Jack Kenney Movies
- 1961
In this crime drama, several people gather at an inn adjacent to a prison where a man is scheduled to be executed at midnight. Just as the clock is about to strike twelve, a man comes in and confesses the crime. He is arrested. The rest of the guests, who have come to retrieve the original inmate's loot from a safety deposit box, now try to get their hands upon the loot. Treachery and mayhem ensue. Eventually someone calls the police and everything works out for the best. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Brown, Merry Anders, (more)
In this western, a discharged cavalry soldier rides a stage to his brother's cattle ranch. En route he meets a dance hall girl. Later he saves her from an outlaw's unsavory advances during a heist. When he gets to his brother's ranch he soon learns that his brother makes his real living by rustling cattle. The disappointed ex-soldier leaves him and goes to a trading post where he marries the dance hall girl. Later, one of the bad brother's men convinces him that his good brother snitched on them to the sheriff leading the rustler to seek revenge. Fortunately he learns that it was all a set-up by the outlaw; instead of killing the good brother, the rustler decides to join him on his fur-trapping excursions. This angers the gang member who rallies the rest of his band together to kill the brothers. The brothers end up killing the outlaws in a shoot-out. Unfortunately the rustlin' brother is also killed. The good brother and his wife end up naming their first born daughter after him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
This is a competently put-together "B"-grade film starring Craig Hill as a doctor who in the process of trying to save a man badly beaten by two gangsters, identifies the culprits to the police. When their victim dies and the charge becomes murder, the doctor hightails it to the far woods where he finds a job as a clerk in a sporting-goods store. His plan is to lay low until the hoodlums forget about him. But complications arise from two different sectors. First, the doctor falls in love with a local woman and second, the murderers find out where he is hiding. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig Hill, Elaine Edwards, (more)
- 1961
In this western, an Eastern gambler buys a mail-order ranch, heads out to claim it and discovers that the deed is unregistered, the rightful owner is dead, and that the land has been taken over by cattle rustlers. Strapping on the title weapon, the fellow rectifies the situation, but only after proving himself innocent of murder charges. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1960
In this crime drama, a man serves five years in the state pen for armed robbery. Upon his release, the man is anxious to retrieve the $260,000 in loot he hid before he went to jail. Unfortunately, he is still pursued by both the police and his former gang mates. He ends up severely beaten, robbed, and ultimately cheated by his own lover. Despite these set-backs, the fellow remains content because he now has the love of his former partner's widow. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1960
Scott Harper (Ron Foster) is frustrated and angry as a police detective because he keeps getting passed over for a promotion to lieutenant. Meanwhile, he is assigned to gain the confidence of Holly Taylor (Patricia Blair), the girlfriend of a suspect in a robbery/homicide. Predictably, the two fall in love, conspire to kill Holly's boyfriend, and plan to run off with the proceeds. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Foster, Patricia Blair, (more)
- 1960
A routine story about an attempted assassination of a foreign head of state, Three Came to Kill is one of many action dramas directed by the indefatigable Edward L. Cahn in 1960 and '61. In this instance, the setting is Los Angeles and a gang of hoodlums, for their own reasons, are intent on murdering a visiting Asian Prime Minister. Three of the men are professional killers, and their plan is to break into the house of an airport employee and shoot down the plane that is carrying the PM out of the U.S. The L.A. police are alerted, placing the plan in jeopardy before it can be put into effect. Cameron Mitchell is the head hoodlum honcho. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Mitchell, John Lupton, (more)
- 1959
A low-budget, tawdry police yarn with the world of prostitution and gangsters thrown in, Vice Raid features Mamie Van Doren as Carol Hudson, a Motor City hooker. The bosses of the prostitution racket have Hudson go to New York City to entrap a police officer and get him thrown off the force. She does as she is told and then the gangsters make a mistake -- they abuse her younger sister. Angered to the core, Hudson decides to team up with the cop she helped frame and put the mobsters behind bars. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mamie van Doren, Richard Coogan, (more)
- 1959
Thanks to the notorious gangland conference in Appalachian, New York, the word "Mafia" was on everyone's lips in 1959. Rushing to capitalize on this fact was the low-budget expose Inside the Mafia. Grant Richards plays a Lucky Luciano type who is about to return to the US after several years' deportation. Richards arranges for an upstate New York gangland meeting, where minor mob functionary Cameron Mitchell plans to depose big boss Ted DeCorsia. Mitchell also intends to murder Richards so that he can rule the Mafia unfettered. But Richards is still master of his own fate, and he guns down his competition during the gang conference before surrendering to the police. Inside the Mafia told the public little that wasn't already known, but the film served its purpose of cashing in on a "hot" title. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Mitchell, Elaine Edwards, (more)
- 1959
The Earth is attacked by mysterious invaders from outer space, who plan on destroying humankind. The invaders are invisible in our atmosphere, but are able to inhabit and reanimate the bodies of the dead. The armies of rotting corpses march on the cities, and it seems as though there is no defense. Major Bruce Jay (John Agar) is put in charge of a small, secret research center with a group of scientists, who must find a way of combating the invaders. Personality conflicts develop as Jay's hard-nosed, by-the-book approach to his job -- which requires him to kill anyone who might jeopardize the mission -- put him in opposition to the scientists (played by Jean Byron, Philip Tonge, and Robert Hutton). They develop an ultra-sonic gun that has the combined effect of rendering the aliens visible and killing them, but first they must test it, by capturing an alien, an action that forces them to run the risk of being discovered. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Agar, Jean Byron, (more)
- 1958
The Toughest Gun in Tombstone, at least according to this film, as Arizona ranger Matt Sloane (George Montgomery). Working undercover, Sloane infiltrates an all-star outlaw gang consisting of Johnny Ringo (Jim Davis), Ike Clanton (Gerald Milton), Curly Bill Broces (Lane Bradford) and several other sagebrush celebrities. His purpose: to put an end to the smuggling of silver bullion across the Mexican border. Complicating matters is Sloane's concern over his young son Terry (Scott Morrow), who is being pursued across the territory by the man who murdered Sloane's wife. Not exactly an "A" picture, Toughest Gun in Tombstone is too well-mounted to be dismissed as a "B." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Montgomery, Beverly Tyler, (more)
- 1958
Perry's client Janet Morris (Bethel Leslie) is charged with poisoning her husband Dr. Morris (Sheppard Strudwick), who has been reported killed in a plane crash. As it turns out, however, the crash victim is not Dr. Norris but instead David Kirby (Dabbs Greer); Norris has faked his demise so he can run off to Mexico with his girlfriend (played by Maxine Cooper, best known for her work in the 1955 cult film favorite Kiss Me Deadly). No matter: Janet must now stand trial for Kirby's murder, meaning that Mason will have to dig up the elusive Dr. Morris to prove his client's innocence...but who exactly is guilty? Based on a 1954 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner, this episode would be remade in 1965 as "The Case of the Vanishing Victim". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1957
Chicago Confidential may not have been the best of the late-1950s "expose" films, but it certainly boasted one of the most impressive casts. Based on the factual best-seller by Jack Lait and Lee Mortimer, the film stars Brian Keith as a State Attorney who vows to bring corrupt Chicago union officials to justice. It turns out that the union crooks are in cahoots with a gambling syndicate, conspiring to frame uncooperative union leader Dick Foran for murder. With the considerable assistance of his coworker-fiancee Beverly Garland, Keith strives to prove Foran's innocence and punish the genuine miscreants. Crucial to the plotline is nightclub comedian Buddy Lewis, cast as an impressionist who helps to frame the troublesome Foran; also in the cast are such crime-flick perennials as Elisha Cook Jr., Paul Langton, Douglas Kennedy, Jack Lambert, John Indrisano, Phyllis Coates, and Thomas B. Henry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Keith, Beverly Garland, (more)
Taciturn marshal-turned-bounty hunter Henry Fonda rides into a small town where greenhorn deputy Anthony Perkins is sole representative of the law. Sensing that the boy could use some seasoning, Fonda makes it his mission to teach Perkins how to protect himself against the criminal element. Though diametrically opposed in personality, the older Fonda and the younger Perkins find they are kindred spirits in their dedication to their work. Using the lessons taught him by Fonda, Perkins is able to prove his worth by taking on town hothead Neville Brand. Directed with a minimum of slack and flab by Anthony Mann, The Tin Star was later spun off into the TV series The Deputy, which starred Henry Fonda and Allen Case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Fonda, Anthony Perkins, (more)
- 1957
After accusing his wife Myrna (June Dayton) of trying to poison him, Ed Davenport (John Stephenson) dies in a motel room. Worse still, Ed has written a letter, implicating his wife in his death. By the time the police arrive, both corpse and letter have disappeared, but some arsenic-spiked candy is found on the scene--evidence enough to charge Myrna with murder when Ed's body is finally recovered. Faced with what seems to be an open-and-shut case, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) must perform some spectacular legal calisthenics to save Myrna from execution. This episode is based on a 1954 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1954
A car with two men visible in it pulls up to a Los Angeles service station at night, with a single attendant (Dub Taylor) working. As he starts to pump the gas, he doesn't see the third man come around the side until it's too late and he's knocked cold. The trio carries out their robbery but before they can finish, a motorcycle cop rolls up. A gun battle ensues, and one of the robbers is shot, as is the police officer. Now a manhunt is on for the trio, all escapees from San Quentin who were making their way south; the other two give the wounded man enough money to get to the apartment of a former cellmate of one of them, Steve Lacey (Gene Nelson). But Lacey is genuinely trying to go straight and live a clean, honest life with his wife, Ellen (Phyllis Kirk), and wants nothing to do with anyone he knew in prison, or with harboring an escaped prisoner. He's even more unhappy when Dr. Otto Hessler (Jay Novello), another ex-con and a veterinarian, arrives to treat the gunshot victim. But when the hood dies, matters get even more complicated -- Lacey's life becomes a nightmare as the police arrive, led by the hardboiled Det. Sgt. Sims (Sterling Hayden), who doesn't believe that any hood ever goes straight. Sims doesn't believe that Lacey's claim of knowing nothing of the escapees, and is ready to send him back to prison on a parole violation -- even though his parole officer (James Bell) believes him -- when he won't cooperate. And worse still, the other two escapees, Doc Penny (Ted de Corsia) and Ben Hastings (Charles Buchinsky, aka Charles Bronson), force their way into Lacey's home, insisting on hiding out there and threatening Ellen. And as they're now a man short, they want Steve's help on a major heist they're planning -- and will kill Ellen if he doesn't cooperate. Soon Lacey is up to his neck in a daylight bank robbery, timed to the minute, and his wife is at the mercy of a mentally deficient, sexually deviant confederate (Timothy Carey), while the police still seem to be following every trail but the right one. Steve realizes that he is the only one who is going to be able to save himself or his wife from this nightmare, and isn't convinced that he'll get out of it alive -- but by then, between being put on him by Sims and his unwanted companions, he's prepared to die in order to save Ellen. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sterling Hayden, Gene Nelson, (more)
Bing Crosby does the Academy Award-bid bit in the atypical role of a self-pitying alcoholic, but it was his co-star, a deglamorized Grace Kelly, who won the Oscar for her performance in The Country Girl. This adaptation of Clifford Odets' play stars Crosby as Frank Elgin, a once-famous Broadway star who's hit the skids. Hotshot young director Bernie Dodd (William Holden), a longtime admirer of Elgin, tries to get the old-timer back on his feet with a starring role in a new play. But Dodd must contend with Elgin's hard, suspicious wife Georgie, who seemingly runs roughshod over her husband. Dodd holds Georgie responsible for Elgin's lack of self-confidence and his reliance upon the bottle--a suspicion fueled by Elgin himself, who insists that Georgie has been suicidal ever since the death of their son. When Elgin goes on a monumental bender during the play's out-of-town tryouts, the truth comes out: it is Elgin who is suicidal, and Georgie has been the glue that has held him together. Adopting a now-or-never stance, Dodd forces Elgin to stay off the sauce long enough for the play to open--and, in spite of himself, falls in love with Georgie. A few Hollywood liberties were taken with the Odets original, including a slightly altered ending. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, (more)
- 1953
Virginia Mayo stars in this unofficial follow-up to her 1952 musical hit She's Working Her Way Through College. Mayo plays movie star Catherine Terris, who after three box-office flops in a row, returns to the Broadway stage whence she came. Her co-star in this endeavor is Rich Sommers (Steve Cochran), who still harbors a grudge against Catherine because of her walkout during her last Broadway appearance. Predictably, Rich and Catherine bury the hatchet by midfilm, and when fadeout time rolls around they're in each other's arms. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Virginia Mayo, Gene Nelson, (more)
Burt Lancaster and Virginia Mayo, the stars of 1950's Flame and the Arrow, are reteamed in the lusty adventure romp South Sea Woman. It all begins at the military trial of Marine sergeant O'Hearn (Burt Lancaster), facing a court-martial for desertion. In flashback, O'Hearn recalls how he was stranded in Shanghai while trying to break up the impending marriage between his pal David White (Chuck Connors) and brassy nightclub photographer Ginger Martin (Virginia Mayo). The two marines try to make it back to Pearl Harbor, but they undergo several hair-raising adventures along the way, including a sticky involvement with a group of French resistance fighters. The upshot of all this is that O'Hearn arrives in Pearl after the Japanese attack, and as such is branded as a coward. It is up to Ginger Martin to provide the evidence that will clear our hero -- but she isn't too fond of O'Hearn at the moment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Virginia Mayo, (more)
This simplified (but lavish) remake of the 1933 melodrama The Mystery of the Wax Museum was the most financially successful 3-D production of the 1950s. In his first full-fledged "horror" role, Vincent Price plays Prof. Henry Jarrod, the owner of a wax museum, whose partner, Matthew Burke (Roy Roberts), intends to burn the place down for the insurance money. When Jarrod tries to prevent Burke from torching the museum, he himself is trapped in the conflagration. Years pass: though now confined to a wheelchair, Jarrod manages to open up a new museum in New York, boasting the most incredibly lifelike wax statues ever seen. At the same time, a masked prowler has been stalking the city, murdering people and then stealing their bodies from the mortuary. One of the victims is Jarrod's old nemesis Burke; another is Cathy Gray (Carolyn Jones), the roommate of art student Sue Allen (Phyllis Kirk). On a visit to the wax museum, Sue can't help but notice that the wax likeness of Joan of Arc is a dead ringer for her deceased friend Cathy -- while the courtly Jarrod declares joyously that Sue is the living image of Marie Antoinette. Guess where this is going to wind up? Frank Lovejoy and Paul Picerni co-star as the nominal heroes, while Charles Bronson -- still billed as Charles Buchinsky -- is a menacing presence as Jarrod's deaf-mute chief sculptor (appropriately named "Igor"). No opportunity to show off the 3-D process is wasted during House of Wax; the most memorable stereoscopic moments are provided by garrulous "paddle-ball man" Reggie Rymal. Ironically, Andre De Toth, the film's director, had only one good eye, and had to constantly ask his cast and crew if the various 3-D effects had come off properly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Price, Frank Lovejoy, (more)
- 1952
Cattle Town is a rare low-budget western from the Warner Bros. mills. Dennis Morgan plays Mike McGann, a troubleshooter sent out by the governor of Texas to keep a group of dispossessed ranchers from causing trouble. Disgusted by the activities of land baron Judd Hastings (Ray Teal), who has the law on his side, McGann casts his lot with the ranchers, though he still intends to keep violence to a minimum. He also finds time to sing four public-domain songs, a la Gene Autry. The supporting cast of Cattle Town is, in retrospect, a fascinating one, including future soap opera star Philip Carey, Amanda "Miss Kitty" Blake, and multi-award-winner Rita Moreno. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Morgan, Philip Carey, (more)
- 1951
Originally slated for release by Eagle Lion, Skipalong Rosenbloom purchased by United Artists -- who gave it a cursory theatrical release before selling the film to television. As it turned out, TV was the appropriate medium for this heavy-handed satire of video westerns. Former boxing champ Maxie Rosenbloom plays a lampooned variation of Hopalong Cassidy, with all the standard western cliches in evidence. "Skipalong" Rosenbloom is depicted as the star of a heavily commercialized TV kiddie show, presided over by a smarmy announcer. The plot proper finds "Skipalong" at odds with western bad guy Butcher Baer, played by Rosenbloom's onetime ring opponent Max Baer. Others in the cast are Jackie Coogan, Fuzzy Knight and Hillary Brooke, who seem to be having fun with the dreadful material foisted upon them. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- "Slapsie Maxie" Rosenbloom, Max Baer, (more)
My Dream Is Yours is a Technicolor remake of the jaunty 1934 Warner Bros. musical Twenty Million Sweethearts. But there's a significant difference here: whereas in the earlier film singing-waiter Dick Powell was turned into a crooning idol, in the remake it is Doris Day who is catapulted to stardom. Jack Carson (who was reportedly romantically involved with Day during filming) is the hot-shot promoter who makes a celebrity out of Day and lives to regret it, as does she, before the happy ending. The film's highlight is an animated dream sequence courtesy of Warners' cartoon division, directed by Friz Freleng and featuring cameos by Bugs Bunny and Tweety. Edgar Kennedy makes his final screen appearance in the role of Day's flustered uncle. The songs in My Dream Is Yours includes the big hit from Twenty Million Sweethearts, "I'll String Along With You." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Doris Day, Jack Carson, (more)
- 1946
Deadline at Dawn represented not only the sole film directorial effort of Broadway's Harold Clurman, but also the only cinematic collaboration between Clurman and his former Group Theatre associate, screenwriter Clifford Odets. While on shore leave in New York, sailor Alex (Bill Williams) is slipped a doped-up drink by B-girl Edna (Lola Lane). When he awakens, Alex discovers that she has been murdered. Though he believes that he's the killer, our hero is talked into locating the actual miscreant by philosophical cab driver gus (Paul Lukas) and nightclub dancer June (Susan Hayward). Adapted from a novel by Cornell Woolrich, Deadline at Dawn leans towards pretentiousness at times, but is redeemed by the no-nonsense performance by Susan Hayward. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Paul Lukas, (more)
- 1946
If Republic's skating star Vera Hruba Ralston could go "dramatic", so too could Monogram's skating star Belita. Produced by the enterprising King Brothers, Suspense takes place in an ice-skating emporium owned by Frank Leonard (Albert Dekker). No-good heel Joe Morgan (Barry Sullivan) not only strongarms Leonard into sharing the establishment's profits, but also tries to move in on Leonard's wife Roberta (Belita). The plot thickens when Leonard is apparently killed by Morgan, only to return from the dead! But what really does Morgan in is his own checkered past, as personified by his vengeful ex-sweetheart Ronnie (Bonita Granville, in a truly offbeat characterization). Belita's ice-skating solos (staged by Nick Castle) and Philip Yordan's overly complicated script tend to weigh down the proceedings; still, Suspense deserves to be seen, if for no other reason than its dazzling opening sequence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Belita, Barry Sullivan, (more)
