Milt Kibbee Movies

The Las Vegas Story features two of Hollywood's most impressive physiques. Victor Mature stars as Dave Andrews, a gambler, while Jane Russell plays Linda, the love of his life. Assuming that Andrews has forgotten her, Linda marries Lloyd Rollins (Vincent Price) on the rebound. All three main characters are reunited in Las Vegas, where they become enmeshed in a robbery scheme that results in murder. Clearly inspired by Casablanca, the film even includes a philosophical piano player, portrayed by Hoagy Carmichael who also wrote the film's incidental songs. Though Las Vegas Story was largely scripted by Paul Jarrico, producer Howard Hughes refused to give Jarrico screen credit because of the latter's alleged pro-communist sympathies. Jarrico promptly sued Hughes and RKO, sparking one of the more famous cause celebres of the Blacklist era. As it turned out, nobody came out ahead with The Las Vegas Story: the film posted a loss of $600,000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hard-working leading lady Jane Nigh attains top billing in 1952's Rodeo. It's all about rough-and-ready gal Nancy Cartwright (Nigh) who takes over a travelling rodeo after the manager skips town with the payroll. Under her guidance, the show becomes a money-making proposition. Unfortunately, in her efforts to prove her value as a businesswoman, Nancy makes a careless remark to aging but proud ex-rodeo star Barbecue Jones (Wallace Ford). A near-tragedy ensues, prompting the rodeo workers to walk out on Nancy when she needs them most. But Slim Martin (John Archer), the rodeo's main attraction, manages to convince his fellow workers that Nancy is a "good egg" after all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fresh from radio and TV, "America's Favorite Family" stars in Here Come the Nelsons. That's right: this harmless little comedy is purely a vehicle for Ozzie, Harriet, David and Ricky. Since there must be a plot, the scriptwriters contrive to have Harriet uncharacteristically express jealousy over the presence of Ozzie's former schoolmate Barbara Schutzendorf (Barbara Lawrence). Meanwhile, Ozzie seethes when handsome young Charlie Jones (Rock Hudson) pays a bit too much attention to Harriet. To prove that he's still got what it takes, Ozzie competes against Charlie in a rodeo held in honor of the town's centennial (this sort of plot device usually happened to David or Ricky on the TV show). For no reason other than there are extra reels to go, little Ricky is kidnapped by a pair of bank robbers, played by Sheldon Leonard and Ed Max. Here Come the Nelsons was directed by Frederick De Cordova, whose other credits for Universal included such deathless entries as Bedtime for Bonzo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When the Redskins Rode is set during the French and Indian Wars of the mid-18th century. Jon Hall stars as Prince Lennoc, the son of Delaware-chief Shingiss (Pedro de Cordoba). The English are on the verge of signing an alliance with Shingiss, but their efforts are stymied by alluring French spy Elizabeth (Mary Castle). As part of her strategy, Elizabeth romances Lennoc, who almost falls for her seductive wiles. The film finally delivers the goods actionwise in an exciting climactic battle. Producer Sam Katzman, a man not known for lavish budgets, manages to make When the Redskins Rode seem far more expensive than it really was. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lippert Studio's first 1951 release was the compact western 3 Desperate Men. The title characters are the Denton Brothers, played by Preston S. Foster, Jim Davis and Ross Latimer. Accused of crimes they didn't commit, the Dentons are obliged to become outlaws to survive. So long as they stay away from their home town, the brothers are able to pull off their crime spree unabated. But their fate is sealed the moment they head homeward to exact revenge against those who framed them. Critics of the period were satisfied with 3 Desperate Men, though it was felt that at least two of the three Dentons could have used some lessons in horsemanship. The film secured pretty good bookings for a Lippert production. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

County Fair is an amiable racetrack drama starring Rory Calhoun. A veteran horse trainer, Calhoun has developed a somewhat unsavory reputation. He redeems himself by arranging for near-impoverished matron Florence Bates to win an important race. It's all for the love of a good woman--in this case, Bates' niece Jane Nigh. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Those scurrilous Chinese communists are up to their old tricks in the 1949 flagwaver State Department - File 649. William Lundigan plays Ken, an operative of the U.S. Foreign Service stationed in North China. Ken is one of several people trapped in a remote village by evil warlord Yun Usu (Richard Loo), who intends to sell his services to the highest bidder, be they Red or otherwise. Our hero manages to get a message out to the Free World before the film's operatically self-sacrificial climax. The characterizations are of the cardboard variety and the dialogue is straight out of Fu Manchu. Still, State Department - File 649 is a fascinating encapsulation of postwar political propaganda. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Garfield, in the best performance of his career, portrays Joe Morse, an ambitious attorney who has long since abandoned his scruples in favor of monetary reward. Morse now represents the interests of crime boss Ben Tucker (Roy Roberts), who plans to take over the numbers racket in New York. Morse has devised a way of doing this legally and above-board, with no violence: Tucker's people will bring about the collapse of the illegal numbers racket in the city, using a race track-betting scam that will bankrupt the small-time underworld numbers banks; an investigation will ensue, along with a call for a legal numbers operation in the form of a lottery, which Tucker will control through Morse's machinations. The whole plan hinges on Morse's estranged brother, Leo (Thomas Gomez), a small-time numbers banker who is to be shielded from the collapse, and who will serve as the "legitimate" front for Tucker. Leo is the flaw in the plan, however, because not only can't he stand the sight of Joe, but he is also too honest to participate in the plan -- he doesn't want his employees, all decent people just looking to earn a living, forced into the employ of real gangsters. Joe orchestrates a series of police raids that force Leo into his corner, and Joe's plan seems to be working out, but then the whole enterprise is threatened when a rival mob, run by Tucker's former Prohibition-era partner, Fico (Paul Fix), starts pressuring Leo, trying to get to Joe and Tucker. Fico and his men aren't any different from Tucker's mob, except that they're prepared to start shooting sooner to get what they want. Tucker decides to hang tough and expects everyone, including Leo, to do the same, even when Fico starts sending thugs around to frighten everyone. Soon Joe is beset by problems on three fronts -- he wants his brother out of Tucker's combination and safe; he is trying to romance Leo's bookkeeper (Beatrice Pearson), who is too nice a girl for who he is; and his own well-being is threatened by both Fico and Tucker, and a state investigator who has already tapped the phone of Joe's otherwise respectable partner. All of these threads are pulled together in the final section of the film, which is as violent and disturbing, yet poetic and graceful a resolution as any crime film of the 1940s ever delivered. Force of Evil was star-crossed almost from the start, as many of the people involved, including star John Garfield and director Abraham Polonsky (a writer making his debut behind the camera, with help from assistant director Don Weis in doing the camera set-ups and blocking), were suspect at the time for their leftist political views. Indeed, the company that made Force of Evil, Enterprise Productions, was also in trouble for the leftist leanings of its films in the midst of the Red Scare, and went out of business just as the movie was finished -- dropped by United Artists and picked up by MGM, of all studios, Force of Evil made it into theaters during Christmas week of 1948, not the ideal schedule for something as grim (albeit great) as this film was. As it turned out, it was Polonsky's last chance to direct for more than 20 years, and Garfield's last completely successful film. And a movie that should have been a triumph for all concerned ended up a cult favorite. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Band singer Freddie Stewart stars in the pure-'40s frivolity Vacation Days. It's a high-school musical romance, with some of the oldest "teenagers" on record. During summer vacation, Freddie and student June Preisser fall for each other. Their relationship is complicated by romantic rivalries carried over from the regular school year. Vacation Days features a spirited musical number by country-western star Spade Cooley, whose ultimate real-life destiny -- he would die in prison after murdering his wife -- retrospectively casts a slight pall on the proceedings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this musical, an orphan is under the false impression that her newly found relatives are filthy rich. Lacking the heart to tell her the truth, the relatives move into an abandoned mansion to entertain her and her fiance. Songs include: "That's Good Enough for Me", "A Man Is a Brother to a Mule", "Judy and Dick", and "Cheer for the Team". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Regular "Red Ryder" series villain Roy Barcroft took a well-earned breather in Homesteaders of Paradise Canyon. The equally disagreeable Gene Stutenroth (aka Gene Roth proved a fair enough substitute, however, as Bill Hume, a homesteader so disgusted over the fact that the government land he was promised for free instead goes for two dollars per acre that he hooks up with villainous newspaper publisher A.C. Blaine (Milt Kibbee). Having guided the homesteaders to Paradise Valley in the first place, Red Ryder (Allan Lane) manages to persuade his charges to remain despite the exorbitant price of land, much to the chagrin of Blaine and his cohort Langley (Emmett Vogan), who do their level best trying to scare the settlers away from the potentially lucrative valley. When Red goes undercover as a driver for Blaine's stagecoach line, young settler Steve Dill (John James) accuses him of treason and incites the settlers against him. It all comes to a showdown at the Hume ranch, where Bill's brother Rufe Mauritz Hugo) is shot before he can confess to his brother's treachery. Bill manages to get away, but Red mounts Thunder and tracks him down. Implicating his bosses Blaine and Langley, Bill is carted off to jail. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

This riveting 1947 drama, regarded by many as the greatest boxing movie of all time, centers on a former pugilist who looks back on his life in and out of the ring and realizes that self-respect is a more important prize than winning. John Garfield is Charlie Davis, a former boxing champion who began fighting in order to save himself and his mother from poverty after his father was killed in a mob-related bombing. William Conrad plays Quinn, a veteran boxer-turned-trainer who discovers that Davis has the potential to be a professional fighter. Eager to take on all contenders, Davis eventually defeats the world champion, but winning has cost him more than he bargained for. He falls in with the mob and takes to a life of easy women and plentiful booze, winning easy bouts with second-rate opponents. In the end, Davis realizes the error of his ways -- but is it too late? With all the odds against him, and knowing that the fight has already been fixed, Davis is forced to make the choice between what's expected of him and what he expects of himself. The fight sequences were filmed on roller skates with a hand-held camera, adding a realism that strengthens the film's verisimilitude. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide