Nancy Saunders Movies

Though completed in 1950, Love Is Better Than Ever was held back from release until 1952, due in great part to the "political undesirability" of star Larry Parks, whose career was effectively ruined after he humbled himself before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Parks plays Broadway talent agent Jud Parker, who takes a fancy to small-town dance teacher Anastacia Macaboy (Elizabeth Taylor). Parker wines and dines Anastacia during her visit to New York for the purposes of seduction. But the girl assumes that his intentions are honorable, and sends word of her "impending" engagement to her hometown newspaper. With his reputation on the line, Parker agrees to confirm the engagement if asked, with the understanding that he doesn't really mean it. Rest assured that by fade-out time, he will mean it. Gene Kelly makes an unbilled cameo appearance in Love Is Better Than Ever, which also features such reliables as Ann Doran, Kathleen Freeman, and Dick Wessel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In their never-ending efforts to create a movie series to match the success of "The Thin Man," MGM came up with the fast-paced programmer Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone. Based on characters created by Craig Rice, the film stars James Whitmore as lawyer and part-time sleuth John J. Malone (this character had previously appeared in several other films, as well as the radio series The Amazing Mr. Malone). In his efforts to track down an embezzler, Mr. Malone boards a train heading for New York. Meanwhile, Mrs. Hattie O'Malley (Marjorie Main), a raucous widow from Montana, is also travelling to New York to claim her prize money from a radio contest. During the journey eastward, the man whom Malone is seeking ends up dead. Thanks to Mrs. O'Malley's well-intentioned interference, Malone ends up being accused of murder. How this mismatched pair manages to solve the mystery and save their own hides is good for several laughs. Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone didn't result in a series, though James Whitmore and Marjorie Main make a surprisingly copacetic screen team. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this western, an entry in the "Durango Kid" series of westerns, a corrupt, prominent citizen owns a small western town. The trouble begins when a cowboy finds himself convinced by the evil town father that he has killed the sheriff. In exchange for his silence, the official forces the man to become the new sheriff and instructs him to turn a blind eye to the villain's evil doings. To stop the outlaw, the new sheriff dons his Durango Kid disguise, prevents the outlaw's gang from robbing the bank, and with the aide of a US Marshal, puts a permanent end to the outlaw's reign of terror. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this mystery, the Crime Doctor, an amnesiac ex-crook, takes on yet another intriguing psychological murder case. This time he is on vacation, but the kindly fellow cannot help but look into a murder to help a troubled soul. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The last of the Richard "The Jaw" Dix films. Dix, the trucking company owner, is pitted against time to discover who murdered a police officer rival of his. He must do so to clear his own name, as the murder was pinned on him. ~ All Movie Guide

In the opening scene of this fine "Durango Kid" series entry, wannabe general store owner Steve Langtry (Charles Starrett) is robbed, wounded, and left for dead at Skeleton Pass by a gang of thugs. Rescued by prospector Smiley Burnette and brought to nearby Jackson City, Steve receives a ransom note demanding two thousand dollars for the return of his wagons. But instead of paying the ransom, as suggested by Dr. Middleton (Fred F. Sears), Steve dons the disguise of the Durango Kid, much to the excitement of Spike (Buzz Henry), Sheriff Coleman's (George Chesebro) impressionable son. In contrast, Steve without the disguise is considered a coward by all and sundry, especially the sheriff's pretty daughter Mary (Nancy Saunders). Our hero, of course, is in reality a secret agent and with the help of young Spike and Smiley, the leader of the gang of thugs is soon apprehended. In between the gunplay and fisticuffs, Texas Jim Lewis and his Lone Star Cowboys perform "I'm Riding the Trail Back Home" and "Way Back in Grandpa's Day," while in his inimitable way Smiley Burnette takes care of his own "Huntin' Trouble" and "With My Luck." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Soon to be married in real life, Barbara Hale and Bill Williams also played sweethearts on screen in the frantic farce A Likely Story. After a routine medical examination, ex-GI Bill Baker (Bill Williams) overhears a conversation between two doctors, leading him to the mistaken conclusion that he's doomed to die from a rare heart condition. Chancing to meet aspiring artist Vickie North (Barbara Hale), Baker resolves to help Vickie realize her dream by bankrolling her career. He takes out a huge life insurance policy, then talks a couple of gangsters (Sam Levene and Nestor Paiva) into bumping him off so that Vickie and her kid brother Jamie (Lanny Rees) can collect immediately. Things get complicated when Baker discovers that he's as hale and hearty as the next fellow, prompting him to try to weasel out of his bargain with the gangsters-who, having financed the insurance policy in the first place, aren't inclined to let our hero off the hook so easily. Curiously, what should have been a frothy comedy plays more like a film noir, complete with a brief, hallucinatory nightmare sequence! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Michael Lanyard, aka the Lone Wolf, ventures into Sherlock Holmes territory in this series entry. When a cache of internationally famous diamonds is stolen, Scotland Yard automatically suspects Lanyard (Gerald Mohr). While trying to prove his innocence, Lanyard is approached by Sir John Helmscott (Vernon Steele), who wants our hero to arrange a sale of Helmscott's gem collection. Lanyard figures out that there's a connection between his new client and the stolen jewels when Helmscott's butler Robards (Tom Stevenson) is murdered. The Lone Wolf in London represents Gerald Mohr's second appearance as Louis Joseph Vance's celebrated criminal-turned-sleuth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Durango Kid is unfairly accused of double-crossing a friend in this above-average entry in Columbia Pictures long-running Western series. Durango, using his civilian name of Steve Bolton, has leased the Whispering Range to Bronc Masters (Robert Scott) so that Bronc can provide the Army with wild mustangs. But in the presence of his girlfriend Ann Bradford (Nancy Saunders) and ranch hand Smiley Burnette), Bronc suddenly turns on Steve and accuses him of having already leased the range to someone else. Investigating under his usual guise of the Durango Kid, Steve discovers that the land indeed seems to have been leased to land developer Spud Henley (Hugh Prosser). This second lease, however, is an obvious forgery, but it takes the combined efforts of both Durango and the U.S. Secretary of the Interior (Sam Flint) to catch the culprits, a gang of claim jumpers. In addition to Smiley Burnette, who performs his own {&"The Thieving Burro") and "Raisin' Rabbits," Prairie Raiders also featured Ozie Walters and his Colorado Rangers. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Barbara Hale landed her first A-picture starring role in the engaging romantic comedy Lady Luck. Hale is cast as Mary Audrey, the descendant of a long line of professional gamblers. Haughtily turning up her nose at the "family business," Mary spends most of her time keeping her poker-happy grandfather William (Frank Morgan) from losing his shirt. In spite of herself, Mary falls in love with another gambler, Larry Scott (Robert Young), but only after he promises to reform. Naturally he doesn't, compelling Mary to leave him on their honeymoon, thereby setting the stage for all the comic complications to follow. By film's end, Mary herself has caught the gambling bug, forcing Grandpa William and husband Larry to straighten her out! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide