Donald Kirke Movies

Anticipating the real-life political career of Maverick star Jack Kelly, who would serve two terms as mayor of Huntington Beach, California, in the 1980s, this episode finds Bart Maverick (Kelly) running for a State Senate seat on the Reform Party ticket. He has agreed to throw his hat in the ring to help Penelope Greeley (Merry Anders), daughter of the actual candidate Ellsworth Greeley (R.G. Armstrong), who has been shot and wounded by an unknown assailant. Well, maybe "unknown" is a poor choice of words: Bart's opponent Wellington Cosgrove (R.G. Armstrong) has made no secret of his plans to kill Mr. Maverick should he win the election. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bret (James Garner) is summoned for jury duty in the trial of young Bill Gregg (William Reynolds), who is accused of murdering a wealthy rancher. Disturbed that the jury has already decided that Gregg is guilty--and certain that the poor fellow is being railroaded--Bret endeavors to win the other jurors over to his side, using a deck of cards as his "persuader." Directed by Richard L. Bare, this episode features supporting appearances by George O'Hanlon, whom Bare had directed in dozens of "Joe McDoakes" theatrical shorts, and Frank Cady, who later played Sam Drucker in the Bare-directed sitcom Green Acres. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Vincent Sherman replaced an uncredited Robert Aldrich as director of this noirish and atypically pro-union film from the 1950's. Tulio Renata (Robert Loggia), an organizer for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, campaigns to unionize the employees of dress factory owner Walter Mitchell (Lee J. Cobb). Viscerally opposed to the union, Mitchell has hired Artie Ravidge (Richard Boone) to thwart Renata's efforts. In a complex oedipal sub-plot, Walter's son Alan (Kerwin Matthews) returns home and joins the firm following the suspicious death of his father's partner. Alan is more sympathetic to the union and attempts to persuade his father to sign a contract. Only after Ravidge kills Renata, and the elder Mitchell finally admits to himself that Ravidge is a thug who also killed his partner, does he agree to negotiate with the union. Before he can do so, however, he, too, is murdered by Ravidge's goons. It is then left to Alan, increasingly involved with Renata's widow Theresa (Gia Scala), to run the business, bring Ravidge to justice, and settle with the union. Similar to Herbert Biberman's Salt of the Earth (1954) in its overt support of the labor movement, The Garment Jungle is clearly a liberal, not a radical, film. Rather than advocate class warfare, it asserts that honest unions and decent capitalists can work together honorably. The film's real fire is found in the personal conflicts between Tulio and Theresa and Walter and Alan. Cobb, Loggia, and Scala perform with intense and multi-dimensional passion. Particularly noteworthy is Theresa's fury at her husband for taking excessive, and ultimately fatal, risks. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide

Although Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd) agrees to remain at Mesa City for a couple of days so that California (Andy Clyde) and Lucky (Rand Brooks) can partake in various amusements, the stay becomes more of an ordeal than a holiday when the local bank is robbed during a square-dance competition. A case of mistaken trunks puts California in jail and it is up to Hoppy to clear his name and catch the real culprits. The real bank robbers manage to escape in one of those newfangled horse-less carriages, but as horse-less carriages are wont to do, then as now, this one runs out of gas at the most inopportune moment. Co-scripted by character actress Ellen Corby, Hoppy's Holiday was produced by its star, William Boyd. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Glenda Farrell reprises her fast-talking girl reporter persona in PRC's Night for Crime. Ms. Farrell is cast as Susan, a big-city sob sister who investigates the murder of movie extra Ellen Smith (Marjorie Manners). Adding to the confusion, movie star Mona (Lina Basquette) disappears in the middle of an important production. As clues and suspects pile up, Susan and detective Joe (Lyle Talbot) try to solve the mystery without ending up as murder victims themselves. A Night for Crime was based on a story by Hollywood columnist Jimmy Starr, who appears on-screen with his journalistic colleagues Erskine Johnson, Edwin Schallert (father of actor William Schallert) and Harry Crocker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lucille Ball delivers the finest dramatic performance of her career in this satisfying adaptation of Damon Runyon's The Big Street. Ball is cast as Gloria, aka "Your Highness," the vain and thoroughly selfish star attraction of gangster Case Ables' (Barton MacLaine) New York nightclub. Henry Fonda costars as busboy Little Pinks, who worships Gloria from afar. When Gloria is crippled by a fall downstairs-caused by a blow across the face by the sadistic Ables-Little Pinks selflessly waits upon the invalided and doggedly ungrateful songstress hand and foot. So devoted to Gloria is Pinks that he's willing to pilot her wheelchair from Manhattan to Florida so that she can renew her romance with callow playboy Decatur Reed (William Orr). Touched by Pinks' loyalty, his Runyonesque friends-Professor B (Ray Collins), Horsethief (Sam Levene), Mr. and Mrs. Nicely-Nicely Johnson (Eugene Pallette, Agnes Moorehead) and all the rest-raise enough money to open a Florida nightclub so that Gloria can put up a brave front. The ending is at once the most lachrymose and most effectively moving scene in the film, one that can only be spoiled if detailed here. Produced by Damon Runyon himself, The Big Street is one of the few completely successful filmed Runyon adaptations-as well as Lucille Ball's finest hour (and a half) on-screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Showdown was the second 1940 entry in Paramount's "Hopalong Cassidy" western series. William Boyd (who else?) stars as Hoppy, while his sidekicks on this trip are Russell Hayden as Lucky Jenkins and Britt Wood as Speedy. When his rancher friend dies of a heart attack after being swindled by a gang of crooks, Hoppy vows to see that justice is done for the sake of the dead man's niece (Jane Clayton, aka Jan Clayton, who at the time was Mrs. Russell Hayden). There's action aplenty in Showdown, ranging from a burning barn to a runaway train, but the film's highlight is a rigged poker game, wherein supposed tenderfoot Hoppy flummoxes the bad guys. Perennial "Cassidy" heavy Morris Ankrum seems to be having a wonderful time posing as a European count, though he reverts to his usual Ugly-American self in the final scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though it may be difficult for modern audiences to understand or appreciate the appeal of canary-voiced boy soprano Bobby Breen, the fact remains that he was one of the most popular box-office attractions of the 1930s. Adapted from Don Blandings' novel Stowaways in Paradise, Hawaii Calls stars Breen as shoe-shine boy Billy Coulter, who in the company of his young newsboy pal Pua (Pua Lani) stows away on a Honolulu-bound ocean liner. Here he finds an unexpected ally in the form of persimmon-faced musician Strings (Ned Sparks), who conspires to hide Billy and Pua from irascible Captain O'Hare (Irvin S. Cobb). Once the ship arrives in Hawaii, Billy eludes the authorities by hiding with Pua's native family. The plot goes off on a new tangent when foreign spy Blake (William Harrigan) steals valuable Navy secrets from young Commander Milburn (Warren Hull). Billy and Pua save the day by locating the thieves' hideout and alerting Milburn. Before this happens, Bobby Breen sings ever so many Hawaiian tunes, this best of which include "Down Where the Trade Winds Blow" and the title song. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mannequin stars Joan Crawford as Jessie Cassidy, a girl of the tenements (though this being an MGM film, her slum dwellings are cleaner and more lavish than most middle-class bungalows!) Hoping to escape her grimy surroundings, Jessie marries Eddie Miller (Alan Curtis), a childhood acquaintance who has made good with a variety of dishonest business ventures. Another refugee from Jessie's neighborhood is John Hennessy (Spencer Tracy), who has likewise worked his way up to fame and fortune, albeit more honestly than Eddie. Faced with mounting debts, Eddie callously orders Jessie to divorce him and marry John for his money -- then divorce John and return to Eddie with the cash. Jessie reluctantly goes along with the scheme, but she double-crosses Eddie upon falling in love with John. Things look bad for our heroine when Eddie, with blackmail on his mind, threatens to spill the beans to John about their little "arrangement" -- whereupon John solves the dilemma (and saves his marriage) by losing his own fortune. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Three Mesquiteers are back for more action in this well-photographed Republic western. This time, heroes Stoney Brooke (Bob Livingston), Tucson Smith (Ray "Crash" Corrigan) and Lullaby Joslin (Max Terhune) find themselves in a middle of a range war between cattlemen and sheepmen. The villains have the local constabulary in their pocket, and they intend to get what they want with a passel of forged land deeds and phony mortgages. The two chief heavies are played by Harry Woods and John Merton, and two meaner cusses never existed. An outsized gun battle brings this Mesquiteers entry to a rousing conclusion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A custody battle provides the basis for this melodramatic domestic drama. The case centers around a young girl who has recently inherited a fortune from her deceased grandfather. She had been living with her mother, but now her avaricious father wants the child back. The mother is a performer; the courts deem her an unfit mother and remand the child to her father's custody. The father turns out to be cruel and uncaring. Fortunately, a compassionate juror is able to prove that the father paid his witnesses and the girl is returned to her loving mother. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Smoke Tree Range represented another winning collaboration between cowboy hero Buck Jones and his favorite director Lesley Selander. A gang of cattle rustlers is at large, and Lee Cary (Buck Jones) aims to round 'em up and bring 'em in. He also champions the cause of heroine Nan Page (Muriel Evans) by searching for the men responsible for her father's murder. The villain of the piece is a two-bit dictator known as El Capitan (Donald Kirke), actually an American fugitive from justice named Wirt Stoner. If the plot is patchy at times, the action content more than makes up for any continuity gaps. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A veterinarian and his wife leave their small burg and move to the Big Apple after he inherits a million dollars. His social climbing wife insists on the move because she wants her daughter to make a formal debut. Unfortunately for the family, the fortune was earned by a brutal mob boss, the veterinarian's dead uncle. Once in the city, they find themselves assailed by gangsters wanting the money. This comedy chronicles their efforts to keep the criminals at bay. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide