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
Max Reinhardt's legendary Hollywood Bowl production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream was transferred to the screen by Warner Bros. in 1935. Like most of Shakespeare's comedies, the story contains several seemingly unrelated plotlines, all tied together by a single unifying event, in this instance the impending wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. One story thread concerns the mistaken-identity romances of four young Athenians; another involves a group of "rude mechanicals" who plan to stage a production of "Pyramus and Thisbe" in honor of the wedding; and third plot strand is motivated by the mischievous misbehavior of invisible fairies Oberon, Titania, and Puck. While one of the members of Reinhardt's original stage cast, Olivia De Havilland (Hermia) was retained for the film version, the remainder of the roles went to Warners' ever-reliable stock company. Some of the casting is inspired: James Cagney is brilliant as vainglorious amateur thespian Bottom, while Joe E. Brown is ideal as the reluctant female impersonator Flute. As the four lovers, De Havilland and Jean Muir far outshine the smirking and simpering Dick Powell and Ross Alexander. In the dominion of the fairies, Mickey Rooney is a bit too precious as Puck, but Anita Louise is a lovely Titania and Victor Jory a suitably menacing Oberon (his opening line "Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania!" still sends shivers down our spines). Cagney and Brown's fellow "mechanicals" are an odd mixture of the sublime (Frank McHugh) and the just plain silly (Hugh Herbert). While the performances and direction (by Reinhardt and William Dieterle) are uneven, the art direction and special effects (especially the nocturnal dance of the fairies) are breathtakingly beautiful. Mendelssohn's "Midsummer Night's Dream" incidental music is masterfully orchestrated by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, while the cinematography by Hal Mohr earned the first write-in Academy Award in Hollywood history (Mohr had not been nominated due to hostilities arising from a recent industry strike). Considered a brave failure at the time of its first release, on a purely visual level A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of the more satisfying Shakespearean cinemadaptations of Hollywood's golden age. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Cagney, Ian Hunter, (more)
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
Screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz adopts the same prismatic-flashback technique he'd used so well in Citizen Kane for the 1949 filmic soap opera A Woman's Secret. Based on a novel by Vicki (Grand Hotel) Baum, the film begins with the shooting of nightclub singer Susan Caldwell (Gloria Grahame). Marian Washburn (Maureen O'Hara), who'd coached Susan into the Big Time, confesses to the shooting. Neither Marian's piano-player friend Luke Jordan (Melvyn Douglas) nor police inspector Fowler (Jay C. Flippen) completely buy her story, and it is their probing investigation of the facts that sparks the flashback parade. The film details in sometimes clever, sometimes maudlin fashion the perils of living one's life vicariously through the accomplishments of others. Though filmed before director Nicholas Ray's "official" debut feature They Live by Night, A Woman's Secret was released afterward. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maureen O'Hara, Melvyn Douglas, (more)
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
Rather than play famous outlaw Cole Younger in this film, Warner Bros. contract star Humphrey Bogart chose suspension. Ronald Reagan was considered, and so were James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, and George Raft, but, happily, the role eventually went to the more age-appropriate Dennis Morgan, a former band singer. Like MGM's Billy the Kid, also from 1941, Bad Men of Missouri emerged as a complete whitewash of the title outlaws. Returning from fighting on the Confederate side in the Civil War, the Younger brothers -- Cole (Morgan), Bob (Wayne Morris), and Jim (Arthur Kennedy) -- find their money no longer viable currency and their homestead about to be usurped by carpetbagger William Merrick (Victor Jory). Standing up to Merrick and his chief henchman, Greg Bilson (Howard DaSilva), old Hank Younger (Russell Simpson) is shot dead, and, in frustration, the sons take up train and bank robbing, eventually joining the even more notorious James brothers, Jesse (Alan Baxter) and Frank. Of course, the celluloid Youngers steal only from the rich to give to the displaced poor. When they are finally caught in Minnesota, the citizenry of Missouri, viewing the Youngers as local heroes, take up a petition for their immediate release. Despite the many historical inaccuracies, Bad Men of Missouri makes for exciting, fast-paced Western entertainment; quite the opposite, in fact, of MGM's staid, overly glamorous depiction of Billy the Kid. Filmed at Sonora, CA, and cast with veterans such as Erville Alderson, Sam McDaniel (who replaced Willie Best in the role of the Younger's devoted servant), and a very funny Walter Catlett, the film premiered in Harrisonville, MO, the birthplace of the Younger brothers and the town where the elder Younger had once been elected mayor. Jane Wyman appears as the nominal heroine, the upstanding girlfriend of Jim Younger, and the film marked the screen debut of Faye Emerson as Cole Younger's ill-fated fiancée. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Morgan, Jane Wyman, (more)
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
At 54 minutes, Bar 20 is the shortest of the 1943 quota of Hopalong Cassidy pictures. William Boyd, Andy Clyde and George Reeves return to their series roles as Hopalong Cassidy, California Carson and Lin Bradley. Also on hand for villainous purposes is Victor Jory, who'd menaced Hoppy and his pals in the previous Cassidy flick Colt Comrades. The story concerns a gang of outlaws who've pilfered a cache of jewels in a stagecoach holdup. Unfortunately, they've also stolen Hoppy's cattle money, and that makes him reeeeeal mad. Two echoes from the silent-movie days are present in Bar 20; former leading lady Betty Blythe, and Dustine Farnum, the daughter of the late matinee idol Dustin Farnum and niece of veteran western player William Farnum. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William "Hopalong" Boyd, Andy Clyde, (more)
Blackjack Ketchum, the real-life gunslinger who'd previously been a peripheral character in several westerns, is herein afforded his own feature-length "vehicle". Howard Duff plays the title role, who at the beginning of the film is doing his best to live down his reputation. This proves impossible when land baron Jared Tetlow (Victor Jory) and his brood muscle into the territory. Hoping to champion the cause of his fellow ranchers, Ketchum once more straps on his guns and prepares to do battle against Tetlow's henchmen. Naturally, Ketchum's sweetheart Nita Riordan (played by Maggie Mahoney, the mother of actress Sally Field) would prefer that Our Hero abstain from gunplay, but.Blackjack Ketchum, Desperado was based on a novel by Louis L'Amour. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Howard Duff, Victor Jory, (more)
This gangster film is based upon fact as it tells the tale of a determined reporter who has decided to make sure a certain notorious gangster gets his just desserts. It takes a long time, but eventually the reporter succeeds and the gangster is sent up river. Unfortunately, once there, he becomes the leader of the prisoners and, though incarcerated, is soon up to his old tricks of trying to corrupt local politicians and the warden. The obsessed journalist is infuriated and so gets himself sent to prison to stop the gangster once and for all. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Garfield, Rosemary Lane, (more)
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)
Border Vigilantes was the 34th entry in the "Hopalong Cassidy" western series, with 32 more still on the way. William Boyd stars once more as black-clad champion of justice Hopalong Cassidy, while Andy Clyde and Russell Hayden tag along as California Carson and Lucky Jenkins. This time our heroes ride into a town bedevilled by outlaw raids, despite the existence of a local vigilante committee. Sensing that something's wrong with this set-up, Hoppy does a bit of digging and discovers that the outlaw chieftan is actually the head of the vigilantes (talk about conflict of interests!) The strong supporting cast includes Frances Gifford, Victor Jory, Morris Ankrum, and former cowboy stars Tom Tyler and Hal Taliaferro (aka Wally Wales). With Border Vigilantes, the series' assistant director Derwin Abrahams was promoted to the director's chair, with splendid results. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William "Hopalong" Boyd, Andy Clyde, (more)
Originally slated for Paramount release, Buckskin Frontier was ultimately distributed by United Artists. Richard Dix stars as railroad troubleshooter Stephen Bent, assigned to supervise the building of 120 miles of track through the treacherous Santa Fe cutoff. He is opposed in this mission by land baron and freight service owner Jeptha Marr (Lee J. Cobb), who backs up his opposition with hired guns. Marr, in turn, is defied by his daughter Vinnie (Jane Wyatt), who is not only a visionary, but has also fallen in love with Bent. Amusingly, though Lee J. Cobb and Jane Wyatt play father and daughter in Buckskin Frontier, both actors were 31 years old at the time! The film was produced by Harry "Pop" Sherman, of "Hopalong Cassidy" fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dix, Jane Wyatt, (more)
After making his first appearance as the title character in Paramount's "Bulldog Drummond" series, John Lodge was rushed to England to star in the quota quickie Bulldog Drummond at Bay. Though lacking the polish of Hollywood's Drummond pictures, this one is closer to the original concept of series creator H. C. Neile (aka "Sapper") than any other film. The plot is motivated by the nefarious activities of a gang of munitions smugglers, disguised as a pacifist organization. The leader of the gang is Gregoroff (Victor Jory), justifiably nicknamed "The Mystery Man of Europe." Gregoroff masterminds the kidnapping of the inventor of a revolutionary new robot airplane. Adopting strong-arm tactics that border on the fascistic, soldier-of-fortune Bulldog Drummond (Lodge) tackles the villains, while Scotland Yard remains in the background, presumably twiddling its collective thumbs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Lodge, Dorothy Mackaill, (more)
Call a Messenger is the second entry in Universal's "Dead End Kids/Little Tough Guys" series. In this one, the Little Tough Guys (Hally Chester, Harris Berger, David Gorcey) cede most of the screen time to Dead Enders Billy Halop (as Jimmy Hogan) and Huntz Hall (as Pig). When he and his pals are caught robbing their local branch of the Postal Union, Jimmy valiantly takes the blame for his friends' action. Given a choice between going to reform school and taking an honest job as a messenger boy, Jimmy opts for the latter-and before long, all of his buddies are wearing messenger uniforms. With the help of his Postal Union confreres, Jimmy manages to thwart the criminal activities of his ex-con brother Ed (Victor Jory) and Ed's gangster partner Chuck Walsh (Larry "Buster" Crabbe). Billy Benedict makes his first appearance as a Dead End Kid/East Side Kid/Bowery Boy in Call a Messenger, while comedy relief is provided by veteran funster El Brendel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, (more)
Filmed on location in the Canadian Rockies, this historical adventure spins a fanciful account of the building of the Canadian Pacific railroad. Randolph Scott heads the cast as Tom Andrews, a rough-and-ready surveyor who meets and conquers all obstacles in the railroad's path. The biggest fly in the ointment is trapper Dirk Rourke (Victor Jory), who perceives the Canadian Pacific as a threat to his livelihood. Rourke foments an Indian uprising which very nearly destroys the railroad. But Andrews and his hardy band persevere. Jane Wyatt plays the heroine among more intelligent and self-reliant lines than is usual in films of this nature. Highly suspect on a historical level, Canadian Pacific is nonetheless an exciting piece of filmmaking, evocatively photographed in Cinecolor by Fred Jackman Jr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Randolph Scott, Jane Wyatt, (more)
Cat Women of the Moon tells the tale of a group of American space travellers who confront a hostile tribe of females on the border between the light and dark side of the moon. The expedition is led by Laird Grainger (Sonny Tufts), whose polyglot crew--including co-pilot Kip Reissner (Victor Jory) and navigator Helen Salinger (Marie Windsor)--land on the lunar surface, where they soon discover that there's an atmosphere and water and everything. After a few minutes of wandering, the travellers come upon a huge modernistic city, populated by leotard-clad "cat women". The ruler, Alpha (Carol Brewster), reveals that she has telepathically brought the earthlings to her city, using Salinger as her unsuspecting go-between. The cat women perform a kinky dance to the tune of "Stranger in Paradise," while the shifty copilot Reissner tries to steal the city's cache of gold. Alpha enslaves the visitors via mind control, leaving only cat-woman Lambda (Susan Morrow), who has fallen in love with crewman Douglas Smith (Bill Phipps), to save the day. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sonny Tufts, Victor Jory, (more)
MacDonald Carey and Alexis Smith star in the heavily plotted western Cave of Outlaws. Carey plays Pete Carver, who has spent 10 years in jail for participating in a train holdup. Upon his release, Pete heads to the huge cave where his cohorts had hidden their loot. Not surprisingly, he is trailed to the hiding place by several interested parties, including Wells Fargo investigator Dobbs (Edgar Buchanan) and all-around baddie Ben Cross (Victor Jory). Smith plays the vengeful widow of a newspaperman who was murdered by the crooks, while Hugh O'Brian is suitably menacing as Cross' trigger-happy nephew. Cave of Outlaws was Technicolorfully filmed on location in Carlsbad Caverns. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- MacDonald Carey, Alexis Smith, (more)
Charlie Chan in Rio is a remake of 1931's Black Camel, one of the few pre-1934 "Charlie Chan" entries still in existence. While the original film was set in Hawaii, the remake takes place in Brazil, but the basic intrigues remain the same. While vacation in Rio de Janeiro with his son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung), Honolulu detective Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is asked by the local constabulary to help solve a double homicide. The motivation behind the two murders is apparently tied in with sinister psychologist Alfredo Marana (Victor Jory), who utilizes hypnotism as an adjunct to a clever blackmailing scheme. Cobina Wright Jr. shows up early on as one of the murder victims, alongside Jory, Mary Beth Hughes and the ubiquitous Harold Huber, cast as a foreign police official. Hamilton Macfadden, who directed the original Black Camel, shows up as one of the suspects in Charlie Chan in Rio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Toler, Mary Beth Hughes, (more)
Though not based on a Zane Grey story, The Cherokee Strip fits in thematically with producer Harry Sherman's Grey series. Richard Dix stars as Dave Morrell, the new marshal of Goliath, Oklahoma. Immediately upon arrival, Morrell finds himself at odds with banker Coy Barrett (Victor Jory), who is actually the leader of all local criminal activities. Cagily playing a game of cat and mouse, Morrell strongly and silently gathers evidence against Barrett, leading to an outsized climactic shootout-just in time, since the film was beginning to drag a bit. Critical comparisons to Dix's 1931 starrer Cimarron could not be avoided, but Cherokee Strip was more straightforward adventure fare than the earlier film. Florence Rice is the pretty but hardly necessary romantic interest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dix, Florence Rice, (more)
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)
The winning streak of superior Hopalong Cassidy westerns continued with 1943's Colt Comrades. In this one, Hoppy (William Boyd) and his saddle pals California (Andy Clyde) and Johnny (Jay Kirby) use a large amount of reward money to buy their own ranch. But despotic Jebb Hardin (Victor Jory), who controls the local water rights, makes life difficult for our three heroes and their ranching partner Lin Whitlock (George Reeves). When Hoppy proves a bit too tough and resiliant for Hardin, the villain begins plotting and planning the hero's hasty demise. The film's best moments include an elaborate confidence scam, with California as the sucker and Wildcat Willy (Earl Hodgins) as the suck-ee. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William "Hopalong" Boyd, Andy Clyde, (more)
A contemptuous and self-serving immigrant, Clementi Sabourin (George Sanders) pulls himself up by his bootstraps by instrumenting a series of cons and seductions which bilk several very wealthy persons out of most of their money. Most of the action is related in a series of flashbacks after Sabourin's body is found dead in a Park Avenue apartment. Death of a Scoundrel is a fictionalized adaptation of the life and mysterious death of Serge Rubenstein. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Sanders, Yvonne De Carlo, (more)
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
This landmark western -- which, along with Stagecoach, has often been credited with revitalizing what had become a stagnant genre -- stars Errol Flynn as Wade Hatton, a cattle man who arrives in the frontier community of Dodge City, which is overrun by footloose cowboys and outlaws. When Hatton helps Dodge City lawmen capture a gang of cattle rustlers led by Jeff Surrett (Bruce Cabot), he's asked to help guide a wagon train into town with his friends Rusty Hart (Alan Hale, Sr.) and Tex Baird (Guinn Williams). En route, an impulsive young cowpoke named Lee Irving (William Lundigan) needlessly fires off his pistol, sparking a cattle stampede that leads to his death. When Hatton and his men arrive in Dodge, they discover Surrett is once again at large, and his gang has taken over the city. Appointed the city's new sheriff, Hatton is determined to clean up the town and put the outlaws out of business. In his rare moments off duty, Hatton tries to win the affections of Abbie Irving (Olivia de Havilland), but she believes that Hatton is responsible for the death of her brother Lee; Hatton's habit of flirting with dance hall girl Ruby Gilman (Ann Sheridan) does nothing to improve her opinion of him. A solid box office hit, Dodge City was the first of a series of westerns for swashbuckling star Flynn; his next oater, Virginia City, followed in 1940. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, (more)
A fugitive works to clear his name through the use of a dead mountie's identity. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Morgan, Victor Jory, (more)



















