Gene O'Donnell Movies

This family comedy stars James Stewart as Dr. Robert Leaf, a college professor who dislikes science and tries to instill in his children a love of art and music. So Robert and his wife Vina (Glynis Johns) are dismayed to discover that their eight-year-old son Erasmus (Billy Mumy) is tone-deaf and color-blind; what's worse, he has a genius-level talent for mathematics. Robert isn't sure what to do about Erasmus, but while his older sister Pandora (Cindy Carol) puts his skills to work by getting him to do her homework, his older friend Kenneth (Fabian) has a better idea. Kenneth and Erasmus come up with a foolproof plan for picking the winners in horse racing -- so foolproof that it draws the attention of two con men, Upjohn (John Williams) and Argyle (Jesse White), who want to use Erasmus's skills to clean up at the track. Robert at first refuses, and then relents only when they agree to use a cut of the proceeds to endow a humanities scholarship, though Robert is about the only one surprised when the men prove not to be good to their word. Meanwhile, Erasmus is head over heels in love with French screen siren Brigitte Bardot -- so much so that he's been writing her love letters. In return, the lucky boy has received an invitation to come meet her, and Robert and Erasmus use some of their racetrack winnings to fly to Paris and take her up on her offer. Nunnally Johnson, who received no credit, contributed to the screenplay; Miss Bardot, of course, plays herself (who else could?). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Viv (Vivian Vance) would like to go out on a date with a couple of eligible bachelors, but no one seems to be eligible at the moment. Impressed by the handsomeness of her son Jerry's math teacher Mr. Taylor (William Windom), Lucy's "borrows" the man's drivers license to find out if he's married. The trick now is to return the license without Taylor ever knowing that it was missing--and this requires Lucy to deck herself out in full fencing regalia! Comedian Dick Martin makes his first series appearance as Lucy's next-door neighbor, airline pilot Harry Conners. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Drugs are the focus of the exploitation film set in the Los Angeles harbor. The plot centers around a villain's evil scheme to raid a ship and abscond with surplus war drugs. To help him get backers for the heist, he begins showing criminals a slide show depicting his scheme. A young woman accompanies one of the leader's gang members as he takes the slide show to various gangsters. The woman falls in love with an ambulance driver and gets him involved in the scheme. During the actual caper, the mastermind is killed, the drugs are safe, and the driver and the woman walk away from the whole thing unscathed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The only thing genuinely brave about Three Brave Men is the second word in the title. The film is based on the true story of a Navy employee who was fired as a security risk, then took the case to court to prove his loyalty to the United States. Ernest Borgnine plays the victimized employee, whose life is ruined simply because he once briefly participated in an alleged "Pinko" organization. Borgnine and his family are ostracized from the community when word leaks out about his so-called disloyalty. Lawyer Ray Milland takes Borgnine's case; he pleads so eloquently on behalf of his client's patriotism that the navy, represented by Eisenhower lookalike Dean Jagger, reinstates Borgnine. The problem in Three Brave Men is in how the material is approached. Instead of attacking the atmosphere of paranoia that fostered the Communist "witch hunts" of the 1950s, the crucifixion of Borgnine is treated as a necessary evil in the interests of "democracy." The low point comes at the end, when Ray Milland profusely thanks the Navy for their open-mindedness before his client has been exonerated. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Faro dealer Earl Haney (Gene O'Donnell) is shot and killed by an unknown assailant, described as a man "in a red shirt with curly black hair." Now Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) must leave Dodge City unprotected as he tracks down the most likely suspect, Jim Bostick (played by future Mannix star Mike Connors, still billing himself as "Touch Connors"). Ultimately Matt catches up with Bostick, who insists that he is innocent, and that Doc (Milburn Stone can provide him with an alibi. . .but Doc is nowhere to be found. Capped by a grim but satisfying denoument, this episode is adapted from the Gunsmoke radio broadcast of March 19, 1955. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this bit of WWII propaganda (designed to boost support of America's alliance with Russia against Germany), Kolya (Dana Andrews), Kurin (Walter Huston), Damian (Farley Granger), and Marina (Anne Baxter) are members of a farming collective in the Ukraine known as the North Star. The hard-working but happy members of the North Star find their way of life shattered when Germany, in defiance of previous treaties, storms the nation and begins a brutal occupation. Dr. Otto Von Harden (Erich Von Stroheim) begins gathering children -- who are to be used for blood transfusions and medical experiments. Many of the outraged farmers take to the hills to fight with the anti-Nazi resistance, while those who stay behind bravely destroy precious crops and materiel rather than turn them over to the Nazi war machine. Producer Samuel Goldwyn made The North Star at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (whose son James was an executive at Goldwyn's studio). Ironically, several members of the film's creative team (including screenwriter Lilian Hellman) later found their motivations for making the film questioned by the House Un-American Activities Committee, who declared it Communist propaganda. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In their last starring film, The Ritz Brothers play the Three Funny Bunnies, a trio of nightclub comedians. The plot contrives to have our heroes pose as tough Chicago gangsters, which gets them mixed up with genuine hoodlums Tony (George Zucco) and Joey (Jack LaRue), a sexy pickpocket named Flo (Mary Beth Hughes), and a fortune in stolen jewels. With all this going on, who cares about nominal romantic leads Julie Russell (Frances Langford) and Dick Manning (Stuart Crawford)? There are some cute bits during the film's 60 minutes, and a clever closing gag, but all in all Never a Dull Moment seldom lives up to its title. Even so, the film received better reviews than some of the Ritzes' earlier efforts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The attractive physiques of Tom Neal and Carol Hughes are generously displayed in the PRC comedy The Miracle Kid. Neal is cast as Jimmy, a young boxer who surprisingly wins a bout with the established champ. The loser claims that he was "jinxed" by Jimmy in the ring, whereupon Our Hero is exploited by a group of health faddists adhering to the philosophy of "mind over matter". Jimmy is subsequently pitted against several "bums" so that the health nuts can prove the vercity of their theories, but in the end he proves that the "secret" to his success lies in his fists and not his subconscious. Carol Hughes costars as Jimmy's sweetheart Pat, who shows up at one point in a form-fitting bathing suit for no reason other than to satisfy the red-blooded males in the audience. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, the police endeavor to destroy the oppressive protection racket that has been plaguing their city. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The bucolic, down-home novels and short stories of Gene Stratton-Porter had been fodder for Monogram's screenwriting staff ever since the early 1930s. This cinemazation of Stratton-Porter's Freckles Comes Home stars Johnny Downs as the title character, who returns from college to his sedentary home town. Freckles' efforts to bring the community kicking and screaming into the 20th century somehow require him to tackle a group of gangsters who've taken up residence for the purpose of knocking off the town's bank. Every so often, the story stops dead in its tracks to permit black comedian Mantan Moreland to indulge in one of his famous "interrupted conversation" routines; they're the highlight of the picture. Seen as Johnny Downs' hometown sweetheart is Gale Storm, who does some of her best acting to date as the bank president's daughter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having joined the army in Buck Privates and the navy in In the Navy, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello signed up with Air Force in Keep 'Em Flying. Abbott and Costello play Blackie and Heathcliff, carnival workers who are fired from their jobs along with their pal, reckless stunt pilot Jinx Roberts (Dick Foran). When Jinx joins the Army Air Corps-the better to be nearer pretty USO singer Linda Joyce (Carol Bruce)-Blackie and Heathcliff loyally join up as well, obtaining low-echelon ground crew jobs. While Jinx tries to cure Linda's brother Jim (Charles Lang) of his fear of flying, Heathcliff pursues a romance with wisecracking waitress Gloria Phelps (Martha Raye), never quite catching on that Gloria has an identitical-twin sister (also Martha Raye). A bit too plot-heavy for its own good, Keep 'Em Flying is at its best when concentrating on Abbott & Costello, who in addition to performing their patented cross-talk routines participate in a zany runaway-torpedo chase and a gratuitous but amusing episode in a spooky carnival funhouse. As a bonus, Costello gets to do a bit of "straight" acting, and he's quite good at it. Deleted scenes include a comedy magic act (later restaged in Abbott & Costello's Lost in a Harem) and a wild episode at a skating rink (reworked two years later in Hit the Ice). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The curious but harmonious screen team of Frankie Darro and Mantan Moreland are back again in You're Out of Luck. Elevator boy Frankie (Darro) is the brother of a detective (Richard Bond), and as such is eager to solve a crime himself. He gets his chance when a couple of mob murders occur in Frankie's hotel. With the tremulous assistance of Jefferson the porter (Moreland), Frankie pieces the clues together long before the police do-thereby flattening the stock of an obnoxious newspaper reporter (Tristam Coffin). Moreland so dominates the proceedings with his patented "Feet do your duty" routines that, in certain communities with heavily black populations, he was billed as the film's star. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this low-budget musical, two sets of politically ambitious parents attempt to pair up their youngsters who unfortunately despise each other and only pretend to like each other to please their parents. On the nights they are to go out, they sneak out with their respective true loves. It all works well until the unwilling couple find themselves falling in love for real. songs include: "I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now", and "Got Romance". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide