George Mathews Movies

Burke (Mitchell Ryan) threatens to open up a rival cannery business that will bankrupt Collins Enterprises. But Elizabeth (Joan Bennett) isn't going to take this latest development lying down. Episode 89 of Dark Shadows originally aired on October 27, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The talents of the cast and director George Cukor (A Star Is Born, My Fair Lady), combine to bring off this otherwise routine Western based on a Louis L'Amour novel. Sophia Loren is Angela Rossini, a woman who seems to create the situations she gets into, and Anthony Quinn is the strong, silent but soft-hearted Tom Healy. Rather than playing it straight, Cukor opts for satire and effective comedy in taking "The Great Healy Dramatic and Concert Co.," with its two-wagon loads of thespians and their gear, and turning it into a fun romp. As the troupe carries on with their performances heading through Wyoming, they are fighting for their economic survival and, as often as not, running like the devil from the law. There is a likeable villain in the piece, Mabry (Steve Forrest), a zany woman who has "sacrificed" her own dubious stage career for that of her daughter (Eileen Heckart), a so-called Shakespearean actor (Edmund Love), a banker with menacing undertones (Ramon Novarro), and a really hysterical Indian attack. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

When Cecil B. DeMille was set to direct a re-make of his 1938 swashbuckler The Buccaneer and suddenly became ill, his son-in-law, Anthony Quinn, jumped into DeMille's jodhpurs. In this version, Yul Brynner plays the starring role of debonair pirate Jean Lafitte, who is contacted by General Andrew Jackson (Charlton Heston) to come to the aid of the United States when the British attack New Orleans during the War of 1812. Lafitte immediately falls in love with Annette Claiborne (Inger Stevens), the daughter of William Claiborne (E.G. Marshall), the first governor of Louisiana. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Of the many filmed versions of the October 26, 1881, O.K. Corral shootout in Tombstone, Arizona, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was one of the most elaborate and star-studded. Burt Lancaster plays Wyatt Earp, the renowned lawman, while Kirk Douglas is consumptive gambler (and gunfighter) Doc Holliday -- the two meet in difficult circumstances, as Earp discovers that Holiday, for whom he initially feels little but loathing, is being held on a trumped up murder charge and being set up for a lynching, and intercedes on his behalf. The action shifts to Dodge City, Kansas, where Earp is marshal and Holiday, hardly grateful for the good turn, shows up right in the middle of all kinds of trouble, this time mostly on Earp's side of the ledger. And, finally, the two turn up in Tombstone, Arizona, where Wyatt's brother Virgil is city marshal, and where Wyatt finally gets to confront the Clanton/McLowery outlaw gang (led by Lyle Bettger as Ike Clanton). Since the time-span of the actual gunfight was at most 90 seconds, the bulk of the film concerns the tensions across many months leading up to the famous battle. As scripted by Leon Uris (from a magazine story by George Scullin), the story involves two unrelated but parallel plot-lines -- a long-standing vendetta against Holliday and the efforts of Earp to bring the Clanton/McLowery gang to justice -- that are eventually drawn together on the streets of Tombstone. Woven into these proceedings are Earp's and Holliday's romantic dalliances with lady gambler Laura Denbow (Rhonda Fleming) and Kate Fisher (Jo Van Fleet), whose switch in affections from Holiday to outlaw fast-gun Johnny Ringo (John Ireland) only rachets up gambler's rage and the reasons behind the bloody climax. There are plenty of bribery attempts, terse dialogue exchanges and "Mexican standoffs" before the inevitable gunfight takes place. Director John Sturges takes some dramatic license with this confrontation, as well, stretching things out to nearly six minutes, but this is after all an "A" production, and a minute-and-a-half of gunfire just wouldn't cut it. The huge cast of western veterans includes Earl Holliman as Charles Bassett, Dennis Hopper as Billy Clanton, Kenneth Tobey as Bat Masterson, Lee Van Cleef as Ed Bailey, Jack Elam as Tom McLowery, and John Hudson, DeForest Kelley and Martin Milner as Virgil, Morgan, and James Earp, respectively. And there's that Dimitri Tiomkin score, pushing the movie's momentum as relentlessly as the two driven heroes, complete with a song (sung by Frankie Laine) underscoring the major transitions of scenes that's impossible to forget, once heard. Sturges himself would produce and direct a more fact-based and realistic version of the story -- focusing mostly on its aftermath -- a decade later, entitled Hour of the Gun, starring James Garner, Jason Robards, Jr., and Robert Ryan, which wasn't nearly as attractive or successful. But after Gunfight At The OK Corral, there would not be so impressive a lineup of talent at the OK Corral again until the twin Earp biopics of 1994, Wyatt Earp and Tombstone.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After several weeks' worth of reruns, The Honeymooners closed out its first (and only) weekly season with three first-run episodes, beginning September 8, 1956, with "The Bensonhurst Bomber." While shooting a few balls at the local poolroom, Ralph and Ed manage to incur the wrath of a burly tough guy named Harvey (George Mathews). Ralph tries to avoid fisticuffs, but thanks to Ed's well-meaning "assistance," Harvey challenges Ralph to a fight at Kelsey's Gym. Realizing that he'll get creamed, Ralph works out a scheme whereby he will stage a phony fight in front of Harvey, in order to convince the bigger man that he, Ralph, can take care of himself. To this end, Ed arranges for one of his fellow sewer workers -- who is even more muscular than Harvey -- to "take a dive." Needless to say, things don't quite work out as planned. "The Bensonhurst Bomber" was written by Marvin Marx and Walter Stone. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title character in this grim charade is a sickly little baby, whom middle-aged Edwina Freed (Jessica Tandy) insists is her nephew. Edwina's childhood sweetheart Albert Birch (Robert H. Harris) wants to marry Edwina, but first he must agree never to come in contact with Toby -- nor is he permitted to even see the child. Only when a couple of nice men show up to cart Edwina off to the Happy Home does Albert learn the whole truth about Toby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When Otto Preminger was willing to release his drug-addiction drama Man With the Golden Arm without the sanction of a Production Code seal, it proved to be yet another nail in the coffin of that censorial dinosaur. Based on the novel by Nelson Algren, the film stars Frank Sinatra as Frankie Machine, expert card dealer (hence the title). Recently released from prison, Frankie is determined to set his life in order -- and that means divesting himself of his drug habit. He dreams of becoming a jazz drummer, but his greedy wife Eleanor Parker wants him to continue his lucrative gambling activities. Since Parker is confined to a wheelchair as a result of a car accident caused by Frankie, he's in no position to refuse. Only the audience knows that Parker is not crippled, but is faking her invalid status to keep Frankie under her thumb. Gambling boss Robert Strauss wants Frankie to deal at a high-stakes poker game; terrified that he's lost his touch, Frankie asks dope pusher Darren McGavin to supply him with narcotics. When McGavin discovers that Parker is not an invalid, she kills him, and Frankie (who is elsewhere at the time) is accused of the murder. He is willing to go to the cops, but he doesn't want to show up with drugs in his system. So with the help of sympathetic B-girl Kim Novak, Sinatra locks himself up and goes "cold turkey"-a still-harrowing sequence, despite the glut of "doper" films that followed in the wake of this picture. After Parker herself is killed in a suicidal fall, the path is cleared for Frankie to pursue a clean new life with Novak. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Act of Love was based on The Girl on the Via Flamina, a novel by Alfred Hayes. Kirk Douglas plays an American soldier, participating in the 1944 liberation of France. Making the acquaintance of impoverished Parisian girl Dany Robin, Douglas takes pity on the girl, pretending to be married to her so that she won't be unfairly arrested as a prostitute. When Douglas attempts to make their union legal, he is denied permission by his superior officers. So far as they are concerned, Robin is just another little opportunist, marrying a GI in order to gain US citizenship. But Robin is genuinely in love with Douglas-and proves it, in a profoundly tragic manner. Producer/director Anatole Litvak and screenwriter Irwin Shaw do their best to bring some cinematic excitement to the somber goings-on. Act of Love represents the first appearance in an English-speaking film by Brigitte Bardot, here playing the minor role of "Mimi". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Young Sally Moyne (Ann Blyth) seldom makes a move in life without first consulting Saint Anne, patron saint of all young girls. Sally's faith in the efficacy of St. Anne has a salutary affect on all those in her orbit. It can also be said that Sally's tight relationship with her patron saint is of invaluable help in her family's Herculean efforts to save their home and hearth from the machinations of land-grabbing alderman Goldtooth McCarthy (John McIntyre). The sublime supporting cast includes Frances "Aunt Bee" Bavier and Otto Hullett as Sally's parents, Edmund Gwenn as her supposedly invalid grandfather, and Jack Kelly and Lamont Johnson as her looney brothers. One of the last of the "crazy family" comedies inspired by the success of You Can't Take It With You, Sally and St. Anne is also one of the best of its kind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cavalry sergeant Broderick Crawford is among the handful of survivors of a Comanche attack. Crawford must lead the survivors across 100 miles of treacherous terrain, and there's only a limited supply of water. Thing of it is, the hidden Comanches are also short of water, and they dearly covet the contents of Crawford's canteens. Also in the thirsty little group is Barbara Hale, whose presence causes dissension in the male ranks. Last of the Comanches was helmed by director Andre DeToth--who, as any film fanatic will tell you, had only one eye. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Preston Sturges' Unfaithfully Yours is a typically witty and wild screwball comedy starring Rex Harrison as a symphony conductor named Alfred de Carter who is convinced his wife (Linda Darnell) is having an affair. During one of his concerts, Alfred begins planning three different ways of solving the problem -- including murder -- setting each to a different classical piece. Sturges' script and direction are lively and the actors are perfectly cast, capable of wringing all the humor, both physical and verbal, out of the story. Despite the artistic success of the film, Unfaithfully Yours was unsuccessful at the time of its release, yet it was well-regarded by critics and film buffs. It was remade in 1984, featuring Dudley Moore in the lead role. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

A Guest in the House is an involving psychological melodrama, well directed and acted, concerning a young woman's obsessive love. Evelyn (Anne Baxter), an emotionally vulnerable and unstable woman, stays at the home of her doctor Dan Proctor (Scott McKay). There she meets and falls in love with his brother, Douglas (Ralph Bellamy), who is happily married to Ann (Ruth Warrick). Evelyn then sets forth to break up the happy marriage and win the love of Douglas -- with tragic results. A Guest in the House directed by John Brahm, aided by Andre De Toth and Lewis Milestone, who are uncredited, is a sensitive, well-acted melodrama. Baxter gives a fine performance as the unstable young woman, who cannot overcome her obsessions. The fine musical score, composed by Werner Janssen, was nominated for an Academy Award. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide