John Drew Barrymore Movies
John Drew Barrymore the son of actor John Barrymore and actress Dolores Costello, debuted in films as a teenager, and, during the 1950s, appeared in such notable films as the western High Lonesome, Fritz Lang's thriller While The City Sleeps, and the cult melodrama of the evils of marijuana, Jack Arnold's High School Confidential. He acted in several Italian-made historical films in the early 1960s, including The Nights Of Rasputin (aka The Night They Killed Rasputin) and The Trojan Horse (as Ulysses to Steve Reeves' Aeneas). He entered semi-retirement from the mid '60s through the mid '70s; his later films include Larry Cohen's werewolf comedy Full Moon High. ~ All Movie Guide- 1969
This Savage Land is the story of the Prides, a pioneer family homesteading in 19th century Kansas. Barry Sullivan and Kathryn Hays play the mother and father of the Pride brood, with Andrew Prine and Brenda Scott as the oldest children (Prine and Scott had been married and divorced before the cameras began turning). The plot covers the westward trek from Ohio to Kansas, early tussles in a hostile town, and the courtship and marriage between widower Sullivan and fellow homesteader Hays, whose father is murdered by vigilantes. Made for television, This Savage Land was originally telecast September 12 and 19, 1966, as the two-part inaugural episode of the weekly TV series The Road West. Both parts were packaged into a theatrical feature to take box-office advantage of George C. Scott, here guest-starring as the vigilante leader. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
John Drew Barrymore, Joan Blondell, John Dehner, and Dan Duryea star in this made-for-television remake of the 1950 James Stewart Western about a two brothers who both covet the titular repeating rifle. As the dedicated officer and the crafty ex-con face off to determine who will walk away with rifle in hand, family bonds are violently shattered by the desire for cold steel and hot lead. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Tryon, John Saxon, (more)
- 1965
In this costume drama, a 17th-century Polish colonel falls in love with a princess. Unfortunately the girl is already engaged to a Ukraine commander. The colonel does his best to convince her to break it off and take off with him. The commander gets even by burning down the count's palace and massacring all the residents. He then kidnaps the princess and designs an attack on the colonel's unit. The Poles do not run, and the count is killed thus freeing the lovers to reunite. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1965
In this horror movie, a brave Roman soldier and a slave girl must battle an insane man and his zombie army in order to bring back the treasure they stole. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1964
This fact-based, but exploitational drama, chronicles the sordid case of Christine Keeler. It opens with an actual interview with the woman who had just been released from prison. The story begins in London where Keeler worked as a model and a hostess. There she meets Barrymore and soon ends up living with him platonically. She falls for a West Indian musician and leaves Barrymore. She is at a crazy pool party when she encounters the British minister of war and the Russian naval attache. She gets involved with both of them and the musician gets mad enough to shoot through her door. Scotland Yard investigates and exposes the great scandal causing the minister to step-down, the Russian to return home, and Barrymore to kill himself. For her part in the trouble, Keeler spent 9 months in jail. The film was made when the whole mess was still in the public eye. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1963
A locked castle becomes the location for a killer's capture by a group of teenagers. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1963
In this horrifying and exciting sword-and-sandal epic, a courageous Roman centurion sallies forth to retrieve a fabulous stolen treasure from the leader of a zombie cult who uses the reanimated bodies of dead soldiers to enable him to conquer the world. The warrior discovers that the demented despot's power lies in an enigmatic and powerful idol. He engages in many battles with the corps of corpses before he finally triumphs, saves the world, and recovers the treasure. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Drew Barrymore, Susy Andersen, (more)
- 1962
Centurions was initially released in the US The Centurion (some difference). Jacques Sernas heads the cast as a Roman gladiator sent on a diplomatic mission to Greece. Sernas's task is to convince the Greeks to acquiesce to Roman rule, but he is opposed by a group of freedom advocates (among them John Drew Barrymore). The plot congeals when Sernas falls in love with Gianni Santuccio, daughter of the head of the anti-Rome faction. Originally lensed in Italy as Il Conquistatore di Corinto, Centurions has also been exhibited under the literally translated title Conqueror of Corinth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Steve Reeves gives the most dramatically demanding performance of his career (and a surprisingly good one) in The Trojan Horse. Essentially a retelling of the final year of the siege of Troy from the point of view of Aeneas (Reeves), the movie is filled with fascinating portrayals. Aeneas, taking the interpretation from the poet Virgil, is the wisest of the Trojans and, after ten years of war, has become the leading advocate for finding an end to the fighting. His wisdom and nobility have earned him a place at the table with King Priam and the other rulers, which puts him at odds with the vain, jealous Paris and his Helen. Opening with the slaying of Hector by Achilles, the film is steeped in complex personal relationships and mythological conceits. John Drew Barrymore is the other "name" actor here, playing Ulysses as a clever, cynical, and bold warrior among the Greeks. Reeves brings real nobility to Aeneas and relies on his acting skills as much as his physique to bring off this movie, often mixing the two in a script filled with ironies, as when Aeneas must kill a Greek warrior for whom he earlier expressed respect. Along with Reeves' two Hercules films from the end of the 1950s, and Vittorio Cottafavi's Hercules and the Captive Women, this is one of the best examples of Italy's sword-and-sandal genre. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- 1962
This Italian drama tells the story of Christ's crucifixion from the viewpoint of the Roman emperor's procurator in Israel who must try to quell a Jewish revolt. In a bizarre twist, John Drew Barrymore plays both Jesus and Judas in the film. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
A routine Italian costume drama released via Universal Studios, this story is set in Egypt during the usual ancient period. The clichéd tale stars Linda Cristal as Akis, a seductive woman whose attractions are more than enough to qualify her as a source of romantic rivalry. She is sought after by two princes, Sbaku (John Drew Barrymore) and Ramsis (Armando Francioli) who are sworn enemies, not boding well for a long and healthy life span. A remote contender in the romance sweepstakes is Amosi (Pierre Brice), a physician at the court who seems to be the long-shot, but then appearances can be deceiving. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Drew Barrymore, Linda Cristal, (more)
- 1961
An international cast wanders in and out of the lavish sets in Daggers of Blood. Set in 18th-century Eastern Europe, the film concerns the star-crossed romance between a Polish military officer and a gorgeous Slavic princess. The princess' vengeful lover cuts a path of death and destruction throughout the land. The showdown finds the villain holding the princess captive as the hero and the thousands under his command race to the rescue. Jeanne Crain, then pushing 40, is as lovely and fragile as ever as the Princess; less attractive is John Drew Barrymore (son of the Great Profile, father of Drew Barrymore) as the heavy. France's Pierre Brice is the hero, while veteran scene-stealer Akim Tamiroff growls and glowers as a bibulous baron. Based on a novel by Henry (Quo Vadis) Sienkewicz, the French-Italian-Yugoslavian Daggers of Blood was originally titled Col Ferro e Col Fuccio. It has also been released as With Fire and Blood and Invasion 1700. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeanne Crain, John Drew Barrymore, (more)
- 1960
Set in the 1850s in Czar Alexander II's Russia, this routine costume drama and adventure film focuses on the strife between the Circassian Muslims, led by Shamil (Edmund Purdom) and Czar Alexander (Massimo Girotti). As a condition of an early truce, Shamil's young son Jamal (John Drew Barrymore) is sent to be raised and trained in the elite Imperial School of Cadets. The plan partially works, since Shamil grows to manhood enjoying the aristocratic life, but he is still drawn to his roots like iron filings to a magnet. His interior conflict is made all the worse when a princess, Tatiana (Georgia Moll), falls for him. At the same time, the exterior conflict between the Circassians and the Russians is heating up toward an explosive conclusion. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edmund Purdom, John Drew Barrymore, (more)
- 1960
This somewhat inaccurate biography of Russia's power-hungry "Mad Monk" concentrates on the attempts on Rasputin's life, including the (almost un-) successful one carried out by a prince. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edmund Purdom, Gianna Maria Canale, (more)
- 1959
Scripted in another era, the premise for this interesting though conventional drama defending a partially mixed marriage would not be as convincing a few decades later. Chuck Nelson (John Drew Barrymore) is a wealthy young man who travels South of the border and meets and then marries Ginny (Julie London). His new bride is a wonderful woman until Chuck's socialite mother (Agnes Moorehead) discovers that one of Ginny's grandparents was of African ancestry. The imperious mother-in-law lands the new couple in an embittered court battle as she makes every attempt to annul their marriage. Nat "King" Cole plays Ginny's uncle, and Anna Kashfi is Maria, her cousin. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie London, John Drew Barrymore, (more)
Never Love a Stranger--especially if it's young hoodlum Frank Kane (John Drew Barrymore). When it is discovered that his natural parents were Jewish, Kane is removed from the Catholic orphanage that has been his only home. Seething with resentment, he vows to succeed at gangsterdom. He rises spectacularly to the top before his inevitable downfall-and has a high old time doing so. The basis for Never Love a Stranger was a Harold Robbins novel, which obviously drew upon actual people and events; it's quite entertaining to guess who the fictionalized characters are supposed to be. Of the stellar supporting cast, Robert Armstrong is a standout as a soft-spoken gunman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Drew Barrymore, Lita Milan, (more)
Producer Albert Zugsmith serves up another all-star exposé with High School Confidential. Delivering a superb performance under the circumstances, Russ Tamblyn heads the cast as "typical" high schooler Tony Baker. Usually seen in the company of his voluptuous "aunt" Gwen Dulaine (the truly impressive Mamie Van Doren), Tony convinces one and all that he's looking for kicks of the controlled-substance kind. In truth, however, our hero is really an undercover narcotics agent named Mike Wilson, bound and determined to smash the operation of drug lord Mr. A. (Jackie Coogan). The once-in-a-lifetime cast includes such worthies as John Drew Barrymore (Drew Barrymore's daddy), Ray Anthony (then married to Mamie Van Doren), Charles Chaplin Jr., Michael Landon, and Jerry Lee Lewis as "himself." This updated Reefer Madness is not to be missed! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jan Sterling, John Drew Barrymore, (more)
- 1957
Musical comedy star Betty Garrett goes dramatic big-time in the hostage drama Shadow on the Window. Betty plays Linda Atlas, the mother of seven-year-old Petey Atlas (portrayed by Jerry "The Beaver" Mathers). When Petey witnesses a murder committed by a trio of juvenile delinquents, he wanders off in a state of shock. The three punks (John Barrymore Jr., Corey Allen and Gerald Sarricini) kidnap Linda, who's also witnessed their crime, holding her prisoner to keep the boy from talking -- if and when he recovers. Meanwhile, the authorities launch a frenzied manhunt in search of the catatonic boy, led by Petey's dad, police officer Tony Atlas (Phil Carey). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philip Carey, Betty Garrett, (more)
- 1957
One last duel is expected of a retired gunfighter as brash, young gunfighters tempt him back onto the streets. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1957
An American World War II officer is given a new mission -- take the invulnerable German fortress that is strategically key. Can he survive this suicide mission? ~ All Movie Guide
- 1952
Not to be confused with a 1942 20th Century-Fox aviation actioner with the same title, Thunderbirds is a Republic Pictures war flick. John Derek and John Barrymore Jr. play two handsome flyboys with the Oklahoma National Guard who are pressed into service at the outbreak of World War II. They spend most of the war in the Italian campaign, then blast their way into Berlin. By way of a plot complication, Ward Bond shows up as a tough veteran sergeant who turns out to be the long-lost father of hotheaded Barrymore. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Derek, John Drew Barrymore, (more)
