Carmen Phillips Movies

Tossing wristwatches away, two bikers hit the road to find America in Dennis Hopper's anti-establishment classic. After a major cocaine sale to an L.A. connection (Phil Spector), free-wheeling potheads Billy (Hopper) and Wyatt, aka Captain America (Peter Fonda, who also produced), motor eastward to party at Mardi Gras before "retiring" to Florida with the riches concealed in Wyatt's stars-and-stripes gas tank. As they ride through the Southwest, they take a hitchhiker (Luke Askew) to a struggling hippie commune before they get thrown in a small-town jail for "parading without a permit." Their cellmate, drunken ACLU lawyer George Hanson (Jack Nicholson, replacing Rip Torn), does them a "groovy" favor by getting them out of jail and then decides to join them. Babbling about Venusians, George discovers the joys of smoking grass, but an encounter with Southern rednecks soon proves how right he is about the danger posed by Billy's and Wyatt's unfettered life in a country that has lost its ideals. With the straight world closing in, Wyatt and Billy try to revel in New Orleans with some LSD and hookers (Karen Black and Toni Basil), but the acid trip is shot through with morbidity. Once they reach Florida, Billy raves about attaining the American dream; Wyatt, however, knows the truth: "We blew it."

Produced and directed by two Hollywood iconoclasts with under a half-million non-studio dollars, Easy Rider shook up the languishing movie industry when it grossed over 19 million dollars in 1969; it captured the spirit of the times as it woke Hollywood up to the power of young audiences and socially relevant movies, along with such other landmarks of the late '60s as Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate, and 2001. Shot on location by Laszlo Kovacs, Easy Rider eschewed old-fashioned Hollywood polish for documentary-style immediacy, and it enhanced its casual feel with improvised dialogue and realistically "stoned" acting. With a soundtrack of contemporary rock songs by Jimi Hendrix, the Band, and Steppenwolf to complete the atmosphere, Easy Rider was hailed for capturing the increasingly violent Vietnam-era split between the counterculture and the repressive Establishment. Experiencing the "shock of recognition," youth audiences embraced Easy Rider's vision of both the attractions and the limits of dropping out, proving that audience's box-office power and turning Nicholson into a movie star. The momentarily hip Academy nominated Nicholson for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, and Fonda, Hopper, and Terry Southern for their screenplay. Though none of its imitators would match its impact, Easy Rider remains one of the seminal works of late '60s Hollywood both for its trailblazing legacy and its sharply perceptive portrait of its chaotic times. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Unfortunately, the comedy in this film is just about as crummy as its title. On the bright side, it does feature a number of veterans from popular TV sitcoms. It is set in a run-down diner where a bumbling short-order cook and a klutzy waitress work. They are so terrible at their jobs that they soon lose them. Next the two go to help a pal run her recently inherited bookstore. There they found trouble when a Russian spy mistakenly identifies the former cook as a defecting cosmonaut. Meanwhile, two would-be bank robbers are secretly sneaking 'round the bookstore trying to tunnel into the bank vault next door. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A woman named Helen (Barbara Barrie) awakens in a hospital run completely by women, with nary a man in sight. This is off-putting enough, but soon Helen discovers that there is a lot more amiss: seemingly overnight, she has grown hideously obese, and all the staffers fawningly refer to her as "Mother Orchis." Asking a few pertinent questions, Helen learns to her horror that she has been transported to a futuristic society in which a genetic accident has caused the extinction of all males, obliging the female scientists to select certain women as "queen bees" to repopulate the world. It is giving away nothing to reveal that this hellish state of affairs is all a dream, experienced by Helen as she undergoes experiments with a revolutionary mind-expanding drug. What cannot and will not be revealed here is what happens when Helen returns to the "real" world, determined to prevent the bleak future she has envisioned -- no matter what the cost. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the autobiography of convicted killer John Resko (played here by Ben Gazzara), this routine biographical drama looks at the crucial years between 1931 and 1949 in the convict's life. That period begins when Resko is convicted of killing a store owner and is sentenced to life in prison. After his arrival in prison Resko eventually gets involved in creating art, an activity that leads to a transformation in his character. That change became evident enough to garner the attention of the powers-that-be and by 1949, Resko receives a pardon. The prison system is shown as improving between the killer's first internment and his release, which in itself might make some viewers wonder what happened then, in the years between 1949 and the present. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A valuable Matisse is stolen from an art museum and replaced by a forgery. Museum curator June Sinclair (Mala Powers) and her boyfriend David Lambert (Joe Maross) are suspected of the crime--and then charged with the murder of the actual thief, David's wife Lisa (Carmen Philips). Thus it is that Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) has two clients to save from the gas chamber. The huge supporting cast includes veteran radio actresses Isabel Randolph and Elvia Allman, and former B-western hero Jack Perrin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

During a Los Angeles Christmas, a group of 82nd Airborne vets assembles under the leadership of gamblin' man Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra) to rip off four Las Vegas casinos just after the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day. Playboy Jimmy Foster (Peter Lawford) joins in the scheme because he's sick of needing his oft-married mother's money, especially now that she's about to wed Duke Santos (Cesar Romero), a self-made man with all sorts of underworld ties. After he receives the news that he could die at any time, newly released convict Anthony Bergdorf (Richard Conte) reluctantly agrees to participate so he can leave some money to his estranged wife and young son. Ocean's own wife, Beatrice (Angie Dickinson), doesn't think much of her husband's promise of a big score to come, but her quiet protests don't dissuade him. With Las Vegas garbage man and fellow vet Josh Howard (Sammy Davis Jr.) and several casino employees among their number, the titular band of thieves have just a few days to get ready for their caper. When Duke Santos, Jimmy's mother, and one of Ocean's discarded paramours all show up in Sin City at the same time as the veterans, the crew's perfect plans face some serious hurdles. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Years ago, ambitious jockey Ronnie Watson (Ben Cooper) cheated during an important race, thereby destroying the career of his friend and fellow jockey Sam Barry (Walter Burke). Now it appears that Sam has returned from obscurity to get even with Ronnie; no matter where he races in the world, Ronnie sees the malevolently grinning face of Sam, awaiting him at each finish line. Ultimately, Ronnie is driven to desperation and madness--but that's not the end of the story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In a variation on a theme previously explored in the 1948 Alfred Hitchcock film Rope, brilliant but demented crime student Tommy Greer (Skip Homeier) arrives at the conclusion that, if he were to commit a murder absolutely without motive, he would never be caught. Calling Tommy's bluff, his friend Richard (William Redfield) picks a name at random from the phone book and dares Tommy to pull off his "perfect crime." Tommy does exactly that, only to discover that he may have been a little too clever for his own good. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After the success of From Here to Eternity, pairing Frank Sinatra with another James Jones novel made perfect sense. Set in the aftermath of World War II, the film stars Sinatra as a recently discharged soldier whose promising writing career has derailed. After a drunken card game, Sinatra finds himself aboard a bus for his Indiana hometown of Parktown, with recent acquaintance Shirley MacLaine in tow. An unrefined good-time girl, MacLaine allows her affections to settle on the hard-drinking Sinatra, who wants little to do with her as he reluctantly sets about re-establishing ties he thought to have abandoned over a decade before. These include a brother (Arthur Kennedy) unable to discard his salesman's persona, his disapproving wife (Leora Dana), and their teenage daughter (Betty Lei Keim). Meanwhile, Sinatra makes a variety of new acquaintances both respectable and otherwise, including a local gambler (Dean Martin) and a creative writing instructor (Martha Hyer) smitten with his writing and possibly with him. Shaking up the complacency of his small hometown more by accident than design, Sinatra forces all those around him to reevaluate their behavior. After a variety of smaller parts, this is the role that cemented MacLaine's name, earning her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. ~ Keith Phipps, All Movie Guide

A scheme to rob the bank of Rome, MO, is foiled by the not so dumb "Village Idiot" in this rural comedy-drama starring the rotund Walter Hiers. Arriving in Rome with larceny on their minds, "Sure Thing" Sherman (Earl Metcalfe) and Isadore Kelly (Knute Erickson) find themselves outwitted by jack-of-all-trades Slim Swasey (Hiers), who not only foil the heist but also wins the love of town beauty Ollie Remus (Constance Wilson). Director Rob Wagner, a long-time associate of Charlie Chaplin, later published the influential film magazine Rob Wagner's Script. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Filmgoers must have been sick of desert romances by the time this one came out. About the only thing it had in its favor was the presence of fading star Priscilla Dean. She is Naida, who has been raised in an Arab family, completely ignorant of the fact that she is actually white. She has been promised to an Arab chieftain, Kali (Harry Woods), and he asks her to steal some documents from a British Secret Service agent. Naida falls in love with the agent, Barry Braxton (Robert Ellis). The documents turn up missing anyhow, and Braxton has to locate them. Kali, meanwhile, is not thrilled at Braxton's persistent search for the papers, or his interest in Naida. Braxton is kidnapped and taken to the Palace of the Stars, where Naida swears she will kill herself if he is put to death. Nevertheless, he is thrown into the Nile and Naida goes after him. The pair are finally rescued, and the documents retrieved. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

At the time this film was released, its star, Wallace Reid, was supposedly spending some time in a sanitarium, getting a much needed rest. The truth was that he had been hospitalized for his morphine addiction, which would kill him within a few months. Reid looks tired and strained here, and this poor excuse for a farce was all wrong for him. It was based on a Broadway play by A.E. Thomas and Clayton Hamilton, but did not translate at all well to the screen. Reid plays John Cadwalader Floyd, who gets himself into a lot of trouble when hot-headed Italian Giacomo Polenta (Hershall Mayall) finds him in the arms of his wife, Rosa (Carmen Phillips). The situation is completely innocent, but Polenta won't even consider that. To get away from the man, who is to depart for his home country in 28 days, Floyd begs his pal, Judge Hooker (Charles Ogle) to lock him away in jail for a whole month. The only problem is that Polenta has been thrown into the clink too. Things get even worse for Floyd when his fiancee, Lucy Ledyard (Wanda Hawley) finds him there. Then there's the bear-like presence of the warden, Marcel (Kalla Pasha, of Mack Sennett fame), to add even more complications. Floyd gets in good with Marcel by finding a shortage in the books and is pardoned early. Polenta also gets out but Floyd and his friends manage to capture him, roll him up in a rug and get him to the steamer that will take him out of America, and out of Floyd's life. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

One year shy of the scandal that would destroy her film career, Mary Miles Minter starred in the mystical romantic drama All Souls Eve. Minter plays a dual role, as the wife of a famous sculptor and an Irish maid. When one of the ladies dies, her soul is transmuted to the other. Jack Holt plays the sculptor, while one of the supporting roles is essayed by Clarence Geldert, in whose honor a Chicago-based theatrical award would later be named. All Souls Eve was adapted from a play by Anne Crawford Flexner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide