Alex Montoya
- 1968
Vic Powers (Lloyd Bridges) leads a specialized rescue unit known as the Flying Fish. When an American economics professor is kidnapped by a malevolent Latin American dictator, the call goes out to recover the victim. The unit is equally adept in or out of the water. Ricardo (Nico Minardos) is the resident beachcomber recruited to provide the team with valuable information vital to recovering the missing professor. The specialized unit travels by air, land and sea to meet their objective and races against time to avoid an international incident that could tip the balance of power in favor of the dictator. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Bridges, Nico Minardos, (more)
- 1967
This very economical remake of the 1952 Errol Flynn vehicle Against All Flags stars Doug McClure in the Flynn role. Cashiered from the royal navy in disgrace, McClure becomes a buccaneer, guiding his loyal crew to an island completely populated by cutthroats. Here he links up with pirate-captain Guy Stockwell and lady-swashbuckler Jill St. John. The plot comes to a head when the pirates conspire to hold lovely Middle-Eastern princess Mary Ann Mobley for ransom. McClure comes to her rescue and routs the rascals, revealing along the way that he's been working under cover on behalf of the king (a fact rather given away by the title). The most fascinating moments of The King's Pirate concern a pair of well-proportioned belly dancers, who keep the other pirates occupied while McClure goes about his business. The camera lovingly and longingly records each bump, grind, and wiggle, allowing the audience to get its mind off the creaky plot contrivances. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Doug McClure, Jill St. John, (more)
- 1966
The Appaloosa is one of the more tolerable Marlon Brando westerns, if only because Brando seems to be aspiring to merely entertain rather than offer us a litany of Life Lessons. The title character is a beautiful horse, stolen from buffalo hunter Brando early in the proceedings. The thief is Anjanette Comer, acting on behalf of her nasty boyfriend, Mexican bandit chieftan John Saxon. In his efforts to retrieve his property, Brando is subjected to torture and humiliation by Saxon and his minions. A later foray into Saxon's camp results in a brutal wrestling match between Brando and the bandito. Again left to die, Brando is rescued by Comer, who despises her "lover" and prefers Brando's company. During the violence-laden climax, Brando his forced to choose between Comer and his beloved Appaloosa. Russell Metty's gritty photography does more to sustain the mood of The Appaloosa than Sidney J. Furie's showoffish direction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marlon Brando, Anjanette Comer, (more)
Based on Elleston Trevor's novel, The Flight of the Phoenix opens with a well-staged plane crash in the middle of the Sahara desert. The pilot (James Stewart) and the navigator (Richard Attenborough) do their best to maintain order among the survivors, a group of oil men not well-suited for survival in the desert wastes. Some of those who appear to be the most resourceful reveal themselves to be inept or cowardly, while other less prepossessing types -- notably bespectacled Standish (Dan Duryea) -- demonstrate surprising inner reserves of strength. The ultimate fate of the survivors rests in the hands of Heinrich Dorfmann (Hardy Kruger), who uses the wreckage of the old plane to design a new one. The Flight of the Phoenix was dedicated to the memory of veteran stunt pilot Paul Mantz, who was killed while filming the take-off scene of the new plane. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, (more)
- 1964
Impoverished and terminally ill Mexican peasant Juan Diaz (Alejandro Rey) makes a deal with gravedigger Alejandro (Frank Silvera) that will enable Juan to provide for his wife, Maria (Pina Pellecier), and their children after his death. When Maria discovers that her late husband had promised to allow Alejandro to mummify his body and display it as a tourist attraction, she takes it upon herself to break into Alejandro's crypt and steal Juan's corpse. An ironic ending caps this ghoulishly poignant Ray Bradbury story, which also boasts a typically superb Bernard Herrmann musical score. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alejandro Rey, Frank Silvera, (more)
- 1964
Based on the popular children's story by Scott O'Dell, this family movie tells of the true adventures of a young Native American girl. After her father is killed by a malevolent white trapper, Karana (Celia Kaye) joins her community as they leave their island home in the Pacific to live on the mainland. Upon her departure, Karana realizes that her brother has been left behind. She immediately swims back to be with him and the two remain on the abandoned island. Though Karana is able to domesticate a wolf, her brother is not so fortunate with the animals and is killed by a pack of wild dogs. She is left to survive against the odds for several years before she has a chance to journey to the mainland herslelf. The adept cinematography of Leo Tover (Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Day the Earth Stood Still) greatly contributed to this outdoor adventure film as did appropriate music from prolific film composer Paul Sawtell. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Celia Kaye, Larry Domasin, (more)
- 1964
Wealthy junk dealer and mayoral candidate Mort Lynch (Ted De Corsia) decides to give a job to dissolute college dropout Barry Davis (Carl Reindel), if only because Lynch was once a good pal of Barry's uncle. However, the boy quits the job after a bitter argument, then goes to work for a newspaper publisher who is trying to destroy Lynch's political career. Ultimately, Lynch is murdered, and the weapon is found in Barry's car. Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) must prove that Barry is innocent, and that the actual killer is someone who was intimately involved in the criminal activities of Barry's uncle and the late Mr. Lynch. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
While sitting in a barber's chair, Carlos Rodriguez (Alex Montoya) is killed by impatient customer Duke Miller (Perry Lopez. The only person who could possibly identify Duke as the murderer is Joe Cartwright-who, unfortunately, was unconscious during the tragedy. Feeling responsible for Rodriguez' death, Joe personally escorts Carlos' son Paco (Raphel Lopez) to his grandparents in Mexico. Upon his arrival in the town of Juarez, Joe enters another barbershop-where Duke Miller is waiting for a final showdown. First shown on February 3, 1963, "The Last Haircut" was written by Charles Lang. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, (more)
- 1962
This routine crime drama about a mysterious, abandoned yacht is directed by Robert Gottschalk who also wrote the original story. The action begins when three impoverished fishermen working along the California coast come across a yacht with no crew. The only thing they do find on the boat is a corpse, someone who had died of the mumps. The fishermen contact the right authorities and actually end up using the yacht themselves as a charter vessel. The American Coast Guard figures that if they let the men put the yacht to their own use, the real owners will show up sooner or later. They were right. The owners turn out to be some shady characters who carry guns, deal in drugs, and make the fishermen an offer they had better not refuse. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Warfield, Sally Fraser, (more)
- 1960
Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) is frustrated when a case that he has been building against mob functionary Theodore Newberry (Ken Lynch) literally goes South when the star witness, bookkeeper Julius Imbry (Byron Foulger), is kidnapped and spirited away to Mexico. When Newberry manages to humiliate Ness in public, undercover cop Nick Delgado (Vince Edwards) is assigned to bring Imbry back--while Newberry, who did not engineer the kidnapping, dispatches his own hired guns to locate and silence the witness. Martin Landau steals the show as a stuttering hit man in this episode, which also features an uncredited appearance by Batman's future "Chief O'Hara" Stafford Repp. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
The Toughest Gun in Tombstone, at least according to this film, as Arizona ranger Matt Sloane (George Montgomery). Working undercover, Sloane infiltrates an all-star outlaw gang consisting of Johnny Ringo (Jim Davis), Ike Clanton (Gerald Milton), Curly Bill Broces (Lane Bradford) and several other sagebrush celebrities. His purpose: to put an end to the smuggling of silver bullion across the Mexican border. Complicating matters is Sloane's concern over his young son Terry (Scott Morrow), who is being pursued across the territory by the man who murdered Sloane's wife. Not exactly an "A" picture, Toughest Gun in Tombstone is too well-mounted to be dismissed as a "B." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Montgomery, Beverly Tyler, (more)
- 1957
War Drums manages to be pro-Indian, pro-Mexican, pro-tolerance and pro-feminist without ever resorting to speechmaking or sacrificing its entertainment value. Former Tarzan Lex Barker stars as an Apache chief who is almost ostracized by his tribe when he marries Mexican girl Joan Taylor. Eventually, Barker is welcomed back, but Joan refuses to behave like a typical dutiful squaw. In deference to his wife's wishes, Barker trains Joan to become an Apache warrior! It is curious that the Political Correctness crowd has never paid homage to War Drums; perhaps it's because of the film's surfeit of decidedly non-PC violence and bloodshed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lex Barker, Joan Taylor, (more)
- 1956
Stagecoach to Fury was one of several "pocket westerns" released through 20th Century-Fox's Regal Films subsidiary. The titular coach is robbed by Mexican bandits, who hold the passengers prisoner at a relay station. As both captors and captives nervously await the arrival of a gold shipment, the true natures of the passengers are slowly revealed. Realizing that he and his fellow passengers will be killed the moment the bandits get their hands on the gold, the cavalry captain (Forrest Tucker) tries to organize a united front against the villains. Director William Claxton was later a primary director of the TV series Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Forrest Tucker, Mari Blanchard, (more)
- 1955
Phil Karlson, well-regarded by film buffs for his tough, no-nonsense crime dramas, directed this adventure story shot partially on location in the Caribbean. Mike Cormack (John Payne) was once a District Attorney, until his fiancée, Janet Martin (Mary Murphy), left him to marry another man. Depressed, Mike began drinking heavily, and eventually his alcoholism cost him his job. Trying to pull himself back up after hitting bottom, Mike gets a job as a bouncer at a casino in Las Vegas. Barzland (Francis L. Sullivan), a handicapped criminal, approaches Mike with an unusual offer. Barzland will pay Mike $5,000 if he can locate a ruby that went missing following the disappearance of a plane in the West Indies. Mike discovers that the reason he was picked for this job is that the pilot of the plane, Eduardo (Paul Picerni), is the man Janet chose to marry, and Barzland and his men believe that she might have clues as to the ruby's whereabouts that Mike could uncover. However, when Mike arrives to meet with Janet, he discovers that Eduardo is now in jail, and Janet begins to snare Mike in a web of lies and deceit. Hell's Island was rereleased in 1962 under the title South Sea Fury. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Payne, Mary Murphy, (more)
- 1955
Longtime B-western favorites Tex Ritter and Ray "Crash" Corrigan are among the supporting players of the Columbia oater Apache Ambush. Star of the proceedings is Bill Williams, cast as Indian scout James Kingston. In the last days of the Civil War, President Lincoln (James Griffith) selects Kingston and two other men -- cattle driver O'Roarke (Ray Teal) and "reconstructed" Confederate major McGuire (Don C. Harvey) -- to help speed along a major cattle shipment from Texas to the Northern states. One of the obstacles facing the three men is Mexican fanatic Joaquin Jironza (Alex Montoya), who wants to get his hands on the Henry Repeating Rifles which Kingston and his confreres carry with them. Undermining the good guys is embittered ex-rebel Lee Parker (Richard Jaeckel), who is in cahoots with Jironza. So much happens in the first five reels that the titular Indian ambush is almost anticlimactic (a warning to more sensitive viewers: neither the Apaches nor the Mexicans are shown in a particularly sympathetic light). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Williams, Richard Jaeckel, (more)
- 1955
In this production from Benedict Bogeaus and RKO Radio, Robert Ryan stars as a fugitive from justice who hides out in the Far Eastern teak plantation managed by Barbara Stanwyck. As the two fall in love, Stanwyck comes to believe in Ryan's innocence. Upon the arrival of doggedly determined security officer David Farrer, Ryan and Stanwyck escape into the treacherous Burmese jungles. Like many of Bogeaus's productions of the 1950s, Escape to Burma was directed by Allan Dwan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Ryan, (more)
The winning combination of producer Benedict Bogeaus and director Allan Dwan once more struck box-office gold with Passion. Set in 19th century California, the film stars Cornel Wilde as a young rancher seeking vengeance for the murders of his wife Yvonne de Carlo and his parents. The guilty parties are a group of terrorists, headed by Rodolpho Acosta, whom Wilde, now a fugitive from justice himself, intends to knock off one by one. Loyally standing by her man is the sister of Wilde's slain wife, also played by Yvonne de Carlo (one character is demure, the other fiery). Featured in the cast is Raymond Burr as a police chief determined to follow the letter of the law--at least, until things get too personal. Passion was effectively color-photographed on location in the mountain ranges between California and Nevada. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Raymond Burr, (more)
- 1954
Mitzi Gaynor was contractually awarded with top billing in 20th Century-Fox's Three Young Texans, but the film's true star is Jeffrey Hunter. To prevent his father from being blackmailed into committing a train robbery, Johnny Colt (Hunter) pulls off the theft himself. Our hero and his lady friend (Mitzi Gaynor) intend to return the money as soon as his father is out of harm's way. Unfortunately, Colt's "friend" Tony Ballew (Keefe Brasselle) has other ideas. Running off with the money, Ballew makes the mistake of crossing the path of Apache Joe (Michael Ansara), who masterminded the robbery in the first place. Three Young Texans is another of those "thinking man's westerns" conceived in the wake of such films as The Gunfighter and High Noon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mitzi Gaynor, Keefe Brasselle, (more)
- 1953
A heretofore unexplored chapter in the saga of female western desperado Belle Starr is detailed in this fanciful sagebrusher. Keith Larsen plays the title character, a young man forced into a life of crime because of his mom's reputation and because he's been framed on a holdup charge. Hoping that he can eventually get the goods on the man who set him up, the "Kid" joins up with a corrupt sheriff (Myron Healey). Participating in a gold robbery, the "Kid" absconds with the money, intending to use it to finance the search for his betrayer. By the time he's caught up with the real crook, however, he has himself become a hardened criminal. There's a lesson in all this, somewhere. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keith Larsen, Dona Drake, (more)
- 1953
Cashing in on the popularity of such pro-Native American films as Broken Arrow, Columbia's resident quickiemeister Sam Katzman came up with Conquest of Cochise. John Hodiak plays the eponymous Apache leader, who at the beginning of the film is seen conducting raids on the U.S.-Mexican border in the company of the Comanches. Eventually realizing that the whites are better armed and equipped than the Indians, Cochise wants to put an end to the raids and smoke the peace pipe, but the Comanches don't see things his way. In films of this nature, there is usually a foredoomed love affair between a white man and an Indian girl. This time, however, Cochise falls in love with Mexican aristocrat Consuelo de Cordova (Joy Page), whom he holds hostage while U.S. cavalry officer Burke (Robert Stack) searches for the killer of Cochise's Indian bride. Director William Castle does a nice job matching stock footage with his newly-shot scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Hodiak, Joy Page, (more)
- 1953
The answer is: A turgid melodrama. The question: What is Jeopardy? Barbara Stanwyck stars as a suburbanite on a Mexican vacation with her husband (Barry Sullivan) and son (Lee Aaker). The threesome runs afoul of escape convict Ralph Meeker. Stanwyck's dilemma: Attempting to rescue her husband from drowning, while staving off the carnal demands of Meeker, who holds Stanwyck and her son at gunpoint. Jeopardy is on and off in only 69 minutes, but 64 of those minutes seem far longer. Trivia note: When dramatized on Lux Radio Theater, Jeopardy costarred child actor Harry Shearer, later a comic regular on Saturday Night Live. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, (more)
A nail-biting Indian deadlock remains the climax of this otherwise overly verbose Western filmed in M-G-M's then-new Ansco colors (forerunner of Eastmancolor). After ruthlessly dragging an escaped prisoner through the Arizona desert, Union Army Captain Roper (William Holden) suffers rebuke from both the rebel prisoners and his commanding officer (Carl Benton Reid). Things settles down a bit with the arrival of Carla Forester (Eleanor Parker), with whom Roper falls in love. But Carla proves to be a Confederate spy assigned to engender the escape of Captain Marsh (John Forsythe), the Rebel leader. The plan succeeds to a point but the escapees are hunted down by Roper and Lieutenant Beecher (Richard Anderson). Returning to Fort Bravo with his prisoners, Roper and his captives ride right into a Mescalero Apache hunting party. Filmed on location at California's Death Valley, Escape from Fort Bravo was co-written by Australian-born actor Michael Pate. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Holden, Eleanor Parker, (more)
- 1952
In this convoluted adventure serial, a U.S. Air force captain begins searching for some stolen microfilm that contains vital information. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1952
This Sam Katzman costume quickie stars Sterling Hayden as 17th-century privateer Kit Gerardo, and (inevitably in a buccaneer meller of this sort) Rhonda Fleming as a gorgeous female pirate named Rouge. When Rouge's vessel is besieged by the minions of evil Caribbean governor Luis del Toro (John Sutton), Gerardo comes to her rescue. As the film unfolds, it turns out that practically no one is who they seem to be--especially the mysterious Rouge. Producer Katzman cannily fleshes out the film with miles of stock footage from earlier pirate epics. Apparently contemptuous of his role, Sterling Hayden delivers an uncharacteristically awful performance, but Rhonda Fleming makes the whole enterprise worthwhile. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rhonda Fleming, Sterling Hayden, (more)
- 1952
Wild Horse Ambush was the last of four Republic westerns starring juvenile actors Michael Chapin and Eilene Janssen. Once again, Chapin plays Red, the grandson of venerable sheriff Tom White (James Bell), while Judy (Eilene Janssen) is Red's friend and confidante. And once again, the two kids join forces in bringing an adult criminal to justice. This time, the miscreant is a counterfeiter (Roy Barcroft), who is employing a fiendish complex and clever method to smuggle "funny money" across the Mexican border. The intention of this western series was to offer the kiddie fans a pair of protagonists with which they could identify; the experiment didn't work, and Republic went back to grown-up cowboy stars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Chapin, Eilene Janssen, (more)
