Harry Lane Movies

With dialogue ranging from flat to offensive and acting in the same range, this low-brow erotic crime drama by director Terence Young stars Jayne Mansfield as Midnight Franklin, a star stripper in a Soho club that is in serious rivalry with another strip joint. A reporter gets involved in the strip scene while writing a story on the clubs, and in the end he has quite a lot to write about. The competition between the two clubs heats up, and after one of the owners is the unknowing instrument in the death of a young (illegally young) stripper, both rival clubs head for a crash. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Half affectionate parody and half enthusiastic tribute to the swashbuckling pirate epics of the 1930's and 40's, The Crimson Pirate stars Burt Lancaster as Captain Vallo, the smiling leader of a pack of unscrupulous pirates. While on the high seas, Vallo and his men spy a well-stocked merchant ship, and waste no time in relieving it of its contents. One of the passengers on the cargo vessel, Baron Gruda (Leslie E. Bradley), informs Vallo that a political revolt is shaking a island nation in the Caribbean to its foundations. The pirates set their course to the island, hoping to sell the arms they've just stolen to rebel leader Sebastian (Frederick Leister), while planning to later double their profit by turning him in to the Government leaders who are offering a reward for his capture. Vallo's plans change when he meets Sebastian's daughter Consuelo (Eva Bartok) and falls in love, while she teaches the pirate the wisdom of her father's philosophies. Vallo and his faithful sidekick Ojo (Nick Cravat) soon join Sebastian's men, and fight with them in a valiant struggle for freedom. Burt Lancaster and Nick Cravat were once partners in their early days as circus acrobats, and they got to put their skills to good use in this picture; keep an eye peeled for an early performance by future horror movie great Christopher Lee. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Denied steady work in the U.S. because of his alleged left-wing political beliefs, Edward G. Robinson was obliged to seek out film roles elsewhere in 1950. My Daughter Joy stars Robinson as self-made businessman George Constantin, whose ruthlessness knows no bounds. In fact, Constantin hopes to control the economy of the world, thereby calling the shots for everything and everybody. Outside of his business activities, the only thing he cares about is his daughter Georgette (Peggy Cummins), known to everyone as Joy. As part of a scheme to gain a valuable material necessary for a top-secret project, Constantin arranges a marriage between Joy and the son of a Middle Eastern potentate. But Joy is in love with journalist Larry Boyd (Richard Greene), who has been conducting an investigation of Constantin's questionable business practices. Constantin has every intention of squelching his beloved daughter's happiness for the sake of megalomania -- until he is devastated by the revelation of a deep, dark secret long held by his wife (Nora Swinburne). My Daughter Joy was released in the U.S. as Operation X. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Leo Martin (William Hartnell) is a low-level member of a smash-and-grab gang run by shady dance-club owner Loman (Raymond Lovell), who is cajoled into a risky job on a major jewelry store. When the robbery goes wrong, and Martin is caught (and his wrists broken), the hood keeps silent and does his stretch in prison -- all along, he nurses a grudge against Loman and his driver Hatchett (Victor Weske) for running out on him. And that grudge grows to full-blown, murderous vengeance when Loman blows off the newly-released Martin as no use to the gang (as his hands aren't what they used to be). Now Martin plans to get even by squeezing Loman dry of everything he has, starting with his peace-of-mind -- he implicates the club owner in a murder, while planning a seemingly perfect alibi for himself, and also manages to latch on to the ring-leader that Loman is fronting for, "respectable" art dealer Gregory Lang (Herbert Lom). Lang has a knack for tying up loose ends -- including Loman -- and thinks he can handle a low-level spiv like Martin, but he doesn't reckon with the latter's rage, deviousness, or resourcefulness. Martin's planning gets him past all of the obstacles in his way, even -- so it seems -- the plodding efforts of Inspector Rogers (Robert Beatty), still investigating the killing that put Martin's plan into operation. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

The unusual amalgam of documentary maven Robert Flaherty and pure-entertainment producer Zoltan Korda resulted in the 1937 money-spinner Elephant Boy. In his screen debut, eleven-year-old Indian-born Sabu plays the title character, a mahout named Toomai. When his father is killed by a tiger, Toomal is left alone and unprotected and not long afterward loses his beloved elephant to a sadistic "driver." Stealing back the pachyderm and heading into the wilderness, Toomal stumbles across a herd of wild elephants, which the British government has long been seeking. With visions of a huge reward in his head, Toomal offers to lead the authorities to the elusive herd -- whereupon the "dramatic" portion of the story gracefully gives way to the "documentary" portion. More intriguing than entertaining, Elephant Boy was nonetheless one of the most successful films of its kind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide