Charles Phillips Movies
- 1950
In Storm Warning, Ginger Rogers stars as a model visiting relatives in an unnamed small town. She happens to witness the beating death of a man at the hands of the KKK. Rogers soon discovers that the whole town is controlled by this vigilante group, and that her loutish brother-in-law Steve Cochran is one of the group's members. D.A. Ronald W. Reagan is the man who breaks the stranglehold of the hooded terrorists--through the simple expedient of walking into one of their meetings and calmly identifying each of them by name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ginger Rogers, Ronald Reagan, (more)
- 1943
- NR
Producer Val Lewton once more utilized leftover Magnificent Ambersons sets for his psychological horror piece The Seventh Victim. Kim Hunter arrives in New York's Greenwich Village in search of her errant sister Jean Brooks. Gradually, the naive Hunter is drawn into a strange netherworld of Satan worshippers. The story is a bit too complex for its own good (especially with only a 71-minute running time to play with), but editor-turned-director Mark Robson and screenwriters Dewitt Bodeen and Charles O'Neal keep the thrills and shudders coming at a satisfying pace. Lewton regular Tom Conway offers his usual polished performance, while veteran character actresses Isabel Jewell and Evelyn Brent look appropriately gaunt and possessed in the "cult" sequences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kim Hunter, Tom Conway, (more)
- 1942
Republic's "Three Mesquiteers" western series was in its fifth year of production when Raiders of the Range was released in March of 1942. In this one, the Mesquiteers are enacted by Bob Steele (as Tucson Smith), Tom Tyler (Stony Brooke) and Rufe Davis (Lullaby Joslin). Our heroes come to the aid of visionary Doc Higgins (Tom Chatterton), whose efforts to strike oil on his property and thus bring financial security to his community are constantly being undermined by the villains. The main culprit is saloon owner Sam Daggett (Frank Jacquet), who blackmails local wastrel Ned Foster (Dennis Moore) into doing his dirty work. But with the Mesquiteers around, Daggett doesn't have a snowball's chance in you-know-where of succeeding in his skullduggery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Steele, Tom Tyler, (more)
- 1940
In his final release of 1940, Monogram's answer to Gene Autry, Tex Ritter, played a United States Marshal assigned to investigate a gang that is taking advantage of the prison honor system. Helping unsuspecting prisoners escape, the gang enlists them in bank holdups. As the escapee demands money, a member of the gang shoots him down to claim the reward money. Tex, however, deputizes a couple of inmates and can soon bring the gang to justice. A very minor entry in the Ritter oeuvre, Rollin' Home to Texas featured future Western lead Eddie Dean as a sheriff. Ritter performed seven musical numbers, including Under Texas Stars and Wabash Cannon Ball. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tex Ritter, Cal Shrum, (more)
Buster Keaton plays Johnny Gray, a Southern railroad engineer who loves his train engine, The General, almost as much as he loves Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack). When the opening shots of the Civil War are fired at Fort Sumter, Johnny tries to enlist -- and he is deemed too useful as an engineer to be a soldier. All Johnny knows is that he's been rejected, and Annabelle, thinking him a coward, turns her back on him. When Northern spies steal the General (and, unwittingly, Annabelle), the story switches from drama and romance to adventure mixed with Keaton's trademark deadpan humor as he uses every means possible to catch up to the General, thwart the Yankees, and rescue his darling Annabelle -- for starters. As always, Keaton performs his own stunts, combining his prodigious dexterity, impeccable comic timing, and expressive body language to convey more emotion than the stars of any of the talkies that were soon to dominate cinema. ~ Emru Townsend, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, (more)
