George Nader Movies

Although storekeeper Mrs. Gruber (Jesslyn Fax) has purchased a gun for protection, she finds herself incapable of pulling the trigger when she is robbed by a teenager named Jimmy Philips (Bob Paget). Not so timorous is Mrs. Gruber's customer Gerald R. Clarke (George Nader), who grabs the gun, chases Jimmy down, and shoots the boy to death -- managing to avoid arrest himself by claiming "self-defense." This leads to a fateful confrontation between Gerald and the dead boy's mother (Audrey Totter). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

George Nader plays a reporter whose career is ruined by liquor. A comeback opportunity presents itself when Nader is a bystander at the arrest of a well-known criminal. The reporter knows that the crook, who has been accused of an ambush murder, is innocent, and he sets about to collar the real killer. Nader goes "cold turkey" on the booze despite tempations at every turn, and gets his man. Appointment with a Shadow is one of a handful of films directed by onetime I Led 3 Lives star Richard Carlson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A few treasure-seekers try their luck on a tropical island and find a lost--well undocumented, anyway--civilization that has interesting marine capabilities and an unusual way of life. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

George Nader stars as David Carr, a construction engineer operating in the Belgian Congo. In true jingoistic fashion, Carr wants to introduce the local natives to civilzation by re-zoning the Congotanga Falls region. Because this region is currently exempt from extradition, a small colony of fugitive criminals has sprung up. Among these worthies is suspected murderess Louise Whitman (Virginia Mayo), who like her fellow exiles would prefer that Carr not bring the region under the control of the Congolese government. One of these exiles is so anxious to get rid of Carr that he hires Chicago gunman Bart O'Connell (Michael Pate) to do the job. The supporting cast of Congo Crossing is a feast for film buffs, ranging from Peter Lorre as a cynical police inspector to Rex Ingram as a dedicated doctor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This colorful musical comedy was obviously inspired by the success of Broadway's South Pacific. Army Captain Bill Willoby (William Lundigan) is ordered to make sure that his men do not fraternize with the girls at a South Sea island base. His mission is forgotten when he himself falls in love with Diana Forrester (Jane Greer), the daughter of a local missionary. The fun begins when a native girl (Mitzi Gaynor) is offered to the captain as a goodwill gift by island chieftain Jilouili(!) Naturally, there's a major breakdown in protocol, quite similar to the one found in John Patrick's 1954 Broadway hit Teahouse of the August Moon. Featured in the cast as a woman-hungry lieutenant is Jack Paar, which is why this film got so much TV play in the 1960s. The incidental songs in Down Among the Sheltering Palms were written by Harold Arlen and Ralph Blane. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Four Girls in Town is essentially an excuse by Universal-International to test out several of their newer contractees. The plot is motivated by a worldwide movie talent hunt, which naturally arouses the attentions of a bevy of pretty young aspiring actresses. The four girls of the title are Kathy Sonway (Julie Adams, who'd been appearing in films since 1950), Ina Schiller (Germany's Marianne Cook, nee Koch), Maria Antonelli (Italy's Elsa Martinelli) and Vicki Dauray (Gia Scala, also from Italy but herein portraying a Frenchwoman). Conducting the screen tests is budding director Mike Snowden (George Nader), who predictably falls in love with one of the hopefuls. Some laughs are had at the expense of Universal's rival 20th Century-Fox in the person of Helene Stanton, cast as a Marilyn Monroe clone named "Rita Holloway". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Felix Manderville (Vincent Price) is a traveling magician who manages to make young women disappear in this exploitation thriller. The trouble is, Felix drugs the femmes and sells them to white slave traders with the help of his mind-reading assistant Rebecca (Martha Hyer). Marie Armstrong (Anne Smyrner) and her husband Stephen (George Nader) are American tourists who fall into the trap of the felonious flesh pedlars. Price plays the part with his usual suave and sinister manner in this routine production. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Based on a play by Evan Wylie and Jack Ruge, Joe Butterfly also bears the influence of Teahouse of the August Moon. The title character, played by Burgess Meredith, is a wily Japanese wheeler-dealer who offers his services as interpreter to the American GIs occupying postwar Tokyo (where the film was lensed). But Joe's "services" go above and beyond the call of duty, not to mention military protocol. To make certain that the local Army newspaper will continue to meet its deadlines as more and more soldiers march into Japan, Joe sets up the paper's staff in a luxurious private home. Top-billed Audie Murphy plays an army photographer who can't seem to adjust himself to military life, while Kieko Shima portrays Murphy's Japanese sweetheart. While Joe Butterfly is well cast and smartly directed, star Burgess Meredith always felt that the film could have been better had the Universal-International production staff had more faith in the project. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Man Afraid stars George Nader as a clergyman serving a big-city slum district. He is forced to kill a young hoodlum in self-defense; the police are willing to forgive him of the killing, but the victim's psychotic father (Harold J. Stone) is not so pliable. The father threatens not only to wreak vengeance on Nader, but on Nader's family as well. The minister is torn apart by the practical necessity of protecting his family and the pacifistic edicts of his religious calling. Man Afraid is a tight, claustrophobic melodrama that was inappropriately filmed in CinemaScope; consequently, it tends to play better on TV than it did in theatres. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Producer/director Eugene Frenke, of whom it was said his taste was entirely in his mouth, was responsible for the tickle-and-tease farce Miss Robin Crusoe. Amanda Blake, one year shy of Gunsmoke, plays a shipwrecked lass who sets up housekeeping on a desert island. Amanda rescues female native Rosalind Hayes from certain doom, thereby winning herself a Girl Friday. The fun begins when handsome George Nader, likewise shipwrecked, shows up on the island. Played surprisingly straight, Miss Robin Crusoe will appeal most to aficionados of 1950s "leg art". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Maggie Smith makes her film debut in this outing as an aristocrat whose sheltered existence is shattered by the arrival of George Nader. Nader is a fugitive from justice who can expect no help from his fellow criminals. He takes refuge in Smith's home, entreating her to shield him from the police. She draws closer to Nader after the latter is accidentally shot. The film was adapted from a novel by Donald McKenzie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide