Frances Morris Movies
American actress Frances Morris was seen in small utility roles from 1934 to 1961. At first, Morris was cast as gun molls, stewardesses, secretaries, receptionists, and maids. She was exceptionally busy in the 1940s, essaying a variety of WAVES and WACs. The following decade, she was seen in maternal roles (some of them actually given character names) in both films and TV. One of Frances Morris' better assignments was the sympathetic prison warden in the 1952 Loretta Young starrer Because of You. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1964
Fresh from her six-year stint on Lassie, June Lockhart is cast as Mona Harvey, the wife of wildly eccentric sculptor Hannibal Harvey (Sean McClory), and the principal stockholder in the highly respected publishing firm owned by her uncle Everett Stanton (Stuart Erwin). In dire need of $10,000, Hannibal takes advantage of Mona's temporary absence to shake down Everett for the money, arranging for his model Bonnie (Sue Ane Langdon) to deliver a blackmail note. But Mona gets her hands on the note and decides to confront Bonnie--and as a result, she and Hannibal show up just in time to find the girl's corpse, and to be charged with murder. Looks like it's going to be another one of those days for overworked defense attorney Perry Mason (Raymond Burr)! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
A toy manufacturer bequeaths his company, and his fortune, to his unattractive daughter Alice (Anne Whitfield)--on condition that she be married or at least engaged within a year's time. Miraculously, a handsome artist claims to be in love with Alice, proving his ardor by painting her as a beauty. Alas, it turns out that the romance is a sham, engineered by Alice's Uncle Harry (Ford Rainey) as part of a scheme to gain full control of the company. When Harry turns up murdered, Alice is convinced that she killed him during an argument, and so are the police--but Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) has his doubts. This is the final episode of Perry Mason's seventh season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Beatniks Mitch (Brian G. Hutton) and Judy (Anne Helm) decide to sponge off a wealthy "square" named Kenneth (Wayne Rogers), who for reasons of his own enjoys attending "beat" parties. It isn't long before Kenneth has wooed Judy away from Mitch -- and for good measure, he arranges for Mitch to be hauled off by the cops. Judy now thinks that she's struck gold with the generous Mitch...but she's wrong, dead wrong. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Prolific director Joseph Pevney is better known for his next venture -- the Star Trek television series -- than this conventional docudrama on mobster "Dutch" Schultz (played by Vic Morrow). Rather than take the focus of 1997's Hoodlum, in which Schultz's attempt to move into Harlem is thwarted, the events leading to the demise of the nearly illiterate, Bronx-born, "king of beer" are stressed. His affair with Iris Murphy (Leslie Parrish) also gets front-and-center treatment when Iris leaves her policeman husband to hook up with Schultz, only to degenerate into alcoholism. To the credit of the director, the repugnant Schultz (whose real name was Arthur Flegenheimer) is not romanticized, even though the legend of his "buried treasure" and the literary non-sequitur of his famous, 1935 deathbed ramblings would tend to lure anyone into digressions. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vic Morrow, Leslie Parrish, (more)
- 1960
Secretary Gladys Dole (played by future Oscar winner Lucille Fletcher) encounters one perilous obstacle after another while running an errand for her employer, best-selling author Mauvis Meade (Beverly Garland). Things get really bad for Gladys when she stumbles upon a dead body in a mountain cabin, and is charged with murder. In his efforts to defend Gladys in court, Perry (Raymond Burr) must contend with the fact that his client has apparently been moonlighting as a go-between for the Mob--not to mention the fact that the murder cabin was rented in Gladys' name. This episode is based on a 1959 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Riding into a small town, Bret (James Garner) and Bart (Jack Kelly) are amused when the locals mistake them for the notorious gunfighters Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. But it's a bit less amusing when gorgeous Doll Hayes (Joi Lansing) begins cozying up to the local sheriff (Frank Ferguson) as a diversion so that her cohorts can rob the town bank. To prevent this, the Mavericks decide to exploit their resemblance to Earp and Holliday to the hilt, A cute closing gag tops this final episode of Maverick's first season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1957
Having inherited a huge cattle ranch from his late father, Will Keough (Fred MacMurray) wants nothing more than to tend to his work and live in peace, but this is made impossible by the tense situation in his own household. Will's two younger brothers, Bless (Jeffrey Hunter) and Hade (Dean Stockwell), are as different as night and day: Convinced that he was responsible for the death of his father, Bless refuses to use a gun, and is thus branded a coward; conversely, Hade is wild and reckless, literally an accident waiting to happen. Exacerbating the situation is the brothers' grim and merciless mother (Josephine Hutchinson), who has instilled most of Bless' guilt feelings, and Will's sweetheart Aud Niven (Janice Rule), who finds herself drawn to the sensitive Bless. Ultimately, there will have to be a showdown...but who among the Keogh siblings will survive? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred MacMurray, Jeffrey Hunter, (more)
- 1957
Fury at Showdown stars John Derek as a gunfighter who hopes to hang up his guns and live the peaceful life of a cattle ranch. Settling down on his new spread with his brother Nick Adams, Derek finds that he can't live down his reputation. When his brother is murdered on the orders of land-grabbing lawyer Gage Clarke, Derek is forced to strap on his guns again. But Clarke, one step ahead of our hero, tries to save himself from prosecution by kidnapping Derek's girlfriend Carolyn Craig. As the title indicates, a showdown is inevitable, though not as predictable as one might suspect. Fury at Showdown was adapted from a novel by Lucas Todd. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Derek, John Smith, (more)
- 1957
Wild Is the Wind represents a (perhaps deliberate) reversal of the situation in The Rose Tattoo (1955). Whereas in Tattoo, Anna Magnani played a widow who could never find a man to measure up to her late husband, in Wind her character, Giola, marries widowed rancher Gino (Anthony Quinn), who is haunted by the memory of his first spouse. The situation is dicier in Wind, since Italian immigrant Gino's deceased wife was Giola's sister. Eventually tiring of her husband's mood swings, Giola turns to his son, Bene (Anthony Franciosa), for emotional and sexual gratification. A Hollywood approximation of the Italian neorealist school of filmmaking, Wild Is the Wind was based on Furia, a story by Vittorio Nino Novarese. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Magnani, Anthony Quinn, (more)
- 1957
A bizarre western that at times veers dangerously close to outright burlesque, Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend concluded Randolph Scott's long-term contract with Warner Bros. and sat on the shelf for nearly two years before being dumped on the double-bill market in 1957. Scott and two fellow cavalry officers (Gordon Jones and a very young James Garner) have their clothes stolen while skinny-dipping. Offered new apparel by a group of Quakers (or are they Mormons? It is never made quite clear), the threesome go on to prevent James Craig from supplying the territory with faulty guns and ammo. Dani Crayne (the wife of actor David Janssen at the time) seductively warbles {&"Kiss Me Quick") and a young Angie Dickinson lends further femininity to the proceedings. Much of this is strangely watchable, but as a western Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend can never make up its mind whether to play it straight or for comedy. Not too surprisingly, director Richard L. Bare had gotten his start helming the studio's "Joe McDoakes" comedy shorts in the 1940s. A final paradox: There is nary a shoot-out in the entire film. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Randolph Scott, Angie Dickinson, (more)
- 1956
Down-and-out artist Joe Manning (John Bromfield) wakes up from a night of drunken revelry in a jail cell, where he's being held on suspicion for the murder of a nightclub singer. It so happens that the dead woman was clutching a "class of 1945" high school pin in her hand, and it was on the basis of this circumstantial evidence that Joe was incarcerated. Provided with a phony alibi by friendly carhop Slacks (Julie London), Joe sets about to find the real killer--all the while hoping that it isn't himself. Since there are quite a few 1945 alumni in the neighborhood, Joe really has his work cut out for him. Featured in the supporting cast of Crime Against Joe is corpulent Henry Calvin, the future "Sergeant Garcia" on TV's Zorro, as Joe's cabdriver buddy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Bromfield, Julie London, (more)
- 1955
With the exception of the vastly superior Caged, Columbia's Women's Prison was the quintessential "babes behind bars" drama of the 1950s. Ida Lupino (who else?) stars as Amelia VanZant, the sadistic supervisor of the titular prison. Unable to establish any sort of relationship with a man, Amelia takes it out on her long-suffering inmates. When prison psychiatrist Clark (Howard Duff) tries to improve conditions for the women, he too is targetted for destruction by the vituperous Ms. VanZant. The cast includes such perennial "hard-boiled dames" as Jan Sterling, Cleo Moore, Audrey Totter, Phyllis Thaxter, Gertrude Michael and Mae Clarke. Not taken very seriously in the first place, Women's Prison was elevated to the level of "high camp" by youthful film buffs of the 1960s and 1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ida Lupino, Jan Sterling, (more)
- 1955
Based on true police stories, these two episodes of the 1954 series are hosted by Charles Bickford and feature real-life police officers. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1953
Set in New Caledonia (though filmed in Hawaii), Miss Sadie Thompson is a heavily laundered adaptation of Somerset Maugham's Rain, with Rita Hayworth in the title role and José Ferrer as the pious Alfred Davidson. To satisfy the censors, Sadie is no longer a whore but a nightclub entertainer "with a past," while Davidson is not a minister but a lay preacher. The end result, however, is about the same, with Davidson trying to save Sadie's soul, only to lose his own in the process. Aldo Ray co-stars in the beefed-up role of the marine sergeant who harbors a crush for the colorful Miss Thompson. Highlights include Rita Hayworth's rendition of the musical numbers "The Heat is On" (later parodied by Muriel Landers in the 1957 Three Stooges comedy Sweet and Hot), "Blue Pacific Blues," and ""Hear No Evil, Seek No Evil."" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rita Hayworth, José Ferrer, (more)
- 1952
Self-centered Washington socialite Rosalind Russell joins the WACS in order to be near her boyfriend William Ching, a GI stationed in Paris. Russell is certain that her DC connections will enable her to get out of the service as easily as she got in. Unfortunately for her, Russell's ex-husband Paul Douglas decides to teach her a lesson by pulling a few strings himself. Several of the army-camp scenes are stolen by Marie Wilson as an amply proportioned chorus girl, who's joined the WACS to escape stage-door johnnies. Filmed in part on location at the Women's Army Corps training center at Fort Lee, Virginia, Never Wave at a WAC was produced by Rosalind Russell's husband, Frederick Brisson. The film was released in England as The Private Wore Skirts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosalind Russell, Paul Douglas, (more)
- 1952
- Add The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima to QueueAdd The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima to top of Queue
Like its spiritual predecessor Song of Bernadette, Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima is based on a true story. The year is 1917: the place, Fatima, Portugal. While tending sheep, three farm children (Susan Whitney, Sherry Jackson and Sammy Ogg) claim to see a vision of the Virgin Mary. The local adults insist that the kids keep quiet about this vision, fearing reprisals from the anti-Catholic Portuguese government. But word gets out, and soon thousand of pilgrims are flocking to Fatima, awaiting the "miracle" that the vision promised to deliver to the three youngsters. And, then, on October 13, 1917, as witnessed by 70,000 pilgrims, the sun mysteriously sunk in the sky and many of those present claimed to have been miraculously cured of their ailments. Thankfully, Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima never stoops to proselytizing. If one believes the story, fine; if one does not, well, facts are facts. Young co-star Sherry Jackson later appeared on TV's Make Room for Daddy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gilbert Roland, Angela Clarke, (more)
- 1952
Filled with the kind of Red Scare propaganda that must have delighted members of McCarthy's House Un-American Activities Committee, this drama chronicles the attempts of two All-American parents to save their son from the temptations of Communism. Unfortunately, they are too late. The arrogant and intellectual young man, a worker in a federal agency, returns home from a long absence spouting pro-Ruskie doctrine and deriding the beliefs of capitalism and US at every opportunity. Enraged at his son's mocking ways, he beans him with the family bible. Things get worse when an FBI agent shows up to tell the horrified parents that their son is an enemy spy. The mother blows a gasket and flies to Washington, DC where her son works to make him swear on the same book that the FBI agent is wrong. The son does so, but its a lie. The mother soon finds this out. She also learns that her treacherous son's girlfriend is a Commie. What's a mother to do? Fortunately, before it is too late, her son realizes the error of his ways and tries to double-cross his Pinko superiors. Unfortunately, it is too late and they shoot him and just before he gaspingly dies upon the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, he tapes his final confession and gives American youth everywhere a potent message about honor. The star of the film, Walker, best remembered for his gripping portrayal of a psychopath in Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train, died before production finished and so scenes from that film were spliced into My Son, John. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Hayes, Van Heflin, (more)
- 1952
The sole survivor of the doomed planet Krypton is the baby son of scientist Jor-El (Robert Rockwell) and Lara (Aline Towne), who providently place the child in a rocketship and blast him to earth just before their planet explodes. Rescued by a farm couple named Kent, the infant, renamed Clark, grows up with the knowledge that he is "different" from other children--mainly, he has powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men, including the power of X-Ray vision and the ability to fly. Making his way to the big city of Metropolis, the adult Clark Kent (George Reeves) applies for a reporter job at the "Daily Planet", but irascible editor Perry White (John Hamilton) wants nothing to do with the bespectacled greenhorn--at least, not until Clark offers to "arrange" the rescue of a man dangling from a dirigible guide wire 1000 feet above ground. Of course, Clark neglects to tell anyone that he is able to pull off the rescue himself--as his alter ego, Superman! This "origin" episode of The Adventures of Superman was the first to be telecast, but was actually the 24th episode to be filmed for the series' inaugural season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1952
Fans of Loretta Young were rather taken aback by the early scenes of Because of You, wherein Young is seen as brash, uninhibited bleach-blonde Christine Carroll. On the verge of marrying gangster Mike Monroe (Alex Nicol), Christine is arrested by the cops, and sent to prison on the strength of incriminating evidence slipped into her purse by the duplicitous Monroe. Through the kindness of prison psychiatrist Dr. Breen (Alexander Scourby), Christine turns her life around in prison, becoming a nurse's aid in the infirmary. Upon her release, Christine gets a job at a respectable hospital, where she falls in love with wounded combat pilot Steve Kimberly (Jeff Chandler). Will she ever be able to reveal her sordid past without sending the emotionally fragile Steve off the deep end? And what about that no-good Mike Monroe? The supporting cast of Because of You includes two of Loretta Young's contemporaries of the 1930s, Frances Dee and Mae Clarke, in strongly defined character roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loretta Young, Jeff Chandler, (more)
Carrie is based on Sister Carrie, a novel by Theodore Dreiser. Dreiser's clumsy, unwieldy prose is streamlined into a neat and precise screenplay by Ruth and Augustus Goetz. Jennifer Jones stars as Carrie, who leaves her go-nowhere small town for the wicked metropolis of Chicago. Here she becomes the mistress of brash traveling salesman Charles Drouet (Eddie Albert), then throws him over in favor of erudite restaurant manager George Hurstwood (Laurence Olivier). Obsessed by Carrie, George steals money from his boss to support her in the manner to which he thinks she is accustomed. Left broke and disgraced by the ensuing scandal, Carrie deserts George to become an actress. Years later, the conscience-stricken Carrie tries to regenerate George, who has fallen into bum-hood. If Laurence Olivier seems a surprising casting choice in Carrie, try to imagine what the film would have been like had Cary Grant, Paramount's first choice, accepted the role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Olivier, Jennifer Jones, (more)
- 1952
One of several early-1950s films to capitalize on the Kefauver Committee's investigation of organized crime, The Captive City stars John Forsythe as crusading editor Jim Austin. While Austin prepares his testimony before the Committee, the film flashes back to the events which led to this courageous act. Victor Sutherland plays mob boss Murray Sirak, who has the entire police force of Austin's hometown under his thumb. Sirak in turns takes his orders from an unseen Mister Big, who of course is "above the law"--or so it seems. Based on the experiences of Time magazine reporter Alvin Josephy Jr. (who co-authored the script), Captive City contains the added fillip of a guest appearance by Senator Estes Kefauver himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Forsythe, Joan Camden, (more)
- 1950
Between Midnight and Dawn is a solid, no-frills detective drama from the Columbia studio mills. Mark Stevens and Edmond O'Brien star as police officers Barnes and Purvis, who tool around in their prowl car in the wee hours of the morning. Vengeful gangster Ritchie Garris (Donald Buka) would like nothing better than to get Barnes and Purvis out of his hair, especially after breaking out of jail. In a thrill-packed climax, Garris makes a desperate escape using a little kid as a shield, while Purvis tries to second-guess the homicidal gangster. As Kate Mallory, Gale Storm has little to do except serve as the bone of romantic contention between the two male protagonists. Curiously, Storm doesn't get to sing, though supporting actress Gale Robbins does--three times, in fact. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Stevens, Edmond O'Brien, (more)
- 1950
This Side of the Law stars Kent Smith as David Cummins, a man caught up in an epic subterfuge. At the behest of attorney Philip Cagle (Robert Douglas), Cummins poses as a man who has been missing for seven years and is presumed dead. Cagle insists that this deception is necessary to protect a huge estate from avaricious relatives. Cummins finds himself heir to a far-from-loving wife, a resentful brother and a seductive sister-in-law. That's right: there's much more to this than meets the eye. Top-billed Viveca Lindfors brings a bit of texture to the otherwise two-dimensional character of Cummins' "wife." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Viveca Lindfors, Kent Smith, (more)
- 1950
An unusually morbid film from producer Samuel Goldwyn, Edge of Doom stars Farley Granger as a sensitive young man trapped in an impoverished slum existence. Granger becomes unhinged when his beloved mother dies, and when an unfeeling elderly priest refuses to provide the woman with a lavish funeral, Granger savagely kills the priest. The boy's subsequent moody behavior is chalked down to grief over his mother, but a younger and more compassionate priest (Dana Andrews) suspects something is amiss. In as gentle a fashion as possible, the priest persuades Granger to confess to the crime and seek divine forgiveness. Joan Evans, a Goldwyn contractee for whom "big things" were predicted, plays the totally forgettable love interest for the tortured Granger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dana Andrews, Farley Granger, (more)
Caged, considered the best woman's prison film ever made, represents a union between realistic socially conscious drama and the more stylized world of film noir. Marie, (Eleanor Parker), is sentenced to prison for helping her husband in a small robbery. The prison is run by the sadistic matron Evelyn (Hope Emerson) who is secure in her position due to corrupt political influence. The film shows Marie's slow disillusionment with society and her eventual decision to become a prostitute in order to gain parole after observing her friend and fellow inmate Kitty (Betty Garde) lose her sanity and murder their oppressor Evelyn. With this uncompromisingly pessimistic statement on human nature, John Cromwell reaches his peak as a director. Under his expert direction, Eleanor Parker gives the best performance of her career and creates a convincing metamorphosis from a innocent young girl to a hardened criminal. Her performance is nuanced, low-keyed and emotionally charged. Equally impressive is Cromwell's visual realization of the claustrophobia of prison life, aided by the high-contrast photography of Carl Guthrie. This excellent, grim drama is uncompromising in its refusal to sentimentalize the plight of Marie as a victim or to absolve her of her role in her fate, nor does it absolve society as it shows the results of desperation and brutalization on human dignity. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eleanor Parker, Agnes Moorehead, (more)
