Margaret Sheridan Movies
A protégée of director Howard Hawks, brunette American actress Margaret Sheridan made her screen debut in 1951 as the self-reliant heroine of the Hawks-produced science fiction classic The Thing (1951). She later co-starred in the 1953 Mike Hammer film I, the Jury as Hammer's voluptuous secretary Velda, then appeared in another sci-fier, The Diamond Wizard (1954), under the direction of actor Dennis O'Keefe. Thereafter, her career petered out, halting altogether in the early '60s. Margaret Sheridan's last film appearance was an uncredited cameo in Howard Hawks' Man's Favorite Sport? (1964). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Roger Willoughby (Rock Hudson) is a super salesman of sporting goods who sells fishing equipment but knows nothing about the sport. Roger's boss Cadwalader (John McGiver) gets an idea from publicity director Abigail (Paula Prentiss) to enter him in a fishing contest, and the inept angler has a series of comic consequences before he wins the contest with some help from a bear. When Roger admits that his winning the event was merely luck, he turns in the prize and loses his job. Roger eventually wins Abigail's heart and gets his job back. Howard Hawks directs this slapstick comedy with his typical flair -- witty dialogue and effective sight gags included. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rock Hudson, Paula Prentiss, (more)
- 1954
When equestrian Linda (Vera Miles) talks her trainer, Jim (Lloyd Bridges), into taking care of Gypsy Prince, her horse, Jim decides to enter the steed in an upcoming race. Tragically, the horse falls mid-race and breaks a leg. Though prospects look bleak, Linda (Miles) refuses to give up on her horse, and will not allow the animal to be destroyed. Rather, she chooses to focus on physical therapy and personal faith. Her loyalty is rewarded tenfold when Gypsy Prince, successfully retrained, makes a killing a the track. Directed by William Beaudine, Pride of the Bluegrass is based on a story by Harold Shumate, and also features Margaret Sheridan, Arthur Shields, and Michael Chapin. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Bridges, Vera Miles, (more)
- 1954
Originally released in England as simply The Diamond, this fast-paced melodrama stars Dennis O'Keefe as an American federal agent, assigned to the London beat. On the trail of the gang who robbed a US Treasury vault, O'Keefe works shoulder-to-shoulder with Scotland Yard inspector Philip Friend. It develops that the gang is in a cahoots with a London mob, who plan to pay off the treasury thieves with synthetic diamonds. Most of Diamond Wizard is fluent exposition; the big thrills arrive in the final two reels, when the crooks fall out. Margaret Sheridan costars as O'Keefe's American girlfriend. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Sheridan, Phillip Friend, (more)
- 1953
Mike Hammer, author Mickey Spillane's brutal-but-eloquent private eye, made his screen debut in this cleaned-up cinemadaptation of the Mickey Spillane best-seller I, the Jury. Galvanized into action by the murder of a friend, Hammer (Biff Elliot) barges into the rarefied worlds of art collecting and psychoanalysis. Along the way, he gets beaten up several times by nameless thugs, and also administers several bloody beatings himself. He also indulges in Spillane's standard gay- and commie-bashing, with nary a "politically correct" moment in the film's 87 minutes. The finale is lifted directly from the deathless final pages of the original novel, right down to Hammer's laconic "It was easy!" The cast includes the requisite bosomy females, including Peggie Castle, Margaret Sheridan, Frances Osborne, Mary Anderson and twin sisters Tani Seitz and Dran Seitz. The male supporting players range from Preston S. Foster as Hammer's "friendly enemy-" police-department contact to an unbilled Joe Besser as an elevator operator. Originally filmed in 3D, I the Jury was released in 2D in most theaters. The property was remade in 1982, with Armand Assante as Hammer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Biff Elliot, Preston S. Foster, (more)
- 1952
- NR
This Korean War drama is essentially a vehicle for RKO's top male star Robert Mitchum. He plays war-weary "Colonel Steve," obliged to contend with the North Korean forces while keeping troublesome UN official Linda Day (Ann Blyth) at arm's length. Some authentic Korean combat footage is well-integrated into the story. For all its talk about jet planes, Reds and atomic energy, the film is at base a redressed WW II drama. Good supporting performances are provided Charles McGraw as a tough sergeant and William Talman as a jet pilot. Reportedly budgeted at over two million dollars, One Minute to Zero had trouble making back its cost, despite the box-office pull of Robert Mitchum. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Mitchum, Ann Blyth, (more)
The scene is a distant Arctic research station, where a UFO has crashed. The investigating scientists discover that the circular craft has melted its way into the ice, which has frozen up again. While attempting to recover the ship, Captain Patrick Hendry (Kenneth Tobey) accidentally explodes the vessel, but the pilot -- at least, what seems to be the pilot -- remains frozen in a block of ice. The body is taken to base headquarters, where it is inadvertently thawed out by an electric blanket. The alien attacks the soldier guarding him and escapes into the snowy wastes. An attack dog rips off the alien's arm, whereupon Dr. Carrington (Robert Cornthwaite) discerns that "The Thing" (played by future Gunsmoke star James Arness!) is not animal but a member of the carrot family, subsisting on blood. While the misguided Carrington attempts to spawn baby "Things" with the severed arm, the parent creature wreaks murderous havoc all over the base. Female scientist Nikki (Margaret Sheridan) suggests that the best way to destroy a vegetable is to cook it. Over the protests of Carrington, who wants to reason with the "visitor" (a very foolhardy notion, as it turns out), the soldiers devise a devious method for stopping The Thing once and for all. This oversimplification of The Thing does not do full justice to the overall mood and tension of the piece, nor does it convey the lifelike "business as usual" approach taken by the residents of the military base in dealing with something beyond their understanding. A superior blend of science fiction, horror, naturalistic dialogue, and flesh-and-blood characterizations, The Thing is a model of its kind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Sheridan, Kenneth Tobey, (more)
