John Ridgely Movies
Trained for an industrial career but sidetracked into showbiz by a few seasons at Pasadena Playhouse, "Mr. Average Man" utility player John Ridgely spent most of his Hollywood years at Warner Bros. From his first film Submarine D-1 (1937), Ridgely was one of the studio's most reliable and ubiquitous supporting players, portraying first-reel murder victims, last-reel "surprise" killers, best friends, policemen, day laborers, and military officers. One of his largest film roles was the commanding officer in Howard Hawks' Air Force (1943), in which he was billed over the more famous John Garfield. His indeterminate features could also convey menace, as witness his portrayal of blackmailing gangsters Eddie Mars in Hawks' The Big Sleep (1946). Freelancing after 1948, John Ridgely continued to essay general-purpose parts until he left films in 1953; thereafter he worked in summer-theater productions and television until his death from a heart attack at the age of 58. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1953
At age 50, Bob Hope was getting a bit too long in tooth for frenzied farces like Off Limits, but his surplus of energy makes up for his chronological unsuitability. Hope plays the manager of boxing champ Stanley Clements, who has just received his draft notice. Gangster Marvin Miller strong-arms Hope into enlisting himself to keep tabs on Clements; when the latter is given a medical discharge, poor Hope is stuck in uniform. During training, Hope makes the acquaintance of draftee Mickey Rooney, an aspiring boxer who wants Hope to handle him. There's one obstacle, however: the Mick's aunt doesn't want her nephew to box. Hope promises to talk the "old lady" into his way of thinking, only to discover that Rooney's aunt is the luscious Marilyn Maxwell. Before the climactic bout between Rooney and Clements, Hope and Rooney sign up to be military policemen under the aegis of buffoonish CO Eddie Mayehoff. If Bob Hope looks slightly uncomfortable at times in Off Limits, it is probably because he isn't politely inclined to such upstarts as Mickey Rooney and Eddie Mayehoff getting most of the laughs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hope, Mickey Rooney, (more)
- 1952
This last of several movie adaptations of Bret Harte's The Outcasts of Poker Flat stars Cameron Mitchell as a murderous western outlaw, Anne Baxter as his wife, Dale Robertson as a disgraced gambler and Miriam Hopkins as a faded dance hall floozie. All these characters (with a few other socially undesirable types) are trapped in a snowbound mountain cabin. As the chances for rescue fade, the true natures of the cabin's occupants rise to the surface. It is the gambler, outwardly the most cowardly of the bunch, who takes on the outlaw when he threatens the survival of the others. Outcasts of Poker Flat is less downbeat than earlier versions of the story...and, accordingly, less memorable. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Baxter, Dale Robertson, (more)
- 1952
Lesley Selander took time off from his directorial duties on Tim Holt's RKO western series to helm the Monogram oater Fort Osage. Rod Cameron stars as frontier scout Tim Clay, assigned to guide a wagon train through Indian territory. Clay knows that he's in for a lot of trouble because of the treaty-violating activities of white criminals Pickett (Morris Ankrum) and Keane (Douglas Kennedy). Fortunately for the hero, Pickett and Keane double-cross each other somewhere along the line, weakening their ability to foment an all-out Indian attack. Jane Nigh co-stars as the in-the-dark daughter of one of the villains. Fort Osage was produced by Walter Mirisch, who later graduated to such big-budgeters as West Side Story and The Great Escape. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Cameron, Jane Nigh, (more)
Cecil B. DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth is a lavish tribute to circuses, featuring three intertwining plotlines concerning romance and rivalry beneath the big top. DeMille's film includes spectacular action sequences, including a show-stopping train wreck. The Greatest Show on Earth won Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Story. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde, (more)
- 1952
Based on the autobiography by George and Anna Rose, Room for One More is a warm-hearted vehicle for husband-and-wife actors Cary Grant and Betsy Drake. Though she already has three children of her own, New Jersey housewife Anna Rose (Drake) adopts several kids born into less fortunate circumstances. Both Anna and her husband "Poppy" (Grant) must contend with the emotional baggage brought to their home by these "unwanted" kids, and both bear up quite well. The film's dramatic core concerns the Roses' efforts to reach a desperately unhappy 13-year-old girl (Iris Mann) and a physically handicapped boy with a penchant for getting into serious trouble (Clifford Tatum Jr). Despite occasional moments of anguish and pathos, Room for One More for the most part opts for a light-hearted approach to its subject matter. In 1962, a TV sitcom version of Room for One More, starring Andrew Duggan and Peggy McCay, debuted as a mid-season replacement over the ABC network; at that time, the original film was re-titled The Easy Way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, Betsy Drake, (more)
- 1951
Even at age 38, Loretta Young could successfully pull off her ingenue duties in the innocuous comedy Half Angel. Young plays Nora, a prim and proper nurse, engaged to the stuffy Tim (John Ridgely). Unbeknownst to both, Nora is a sleepwalker; during her nocturnal forays, the less-inhibited side of her personality takes over. While somnambulizing one evening, she heads to the home of her former boyfriend John (Joseph Cotten) and makes amorous advances towards him. Fascinated, John tries to get Nora to behave the same way while she's awake, but it takes eight reels to accomplish that formidable feat. Half Angel bears no resemblance to the 1936 Claire Trevor vehicle of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loretta Young, Joseph Cotten, (more)
- 1951
In the early 1940s, producer Hal Roach turned out several entertaining and profitable "streamliners" (each running approximately 45 minutes) about an army recruit with a photographic memory and his long-suffering sergeant. William Tracy portrayed Private (and later Sergeant) Doubleday, while Joe Sawyer was his topkick Sgt. Ames. In 1951, Hal Roach Jr. decided to revive the series, but only two 6-reel films resulted. The first, As You Were, finds Doubleday re-enlisting, much to the consternation of the bombastic Ames. This time both men find themselves at odds with their new "fellow" sergeant, lovely WAC Joan Vohs. Like its sequel Mr. Walkie Talkie, As You Were was released by Lippert Films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Previously filmed in 1931 under its original title, Theodore Dreiser's bulky but brilliant novel An American Tragedy was remade in 1951 by George Stevens as A Place in the Sun. Montgomery Clift stars as George Eastman, a handsome and charming but basically aimless young man who goes to work in a factory run by a distant, wealthy relative. Feeling lonely one evening, he has a brief rendezvous with assembly-line worker Alice Tripp (Shelley Winters), but he forgets all about her when he falls for dazzling socialite Angela Vickers (Elizabeth Taylor). Alice can't forget about him, though: she is pregnant with his child. Just when George's personal and professional futures seem assured, Alice demands that he marry her or she'll expose him to his society friends. This predicament sets in motion a chain of events that will ultimately include George's arrest and numerous other tragedies, including a vicious cross-examination by a D.A. played by future Perry Mason Raymond Burr. A huge improvement over the 1931 An American Tragedy, directed by Josef von Sternberg, A Place in the Sun softens some of the rough edges of Dreiser's naturalism, most notably in the passages pertaining to George's and Angela's romance. Even those 1951 bobbysoxers who wouldn't have been caught dead poring through the Dreiser original were mesmerized by the loving, near-erotic full facial closeups of Clift and Taylor as they pledge eternal devotion. A Place in the Sun won six Oscars, including Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Cinematography, although it lost Best Picture to An American in Paris. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, (more)
Paramount's immensely successful Pine-Thomas production unit once more struck box-office gold with The Last Outpost. Ronald Reagan stars as devil-may-care Confederate officer Vance Britton, who leads a band of guerillas on a series of sabotage raids. The Northern Army dispatches Vance's brother, Union officer Jeb Britton (Bruce Bennett), to put an end to Vance's activities. Both brothers are forced to work shoulder to shoulder when a Northern attempt to enlist the aid of the Apache tribe backfires, sparking an all-out Indian war. Rhonda Fleming, who seemed to spend her entire career in Technicolor adventure flicks, appears as the romantic bone of contention between the battling Brittons. Halfway down the cast list as Lieutenant Fenton is TV's future "Ward Cleaver," Hugh Beaumont. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Reagan, Rhonda Fleming, (more)
First published in 1932, Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer's speculative novel When Worlds Collide was immediately purchased by Paramount as a possible project for director Cecil B. DeMille. But because none of Paramount's scriptwriters were able to come up with an adequate screen treatment, the property lay on the shelf until 1950, when producer George Pal was casting about for a follow-up to his successful sci-fier Destination Moon. Though the film was top-heavy with special effects, Pal was able to bring When Worlds Collide in for under a million dollars, thanks to an inexpensive cast and a heavy reliance upon stock footage. The story is set in motion when Dr. Cole Henderson (Larry Keating) announces that a extraterrestrial planet is on a collision course with the Earth. No one believes Henderson's story, save for crippled financier Stanton (John Hoyt), who finances the construction of a gigantic spaceship, built for the purpose of transporting selected survivors from the doomed Earth to another Earthlike planet. As it becomes obvious that Henderson's predictions will come true, a worldwide lottery is held to select those people who will be rescued from oblivion by Stanton's spaceship. In the climactic scenes, the worlds do indeed collide, with appropriately spectacular results. But will the spaceship, overloaded with humanity, be able to take off and seek out a Brave New World? Amidst the thrills, a romantic triangle emerges, involving Richard Derr, Barbara Rush and Peter Hanson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Derr, Barbara Rush, (more)
- 1951
When the Redskins Rode is set during the French and Indian Wars of the mid-18th century. Jon Hall stars as Prince Lennoc, the son of Delaware-chief Shingiss (Pedro de Cordoba). The English are on the verge of signing an alliance with Shingiss, but their efforts are stymied by alluring French spy Elizabeth (Mary Castle). As part of her strategy, Elizabeth romances Lennoc, who almost falls for her seductive wiles. The film finally delivers the goods actionwise in an exciting climactic battle. Producer Sam Katzman, a man not known for lavish budgets, manages to make When the Redskins Rode seem far more expensive than it really was. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Hall, Mary Castle, (more)
- 1951
Republic singing cowboy Rex Allen is once again teamed with bucolic Buddy Ebsen in Thunder in God's Country. This contemporary western casts Ebsen and Harry Lauter as WW II pals who meet for a reunion in a corruption-ridden community. When a murder occurs, the former servicemen immediately fall under suspicion. Coming to the rescue is Allen, a professional artist on assignment in the West. Our Hero soon learns that the key to the mystery is a taped recording of the genuine killer. Well, one can't say that Thunder in God's Country didn't at least try to be different. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rex Allen, Mary Ellen Kay, (more)
- 1951
The real Al Jennings was a wizened little man who, after a largely unsuccessful career as a western outlaw, reformed to the extent of hitting the lecture circuit and even producing his own films. Jennings was still alive when Columbia's Al Jennings of Oklahoma was produced in 1951, so one can assume that he approved of the radical changes made in his life story and the casting of the better-looking Dan Duryea in the lead. The story begins with Al and his brother Frank (Dick Foran) trying to go straight, even though there's a $25,000 reward on their heads. Al's hopes for connubial bliss with Margo St. Clare (Gale Storm), who loves him despite his reputation, is shattered by the vengeful machinations of a railroad detective. Forced back into a life of crime, Jennings is captured and sentenced to life imprisonment--a sentence that, of course, was eventually modified. Al Jennings of Oklahoma is not one of the classic westerns, but it manages to hold one's attention throughout a plenitude of plot twists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Duryea, Gale Storm, (more)
- 1950
Joel McCrea was still relatively new to westerns when he starred in Saddle Tramp. McCrea is cast as footloose and fancy free cowpoke Chuck Connor, who has no intention of settling down. Alas, this decision is made for him when Connor "inherits" the four recently orphaned sons of his best friend. Since his pal died while riding Connor's horse, Our Hero feels obligated to raise the kids as his own -- and it's not gonna be easy. Connor's brood is increased to five when they're joined by runaway gamine Della (Wanda Hendrix). Additional complications include Connor's kid-hating rancher boss (John McIntire), a crooked foreman (John Russell), and an ongoing blood feud. The song "The Cry of the Wild Goose" popularized by Frankie Laine, is heard throughout Saddle Tramp as the restless Joel McCrea's leitmotif. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joel McCrea, Wanda Hendrix, (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
South Sea Sinner is a remake of 1940's Seven Sinners, with Shelley Winters in the Marlene Dietrich role and MacDonald Carey as the John Wayne counterpart. Winters plays cabaret singer Coral, who manages to spark a riot wherever she goes. Carey co-stars as Jake Davis, who has been wandering aimlessly throughout the South Seas ever since he was framed on a gun-smuggling charge. These two volatile personalities become embroiled in the crooked schemes concocted by all-around villain Cognac (Luther Adler). Featured in the cast are Frank Lovejoy as Jake's best friend, and Helena Carter as the "right" girl for Our Hero. But the film's main attraction for modern audiences is the one and only Liberace, making his film debut as Coral's sardonic accompanist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- MacDonald Carey, Shelley Winters, (more)
- 1950
Former sailor Joe Blake (Bill Williams) is the Rookie Fireman in this Columbia quickie. Though fiercely independent, Blake learns how to be a team player as he goes through the firefighters' training process. Occasionally, he has second thoughts about returning to the sea, and his on-the-job performance suffers. But with the love of waitress Margie Williams (Margorie Reynolds) as an incentive, Blake becomes a first-class "smoke eater." Barton MacLaine makes a meal of his scenes as an irascible but golden-hearted fire chief. Most of the action highlights in Rookie Fireman were culled from previous Columbia productions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Williams, Barton MacLane, (more)
- 1950
The Lost Volcano is the 3rd entry in Monogram's "Bomba the Jungle Boy" series. Johnny Sheffield, formerly "Boy" in the Tarzan pictures, stars as Bomba. In this outing, Our Hero sets out to rescue David (Tommy Ivo), the kidnapped son of husband-and-wife zoologists Paula and Ruth Gordon (Donald Woods and Marjorie Lord). David has been kidnapped by scurrilous jungle guides Barton (John Ridgely) and Daniel (Robert Lewis), who hope that the kid will lead them to a valuable treasure. Bomba is forced to race against time when a reactivated volcano threatens to swallow up David and his captors. Elena Verdugo, years removed from her Marcus Welby MD stint, co-stars as an alluring native girl. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Sheffield, Donald Woods, (more)
- 1950
Back in the 1930s, '40s and '50s, artist George Petty was famous for his "Petty Girl" illustrations; lovingly detailed renderings of ripe young damsels wearing next to nothing, and sometimes not even that. In The Petty Girl, George Petty is portrayed by Robert Cummings, while Joan Caulfield co-stars as strait-laced college professor Victoria Braymore. The plot contrives to have Petty abandon his nubile creations in favor of avant-garde art, all because he's been told to do so by his new patroness (Audrey Long). Somewhere along the way, Petty and the prim Miss Braymore find themselves in a compromising situation at a Greenwich Village nightclub. Thus it is only a matter of time before Petty goes back to the sort of artwork he does best, and Miss Braymore loosens her inhibitions -- and everything else -- to serve as Petty's latest model. Incredibly, this amusing exercise in old-fashioned male chauvinism was based on a story by novelist Mary McCarthy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Cummings, Joan Caulfield, (more)
- 1950
As indicated by the title, Beauty on Parade is largely an excuse to display beautiful, well-proportioned young women in the latest swimming attire. That's okay for the men in the audience, but the ladies needed a plot to hold their attention, so here goes. Future All My Children-star Ruth Warrick plays aging beauty queen Marian Medford, who attempts to vicariously regain her past glories through her pretty daughter Kay (Lola Albright). Marian's relentless promotion of her daughter on the beauty-contest circuit has an injurious effect on Kay's romantic life, not to mention her own marriage to Jeffrey Woodstock (John Ridgely). "B"-picture "regular" Robert Hutton co-stars as a journalist who follows the beauty contestants from pageant to pageant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Hutton, Ruth Warrick, (more)
- 1950
When he's discharged from a military hospital, ex-GI Bob Corey (Gordon MacRae) goes on a search for his army buddy Steve Connolly (Edmond O'Brien). A reformed crook, Connolly is on the lam from a trumped-up murder rap, and Corey hopes to clear his pal. Tagging along is Army nurse Julie Benson (Virginia Mayo), who has fallen for Corey. The rest of the film emulates the 1946 noir exercise The Killers, with Julie and Corey interviewing various people with whom Connolly has come in contact. One of those people, of course, is the actual killer, who now adds the GI and the nurse to the "hit list." Warner Bros. used Backfire to test the dramatic potential of singing star Gordon MacRae, who passes that test with flying colors. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Virginia Mayo, Gordon MacRae, (more)
- 1949
After the film-noir melodramatics of Lady in the Lake and Ride the Pink Horse, actor/director Robert Montgomery turned to comedy in Once More, My Darling. Montgomery plays a former movie idol hired by the government to woo a young heiress (Ann Blyth). Someone had previously given the girl some jewelry stolen by the Nazis during the war, and the government wants to find out who that someone was. In the grand tradition, Montgomery pursues Blyth until she finally catches him. Produced by longtime Alfred Hitchcock associate Joan Harrison, Once More, My Darling is more conservatively directed than Montgomery's earlier works, though the director earns at least one laugh by playing a clever editing joke. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Montgomery, Ann Blyth, (more)
- 1949
- NR
As far removed from a "typical" MGM picture as it was possible to get back in 1949, Border Incident is a gritty, realistic crime melodrama. The story concerns the efforts by both the Mexican and American governments to stop the smuggling of Mexican migrant workers across the border. Representing Mexico is special agent Pablo Rodriguez (Ricardo Montalban), while Jack Bearnes (George Murphy) works on behalf of the US. Screenwriter John C. Higgins and producer/director Anthony Mann refuse to pull any punches, as witness the surprising mid-film murder of one of the major characters. Highlights include a harrowing episode involving a plowing machine and a climactic shootout in a quicksand swamp. The uniformly well-chosen supporting cast includes Howard da Silva, Arnold Moss, Alfonso Bedoya and Charles McGraw, "film noir" veterans all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy, (more)
- 1949
Former "Henry Aldrich" Jimmy Lydon had matured into a capable leading man by the time Tucson went before the cameras. Lydon plays Andy Bryant, a University of Arizona student whose grades suffer because of his preoccupation with an upcoming intercollegiate rodeo. Andy's father (Joe Sawyer) is more interested in embarrassing a rival at the rodeo than he is with his son's academic progress. When his lack of focus nearly causes a tragic accident in the university chemistry lab, Andy decides to hunker down and study. Western leading lady Penny Edwards has a thankless role as Lydon's campus sweetheart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jimmy Lydon, Penny Edwards, (more)
- 1949
In pageant-like fashion, Warner Bros.' Task Force traces the history of the American aircraft carrier, as experienced by a group of naval air aces. Gary Cooper plays Admiral Jonathan L. Scott, who on the verge of retirement remembers his struggle to win recognition of the importance of aircraft carriers. The story begins in 1921, when Scott and his friend Pete Richard (Walter Brennan) were making dangerous landings on the primitive 65-foot carrier Langley. Scott's outspokenness wins him few friends among the brass, and after he publicly insults a Japanese diplomat on the subject of his beloved carriers, he is shunted away to a desk job. Naturally, once Pearl Harbor is attacked, Scott is vindicated. While his wife Mary (Jane Wyatt) waits patiently at home, Scott serves in World War II with distinction, guiding his carrier through a maze of Japanese artillery and kamikazes. Filmed in Technicolor, Task Force makes good use of actual color battle footage filmed by the Signal Corps. A brief clip from Task Force shows up in the drive-in movie scene in James Cagney's White Heat (1949). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Jane Wyatt, (more)
