Cameron Mitchell Movies
The son of a Pennsylvania minister, actor Cameron Mitchell first appeared on Broadway in 1934, in the Lunts' modern-dress version of Taming of the Shrew. He served as a bombardier during World War II, and for a brief period entertained thoughts of becoming a professional baseball player (he allegedly held an unsigned contract with the Detroit Tigers until the day he died). Mitchell was signed to an MGM contract in 1945, but stardom would elude him until he appeared as Happy in the original 1949 Broadway production of Death of the Salesman. He re-created this role for the 1951 film version, just before signing a long-term contract with 20th Century Fox. Throughout the 1950s, Mitchell alternated between likeable characters (the unpretentious business executive in How to Marry a Millionaire [1952]) and hissable ones (Jigger Craigin in Carousel [1956]); his best performance, in the opinion of fans and critics alike, was as drug-addicted boxer Barney Ross in the 1957 biopic Monkey on My Back. Beginning in the 1960s, Mitchell adroitly sidestepped the IRS by appearing in dozens of Spanish and Italian films, only a few of which were released in the U.S. He also starred in three TV series: The Beachcomber (1961), The High Chapparal (1969-1971), and Swiss Family Robinson (1976). Mitchell spent the better part of the 1970s and 1980s squandering his talents in such howlers as The Toolbox Murders, though there were occasional bright moments, notably his performance as a neurotic mob boss in 1982's My Favorite Year. A note for trivia buffs: Cameron Mitchell also appeared in the first CinemaScope film, The Robe (1953). Mitchell was the voice of Jesus in the Crucifixion scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1970
This nostalgic video is comprised of two hour-long episodes from the television western series The High Chaparral. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1969
- R
Cameron Mitchell's most flamboyantly silly role came as the horribly disfigured ex-makeup-artist Vincent Renard in this cult variation on the horror classic House of Wax. The vengeful Renard runs the Movieland Wax Museum, where he kidnaps actors, gives them paralyzing drugs, and dips them in wax for use as exhibits. John Cardos and Scott Brady from the Al Adamson movies are here as detectives, but it is Mitchell's crazed performance which gives this tatty feature its campy charm. Director Bud Townsend returned with the cannibal comedy The Folks at Red Wolf Inn. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
One man must take on a band of roving outlaws in this Harley-fueled variation on High Noon. Paul Collier (Cameron Mitchell) is an architect who has decided to ask his girlfriend Karen (Diane Ladd), who is with child, for her hand in marriage. However, during a trip to the beach with Karen, Paul is confronted by J.J. (Bruce Dern), an old high school friend who has fallen in with a motorcycle gang, the Rebels. The Rebels take one look at Karen and claim her for themselves, staging drag races to determine who will have the right to her, and J.J. is unable (or unwilling) to stop them. Furious and betrayed, Paul tries to round up the townspeople in hopes of outnumbering the Rebels, but he is soon forced to rescue Karen on his own. Shot in 1967, Rebel Rousers also features Jack Nicholson as a biker named Bunny; the film was shelved until 1969, when Nicholson's star-making turns in Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces gave his name (and the film) stronger marquee power. Also keep an eye peeled for Harry Dean Stanton as another one of the Rebels. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Yes, Paul Newman is a blue-eyed Indian in Hombre, but this apparent ethnic error is carefully justified in the body of the story. Newman plays a white man who was raised by the Apaches, and ever since has straddled two worlds, feeling truly comfortable in neither. While riding a stagecoach, Newman is subject to the racial bias of banker Fredric March and his snooty wife Barbara Rush. In truth, March is an embezzler, and has no reason to feel superior to anyone. This fact comes out when the coach is held up by murderous bandit-chief Richard Boone. When the passengers fight back, Boone takes Rush as a hostage. Newman, who by rights should be supremely satisfied that his tormentors are themselves tormented, proves himself the bravest of the passengers, sacrificing his own life to save Rush and put an end to Boone's reign of terror. Hombre is based on a novel by suspense specialist Elmore Leonard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Fredric March, (more)
- 1967
In this adventure set upon a Polynesian island, a brave pearl-hunter saves a hapless native girl from being raped by one of his three treacherous partners who have hidden a great cache of stolen pearls somewhere on the island. The girl knows where it is because her brother found it and offered it to one of the island gods; she offers to take her savior to the pearls. Meanwhile, the would-be-rapist murders the native chief and tries to frame the young couple. He then steals the pearls. Just before the accused couple is to die, the island police commissioner saves them. The three take off after the crooks who have stopped upon the docks to argue. A battle ensues and in the end, the crooks are trying to sail away when their vessel is set ablaze. The villains die aboard the boat while the commissioner impounds the pearls. The hero decides to remain on the island with the girl he's come to love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1967
The Spanish/Mexican Autopsy of a Ghost might have escaped our notice altogether had not a company called Sinister Cinema made it available to the home-video market. In this uneasy mixture of comedy and horror, a mad scientist uses dead bodies to create a race of zombies. Basil Rathbone, making his very last screen appearance, goes through the motions as the scientist. Also on hand are international-production habitues Cameron Mitchell and John Carradine, pretending to be genuinely interested in the grim goings-on. Currently available prints of Autopsy of a Ghost are available in Spanish only, with no English subtitles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Director Monte Hellman and writer-star Jack Nicholson filmed this western simultaneously with The Shooting (1967). Nicholson stars as Wes, cowpuncher pal to Vern (Cameron Mitchell) and Otis (Tom Filer), who have all been hired as hands for a cattle roundup. En route to their new jobs, the men come across the handiwork of a lynch mob. Later, they find hospitality at the home of Blind Dick (Harry Dean Stanton), who graciously provides them with food and shelter. The cowboys are unaware that Blind Dick and his men recently robbed a stagecoach and murdered the driver. A sheriff (Bradon Carroll) and his posse surround the cabin and hang the thieves. Though innocent, the terrified cowboys flee. Otis is killed, but Wes and Vern escape -- with the posse in pursuit. When they stop to rest at the ranch of Evan (George Mitchell), Wes considers taking Evan's daughter hostage. Trying to steal Evan's horse, Vern is killed by the rancher, who in turn is shot by Wes. Once a law-abiding citizen, Wes has been transformed by unjust vigilantism into a killer. Fascinated by frontier era journals that he discovered in an L.A. library, Nicholson used the documents as inspiration in writing the script. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Mitchell, Jack Nicholson, (more)
- 1966
Mel Welles, who faced the wrath of a man-eating plant as florist Gravis Mushnik in Roger Corman's Little Shop of Horrors, moves to the other side of the camera to direct a film featuring even more specimens of carnivorous plant-life. Cameron Mitchell portrays the evil, worm-munching Von Wesser, a homicidal horticulturist on a remote island who breeds several forms of monstrous hybrid plants which feed on human blood. His routine practice of feeding wealthy tourists to the hungry foliage proves his undoing when intrepid shutterbug David Moss (George Martin) catches on. Silly but fun, this campy Spanish production benefits from some wonderfully seedy (no pun intended) character types whose unpleasant behavior makes their gruesome deaths particularly satisfying. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Mitchell, Elisa Montes, (more)
- 1965
In this western, a captured gunslinger is sentenced to swing, but before his execution day, manages to escape from prison. He then seeks out the one man who can prove his innocence. Because he is slowly going blind, he must use his enhanced sense of hearing. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Mitchell, Ethel Rojo, (more)
- 1965
Research alert!!! We've just found another Cameron Mitchell film. The Italian Massacre in the Black Forest is set in the First Century AD. Roman legions are pitted against German tribesmen in the eponymous Black Forest. What happens next ain't pretty, but it sure is picturesque. Costarring with Cameron Mitchell is the fascinating Antonella Lualdi. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An army of merciless Vikings invade unsuspecting towns, leaving murder and mayhem in their wake. It is up to local residents to band together in an attempt to fight off the mauraders. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Mitchell, Fausto Tozzi, (more)
- 1964
Before he can retire, a gunslinger must stop one last band of outlaws in this Italian western. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Director Mario Bava's second thriller revolves around a fashion salon owned by wealthy Cristina (Eva Bartok) and her greedy lover Max (Cameron Mitchell). The salon is a front for cocaine-trafficking and blackmail, so when model Isabella (Lea Kruger) is viciously strangled, leaving a detailed diary behind, many of the people connected with the salon become very nervous. Isabella's roommate Nicole (Arianna Gorini) finds the diary and soon has her throat clawed out with a piece of medieval armor. Peggy (Mary Arden), who borrowed abortion money from Isabella, is tortured and has her face pressed into a red-hot iron. The bodies continue to pile up until a conspiracy is exposed and the perpetrators start getting their just desserts. Luciano Pigozzi, Massimo Righi, and Claude Dantes are among the cast. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Mitchell, Eva Bartok, (more)
A fortune in cash is the bait that draws some would-be criminals into a feeding frenzy in this offbeat but stylish crime drama. Lylle Corbett (Cameron Mitchell) and his girlfriend, Darlene (Jayne Mansfield), have just pulled off the heist of a lifetime, stealing one million dollars in American currency as it's being transported from Europe back to the United States. Hiding out in a small, run-down hotel on the Mediterranean coast, Lylle and Darlene plan to hire a boat and make their way back to the States, where they can start spending some of their loot. However, Darlene's abundance of enthusiasm and lack of common sense cause Livio Morelli (Aldo Camarda), the manager of the hotel, to suspect that she and Lylle are responsible for the robbery that's been all over the news. Livio quickly hatches a plan to steal the fortune from Lylle and cover his tracks, but Livio's hardly the only one looking for the loot, with his spinster sister, Sandra (Dody Heath), greedy butler Dolph (Ivor Salter), and eccentric heiress Madame Benoit (Isa Miranda) all conniving to get their hands on the cash. Dog Eat Dog (aka La Morte Vestita di Dollar) was released in the United Kingdom as When Strangers Meet, the title of the novel that was the basis for its screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jayne Mansfield, Cameron Mitchell, (more)
- 1964
When a man is killed, his wife and son set out to get revenge. ~ All Movie Guide
This epic Italian costume drama is loosely based on historical fact. It chronicles the struggle of a Roman emperor and general to build his troops for an upcoming battle in Gaul. The Senate opposes him. The emperor's charge and her lover are taken by the Gauls. They are ruled by Battaglia. Fortunately, Queen Astrid let's them go. The lovers return to warn the Romans in time for the emperor to take his troops and capture Battaglia. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1962
In this historical costume drama from director Pino Mercanti, Caterina Sforza (Gloria Milland) uses beautiful women as assassins in order to poison Cesare Borgia (Cameron Mitchell). The film deals more with Borgia's reputation as a playboy than with his military victories, and the accent is on Sforza's jealousy and hatred. Mitchell was a regular presence on Italian screens throughout the decade, and Euro-film buffs will recognize Conrado San Martin and Franco Fantasia among the cast. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
After being accused of kidnapping the English king, a man is forced to investigate the identity of the ones who actually did it. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Wearing the veneer of a play on the legendary love of Don Quixote's life Dulcinea, this drama by Vicente Escrivá carries some subtle criticisms of the Catholic Church as well. During the 16th-century, the time of Cervantes, Don Quixote's sidekick, the faithful Sancho Panza (Folco Lulli), comes into the local tavern bearing a forlorn good-bye letter from Quixote to the love he never knew, Dulcinea. The barmaid Aldonza (Millie Perkins) is so moved by the altruistic passion of the letter that she rushes to the bedside of the dying Don Quixote and swears to him that she is his Dulcinea. Inspired by his idealism, she dedicates herself to working for the disenfranchised and the sick -- until the Church accuses her of being a witch. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Millie Perkins, Cameron Mitchell, (more)
Italian director Mario Bava took a brief hiatus from horror films to make this fairly interesting Viking-themed adventure. Iron (Cameron Mitchell) is a Viking leader whose long-lost brother Erik (Giorgio Ardisson) was raised by Queen Alice of England. Alice's counselor, Gunnar (Andrea Checchi) betrays her and helps the Vikings take over, while the shipwrecked Erik is nursed back to health by Rama (Alice Kessleri), the twin sister of Iron's wife Daja (Ellen Kessleri). Naturally, Erik returns home and must fight Iron and defeat Gunnar in order to save the country. It doesn't quite work out that way, however, as the ruthless counselor kills Iron, leading the Vikings and British to join forces with Erik and take Gunnar down. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Mitchell, Andrea Checchi, (more)
- 1960
In this historical drama, a Viking prince returns to his homeland only to learn that his father has been murdered by King Sven of Norway. He then discovers that Sven is forcing his sister to marry in order to create an alliance with the Danes. The prince rallies his loyal fighters to storm the king's fortress in an attempt to rescue his sister. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Mitchell, Edmund Purdom, (more)
- 1960
A routine story about an attempted assassination of a foreign head of state, Three Came to Kill is one of many action dramas directed by the indefatigable Edward L. Cahn in 1960 and '61. In this instance, the setting is Los Angeles and a gang of hoodlums, for their own reasons, are intent on murdering a visiting Asian Prime Minister. Three of the men are professional killers, and their plan is to break into the house of an airport employee and shoot down the plane that is carrying the PM out of the U.S. The L.A. police are alerted, placing the plan in jeopardy before it can be put into effect. Cameron Mitchell is the head hoodlum honcho. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Mitchell, John Lupton, (more)
