Cathy O'Donnell Movies

Hired to inventory the Bowden estate, Ralph Duncan (Vaughn Taylor), a none-too-bright civil servant, decides to impress his wife Helen by bringing home $153,000 in old greenbacks that he has found on the Bowden property. Of course, Duncan intends to return the money the next morning; unfortunately, the cash is stolen by his no-good cousin Charley (Robert Casper). Not only is poor Duncan accused of theft, but he's also charged with the murder of one Lloyd Farrell (Liam Sullivan)--and it is at this point that Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) enters the story. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The "psycho"-logical melodrama My World Dies Screaming was appropriately released on a double bill with Lost, Lonely and Vicious, which also featured a profoundly disturbed protagonist. In My World, Gerald Mohr plays Philip Tierney, who hopes to expunge the inner demons plaguing his wife Sheila (Cathy O'Donnell). He persuades her to return to the crumbling old mansion where, as a child, she witnessed a brutal axe murder. Incredibly, the killers do not return to finish the job; instead, the audience is treated to all manner of pseudo-Freudian symbolism as Sheila subconsciously battles her way towards normalcy. My World Dies Screaming isn't bad: it's just that the films substitutes style for substance. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This drama is another adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper's popular novel that follows the exploits of a white scout who was raised by the Mohicans. He comes to the aid of a settler's colony that is plagued by warring Indians. He becomes entangled with an old white trader and his two daughters when he rescues them from the wrath of the Huron tribe. The trader hates the Indians because they killed his wife and took her scalp. Now he scalps any Indian he encounters. It turns out that all the Hurons want are the scalps he has taken so that the spirits of the dead can rest. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Anthony Mann directed this brilliant psychological Western reminiscent of Shakespeare's King Lear. James Stewart plays Will Lockhart, who is obsessed with finding the man who sold automatic rifles to the Apaches, resulting in the death of his brother. Will enters the town of Coronado, NM, ruled by the blind and aging patriarch Alec Waggoman (Donald Crisp). Unaware that he is trespassing on Waggoman's land, he finds himself accosted by Alec's sociopathic son, Dave (Alex Nicol), who brutally beats Will and is ready to kill him. But Will is rescued at the last minute by Waggoman's adopted son, Vic Hansbro (Arthur Kennedy). Will finds that Waggoman has become increasingly concerned over who will inherit his vast empire. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Never Trust a Gambler proves the veracity of its title by offering up a particularly unsavory specimen in the form of Steve Garry (Dane Clark). Vowing that he's sworn off gambling, Steve is taken back by his loving ex-spouse Virginia Merrill (Cathy O'Donnell). In fact, Steve is merely using Virginia as a shield, to avoid testifying as a witness in a San Francisco murder trial. It seems that he's the murderer, and as such is obliged to kill again to cover his tracks. Poor, deluded Virginia doesn't catch on to her former husband's perfidy until it's nearly too late. Never Trust a Gambler is well-stocked with reliable supporting players, including Tom Drake, Jeff Corey, Myrna Dell and especially Rhys Williams. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This sequel to the 1942 Oscar-winner Mrs.Miniver can be considered ill-advised, if only because the producers could never really hope to match the success of the original. Otherwise, The Miniver Story has its charms, not the least of which were the sterling performances of Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon. Set just after VE Day, the film finds Mrs. Miniver (Garson) reacting to the euphoria of her friends and family with a sense of quiet sadness. This is because she's just learned from her doctor that she hasn't much longer to live. With the same courage with which she met the deprivations of WW II, Mrs. Miniver resolves to put on a happy face and keep the news of her imminent demise a secret from her husband (Pigeon) and children. She even finds time to straighten out the tangled love life of her daughter Judy (Cathy O'Donnell). Henry Wilcoxon repeats his Mrs. Miniver role as the local vicar. Unlike its Hollywood-bound predecessor, The Miniver Story was lensed on location in England. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Also known as The Amazing Mr. X, The Spiritualist stars Turhan Bey as the title character, a mysterious mystic named Alexis. Making a comfortable living by fleecing the gullible wealthy, Alexis' latest target is grieving young widow Christine Faber (Lynn Bari). Hoping to communicate with her husband, who supposedly died in a car crash two years earlier, Christine submits to Alexis' crystal-ball act. Our hero finds out more than he bargained for when the "deceased" Mr. Faber (Donald Curtis) turns up very much alive as the central figure in an elaborate fraud scheme. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The postwar classic The Best Years of Our Lives, based on a novel in verse by MacKinlay Kantor about the difficult readjustments of returning World War II veterans, tells the intertwined homecoming stories of ex-sergeant Al Stephenson (Fredric March), former bombadier Fred Derry (Dana Andrews), and sailor Homer Parrish (Harold Russell). Having rubbed shoulders with blue-collar Joes for the first time in his life, Al finds it difficult to return to a banker's high-finance mindset, and he shocks his co-workers with a plan to provide no-collateral loans to veterans. Meanwhile, Al's children (Teresa Wright and Michael Hall) have virtually grown up in his absence. Fred discovers that his wartime heroics don't count for much in the postwar marketplace, and he finds himself unwillingly returning to his prewar job as a soda jerk. His wife (Virginia Mayo), expecting a thrilling marriage to a glamorous flyboy, is bored and embittered by her husband's inability to advance himself, and she begins living irresponsibly, like a showgirl. Homer has lost both of his hands in combat and has been fitted with hooks; although his family and his fiancée (Cathy O'Donnell) adjust to his wartime handicap, he finds it more difficult. Profoundly relevant in 1946, the film still offers a surprisingly intricate and ambivalent exploration of American daily life; and it features landmark deep-focus cinematography from Gregg Toland, who also shot Citizen Kane. The film won Oscars for, among others, Best Picture, Best Director for the legendary William Wyler, Best Actor for March, and Best Supporting Actor for Harold Russell, a real-life double amputee whose hands had been blown off in a training accident. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi