Matt Mattox Movies

The Tony Award-winning actress and songstress Carol Lawrence, for years a toast of Broadway and the centerpiece of innumerable stage musicals, became one of the staple vocalists of the Bell Telephone Hour, a network musical showcase that drew significant audiences on NBC from 1959-61 by featuring performers of adult standards. Lawrence joined the program in 1960, under the aegis of producer Barry Wood and conductor Donald Voorhees. Carol Lawrence: The Bell Telephone Hour Appearances 1960-67 compiles excerpts from many of Ms. Lawrence's appearances on the program over the course of seven years, with a combination of rare black-and-white and color archival footage, in this release from VAI Distribution. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Popular Mexican comedian Cantinflas (Mario Moreno) plays the title character in this star-studded, amusing comedy drama by George Sidney. Pepe is the same sort of impoverished stereotype Cantinflas made famous in several of his comedies; in this case he is a hired hand on a ranch who chases down a horse for his employer. A boozing Hollywood director buys a white stallion belonging to Pepe's boss and the determined ranch hand decides to take off for Hollywood to get the horse back. Once in this new and strange environment -- where a lot of cameos by the likes of Jimmy Durante, Frank Sinatra, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Bing Crosby, Maurice Chevalier, and many others enliven the action -- Pepe becomes a friend to the alcoholic director. Unfortunately, what is missing here is "Cantinfletico." That is the nickname for the rambling non-sequitur characteristic of Cantinflas that no one else could master. The film was originally released at 195 minutes, then edited down to 157. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Frank Luther wrote the music, lyrics, and book for this hour-long musical TV version of Mark Twain's immortal The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Divided into three acts, the play manages to incorporate most of the highlights of the original novel: the whitewashed fence; the burgeoning romance between Tom (John Sharpe) and Becky Thatcher (Bennye Gatteys); the "pirate excurison" undertaken by Tom, Huck Finn (played by pop singer Jimmy Boyd), and Joe Harper (Kevin Coughlin); the kids attending their own funeral; the murder in the graveyard; and the chilling climactic encounter with Injun Joe (portrayed by prominent Broadway dancer Matt Mattox) in the cave. The songs include "You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks"," "Why Would You Want to Kiss Me?," "That's the Life Fer Me," "Storm Come a-Risin'," "Lost in the Cave." The most impressive aspect of this U.S. Steel Hour presentation is the fact that the scenic designs and backgrounds were the handiwork of distinguished American artist Thomas Hart Benton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based extremely loosely on the Stephen Vincent Benet story Sobbin' Women," Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is one of the best MGM musicals of the 1950s. Most of the story takes place on an Oregon ranch, maintained by Adam Pontabee (Howard Keel) and his six brothers, played by Jeff Richards, Russ Tamblyn, Tommy Rall, Mark Platt, Matt Mattox, and Jacques d'Amboise (it is no coincidence that five of those six boys are played by professional dancers). When Adam brings home his new bride Milly (Jane Powell), she is appalled at the brothers' slovenliness and sets about turning these unwashed louts into immaculate gentlemen. During the boisterous barn-raising scene, the brothers get into a scuffle with a group of townsmen over the affection of six comely lasses: Virginia Gibson, Julie Newmeyer (later Newmar), Ruth Kilmonis (later Ruth Lee), Nancy Kilgas, Betty Carr, and Norma Doggett (yep, most of the girls are dancers, too). Yearning to become husbands like their big brother, they ask Adam for advice. Alas, he has been reading a book about the abduction of the Sabine Women (or, as he puts it, the Sobbin' Women); and, in order to claim their gals, Adam explains, the boys must kidnap them--which they do, after blocking off all avenues of escape. Vowing to remain on their best behavior, the boys make no untoward advances towards their reluctant female guests--not even during one of the coldest winters on record. Comes the spring thaw, the angry townsfolk come charging up the mountain, demanding the return of the stolen girls (who, by this time, have "tamed" their men). A happy ending is ultimately had by all in this delightful if politically incorrect concoction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dreamboat stars Clifton Webb as Thornton Sayre, the perfectionist professor of literature at a sedate Midwestern university. Widowed and with a pretty daughter (Anne Francis), Sayre has given no clue to his previous life before becoming a teacher. But thanks to television, everyone discovers that Sayre is actually Bruce Blair, a former silent screen star known as "America's Dreamboat." Sayre's onetime leading lady (Ginger Rogers) has made a comeback hosting screenings of her old films on TV, and the result is acute embarrassment for both the professor and his college. Sayre takes the case all the way to court, where he wangles a compromise agreement: he will permit his films to be televised as long as they're not "doctored" to accommodate commercial endorsements (this was based on a real-life lawsuit involving cowboy Gene Autry -- which Autry lost). The ensuing publicity costs Sayre his college job, but the renewal of interest in his old films results in a new movie contract. Although silent movies and singing commercials are easy satirical targets, Dreamboat still delivers the laughs, and it's fun to see Clifton Webb camping it up as a "Doug Fairbanks" type. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide