Lisa Montell Movies

This adventure chronicles the exploits of an author/explorer on a trip to Peru to hunt for the missing uncle of his pretty young companion. Her archaeologist uncle disappeared while searching for a lost Incan city that he found upon an ancient map. Together the writer and the girl launch an expedition to search for this legendary city. They are guided by another Yankee archaeologist. It is he who swiped the map from the woman's uncle. With their help, he hopes to find the city so he and his gang of thieves can loot it. Along the way they encounter many dangers including, snakes, crocodiles, jaguars, and quicksand. The writer and the niece get their first and warn the Incas living their. The Indians neatly dispatch the evil archaeologist and his band. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Talented action film director William Witney shows the depth of his skills in turning this one-week-in-production wonder into a passable, entertaining, one-hour western. The focus of attention is a trial in a town with no respect for the law, where the federal judge (Hugh Marlowe) valiantly tries to buck the current and carry on according to normal standards. At issue is the murder of the brother of a prominent, despotic land baron. The accused is an impoverished Mexican (John Alonso) who is not going to get acquitted unless the real murderer can be found. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The scene is Paris, where lonely Henri Lamont (Fabrizio Mioni) loves the beautiful Therese (Lisa Montell) from afar. Henri would give anything to speak to Therese, but is overcome by shyness. Then, one day, our hero glances out his window and sees a romantic couple strolling by--a couple who turns out to be Therese and himself. (Note: some earlier sources claim that Theresa was played by Letizia Moverese, who later billed herself as Leticia Roman, indicating a last-minute cast change). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this family-oriented western, a living western legend finds himself plagued by a constant onslaught of young guns, each eager to prove his mettle and become the new fastest-gun in the West. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In the second episode of Walt Disney's ten-part miniseries Elfego Baca, the title character (Robert Loggia), a former gunman who yearns to be a lawyer, has been appointed sheriff of Socorro County, NM. Banking on his reputation as a fast gun, Baca "invites" all the wanted men in the area to come into town and give themselves up. All these men surrender except one, prompting Elfego to launch a manhunt in Apache territory. Originally telecast on the Walt Disney Presents anthology, "Four Down and Five Lives to Go" was later edited together with the first Elfego Baca episode, The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca, and released overseas as a theatrical feature. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This second theatrical-feature spin-off of TV's Lone Ranger series stars, as ever, Clayton Moore as the Masked Rider of the Plains and Jay Silverheels as his faithful Indian companion Tonto. This time around, the plot concerns five silver medallions. When placed together, these tiny hunks of silver reveal the location of the titular Lost City of Gold. The owners of three of the medallions have already been killed by the mystery villain; it's up to the Lone Ranger and Tonto to save the other two owners -- Douglas Kennedy and little Noreen Nash -- from harm. Unfortunately, the bloom was (temporarily) off the rose for the Lone Ranger franchise, and Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold ended up in the red. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The lurid title of this Roger Corman production refers to the Hawaiian Islands, where the film was shot in its entirety. Richard Denning stars as Duke, skipper of a Hawaii-based schooner. Duke's vessel is chartered by Zac (Leslie Bradley), who claims to be a toy manufacturer. In truth, Zac is the head of a criminal gang, bound and determined to rob a plantation payroll. In a similar vein, Zac's so-called secretary Max (Beverly Garland) is actually his mistress. A low-budget hurricane forces Duke into a confrontational denoument with the duplicitous Zac. Naked Paradise was originally released on a double bill with Flesh is the Spur. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first spaceship to Mars rounds the Red Planet and heads back toward Earth but runs into an unexplained phenomenon in space that accelerates the craft to such a high speed that all four men aboard black out. When they awake, they've crash-landed on a planet that they only gradually realize is Earth -- of the distant future: they have crashed through the time barrier. After they are chased by ugly "Mutates," they are taken in by the declining remnants of human civilization who live underground. It's now 2508 A.D, almost 400 years after an atomic war almost wiped out the human race. John Borden (Hugh Marlowe) falls in love with Garnet (Nancy Gates), daughter of Timmek (Everett Glass), leader of the underground people -- a fact that enrages Mories (Booth Colman), who's always assumed she would someday be his. The scheming Mories tries to turn his people against the space/time travelers, but falls victim to his own nefarious plans. Learning from Deena (Lisa Montell), a servant girl from the surface of Earth, that most people up there are normal though cruelly ruled by the deformed ones, Borden and his friends take on the mutates with modern weaponry and reclaim the Earth for normal humanity.

Although this is (surprisingly) the first American feature film to deal with scientific time travel, World Without End is really just another lost-civilization plot, complete with princess, evil grand vizier, and lots of skulking in corridors. There are few imaginative touches -- the giant spiders in particular are pathetic -- and some of the cast isn't very good. But for the period, this is slightly above-average science fiction; the exteriors, shot at the famous Iverson Ranch, have an open, fresh feeling, but the interior sets are unimaginative and routine. The plotline owes more than a little to H.G. Wells' The Time Machine (a lawsuit was filed), which makes the presence of Rod Taylor in the cast (as the hunk from our time) a little ironic, as just a few years later, he starred in George Pal's much-loved movie version of the Wells novel. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide

The fraternal filmmaking team of produced Sigmund Neufeld and director Sam Newfield once again joined forces on The Wild Dakotas. Made some two years after the "official" demise of the "B" western, the film attempts to revive the genre with a new cowboy star, one Will Williams. In keeping with the "adult western" trend of the period, the so-called hero, a wagonmaster, is something of a psychotic. He attempts to foment a war between the settlers and the local Indian tribe. A surprise is in store for the wagonmaster-and the audience. The veteran cast includes Coleen Gray, Jim Davis, John Litel, John Miljan and the indestructible Iron Eyes Cody. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Refreshingly, the tropical melodrama Pearl of the South Pacific never takes itself too seriously. Virginia Mayo heads the cast as a phony missionary, in cahoots with crooks Dennis Morgan and David Farrar. The trio intend to make off with a fortune in black pearls, which rests in an underwater shrine guarded by a huge octopus. On the verge of accomplishing the heist, the threesome are attacked by the local natives, who by now have glommed onto Virginia's duplicity. Only two of the three schemers survive the attack, but those two intend to turn over a new leaf once they return to civilization. The lovely legs of leading lady Virginia Mayo are given generous screen time throughout most the proceedings, allowing the viewer to ignore the frequently imbecilic dialogue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide