Tom Daly Movies
- 1969
- R
Film editor Bill Brame directed this violent biker film featuring an intense performance by Bruce Dern as Keeg, the sadistic leader of a vicious gang of cyclists. When Keeg's girlfriend Lea (Melody Patterson) poses nude for an artist named Romko (Chris Robinson), the hooligan goes on a drunken rampage and rips up Romko's sketches, beating the artist severely. Later, Romko retaliates with some beatings of his own, leading to a grisly scene of revenge in which the artist's hands are slowly crushed in a metal vise. Brame's quickly paced film also includes the requisite drugged orgies and a gang-rape. Genre veterans Gary Littlejohn, Scott Brady, and Steve Brodie also appear in this brutal exploitation entry, which is fairly well-cast save for co-executive producer Casey Kasem's notion that he could be believable as Bruce Dern's brother. Trivia buffs should note that Kasem appeared in Brame's Free Grass the same year, and that his production partner for this film was California Lt. Gov. Mike Curb, who went on to lead the musical Mike Curb Congregation. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Dern, Chris Robinson, (more)
- 1962
In this mystery, a divorced man begins looking for his ex-wife who married his former business partner. Hal Weston's search leads him to LA where he enlists the aid of Li Sheng and the sneaky Osgood. He is told that his partner died. Investigating further, he discovers that he did not die. Actually he murdered the ex-wife and then had Li Sheng's father, a surgeon, fake his death certificate. He then buries the woman in his coffin and proceeds to use his mistress to collect on his life insurance policy by having her pose as the widow. Osgood then learns that the crook had the doctor change his appearance so he looked just like Osgood. He figures that he is next on the business partner's hit list and so kills him first. In the end, Weston kills Osgood. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Set in the mid-19th century during the California Gold Rush when the long-time Spanish residents of the territory found themselves being pushed off their ancestral lands by the avaricious prospectors, this exciting historical adventure tells of the exploits of a daring Spanish outlaw who plays Robin Hood to help his people. When prospectors ambush some of his band, the Firebrand rides out for bloody revenge against the killers and the one who betrayed him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1960
Hubert Cornfield wrote, directed, and co-produced this standard suspense story about two people who commit both murder and fraud -- out of revenge on the one hand and materialistic gain on the other. Marian Forbes (Laraine Day) has been having an affair with her boss and when he drops her for another woman she sees green -- jealousy and greed take over. She convinces an acquaintance (Edmond O'Brien) to murder her former lover and then impersonate him just long enough to get their hands on a large sum of money. Everything comes off as she plans, but then as the two cover up their crime, the danger of being discovered looms larger at every turn. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edmond O'Brien, Julie London, (more)
- 1959
Miracle of the Hills is a melodramatic, standard western with two ostensible "enemies" that fuel the plot: a decent town preacher, Scott Macauley (Rex Reason) and an "indecent" former prostitute, Kate Peacock (Betty Lou Gerson). The preacher is on his way to cleaning up his parish and the town but comes up against Peacock, who now owns the main source of employment in the town, a coal mine. In revenge for the way she was treated in the old days, she lords it over the town and her workers. Just as the preacher is mediating the best he can between Peacock and the rest of the community, three young boys get trapped in the mine. (Jay North, just before his Dennis the Menace fame on American TV, plays one of them). Sure enough, it is a potential disaster that galvanizes everyone and erases past battle lines. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rex Reason, Theona Bryant, (more)
The United States space program reports that its missing, overdue manned Mars probe has returned to Earth orbit, but that they haven't been able to make radio contact with it. When it is brought down by remote control, they find three of the four crewmembers aboard: one of them, Professor Gettell (Les Tremayne), is dead; another, mission commander Colonel Tom O'Bannion (Gerald Mohr), is in a coma and suffering from some kind of alien infection; and the third, exo-biologist Iris Ryan (Nora Hayden), is in a state of shock. The ship's tape library seems to have been wiped clean of any record of what took place on the mission, and the doctors can't begin to save O'Bannion until they know what happened. In desperation, they decide to put Iris Ryan into a state of hypnosis, forcing her to recall the events of the mission. The bulk of the film is an un-narrated flashback in which we see the voyage to Mars and the quartet of explorers -- rounded out by technician Sam Jacobs (Jack Kruschen) -- proceeding successfully to a landing. As they draw closer to signs of intelligent life, however, the group also encounters increasingly dangerous creatures, including a man-eating plant, a giant bat-rat-spider, and a huge amoeba-like creature that consumes anything in its path. Sam is killed in an encounter with one of these menaces and O'Bannion is infected with an alien microbe, even as the ship is held fast by a powerful magnetic force. Gettell figures out a way to launch, at the cost of his own life, and Iris is left alone with the stricken O'Bannion on the journey back to Earth. The film concludes as the scientists find the one piece of information left on the ship's tapes, a warning from the Martians that the primitive, war-like people from Earth may not visit the planet again, except at risk to their lives. One of a relative handful of 1950s sci-fi films done in color, The Angry Red Planet did its rivals one better with the use of a special effects process called "Cinemagic," which gave the entire screen a deep red tint but also created the illusion of dimensionality (i.e. 3-D, sort of), and made the monsters look particularly eerie. The mixture of better-than-usual special effects, coupled with more than competent acting (Mohr, Tremayne, and Kruschen were veterans of mainstream films and television) helps make this one of the more entertaining space-flight stories of its period, though not quite in a league with It! The Terror From Beyond Space for sheer suspense. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gerald Mohr, Les Tremayne, (more)
- 1958
3DFrontier Gun3D is another of the moderately interesting low-budget westerns turned out by 20th Century-Fox's Regal Films subsidiary in the late 1950s. John Agar plays Jim Crayle, who offers his services as voluntary marshal when crazed gunman Yubo (Robert Strauss) inaugurates a reign of terror. Unfortunately, Crayle is unable to outdraw Yubo due to a wrist injury, leading the townsfolk to assume that their new marshal is yellow. Only when his argument with Yubo becomes personal does Crayle truly rise to the occasion. John Agar does his best in an unsually cerebral role, but his passive character-and characterization-works against the film's suspense. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Agar, Joyce Meadows, (more)
- 1957
A locked-in-the-fifties science fiction film, The 27th Day begins with five different people from five different countries suddenly disappearing from view. They have been gently abducted by the agent (Arnold Moss) of a faraway dying planet, who gives each of the five earthlings a "killing capsule" that will destroy everything on Earth and allow the residents of the alien planet to re-colonize the planet--but which will be ineffective if not used after 27 days. In typical Cold War fashion, the representatives of the "good" countries (including Gene Barry) refuse to utilize the capsules, while the Soviets, (personified by Azemat Janti and Stefan Schnabel) intend to deploy the capsules for their own nefarious purposes. Their perfidy only results in the utter decimation of the USSR. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Barry, Valerie French, (more)
- 1957
If Jet Pilot seems hopelessly out of date today, imagine how filmgoers in 1957 reacted when this relic from 1949 was taken off the shelf. Many, many years in the making due to the maniacal tinkering by producer Howard Hughes (who reportedly lost $4 million on it - a massive sum back then), the film was deemed unreleasable upon completion; only when Universal-International took over distribution of a handful of RKO Radio productions did it finally see the light of day. John Wayne stars as an air force colonel stationed in an Alaskan outpost only 40 miles or so from the Soviet Union. Wayne is put in charge of Russian jet pilot Janet Leigh, who claims that she wants to defect. Actually, Leigh is a Communist spy, but thanks to Wayne's affectionate attentions she is won over to the side of Democracy. Thus it is that Leigh rescues the Duke when he is kidnapped and nearly brainwashed by her Commie comrades. Jet Pilot was eventually bought back from U-I by Hughes for his personal collection; not only did he buy into the propagandistic plotline, but he was also enthralled by the aerial scenes, some of which were staged by legendary test pilot Chuck Yeager. The 1949 production date for a number of sequences explains not only why so many of the actors look young for 1957, but the existence of several supporting cast members who had died in the interim (such as Jack Overman and Richard Rober). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Janet Leigh, (more)
- 1957
Police detectives Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) race against time to rectify a potentially fatal error. The drug presciptions for two different women have accidentally been switched--and both women have already purchased the drugs. The detectives all but turn L.A. inside out to locate the women before the wrong prescriptions can be consumed. This episode was cowritten by Ken Kolb, whose other credits include the classic fantasy film The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1955
Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) investigate the armed holdup of an appliance store. The witnesses state that one of the two robbers sported a 1920s-style handlebar mustache. This clue comes in handy when it is discovered that a similarly mustachioed gentleman used to work for the store as a delivery man. Featured in the cast is Georgia Ellis, the original "Miss Kitty" in the radio version of Gunsmoke, and Howard Culver, who had played Marshal Dillon in the unsold Gunsmoke pilot of 1949 (Culver was of course replaced by William Conrad when the series debuted in 1952). This episode was adapted from the Dragnet radio broadcast of March 23, 1954. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1955
Working out the Forgery Division, Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) investigate reports that a con artist, posing as a former member of the French underground, has been worming his way into the homes of wealthy families as a tutor. He then forges the names of the employees to purchase cars and other items. While staking out a nightclub frequented by the suspect, the two detectives take in the foor show, in which singer Betty Martin (played by Peggy King, then the featured vocalist on The George Gobel Show performs "Any Questions", an original song by Arthur Hamilton--who later penned several tunes for Jack Webb's ex-wife Julie London. This episode was adapted from the Dragnet radio broadcast of December 28, 1954. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1954
When two scientists at a top-secret government installation devoted to space research are killed -- in their own test chamber, seemingly by an experiment gone awry -- Dr. David Sheppard (Richard Egan) is sent out from Washington to investigate. Sheppard mixes easily enough with the somewhat eccentric team of scientists, though he always seems in danger of being distracted by the presence of Joanne Merritt (Constance Dowling), who serves as the aide to the project director Dr. Van Ness (Herbert Marshall) but is, in reality, another security agent. Sheppard is as puzzled as anyone else by the seemingly inexplicable series of events overtaking the installation -- properly operating equipment suddenly undergoing lethal malfunctions, and the radar tracking aircraft that aren't there -- until he puts it together with the operations of NOVAC (Nuclear Operated Variable Automatic Computer), the central brain of the complex. But the mystery deepens when he discovers that NOVAC was shut down during one of the "accidents" -- and even the computer's operators can't account fully for the whereabouts of GOG and MAGOG, the two robots under the computer's control. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Egan, Constance Dowling, (more)
Phantom from Space is a far better film than its lurid title and skintight budget would indicate. The scene is Santa Monica, where the community is plagued by what seems to be a serial killer. Thanks to a pre-credits sequence, the audience knows that the murderer is a visitor from outer space, who becomes invisible upon shedding his spacesuit. Government agent Hazen (Ted Cooper) teams with LAPD lieutenant Bowers (Harry Landers) to track down the extraterrestrial fugitive. It gradually develops that the space man is not a predator, merely a very frightened and defensive individual, but by the time this realization is made, it's too late for him. Efficiently directed by W. Lee Wilder (Billy's brother), Phantom from Space boasts some very impressive special effects for a film of its type, courtesy of special-effects technician Alex Welden and optical effects specialist Howard Anderson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Cooper, Rudolph Anders, (more)
An inexpensive but atmospheric sci-fi film, Man from Planet X takes place on a lonely Scottish island. Science professor Raymond Bond is monitoring the orbit of the mysterious "Planet X," which has entered the solar system and is travelling close to Earth. A spaceship lands from this planet, out of which pops a strange little man who looks something like an Easter Island statue. He has come to make contact with friendly Earthlings, but evil scientist William Schallert wants to exploit the spaceman's highly developed intellect for his own selfish ends. Schallert's nastiness turns the alien against the other Earthlings; the creature enslaves their minds and transforms them into zombies. Both Schallert and the alien are eventually destroyed--as Planet X, failing to establish a bond with Earth, spirals off into deep space. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Clarke, Margaret Field, (more)
A semi-sequel to Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Columbia's Down to Earth is a camp- and kitsch-lover's delight. More beautiful than ever, Rita Hayworth stars as Terpsichore, the Goddess of Dance. From her perch Up Above, Terpsichore discovers that Broadway producer Danny Miller (Larry Parks) intends to put together a musical satire, lampooning herself and her fellow Greek Gods. Eliciting the aid of Heavenly emissary Mr. Jordan (Roland Culver, taking over from the earlier film's Claude Rains), Terpsichore descends to Earth in human form, landing a role in Miller's play. Through her bewitching influence, Miller agrees to abandon his plans for a satire, transforming his production into a portentiously serious "work of art"-which lays a large and noxious egg with the opening-night crowd. Somehow, our ethereal heroine manages to set things right, but there's still one nagging problem: Will she, a goddess, ever be permitted to fall in love with a mere mortal like Miller? Repeating their Here Comes Mr. Jordan roles, James Gleason and Edward Everett Horton appear respectively as the eternally flustered Max Corkle (formerly a fight promoter, now a theatrical agent) and the pompous, rule-bound Heavenly messenger #7013. Silly but immensely entertaining, Down to Earth was remade as the sillier but decidedly less entertaining Xanadu in 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Burke, Rita Hayworth, (more)
- 1946
Gale Sondergaard more or less recreates her role as the homicidal "Spider Woman" that she first essayed in the 1943 Sherlock Holmes film of the same name. This time Ms. Sondergaard plays a wealthy rancher who advertises for a young woman to serve as her secretary/companion. Several girls have gone to her ranch to apply for the job; none have returned. When Brenda Joyce arrives to take the job, she uncovers Sondergaard's secret. The crafty villainess has been draining the blood of young women, using the blood to feed her huge carnivorous plants, cultivating a poison from those plants, then using the poison to kill the cattle on all neighboring ranches. All this so that she can bankrupt her rivals and claim their land, which she thinks is rightfully hers! The film is as loopy as it sounds, but Spider Woman Strikes Back was one of Gale Sondergaard's most popular films; when asked years later what she thought of it, she replied airily "It didn't kill me." Spider Woman Strikes Back costars another Universal horror-film icon, the tragically deformed Rondo Hatton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brenda Joyce, Gale Sondergaard, (more)
- 1945
In this comedy, a PR man saves a struggling radio station from ruin. Songs include: "Slap Polka", "Walk A Little Faster", "Moonlight Fiesta", and "Where The Prairie Meets The Sky". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Masterfully directed by Fritz Lang, Scarlet Street is a bleak film in which an ordinary man succumbs first to vice and then to murder. Christopher Cross (Edward G. Robinson) is a lonely man married to a nagging wife. Painting is the only thing that brings him joy. Cross meets Kitty (Joan Bennett) who, believing him to be a famous painter, begins an affair with him. Encouraged by her lover, con man Johnny Prince (Dan Duryea) Kitty persuades Cross to embezzle money from his employer in order to pay for her lavish apartment. In that apartment, happy for the first time in his life, Cross paints Kitty's picture. Johnny then pretends that Kitty painted to portrait, which has won great critical acclaim. Finally realizing he has been manipulated, Cross kills Kitty, loses his job, and because his name has been stolen by Kitty, is unable to paint. He suffers a mental breakdown as the film ends, haunted by guilt. Kitty and Johnny are two of the most amoral and casual villains in the history of film noir, both like predatory animals completely without conscience. Milton Krasner's photography is excellent in its use of stark black-and-white to convey psychological states. Fritz Lang is unparalleled in his ability to convey the desperation of hapless, naïve victims in a cruelly realistic world. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, (more)
- 1944
Universal's My Gal Loves Music is an agreeable derivation of Paramount's The Major and the Minor, with a bit of Nothing Sacred thrown in. Grace McDonald plays pretty and talented Judy Mason, who poses as a 14-year-old child prodigy to pep up business for snake-oil peddler Dr. Bilbo's (Walter Catlett) medicine show. As an upshot of this deception, Judy is brought to New York to sing on a network radio program, with Bilbo-who happens to be her uncle-in tow. Mel Murray (Bob Crosby), bandleader on the radio show, decides to protect "little" Judy during her visit to the big city. He finds himself falling in love with the girl despite the presumed difference in their ages, leading Judy to seriously consider telling the truth for the first time in the picture. Featured in the cast of My Gal Loves Music are genuine kiddie performers Freddie Mercer and Paulina Carter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Crosby, Alan Mowbray, (more)
