Beverly Michaels Movies

Babylon is a gritty, neorealist account of the lives of a group of West Indian youths living in London. Blue (Brinsley Forde) is the Rastafarian leader of a Sound System (a mobile disc-jockey team who spin reggae records at clubs, parties, and other gatherings) who is trying to prepare for an upcoming Sound System competition. Blue's love of music is one of the few positive outlets in his life; with the crime and violence of London's slums, the verbal and physical attacks by racist whites, and the jealousy of other DJs, Blue is reaching the end of his rope. That rope begins to fray when Blue is fired from his job, is brutally attacked by police officers, and discovers that his DJ equipment has been destroyed by angry neighbors. Unlike most films about reggae music and culture, Babylon doesn't explore the sunny side of Jamaican life or West Indian gangland culture; instead, it looks at how the implicit radicalism of reggae mirrored political and social concerns in the urban areas outside Jamaica where the music was so enthusiastically embraced. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Tired of the humdrum routine at a staid British woman's prison, brassy American chorine Angela Booth (Beverly Michaels) busts out. Scotland Yard decides to allow Angela to roam free, hoping that she'll lead them to her partner in crime, who unbeknownst to her is a notorious traitor and killer. Blonde Bait was originally released in Great Britain as Women without Men. For American consumption, a few new scenes were shot, featuring Hollywood actors Jim Davis, Richard Travis, and Paul Cavanagh. Direction of the finished product was credited to the film's editor, Elmo Williams. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Six convicts plan a prison break and are successful, though their ringleader (William Bendix) is injured in the attempt. He promises to share the fortune in gold he has stowed away if they help him get to a doctor. ~ John Bush, Rovi

Hugo Haas wrote, produced, directed and starred in the tawdry but fascinating Girl on the Bridge. Like most of Haas' films, this one deals with the ill-fated romance between a middle-aged man and a much-younger woman. Saved from suicide by kindly watchmaker David (Haas), unwed mother Clara (Beverly Michaels) takes a job at his store, and eventually accepts his proposal of marriage. Their happiness is shattered by the arrival of the girl's lover Mario (Robert Dane), whose cousin Harry (John Close) extorts a tidy sum of money from David. When he can stand no more, David murders Harry, but the evidence points to Mario. At first willing to allow Mario to fry for the crime, David relents when he realizes that Mario has reformed and that Clara is still in love with the younger man. However, David's ultimate solution to set things straight is not one to be tried out by the viewer at home! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

MGM's Three Little Words is a "twin" musical biopic, covering the lives and careers of songwriters Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. Fred Astaire plays Kalmar, a frustrated magician, while Red Skelton is cast as Ruby, a wannabe baseball player. After "meeting cute" during a disastrous vaudeville show, the oil-and-water Bert and Harry become a popular songwriting team, dashing off such favorites as Who's Sorry Now?, Nevertheless, So Long Oo-Long, I Wanna be Loved by You, All Alone Monday and the title song (the film unfortunately skimps on Kalmar and Ruby's Gilbert-and-Sullivan style novelty ditties, with the exception of Hooray for Captain Spaulding, Groucho Marx' signature tune in Animal Crackers). Adhering more to MGM formula than the facts, the script contrives to have Kalmar and Ruby split up over a trivial misunderstanding, only to be reunited by their wives for an "all is forgiven" radio broadcast hosted by bandleader Phil Regan. Vera-Ellen co-stars as Kalmar's vaudevillian wife Jessie Brown, while Arlene Dahl portrays Ruby's movie-star spouse Eileen Percy. Gloria DeHaven is seen as her own mother, Mrs. Carter DeHaven; and Debbie Reynolds plays "boop-a-doop" girl Helen Kane, her singing voice dubbed in by Ms. Kane herself. Though not quite as humorous as the subject matter would seem to dictate (Red Skelton gets his biggest laughs in the scenes wherein he, as Harry Ruby, participates in spring training with his favorite baseball club) Three Little Words is an excellent example of MGM's musical unit at the height of its powers. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Director Mervyn Leroy lends a burnished MGM gloss to this sordid tale of infidelity among rich New York East Siders. Barbara Stanwyck stars as Jessie Bourne, a charming society woman whose finds out that her husband Brandon (James Mason) is guiltily indulging in an illicit affair with the earthy Isobel Lorrison (Ava Gardner). Jessie bears her husband's indiscretion with a gallant dignity, and when Isabelle is killed, Jesse realizes that she doesn't care for Brandon anyway. Van Heflin is also on hand as ex-cop Mark Dwyer, who admires Jessie's stoic dignity. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi