Piper Laurie Movies

Never mind the top-billed Ronald W. Reagan; the real stars of Louisa are sprightly seniors Charles Coburn, Spring Byington and Edmund Gwenn. Spring plays Reagan's widowed mother, who is outwardly satisfied with her lot but inwardly lonely. Enter Coburn and Gwenn, who vie for Spring's attentions. Uptight Ronnie disapproves of his mother's dalliances, and has additional problems with his spunky daughter (Piper Laurie), who has just begun dating. Spring Byington and Charles Coburn worked so well together in Louisa that plans were made to star them in a weekly TV series. The project never sold, but Spring would star in a similar sitcom, December Bride, from 1954 through 1959. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Universal's newest "heartthrobs" Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie were first teamed in this lavish adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's The Prince Who Was a Thief. Curtis stars as Julna, the rightful heir to a Middle Eastern throne. Kidnapped in infancy, Julna is raised as a thief by the roguish Yussef (Everett Sloane). Eventually, however, Julna's true identity is revealed, prompting him to lead a revolt against the evil, usurping Mustapha (Donald Randolph). Piper Laurie steals the show as Tina, a carnival contortionist who falls in love with Julna and helps him regain his throne (most of Laurie's trickier stunts were performed in long shot by a much heftier double). Fine escapist entertainment, The Prince Who Was a Thief secured major stardom for both its leading players. And no, this is not the film in which Tony Curtis utters the apocryphal line "Yonduh lies duh castle of my faddah." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Pity poor ex-GI Alvah Morrell (Tony Curtis). While on his honeymoon with perky Lee Kingshead (Piper Laurie), he comes down with a bad case of chicken pox. The moment he recovers, he's shipped overseas. And when Alvah returns home, he finds his house festooned with his wife's troublesome relatives -- and, per the film's title, there's no room for him. Complicating matters is Lee's supercilious mother (Spring Byington), who does her best to break up the marriage so that her daughter will be free to marry wealthy-but-dull Herman Strouple (Don DeFore). No Room for the Groom plays like an elongated 2-reel comedy, but the stars are attractive and Douglas Sirk's direction is subtle and inventive. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this swashbuckling adventure-satire, Kashma Baba's famous father Ali, sends the reluctant youth to military school to prepare him for the troubles ahead. Meanwhile, an evil Caliph kidnaps and enslaves an Arabian princess as part of his plan to steal Ali Baba's fabulous treasure. He then sends his new "slave' to Kashma's home. The Caliph tells the Shah, to whom the princess is betrothed, that Kashma has stolen her and that he will get her back. While staying with Kashma, the princess finds herself falling in love. When Kashma learns of the plot he and his buddies pick up their swords and begin trying to save her and retrieve his father's stolen treasure. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

1953's The Mississippi Gambler was the third Universal Studios film to bear this title--though with a different plot each time. Tyrone Power plays an all-around adventurer who cuts quite a swath through antebellum New Orleans. In between scenes of gambling, fist-fighting and swordplay, Power woos Piper Laurie, who chooses to marry wealthy Ron Randell; in turn, Power is wooed by Julie Adams, whose ardor is not reciprocated. The climax finds Power in a card table showdown with Ms. Laurie's ill-tempered brother John Baer. Mississippi Gambler is consistently good to look at, even when the storyline threatens to snap under the pressure. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tony Curtis stars as Johnny Dark, a moody automobile designer. Rejected by a major auto firm because of his "radical" notions, Johnny sets out to prove the efficiency of his cars on the racetrack. He is aided and abetted by pretty Piper Laurie and less pretty Paul Kelly, while motor mogul Sidney Blackmer fumes and fusses until he realizes that Johnny's designs will save his company. Most of the film is devoted to a marathon race, pitting Johnny against his friendly enemy Don Taylor. Johnny Dark is a must for racing buffs, as well as a prime example of Tony Curtis in his beefcake period. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this lively musical a chorine hooks a successful businessman and becomes the snob she thinks he expects her to be. This is a problem, because he fell in love with her because she was so earthy and fun. Now that she has become refined and aloof, he is bored. Fortunately, just as he is leaving, the plucky girl sees the error of her ways and marital bliss ensues. Songs include: "Ain't Misbehavin'", "The Dixie Mambo", "I Love That Rickey, Tickey, Tickey", and "A Little Love Can Go a Long Way". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Kelly is a big, lovable, immensely talented German Shepherd. "Me" is Len Carmody (Van Johnson), a third-rate vaudevillian. Carmody's fortunes take an upswing when he teams with the personable Kelly for professional reasons. When talking pictures come in, Carmody is signed to appear in short subjects, only to discover that it's the dog the producers want, rather than him. As if this wasn't enough for Carmody to worry about, Kelly's original owner pops up out of nowhere, demanding that the dog be returned to him. As something of a balm, Carmody enjoys the romantic attentions of two lovely ladies: Mina Van Runkel (Piper Laurie), daughter of movie-studio owner Walter Van Runkel (Onslow Stevens), and cinema vamp Lucy Castle (Martha Hyer). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The second volume of this collection features a television production of "The Days of Wine and Roses." ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

As The Hustler's "Fast" Eddie Felson, Paul Newman created a classic antihero, charismatic but fundamentally flawed, and nobody's role model. A pool player from Oakland, CA, as good as anyone who ever picked up a cue, Eddie has an Achilles' heel: arrogance. It's not enough for him to win: he must force his opponent to acknowledge his superiority. The movie follows Eddie from his match against billiards champ Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) as he falls in love with Sarah (Piper Laurie), an alcoholic would-be writer and sometime prostitute, and falls under the spell of Bert Gordon (George C. Scott), a successful gambler who offers to take Eddie under his wing and teach him how to play in the big time. However, when Sarah joins Eddie and Bert on a trip to Louisville for a high-stakes match with a dandy named Findlay (Murray Hamilton), the consequences prove tragic. Along with a classic performance by Newman, The Hustler also features turns by Scott, Laurie, and Gleason, in a rare dramatic role. Cameos from pool champ Willie Mosconi and boxer Jake LaMotta add to the atmosphere of Harry Horner's grubby production design and Eugen Schüfftan's camerawork. Director Robert Rossen, who had been working in films since 1937, was to direct only one more film, Lilith (1964), before his death in 1966. In 1986, Newman returned to the role of "Fast" Eddie in Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money, for which he finally earned an Academy Award as Best Actor. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This classic horror movie based on Stephen King's first novel stars Sissy Spacek as Carrie White, a shy, diffident teenager who is the butt of practical jokes at her small-town high school. Her blind panic at her first menstruation, a result of ignorance and religious guilt drummed into her by her fanatical mother, Margaret (Piper Laurie), only causes her classmates' vicious cruelty to escalate, despite the attentions of her overly solicitous gym teacher (Betty Buckley). Finally, when the venomous Chris Hargenson (Nancy Allen) engineers a reprehensible prank at the school prom, Carrie lashes out in a horrifying display of her heretofore minor telekinetic powers. Many films had featured school bullies, but Carrie was one of the first to focus on the special brand of cruelty unique to teenage girls. Carrie's world is presented as a snake pit, where the well-to-do female students all have fangs -- even the reticent Sue Snell (Amy Irving) -- and all the males are blind pawns, sexually twisted around the fingers of Chris and her evil cronies. The talented supporting cast includes John Travolta, P.J. Soles, and William Katt. One of the genre's true classics, the film was followed by a sequel in 1999, as well as by a famously unsuccessful Broadway musical adaptation that starred Betty Buckley, the movie's gym teacher, as Margaret White. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Piper Laurie (the mother in the horror film Carrie) appears here as the mother of a deranged deaf-mute girl. The mom runs a drive-in theater which shows mostly horror films. The girl is deranged because she is possessed by the spirit of her long-dead dad, a gangster who was gunned down by the mob. The vengeful spirit uses his daughter to gain vengeance on his assassins, many of whom now work at the drive-in. One by one the mobsters bite the dust as the demonized little girl extracts revenge for her deceased daddy. ~ All Movie Guide

Bobby (Asher Brauner) has never had to work hard or worry much about his future. After all, his father (Rudy Solari) owns a carpet factory, and he has been brought up in the lap of luxury. His father offers him a chance to take over the factory after a few years, and he jumps at the chance. However, he is surprised when he learns that his father's plan is for him to learn about the place from the bottom up. His first job is as a delivery driver, and he begins to see how the other half lives. He makes friends with a good-humored fellow driver, and all seems to be going well until he discovers that his new friend and some others are involved in a theft ring which affects the future of the factory. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide