Frances Neal Movies
- 1955
With great reluctance, Ricky (Desi Arnaz) allows Lucy (Lucille Ball) to purchase a new gown at the trendy establishment owned by designer Don Loper -- provided she spends no more than one hundred dollars. Unfortunately, there is nothing that cheap at Loper's, and thus Lucy tries to figure out a way to get a gown without paying a cent. Her opportunity comes when the wife of Gordon MacRae is forced to pull out of a charity fashion show featuring celebrities' wives as models. Armed with the knowledge that she'll get to keep the gown she wears, Lucy arranges to take Mrs. MacRae's place in the show -- but first, she must get herself a deep "California tan" so that she'll fit in with the Beverly Hills crowd. Alas, her overnight tan degenerates into a "burn" -- and it is very red-faced (and red-everything) Lucy who appears in the fashion show wearing a most uncomfortable tweed outfit. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Loper, Sheila MacRae, (more)
- 1942
RKO Radio's Powder Town has the makings of an A picture, but the budget and approach is strictly "B" grade. Adapted by Vicki Baum from a novl by Max Brand, the story is largely set in a wartime munitions plant. Targetted for abduction or murder by Nazi agents, eccentric scientist Pennant (Edmond O'Brien) is assigned a bodyguard, Jeema O'Shea (Victor McLaglen). Despite Jeema's best efforts, Pennant falls into the villain's clutches, all because of a super-explosive which the scientist has developed. Before Jeema can effect a rescue, he is obliged to expose the head of the spies, who turns out to be a member of the plant's executive board. Veteran vaudevillians June Havoc and Eddie Foy Jr. provide a few brief respites from the ongoing intrigue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor McLaglen, Edmond O'Brien, (more)
- 1941
A remake of the 1933 RKO western of the same name, Come on, Danger! stars Tim Holt in the role originally essayed by Tom Keene. Holt goes after a gang of rustlers, commandeered by an attractive young woman (Julie Haydon in the original, Frances Neal in the remake). The girl has been accused of murder, but the actual culprit is the miscreant who drove the girl into a life of crime in the first place. Leading lady Frances Neal displayed an embryonic star quality in this film, but she retired shortly afterward to marry Van Heflin. Come on Danger was a bit longer than the 1933 version, principally because of the three songs warbled by supporting actor Ray Whitley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Holt, Frances Neal, (more)
- 1941
A partial remake of 1936's Wanted: Jane Turner, Lady Scarface is a seedy but entertaining tour de force for the great Judith Anderson. Embittered over the ugly facial scar which covers the left side of her face, a woman named Slade becomes a criminal mastermind. The cops have no idea that the elusive Slade is female, which enables her to move about freely without attracting attention. After a robbery-murder, Slade has her share of the loot mailed to her at a post-office box registered under the phony name of Mary Powell. When the real Mary Powell (Mildred Coles) receives the stolen loot in the mail, the fur-and the bullets-really begin to fly. Judith Anderson once explained that she accepted the starring role in Lady Scarface in hopes that the film would do for her what Little Caesar did for Edward G. Robinson. It didn't. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis O'Keefe, Frances Neal, (more)
