Evelyn Keyes Movies
Ex-nightclub chorine Evelyn Keyes was 18 when she was put under contract by Hollywood producer/director Cecil B. DeMille. Keyes played passive roles in DeMille's The Buccaneer (1938) and Union Pacific (1939) and a handful of Paramount "B"s. Her best opportunity came from outside the DeMille fold, when she was cast as the eternally jilted Suellen O'Hara in Gone With the Wind (1939). In 1940, she signed with Columbia, where she was featured in a handful of interesting "B"s like Boris Karlof's Before I Hang (1940) and Peter Lorre's Face Behind the Mask (1941, in which Keyes was terrific in a brief role as a blind girl). She was promoted to "A" leads with Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), and with 1947's Mating of Millie she finally got a film vehicle all her own. She also played the Ruby Keeler counterpart (named Julie Benson) in Columbia's The Jolson Story (1946). Like many 1940s leading ladies, Keyes found the going rough in the 1950s, save for a few worthwhile (if fleeting) parts such as Tom Ewell's vacationing wife in The Seven Year Itch (1955). She retired in 1956, making an unexpected return before the cameras in a brace of late-1980s Gothic melodramas. In sum total, Keyes' screen career was dwarfed by her colorful private life. Her four husbands included directors Charles Vidor and John Huston, and bandleader Artie Shaw. In 1971 she turned to writing. Her first book was a novel, I Am as Billboard; she followed this with two very candid autobiographies, Scarlet O'Hara's Younger Sister (1977) and I'll Think About That Tomorrow (1991). Keyes died in July 2008 of uterine cancer ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1998
The history of color photography in motion pictures is lovingly detailed with vibrant film clips and first-person interviews in this 60-minute cable TV special. Beginning with such experimental processes as hand-tinting each frame of film (a specialty first of Edison, then perfected by the French Pathe company) and the "Kinemacolor" technique (a cumbersome procedure requiring special high-speed projectors and two separate strips of film), the special then moves on to the swaddling days of Technicolor, with rare vignettes from such silent films as The Toll of the Sea (1922), The Black Pirate (1926), and Ben-Hur. The two-color Technicolor process gives way in 1933 to an improved three-strip format, yielding such splendiferous results as Becky Sharp (1935), The Wizard of Oz (1939), and Gone With the Wind. But because of the dictatorial policies of Technicolor consultant Natalie Kalmus (who gained control of the company in a divorce proceeding), moviemakers were forced to adhere to firmly controlled policies of how the colors could be arranged and toned, with no wiggle room for individual creativity. Fortunately, Kalmus did not wield as much power over British filmmakers like Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger who freed the Technicolor process from the shackles of conformity and corporate thinking in the 1940s, yielding such visual feasts as The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus. The special concludes with the final years of the three-strip format in the early '50s, with interviews from such Technicolorful stars as Esther Williams and Arlene Dahl. Drawing heavily from Turner's vast MGM film library, Glorious Technicolor originally aired over the Turner Classic Movies service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Molly Hagan is cast as Dana Ballard, a former research assistant of Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury)--and a pathological liar. When Dana's current employer is killed and she is accused of the crime, she begs Jessica to clear her name. But Jessica can't help wondering if Dana is merely weaving another web of lies...and that, in direct opposition to the standard Murder, She Wrote formula, she is guilty after all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
- PG13
In this film, Steve (David Rasche) and Jenny's (Colleen Camp) new stepmother, Miranda (Bette Davis), is truly a witch in every sense of the word. With their father (Lionel Stander) happily deceived by his new wife, it is up to the kids to stop Miranda's dastardly plans, before it is too late. This movie was Bette Davis' last film. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, Barbara Carrera, (more)
This made-for-cable documentary traces the filming of the imperishable classic Gone with the Wind, from its inception to its triumphant Atlanta premiere in December of 1939. Filmmaker David Hinton interviews as many survivors of the experience as he's able to round up, but the main attraction of this film is its precious "test" clips. We watch a montage of screen tests of the many actresses considered for the role of Scarlett O'Hara, ranging from such front-runners as Paulette Goddard to such not-a-chancers as Lana Turner. The Goddard footage is particularly enjoyable as we watch her eagerly reciting the lines of all the characters as she auditions for Scarlett. The documentary also turns up several tantalizing bits of trivia, notably the fact that the film was shown to a preview audience with an entirely different musical score (portions of which are played on the soundtrack). There is, of course, very little suspense involved in Making of a Legend, but even those who've heard all the Gone With the Wind factoids from other sources will watch in fascination as the saga unfolds. This documentary was produced by David Selznick's sons, and written by iconoclastic movie historian David Thomson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
A terminally ill nun apparently commits suicide--which of course is a mortal sin in the eyes of the Catholic church. In order to prove that the nun did not die by her own hand, the dead woman's Mother Superior (Jane Powell) prevails upon her old friend Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) to follow the trail of clues--one of which reveals some disturbingly sordid details. This episode is distinguished a particularly stellar cast of veteran actors, including Audrey Totter in her last role before retirement. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
A divorced dad and son attempt to build on their newly resurrected relationship by heading back to pop's hometown in up-state Maine. When he gets there, he finds that all the townspeople have turned into 300-year-old vampires. Some say that director Larry Cohen intended the vampire community to be a parody of old-blooded Republicans who so often rule in small-town America. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Moriarty, Andrew Duggan, (more)
- 1985
When Cabot Cove resident Beverly Garrett is electrocuted in her own bathtub in a locked bathroom, Sheriff Amos Tupper (Tom Bosley) is willing to write the tragedy off as an accident; Tupper, you see, is thinking about retirement, and has already hand-picked his successor. But Jessica (Angela Lansbury) can't shake the belief that Beverly was murdered, prompting the long-suffering Tupper to dare Jessica to prove it! Adding to the intrigue is a controversial land sale, a vicious poison-pen campaign that has spread throughout town, and Jessica's mounting frustration over playing hostess to a visiting travel writer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Razzle-dazzle showman Michael Todd hocked everything he had to make this spectacular presentation of Jules Verne's 1872 novel Around the World in 80 Days, the second film to be lensed in the wide-screen Todd-AO production. Nearly as fascinating as the finished product are the many in-production anecdotes concerning Todd's efforts to pull the wool over the eyes of local authorities in order to cadge the film's round-the-world location shots--not to mention the wheeling and dealing to convince over forty top celebrities to appear in cameo roles. David Niven heads the huge cast as ultra-precise, supremely punctual Phileas Fogg, who places a 20,000-pound wager with several fellow members of London Reform Club, insisting that he can go around the world in eighty days (this, remember, is 1872). Together with his resourceful valet Passepartout (Cantinflas), Fogg sets out on his world-girdling journey from Paris via balloon. Meanwhile, suspicion grows that Fogg has stolen his 20,000 pounds from Bank of England. Diligent Inspector Fix (Robert Newton) is sent out by the bank's president (Robert Morley) to bring Fogg to justice. Hopscotching around the globe, Fogg pauses in Spain, where Passepartout engages in a comic bullfight (a specialty of Cantinflas). In India, Fogg and Passepartout rescue young widow Princess Aouda (Shirley MacLaine, in her third film) from being forced into committing suicide so that she may join her late husband. The threesome visit Hong Kong, Japan, San Francisco, and the Wild West. Only hours short of winning his wager, Fogg is arrested by the diligent Inspector Fixx. Though exonerated of the bank robbery charges, he has lost everything--except the love of the winsome Aouda. But salvation is at hand when Passepartout discovers that, by crossing the International Date Line, there's still time to reach the Reform Club. Will they make it? See for yourself. Among the film's 46 guest stars, the most memorable include Marlene Dietrich, Charles Boyer, Jose Greco, Frank Sinatra, Peter Lorre, Red Skelton, Buster Keaton, John Mills, and Beatrice Lillie. All were paid in barter--Ronald Colman did his brief bit for a new car. Newscaster Edward R. Murrow provides opening narration, and there's a tantalizing clip from Georges Méliès' A Trip to the Moon (1902). Offering a little something for everyone, Around the World in 80 Days is nothing less than an extravaganza, and it won 5 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Cinematography. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Niven, Cantinflas, (more)
Like thousands of other Manhattanites, Tom Ewell annually packs his wife (Evelyn Keyes) and children off to summer vacation, staying behind to work at the office. This particular summer, the lonely Ewell begins fantasizing about the many women he'd foresworn upon getting married (in one of the fantasies, Ewell and Marguerite Chapman parody the beach rendezvous in From Here to Eternity). He is jolted back to reality when he meets his new neighbor--luscious model Marilyn Monroe. Inviting Monroe to dinner, Ewell intends to sweep her off her feet and into the boudoir. Things don't quite work out that way, thanks to Ewell's clumsiness (and essential decency) and Monroe's naivete. Still, Ewell becomes convinced that his impure thoughts will somehow be transmitted to his vacationing wife and to the rest of the world, leaving him wide open for scandal and ruination. In the original play, the husband and the next-door neighbor did have an affair, but both play and film arrived at the same happy ending, with Ewell and his missus contentedly reunited at summer's end. Featured in the cast of The Seven Year Itch are Robert Strauss as a lascivious handyman, Sonny Tufts as Evelyn Keye's former beau, Donald MacBride as Ewell's glad-handing boss, and veteran Broadway funny man Victor Moore in a cameo as a nervous plumber. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marilyn Monroe, Tom Ewell, (more)
- 1955
The title refers not to James Cagney's curtain line in White Heat but to Northern Alaska, where this film is set. Dale Robertson plays an Air Force jet pilot who resents the fact that he's been transferred from Hawaii to the frozen north. He changes his mind when he meets his ex-wife (Evelyn Keyes), now the proprietress of an Alaskan nightclub. Alas, Evelyn is planning to get married again -- and her intended is none other than her ex-husband's commanding officer (Frank Lovejoy)! Hostilities build to a fever pitch, but all petty differences are forgotten when the commander oversees a rescue mission to save the pilot and his crew from a floating glacier. The aerial photography is the most entertaining ingredient of Top of the World. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dale Robertson, Evelyn Keyes, (more)
- 1954
Hell's Half Acre was written directly for the screen by Steve Fisher, whose I Wake Up Screaming remains one of the definitive "film noirs". The scene is a rundown section of Honolulu, where there dwells a group of wannabes, hasbeens and never-weres. While trying to go straight in this environment, ex-racketeer Chet Chester (Wendell Corey) is shaken down by his former criminal cohorts. Chester's girl friend Rose (Nancy Gates) kills one of his tormentors, whereupon Chester takes the blame, assuming that he's still got enough pull to get off with a light sentence. Meanwhile, Dona Williams (Evelyn Keyes) arrives on the scene, certain that Chester is her long-lost husband. When Rose is murdered, Chester escapes from jail, intending to prove Dona's innocence--and to square accounts with the 10-year-old son he never knew he had. Elsa Lanchester provides much-needed laughs as a dotty cabdriver. Dismissed upon its first release, Hell's Half Acre is now considered one of the most durable of Republic's mid-1950s features. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wendell Corey, Evelyn Keyes, (more)
- 1953
After her divorce from director John Huston, actress Evelyn Keyes divided her time between Hollywood and Europe. It was during one of her stopovers in France that Keyes starred in C'Est Arrive a Paris (It Happened in Paris). She is cast as vacationing heiress Pat, who is sick to death of the sightseeing tours arranged by her uncle (Paul Faivre). During one such excursion, she enjoys a romance with Russian prince Vlad (Henri Vidal). What Pat doesn't know is that her prince is a con artist, who is being bankrolled by two confederates in order to woo the girl and gain access to her inheritance. C'est Arrive a Paris was filmed in two versions, English and French; it was the English version which was released to American television in the late 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Evelyn Keyes, Henri Vidal, (more)
- 1953
Scripted by Eric Ambler from a novel by Geoffrey Household, the British Rough Shoot top-bills Hollywood stars Joel McCrea and Evelyn Keyes. McCrea plays Taine, an American colonel stationed in England. When he spots what appears to be a prowler, Taine tries to scare the fellow away with a round of buckshot. The prowler immediately falls to the ground -- dead. Assuming that he's responsible, Taine hides the body, an act that sparks a chain reaction of sinister events, resulting in the colonel's involvement in an Iron-Curtain spy ring and an exciting finale at Madame Tussaud's wax museum. Evelyn Keyes' role as Colonel Taine's wife is overshadowed by the scene-stealing performances of supporting actors Herbert Lom and Marius Goring. Rough Shoot was originally released in Great Britain as Shoot First. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joel McCrea, Evelyn Keyes, (more)
- 1953
Ernie Driscoll (John Payne) is an ex-fighter who came within seconds of winning the world championship. He's now forced to eke out a living driving a cab. A basically decent guy, he has lots of people who care about him, including Linda James (Evelyn Keyes), a slightly ditsy actress friend -- but Ernie also has a short fuse, especially where his wife Pauline (Peggie Castle) is concerned. His rage boils over when he spots her kissing another man, but her unfaithfulness turns out to be the least of his worries. The man she's seeing, Vic Rawlins (Brad Dexter), is a career criminal with both the police and his former partners after him, and he sees Ernie as the perfect fall-guy. The law and Rawlins' criminal associates are soon closing in on Ernie, while he tries desperately -- with Linda's help -- to buy the time he needs to unravel this nightmare. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Payne, Evelyn Keyes, (more)
- 1952
Filmed on location in Mexico (one of several Hollywood-financed films of the 1950s to take advantage of the lower production and labor costs south of the border), One Big Affair stars Evelyn Keyes as Jean Harper, a scatter-brained American schoolteacher and Dennis O'Keefe as Jimmy Donovan, a stateside lawyer. When Jean is separated from her tour group, it is assumed that she's been kidnapped. In fact, she has fallen in love with fellow tourist Donovan, and has joined him in his journey to Acapulco. The local constabulary refuse to believe that Donovan isn't a kidnapper, and a zany chase across Mexico ensues. One Big Affair was produced by the estimable Benedict Bogaeus, on the verge of his lucrative association with RKO Radio, and director Allan Dwan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Evelyn Keyes, Dennis O'Keefe, (more)
- 1951
Webb Garwood (Van Heflin) is a cynical policeman who believes that success comes from lucky breaks. Responding to a prowler complaint at the home of Susan Gilvray (Evelyn Keyes), he is immediately attracted to her and her wealth. He returns to "check up" on Susan, and they begin an affair, conducted while listening to her husband William (Emerson Treacy)'s all-night radio program. Feeling guilty, Susan ends the relationship, but Garwood remains obsessed. He pretends to be a prowler on the Gilvray property so he can respond to another police call. Drawing William outside, he shoots him and makes it appear accidental. When Garwood manipulates Susan's confusion about the shooting, she buys his story, and the lovers marry. However, upon discovering that Susan is pregnant "too soon," they flee to give birth in secret, but eventually Susan learns the devastating truth. Intense performances by Heflin and Keyes bring alive this story of a prowler who preys on a woman's loneliness while also representing the forces of authority who literally screw those they are supposed to serve. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Heflin, Evelyn Keyes, (more)
- 1951
A remake of the 1931 film of the same name, Iron Man stars Jeff Chandler as up-and-coming boxer Cokie Martin. A relatively pleasant fellow outside the ring, Martin turns into a monster whenever he dons boxing gloves and trunks. As a result, he becomes "the man you love to hate" so far as the fans are concerned. Only his fiancee Rose (Evelyn Keyes) is willing to stand by him, but even her devotion is sorely tested when Cokie continues displaying his killer instinct. Only the intervention of "clean" fighter Speed O'Keefe (Rock Hudson) prevents Cokie from destroying himself. Told in flashback, Iron Man is at its best in its expository scenes, showing the hero working his way out of a coal mining town and into the championship. Joyce Holden co-stars as a good-time girl who enjoys a brief fling with the hero; in the original 1931 version, Holden's character was played by Jean Harlow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Chandler, Evelyn Keyes, (more)
- 1951
Jeff Chandler stars in the Universal actioner Smuggler's Island. Chandler plays ex-Navy frogman Steve Kent, now employed as a diver for hire in Macao. On the verge of bankruptcy, Kent is bailed out by mystery woman Vivian Craig (Evelyn Keyes), who wants him to locate a stolen cache of gold. Other interested parties include Vivian's shifty husband (Philip Friend) and ruthless pirate Bok-Ying (Marvin Miller). Crosses, double-crosses and triple-crosses abound before fadeout time. The climax is a Technicolorful fireworks display aboard Kent's sloop, wherein all loose plot strands are neatly tied up. Smuggler's Island doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but this fact does not lessen its entertainment value one iota. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Chandler, Evelyn Keyes, (more)
- 1950
A married team of diamond smugglers enter New York to fence their purloined gems unaware that the wife is carrying the highly contagious, deadly smallpox virus. The crooks ensconce themselves in a hotel without realizing that the wife's every move is being monitored by a Treasury agent. The husband directs her to stay put while he goes off on business. Actually he is going out to tryst with his conniving sister-in-law. Back in the room, the wife feels ill and so creeps out to see a doctor. The T-man loses her trail. The doctor doesn't recognize the dread disease until much later and so the woman is free to travel about leaving a trail of death behind her. Once again she is followed, but the agents have a hard time keeping up with her. Eventually she finds her husband and learns the truth. Not only has he been unfaithful, he and her sister are planning to abscond with the jewels. A struggle between man and wife ensues culminating in the husband's death. Afterward the woman goes to authorities and before succumbing to the disease, provides them with a badly needed list of those she contacted. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Evelyn Keyes, Charles Korvin, (more)
- 1949
Returning from WW II, gambler Joe Miracle (Glenn Ford) discovers that his partner is dead, his gaming house has been sold, and his fortune has been claimed by others. Forced to steal back money which is rightfully his, Joe takes refuge in a settlement house run by social worker Jenny Jones (Evelyn Keyes). The girl hopes to reform Joe; he plays along, intending to skedaddle when the heat is off. Not unexpectedly, Joe begins to mellow as he learns the satisfaction of doing good for others. Meanwhile, investigative reporter "Early" Byrd (John Ireland) bides his time, hoping to expose Joe as a wanted fugitive and thus attain a big scoop. Two directors were credited for Mr. Soft Touch, though it's hard to discern where one ended and the other began. The film was released in England as House of Settlement. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Ford, Evelyn Keyes, (more)
- 1949
Dick Powell stars as Canadian Mountie Sgt. Mike Flannagan. When Boston-bred Kathy O'Fallon (Evelyn Keyes) marries Mike, she is immediately nicknamed "Mrs. Mike" by her new friends and neighbors. Unprepared for the hardships of life in the Great White North, Mrs. Mike nonetheless perseveres through minor inconveniences and major tragedies, including the death of her child during an epidemic. The film lays on the sentiment rather heavily, but stars Dick Powell and Evelyn Keyes manage to cut through the treacle with their first-rate thesping. Based on a true story, Mrs. Mike was adapted from the best-selling novel by Benedict & Nancy Freedman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Powell, Evelyn Keyes, (more)
Most of the story in this five-hanky British melodrama takes place over a 50 year period within a single London home, 99 Wiltshire Place, the birth place of a noted general who has not been back since he was a young man and had a terrible wrenching fight with his sister over his love for their adopted sister. Just before he stormed out, he vowed that he would never return until the troublesome sibling, who was always jealous of the beautiful orphan girl, died. Many years pass and the general now sits there alone with his old butler musing about his lost love. His American granddaughter, an ambulance driver for the war effort, shows up distraught. It seems she has fallen in love with the Canadian nephew of the general's old flame and is undecided whether she marry him right away or wait until after the war. He then tells her his tragic tale in hopes that she will change her mind. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Niven, Teresa Wright, (more)
- 1948
So often wasted in passive roles, Evelyn Keyes is virtually the whole show in The Mating of Millie. Keyes is cast as pretty businesswoman Millie McGonigle, who hopes to fill a gap in her life by adopting orphan boy Tommy Bassett (Jimmy Hunt, future star of 1953's Invaders from Mars). But this is 1948: self-supporting though she may be, Millie must have a husband to qualify as an adoptive parent. With the help of her neighbor Doug Andrews (Glenn Ford), Millie tries to trap an acceptable hubby. Guess who Millie falls in love with in the last reel. Just guess. Columbia mounted an elaborate and expensive promotional campaign for The Mating of Millie, resulting in excellent returns at the box office. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Ford, Evelyn Keyes, (more)
- 1947
Three years after song-and-dance man Dick Powell reshaped his nice-guy image by playing hard-boiled gumshoe Phillip Marlowe in Murder My Sweet, he returned to film noir with this crime-based thriller. Johnny O'Clock (Dick Powell) and his partner Pete Marchettis (Thomas Gomez) operate a gambling casino that has seen better days. Chuck Blayden (Jim Bannon), a cop on the take, wants in on the casino, and he makes friends with Pete while trying to convince him that Johnny, the smarter of the two, should go. When Chuck's girlfriend Harriet (Nina Foch) is found dead, a supposed suicide, his sister Nancy (Evelyn Keyes) smells a rat, especially after Chuck skips town. Nancy is convinced that her sister was murdered, and she asks Johnny to help her prove it. Johnny, who already has a number of women in his life -- including Nelle (Ellen Drew), Pete's wife -- figures that one more can't hurt and agrees to help her. But Police Inspector Koch (Lee J. Cobb), convinced that Johnny and Pete were behind Harriet's death, is making it hard for Johnny to do much investigating, and matters get worse when Chuck's body is found floating in the river. Screenwriter Robert Rossen made his directorial debut with this film, 14 years later, he would return to this film's tough, gritty style for his best picture, The Hustler. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Powell, Evelyn Keyes, (more)
