Perry Lopez Movies
Tough-talking American character actor Perry Lopez played "ethnic" roles from the time of his his stage debut in the early 1950s. Signed to a Warner Bros. contract in 1955, Lopez lent support to such studio projects as Mister Roberts (1955), The McConnell Story (1956) and The Violent Road (1958). He is best remembered as police officer Lou Escobar in Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974). Perry Lopez reprised this uniformed character (now promoted to captain) in the 1990 Chinatown sequel The Two Jakes. Lopez died of lung cancer in February 2008. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie GuideVic Powers (Lloyd Bridges) leads a specialized rescue unit known as the Flying Fish. When an American economics professor is kidnapped by a malevolent Latin American dictator, the call goes out to recover the victim. The unit is equally adept in or out of the water. Ricardo (Nico Minardos) is the resident beachcomber recruited to provide the team with valuable information vital to recovering the missing professor. The specialized unit travels by air, land and sea to meet their objective and races against time to avoid an international incident that could tip the balance of power in favor of the dictator. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Bridges, Nico Minardos, (more)
Sol Madrid isn't a western, as might be gathered, but a drug-ring melodrama. David McCallum shows up early in the film as a spaced-out junkie. But Man From UNCLE fans need not worry: McCallum is actually an undercover agent, looking for the source of heroin being trafficked by the Mafia. The top man in the Mexican-based narcotics operation is the man you'd least likely expect -- especially when one remembers the sort of roles the guilty party had previously played in his long career. Based on Robert Wilder's novel Fruit of the Poppy, this went out to British moviehouses under the title The Heroin Gang. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David McCallum, Stella Stevens, (more)
James Stewart and Dean Martin are atypically cast as outlaws in Bandolero! The film begins as Dee Bishop (Martin) and his gang are about to be hanged. The Scripture-spouting executioner turns out to be Dee's brother Mace (Stewart), who helps the desperadoes escape. They are pursued by a sheriff (George Kennedy), whose lady friend (Raquel Welch) has the hots for Dee. The brothers try to go straight, but before they can make up their mind they find themselves surrounded by Mexican bandidos and are forced to team up with the sheriff to fight them off. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Stewart, Dean Martin, (more)
Andrew V. McLaglen directs the Western drama The Rare Breed, based on the real-life introduction of English Hereford cattle to the American West in the 1880s. Maureen O'Hara plays Martha Price, an widowed Englishwoman who convinces rancher Alexander Bowen (Brian Keith) to use her new cattle breed. James Stewart stars as ranch hand Sam Burnett, a rambler who agrees to take the rare bull to Texas in order to breed it with the longhorns. He also accepts a bribe along the way from the lawless Taylor (Alan Caillou). The determined Martha and her daughter Hilary (Juliet Mills) demand to go along for the trip, leading to Burnett having to rescue them from several bouts of Western-style danger. Soon Bowen loses faith in the breeding idea, but Burnett has grown to believe in the bull. The bull dies after the harsh winter, but Burnett saves one of its calves. He and Martha decide to start their own cattle ranch. Meanwhile, Hilary begins a romance with Bowen's son Jamie (Don Galloway). Also starring Jack Elam as swindler Deke Simons. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Stewart, Maureen O'Hara, (more)
A group of South American exiles living in Miami assembles a plan to invade and liberate their homeland (the country is not identified, but viewers can draw their own conclusions). Unfortunately, there is a traitor in the would-be liberators' midst. Disguising himself a soldier of fortune, Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) infiltrates the group in hopes of exposing the mole--and convincing the freedom fighters not to embark upon a futile mission that will cost all of them their lives. This episode marks the last appearance of Lynn Loring as Erskine's daughter Barbara. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
While sitting in a barber's chair, Carlos Rodriguez (Alex Montoya) is killed by impatient customer Duke Miller (Perry Lopez. The only person who could possibly identify Duke as the murderer is Joe Cartwright-who, unfortunately, was unconscious during the tragedy. Feeling responsible for Rodriguez' death, Joe personally escorts Carlos' son Paco (Raphel Lopez) to his grandparents in Mexico. Upon his arrival in the town of Juarez, Joe enters another barbershop-where Duke Miller is waiting for a final showdown. First shown on February 3, 1963, "The Last Haircut" was written by Charles Lang. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, (more)
George Washington McLintock (John Wayne) has a saddlebag full of trouble. The owner of the largest ranch in the territory, which also includes a mine and a lumber mill that he built up himself, should be a happy, fulfilled man, but he isn't. His wife, Katherine (Maureen O'Hara), walked out on him two years ago without a word of explanation and has been living back east and running in very fancy circles. He's getting older, a fact of which he's constantly reminded as friends around him decline in health. He's being challenged by their sons, eager to make their mark on the territory, and by the homesteaders who are pouring in with the support of the government, hoping to farm on land that's just barely adequate for cattle to graze on; he's got government officials underfoot, including an inept Indian agent (Strother Martin) and a corrupt land agent (Gordon Jones); the thick-headed, longwinded territorial governor, the honorable Cuthbert H. Humphrey (Robert Lowery), and the government back east are trying to push the Indians -- whose chiefs are some of McLintock's oldest enemies and his best and most honored friends -- by shipping them off to a reservation, where they'll be cared for like old women; and to top it all off, Katherine is coming back to secure a divorce and take custody of their 17-year-old daughter, Rebecca (Stefanie Powers), who's been at school back east and no longer likes anything to do with the West, any more than her mother does. All of that -- plus the presence of a young hired hand (Patrick Wayne) who's interested romantically in McLintock's daughter -- is the setup for a sprawling comedy Western with serious overtones, part battle-of-the-sexes and part political tract.
McLintock! was made mostly to keep John Wayne's production company solvent in the wake of the losses incurred from the production of The Alamo. Wayne needed a film that could be made quickly and have mass appeal, and he got more than he bargained for in James Edward Grant's screenplay, which owed a little to both The Taming of the Shrew and The Quiet Man. Shot in the spring of 1963 and premiered in late November of that year, McLintock! proved to be one of the star's most popular and successful films of the '60s. It was a prized possession of the Wayne estate and was held unavailable for all of the '80s and beyond until they missed the copyright renewal in 1991 -- after that, it emerged in numerous substandard videocassette and DVD editions. There was an authorized VHS edition from MPI in the early '90s, and there were legitimate showings on WTBS, but until 2005 there was no decent quality DVD version. Late that year, Paramount Home Video, working under license from the Wayne estate, released a beautiful letterboxed DVD edition loaded up with extras. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
McLintock! was made mostly to keep John Wayne's production company solvent in the wake of the losses incurred from the production of The Alamo. Wayne needed a film that could be made quickly and have mass appeal, and he got more than he bargained for in James Edward Grant's screenplay, which owed a little to both The Taming of the Shrew and The Quiet Man. Shot in the spring of 1963 and premiered in late November of that year, McLintock! proved to be one of the star's most popular and successful films of the '60s. It was a prized possession of the Wayne estate and was held unavailable for all of the '80s and beyond until they missed the copyright renewal in 1991 -- after that, it emerged in numerous substandard videocassette and DVD editions. There was an authorized VHS edition from MPI in the early '90s, and there were legitimate showings on WTBS, but until 2005 there was no decent quality DVD version. Late that year, Paramount Home Video, working under license from the Wayne estate, released a beautiful letterboxed DVD edition loaded up with extras. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, (more)
The spectacular hordes of Cossack horsemen flying across the steppes to do battle with first one enemy and then another are the highlights of this otherwise thinly scripted costume drama set in the 16th century in the Ukraine. After the Cossack leader Taras Bulba (Yul Brynner) makes a pact with the Poles to join forces against the Turks and drive them from the European steppes, victory brings betrayal as the Poles then turn on their ally and force the Cossacks into the hills. From there, Taras Bulba decides that one of his sons, Andrei (Tony Curtis), will be sent to Polish schools to better learn the nature of their enemy. While away from home and hearth, the adult Andrei falls in love with a Polish noblewoman, Natalia (Christine Kaufmann, who would become the second Mrs. Curtis). As time progresses, the tensions between father and son, loyalty and love, ethnic identity and assimilation steadily increase until they end in tragedy. Taras Bulba was nominated for a 1963 Academy Award for "Best Music", scored by Franz Waxman. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Yul Brynner, (more)
Edmond O'Brien became the latest actor to try his hand at directing in Man-Trap (he'd previous functioned as codirector on 1957's Shield for Murder). Jeffrey Hunter stars as an impressionable fellow whose old marine buddy (David Janssen) talks him into a questionable business venture. Hunter joins Janssen in a plot to hijack nearly four million dollars from the Mob. The results are far from beneficial, either for Hunter or his alcoholic, promiscuous young wife (Stella Stevens). Man-Trap was adapted from John D. MacDonald's novel Taint of the Tiger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeffrey Hunter, David Janssen, (more)
A desert town is held in a grip of terror by the three crazed Brent brothers--Alvah (Mike Kellin), Theo (Perry Lopez) and Bobby Joe (Brad Weston). Unless the townsfolk come up with a huge pile of money, the Brent boys have threatrened to poison the water supply. It is up to Paladin (Richard Boone) to save the town and settle the brothers' hash once and for all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Tensely directed by Don Siegel, Flaming Star is the grittiest of Elvis Presley's post-Army films. Elvis plays Pacer Burton, a half-breed youth in the old West, torn between loyalty to the whites, as represented by his father (John McIntyre), and the Indians, represented by his mother (Dolores Del Rio). A series of brutal Kiowa raids, and the subsequent reprisals by the white settlers, sorely test Pacer's fortitude. Though offered moral support from his loved ones, Pacer is forced to work things out himself. The film was based on a novel by Clair Huffaker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elvis Presley, Steve Forrest, (more)
This was the first film directed by Paul Stanley, and its theme of second-generation Puerto Ricans living in New York's Spanish Harlem would be picked up again in 1961's smash success, West Side Story. Miguel Estrada (John Saxon) was a member of a local gang before he went to prison for a year, and now that he is out he wants to walk the straight-and-narrow. His attempts at getting away from the life that binds him to the gangs are not anything his father can understand, and the gangs are not going to let him just walk away. At one point, he is forced into a knife fight with a gang member. A counterpoint to Miguel's dilemma is found in Sarita (Linda Cristal), a local "hostess" who prefers single bliss to marriage and its problems. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Saxon, Linda Cristal, (more)
Tennis player Walter Richmond (Robert Horton) finds a perfect doubles partner in the shapely form of attractive young widow Laura Gild (Betsy Von Furstenberg). As the two get to know each other better, the insatiably curious Walter begins asking questions about Laura's dear, departed husband. It would have been far better, however, if Walter had kept his curiosity to himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this drama, six daring truckers must transport unstable, highly explosive rocket fuel through a dangerously bumpy, rugged country. The film centers on their individual reasons for making the trip. These are presented via flashback. Though most of them need the money, one of the truck drivers is actually the fuel's inventor. During the fuel's development, a freak accident caused the death of his family. All but one of the drivers safely make it to their destination. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Keith, Dick Foran, (more)
The conflict between duty and conscience is explored in the WWII drama The Deep Six. Alan Ladd stars as Naval gunnery officer Alec Austin, a Quaker whose sincere pacifist sentiments do not sit well with his crew members. When he refuses to fire upon an unidentified plane, the word spreads that Austin cannot be relied upon in battle (never mind that the plane turns out to be one of ours). To prove that he's worthy of command, Austin volunteers for a dangerous mission: the rescue of a group of US pilots on a Japanese-held island. The ubiquitous William Bendix costars as Frenchy Shapiro (!), Austin's Jewish petty officer and severest critic. If the film has a villain, it is Keenan Wynn as ambitious Lt. Commander Edge, who seems to despise anyone who isn't a mainline WASP.The Deep Six was based on a novel by Martin Dibner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Ladd, William Bendix, (more)
Frank Freeman Jr., son of the longtime head of Paramount Pictures, made his debut as producer with the opulent but empty Omar Khayyam. Cornel Wilde stars as the legendary Persian poet, here depicted as not only a philosopher but a scientist, politician and great lover. As the Persians gear up for war against the Byzantines, Omar occupies his time by romancing Sharain (Debra Paget), the favorite wife of the Shah (Raymond Massey). He also does his best to foil a plan by Hasani (Michael Rennie), leader of the Cult of Assassins, to murder the royal family. While many of the characters and events are based on fact, it is difficult to believe the story or the dialogue for more than ten minutes at a stretch. Singer Yma Sumac, then famous for her four-and-a-half octave vocal range, is somehow woven into the proceedings. When Omar Khayyam laid an egg at the box-office, a Hollywood wit, taking into consideration the Southern heritage of Frank Freeman Jr., assessed the results as "A loaf of bread, a bottle of coke and you-all." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Michael Rennie, (more)
The Steel Jungle is the prison where most of this film takes place. Perry Lopez heads the cast as two-bit bookie Ed Novak, who goes to jail rather than squeal on his Syndicate higher-ups. Novak's silence exacts a toll on his wife Frances (Beverly Garland), who is expecting a child. The longer he remains in prison, the more Novak becomes aware that the mob has deserted him--and the more he's willing to spill what he knows. Fellow prisoner Steve Marlin (Ted De Corsia) intends to see that Novak keeps his mouth shut permananently. Produced independently, The Steel Jungle was distributed by Warner Bros. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Perry Lopez, Beverly Garland, (more)
The Lone Ranger was the first of two Technicolor theatrical features based on the popular TV series of the same name. Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels, stars of the video version, essay the roles of the Masked Rider of the Plains and his faithful Indian companion Tonto. This time around, our heroes take on evil rancher Reece Kilgore (Lyle Bettger), who hopes to become an all-poweful land baron by fomenting an Indian war. It is up to the Lone Ranger to keep the peace and to find out why Kilgore is up to what he's up to. To expedite this, the Ranger adopts a couple of clever disguises (though we never see his full face au naturel). Among the more novel aspects of the film is little Beverly Washburn as Lila Kilgore, the sweet, innocent daughter of the double-dyed villain. The nominal leading lady is played by Bonita Granville, who co-produced the film with her husband Jack Wrather. The Lone Ranger proved successful enough to warrant a sequel, The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (also 1956). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clayton Moore, Jay Silverheels, (more)
In this western, a young cowboy becomes a man as he tries to decide whether to escape the notorious shadow of his late father, a feared and famous gunfighter, or follow in his footsteps. Many young men assume that the cowboy has followed in his father's footstep and challenge him. Though he remains undecided, he does face down one group of young men and they begin treating him as their leader. The trouble begins when some of the group begin plotting to rob a bank without telling him. In the end, the young man decides to follow the higher path, and he stops the robbery. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Russ Tamblyn, Gloria Talbott, (more)
Adapted by Leon Uris from his own novel, the film follows a group of World War II marines, from Basic Training to Battlefield. Major Van Heflin knows that his men are spoiling for a real fight, but must make do with the desultory skirmishes assigned them by the Brass. All this changes with an onslaught of heavy-duty battling in the South Pacific. Aldo Ray plays a tough leatherneck who falls in love with demure Nancy Olson, while James Whitmore, Tab Hunter, Dorothy Malone and Raymond Massey costar. And watch for young Justus McQueen, cast as private L.Q. Jones; McQueen liked his character name so much that he adopted it as his professional cognomen. Composer Max Steiner's musical score earned him an Oscar nomination. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Heflin, Aldo Ray, (more)
Hell on Frisco Bay is a slam-bang return to the sort of gangster fare turned out by the yard at Warner Bros. in the 1930s. Alan Ladd plays ex-cop Steve Rollins, who serves five years on a manslaughter rap. Upon his release, Rollins dedicates himself to finding the real killer. He soon learns that the man responsible for the frame-up was Victor Amato (Edward G. Robinson), the crime kingpin who rules the roost on the docks of San Francisco. Hoping to keep the heat off his operation, Amato "invites" Rollins to join his gang. Had Rollins accepted at this point, the film would have been over; instead, he doggedly pursues the gang boss with the help of such allies as cast-off gangster moll Kay Stanley (Fay Wray) and police lieutenant Dan Bianco (William Demarest). Amato is so desperate at one point that he orders the murder of his own nephew; surely a man with this sort of temperament is doomed to a horrible demise, and that's just what happens. Joanne Dru costars as Rollins' estranged wife Marcia, who believes in her husband but doesn't relish the notion of his being shot full of holes by Amato's goons. At the time of the film's release, the critics went overboard in their approval of Edward G. Robinson's full-blooded reprisal of the sort of role which made him famous (Robinson himself hated the part, but needed the work). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Ladd, Edward G. Robinson, (more)
Alan Ladd plays real-life air force hero Captain Joseph McConnell Jr. in this inspirational biopic, while June Allyson does her usual as McConnell's anxious, waiting-nervously-at-home wife. Assigned to the medical corps during WWII, McConnell takes private flying lessons so that he'll qualify for pilot duty. After serving with distinction in the war, McConnell becomes a pioneer in the testing of jet aircraft. The film ends when McConnell dies while testing a new Sabre Jet. If June Allyson seems genuinely broken up upon learning of her screen husband's death, it may be because the real Captain Joseph McConnell died only a few weeks before filming started on The McConnell Story, necessitating a hurriedly rescripted ending. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Ladd, June Allyson, (more)
I Died a Thousand Times is a scene-by-scene remake of the 1941 crime-drama classic High Sierra. Jack Palance steps into the old Humphrey Bogart role as Roy "Mad Dog" Earle, the ageing bank robber who intends to pull off one last heist before retiring. Sprung from prison by likeable crime boss Big Mac (Lon Chaney Jr.), Earle is commissioned to mastermind the robbery of a resort hotel. His partners in crime include the hotheaded, immature Babe (Lee Marvin) and Red (Earl Holliman), as well as "inside man" Mendoza (Perry Lopez). Also along for the ride is Marie (Shelley Winters), a dance-hall girl whom Babe has picked up. Marie falls in love with Earle, but he has eyes only for Velma (Lori Nelson), the club-footed daughter of a farmer (Ralph Moody) whom Earle had earlier befriended. Intending to use his share of the loot to finance Velma's operation, Earle goes through with the robbery, only to be thwarted by the ineptitude of his partners, the treachery of the late Big Mac's successors, and, finally, the fickle Velma. With the faithful Marie by his side, Earle makes a desperate escape into the High Sierras, but fate is still against him. Essentially an itinerary of what has previously "clicked" in High Sierra, I Died a Thousand Times makes a few concessions to changing tastes and mores; the stereotype comedy-relief character played by black actor Willie Best in the original film, for example, has been replaced by the more "acceptable" (at least by 1950s terms) stereotyped Mexican played by Gonzales-Gonzales. While the 1955 film cannot match the excellence of its 1941 role model, I Died a Thousand Times works pretty well on its own terms. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Palance, Shelley Winters, (more)
Henry Fonda returned to films after an eight-year absence in this masterful adaptation of the actor's Broadway hit Mister Roberts. Written and partially directed by Joshua Logan, the film stars Fonda as Lt. Doug Roberts, chief cargo officer of the supply ship "Reluctant." WW2 is in its last few months, and Roberts is itching for combat duty. But the Reluctant's surly, despotic captain (James Cagney), anxious to use Roberts to expedite his own promotion, refuses to sign any of Roberts' transfer requests. Helping to brighten Mister Roberts' humdrum existence are his best friends, Ensign Frank Pulver (Jack Lemmon, in an Oscar-winning performance) and the ship's philosophical doctor (William Powell, in his final film appearance). Most of the laughs are provided by Pulver, officer "in charge of laundry and morale." When he isn't wheeling and dealing to bring a bevy of beautiful nurses on board the Reluctant, Pulver is concocting elaborate schemes to avenge himself against the Captain -- even though he's spent 14 months on the Reluctant without ever meeting his nemesis. The film's highlights include the efforts by Roberts, Pulver, and Doc to mix a bottle of Scotch from Coca-Cola, Iodine, and other vital ingredients; and Mister Roberts' (and later Ensign Pulver's) assertion of manhood by tossing the Captain's precious palm tree overboard. Halfway through shooting, legendary director John Ford was replaced, ostensibly because of illness, by Mervyn LeRoy. One of the finest service comedies ever made, Mister Roberts spawned a less amusing sequel, Ensign Pulver (1964), as well as a 1965 TV sitcom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Fonda, James Cagney, (more)
Based on a novel by Gwen Bristow, Jubilee Trail is a sprawling, all-star western from the Republic Studio mills. Despite is vaunted budget, the plot is strictly B-picture material. Ambitious California landowner Charles Hale (Ray Middleton) hopes to add to his riches by marrying off his brother Oliver (John Russell) to a wealthy Spanish family. But when Oliver weds a gal named Garnet (Joan Leslie) instead, Charles vows revenge against the new bride. Later, Oliver is killed, leaving Garnet to raise their baby alone. Charles intends to claim the baby for himself, but Garnet, who has subsequently fallen in love with John Ives (Forrest Tucker), isn't about to let that happen. Top-billed Vera Ralston plays saloon-hall chirp Florinda, a Woman With a Past who is peripherally involved in the plot proper, while Richard Webb, TV's "Captain Midnight", fills the obligatory "disgruntled suitor" role. The film is stolen hands down by Pat O'Brien as a drunken doctor who serves as last-minute problem-solver. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vera Ralston, Joan Leslie, (more)



















