee as part of a blackmail conspiracy. Haley was after his girlfriend and after his job in a government think tank. They also learn that his supervisor Dr. Arkroyd (Victor Jory) had been in a relationship with the deceased woman. She too was being blackmailed by Haley, who killed her when she threatened to call the cops. Dr. Arkroyd knew about it all and did nothing. Eventually Fields and Haley fight it out. The blackmailer ends up crashing through a high-rise window and falling to the unforgiving pavement below. Hope Lang, Susan Saint James, James Doohan and Michael J. Pollard also star in this psychedelic murder mystery. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Guardino, Bradford Dillman, (more)
- 1967
Once again, Ironside (Raymond Burr) comes to the aid of an old friend, in this case an outwardly solid citizen who faces extradition to New York on a murder charge. Although Wally Stowe (Victor Jory) is a fugitive from justice who has been living under an assumed identity for nearly two decades, Ironside is convinced that Stowe was wrongly convicted of the killing--and he intends to scour the length and breadth of Manhattan Island to prove his point. Featured in the cast as Stowe's son Tom is a young Harrison Ford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Written by Paul Schneider, "Ride the Wind" was Bonanza's first two-part story. Ben Cartwright is willing to provide Charles Ludlow (Victor Jory) with money to help finance the new Pony Express service, but isn't keen on allowing his son Joe to join Ludlow's riders. Nor is the Paiute Indian tribe amenable to allowing the Pony Express to go across their land. Exacerbating the problem is Ludlow's assistant, Curtis Wade (Rod Cameron), who hopes to make a name for himself as an Indian fighter. The story is sufficiently exciting to make one forget that the real Pony Express had been disbanded some three years before the events depicted in this episode. Part One of "Ride the Wind" first aired on January 16, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
- 1966
Agarn (Larry Storch) insists that he has seen a strange Indian wandering around Fort Courage in the dead of night. Since no one else has seen the mysterious visitor, Agarn is diagnosed with "Indian Fever" and ordered to take a few days off. Meanwhile, the local Hekawi tribe are made aware of the presence of the elusive Chief Mean Buffalo (played by veteran movie heavy Victor Jory). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
This western is the movie-length pilot for the long-running television series Bonanza. The story follows the Cartwright clan as they help keep the nearly bankrupt Pony Express from going under. They also work to keep the angry Paiute Indians at bay. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
John Ford's last western film, Cheyenne Autumn was allegedly produced to compensate for the hundreds of Native Americans who had bitten the dust in Ford's earlier films (that was the director's story, anyway). Set in 1887, the film recounts the defiant migration of 300 Cheyennes from their reservation in Oklahoma territory to their original home in Wyoming. They have done this at the behest of chiefs Little Wolf (Ricardo Montalban) and Dull Knife (Gilbert Roland), peaceful souls who have been driven to desperate measures because the US government has ignored their pleas for food and shelter. Since the Cheyennes' trek is in defiance of their treaty, Captain Thomas Archer (Richard Widmark), who agrees with the Indians in principle, reluctantly leads his troops in pursuit of the tribe. While there was never any intention to shed blood, the white press finds it politically expedient to distort the Cheyennes' action into a declaration of war. Thanks to the cruelties of such chauvinistic whites as Captain Oscar Wessels (Karl Malden), the Cheyennes are forced to defend themselves--and whenever Indians take arms against whites in the 1880s, it's usually misrepresented as a massacre. Only the intervention of US secretary of the interior Carl Schurz (Edward G. Robinson) prevents the hostilities from erupting into wholesale bloodshed. Based on a novel by Mari Sandoz, Cheyenne Autumn is a cinematic elegy--not only for the beleaguered Cheyennes, but for John Ford's fifty years in pictures. It is weakest when arbitrarily throwing in a wearisome romance between Richard Widmark and pacifistic schoolmarm Carroll Baker, who out of sympathy for the Indians has joined them in their 1500-mile westward journey. When the Warner Bros. people decided that the film ran too long, they chopped out the wholly unnecessary but very funny episode involving a poker-obsessed Wyatt Earp (James Stewart). Contrary to popular belief, this episode was included in the earliest non-roadshow prints of Cheyenne Autumn; the scene was excised only when the film went into its second and third runs in 1966 (it has since been restored). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, (more)
- 1964
City dweller Keith Hollands (Arthur Kennedy) rents a dilapidated beach house, much to the dismay of his wife, Elsa (Phyllis Thaxter), who is both disgusted and frightened by the place. Rather than attempt to mollify his wife, Keith helps matters not at all by ardently pursuing a local beach bunny named Rachel (Tisha Sterling). When she finally puts her foot down and refuses to allow Keith to purchase the beach house outright, Elsa signs her own death warrant. But if Keith figured he'd get away with murder, he hadn't reckoned on a little "souvenir" left in the house by the previous owner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arthur Kennedy, Phyllis Thaxter, (more)
- 1963
Victor Jory stars as veteran police officer Paul Reardon, who vows to avenge the murder of his rookie-cop son, Philip (Peter Brown). Although ordered by the higher-ups to lay off, Paul is determined to bring drug kingpin Herbie Lane (Lawrence Tierney), the man responsible for Peter's death in a shoot-out, to justice. In fact, Paul will go to any length to settle accounts with Herbie -- even if his efforts kill both men. This 300th episode of Alfred Hitchcock's popular TV anthology is also the final episode of the series' eighth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Jory, Peter Brown, (more)
- 1962
In his second Untouchables appearance, Lee Marvin is disturbingly convincing as Victor Rate, a brilliant psychopath in cahoots with narcotics kingpin Arnold Stegler (Victor Jory). A cool customer who gets his kicks by deliberately placing himself in dangerous situations, Rate has no qualms about gunning down a government agent in broad daylight, then loading 50,000 pounds of opium onto a truck while the terrified witnesses look on in amazement. To bring this human monster to justice, Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) employs the services of a movie cameraman, a professional lipreader...and Arnold Stegler, who in a futile effort to get himself off the hook ends up signing his own death warrant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Based on William Gibson's Broadway play and retaining its acclaimed cast, Arthur Penn's The Miracle Worker tells the true story of Helen Keller (Patty Duke), an Alabama girl struck blind and deaf as a baby after an elevated fever. Enter Annie Sullivan (Anne Bancroft), a partially-blind woman assigned the task of teaching Helen sign language. After first separating Helen from her over-protective parents (Victor Jory and Inga Swenson), Annie begins the arduous process of teaching the girl. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Bancroft, Patty Duke, (more)
Fugitive Kind began life as Battle of Angels, a never-produced 1939 play by a young Tennessee Williams. Nearly 20 years later, Williams refined this rough-hewn theatrical effort into Orpheus Descending, which enjoyed a respectable Broadway run. The renamed film version stars Marlon Brando as Valentine "Snakeskin" Xavier, a trouble-prone drifter who wanders into a deliciously Williamsesque Mississippi town. Here he becomes involved in the problems of alcoholic Carole Cutrere (Joanne Woodward) and unhappily married Lady Torrence (Anna Magnani) and also runs afoul of Torrence's vicious husband (Victor Jory). Sexual symbolism abounds in this tempestuous drama, which offers Brando at his most inscrutable and Magnani at her earthiest. Maureen Stapleton, in real life one of Brando's best friends and severest critics, plays an avant-garde artist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marlon Brando, Anna Magnani, (more)
