John Peters Movies

Christopher Lee plays the horribly scarred chauffeur Erich in this Italian horror feature first released in 1963. He is the keeper of a German castle where visitors are tortured at will by a mysterious madman. Rossana Podesta and Georges Riviere also appear in this routine feature alternately titled Back To The Killer, Terror Castle, and the literal English translation of the original title, The Virgin Of Nurembeg. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Tomahawk takes place during the Great Sioux Uprising of the 1860s. Van Heflin stars as famed frontier scout Jim Bridger, who labors valiantly and vainly to orchestrate peace between Indians and whites. Much of the action takes place at Fort Phil Kearney, the scene of one of the bloodiest battles in western history. Though the film isn't what one might call a pro-Native American tract, the script is careful to note that the Sioux were galvanized into action by the broken treaties and sadistic excesses of certain Indian-hating white men. The feminine angle in these otherwise all-male proceedings is provided by Yvonne de Carlo as a travelling showgirl and Susan Cabot as an ill-fated Sioux maiden. Though economically produced, Tomahawk has all the polish and professionalism of an "A" production. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Backed by the "American GI Chorus", Nelson Eddy made his final screen appearance in the unusually elaborate Republic musical Northwest Outpost. The story is set in the 1830s, when a good portion of California was owned by Russia. US cavalry officer James Laurence (Nelson Eddy) arrives at one of the Russian colonies to pave the way for the eventual American takeover of the territory. He faces resistance in the form of Prince Nikolai Balinin (Hugo Haas), who has no intention of weakening his despotic hold over the local peasants. The plot thickens when Laurence falls in love with Natalie Alanova (Ilona Massey), the wife of disgraced nobleman Count Igor Savin (Joseph Schildkraut). The script draws several unsubtle parallels between Russian California of 1830 and Communist Russia of 1947, but this can be chalked up to the political tenor of the times. Rudolf Friml's soaring musical score evokes fond memories of Friml's earlier Rose Marie, which of course also starred Nelson Eddy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this WW II spy comedy, an American pilot stationed in England is flying a routine mission when the Nazis shoot down his plane. He ends up seeking shelter in the home of an unhappily married Dutch woman. She covers for the pilot by introducing him as her mentally unbalanced but basically harmless husband. A Nazi major has taken over her home, and mayhem ensues when he and her "husband" meet. In the end, the pilot steals a German plane and takes the woman safely to England. The film is also known as Yank in Dutch. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Also known as Beasts of Berlin and Hitler: Beast of Berlin, this was the inagural effort of Producers Distributing Corporation-later to become famous (or infamous) as PRC Pictures. Set in Germany, the story concerned a dedicated group of anti-Nazis devoted to circulating propaganda literature. The leaders of the group are Roland Drew and his wife Steffi Duna. After a terrifying sojourn in a concentration camp, hero and heroine are smuggled into Switzerland so that they may carry on their work in the Free World. Based on the novel Goose Step by Shepard Traube, this little quickie was among the earliest American films to cast Nazi Germany in a villainous light. That it wasn't the best hardly mattered to the various Bundists in the US, who lobbied to have the film banned. Billed fourth in Beast of Berlin was young Alan Ladd, who was advertised as the film's star when it was reissued in the early 1940s as Hell's Devils. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tailspin Tommy (played by John Trent) flies again in Monogram's Sky Patrol. The plot is motivated by an airborne smuggling operation, masterminded by gunrunner Mitch (Leroy Mason). Assigned to thwart the villains is young Carter (Jackie Coogan), the son of Tailspin Tommy's flight commander (Boyd Irwin). Deathly afraid of guns, Carter is unable to effectively pursue the smugglers, and as a result is shot down and captured. With the help of Tommy and his pal Skeeter (Milburn Stone), Carter gets over his firearms phobia and helps to bring the criminals to justice. Marjorie Reynolds costars as requisite heroine Betty Lou, who despite her stewardess job never gets off the ground! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A murdered entomologist, an inscrutable Asian, and a sinister cowboy with rape on his mind are but a few of the many strange characters inhabiting this unusually well-made, Bob Steele Western. Steele plays Larry O'Day, who, along with sidekick Lucky Smith (Don Barclay), comes to the rescue of Barbara Hartnell (Harley Wood), whose entomologist uncle (Frank Ball) has been found murdered at his laboratory near the border to Mexico. If the murder wasn't enough, poor Barbara is in trouble with a strange neighbor, Obed Young (Karl Hackett), who raves about an ancient curse threatening her hacienda. After a mysterious intruder attempts to strangle Lucky, Larry catches German scientist Dr. von Kurtz (John Peters) stealing specimens from the dead entomologist's lab. Barbara, meanwhile, is arrested for the murder by the sheriff (Horace Murphy) but is freed by Jim Barton (Perry Murdock). The latter, a forbidding-looking cowboy, arranges with Chon Lee (Miki Morita) to have Barbara smuggled across the border as a "picture bride," but she is rescued in the nick of time by Larry, who now has proof of who killed Professor Hartnell. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

It is altogether typical of Bela Lugosi's lousy business judgement that he accepted one of his finest film roles for a mere $500 dollars. In the haunting low-budgeter White Zombie, Lugosi stars as Murder Legendre, a shadowy character who exercises supernatural powers over the natives in his Haitian domain. Coveting beautiful Madge Bellamy as his bride, wealthy Robert Frazier is refused her hand in marriage. He enters into an unholy agreement with Lugosi, whereby Madge will fall ill and die, then be resurrected as a zombie-and, implicitly, Frazier's love-slave. This is accomplished, but Lugosi, relishing the hold he has over Frazier, refuses to release Madge's soul. She is ultimately rescued from Living Death by her faithful beau Robert Harron and missionary Joseph Cawthorn (heretofore merely the comedy relief). Few talkie horror films have ever so expertly captured the "feel" of the silent cinema as White Zombie; the film's ethereal, ghostlike ambience enables the audiences to accept even the most ludicrous of plot twists. The producers, Victor and Edward Halperin, use the film's tiny budget to their advantage, evocatively suggesting the horrors that they haven't the financial wherewithal to show on screen. Lugosi is superb throughout, making the most of such seemingly innocuous lines as "Well, well, we understand one another better, now." Long ignored or shunted aside as insignificant, White Zombie can hold its own with any of the like-vintage Universal horror classics. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This silent drama presents a fictional biography of the courageous canine Rin-Tin-Tin. The tale begins as an American lawyer arrives in Germany to help prevent his client from being cheated out of her estate by a German shyster. When the Yankee wins the case, the girl and her dog Rinty are filled with gratitude. Shortly after WW I erupts, the American returns to Europe as a pilot. He is shot down over Germany and crashes. As luck would have it, he is rescued by brave Rin-Tin-Tin and his mistress who works as a Red Cross volunteer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The 1926 Ranson's Folly was the second screen version of the rough-and-tumble novel by journalist Richard Harding Davis. Richard Barthelmess plays Lt. Ranson, an army officer who, out of boredom, bets his friends that he can successfully pull off a stagecoach robbery armed with nothing more than a pair of scissors. Disguised as the notorious masked bandit "the Red Rider," Barthelmess makes good his wager. Unfortunately, the army paymaster is murdered shortly thereafter. All evidence points to the Red Rider -- and, of course, to the innocent Barthelmess. It appears as though the genuine culprit is the father of Barthelmess' sweetheart Dorothy Mackaill. This turned out to be the case in the original Davis novel, but screenwriter Lillie Hayward has a few surprises of her own up her sleeve. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide