Lloyd Nolan Movies
The son of a San Francisco shoe factory owner, American actor Lloyd Nolan made it clear early on that he had no intention of entering the family business. Nolan developed an interest in acting while in college, at the expense of his education -- it took him five years to get through Santa Clara College, and he flunked out of Stanford, all because of time spent in amateur theatricals. Attempting a "joe job" on a freighter, Nolan gave it up when the freighter burned to the waterline. In 1927, he began studying at the Pasadena Playhouse, living on the inheritance left him by his father. Stock company work followed, and in 1933 Nolan scored a Broadway hit as vengeful small-town dentist Biff Grimes in One Sunday Afternoon (a role played in three film versions by Gary Cooper, James Cagney, and Dennis Morgan, respectively -- but never by Nolan). Nolan's first film was Stolen Harmony (1935); his breezy urban manner and Gaelic charm saved the actor from being confined to the bad guy parts he played so well, and by 1940 Nolan was, if not a star, certainly one of Hollywood's most versatile second-echelon leading men. As film historian William K. Everson has pointed out, the secret to Nolan's success was his integrity -- the audience respected his characters, even when he was the most cold-blooded of villains. The closest Nolan got to film stardom was a series of B detective films made at 20th Century-Fox from 1940 to 1942, in which he played private eye Michael Shayne -- a "hard-boiled dick" character long before Humphrey Bogart popularized this type as Sam Spade. Nolan was willing to tackle any sort of acting, from movies to stage to radio, and ultimately television, where he starred as detective Martin Kane in 1951; later TV stints would include a season as an IRS investigator in the syndicated Special Agent 7 (1958), and three years as grumpy-growley Dr. Chegley on the Diahann Carroll sitcom Julia (1969-1971). In 1953, Nolan originated the role of the paranoid Captain Queeg in the Broadway play The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, wherein he'd emerge from a pleasant backstage nap to play some of the most gut-wrenching "character deterioration" scenes ever written. Never your typical Hollywood celebrity, Nolan publicly acknowledged that he and his wife had an autistic son, proudly proclaiming each bit of intellectual or social progress the boy would make -- this at a time when many image-conscious movie star-parents barely admitted even having children, normal or otherwise. Well liked by his peers, Nolan was famous (in an affectionate manner) for having a photographic memory for lines but an appallingly bad attention span in real life; at times he was unable to give directions to his own home, and when he did so the directions might be three different things to three different people. A thorough professional to the last, Nolan continued acting in sizeable roles into the 1980s; he was terrific as Maureen O'Sullivan's irascible stage-star husband in Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters (1986). Lloyd Nolan's last performance was as an aging soap opera star on an episode of the TV series Murder She Wrote; star Angela Lansbury, fiercely protective of an old friend and grand trouper, saw to it that Nolan's twilight-years reliance upon cue cards was cleverly written into the plot line of the episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1967
One of the earliest made-for-TV movies in NBC's "World Premiere" manifest, Wings of Fire stars Suzanne Pleshette as fearless aviatrix Kitty Sanborn. Hoping to save her father's flagging business, Kitty enters an international air race. Back on land, she tries to cope with the fact that her former sweetheart Taff Maloy (James Farentino) has married someone else. Old pros Ralph Bellamy and Lloyd Nolan lend credibility to the timeworn storyline, which might have had more bite if NBC hadn't made silly editorial changes to Stirling Silliphant's teleplay (according to the writer, the network refused to okay a love scene on a Carribean beach unless he wrote a bear into the proceedings!) Originally titled Cloudbuster], Wings of Fire first aired on February 14, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
In this espionage thriller, Dan Slater (Yul Brynner) is a CIA agent who travels to Austria after his son dies in a skiiing mishap. Slater begins to suspect that his son's death wasn't an accident and begins investigating the matter on his own. Slater finds that fellow agent Frank Wheatley (Clive Revill) is of little help to him. Beautiful Gina (Britt Ekland), the companion of prominent socialite Mrs. Carrington (Moira Lister), then slowly draws Slater into her web. In time, he discovers that his son's death was all part of a diabolical plan to lure him to Austria; Soviet agents led by Bethold (Anton Diffring) have performed extensive plastic surgery on one of their top spies until he's identical to Slater, and they intend to send him back in Slater's place, giving them an insider at the highest levels of U.S. intelligence. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yul Brynner, Britt Ekland, (more)
- 1966
An American Dream is adapted from the Norman Mailer novel of the same name. Stuart Whitman plays an acerbic TV talk show host who kills his wife Eleanor Parker during an argument. Whitman exerts his influence to cover up his crime, and the official verdict is suicide. But Whitman has not reckoned with the "Hell hath no fury" intensity of his cast-aside mistress Janet Leigh. When An American Dream bombed at the box office, the desperate distributors re-titled the film See You in Hell, Darling. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stuart Whitman, Janet Leigh, (more)
- 1965
In this comedy, a middle-aged woman discovers that she is pregnant, to the dismay of her husband and surprise of the town. The husband doesn't feel up to the challenge, and their daughter is now forced to cook and clean around the house, and meanwhile, tries to get pregnant herself. After a drunken argument with the mayor and another with his wife, the husband finally accepts the inevitable. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Ford, Connie Stevens, (more)
- 1964
Filmed in Cinerama and Technicolor, Circus World may have drawn the crowds for various reasons -- not the least, perhaps, for the big names. John Wayne stars as circus owner Matt Masters, who takes his show to Europe hoping to save it from financial ruin. Accompanying Matt, is young Toni (Claudia Cardinale), whom Matt had raised since her aerialist mother Lili (Rita Hayworth) left them years before. Just before he departs from New York, Matt is reminded that Lili may be somewhere in Germany. Upon their arrival in Europe, much of the equipment is lost when their ship sinks in a Spanish port. Matt doesn't let that get the best of them, and he is soon up and running with the show, becoming a hit throughout Europe. Against Matt's wishes, Toni trains to become an aerialist like her mother. A quiet figure in the shadows proudly watches Toni rehearse her daring routines. The writing team of Ben Hecht, James Edward Grant and Julian Halevy adapted their screenplay from a story by Philip Yordan and Nicholas Ray. Though this was not a gunslinger role for Wayne, Matt Masters was not a far stretch. This could have been due to the fact that Wayne had previously worked on several projects with director Henry Hathaway and writers Hecht and Grant -- and the part was altered to suit him. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
- 1964
When contact is established between Earth and the planet Chroma, located ten light years away, an exchange is proposed between inhabitants of the two worlds. This is to be done by matter-transmitter, using technology provided by the Chromoites -- as it is a dangerous experiment, the first Earth subject, Chino Rivera (Henry Silva), is chosen from the ranks of convicts serving life sentences. As it turns out, both Rivera, who is twice as smart and three times more clever than the project director, Dr. Kellander (Michael Higgins), and the Chromoite visitor, a walking, human-sized crustacean, immensely strong, with nasty claw-like appendages and various openings that gulp, suck, and grind, are up to something other than what they're supposed to be doing, possibly involving murder. Rivera is injured in an escape attempt before he can be transmitted and, while recovering, attempts another breakout, only to find himself accused of killing one of the scientists on the project. Only one of his captors, Dr. Julia Harrison (Diana Sands), believes that he is innocent, and suspects that something far more sinister than even murder is taking place. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- 1964
In Volume 33 of a collection culled from the 1963-1965 science fiction anthology television series, a soldier from Earth's future is sent back in time where he is captured by the government. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1963
Novelist Mickey Spillane portrays his own creation, Mike Hammer, in The Girl Hunters. Hammer has spent seven years in an alcoholic funk after the supposed death of his secretary, Velda. He is brought back to the land of the living by his old friendly enemy, police lieutenant Pat Chambers (Scott Peters), who wants Hammer to extract some information out of a dying federal agent. This puts Mike on the trail of a subversive communist organization, the key to which seems to be sexy Laura Knapp (Shirley Eaton), the widow of a murdered senator. When Hammer determines that following this espionage trail may lead to relocating Velda, who might not be dead after all, he pursues matters with his usual fascistic tendency to pummel first and ask questions later. The Girl Hunters is the film in which Mike Hammer incapacitates an opponent by literally nailing the latter's hands to the floor. But that's kid stuff compared to the fate in store for the treacherous Laura Knapp. The Girl Hunters was filmed in its entirety in England. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mickey Spillane, Shirley Eaton, (more)
- 1962
This was the last film for British director Wendy Toye whose special interests were always comedies and fantasies. In this light farce, the talented Kenneth More is Lt. Commander Bodger, a man with a penchant for honesty in moments when silence is much more diplomatic. Bodger offends the Navy higher-ups, and so he is first sent to work in Dartmouth, training cadets. That does not really keep him out of trouble and so the Navy, in desperation, sends him to work as a liaison officer with the American Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. Unfortunately, Bodger goes with three aides that are just like him, and they create havoc -- made much worse when a revolution begins in one of the nearby countries. The British foursome get inadvertently mixed up in the events, never really knowing exactly what they are doing until the dust settles. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenneth More, Lloyd Nolan, (more)
- 1961
A complicated soap opera, Susan Slade features Connie Stevens as the title character, a naïve, virginal 17-year-old, raised by her parents in Chile, where her father Roger (Lloyd Nolan) works as an engineer. As the story opens, the family returns to their home in California on a luxury cruise ship. During the passage, Susan meets and falls madly in love with a climber, Conn White (Grant Williams), and the two promise to meet again after Conn climbs Mt. McKinley. She ends up pregnant, but Conn falls off of the mountain and dies. Her parents take her to Guatemala to have the child. The plan is that her mother Leah (Dorothy McGuire) will pretend that the child is hers upon their return to the U.S. a year later. Tragically, Susan's father Roger (Lloyd Nolan) suffers a fatal heart attack while they are abroad. Mother and daughter return with the baby to San Francisco, where the son of Roger's boss, Wells Corbett (Bert Convy), proposes to Susan. She is also pursued by Hoyt Brecker (Troy Donahue), an aspiring novelist whose father committed suicide after embezzling funds from Corbett's father. When Susan's baby is badly burned in an accident, she admits that the child is hers and prepares to deal with the consequences of the previous statements she had made to her two suitors. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Troy Donahue, Connie Stevens, (more)
- 1960
Wanting to be free of her crippled husband but not his enormous fortune, a glamorous wife talks her lover, who is also her spouse's personal physician, into injecting poison into the ailing industrialist. This crime melodrama chronicles the chain of events that leads to the murderous lovers' downfall. Though they successfully offed the husband, the two are not allowed to enjoy their new wealth and happiness for a letter sent to the wife reveals that someone knows about the crime. Believing that the anonymous author is her late-husbands investment advisor, the wife and her lover quickly dispatch him. When his body later turns up, another is blamed with the crime. Unfortunately, the villainous twosome, the accused is to marry the granddaughter of the deceased tycoon. Matters don't improve when the doctor/lover's conscience flares up and he decides to confess. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lana Turner, Anthony Quinn, (more)
- 1960
Lloyd Nolan appears in this episode as the first of several actors who would portray notorious mob boss George "Bugs" Moran on The Untouchables (later Morans included Robert Wilke and Harry Morgan). To sway the outcome of a truckers-union election, Bugs kidnaps the son of union leader Larry Halloran (Jack Warden). When Halloran goes to the Untouchables for help, he is told that kidnapping is not yet a federal offense. Even so, the Feds have a plan to trap Moran: let Bugs win the election, the better to give him enough rope to hang himself. With Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) on assignment in Washington, the plan is overseen by his stalwart colleague Martin Flaherty (Jerry Paris). This episode was originally listed in TV Guide as "The Velvet Touch". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
Anne Francis stars as a young prostitute in search of a way out. She seeks out the help of a discreet psychiatrist (Lloyd Nolan), to find out why she has doomed herself to her sordid profession and why she can't seem to shake loose. At this point the film becomes a virtual monologue for Anne Francis, who is magnificent. Girl of the Night never quite rises above its exploitation trappings, but Ms. Francis' performance is worth the admission price alone. The film was advertised as a "case study", based on the book The Call Girl by Dr. Harold Greenwald. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Francis, Lloyd Nolan, (more)
- 1960
Lloyd Nolan guest-stars as New Orleans police inspector Charles Leduque, a man who harbors a deep and festering grudge against Ben Cartwright. On the eve of Ben's gubernatorial campaign, Leduque shows up in town bearing a warrant for Ben's arrest -- on a charge of murder. Though it appears that the charges will hold up in court, Joe conducts his own investigation to learn the truth behind Leduque's vendetta. Also appearing are Joan Staley as Dixie, Robert Foulk as the sheriff, and Hal Baylor as Tom Cole. Originally broadcast on February 27, 1960, "The Stranger" was written by Leonard Heidieman and Oliver Crawford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, (more)
Grace Metalious' once-notorious bestseller Peyton Place is given a lavish -- and necessarily toned-down -- film treatment in this deluxe 20th Century-Fox production. Set during WWII, the film concentrates on several denizens of the outwardly respectable New England community of Peyton Place. Top-billed Lana Turner plays shopkeeper Constance McKenzie, who tries to make up for a past indiscretion -- which resulted in her illegitimate daughter Allison (Diane Varsi) -- by adopting a chaste, prudish attitude towards all things sexual. In spite of herself, Constance can't help but be attracted to handsome new teacher Michael Rossi (Lee Philips). Meanwhile, the restless Allison, who'd like to be as footloose and fancy-free as the town's "fast girl" Betty Anderson (Terry Moore), falls sincerely in love with mixed-up mama's boy Norman Page (Russ Tamblyn). And while all this is going on, "white trash" Selena Cross (Hope Lange) is raped by her stepfather, drunken school caretaker Lucas Cross (Arthur Kennedy). Other characters essential to the action are wealthy Rodney Harrington (Barry Coe), who must pay the price for his dalliance with Betty Anderson; Nellie Cross (Betty Field), Selena's long-suffering mother; and the town's Voice of Reason, Dr. Swain (Lloyd Nolan). This 166-minute soap opera (whittled down to 157 minutes before release) culminates in a spectacular murder trial which lays bare the deep, dark secrets of Peyton Place. Filmed on location in Camden, Maine, Peyton Place was a huge moneymaker (even those who felt that the film was but a heavily laundered shadow of the Metalious original were pleased with the professionalism of it all); it not only spawned a 1961 theatrical sequel, but also a long-running prime time TV serial. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lana Turner, Hope Lange, (more)
- 1957
A Hatful of Rain, based on the stage play by Michael V. Gazzo, is the story of a drug addict's debilitating effect on his family. Don Murray has managed to keep his addiction secret from his pregnant wife Eva Marie Saint and his boorish father Lloyd Nolan, but Murray's brother Anthony Franciosa knows the truth. Murray hits up Franciosa for money to support his habit, but even this is not enough as the addiction deepens and Murray finds himself beholden to a vicious pusher (Henry Silva). Murray is unable to cope with his private hell until he confesses to his wife and father that he's a junkie and needs help. Considered the last word in realism in 1957, A Hatful of Rain seems slightly antiquated in the light of the drug-abuse excesses of the 1990s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eva Marie Saint, Don Murray, (more)
- 1957
In this supenseful and provocative high-seas drama, the captain of a luxury liner is suddenly faced with life or death decisions when his ship sinks, leaving himself and a few survivors floating at sea in an overcrowded lifeboat that does not contain enough food, water and medical supplies to support them all. The captain, Alec Holmes (Tyrone Power) is a decent fellow, and initially intends to save everyone. But it soon becomes clear to one of the ship's men, Frank Kelly (Lloyd Nolan) that this is impossible. As Kelly sacrifices himself by leaping overboard and into the sea, he shouts out a warning to Holmes that it will be necessary to rid the boat of its ill passengers if the rest are to survive, as not enough food and water exists to provide for everyone. Defying the requests of his sweetheart, Nurse Julie White (director Mai Zetterling), and his buddy and fellow officer, Will McKinley (Stephen Boyd), Holmes disposes of the sick individuals on board. He initially gains the support of the rest of the passengers, but when a rescue ship finally turns up, their support turns to contempt and hostility. In Great Britain the story is titled Seven Waves Away. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Mai Zetterling, (more)
- 1956
Set in the West of the late 19th century, Richard Brooks' film stars Robert Taylor as Charles Gilson, a brutal buffalo hunter who kills purely for sport and enjoyment. Stewart Granger portrays Sandy McKenzie, a former hunter on whom Gilson is seeking revenge. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Taylor, Stewart Granger, (more)
- 1956
This high-flying thriller utilizes exciting footage of the USAF Thunderbirds in action--an interesting and authentic look into the world of Air Force test pilots. Set at Edwards Air Force base in California, the story centers on a dishonored pilot who is no longer allowed to fly. It seems that as a Korean POW he was brutally tortured and brainwashed until he could bear no more and he eventually cracked. Though it has been many years, he wants to clear his name and fly again. Unfortunately a general fears the pilot could again lose it during the testing of a highly experimental plan. Fortunately, the general's secretary is the former girl friend of the pilot and she convinces the general that he is rock solid. The pilot then sets out to prove it for himself. James Garner made his big screen debut in this film. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Holden, Lloyd Nolan, (more)
- 1956
Set during Cuba's struggle to free itself from colonialist Spain, this exciting adventure chronicles the exploits of a tough, mercenary gun runner who learns about honor, sacrifice and caring for others when he ends up forced to smuggle his latest weapon's cache aboard a beat up stern wheeler bound for Cuba. There he meets a beautiful freedom fighter who has been in the States trying to rally her expatriot colleagues into returning to join in the battle. It is she, with her passionate idealism and unwavering courage, who turns the gunrunner's life around. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Ladd, Rossana Podestà, (more)
- 1953
All-American football star Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch plays himself in this rousing filmed biography. Beginning with his years in a mid-Wisconsin high school, the film traces Hirsch's multi-lettered career at the University of Wisconsin. After military service, Hirsch turns pro, eventually joining the LA Rams. Sidelined by an injury that threatens his athletic future, "Crazylegs" makes a spectacular comeback. Lloyd Nolan co-stars as coach Win Brockmeier, while Joan Vohs plays Hirsch's high-school sweetheart (and later wife); real-life sports personages in the cast include Bob Waterfield, Bob Kelley, and Bill Brundage. The film was released in most markets under the streamlined title Crazylegs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch, Lloyd Nolan, (more)
During World War II, a Military Air Transport Command DC-3 piloted by a civilian crew is forced down in northern Labrador. The five men, led by Dooley (John Wayne), have barely any food and almost no way to keep warm, and their power supply is fading fast, but they have to find a way of staying alive until search planes find them. At first, even Dooley is overwhelmed by the responsibility for his crew's safety, and he is too lax in handling them -- but after one man dies, frozen to death just steps from help, he takes over and pushes his men and himself to the limits of their endurance; he even seems ready to crack himself at one moment. Meanwhile, the men who fly with Dooley push themselves and their machines past their endurance limits searching the arctic wastes for the downed plane. Island in the Sky -- based on the book by Ernest K. Gann (perhaps the best aviation novel ever written), which was, in turn, based on a true incident that happened during the war -- is one of the most startling movies in Wayne's output. He doesn't even look like the "star" John Wayne, but like a real pilot, and the cast, made up of familiar faces, all look like the real article; indeed, this movie should have been in the running for Academy Awards for costuming and makeup, just for making these familiar performers, such as Lloyd Nolan (in maybe his best performance) and Andy Devine (ditto), look like real pilots and ordinary men, rather than familiar actors. You end up feeling like you're watching a documentary, and the effect is bracing and unsettling, and dramatically unparalleled in Wayne's entire output. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Lloyd Nolan, (more)
Damon Runyon's Broadway fable The Lemon Drop Kid was filmed twice by Paramount Pictures, but only the 1934 version with Lee Tracy paid more than lip service to the original Runyon story. The second version, filmed in 1951, was completely retooled to accommodate the talents of Bob Hope. Known far and wide as the Lemon Drop Kid because of his fondness for that particular round, yellow confection, Hope is a bookie who finds himself deeply in debt to Florida gangster Fred Clark. Magnanimously, Clark permits Hope to head to New York to raise the money--but he'd better have the dough ready by Christmas, or else. Ever on the lookout for Number One, Hope decides to exploit the Christmas spirit in order to get the money together. With the help of unsuspecting nightclub-singer Marilyn Maxwell, Hope sets up a charity fund to raise money for an "Old Doll's Home"--that is, a home for down-and-out little old ladies. He claims to be doing this on behalf of big-hearted Jane Darwell, but he has every intention of double-crossing Darwell and all the other elderly women by skipping town with the charity funds and leaving them at the mercy of the authorities. By the time Hope has seen the error of his ways and tries to do right by the old dolls, Maxwell's boss Lloyd Nolan has decided to muscle into the racket by using the ladies' home as a front for a gambling casino. To set things right, Hope finds it necessary to disguise himself as a fussy old spinster at one point. The best line in the film goes to William Frawley, playing one of many Broadway toughs who are being pressed into service as street-corner Santas. "Will you bring me a doll for Christmas?" asks a little girl. "Naw, my doll's workin' Christmas Eve" is Frawley's salty reply. The Lemon Drop Kid is the film in which Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell introduced the enduring Yuletide ballad "Silver Bells", written (reportedly in a real hurry) by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hope, Marilyn Maxwell, (more)
- 1949
No relation to the 1937 screwball comedy of the same name, Easy Living is a film about the world of professional sports. Victor Mature plays Pete Wilson, star halfback of the New York Chiefs. Well past his prime, Wilson would like to retire to a coaching job, but his rival Tim McCarr (Sonny Tufts) beats him to it. Financially, Wilson is really in no position to retire; unfortunately, he has learned that he suffers from a potentially deadly heart condition. To make matters worse, he's on the outs with his wife Liza (Lizabeth Scott), who has become disillusioned with the status of "team wife." A brief dalliance with team secretary Anne (an excellent performance from Lucille Ball) results in Anne's selfless efforts to help Wilson put his marriage -- and his life -- back together. Though he was ignored by contemporary reviewers, future talk-show host Jack Paar has an amusing supporting role. Most of the football players seen in Easy Living were drawn from the ranks of the real-life L.A. Rams. The film was based on a story by novelist Irwin Shaw. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Mature, Lizabeth Scott, (more)
