Hugh Marlowe Movies
It's quite possible that Hugh Marlowe might have been limited to film comedy roles had he retained his given name of Hugh Herbert Hipple, but it's not likely that he would have garnered many laughs. A radio announcer and stage performer, Marlowe had a brief leading-man filing in the late 1930s, but was more effective from the mid-1940s onward as a second lead and character actor. His stiff, humorless demeanor served him well in many second parts at 20th Century-Fox in the 1950s. Director Howard Hawks cleverly exploited Marlowe's solemnity by casting the actor as foil to the childish antics of "fountain of youth" partaker Cary Grant in Monkey Business (1952). Marlowe also showed up in several science fiction films, notably The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956) and World Without End (1956), wherein his somber approach lent a measure of credence to the proceedings. On television, Hugh Marlowe played Ellery Queen (a role he'd previously essayed on radio) in a 1954 syndicated series, and was the last of four actors to portray Jim Matthews on the NBC daytime drama Another World. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1937
The tempestuous love affair between a young surgeon and a pretty but married nurse provides the basis for this melodrama. The nurse would much rather be with the good doctor as she is married to a wretched alcoholic but she cannot bear to leave her husband in his hour of need. Later the surgeon falls in love with a wealthy young woman. Shortly after removing her appendix in emergency surgery, they get married. Unfortunately, the new wife hates her husband's devotion to his career and begins nagging him. He finally gives in and takes her out on the town. Meanwhile the nurse's drunken husband has a medical emergency. Unfortunately, the surgeon is not there to save him. Fortunately, the husband's death frees the would-be lovers to follow their hearts, but not before the surgeon divorces his wife first. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franchot Tone, Maureen O'Sullivan, (more)
- 1937
Directed by Edwin L. Marin, Married Before Breakfast follows the hectic life of young inventor Tom Wakefield (Robert Young). After a leading razor company pays Wakefield (Young) $250,000 in order for him not to publicize his latest invention, a hair-removing shaving cream that rendors razors useless, he takes his socialite fiance June Baylin (June Clayworth) on a glamorous world cruise. June (Clayworth) hopes Tom's (Young) newfound wealth will encourage him to settle down, but Tom is determined to improve the lives those around him, including steamship employee Kitty Brent's (Florence Rice) romantic relationship. Informing Kitty (Rice) she'll be married by noon the next morning, Tom throws himself into a heap of trouble, loses June in the process, and nearly ends up in jail. Somewhere within the fiasco, Tom and Kitty realize it's each other they love. Kitty is married by noon the next morning--to Tom. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Young, Florence Rice, (more)
- 1944
The usual modus operandi for Hollywood "through the years" sagas was to gradually age its young actors in the course of the film. In Mrs. Parkington, 35-year-old Greer Garson appears in old-lady makeup for virtually the entire 124-minute running time, even though this filmization of Louis Bromfield's best-selling novel covers the years 1875 through 1938. Eightyish widow Mrs. Susie Parkington (Garson) gathers together all of her grown children in an effort to bail out son-in-law Amory Stilham (Edward Arnold), who's gotten in Dutch through crooked financial deals. As the children and grandchildren bicker over the "impossibility" of giving up any part of their inheritance, Mrs. Parkington's mind wanders back to her marriage to wealthy mine owner Maj. Augustus Parkington (Walter Pidgeon) and her own efforts, as an unlearned Nevada serving girl, to fit into proper Manhattan society. Augustus' ex-love Aspasia Conti (Agnes Moorehead, in a surprisingly sexy role) is engaged to teach Susie the in and outs of which fork to use and how low to curtsy. Shut out by the "400," Susie is avenged by her husband, who wheels and deals to ruin the snobs financially. Later on, he assuages his anger by conducting several extramarital affairs, before perishing in one of those convenient movie auto accidents. Just how all these incidents strengthen Mrs. Parkington's resolve to rescue her wastrel son-in-law is a mystery that even two viewings of this overlong soap opera may not solve. Incidentally, Greer Garson isn't the only one who is prematurely aged in Mrs. Parkington; keep an eye out for 27-year-old Hans Conried, convincingly playing a doddering musician. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, (more)
Sally Benson's short stories about the turn-of-the-century Smith family of St. Louis were tackled by a battalion of MGM screenwriters, who hoped to find a throughline to connect the anecdotal tales. After several false starts (one of which proposed that the eldest Smith daughter be kidnapped and held for ransom), the result was the charming valentine-card musical Meet Me in St. Louis. The plot hinges on the possibility that Alonzo Smith (Leon Ames), the family's banker father, might uproot the Smiths to New York, scuttling his daughter Esther (Judy Garland)'s romance with boy-next-door John Truett (Tom Drake) and causing similar emotional trauma for the rest of the household. In a cast that includes Mary Astor as Ames' wife, Lucille Bremer as another Ames daughter, and Marjorie Main as the housekeeper, the most fascinating character is played by 6-year-old Margaret O'Brien. As kid sister Tootie, O'Brien seems morbidly obsessed with death and murder, burying her dolls, "killing" a neighbor at Halloween (she throws flour in the flustered man's face on a dare), and maniacally bludgeoning her snowmen when Papa announces his plans to move to New York. Margaret O'Brien won a special Oscar for her remarkable performance, prompting Lionel Barrymore to grumble "Two hundred years ago, she would have been burned at the stake!" The songs are a heady combination of period tunes and newly minted numbers by Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin, the best of which are The Boy Next Door, The Trolley Song, and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. As a bonus, Meet Me in St. Louis is lensed in rich Technicolor, shown to best advantage in the climactic scenes at the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, (more)
- 1944
Robert Z. Leonard, who must have taken room and board at MGM, was the directorial hand behind this slight domestic drama. Lana Turner is the bride, John Hodiak the groom. James Craig is the odd man out, who pursues Turner when Hodiak is off fighting the war. Bored by domesticity, Turner welcomes Craig's attentions, but impending motherhood straightens out her priorities. Nearly two hours of celluloid are expended on a story that any other studio would have zipped out in seven reels. Marriage Is a Private Affair was based on a slightly steamier novel by Judith Kelly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lana Turner, James Craig, (more)
How much can a man give? When the U.S. 8th Army Air Force 918th Bombardment group is ordered on their fourth harrowing mission in four hard days, Brigadier General Frank Savage (Gregory Peck) demands "maximum effort." The bombers are forced to fly lower, to fly farther, and to test themselves -- overspent and fatigued -- right up until death's door. When their dedicated colonel speaks out in their defense, Savage mercilessly takes over command -- an officer should not sympathize with his men. The Brigadier General will compel the 918th to stop pitying itself and to hone its morale in the face of danger. Yet, as the men grow colder due to Savage's orders and the missions bring them closer to their crucial German targets, the officer learns the practical impossibility of raising the confidence of young men while also sending them to their deaths. He begins to understand that it is the burden of command that makes even the toughest leader sympathetic. Eventually caring for his men above all else, it is Savage who is forced to carry the hardships of "maximum effort" -- asking himself, how much can a man take? ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Peck, Hugh Marlowe, (more)
- 1949
A Christmastime TV perennial, Come to the Stable is the gentle saga of two French nuns (Celeste Holm with accent, Loretta Young without) who come to America in hopes of raising funds for a children's hospital. Travelling to a small New England town presciently named Bethlehem, the nuns befriend eccentric painter Elsa Lanchester, who allows them to use her studio (actually a stable) for their base of operations. Utterly ingenuous when it comes to American mores and customs (they tear up a parking ticket, assuming it to be an advertisement), the sisters raise money in a variety of amusing fashions. One of their "agents" is outwardly tough gambler Mike Mazurki, who gets his equally raffish pals to invest in the hospital. And towards the end, the nuns even play a little professional tennis to raise money. Careful not to overwhelm the viewer with sentiment and religiosity, Come to the Stable (based on a story by Clare Booth Luce) is ideal holiday film fare. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loretta Young, Celeste Holm, (more)
Based on the story The Wisdom of Eve by Mary Orr, All About Eve is an elegantly bitchy backstage story revolving around aspiring actress Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter). Tattered and forlorn, Eve shows up in the dressing room of Broadway mega-star Margo Channing (Bette Davis), weaving a melancholy life story to Margo and her friends. Taking pity on the girl, Margo takes Eve as her personal assistant. Before long, it becomes apparent that naïve Eve is a Machiavellian conniver who cold-bloodedly uses Margo, her director Bill Sampson (Gary Merill), Lloyd's wife Karen (Celeste Holm), and waspish critic Addison De Witt (George Sanders) to rise to the top of the theatrical heap. Also appearing in All About Eve is Marilyn Monroe, introduced by Addison De Witt as "a graduate of the Copacabana school of dramatic art." This is but one of the hundreds of unforgettable lines penned by writer/director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, the most famous of which is Margo Channing's lip-sneering admonition, "Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy night." All About Eve received 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, (more)
Jules Dassin's Night and the City opens with cheap grifter Harry Fabian (Richard Widmark) running for his life through the streets of London. Harry wants to be big-time, and he does not care how he raises cash for his schemes. Like a junkie, he uses and steals from his girlfriend Mary (Gene Tierney), a singer at the Silver Fox, a seedy nightclub owned by the physically grotesque Phil Nosseross Francis L. Sullivan. Harry, who also works for Phil steering unsuspecting customers to the club, comes up with a plan to wrest control of professional wrestling from promoter and underworld kingpin Kristo (Herbert Lom) by manipulating Kristo through his father, retired wrestling great Gregorius (Stanislaus Zbyszko). For financial backing, Harry turns to Phil and Phil's wife Helen Googie Withers, both of whom give him the money, but only to further their own ends. When Gregorius is accidentally killed by his protege's upcoming opponent, Strangler (Mike Mazurki), and Phil realizes that Helen is leaving him for Harry, the scheme quickly unravels. Truly a glimpse of hell, Night and the City's distorted visuals and dark symbolism depict an underworld from which there is no escape and in which redemption comes at a very high price. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, (more)
- 1951
Rawhide is a westernized remake of the 1936 crime melodrama Show Them No Mercy. Tyrone Power stars as Tom Owens, the assistant manager of a remote stagecoach way station. A coach arrives, bearing Vinnie Holt (Susan Hayward), who carries her baby niece in her arms. Having learned that an outlaw gang is in the vicinity, Owens advises Vinnie to hold up at the station until the next day. Shortly thereafter, the gang arrives and kills stationmaster Sam Todd (Edgar Buchanan). Outlaw leader Zimmerman (Hugh Marlowe), assuming that Owens and Vinnie are the baby's parents, decides not to kill them as well but to hold them prisoner while he and his men await the arrival of a gold shipment. Tension mounts as the relatively civilized Zimmerman argues with his psychotic henchman Tevis (Jack Elam) over the fate of the "married couple." Meanwhile, Owens tries to think up an escape plan for himself, Vinnie and the child. The film closes with a nail-biting shootout, with the baby in the thick of the fray. So as to avoid confusion with the TV series of the same name, Rawhide was retitled Desperate Siege for its first television showing in 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Susan Hayward, (more)
All of Washington, D.C., is thrown into a panic when an extraterrestrial spacecraft lands near the White House. Out steps Klaatu (Michael Rennie, in a role intended for Claude Rains), a handsome and soft-spoken interplanetary traveler, whose "bodyguard" is Gort (Lock Martin), a huge robot who spews forth laser-like death rays when danger threatens. After being wounded by an overzealous soldier, Klaatu announces that he has a message of the gravest importance for all humankind, which he will deliver only when all the leaders of all nations will agree to meet with him. World politics being what they are in 1951, Klaatu's demands are turned down and he is ordered to remain in the hospital, where his wounds are being tended. Klaatu escapes, taking refuge in a boarding house, where he poses as one "Mr. Carpenter" (one of the film's many parallels between Klaatu and Christ). There the benign alien gains the confidence of a lovely widow (Patricia Neal) and her son, Bobby (Billy Gray), neither of whom tumble to his other-worldly origins, and seeks out the gentleman whom Bobby regards as "the smartest man in the world" -- an Einstein-like scientist, Dr. Barnhardt (Sam Jaffe). The next day, at precisely 12 o'clock, Klaatu arranges for the world to "stand still" -- he shuts down all electrical power in the world, with the exception of essentials like hospitals and planes in flight. Directed by Robert Wise, who edited Citizen Kane (1941) and The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) for director Orson Welles before going on to direct such major 1960s musicals as West Side Story (1961) and The Sound of Music (1965), The Day the Earth Stood Still was based on the story Farewell to the Master by Harry Bates. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, (more)
- 1951
Robert E. McEnroe's whimsical Broadway play The Silver Whistle was adapted to suit the talents of Clifton Webb in Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell. It all begins when "super genius" Lynn Belvedere (Webb) briefly halts a lecture tour to bring some happiness into the lives of a gloomy senior citizens' home. To gain entry into the establishment, the virile, fiftysomething Belvedere claims to be 77 years old. The rest of the inmates are invigorated by the presence of so youthful a "septuagenarian," and before long everyone has taken a new lease on life. Belvedere also finds time to smooth the romantic path for Reverend Watson (Hugh Marlowe) and his fiancée Miss Tripp (Joanne Dru). When Mr. Belvedere's subterfuge is found out, the residents are momentarily dismayed, until they realize all the good their visitor has done. With Clifton Webb in charge (and with an able assist by supporting player Zero Mostel as Belvedere's business manager), Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell is never as treacly or maudlin as it might be under different circumstances. Future Ward Cleaver Hugh Beaumont shows up unbilled as a cop in the opening scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clifton Webb, Joanne Dru, (more)
Howard Hawks hoped to capture the screwball comic fervor of his 1938 film Bringing Up Baby with his 1952 comedy Monkey Business. As in the earlier film, Cary Grant stars as an absent-minded professor involved in a research project. This time he's a chemist seeking a "fountain of youth" formula that will revitalize middle-agers both mentally and physically. Though Grant's own laboratory experiments yield little fruit, a lab monkey, let loose from its cage, mixes a few random chemicals and comes up with just the formula Grant is looking for. This mixture is inadvertently dumped in the lab's water supply; the fun begins when staid, uptight Grant drinks some of the "bitter" water, then begins cutting up like a teenager. A harmless afternoon on the town with luscious secretary Marilyn Monroe rouses the ire of Grant's wife Ginger Rogers, but her behavior is even more infantile when she falls under the spell of the youth formula. Everyone remembers the best line in Monkey Business: foxy-grandpa research supervisor Charles Coburn hands the curvacious Monroe a letter and says "Get someone to type this". Even better is his next line: after Monroe sashays out of the room, Coburn turns to Grant and, with eyes atwinkle, murmurs "Anyone can type." Likewise amusing is Monkey Business's pre-credits gag, wherein Cary Grant opens a door and is about to step forward when director Hawks, off-camera, admonishes "Not yet, Cary." Among the co-conspirators on Monkey Business's carefree script are Ben Hecht, Charles Lederer and I.A.L. Diamond, with an original story by Harry Segall (Here Comes Mr. Jordan) as their source. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, (more)
- 1952
Producer/writer Philip Dunne adapted the screenplay of Way of a Gaucho from the novel by Herbert Childs. Largely filmed on location in Argentina, this is the story of Martin (Rory Calhoun), a freewheeling gaucho of the 1870s. Resenting the incursions of civilization, Martin accidentally kills a man while asserting his independence. To avoid a prison sentence, he signs up with the army, but soon deserts to form an outlaw band. Salinas (Richard Boone), Martin's former commanding officer, makes it his mission in life to bring Martin to justice. Gene Tierney co-stars as socialite Teresa, who stands by Martin through thick and thin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Gene Tierney, (more)
- 1952
When undercover secret agent Tyrone Power is thwarted in his efforts to obtain a vital document with details of the Russian invasion of Yugoslavia by the death of the courier at the hands of two Russian agents, played by Mario Siletti and Charles Buchinski (aka Charles Bronson), it becomes his duty to go after the murderers and retrieve the papers. With more loops and turnabouts than a snake, the plot has surprises with agents, double agents, mistaken information and is, all in all, a surprisingly exciting spy vehicle. Michael Ansara and Lee Marvin also make brief appearances in this early cold war story. A script with a lot of holes in it is pulled off by the fine performances and tight direction given in this film. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Patricia Neal, (more)
- 1952
The upbeat title belies the film's often melancholy subject matter. Based on a novel by Ferdinand Reyher, Nellie stars David Wayne as a small town barber in the early 20th century. Wayne's bored wife (Jean Peters) leaves him for a city slicker (Hugh Marlowe), whereupon both are killed in a train accident. Wayne does his best to raise his two children alone, but the oldest son (Tommy Morton) becomes a criminal and is shot down in a Chicago gang war (a startlingly graphic sequence for a 1952 film). Wayne's life seems to be one disaster after another, but he perseveres, and upon his town's 50th anniversary he is honored as a pillar of his community. Somehow all of the previous tragedies are compensated for by the presence of Wayne's doting granddaughter Nellie (Helene Stanley). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Wayne, Jean Peters, (more)
- 1952
During the Civil War, Colonel Kern Shafter (played by Ray Milland) and Captain Edward Garnett (played by Hugh Marlowe) become embroiled in a conflict, the cause of which is somewhat cloudy. As a result, Shafter leaves the Eastern Cavlary and moves West, where he is able to re-enlist. Ten years later, Shafter is reassigned to an outpost in the Dakota Territory -- one that is commanded by his old nemesis Garnett. Garnett takes advantage of his authority to assign Shafter to the most dangerous missions, clearly hoping that he will not return from one of them. Things are not made any easier by the fact that both men fall in love with the same woman (played by Helena Carter). The situation comes to a climax during the Battle of Little Big Horn, when both men attempt to put an end to their personal war as hundreds of others are slaughtered around them. Victorious, Shafter manages to survive the massacre and return to claim the woman he loves. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Milland, Helena Carter, (more)
- 1953
In this western, eight stagecoach passengers are stranded while Apache warriors lay siege upon a trading post. Among the travelers is a sheriff and his prisoner. It is the brave lawman who retains order in the post and eventually defeats the marauders. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen McNally, Hugh O'Brian, (more)
Bob Hope tries to capture the comic magic of his 1946 costume farce Monsieur Beaucaire with the splashy Technicolor romp Casanova's Big Night (filmed in 1952, released in 1954). Set in 18th century Venice, the film casts Hope as Pippo, the humble tailor of notorious ladies' man Casanova (an unbilled Vincent Price). When Casanova skips town without paying his debts, the local tradesman's guild, led by Casanova's butler Lucio (Basil Rathbone), conspire to pass off one of their number as the great lover and arrange a profitable marriage. Selected to impersonate Casanova is the hapless Pippo, who soon afterward is hired by the imperious Duchess of Castelbello (Hope Emerson) to test the fidelity of the duchess' future daughter-in-law Elena (Audrey Dalton). Along the way, Pippo is given lessons in etiquette and swordsmanship by both Lucio and tradeswoman Francesca (Joan Fontaine). Eventually, Pippo finds himself up to his neck in court intrigue, courtesy of the scheming Doge of Venice (Arnold Moss). Further complications include a couple of hilarious swashbuckling scenes, an interlude in a dungeon with addlepated prisoner Emo (Lon Chaney), and the obligatory disguise scene. The Pirandellian ending of Casanova's Big Night was later imitated by such films as The Maltese Bippy (1969) and Wayne's World (1992). Bob Hope is in fine form, the production is sumptuous and the supporting cast superb, but somehow there's a little something missing in Casanova's Big Night. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hope, Joan Fontaine, (more)
- 1954
Gary Cooper, Richard Widmark and Cameron Mitchell portray three somewhat disreputable 19th-century soldiers of fortune, en route to California to prospect for gold. Stopping over in a tiny Mexican village, the three men are hired by Susan Hayward to rescue her husband, who is trapped in a gold mine in hostile Indian territory. The threesome agree to the expedition, their interest piqued by the possibility of picking up some gold themselves. During the harrowing journey, the party's already frayed nerves are aggravated when the men become attracted to Hayward. The group arrives at the mine's location--the Garden of Evil, so named because the Indians regard it as the domain of evil spirits. During the escape, Hayward's husband (Hugh Marlowe) is killed by the Indians, as is Mitchell. Cooper and Widmark play cards to decide who will take Hayward to safety and who will cover them while they flee. Cooper wins--but later discovers that Widmark had cheated in order to sacrifice himself. Garden of Evil takes too long to get to its climax, but the Cinemascope photography and Bernard Herrmann's rich musical score make the wait worthwhile. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward, (more)
- 1955
Once again Edward G. Robinson takes a script from the trash bin and makes it into a palatable movie. A remake of The Mouthpiece, this is the story of a district attorney with a conscience. When he discovers that a man he's sent to the electric chair was innocent, he takes to the bottle. His assistants encourage him to get off the booze, stop prosecuting and, instead, become a defense attorney. He agrees but his first client is a notorious gangster who has been in business for so long because of leaks from Robinson's own office when he was the district attorney. Push comes to shove and soon, through multiple machinations and mishaps, Robinson becomes the defender of his former assistant on charges of murder. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward G. Robinson, Nina Foch, (more)
- 1956
The first spaceship to Mars rounds the Red Planet and heads back toward Earth but runs into an unexplained phenomenon in space that accelerates the craft to such a high speed that all four men aboard black out. When they awake, they've crash-landed on a planet that they only gradually realize is Earth -- of the distant future: they have crashed through the time barrier. After they are chased by ugly "Mutates," they are taken in by the declining remnants of human civilization who live underground. It's now 2508 A.D, almost 400 years after an atomic war almost wiped out the human race. John Borden (Hugh Marlowe) falls in love with Garnet (Nancy Gates), daughter of Timmek (Everett Glass), leader of the underground people -- a fact that enrages Mories (Booth Colman), who's always assumed she would someday be his. The scheming Mories tries to turn his people against the space/time travelers, but falls victim to his own nefarious plans. Learning from Deena (Lisa Montell), a servant girl from the surface of Earth, that most people up there are normal though cruelly ruled by the deformed ones, Borden and his friends take on the mutates with modern weaponry and reclaim the Earth for normal humanity.
Although this is (surprisingly) the first American feature film to deal with scientific time travel, World Without End is really just another lost-civilization plot, complete with princess, evil grand vizier, and lots of skulking in corridors. There are few imaginative touches -- the giant spiders in particular are pathetic -- and some of the cast isn't very good. But for the period, this is slightly above-average science fiction; the exteriors, shot at the famous Iverson Ranch, have an open, fresh feeling, but the interior sets are unimaginative and routine. The plotline owes more than a little to H.G. Wells' The Time Machine (a lawsuit was filed), which makes the presence of Rod Taylor in the cast (as the hunk from our time) a little ironic, as just a few years later, he starred in George Pal's much-loved movie version of the Wells novel. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide
Although this is (surprisingly) the first American feature film to deal with scientific time travel, World Without End is really just another lost-civilization plot, complete with princess, evil grand vizier, and lots of skulking in corridors. There are few imaginative touches -- the giant spiders in particular are pathetic -- and some of the cast isn't very good. But for the period, this is slightly above-average science fiction; the exteriors, shot at the famous Iverson Ranch, have an open, fresh feeling, but the interior sets are unimaginative and routine. The plotline owes more than a little to H.G. Wells' The Time Machine (a lawsuit was filed), which makes the presence of Rod Taylor in the cast (as the hunk from our time) a little ironic, as just a few years later, he starred in George Pal's much-loved movie version of the Wells novel. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugh Marlowe, Nancy Gates, (more)
- 1956
After closing down his film studio, producer Robert L. Lippert took charge of Regal Films, a subsidiary of 20th Century-Fox designed to turn out low-budget, non-CinemaScope productions. One of the first of these films was the modest western The Black Whip. Colleen Gray, Angie Dickinson, Adele Mara and Dorothy Schuyler play four women of questionable morals who conspire to help a notorious outlaw escape the law. The ladies are ushered into a stagecoach by the village elders and ordered to get out of town and stay out. En route to their next destination, the ladies' coach breaks down at a way station managed by Hugh Marlowe. As Marlowe repairs the wheels, an outlaw gang rides up, demanding that the girls be handed over to them. By this time, the ladies have no use for the bad guys, but Marlowe is too mild-mannered to intervene. He finally outfoxes the villains by using brains instead of brawn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugh Marlowe, Coleen Gray, (more)
Anyone who's seen the 1996 science-fiction lampoon Mars Attacks may have trouble watching Earth vs. the Flying Saucers with a straight face. Hugh Marlowe plays scientist Russell Marvin, who is on-hand when an alien spacecraft lands on earth. The saucermen at first insist that they've come in peace, but Marvin suspects otherwise. Sure enough, the visitors eventually declare their intention to take over the earth within the next 60 days, adding that the military's weapons are useless against them. The two-month window gives Marvin and his cohorts plenty of time to build-up superweapon, and thus stave off the seven-saucer invasion force. Special effects maestro Ray Harryhausen does a nice job laying waste to Washington DC in the film's memorable finale. The supporting cast of Earth vs. the Flying Saucers includes those two sci-fi flick stalwarts of the 1950s, Morris Ankrum and Thomas Browne Henry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugh Marlowe, Joan Taylor, (more)
- 1956
Furniture designer John Brown (Russell Collins) is unaware that his wife Vera (Leora Dana) is cheating on him with his business partner Harold Skinner (Hugh Marlowe). Convinced that Brown is no longer capable of handling his business, and hoping to grab a larger piece of the pie himself, Vera and Harold contrive to have John committed to a mental hospital. It doesn't take long for the duplicitous couple to realize that they can't run the business without John -- who by this time has taken quite a liking to his new institutional surroundings! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
