Leonard Penn Movies

In this film based on a true story, Burt Lancaster plays Robert Stroud, a withdrawn prison inmate who cures a sick bird that flies into his cell and eventually becomes a world-renowned ornithologist -- all while serving a life sentence. An overbearing warden (Karl Malden) eventually transfers Stroud to the notoriously brutal prison on Alcatraz, but he is able to continue his research, abort a riot, start a romance, and eventually get his story out through a determined reporter (Edmond O'Brien). Directed with his usual solid craftsmanship by John Frankenheimer, Birdman Of Alcatraz tells a quietly moving tale for which Lancaster, Telly Savalas (as one of Stroud's fellow inmates), and Thelma Ritter (as Stroud's mother) all received Oscar nominations. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

This is the very last entry in the long-running Bowery Boys saga. This time the gang gets involved with English diamond smugglers after they are hired to safely escort a valuable poodle on a Transatlantic voyage. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A jewel thief is at large on the Riviera, and all evidence points to retired cat burglar Cary Grant. Escaping the law, Grant heads to the Cote D'Azur, where he is greeted with hostility by his old partners in crime. All of them had been pardoned due to their courageous activities in the wartime Resistance, and all are in danger of arrest thanks to this new crime wave. But Grant pleads innocence, and vows to find out who's been copying his distinctive style. With the reluctant aid of detective John Williams, Grant launches his investigation by keeping tabs on the wealthiest vacationers on the Riviera. One such person is heavily bejeweled Jessie Royce Landis, who is as brash and outspoken as her daughter Grace Kelly is quiet and demure. But "still waters run deep," as they say, and soon Kelly is amorously pursuing the far-from-resistant Grant. Part of Kelly's attraction to Grant is the possibility that he is the thief; the prospect of danger really turns this gal on. Being Cary Grant, of course, he can't possibly be guilty, which is proven in due time. But by film's end, it's obvious that Kelly has fallen hard for Grant, crook or no crook. Occasionally written off as a lesser Alfred Hitchcock film (did we really need that third-act fashion show?), To Catch a Thief is actually as enjoyable and engaging now as it was 40 years ago. Though the Riviera location photography is pleasing, our favorite scene takes place in a Paramount Studios mockup of a luxury hotel suite, where Grant and Kelly make love while a fireworks display orgasmically erupts outside their window. And who could forget the scene where Jessie Royce Landis disdainfully stubs out a cigarette in an expensive plate of eggs? Adapted by frequent Hitchcock collaborator John Michael Hayes from a novel by David Dodge To Catch a Thief won an Academy Award for cinematographer Robert Burks. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Roundly panned when it was first released, this CinemaScope film version of Sir Walter Scott's The Talisman can now be enjoyed on a "high camp" level. George Sanders plays King Richard the Lionhearted, while his arch-foe Saladin is over-acted by Rex Harrison. One of Richard's objectives during the Crusades is to reclaim the Holy Grail from Saladin's Mohammedan hordes. On the home front, Richard must contend with a group of conspirators dedicated to toppling him from his throne. In the middle of all this is the fictional Lady Edith,a British noblewoman played by Virginia Mayo in a manner that can best be described as overbaked. It is Ms. Mayo who delivers the film's classic line "Oh, fight, fight, fight! That's all you ever think of, Dickie Plantagenet!" In his American film debut, Laurence Harvey is as hammy as the rest of the cast as Sir Kenneth, Richard's right-hand man. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Ricardo Montalban takes time out from mighty Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to star in the Sam Katzman quickie Saracen Blade. Montalban plays Pietro, a 13th-century intellectual who spends his evenings as a masked avenger. Pietro hopes to avenge the death of his father, and to this end will not rest until he has skewered the evil Count Siniscola (Michael Ansara) and the Count's son Enzio (Rick Jason). Somewhere in the middle of the film, Pietro finds himself in the Holy Land with the Crusades, as good an excuse as any to show off the physical charms of several Columbia starlets. Betta St. John co-stars as Pietro's beloved Iolanthe, while a blonde Carolyn Jones essays a rare unsympathetic role as Pietro's "wife-for-convenience" Elaine. The Saracen Blade was based on a novel by Frank Yerby. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The tenth of Columbia's "Jungle Jim" series, Savage Mutiny finds Jim (Johnny Weissmuller) working on behalf of the US government. Jim must evacuate a tiny African island that is to be used for atomic testing. Scurrilous Communist agents hope to thwart America's defense program, and also stir up anti-US propaganda, by encouraging the natives to stay put. By the time Jungle Jim gets through with them, the spies would rather be dead than Red. Much of the footage of Savage Mutiny--and a good portion of the plot--would be re-used on an episode of TV's Captain Midnight. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A courageous Mountie and his trusty dog Chinook traverse the Northwest Territory, through blizzards and other travails in search of illegal trappers in this adventure. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this convoluted adventure serial, a U.S. Air force captain begins searching for some stolen microfilm that contains vital information. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This off-beat western is set in a remote western town that has made it illegal for men to enter. The town is owned by a powerful female gambler whose reign is toppled by a handsome and persistent cowboy. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Generous portions of stock footage from 1948's Joan of Arc are somehow worked into the Arabian Nights proceedings of Thief of Damascus. His tongue firmly in cheek, Paul Henreid plays the title character, aka Abu Amdar. The plot has something to do with an evil desert chieftain (John Sutton) who agrees to end his siege of Damascus if Princess Zafir (Helen Gilbert) will promise to marry him. Abu Amdar and his band of followers hope to rescue the Princess from this grisly fate. That Thief of Damascus is not to be taken seriously is demonstrated by the supporting cast, which includes an impish Robert Clary as Aladdin and an oafish Lon Chaney Jr. as Sinbad. Stealing the show is Ms. Jeff Donnell as Scheherezade, who insists upon rattling off her 1001 stories to everyone in earshot, whether they want to hear them or not! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia were still referred to as Indo-China when this Sam Katzman-produced adventure quickie was filmed. John Archer (the father of actress Anne Archer) stars as the titular "yank," a devil-may-care pilot named Mulvaney. Together with his partner Clint Marshall (Douglas Dick), Mulvaney runs a profitable air-freight line in Indo-China. After antagonizing a band of Red Chinese, Mulvaney and Clint attempt to rescue two American women (Jean Willes and Ellen Murphy) who'd foolishly allied themselves with the bad guys. Shamelessly jingoistic, A Yank in Indo-China is a fascinating artifact from an era in which America thought of Southeast Asia in terms of Black and White. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After a string of winners, Roy Rogers faltered a bit with South of Caliente. Rogers, playing himself, is the owner of a trailer-van service who is hired to transport a prize horse across the Mexican border. En route, Roy is bushwhacked and the horse stolen. The animal's owner Doris Stewart (Dale Evans) suspects that Roy is the thief, but the actual crook is within her own circle of employees. The supporting cast includes burlesque funster Pinky Lee (checkered cap and all) and character actor Leonard Penn, the father of current screen favorites Sean and Christopher Penn. Though not Roy Rogers' best film, South of Caliente still scores in the action department. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

No relation to the TV series of the same name, Wanted: Dead or Alive is a Monogram "B" western, vintage 1951. Its star is the studio's answer to PRC's Lash LaRue: Whip Wilson. Riding into a small town, a stranger (Whip) is accused of being a fugitive criminal. He eventually clears himself, but not before several displays of his remarkable whip-wielding skills. Andy Clyde, as ever, is on hand as Wilson's grizzled saddle pal. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi