Charles Judels Movies

Regarded by some film buffs as the best of director Leslie Selander's many westerns, Panhandle stars Rod Cameron as an ex-lawman turned gunslinger. He hopes to bury his past and homestead in Texas, but his plans change when his newspaper-reporter brother (John Champion) is killed. Reluctantly, Cameron buckles on his gun belt and heads out for retribution against crooked gambler Reed Hadley. Making his screenwriting debut, Blake Edwards (who also coproduced the film and played a small supporting role) does his best to steer free of cliches, structuring his script in the manner of the detective stories Edwards had been churning out for radio. No mere B picture, Panhandle was permitted to unspool at an "A" length of 84 minutes. To further assure audience approval, Blake Edwards rewrote the ending, in which hero Rod Cameron had originally been killed off. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The 87-minute running time of Plainsman and the Lady was evidence aplenty that this was no mere Republic B western. William Elliot (formerly and latterly "Wild Bill" Elliot) stars as cattleman Sam Cotten, who offers his services-and his six-guns-to the newly formed Pony Express. Erudite villain Peter Marquette (Joseph Schildkraut) is a rival stagecoach owner who'll stop at nothing to keep the mail from going through. Ordering his minions to disguise themselves as Indians, Marquette masterminds a series of bloody raids on the pony express riders. But Cotton, aided and abetted by grizzled sidekick Dringo (Andy Clyde) proves to be more than a match for the bad guy. The lady of the title is high-born Ann Arnesen, played by Queen of Republic Vera Ralston; she's decorative enough, but no match for her talented costar Gail Patrick, cast as Ann's sister and the despicable Marquette's wife. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this drama, Mary (Ava Gardner) returns to her small town after she becomes a success in the city. Meeting up with her old love, Kenny (George Raft), she discovers that he is still the unambitious, lazy man he was when she left, and she begins an affair with nightclub owner Lew Lentz (Tom Conway). When a jealous rivalry arises between Lew and Kenny, the results could be deadly. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

It's The Champ all over again, with Wallace Beery as a down-and-out prizefighter and Dean Stockwell as the small boy whom he adopts. Mighty McGurk also borrows from Beery's earlier The Bowery (33) by placing its story in that New York neighborhood in 1900. The final echo from Wally Beery's movie past is Aline McMahon, who costarred with Beery in Ah, Wilderness (35). The plot of Mighty McGurk involves Beery's rescuing of the orphaned Stockwell, an English lad, from the clutches of his evil guardian Edward Arnold. The boy in turn inspires Beery to return to the boxing ring after several years of boozy grub work as a Bowery waiter. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Teenaged Junior (Scotty Beckett) gets into trouble when he tries to bring a gun to school. To explain why he's packing a rod, Beckett fabricates a story involving his parents Bill (Dennis O'Keefe) and Constance (Helen Walker). To hear Junior tell it, once upon a time Bill was a telephone lineman who made the chance acquaintance of the eloping Constance. Both parties were forcibly detained by fleeing criminal Carter (Tom Powers), who shepherded hero and heroine to the home of Petrucie (Charles Judels). Here Bill overpowered Carter, winning Constance's love in the process. His tale told, Junior explains that he's carrying a gun to arrest his principal-who happens to be Carter! As a result of the boy's prevarications, his parents and the principal end up in jail, but are rescued when Junior solves the 15-year-old mystery that prompted his incredible tale. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Set in New York's Lower East Side during the Gay '90s, this lively low-budget musical follows the exploits of a feisty and talented saloon owner's daughter who loves nothing more than to perform in her father's tavern. Her late-night shenanigans appall her wealthy and socially conscious aunt who launches a secret campaign to shut down the bar and force her niece to reside in her palatial home. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The career girl in this PRC musical is Joan (Frances Langford), a Kansas City gal with showbiz aspirations. She heads to New York, where she sets up residence in a theatrical boarding house straight out of Stage Door. A few setbacks later, Joan lands the lead in a Broadway musical revue, which despite its threadbare production values (a PRC trademark) bids fair to be the hit of the season. Endearingly old-fashioned, Career Girl puts over its clichés with energy and verve. Besides, any picture with wisecracking Iris Adrian in a large role can't be all bad. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The racy, ribald Cole Porter musical Du Barry Was a Lady is here given a thorough dry-cleaning by prudish MGM. Richard "Red" Skelton takes over the role of Louis Blore (played on Broadway by Bert Lahr), while Lucille Ball steps into the shoes of the original play's Ethel Merman. The story proposes that Blore is a men's room attendant in a New York nightclub who has a yen for gorgeous showgirl May Daly (Lucille Ball). After drinking a potent mixture, Louis dreams that he is King Louis XV of France, and May is the magnificent Madame Du Barry. Also showing up in Louis' dream is Alex Howe (Gene Kelly), who in "real life" is the guy who ends up with May at fade out-time. It's hard to determine what's more fun to watch in Du Barry Was a Lady: the three stars, the antics of supporting player Zero Mostel, or the incredible sequence in which Tommy Dorsey & His Band -- including drummer Buddy Rich -- perform in 18th century garb and powdered wigs. Five of the original Cole Porter songs are retained for this Technicolor-ful film: "Katie Went to Haiti," "Do I Love You, Do I?," "Well, Did You Evah?," "Taliostro's Dance,", and, best of all, "Friendship." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Amateur fighter and all-around bully Muggs McGinniss (Leo Gorcey) tries to cheat in a pool game with hustler Harry Wycoff (Gabriel Dell). He is thwarted by his own friend Danny Lyons (Bobby Jordan), who has some strong ideas about right and wrong and wants to keep his friend honest. Muggs has to knock Wycoff down with his fists to avoid paying off, and promises to get even with Danny and criticizing him as a coward, without the "killer instinct" it takes to win, in boxing or anything else, as far as Muggs is concerned. In revenge for his pummeling, Wycoff, who works for a local bookmaker, arranges to have Muggs kidnapped ahead of the amateur boxing match in which he's supposed to fight. Danny goes into the ring in his place and wins, but Muggs is convinced that Danny arranged the kidnapping. They clash over and over throughout the movie, in an amateur dance contest and as rivals for a job at a local garage, and over Danny's wish to marry Muggs' sister, and then Muggs finds out that he was all wrong -- that Danny had nothing to do with thekidnapping. But by then he's jealous of Danny, and continues riding him mercilessly, and Danny can't fight back because he's promised his mother never to fight in the street like a common hooligan. Muggs gets even more fierce in his resentment when Danny joins the army showing himself to be more of a man than Muggs and becoming a hero to the neighborhood in the bargain. Finally, Danny realizes that if Muggs is ever to grow up, someone is going to have to stand up to him. The two agree to settle their differences with their fists. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

William Gargan takes over from Ralph Bellamy as the title character in Columbia's A Close Call for Ellery Queen. Unlike Bellamy, who played the role of Ellery Queen for laughs, Gargan adopts a more sober approach, much to the overall benefit of the film. The story takes place at the lavish country estate owned by wealthy Alan Rogers (Ralph Morgan). Two young ladies show up at Rogers' doorstep, both claiming to be his long-lost daughter. Concurrently, a pair of unsavory gentlemen (Andrew Tombes, Charles Judels) from Rogers' checkered past arrive with blackmail on their minds. Ellery tries to make heads or tails of all this intrigue before Rogers ends up losing his fortune, aided by his "girl Friday" Nikki Porter (Margaret Lindsay)-but our hero is unable to prevent a pair of nasty murders. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Like the John Steinbeck novel on which it is based, Tortilla Flat is not so much a movie as a series of warm-hearted anecdotes, all linked to a small California fishing village populated by poor but happy immigrants. The focus is upon Pilon (Spencer Tracy), a good-natured, charismatic freeloader, and Danny (John Garfield), a hot-headed fisherman who is dragged kicking and screaming into the world of personal responsibility when he inherits two small houses. As Pilon toys with the notion of stealing the nest egg saved up by an old man known as "the Pirate" (Frank Morgan), Danny tries to spark a romance with sexy cannery worker Dolores "Sweets" Ramirez (Hedy Lamarr). Abandoning the robbery plans when he learns that the Pirate intends to use his money to purchase a candlestick for St. Francis, Pilon turns his attentions to stealing Sweets away from Danny. But when Danny is injured in a drunken fight, the mercurial Pilon switches gears again, devoting his energies to bringing Danny and Sweets back together. Of the film's many highlights, standouts include the surprisingly effective "straight" performance by comic actor Frank Morgan (for which he received an Oscar nomination), and the seemingly improvised songfest between Spencer Tracy and John Garfield. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Something of a distaff Mr. Chips, schoolteacher Ella Bishop (Martha Scott) devotes her life to her work, ageing 50 years (from 19 to 69) in the course of the film. At a testimonial dinner on the occasion of her retirement, Miss Bishop's former students wonder why their beloved teacher never married. In flashback, the audience learns that town grocer Sam (William Gargan) has carried a torch for her for five decades, while she obliviously pursued unfortunate romantic relationships with weak-willed Delbert Thompson (Donald Douglas) and unhappily married John Stevens (Sidney Blackmer). Adapted by Stephen Vincent Benet from the melancholy novel by Bess Streeter Aldrich, Cheers for Miss Bishop was not only a tour de force for Scott, but also represented the screen debut of another young character actress, Rosemary De Camp. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi