Brad Mora Movies

The Farmer Takes a Wife is a musicalized remake of the 1935 film of the same name. Betty Grable and Dale Robertson star in the roles originally essayed by Janet Gaynor and Henry Fonda. Set in the early 19th century, the plot details the trials and tribulations of those hardy souls who settled along the Erie Canal. Grable plays Molly Larkin, the girlfriend of rough-and-tumble canal-boat captain Jotham Klore (John Carroll). Much to Klore's dismay, she hires mild-mannered farmer Daniel Harrow (Robertson) to work on the boat. Molly and Daniel fall in love and marry, but there's many a heartbreak and letdown before a happy ending can be reached. Though not in any way a "typical" Betty Grable musical, Farmer Takes a Wife was misleadingly advertised as such: one promotional still showed a grinning Grable anachronistically garbed in tight jeans and a bare-midriff blouse! Both versions of The Farmer Takes a Wife were adapted from the stage play by Frank B. Elser and Marc Connelly. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Vanquished represented another winner from Paramount's Pine-Thomas unit. John Payne plays Rock Grayson, a Civil War POW who returns to his Southern home to find carpetbagger Roger Hale (Lyle Bettger) in charge of things. An old enemy of Grayson's, Hale has commandeered the Grayson family-mansion as his headquarters. He has also set his sights upon Grayson's girlfriend Jane Colfax (Colleen Gray) as his own. Urged by the townsfolk to spearhead a revolt against the despotic Hale, Grayson surprises everyone by agreeing to become Hale's chief tax collector. What no one knows is that Grayson is secretly planning to gather enough evidence to topple Hale through legal methods. Even so, the film is capped by a cathartic outburst of violent action. The Vanquished is based on a novel by cinematographer/screenwriter/director Karl Brown. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Dale Robertson stars as Sam Crockett, a widowed rancher trying to make a go of his small spread with his father (Walter Brennan) and his two small sons. Financially strapped, Crockett is forced to go to work for nasty neighboring rancher Rod (Richard Boone). When Rod's sister-in-law Ann (Joanne Dru) falls in love with him, Crockett retreats, believing that no woman could ever measure up to his late wife. As the story progresses, however, it is Ann's love, coupled with the faith of his two supportive sons, which help Crockett persevere despite all roadblocks. Based on a novel by Fred (Old Yeller) Gipson, Return of the Texan is a western only in its setting; the film works better as a mood piece and character study. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Judy Garland was originally slated to star in MGM's film version of Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun, but she was forced to pull out of the production due to illness (recently discovered out-takes reveal a gaunt, dazed Garland, obviously incapable of completing her duties). She was replaced by Betty Hutton who, once she overcame the resentment of her co-workers, turned in an excellent performance--perhaps the best of her career. Hutton is of course cast as legendary sharpshooter Annie Oakley, who ascends from dirty-faced backwoods gamin to the uppermost rungs of international stardom. Her mentor is Buffalo Bill, played by Louis Calhern (like Hutton, Calhern was a last-minute replacement: the original Buffalo Bill, Frank Morgan, died before production began). Annie's great rival is arrogant marksman Frank Butler (Howard Keel) with whom she eventually falls in love. She goes so far as to lose an important shooting match to prove her affection--a scene that hardly strikes a blow for feminism, but this is, after all, a 1950 film. Of the stellar supporting cast, J. Carroll Naish stands out as Sitting Bull, whose shrewd business acumen is good for several laughs. Virtually all the Irving Berlin tunes were retained from the Broadway version, including "Doin' What Comes Naturally", "You Can't Get a Man with a Gun", "Anything You Can Do", "The Girl That I Marry", "My Defenses are Down", "They Say It's Wonderful" and the rousing "There's No Business Like Show Business", which was later tantalizingly excerpted in MGM's pastiche feature That's Entertainment II. Alas, due to a complicated legal tangle involving the estates of Irving Berlin and librettists Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields, Annie Get Your Gun hasn't been shown on television in years. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi