Wayne Morris Movies

In this western, the Indians claim that their government rations are being stolen and they threaten to fight back. A pair of agents look into it and bring the culprits to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this British detective yarn, a Yankee sleuth teams up with Scotland Yard to catch the culprits behind a successful counterfeiting ring. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Adapting Humphrey Cobb's novel to the screen, director Stanley Kubrick and his collaborators Calder Willingham and Jim Thompson set out to make a devastating anti-war statement, and they succeeded above and beyond the call of duty. In the third year of World War I, the erudite but morally bankrupt French general Broulard (Adolphe Menjou) orders his troops to seize the heavily fortified "Ant Hill" from the Germans. General Mireau (George MacReady) knows that this action will be suicidal, but he will sacrfice his men to enhance his own reputation. Against his better judgment, Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) leads the charge, and the results are appalling. When, after witnessing the slaughter of their comrades, a handful of the French troops refuse to leave the trenches, Mireau very nearly orders the artillery to fire on his own men. Still smarting from the defeat, Mireau cannot admit to himself that the attack was a bad idea from the outset: he convinces himself that loss of Ant Hill was due to the cowardice of his men. Mireau demands that three soldiers be selected by lot to be executed as an example to rest of the troops. Acting as defense attorney, Colonel Dax pleads eloquently for the lives of the unfortunate three, but their fate is a done deal. Even an eleventh-hour piece of evidence proving Mireau's incompetence is ignored by the smirking Broulard, who is only interested in putting on a show of bravado. A failure when first released (it was banned outright in France for several years), Paths of Glory has since taken its place in the pantheon of classic war movies, its message growing only more pertinent and potent with each passing year (it was especially popular during the Vietnam era). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this early disaster film, the tough-minded and strict Los Angeles Harbormaster must use his courage and wits when the communists announce they have planted an atomic bomb on a freighter. It will detonate in 12 hours. Now, the harbormaster must not only save the city, he must keep his actions mum to prevent mass hysteria. He quietly tows the vessel out to sea where it explodes. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This jungle adventure is the final entry in the "Bomba the Jungle Boy" series. This time Bomba (played by 24-year-old Johnny Sheffield who felt he was getting a tad old for the role) must slaughter a destructive herd of rogue elephants. He is heartsick at the prospect and so devises an ingenious compromise. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this western, a shotgun rider on a stagecoach must clear his reputation after some outlaws accuse him of being a crook. Gunplay ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In the last of his four western programmers for Allied Artists, Wayne Morris plays frontiersman Jim Bisby. Mistaken for a notorious gunslinger, Jim is appointed deputy sheriff of a wide-open cattle town. Playing along, our hero gets down to business -- and by the time his true identity is revealed, it hardly matters, since most of the bad guys are pushing up daisies on boot hill. Beverly Garland turns in another exceptional performance as the heroine, while Morris Ankrum, Roy Barcroft and I. Stanford Jolley fulfill their usual responsibilities. Two Guns and a Badge is of historical interest as the very last "B"-grade "series" western ever produced in Hollywood. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Considered by many the weakest of Wayne Morris' latter-day B-Westerns, The Marksman features the no longer svelte star as a U. S. Marshall chasing down the gang of rustlers that killed his colleague (I. Stanford Jolley). Masquerading as a harmless prospector, Morris uses a rifle complete with telescopic lens and wins not only the day but also lovely authoress Elena Verdugo. This film was nearly the last hurrah for series B-Western, Wayne Morris and the even less remembered John Carpenter fighting for the dubious honor of being the genre's final hero. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

In this western, a brave cowgirl tries to steal the ill-gotten gains of an outlaw gang. The sheriff is hot on her heels. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Monogram Studios certainly got its money's worth out of contractee Wayne Morris, profitably plunking him into virtually every film genre known to man. In Arctic Flight, Morris plays an Alaskan bush pilot named Mike, hired to take a tenderfoot named Wetherby (Alan Hale Jr.) on a hunting trip. It soon develops that Wetherby is actually--gasp--a communist spy, who intends to take photos of Alaskan military installations on behalf of the Kremlin. By the time Mike finds this out, Wetherby has ingratiated himself with everyone in the region, thus no one believes Our Hero's shouts of "Red! Red!" The tension mounts steadily to an edge-of-seat climax. Lola Albright delivers the film's best performance as a self-reliant schoolteacher assigned to the desolate Little Diomede region. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Also known as The Rebel, The Bushwackers was coscripted by director Rodney Amateau and actor Tom Gries (later the director of such big-budgeters as Will Penny). Tired of senseless bloodshed, civil war veteran John Ireland vows never to use a gun again. This proves difficult when Ireland runs afoul of town despot Lon Chaney Jr. It seems that Chaney takes special delight in tormenting the local newspaper editor, who happens to be the father of pretty heroine Dorothy Malone. Effectively avoiding stereotypes and cliches, The Bushwackers is a virtually a model of everything a good program western should be. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Wayne Morris was rapidly becoming Monogram's answer to John Wayne when he starred in Yellow Fin. Lensed on location in the Northern Pacific, the story concerns a group of rough-and-ready tuna fishermen. When he isn't fighting the elements, Mike (Wayne Morris) is trying to snap his father (Damian O'Flynn) out of a catatonic state, brought about by an accident on the high seas. A doctor suggests that Mike take his father out on his boat during bad weather, thereby recreating the events leading up to his mental condition as a means to bring him back to normal (does the AMA know about this brand of therapy?) A secondary plot strand involves a romantic triangle consisting of Mike, Jean (Adrian Booth) and Nina (Gloria Henry). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi