Oscar O'Shea Movies

Producer-director-star Hugo Haas attempts a costume melodrama in Thy Neighbor's Wife. Plotwise, it's the usual Haas formula: a middle-aged man, his voluptuous young wife and a handsome interloper. In the 19th century, a Moravian magistrate (Haas) swears vengeance when his gorgeous bride (Cleo Moore) renews her romance with her ex-flame (Ken Carlton). When the young man's uncle is murdered, the judge prosecutes his wife's lover for the crime, despite the fact that he's already heard a confession from the village-idiot (Tom Fadden). To make sure that the young man is hanged, the judge kills the real killer; this is witnessed by the judge's wife, who is likewise promptly murdered by her over-zealous husband. Eventually, justice -- or rather, conscience -- emerges triumphant. The ad campaign for Thy Neighbor's Wife included an alluring 8 X 10 of the bare-backed Cleo Moore being flogged, though this is hardly an important moment in the film's course of events. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this western the two sons of the commanding officer of an outpost attempt to clear their father's name after he is accused of conspiring with the Indians and is forced to resign. To prove his innocence, the men use terribly different methods. The older one, an adventurer, approaches suspects directly, while the younger, an army officer, choose a more subtle, methodical approach. Their different methods serve to temporarily alienate them from each other until at last the truth is discovered. The real traitor is a silver tycoon who framed their pa so he could buy up the Indian land and exploit it for it's valuable ore. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A precursor of sorts to the 1999 Julia Roberts vehicle The Runaway Bride, It Had to Be You stars Ginger Rogers as Victoria Stafford, a wealthy girl who has been engaged three times, and has three times chickened out at the altar just before saying "I do." Determined to wed her fourth fiancé, Oliver H.P. Harrington (Ron Randell), Victoria is on the verge of saying those two little words, when suddenly she sees the vision of her "dream lover," George (Cornel Wilde), whom she has envisioned since childhood. Ultimately our heroine meets an in-the-flesh lookalike for her imaginary sweetheart: a no-nonsense fireman named Johnny Blaine, who indeed was a childhood friend of Victoria's. So, do wedding bells finally ring? Not on your life. Though Victoria is ga-ga over Johnny, the feeling is far from mutual -- and besides, there are several reels to go before the end title. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Warner Bros. musical My Wild Irish Rose purports to tell the life story of popular 19th century balladeer Chauncey Olcott-or at least, the version set down by Olcott's daughter Rita. Starting his career in minstrel shows, Olcott (Dennis Morgan) is given his first break by stage luminary Lillian Russell (Andrea King), who casts him as her Broadway leading man. Though their relationship is platonic so far as Russell is concerned, the newspapers have a field day concocting an imaginary romance, driving a wedge between Olcott and his hometown sweetheart Rose Donovan (Arlene Dahl). No matter what his personal problems, Olcott rises to heretofore unimagined show-biz heights with his sentimental Irish ballads, including "A Little Bit of Heaven", "Mother Macree" and, of course, the title tune. I Love Lucy fans will be amused by the casting of a generously toupeed William Frawley as famed Irish tenor William Scanlan, who after his voice fails him generously passes the torch of celebrity to Olcott. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, two brothers from the North inherit a southern plantation and find themselves unwelcome by the locals. They were bequeathed the horse farm by their father who won it on a bet with the original owner, Major Denning. To gain acceptance into the community, the two Yanks decide to bring back the major under the pretext that their father bequeathed him a trust fund. Even the old major believes this, but when he discovers that it is not true, the gentleman decides to take his leave. The brothers stop him by running the major's best horse in a big race. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Without Reservations has to be the least typical John Wayne picture of the postwar era. Top billing is bestowed upon Claudette Colbert as Kit, a best-selling novelist heading westward to oversee the film version of her latest novel. Taking it upon herself to select the man who should portray the hero of her novel, Kit chooses war hero Rusty (John Wayne), whom she meets during her train trip to Hollywood. Unaware of Kit's true identity, Rusty and his pal Dink (Don DeFore) rail against the factual errors in her book. One thing leads to another, and before long Kit, Rusty and Dink have all been thrown off the train for annoying the other passengers. After a hectic stopover at a New Mexico farm, Kit reveals who she really is to Rusty and Dink, who are understandably put out. All is forgiven in the end, of course, with Kit and Rusty altar-bound at fadeout time. The Hollywood scenes feature such guest celebrities as Cary Grant, Louella Parsons and Jack Benny; and yes, that is an unbilled Raymond Burr as Claudette Colbert's dancing partner. Without Reservations was based on Jane Allen and May Livingston's novel Thanks, God, I'll Take it From Here (too bad they couldn't use that title!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Radio legend and 3-D pioneer Arch Oboler brings his story, Alter Ego, to the screen in a low-budget yarn that benefits from a strong cast and direction. Joan Ellis (Phyllis Thaxter) hears a voice in her head (in flashbacks) shortly before she is to be married. She flees to another city and even takes up with another man to rid herself of the voice, but random words bring it back at unexpected moments. The voice ultimately tells her to kill her husband-to-be, and when a psychiatrist (Edmund Gwenn) determines on the eve of her execution that Joan is possessed by a split personality, a struggle ensues to see which one will survive. Oboler uses radio techniques and tense scripting to bring his thriller to visual life. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

Universal's yearly quota of cheap, 60-minute musicals occasionally yielded such likeable diversions as South of Dixie. David Bruce stars as Danny, a popular composer of southern ballads. Striking while the iron is hot, Danny's partner Brains (Jerome Cowan) promotes a filmed biography of the southern-fried songsmith. Trouble is, Danny is a fraud-he was born in the North, with nary a relative below the Mason-Dixon line to his name. Anxiously, Brains "invents" a southern lineage for Danny, going so far as to hire a voice tutor named Dixie (Anne Gwynne) and to cook up a romance between the hero and the daughter (Ella Mae Morse) of Southern colonel Morgan (Samuel S. Hinds). Inevitably, South of Dixie features several black performers in stereotypical roles, including Louise Beavers and Mantan Moreland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This mystery is set upon the mighty Mississippi and within the dark bayous of Louisiana. Originally it was a 13- episode serial. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The still very undead mummy experiences insane jealousy in this the third of Universal's Kharis thrillers. Although he was thought to have perished in a fire in The Mummy's Tomb (1942), Kharis (Lon Chaney Jr.) is once again wreaking havoc in the town of Mapleton, MA. Sent by the High Priest (George Zucco) to retrieve both Kharis and his ancient love interest, the Princess Ananka, from their resting places at New York's Scripps Museum, Yousef Bey (John Carradine) learns that the princess has turned to dust. Her soul, however, seems to have been reincarnated as Amina Mansouri (Ramsay Ames), an Egyptian exchange student studying with Mapleton Egyptologist professor Norman (Frank Reicher). The latter's experiments with brewing tanna leaves turn ugly when Kharis appears. Soon after, Amina's hair develops grey streaks and she experiences strange and unsettling trances, unsettling especially for boyfriend Tom Hervey (Robert Lowery). Investigating Professor Norman's strange death, Inspector Walgreen (Barton MacLane) sets a trap for Kharis, but the crafty mummy escapes with a prostrate Amina. Hiding in an abandoned mineshaft, Kharis, to his distress, learns that Yousef harbors more than a religious interest in the beautiful Amina and promptly kills him. With the reincarnated but rapidly decaying princess in his arms, the mummy, to the horrors of the townspeople in general and Tom in particular, blithely walks into a nearby swamp and slowly sinks into the quagmire. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Too expensive for a "B"-picture, yet not quite an A, Two Tickets to London is an acceptable vehicle for French leading lady Michele Morgan and Universal contract player Alan Curtis. The stars are cast as Jeanne, a café entertainer, and Dan Driscoll, an American naval officer unjustly imprisoned for treason. With Jeanne's help, Dan tries to make his escape -- and, hopefully, clear his name -- in fog-shrouded London. Many of the sets utilized in this film were recycled for Universal's horror epics and Sherlock Holmes films. Two Tickets to London bears a few traces of Warner Bros.' Casablanca, even unto featuring Dooley Wilson ("Play it, Sam") in a key scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Randolph Scott was the star of Corvette K-225, a tribute to the World War II corvette escorts which guided Allied convoys through treacherous Atlantic waters. Scott plays the officer in charge of a Royal Canadian corvette cruiser, dedicated to keeping the troops safe from enemy submarine attack. The focus of the film is a danger-ridden journey from Halifax to Britain, the tension quotient heightened by the use of actual combat footage. Only the romantic triangle involving Scott, James Brown and Ella Raines bogs down this thrill-a-minute war picture. Corvette K-225 was produced by Howard Hawks, though the direction was credited to Richard Rosson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title of this "Lum 'N' Abner" comedy isn't explained until the film is half over. Chester Lauck and Norris Goff repeat their radio characterizations of Lum and Abner, proprietors of the Jot-Em-Down Store in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. This time, the boys journey to Chicago, where Abner hopes to collect his share of an inheritance, only to find out that they're responsible for their "benefactor's" debts. Required to take a medical exam, Abner is incorrectly informed that he has only two weeks to live (from the motion picture of the same name). In their efforts to raise enough money to square their debts, Our Heroes get mixed up with a Nazi spy ring. When this plot point is abruptly dropped (indeed, it looks as though the script was being made up as it went along), Abner agrees to take an experimental rocket trip to Mars for a huge cash sum. The climactic special effects are as ridiculous as the rest of the film; even so, Two Weeks to Live did well at the box-office thanks to the popularity of the Lum 'N' Abner radio show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide