George Sawava Movies

Blinded in an explosion, Saunders (Vic Morrow) is rescued by a British-accented man (Fritz Weaver) identifying himself as Chaplain Ernest Miller. The Chaplain persuades Saunders to assist him in carrying a wounded Allied officer back to American lines. What the sightless Saunders doesn't know is that "Miller" and the wounded man are both Germans--and they intend to lead him in the wrong direction and into captivity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this western a cowboy rides out for vengeance against the outlaws who brutally murdered his sister. But before he can exact vigilante justice upon the killers a wise old lawman manages to round up the gang and bring them to proper justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this western, a cavalry sergeant is wrongly court-martialed. To reclaim his good name, he takes over a patrol that just lost its leader in an Indian attack. He leads the regiment to Fort Courageous, but is appalled to discover that the Indians attacked and massacred all but one of its inhabitants. The hardy little group must now fight the renegades on their own. The ex-sergeant plans a brilliant strategy that culminates in winning the Indian's respect. They leave the fort alone and peace is restored. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Spliced together with plentiful strips of old footage from previous films set in Africa, this routine romantic drama takes place on the east, equatorial region of the so-called "dark continent," in 1897. The story features Mariette Hartley as Ruth Knight and Lloyd Bochner as David, an engineer and Ruth's romantic interest during a safari. Frankie Avalon plays another safari member. Aside from the spliced-in scenery and animals, and the romance between Ruth and David, there is a dash of adventure here and there as slave traders enter into the action. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Based on the story "The Horla" by Guy de Maupassant, this grim low-budget potboiler stars Vincent Price as Simon Cordier, a ruthless magistrate in 19th-century Paris who becomes possessed by the malevolent spirit (or "horla") of a condemned murderer whom Cordier was forced to kill in self-defense. Driven by the madman's ghost to continue his pattern of brutal crimes, Cordier comes to the realization that the only way he can purge the violent demon from his soul is to immolate himself in a blazing pyre. Though the riveting Price (whose very presence can enliven even the most dismal of horror duds) does an admirable job as the tormented Cordier, he is unable to bear the ponderous weight of this tedious production. Although a parallel between the callousness of Cordier's office and the insensate evil of his crimes would have provided an interesting subtext, the script forfeits this potential, relying instead on a pat, self-righteous finale with religious overtones. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

In Hands of a Stranger, concert pianist James Stapleton loses his hands in a traffic accident. Doctor Paul Lukather grafts on a new pair of hands, which were "donated" by a murder victim. Distressed that his new extremities are radically different from his old ones, Stapleton suffers a severe emotional breakdown. He subsequently causes the deaths of several people, both directly and indirectly; the most chilling moment is the death of young Barry Gordon, the son of the now-blinded cab driver whom Stapleton holds responsible for his accident. This was an unofficial screen version (the fourth up through that time) of the novel Hands of Orlac; previous versions were made in 1924 (as Orlacs Hände), 1935 (as Mad Love) and 1960 (as Les Mains d'Orlac). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This fantasy-comedy is directed by Don Taylor whose specialty is horror and action flics, and clearly not talking ducks and children's tales. Beetle McKay (Mickey Rooney) and Admiral John Paul Jones (Buddy Hackett) are two wacky sailors who make friends with a talking duck, a verbose avian that possesses a secret formula. It seems the formula is needed by the Navy satellite program and so the talky mallard is worth quite a bit. But in the meantime, the duck is hooked on booze and is a failure at taking to the water or even sounding like a normal duck. So the sailors have their work cut out for them as the deadline for launching the satellite approaches. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, a man serves five years in the state pen for armed robbery. Upon his release, the man is anxious to retrieve the $260,000 in loot he hid before he went to jail. Unfortunately, he is still pursued by both the police and his former gang mates. He ends up severely beaten, robbed, and ultimately cheated by his own lover. Despite these set-backs, the fellow remains content because he now has the love of his former partner's widow. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Also known as Bop Girl, this diverting musical time capsule features several of the best Calypso performers of the late 1950s. Real-life jazz musician Bobby Troup stars as a college music student, writing a graduate thesis on rock 'n' roll. For research purposes, Troup persuades nightclub singer Judy Tyler to perform one of her numbers to a calypso beat. Before you can say "Harry Belafonte", a brand-new musical craze is born. The veteran supporting cast includes Lucien Littlefield as Bobby Troup's professor mentor, former 20th Century-Fox starlet Margo Woode as a eugenics expert, and George "Joe McDoakes" O'Hanlon as comedy relief. Among the musical acts are the Mary Kaye Trio, The Goofers, the Lord Flea Calypsonians, Nino Tempo, The Titans and The Cubanos. Bop Girl Goes Calypso was the final film appearance of up-and-coming actress Judy Tyler, who was killed in a particularly nasty car accident shortly after filming wrapped. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, an amiable car salesmen must begin selling stolen vehicles to pay for his sickly baby son's medical expenses. He tries to escape the gangsters who have been strong-arming him. Meanwhile, a policeman is investigating the crooks. When he gets too close, they kill him and frame the car salesman for the death. The salesman and the head mobster have a thrilling, final conflict aboard a speeding roller coaster at an amusement park. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This 62-minute quickie takes place during a single 12-hour shift at Los Angeles' Emergency Hospital. In anticipation of such contemporary TV dramas as Chicago Hope and ER, several subplots are developed at once. Dr. Janet Carey (Margaret Lindsay) is romanced by wealthy Ben Caldwell (Byron Palmer), who may or may not be a dangerously reckless motorist. Visiting detective Arnold (Walter Reed) must come to grips with the fact that his teenaged son (Jim Stapleton) is a budding delinquent. And other major and minor crises are experienced by nurse Norma Mullen (Rita Johnson) and staff doctor Ellis (John Archer). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

At the height of the popularity of his Dragnet TV series, producer/director/star Jack Webb struck a deal with Warner Bros. to direct several feature films--the first of which, but of course, was 1954's Dragnet. This time around, the "true story" in which "only the names are changed to protect the innocent" involves the murder of former syndicate member Dub Taylor. LAPD sergeants Joe Friday (Webb) and Frank Smith (Ben Alexander) follow the trail of evidence to shifty gangster boss Stacy Harris, who during most of the film is able to avoid arrest through legal loopholes. Richard Boone plays Captain Hamilton, while Ann Robinson, best known for her screaming and scurrying about in War of the Worlds, plays policewoman Grace Downey. Most of the rest of the cast is drawn from Webb's TV and radio stock company, including Virginia Gregg, who is quite good as the amputee wife of the victim, and Vic Perrin, who would later portray the voyeuristic serial killer in the 1967 TV movie version of Dragnet. Some sources list Cliff Arquette as being in the cast of Dragnet, playing his familiar Charley Weaver character, but we can't find him. Dragnet has often been derided because of Joe Friday's reluctance to honor the civil liberties of his suspects, but remember that this was 1954, long before the "You have a right to remain silent" era. Webb's terse, tightly edited, close-up-dominated TV technique translates surprisingly well to the big screen. At its worst, Dragnet falls victim to the corny overkill of the TV version: the subtle-as-an-earthquake musical cues, Friday and Smith's ubiquitous nods and exchanged glances, etc. Still, Dragnet was a satisfying and profitable feature film directorial debut for Jack Webb, whose subsequent efforts included Pete Kelly's Blues (1955), The DI (1957), 30 (1959) and The Last Time I Saw Archie (1961). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide