Frank Latimore Movies
Along with such interchangeable actors as Bob Bailey and William Eythe, Frank Latimore was one of the 1940s stable of light leading men at 20th Century-Fox. Signed to a Fox contract while still in his teens, Latimore could be seen in such major releases as In the Meantime Darling (1944) The Dolly Sisters (1946) and Razor's Edge (1946). He played what amounted to a starring role in the 1945 thriller 13 Rue Madeline--until he was casually killed off by villain Richard Conte halfway into the picture. Latimore relocated to Rome in 1949, where he starred in actioners and swashbucklers; one of the last of these was 1962's Vengeance of Zorro. Frank Latimore returned to American films in the 1970s, playing such character parts as Lt. Colonel Henry Davenport in Patton (1970) and the Watergate-burglary judge in All the President's Men (1976). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This film is not only a revealing glimpse into the workings of the O.S.S. (Office of Strategic Services) during WW II, but it is also a full-fledged spy thriller. An excellent cast includes James Cagney, Karl Malden, E.G. Marshall, and Red Buttons. Cagney stars as an O.S.S. training officer, bent upon discovering a German traitor within his ranks while at the same time completing highly dangerous espionage assignments. The risks increase when one of his men is murdered from within, and Cagney, convinced he knows who the murdering infiltrator is, vows revenge. Authentic O.S.S. film footage make this film historically significant as well as entertaining. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Cagney, Annabella, (more)
Africa, Blood and Guts is an edited-down version of the 1966 documentary Africa, Addio, a follow up to the directors' Mondo Cane. Whereas the original 138-minute version of Addio sought to criticize practices and customs in 1960s Africa and demonstrated a fair amount of substance (drawing extreme controversy for its political and social observations about Africa), this reduced version exists only for the sake of exploitation - exclusively emphasizing homicides, genocides, mutilations, the butchering of animals and all manner of other grotesquerie.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Conspiracy film specialist Alan J. Pakula turned journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's best-selling account of their Watergate investigation into one of the hit films of Bicentennial year 1976. While researching a story about a botched 1972 burglary of Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate apartment complex, green Washington Post reporters/rivals Woodward (Robert Redford, who also exec produced) and Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) stumble on a possible connection between the burglars and a White House staffer. With the circumspect approval of executive editor Ben Bradlee (Jason Robards), the pair digs deeper. Aided by a guilt-ridden turncoat bookkeeper (Jane Alexander) and the vital if cryptic guidance of Woodward's mystery source, Deep Throat (Hal Holbrook), Woodward and Bernstein "follow the money" all the way to the top of the Nixon administration. Despite Deep Throat's warnings that their lives are in danger, and the reluctance of older Post editors, Woodward and Bernstein are determined to get out the story of the crime and its presidential cover-up. Once Bradlee is convinced, the final teletype impassively taps out the historically explosive results. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, (more)
- 1964
When it became clear to actor Frank Latimore that he wasn't getting anywhere in Hollywood, he packed his bags and headed for Europe. That was in 1949; by the early 1960s, Latimore was one of the Italian film industry's premiere action stars. In Balboa: Conquistador of the Pacific, Latimore plays the title role. Told episodically, the film details the 16th century explorer's various conquests, capped by his "claiming" of the Pacific Ocean. Pilar Cansinos costars in this splashy costume adventure. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1949
- NR
Gregory Ratoff is listed as sole director of the 1949 Orson Welles starrer Black Magic, but it is now common knowledge that Welles directed most of this lavish costumer himself. Told in flashback, the film recounts the life and times of notorious 18th-century hypnotist/magician/scam artist Cagliostro (played, but of course, by Welles). Learning the secrets of hypnosis from Dr. Mesmer (Charles Goldner), Cagliostro exploits this skill to gain wealth, prestige and, on occasion, romance. His downward slide begins when Cagliostro enters into an Anastasia-like scheme to substitute a young lass named Lorenza (Nancy Guild) for French queen Marie Antoinette. The charlatan's partners in crime are gypsies Gilbert (Akim Tamiroff, who manages to out-ham Welles in some scenes) and Zoraida (Valentina Cortese). Longer on style than substance, Black Magic is a wickedly delightful cinematic exercise, with Welles at his overbaked best. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Orson Welles, Nancy Guild, (more)
- 1978
Written by Loring Mandel, Breaking Up stars Gena Rowlands as a middle-aged housewife who, after 16 years of marriage, is asked for a divorce by husband Granville van Dusen. Once overcoming the shock and the bitterness, Rowlands must determine the future course for herself and her two children. Her efforts to set up her own fashion design business and to enter the dating pool are almost as traumatic as the initial separation. Adding to the dilemma is an increasingly large rift between Rowlands and her teen-age daughter, who holds her mom responsible for the marital discord. Breaking Up was telecast January 2, 1978 as an ABC Theatre presentation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
In this drama a Spanish aristocrat, trying to clear his father of charges of treason, accidently finds the real traitor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Cast a Giant Shadow is a big-budget, glossy action/adventure story set at the time that Israel became a nation. American Army officer Colonel David Marcus is recruited by the yet-to-exist Israel to help form an army. Marcus is conflicted because of his sudden appreciation for his Jewish heritage. Realizing that each of Israel's Arab nations has vowed to invade the poorly prepared country once the partition has been made, Marcus is made commander of the Israeli forces just before the war begins. The all-star cast includes Kirk Douglas, Senta Berger and Angie Dickinson. Aldo Tonti provides the beautiful photography by Aldo Tonti, and Melville Shavelson directs. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Douglas, Senta Berger, (more)
- 1965
When Indians threaten a rancher, he is helped by a young cowboy in this western film. (AKA Apache Fury) ~ All Movie Guide
- 1969
- G
- Add If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium to QueueAdd If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium to top of Queue
A mid-1960s TV documentary special (and a New Yorker cartoon before that) was the inspiration for If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium. The film is a likeable satire of "packaged" European tours, where the nonplused tourists are expected to rush from one landmark to another in a breathless 18 days. Ian McShane stars as the amorous tour guide, with Suzanne Pleshette as the American department store buyer he falls for; their romance ends when Pleshette decides that the supposedly worldly McShane is too immature for her. An all-star cast, including Murray Hamilton, Peggy Cass, Pamela Britton, Marty Ingels, John Cassavetes and Vittorio De Sica, pops up in comic cameo roles. Our favorite bit: an American and German tourist, simultaneously regaling their respective wives with wildly divergent accounts of the same wartime confrontation. If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium was reworked in 1987 as a made-for-TV movie, cleverly title If It's Tuesday, It Still Must be Belgium. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Suzanne Pleshette, Ian McShane, (more)
- 1955
After a woman is dumped, she schemes to ruin her ex-lover's imminent marriage. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1944
In this wartime comedy, a spoiled socialite attempts to endure army life after marrying a lieutenant. The constant traveling and inadequate quarters are almost more than she can bear. That she cannot get along with the other soldier's wives makes matters worse. When her husband's unit is placed on alert, she tries to get her father to help him get assigned a permanent position stateside. The couple then has a misunderstanding when he falsely believes that she is with child. Finally the woman begins to understand the nature of true patriotism and begins supporting her husband. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeanne Crain, Frank Latimore, (more)
- 1959
Robert Stack stars in this sea-faring historical epic as John Paul Jones, the first great hero of the American Navy. While originally a loyal soldier of the King's army, Jones in time becomes a fervent supporter of the American Revolutionaries, and he volunteers to lead the colonists' ragtag fleet to impressive victories against the British Navy; during a battle against the British ship Serapis, Jones utters the deathless words "I have not yet begun to fight." While his brave and intelligent leadership helps win America its freedom, his appeals to Benjamin Franklin (Charles Coburn) and the other leaders of Congress to strengthen the United States Navy fall on deaf ears; Jones is eventually branded a troublemaker, and in time, he is ordered to Russia, where he is to help guide the fleet of Catherine The Great (Bette Davis). Jones leads the Russian Navy to stunning victories in the Black Sea, reestablishing his reputation as one of the great military minds of his day. John Paul Jones also features a rousing score by the great film composer Max Steiner. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Stack, Marisa Pavan, (more)
- 1954
In this espionage film, Mata Hari's daughter takes the mantle from her notorious mother and entangles her self in an Asian web of intrigue and war. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1953
La Nemica (The Enemy) is based on the popular 1920s stage play by Dario Nicodemi. The central character is Duchess Anna de Nemi (Elisa Cegani), who for reasons that no one can understand seems to despise Roberto (Frank Latimore),one of her two sons. All the more confusing is that everyone else likes the boy. Only after his brother Gastone (Giacomo Verlier) is killed in battle does Roberto learn the dark secret behind his mother's animosity. And it is only then that any sort of reconciliation can be realized. La Nemica is one of several European films made by Hollywood expatriate Frank Latimore, and one of the few that isn't a straightforward adventure yarn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elisa Cegani, Frank Latimore, (more)
- 1953
Napolitani a Milano (Neapolitans in Milan) was co-written and directed by Eduardo De Felippo, himself a Naples native. De Felippo also plays the leading role, a slum-dweller named Salvatore. When a new housing project is built, Salvatore and his neighbors are evicted. Five of these neighbors refuse to vacate, and are killed when the building they're living in collapses. Led by Salvatore, a group of friends and relatives (more than the victims actually had!) march to Milan, demanding financial restitution. Despite its seemingly sober subject matter, Napolitani a Milano is essentially a comedy, with a few brief romantic interludes featuring Frank Latimore and Anna Maria Ferrero. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eduardo de Filippo, Anna Maria Ferrero, (more)
- 1970
Don't confuse this 1970 Italian/Yugoslav Operation Snafu with the 1962 British comedy-drama of the same name. While the earlier film boasted an engaging story and a boisterous early appearance by Sean Connery, the 1970 film is a witless mess. Even star Peter Falk fails to raise a laugh in his role as an American officer assigned to whip a troop of Algerian soldiers into shape during World War II. Their mission is an all-but-suicidal attack on a Sicilian enemy stronghold. As bad as Falk looks in this thing, his fellow "distinguished" American actors Jason Robards and Martin Landau look worse. The film's official title is Situation Normal, All Fouled Up; after five minutes, everyone in the audience will shout in unison the word for which "Fouled" is the accepted euphemism. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In 1943 North Africa, George Patton (George C. Scott) assumes command of (and instills some much-needed discipline in) the American forces. Engaged in battle against Germany's Field Marshal Rommel (Karl Michael Vogler), Patton drives back "The Desert Fox" by using the German's own tactics. Promoted to Lieutenant General, Patton is sent to Sicily, where he engages in a personal war of egos with British Field Marshal Montgomery (Michael Bates). Performing brilliantly in Italy, Patton seriously jeopardizes his future with a single slap. While touring an Army hospital, the General comes across a GI (Tim Considine) suffering from nervous fatigue. Incensed by what he considers a slacker, Patton smacks the poor soldier and orders him to get well in a hurry. This incident results in his losing his command-and, by extension, missing out on D-Day. In his final campaign, Patton leads the US 3rd Army through Europe. Unabashedly flamboyant, Patton remains a valuable resource, but ultimately proves too much of a "loose cannon" in comparison to the more level-headed tactics of his old friend Omar Bradley (Karl Malden). Patton won 7 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Scott, an award that he refused. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George C. Scott, Karl Malden, (more)
René Clément's thriller Purple Noon stars Alain Delon as Tom Ripley, an American who travels to Europe on an all-expenses-paid mission to convince his friend, the errant playboy Philippe Greenleaf (Maurice Ronet), to travel to San Francisco at the request of the wealthy Greenleaf family. Initially, the pair enjoy the good life in Italy, often to the anger and dismay of Philippe's much put-upon fiancee Marge (Marie Laforet). However, as Tom's funds begin to run dry, it becomes more and more apparent that Philippe has no intentions of returning to the U.S., forcing Tom to consider more nefarious means of maintaining his extravagant lifestyle. Purple Noon is adapted from Patricia Highsmith's novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, and like Alfred Hitchcock's classic Strangers on a Train, also based on Highsmith's work, the theme of identity transference is dominant. The subject even extends to the homoerotic undercurrents which simmer below the surface of Tom and Philippe's relationship, setting into motion a love/hate tension which explodes during a high seas journey. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alain Delon, Maurice Ronet, (more)
In this thriller, psychiatrist Dr. Cross (Vincent Price) kills his wife and expects to get away with murder, until he discovers that the slaying was observed by a next-door neighbor, Janet Stewart (Anabel Shaw). As Janet attempts to convince her husband (Frank Latimore) of the doctor's dastardly deed, Cross shows up to advise him that Janet is in dire need of some in-depth counseling. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Price, Lynn Bari, (more)
- 1965
In this western, a bad guy finds the tables have turned and that he is now being pursued by vengeful townsfolk. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
