Mala Powers Movies
A radio and stage actress since early childhood, Mala Powers made her first film appearance at age 11 in the 1942 Dead End Kids opus Tough As They Come. After attending U.C.L.A., she was discovered by filmmaker/actress Ida Lupino who starred Powers in her 1950 film Outrage. That same year, Stanley Kramer signed Powers to star opposite Jose Ferrer in Cyrano de Bergerac. Though critical reviews for the film were mixed, Powers was praised for her beauty, sensitivity, and naturalness in portraying Cyrano's great love, Roxanne. It remains her best-known role. Her promising career was nipped in the bud the following year by a life-threatening illness. Following her recovery, Powers had difficulty obtaining production insurance and this in turn made it difficult for her to appear in A-features. As a result, she spent the majority of her subsequent career appearing in low-budget Westerns and adventure films. She died of complications from leukemia, at age 76, in early June 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1958
In this western set in the California territory in the mid-19th century, a rancher tries to protect his Spanish land grant from greedy American landgrabbers. Unfortunately the eastern interlopers bring in a Texas gunfighter to frighten the man. The gunfighter ends up falling in love with the rancher's sister, and decides to spare them. In the end, the gunman is killed during the climactic shoot out. The girl who loved him is devastated. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Keith, Rick Jason, (more)
- 1958
This low-budget, Frankenstein-flavored sci-fi flick involves the transplantation of a dead scientist's brain into the body of a hulking, glowing-eyed, caped robot by the man's lunatic brother. Though initially a success, the operation soon goes horribly wrong as the robot begins to display increasingly homicidal behavior, zapping people with its gamma-ray eyes. The climax comes when the robot begins a murderous rampage in the United Nations. The only hope for stopping the monster comes from the late scientist's young son, who manages to reach what little of the scientist's identity still remains and calms the robot down. This is actually a well-written film with a strong emotional core and a fairly sympathetic monster, but it loses some ground thanks to the rather silly rivet-headed robot costume. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ross Martin, Mala Powers, (more)
- 1957
Debbie Reynolds stars as Tammy in this romantic comedy of a country girl living in the South who cares for pilot Peter Brent (Leslie Neilsen) after his plane crashes near her home. At the beckoning of mutual admiration, Peter soon invites her to his plantation where she charms the fancy-shmancy attitude out of his family and transforms the whole place into virtual sweetness and sunshine. Tammy and the Bachelor presented the original song Tammy by Ray Evans and Jay Livingston, which gained the two an Oscar nomination for Best Song and became a hit song for Reynolds. Tammy Tell Me True (1961), Tammy and the Doctor (1963) and Tammy and the Millionaire (1967), as well as a television series, all were spun from this film. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Debbie Reynolds, Walter Brennan, (more)
- 1957
Edward Bernds, graduate of Columbia's "Three Stooges" shorts and Allied Artists' "Bowery Boys" epics, expertly guides The Storm Rider through its paces. Scott Brady plays an ex-gunslinger who is hired by a group of ranchers to protect them from covetous land baron Roy Engel. Unbeknownst to the ranchers, Brady is the killer of their former leader. Emotional complications ensue when Brady falls in love with Mala Powers, the widow of the man he killed. The film's ending upholds the uncompromising integrity of the rest of The Storm Rider. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Brady, Mala Powers, (more)
- 1957
Western writer/director Charles Marquis Warren makes one of his periodic excursions into horror with The Unknown Terror. Filmed in Mexico, the story focuses on three American adventurers (John Howard, Mala Powers and Paul Richards) who search for a missing explorer. They stumble across the Cave of Death, the forbidden domain of a mad scientist (Gerald Milton) who has developed a "killer fungus." Before long, one of the trio has fallen victim to the homicidal mold. It is up to the survivors to escape the scientist's clutches and warn the rest of the world of the now-known terror that festers in the wilds of Mexico. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mala Powers, Paul Richards, (more)
- 1957
Pill poppin' truckers provide the focus of this anti-drug drama. Much of the story centers upon an investigator for the US Food and Drug Department who has been assigned to stop all truckers from taking amphetamines while they drive. The drivers take the pills to help them stay awake on long-hauls. Unfortunately, the "speed" is also causing major accidents. The investigator goes undercover as a driver to help find the main drug pushers. En route he falls for a beautiful woman. Unfortunately, he finds that she is one of the biggest pushers in the country. Though the film's original intent was very serious, it has become popular with fans of campy or cult films. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Mala Powers, (more)
- 1957
Man on the Prowl was produced by Jo and Art Napoleon, the same team responsible for TV's The Whirlybirds. James Best stars as Doug Gerhardt, a young homicidal maniac who invades the home of housewife and mother Marian Wood (Mala Powers). Having already killed a girl who turned him down, Gerhardt threatens to harm Marian's children if she doesn't give in to him. He also intends to take over the garage owned by Marian's husband Woody (Jerry Paris). Ted de Corsia, taking a breather from his usual screen villainy, plays the homicide detective who may be Marian's only hope for salvation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mala Powers, James Best, (more)
Since lapsing into public domain, Rage at Dawn has become one of the most readily available of Randolph Scott's westerns. Based on the exploits of the infamous Reno gang, the film casts Scott as a federal agent assigned to squelch the Renos once and for all. After staging a few phony train robberies, Scott is accepted into the gang. While posing as a criminal, he discovers that the Renos are able to operate freely because they've paid off several important local officials. Once he's managed to round up the surviving gang members, Scott must contend with a self-righteous lynch mob led by Howard Petrie. Mala Powers is the leading lady in Rage at Dawn, while the dreaded Reno boys are convincingly enacted by J. Carroll Naish, Forrest Tucker, Myron Healey and Denver Pyle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Randolph Scott, Forrest Tucker, (more)
- 1955
Richard Conte plays the obligatory Man With a Past in RKO's Bengazi. Joining up with disreputable Irishman Victor McLaglen and army deserter Richard Erdman, Conte heads into the African desert in search of hidden Arab gold. They in turn are pursued by British police inspector Richard Carlson and by McLaglen's daughter Mala Powers. When the raffish trio find the gold, they must defend themselves against hostile Arab tribesmen. The remainder of the film evolves into a reworking of the 1934 RKO film The Lost Patrol, which also costarred Victor McLaglen. Bengazi was filmed almost entirely out-of-doors, on location in Arizona's Yuma Desert. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Conte, Victor McLaglen, (more)
- 1954
Lex Barker trades his Tarzan loincloth for buckskins in the Universal western Yellow Mountain. Barker stars as gold prospector Andy Martin, who has a serious falling out with his partner Pete Menlo (Howard Duff) over the affections of pretty Nevada Wray (Mala Powers). But Andy and Pete patch up their differences to rescue Nevada's father (William Demarest) from the evil machinations of land baron Bannon (John McIntire). William Fawcett, who looks like he was born during the original Gold Rush, once more goes through his "grizzled old prospector" routine. Yellow Mountain was one of a group of Universal oaters designed as double-feature fodder in larger markets, and main-feature status in smaller movie houses. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lex Barker, Mala Powers, (more)
- 1953
The motivating factor behind City Beneath the Sea is an underwater treasure hunt. In 1692, an underwater earthquake sends the Jamaica city of Port Royal to the bottom of the Caribbean. Three-hundred-fifty years later, deep-sea divers Brad Carlton (Robert Ryan) and Tony Bartlett (Anthony Quinn) take the plunge near Port Royal, in hopes of recovering a million dollars in gold bullion that was lost in a modern-day quake. What Brad and Tony don't know is that their employer, steamship magnate Dwight Trevor (Karel Stepanek), doesn't really want the divers to find the gold. Trevor hopes to pull off a major insurance fraud, and has no qualms about killing his divers to get what he wants. Mala Powers and Suzan Ball provide the love interest, while plump Hawaiian entertainer Hilo Hattie offers some welcome comedy relief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Ryan, Mala Powers, (more)
- 1953
Stan Freberg fans are advised to keep an eye open for the obscure Republic musical Geraldine. Freberg plays recording star Billy Weber, a devastating takeoff of "crying tenor" Johnnie Ray. Looking for a new song, Billy chances to hear an old folk tune, rearranged by college music professor Grant Sanborn (John Carroll). Several incredible intrigues later, Billy's star has eclipsed and it is Sanborn who's the new singing heartthrob. Mala Powers, Jose Ferrer's vis-a-vis in Cyrano de Bergerac, is rather overshadowed by the male stars in her nondescript role. The songwriting credits on Geraldine are most impressive, including Freberg, Victor Young, Irwin Koster, and even western comic sidekick Fuzzy Knight. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Carroll, Mala Powers, (more)
- 1953
John Auer directed and Steve Fisher wrote this police procedural film in the vein of the popular Detective Story of two years earlier. The film juggles around four characters through a particularly bad night in a Chicago precinct -- Johnny Kelly (Gig Young), a stressed out cop ready to crack; Sally "Angel Face" Connors (Mala Powers), a cheap strumpet lounge singer; Hayes Stewart (William Talman), a former magician and present thug; Penrod Biddel (Edward Arnold), a smooth and corrupt district attorney; and Sgt. Joe (Chill Wills), an Everyman character, known as "The Voice of Chicago." The skimpy plot concerns Kelly, who is having an affair with Angel Face and is ready to quit his job and leave his wife Kathy (Paula Raymond) at the drop of a hat. In order to get quick money to escape Chicago and start life anew with Angel Face, Kelly accepts an assignment and a payment from Biddel to escort low-life Stewart across the state line. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gig Young, Mala Powers, (more)
- 1952
The eponymous Rose is played by Mala Powers, a white girl raised by Cherokee Indians after her family was massacred. Powers considers herself a Native American and regards all whites as her enemies. Her feelings are justified to an extent when outlaws kill her Indian parents. Realizing she can't seek vengeance alone, Powers grudgingly accepts the help of white marshal Jack Beutel. Beyond its "Natural Color" photography, Rose of Cimarron is of interest in that it shows how Jack Beutel kept busy after he costarred with Jane Russell in the legendary "bosom western" The Outlaw. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Buetel, Mala Powers, (more)
Recreating his stage role, Jose Ferrer stars as Edmond Rostand's Cyrano, a 17th-century French cavalier, poet and swordsman whose prominent proboscis is the subject of many a duel. Cyrano is madly in love with the beautiful Roxanne (Mala Powers), but assumes that she'd never love him back due to his cathedral of a nose. Roxanne is also loved by the handsome Christian (William Prince), who unfortunately can't put two consecutive words together when it comes to pitching woo. Cyrano agrees to help Christian win Roxanne by feeding him the right words for his midnight courtships and love letters; in this way, Cyrano can vicariously express his own ardor for the fair lady. Years later, Cyrano's deception is revealed, and he dies happily in the arms of his beloved Roxanne, who realizes that she has really loved Cyrano all along--by way of Christian. Cyrano de Bergerac wasn't seen by many paying moviegoers upon its original showing, but its relative box-office failure resulted in an early release to television, where it has remained a perennial attraction for the past forty years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- José Ferrer, Mala Powers, (more)
- 1950
An unusually morbid film from producer Samuel Goldwyn, Edge of Doom stars Farley Granger as a sensitive young man trapped in an impoverished slum existence. Granger becomes unhinged when his beloved mother dies, and when an unfeeling elderly priest refuses to provide the woman with a lavish funeral, Granger savagely kills the priest. The boy's subsequent moody behavior is chalked down to grief over his mother, but a younger and more compassionate priest (Dana Andrews) suspects something is amiss. In as gentle a fashion as possible, the priest persuades Granger to confess to the crime and seek divine forgiveness. Joan Evans, a Goldwyn contractee for whom "big things" were predicted, plays the totally forgettable love interest for the tortured Granger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dana Andrews, Farley Granger, (more)
- 1950
In terms of content, Outrage was well-ahead of its time. Mala Powers, who'd previously starred opposite Jose Ferrer in Cyrano de Bergerac, plays Ann Walton, a naïve young girl who is attacked and raped while walking home from work. As if the horror and humiliation of the sexual assault wasn't enough, Ann must endure the scrutiny of her neighbors, some of whom are convinced that she "asked for it." Unable to stand any more, she runs away from her hometown and her fiancé Jim Owens (Robert Clarke), hoping to start life anew in another town. With the help of compassionate clergyman Ferguson (Tod Andrews), Ann slowly regains her faith in humanity, as well as her own self-esteem. Oddly, director Ida Lupino chooses to tackle her material with a complete lack of subtlety. The subject matter of Outrage deserves far more sensitive treatment than it received from the usually reliable Lupino. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mala Powers, Tod Andrews, (more)
- 1942
In this crime drama, an ambitious law student begins working for a corrupt finance company and becomes the neighborhood pennypincher. He is romantically interested in a wealthy young woman, but unfortunately, he is being pursued by a neighborhood girl. His company assigns him to repossess the girl's father's taxi cab. The law student's friends try to dissuade him from this path. They eventually succeed, and the fellow turns the company in to the authorities. Mayhem ensues, but in the end, he wins the wealthy woman's heart and goes on to found a credit union for his former neighbors. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
