George Russell Movies
- 1966
Harold Hoffman directed this Dallas-made oddity about a man named Lew (Robert Frost) who receives a black cat from his wife Diana (Robyn Baker) on their anniversary. Lew hates his father and thinks the cat is a reincarnation of the old man, so he gets drunk and gouges out its eye. Later, obsessed with the idea, he kills the cat and then his house burns down, driving him insane. Lew eventually gets out of the asylum and brings home a black cat, which also has a bad eye, then begins suffering from nightmares, imagining that his cat (or father) is haunting him. He tries to kill it, but the hexed lunatic kills his wife instead, walling her up in the basement as per the Edgar Allan Poe story. Lew's maid Lillith (Sadie French) calls the police, who are led to Diana's body by the meowing cat. Lew tries to make his getaway, which is foiled in a clever twist ending. Quite gory for its time, this black-and-white regional horror from Texas includes eye-gougings and ax murders, as well as a consistently bizarre tone which should please genre fans. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Cult filmmaker Larry Buchanan, who had previously shot footage in Jack Ruby's nightclub for his mondo feature Naughty Dallas, directed this speculative trial drama, released within months of Oswald's death. Making use of actual newsreel footage along with courtroom re-creations, Buchanan's film puts Oswald (Arthur Nations) on trial, represented by cult-favorite George Russell, star of the peculiar The Black Cat (1966). Oddly enough, given that Buchanan's later films would suggest conspiracies in the deaths of Marilyn Monroe (Good Night, Sweet Marilyn), Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix (all in Down on Us), there is no suggestion that anyone but Oswald was responsible for the Kennedy assassination. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1962
This is the third time around for the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. The action takes place in urban Texas instead of the traditional setting in rural Iowa. This film version contains five extra songs written exclusively by Richard Rodgers. Box office results were adequate at best, and movie going public deemed this version the least interesting of the three. The youth audience was lured by the casting of Ann-Margaret, Pat Boone and Bobby Darin. Alice Faye returned to the big screen after a sixteen year absence as Melissa Frake. Tom Ewell plays her husband, Abel. The plot finds a family traveling to Dallas for the Texas State Fair. Singing commences on the ferris wheel, the merry-go-round and in other locales. The only real action is the anticipation of a drag race between Wayne (Pat Boone) and the carrot topped, malevolent motorhead Red (Edward "Tap" Canutt). ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pat Boone, Bobby Darin, (more)
This fact-based drama from the early 1960s takes a documentary approach to the true story of the African-American owner of a Dallas motel who is tried on charges of raping a Swedish woman. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1960
Historically, one of the members of the infamous Dalton Brothers outlaw gang, Emmet Dalton, did escape with his life after that fateful 1892 shootout in Coffeyville, Kansas. He lived to a ripe old age, touring the country and lecturing on the evils of dishonesty. In the 1960 low-budgeter The Dalton That Got Away, Emmet is played by future Mannix star Michael Connors. As depicted herein, Emmet's post-bandit activities are heaps more exciting than we've been led to believe. The preponderance of Latino names in the cast and crew of The Dalton That Got Away lead us to conclude that the film was not lensed in Kansas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1952
Lon McCallister stars in the Columbia "B-plus" western Montana Territory. McCallister plays deputy John Malvin, whose loyalty to sheriff Plummer (Preston S. Foster) knows no bounds. What John doesn't know (but the audience does) is that Plummer is a bandit leader, using his sheriff's badge as a front for his activities. Eventually, it is John's painful duty to bring his former mentor to justice--which, if the previous reels are any indication, won't be easy. Wanda Hendrix is appealing as Lon's leading lady, while Clayton Moore, TV's Lone Ranger, does a villainous turn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lon McCallister, Wanda Hendrix, (more)
- 1947
Cowboy star Charles Starrett goes through his usual paces in the under-an-hour formula western The Lone Hand Texan. As ever, Starrett plays a roving do-gooder named Steve who adopts the disguise of The Durango Kid to further the cause of justice. This time, he dons his Durango mask to save his old pal Smiley (Smiley Burnette), whose oil-rich land is dearly coveted by the villains. Halfway through the proceedings, Steve is framed for murder (as usual), but by reel five the actual miscreants are eating dust or rotting away in the calaboose. Musical relief is provided by the hillbilly team of Mustard and Gravy, who are about as funny as their name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Starrett, Smiley Burnette, (more)
