Harve Presnell Movies

This campy, amateurish horror anthology involves a quartet of spooky tales of the supernatural told around the dinner table by the cast and director of a horror film. The stories involve a mad bomber who gets his macabre comeuppance; a magical coin that transports its owner back in time; a ghost haunting a rich old man's vault; and a karate champion whose desire to achieve the "Tenth Level" reveals a secret for which he isn't prepared. Finally, the framing story ties everything up with a creepy climax. This crudely-shot, stagebound time-waster does very little with the collected tales, relying more on stilted dialogue and shoddy acting than scares or sense. Remarkably subdued work for notorious horror/exploitation filmmaker Joel M. Reed, who dumped Bloodsucking Freaks on an unsuspecting and disgusted public the following year. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

After a debut on Broadway in 1951, Paramount spent an estimated 17 to 20 million dollars in production costs for this Lerner and Loewe musical. With Loewe's permission, Lerner wrote five additional tunes for the film with Andre Previn. Ben Rumson (Lee Marvin) is the grizzled prospector trying his luck panning for gold in California. Pardner (Clint Eastwood) is his companion. When Ben buys a woman from a Mormon, Elizabeth (Jean Seberg) expects equal rights for her gender and chooses to live with both men. Ben and Pardner tunnel under the boomtown to gather the fallen gold dust that has filtered through the cracks of the saloon and other places. The musical comedy features 13 songs, the most recognizable being "They Call The Wind Maria". The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band helps out on the song "Hand Me Down That Can O' Beans". Both Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin are given a chance to show their vocal ability (or lack of it) in several songs. The initial release fell far short of regaining the millions put into the production, and most critics dipped their pens in poison to pan the picture -- though the film plays better than the critics would lead anyone to believe. Many jumped on the Paint Your Wagon smear campaign after the film proved to be not nearly as successful as other musicals. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Though written by Sam Peckinpah (he adapted the film from a novel by Hoffman Birney), the direction of The Glory Guys was entrusted to the competent but perfunctory Arnold Laven. Cavalry captain Demas Harrod (Tom Tryon) and his faithful scout Sol Rogers (Harve Presnell) are placed under the command of xenophobic general Frederick McCabe (Andrew Duggan), who hates Indians almost as much as his own men hate him. When not preparing to decimate every Native American in their path, Harrod and Rogers carry on a rivalry over the hand of pretty Lou (Senta Berger; another authentic Wild West type). The novelty of the film is that the Indians, rather than the cavalry, win the final battle. Despite a few bursts of cinematic creativity from Laven in the climactic scenes, it still would have been more interesting to see how Sam Peckinpah would have handled The Glory Guys. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hoping to murder the man who has swindled him, Ray Clements (Mark Damon) worms his way into the remote monastery where his intended victim is convalescing after a serious car accident. Father Vincent (Everett Sloane), head of the monastery, senses that Ray is up to no good, and tries to persuade him to forget about his murder scheme -- and to forgive his enemy. Ultimately, Ray sees the error of his ways -- and, incidentally, discovers that a murder is entirely unnecessary. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide