Don Orlando Movies

One of Hollywood's great directors, Vincente Minnelli, turns a jaundiced eye towards the film industry in this drama about the inner workings of the movie business. Jack Andrus (Kirk Douglas) is an actor whose career has gone into a tailspin along with his personal life; after a severe bout with alcoholism, a messy break-up with his wife, a life-threatening auto accident, and a nervous breakdown, Andrus has spent three years in a private mental hospital in Connecticut. Andrus is approached by Maurice Kruger (Edward G. Robinson), a noted filmmaker who worked many times with Andrus in the past, offering him a small role in his next picture, and with the blessings of his doctors, the actor flies to Rome to return to work. However, once he arrives, Andrus finds the project is in chaos -- his role has been recast, Kruger is constantly battling with producer Tucino (Mino Doro), leading man Davie Drew (George Hamilton) is squabbling with both %Kruger and his girlfriend Veronica (Daliah Lavi), and the female lead (Rosanna Schiaffino) can't recite her dialogue in English. With the shooting in shambles, Kruger asks Andrus to take over the dubbing work in hopes of bringing the film in on schedule, and against his better judgement Andrus agrees. As Andrus tries to rise to this new challenge -- made all the more trying by the arrival of his ex-wife Carlotta (Cyd Charisse) -- the production receives its biggest setback when Kruger suffers a heart attack after a bitter argument with his wife (Claire Trevor). Andrus takes over the direction of the picture, and proves a capable hand for the job, bringing in the project on time and on budget. However, Kruger expresses resentment rather than gratitude, claiming that Andrus is trying to put an end to his career. Two Weeks In Another Town was adapted from a novel by Irwin Shaw. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

One of special-effects wizard Ray Harryhausen's pre-Seventh Voyage of Sinbad efforts, 20 Million Miles to Earth borrows a few pages from King Kong. An American spaceship crashlands off the coast of Sicily. The rescue party discovers that the astronauts have inadvertently brought back a curious gelatinous mass from the planet Venus. This lump of goo rapidly evolves into be a living reptilian creature, which scientists label an "Ymir". While being subjected to laboratory experimentation, the Ymir begins growing by leaps and bounds, and before long the gigantic monstrosity has escaped and is wreaking havoc in Rome. After battling a zoo elephant and taking a swim in the Tiber, the gargantuan creature holes up in the Colosseum, where the film's pyrotechnic finale occurs. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Rico brothers are mobsters in the employ of syndicate head Sid Kubick. Richard Conte plays the one Rico brother who has forsaken crime. But the other Ricos (James Darren and Paul Picerni) haven't yet seen the light, causing a deep rift in the brothers' family bonds. Conte gets word that his brothers have been marked for murder, and tries to warn them. What he doesn't know, at least until the last sweat-inducing moments of the film, is that the syndicate boss himself is the man who has ordered the Rico boys wiped out. The Brothers Rico, adapted from a novel by French detective-story specialist George Simenon, is an interesting thriller deeply rooted in the post-noir style of police thrillers like The Line-Up, with its overt emphasis on crude violence and a dull, almost flat visual style. The strong performance by Richard Conte, as a man out of step with the rest of society, is lost in this film which is in essence a simple thriller, lacking any real noir ambience. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Phil Karlson, well-regarded by film buffs for his tough, no-nonsense crime dramas, directed this adventure story shot partially on location in the Caribbean. Mike Cormack (John Payne) was once a District Attorney, until his fiancée, Janet Martin (Mary Murphy), left him to marry another man. Depressed, Mike began drinking heavily, and eventually his alcoholism cost him his job. Trying to pull himself back up after hitting bottom, Mike gets a job as a bouncer at a casino in Las Vegas. Barzland (Francis L. Sullivan), a handicapped criminal, approaches Mike with an unusual offer. Barzland will pay Mike $5,000 if he can locate a ruby that went missing following the disappearance of a plane in the West Indies. Mike discovers that the reason he was picked for this job is that the pilot of the plane, Eduardo (Paul Picerni), is the man Janet chose to marry, and Barzland and his men believe that she might have clues as to the ruby's whereabouts that Mike could uncover. However, when Mike arrives to meet with Janet, he discovers that Eduardo is now in jail, and Janet begins to snare Mike in a web of lies and deceit. Hell's Island was rereleased in 1962 under the title South Sea Fury. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Kansas City Confidential, Phil Karlson's low (low) budget, B-grade film noir, opens on a Kansas City armored-car robbery perpetrated by cynical, corrupt ex-policeman Timothy Foster (Preston S. Foster). Foster devises an outrageous scheme: he will recruit three of the most vicious and unrelenting criminals he can find (screen heavies Lee Van Cleef, Jack Elam and Neville Brand) to undertake a robbery, blackmailing them into the heist with incriminating evidence from other "jobs." As an eccentric and clever conceit, Foster forces each of the perpetrators to wear masks, thus concealing their identities from one another and preventing the old pitfall of the men squealing and backstabbing. The heist comes off without a scratch, but a complication arises when the ignorant cops pick up an unrelated fellow, Joe Rolfe (John Payne) for his ownership of a van similar to the one used in the caper. In time, Rolfe is cleared, but he grows irate over the accusations and sets off to find Foster and co. and teach them a lesson. He finally happens upon one of the perpetrators in Mexico, beats him nearly to death, and assumes the victim's identity - and that's when things really get complicated. Though produced under the Hays Code censorship regulations, Kansas City Confidential constituted one of the most brutal and violent crime pictures made up through that time; as such, it retains historical significance. It also claims a strong cult following. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

To filmmaker and war veteran Samuel Fuller, war is about survival. You either kill or be killed. His combat films are not about politics, adventure, or home. They are about killing and staying alive. Fixed Bayonets, Fuller's second study of the Korean War, focuses on a neophyte corporal, Denno (Richard Basehart), who is afraid to take a life. When his division is forced down Korea's snowbound mountains, Denno's unit stays behind to cover its retreat. Entrenched in an icy cave, Denno watches his superiors get picked off one by one until he must take command. He soon learns of what he is truly capable and what he will do to survive: Denno learns to kill. Filmed and released during the Korean War, Fixed Bayonets offered audiences no respite from the harrowing, difficult combat. It also introduced a new arena into modern American combat films -- freezing, icy terrain. The actors were so unaccustomed to the ice (that Fuller had actually frozen onto the set), that several men injured themselves within the first week of shooting. Many of the wounded in the film are simply ailing performers who Fuller kept on set so they could still receive their paychecks! ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, Rovi

Torrid Zone star James Cagney once described the film as "The Front Page among the bananas." Indeed, the screenplay diligently follows the Front Page plot device of a tough boss (Pat O'Brien) pulling every underhanded trick in the book to keep his top man (Cagney) from quitting. This time the setting is a Central American plantation owned by O'Brien, which supervisor Cagney would dearly love to leave behind. Complicating the plot is a nightclub singer (Anne Sheridan) over whom O'Brien and Tracy do battle; a bored married woman (Helen Vinson) with eyes for Cagney; and a gang of Latino bandits, led by George Tobias (providing comic relief). What Torrid Zone lacked in originality it made up for in sheer energy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Pals of the Saddle is one of the more engaging entries in Republic's Three Mesquiteers Western series. Ray Corrigan and Max Terhune repeat their standard roles of Tucson Smith and Lullaby Joslin; the role of Stony Brooke, recently vacated by Bob Livingston, is here played by none other than John Wayne. The Mesquiteers films fluctuated between period stories and contemporary tales. This time around, we're in 1938, and Stony is chasing after foreign agents who are trying to steal and smuggle a secret weapon, the deadly chemical "monium," out of the United States. Director George Sherman paces this 55-minute effort like a Republic serial, with excellent results. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rock bottom western film-making on all fronts, The Hawk starred Yancey Lane as Jay Price, a young man who learns from his dying mother that his estranged father, Jim King, has been searching for him for twenty years. Every year on Jay's birthday, a certified letter from Jim had remained unclaimed at the post office, Mrs. Price having been too proud to let her son in on her dark secret. Determined to be reunited with the father he never knew, Jay demands this year's letter from the post master. When he cannot prove his identity, Jay's claim is denied and he instead grabs the letter at gunpoint. King (Lafe McKee), meanwhile, is having problems with rustlers who, unbeknownst to Jim, are hired by ranch foreman Jeff Murdock (Rollo Dix). The latter accuses a phantom figure known as "The Hawk" for the crimes and the arrival of Jay confuses matters even further. Despite being wanted for jail theft, Jay gains the confidence of all and sundry and can finally reveal himself as Jim's long-lost son. While Jay and Betty (Betty Jordan), Jim's foster-daughter, embrace, Jeff Murdock, alias "The Hawk," is taken to jail by Sheriff Palmer (Henry Hall). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi