Don Martin Movies
Before becoming a screenwriter, Philadelphia native Don Martin was a poet, playwright, and a newspaper journalist. In the '40s, he began working as a journalist for the Hollywood Reporter and then became a PR man for various major studios including United Artists and MGM. He got into screenwriting when he was asked to help adapt one of his books into a feature. He mainly wrote B-movie scripts for Universal. Later, Martin wrote teleplays for a variety of series including Racket Squad. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
The drama Shackles stars D.L. Hughley as a teacher who, desperate for employment, takes the one job he is offered. The job involves teaching inside a prison, a place that is not hospitable to him or to the idea of bettering oneself through education. The teacher stands up to a variety of forces that are against him. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- D.L. Hughley, Jose Pablo Cantillo, (more)
- 1996
- PG
Residents in a retirement home band together to thwart the thievery of the home's crooked director. Woody, Joseph, Olive (Cloris Leachman) and Peter were a bridge foursome. The film opens at Peter's funeral where Joseph (Jan Rubes) is attempting to recruit Rose (Olympia Dukakis) to fill Peter's spot at the bridge table. Acting on a prior understanding with Peter, Woody (Jean Lapointe) goes to the home's director, Carl (Matt Craven), and tries to get the money Peter allocated to cover the costs of his funeral. Carl claims Peter left the money to the home, and nothing is available for the funeral. Woody knows perfectly well that Peter would do no such thing, and his suspicions are aroused. The four bridge players begin to notice other, equally shady, things going on, and so put together a sting operation. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olympia Dukakis, Cloris Leachman, (more)
- 1995
The popular TV-series private eye Spenser (of Spenser For Hire) re-surfaces in this made-for-cable movie. Robert Urich returns to his role as the gumshoe. This time, Spenser comes to the aid of old flame Candy Sloane (Cynthia Dale), a reporter who needs Spenser's help and protection as she investigates a fraud ring. This drama was based on the book of the same name by Robert B. Parker. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1990
- R
In this thriller, a businessman's private habit of calling a phone sex service nearly costs him his life and that of his family when the dream girl at the end of the line turns out to be a psychotic killer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
TThough barely released to theaters, the tongue-in-cheek crime melodrama Four Deuces became a Late Late Show fixture in the '80s. Jack Palance plays Vic Morano, a high-ranking Prohibition-era mobster with a weakness for women. Vic's humanity begins surfacing when he falls for gorgeous blonde Wendy (Carol Lynley). The film's title refers to the name of his speakeasy, and to his gang, which consists of himself, Wendy, and a brace comic-relief hoodlums. The plot concerns Vic's ongoing war with rival hoodlum Chico Hamilton (Warren Berlinger). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
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)
- 1957
Edward Bernds, graduate of Columbia's "Three Stooges" shorts and Allied Artists' "Bowery Boys" epics, expertly guides The Storm Rider through its paces. Scott Brady plays an ex-gunslinger who is hired by a group of ranchers to protect them from covetous land baron Roy Engel. Unbeknownst to the ranchers, Brady is the killer of their former leader. Emotional complications ensue when Brady falls in love with Mala Powers, the widow of the man he killed. The film's ending upholds the uncompromising integrity of the rest of The Storm Rider. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Brady, Mala Powers, (more)
- 1956
Sydney Chaplin (son of Charlie) heads the cast of the British meller The Deadliest Sin. Chaplin plays a slimy holdup man named Mike, who has recently double-crossed his partner in crime. When the partner shows up to claim his due, the man is killed by Alan (Peter Hammond), the boy-friend of Mike's sister Louise (Audrey Dalton). Alan is all for confessing his crime, but Mike, realizing that he'll be implicated in the original robbery, murders Alan. Alas, Mike's victim has already spilled the beans to Father Neil (John Welsh), leaving our "hero" no alternative but to knock off the priest as well-and it is this blasphemous decision that results in Mike's downfall. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sydney Chaplin, Audrey Dalton, (more)
- 1956
During the summer lay-off of the TV series Wyatt Earp, Hugh O'Brian found time to star in the superior sagebrusher The Brass Legend. O'Brien plays a sheriff who takes full credit for the arrest of dangerous outlaw Raymond Burr. In fact, young Donald McDonald, the brother of O'Brien's fiancee Nancy Gates, was largely responsible for Burr's capture, but the sheriff refuses to reveal McDonald's part in the arrest for fear that the boy will be killed by Burr's cohorts. Unfortunately, the local newspaper editor believes that O'Brien simply wants to cheat the boy out of his share of the reward money. The editor blithely prints up the full story in his paper, leading to a near-disastrous denoument. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugh O'Brian, Nancy Gates, (more)
- 1956
Singer Tony Martin plays the non-musical title role in United Artists' Quinannon, Frontier Scout. Sent on a top-secret mission by the government, Quincannon tries to find out who's been selling repeating rifles to the Indians. The culprit turns out to be an old friend of the hero--and, for plot purposes, the brother of heroine Maylene (Peggie Castle). Throughout the film, Tony Martin appears uncomfortable and uncertain, a bad combination when you're dealing with taciturn Indians and renegade whites. On the plus side, Quincannon, Frontier Scout is gorgeously photographed on location in the Utah desert. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Martin, Peggie Castle, (more)
- 1956
In this crime drama, an amiable car salesmen must begin selling stolen vehicles to pay for his sickly baby son's medical expenses. He tries to escape the gangsters who have been strong-arming him. Meanwhile, a policeman is investigating the crooks. When he gets too close, they kill him and frame the car salesman for the death. The salesman and the head mobster have a thrilling, final conflict aboard a speeding roller coaster at an amusement park. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Bromfield, Joi Lansing, (more)
- 1956
In this crime drama, a naive truck driver gets tricked into helping crooks pull off a major heist. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1956
This 62-minute quickie takes place during a single 12-hour shift at Los Angeles' Emergency Hospital. In anticipation of such contemporary TV dramas as Chicago Hope and ER, several subplots are developed at once. Dr. Janet Carey (Margaret Lindsay) is romanced by wealthy Ben Caldwell (Byron Palmer), who may or may not be a dangerously reckless motorist. Visiting detective Arnold (Walter Reed) must come to grips with the fact that his teenaged son (Jim Stapleton) is a budding delinquent. And other major and minor crises are experienced by nurse Norma Mullen (Rita Johnson) and staff doctor Ellis (John Archer). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Lindsay, Walter Reed, (more)
Adapted from a novel by Louis L'Amour, Stranger on Horseback is one of Joel McCrea's shorter western vehicles, zipping merrily along at a mere 66 minutes. McCrea plays a travelling judge who makes it his mission in life to clean up the town of Bannerman. This proves difficult, in that the town is virtually owned by the Bannerman family. But when the family's youngest son (Kevin McCarthy) commits murder, McCrea vows to bring the boy to justice -- and to see that he gets a fair trial, despite pressure from the Bannermans' enemies. Czech-Mexican actress Miroslava makes one of her rare American film appearances as McCrea's love interest; shortly after Stranger on Horseback was released, Miroslava committed suicide, allegedly as a result of an unhappy romance with bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joel McCrea, Kevin McCarthy, (more)
- 1955
Mark Hill Rod Cameron is the attorney for Emmet Devrey, a real estate developer with a past, who is being blackmailed by his former partner Sam Baggett. When Sam's unfaithful wife Marge cooks up a scheme with her used car salesman lover Jeff Calder to bilk both Devrey and her alcoholic husband, Sam is killed and Devrey is accused of the crime. Mark is then called upon to prove his employer (and father of his fiancée) innocent. Without much suspense, Double Jeopardy is enjoyable in its portrayal of money both as aphrodisiac for the illicit lovers and as the reason for their mutual double cross. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide
- 1955
Carolyn Grant (Marie Windsor), a Monterey gallery owner, is playing the field and seems to have one too many men on her string, including her wealthy estranged husband, the local art critic, and even the fiancé of her shop assistant. So when Carolyn is murdered during an apparent break-in at her gallery, there are plenty of male suspects -- with the husband and father-in-law in the lead. Windsor's sultry temptress is the brightest spot in an otherwise so-so mystery, although her wickedness isn't quite at the level she achieved a year later as Sherry Peatty in The Killing. ~ Michael P. Rogers, All Movie Guide
- 1954
Arrow in the Dust is an intelligently assembled story of regeneration. Deserting cavalry trooper Bart Laish (Sterling Hayden) is forced by a series of circumstances to assume the identity of his dead commanding officer. In this guise, Laish is put in charge of a wagon train heading through Indian country. At first intending to weasel out of the responsibility, Laish eventually takes his duties seriously, and in so doing he restores his own innate courage and self-respect. Alas, he is undermined by duplicitous Tillotson (Tudor Owen), who intends to betray his fellow passengers and sell guns to the Indians. Coleen Gray costars as Christella, who comes to love the renegade Laish and helps him to rebuild his tarnished reputaton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, (more)
- 1954
There are few surprises in The Lone Gun--and few lulls, either. Things get under way when ex-marshal George Montgomery rides into a wide-open Texas town. Montgomery intends to bring three cattle-rustling brothers to justice. Since those siblings are played by Neville Brand, Douglas Kennedy and Robert Wilke, one suspects that Our Hero's task will not be accomplished within the film's first twenty minutes. Taking over a cattle ranch run by Dorothy Malone and her brother Skip Homeier, the villains inaugurate a deadly game of cat and mouse with Montgomery. Frank Faylen scores in an uncharacteristic performance as a dude gambler. The Lone Gun was produced by Edward Small for United Artists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Montgomery, Dorothy Malone, (more)
- 1950
Two-bit photographer Howard Duff wins a big newspaper assignment by romancing his lady boss (Peggy Dow). Duff is sent to take a picture of criminal Brian Donlevy, who doesn't like to be captured on celluloid. Donlevy takes a liking to Duff and asks him to frame one of the crook's less cooperative henchmen (Lawrence Tierney). Duff plays both sides of the fence, informing the henchman that his boss had planned to frame him. Shortly afterward, Donlevy is killed by a car bomb, and Duff becomes famous taking a picture of the event. Eventually Duff pulls one double-cross too many and is himself killed by the surly henchman--but not before taking a snapshot of his murderer in the act. Hard to believe, but Howard Duff makes his character in Shakedown somewhat likable, so that the audience is eager to see what sort of scam he'll pull next. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Howard Duff, Brian Donlevy, (more)
- 1950
Producer-director Edward L. Cahn's Prominent Pictures produced this low-budget thriller-noir which was then sold outright to RKO. Joyce MacKenzie stars as Laura Mansfield whose father (Franklyn Farnum) is killed in cold blood by smalltime hoodlum turned messenger boy Jackie Wales (Stanley Clements). But the latter has a seemingly ironclad alibi and Laura goes undercover as a nightclub cigarette girl to trap him. Unbeknownst to the heroine, however, Wales is blackmailing Armitage (Albert Dekker), the ruthless nightclub operator who had hired him to murder Mansfield in the first place. But is Armitage the real "Mr. Big" or is someone else pulling the strings? ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joyce MacKenzie, Stanley Clements, (more)
- 1949
Search for Danger was the last entry in the "Falcon" film series, which began at RKO in 1941 and was sequestered at low-budget Film Classics by the end of the 1940s. Professional magician John Calvert stars as the debonair amateur sleuth known to friend and foe alike as The Falcon. This time our hero must contend with not one, but two baffling murders. It all begins when the Falcon goes on the prowl for the missing partner of gamblers Kirk (Albert Dekker) and Gregory (Ben Welden), who has skipped town with $100,000. The leading-lady responsibilities are handled by Myrna Dell, decked out in several enticing low-cut gowns. The mystery angle is well-handled, with a reasonably surprising solution. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Calvert, Albert Dekker, (more)
- 1949
The Lost Tribe was the 2nd entry in Columbia's "Jungle Jim" series. Johnny Weissmuller stars as Jungle Jim, the comic-strip adventurer created by Alex Raymond way back in 1934. The plot is motivated by a lost treasure, located somewhere in the faraway land of Dzamm. Villains Calhoun (Joseph Vitale) and Rawling (Ralph Dunn) scheme to steal the treasure, but Jungle Jim won't let that happen. Our hero summons forth an army of gorillas to fight off the bad guys. Many of the animal-fight sequences in The Lost Tribe would pop up as stock footage in future "Jungle Jim" entries. The film is graced with the presence of two exotic leading ladies, Myrna Dell and Elena Verdugo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1948
Appointment with Murder is the second of three "Falcon" mysteries produced by bargain-basement Film Classics Productions in the late 1940s. Professional magician John Calvert assumes the leading role of private eye Michael Lanyard, aka The Falcon. Working for an insurance company, Lanyard travels from Hollywood to Italy in search of a pair of stolen paintings. This brings him in close contact with pretty art curator Lorraine (Catherine Craig), who may be involved in the thefts, and erudite international criminal Norton (Jack Reitzen). The only complaint one can level against Appointment with Murder is that it's a bit too ambitious for its tiny budget. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Calvert, Catherine Craig, (more)
- 1948
Two future TV favorites--Rocky Jones' Richard Crane and Dennis the Menace's Gloria Henry-head the cast of Columbia's Triple Threat. Crane plays Don Whitney, an egocentric college football hero who receives a good strong dose of reality when he joins a professional team. Whitney's game really begins to suffer when he moons over sweetheart Ruth Nolan (Henry), who seems interested in someone else. All the various subplots are resolved in the obligatory "Big Game" climax. The principal selling card of Triple Threat was the presence of several real-life gridiron stars, including Sammy Baugh, Paul Christman, Johnny Clement, Steve Van Buren and Bob Waterfield (later the husband of actress Jane Russell), not to mention sports commentators Harry Wismer, Tom Harmon and Bob Kelley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Crane, Gloria Henry, (more)
