William McCormick Movies
- 1953
"Her Salome Will Steal Your Breath Away" was the classic advertising slogan attached to this opulent Rita Hayworth epic -- a slogan which became laughable whenever a radio announcer would mispronounce Salome as "salami." Using the very sketchy Biblical story of the death of John the Baptist as its springboard, Salome depicts its title character, the stepdaughter of King Herod, as a victim of circumstance rather than a wanton temptress. Banished from Rome because of an unfortunate romance with the nephew of Caesar, Salome (Rita Hayworth) declares that all men are her enemies, but her resolve weakens when she falls in love with Claudius (Stewart Granger), the military commander of Galilee. Meanwhile, Salome's wicked mother, Herodias (Judith Anderson), plots the demise of John the Baptist (Alan Badel), who currently enjoys the protection of the superstitious Herod (Charles Laughton). At this point, the story departs radically from Scripture. Salome is no longer coerced by Herodias to demand the head of John the Baptist; instead, Herodias, on her own, promises Herod that Salome will perform the "Dance of the Seven Veils" for him -- but only if he beheads John first (Salome has been misinformed that the dance will save John from the headsman's sword). Somehow, scriptwriter Jesse Lasky Jr. even manages to concoct a happy ending for poor Salome, which is a lot more than Oscar Wilde or Richard Strauss were able to do. Considered an artistic flop in 1953, Salome seems somewhat better today, if only because of that powerhouse cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rita Hayworth, Stewart Granger, (more)
- 1949
- NR
The Dore Schary regime at MGM brought a much-needed dose of stark realism to the venerable studio. Van Johnson sheds his boy-next-door image to play L.A. plainclothes lieutenant Mike Conovan. Determined to bring a cop killer to justice, Conovan will let no man stand in his way -- not even his level-headed superiors. The detective's single-purposed pursuit causes a rift in his marriage to wife Gloria (Arlene Dahl). The film comes very close to the Dragnet school of unadorned, unglamorized police procedure: it adheres to standard MGM formula only in the final reconciliation scene. Officially a Harry Rapf production, Scene of the Crime was completed by another producer when Rapf died during filming. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Johnson, Arlene Dahl, (more)
John Brickley (Robert Montgomery) believes in PT boats, and as a lowly U.S. Navy lieutenant stationed in the Philippines, that makes him a radical thinker. "Your boats maneuver beautifully," an admiral (Charles Trowbridge) tells him, "but if I'm going into combat, I prefer something a little more substantial." The gently delivered but stinging dismissal stirs the resentment of Lt. "Rusty" Ryan (John Wayne), who tartly tells Brickley that he wants to be transferred to destroyers. The Pearl Harbor bombing makes transfer impossible, especially with the Japanese preparing to invade the islands. So Brickley and Ryan go to work, first as message carriers between the Philippines and Corregidor, then, finally, as ship hunters. They record some successes, but it's a doomed effort: The Americans are hopelessly outnumbered by the Japanese, and with almost all of the Pacific Fleet destroyed at Pearl Harbor, they know help won't arrive to save them. As the Japanese push the U.S. forces back, Brickley and Ryan and their crews hop from island to island, scrounging supplies and taking casualties but keeping up the fight. Just as it appears that they will be forced to fight on Corregidor against the Japanese, they get rescued; they're ordered home to promote their PT-boat successes, and they take the last plane out, hoping to return and avenge their defeats. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Montgomery, John Wayne, (more)
This landmark western -- which, along with Stagecoach, has often been credited with revitalizing what had become a stagnant genre -- stars Errol Flynn as Wade Hatton, a cattle man who arrives in the frontier community of Dodge City, which is overrun by footloose cowboys and outlaws. When Hatton helps Dodge City lawmen capture a gang of cattle rustlers led by Jeff Surrett (Bruce Cabot), he's asked to help guide a wagon train into town with his friends Rusty Hart (Alan Hale, Sr.) and Tex Baird (Guinn Williams). En route, an impulsive young cowpoke named Lee Irving (William Lundigan) needlessly fires off his pistol, sparking a cattle stampede that leads to his death. When Hatton and his men arrive in Dodge, they discover Surrett is once again at large, and his gang has taken over the city. Appointed the city's new sheriff, Hatton is determined to clean up the town and put the outlaws out of business. In his rare moments off duty, Hatton tries to win the affections of Abbie Irving (Olivia de Havilland), but she believes that Hatton is responsible for the death of her brother Lee; Hatton's habit of flirting with dance hall girl Ruby Gilman (Ann Sheridan) does nothing to improve her opinion of him. A solid box office hit, Dodge City was the first of a series of westerns for swashbuckling star Flynn; his next oater, Virginia City, followed in 1940. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, (more)
- 1935
This western ranks with Edward D. Wood's infamous Plan 9 from Outer Space as the worst film of all time. The plot concerns an old rancher who sends for his son to come home and rid the ranch of a variety of frontier thugs, but it's not the story that holds your attention. What stands out about this film is the hopelessly abysmal acting of everyone concerned, plot holes you could drive a truck through, the fact that many scenes are totally out of focus (apparently the cameraman had better things to do than look through his viewfinder), and an audio track that rises and falls like a roller coaster. Buddy Roosevelt, a top western star in the silent era, made a string of these cheapjack films for Superior Pictures -- each reportedly shot in two days on a budget of $2500 -- for a salary of $250 a piece. He was overpaid. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- 1927
In his final film for poverty row company FBO, silent screen Western star Fred Thomson played a miner who finds himself swindled by an evil horse trader, Decker (J.P. McGowan). Having failed to corner the market in horses, Decker manages to arouse the local Indians led by Red Dog (Dan Peterson). Happily, Thomson and his wonder horse, Silver King, become wise to the schemes and save the town of Coldwater in the nick of time. Leaving his home of nearly four years, Thomson signed with more upmarket Paramount even before Arizona Nights had been released. Sadly, he died after an operation for gall stones, December 25, 1928, having only completed four Westerns for his new studio. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1921
The director of such classics as Destry Rides Again, The Blue Dahlia (1946) and The Sheepman (1958), George Marshall began his directorial career making routine Westerns in 1916. By 1921, he had graduated to features such as this Tom Mix oater, which, according to the trade-paper Motion Picture News, was "one of the biggest productions Mix had offered to the public." The center-piece of the film was a realistically staged stampede of wild horses and a rescue by Mix of a wayward four-year old boy (Marvin Loback). An otherwise routine Western fable about the exploits of the Texas Rangers, Hands Off was based on a the novel Oh You Tex by William McLeod Raine. Playing the heroine's weak-willed brother was future director Lloyd Bacon, who that year joined forces with comedy star Lloyd Hamilton. Bacon later worked for Mack Sennett and in the 1930s became noted for his extravagant musicals for Warner Bros. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Mix, Pauline Curley, (more)
