Lionel Stander Movies

The fact that there isn't a single likeable character in Cul de Sac does not diminish its artistic value in the least. Ageing, furtively kinky Donald Pleasence is married to sexy young Francoise Dorleac. The couple's hermitlike tranquility is shattered when wounded gangsters Jack MacGowan and Lionel Stander invade their home and hold them hostage. As Dorleac urges her tremulous husband to do something, the two criminals begin behaving in a fashion that can only inadequately be described as eccentric. Drawing upon two of Polanski's favorite themes-isolation and latent insanity--Cul de Sac actually improves upon each viewing, assuming that the viewer has the intestinal fortitude to sit through it once. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A woman has to choose between the rich man she wants and the bohemian type who loves her in this comedy. Michele O'Brien (Leslie Caron) is a young widow raising a baby in Greenwich Village. She's decided that her child needs a father, and she determines that her best bet as a prospective mate is Dr. Phillip Brock (Robert Cummings), a well-heeled child psychologist. The only trouble is, Phillip doesn't like children very much, so Michele tries to keep her baby a secret from him. Michele's upstairs neighbor, Harley Rummell (Warren Beatty), is in love with her and is more than happy to baby-sit; however, Harley makes his living shooting nudie films in his flat, and when the baby begins making cameo appearances in the films, Michele starts wondering if Harley might be a bad influence on the tyke. William Peter Blatty, later to write the best-selling novel The Exorcist, penned the screenplay. Keep an eye peeled for a young Donald Sutherland in a bit part. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Filmed very cheaply in New York, St. Benny the Dip (British title: Escape Me If You Can) has a charm and appeal that transcends its modest production trappings. Dick Haymes, Roland Young and Lionel Stander star as Benny, Matthew and Monk, three confidence tricksters forced by circumstance to pose as priests, tending to a slum mission. While clerically garbed, the three sharpsters slowly but surely change their ways, to the benefit of all concerned. As a result, two of the three find honest jobs in the civilian mainstream, while the third elects to remain a man of the cloth. The handpicked supporting cast includes Nina Foch as Haymes' sweetheart, and former child-star Freddie Bartholomew, making his final film appearance as an uptight genuine priest. Devotees of director Edgar Ulmer have insisted upon finding all sorts of hidden meanings in St. Benny the Dip, though it appears that Ulmer's primary concern while making the film was keeping all three of his formidable leading men within camera range. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Preston Sturges' Unfaithfully Yours is a typically witty and wild screwball comedy starring Rex Harrison as a symphony conductor named Alfred de Carter who is convinced his wife (Linda Darnell) is having an affair. During one of his concerts, Alfred begins planning three different ways of solving the problem -- including murder -- setting each to a different classical piece. Sturges' script and direction are lively and the actors are perfectly cast, capable of wringing all the humor, both physical and verbal, out of the story. Despite the artistic success of the film, Unfaithfully Yours was unsuccessful at the time of its release, yet it was well-regarded by critics and film buffs. It was remade in 1984, featuring Dudley Moore in the lead role. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

In this documentary-inspired thriller, P.J. McNeal (James Stewart) is a reporter who is asked by his editor to look into a potential story: their newspaper has been carrying an ad offering a substantial reward for information regarding the murder of a policeman that occurred eleven years ago. It turns out the ad was placed by a cleaning woman named Tillie Wiecek (Kasia Orzazewski); her son Frank (Richard Conte) was convicted of the crime, but she is thoroughly convinced her son had nothing to do with the killing. McNeal doesn't believe for a moment that Frank could be innocent, but he sees a good human interest story in Tillie and writes a piece that receives a great deal of favorable attention. Brian Kelly (Lee J. Cobb), McNeal's editor, thinks there might be more to this story and asks P.J. to look into the original murder case. To McNeal's surprise, Frank passes a lie detector test in which he proclaims his innocence, and the more he digs into records on the case, the more he finds wrong with the original investigation; some evidence is missing, much is inconclusive, and the reporter begins to wonder if Frank might have been railroaded after all, or if the police might be trying to keep something quiet. Call Northside 777 was based on a true story. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Absent from films since 1938 (except as producer of a brace of RKO Radio features), silent-screen comedy favorite Harold Lloyd returned before the cameras in The Sin of Harold Diddlebock. The project began as a labor of love between Lloyd and the brilliant, innovative producer/writer/director Preston Sturges. Though these two comedy geniuses eventually had a stylistic falling out, resulting in an uneven, spasmodically dreary film, on the whole Harold Diddlebock is well worth having. Sturges cleverly opens the picture with the final reel of Lloyd's silent classic The Freshman(1925), in which the drudge of the college football team makes good and scores the winning touchdown. The story proper begins in the locker room, where football hero Harold Diddlebock (Lloyd, looking three decades younger than his 53 years) is impulsively offered a job by banker J.E. Wagglebury (Raymond Walburn). Taking his place at his new desk and festooning his walls with inspirational homilies, Harold starts to work, supremely confident that he's poised on the brink of bigger things. Twenty-three years pass: In 1946, a weary, stoop-shouldered Harold is still at the same desk at the same job, his dreams of success but a dim memory. Summarily fired by the pompous Wagglebury ("You have not only ceased to go forward, you have gone backward"), Harold collects his final paycheck, cleans out his desk, and bids farewell to office girl Miss Otis (Frances Ramsden), all of whose older sisters had previously been Harold's sweethearts. Wandering aimlessly on the street with his severance pay in hand, Harold is spotted by a dessicated street hustler named Wormy (Jimmy Conlin), who inveigles the newly fired clerk to join him at a nearby bar. Informed that Harold has never taken a drink in his life, the bartender (Edgar Kennedy) lights up and declares, "Sir, you rouse the artist in me!" With great ceremonial flourish, the bartender concocts a potent beverage called the Diddlebock. Harold takes one sip of the brew, lets out a yell, and immediately loses all the inhibitions that have kept him from advancing himself in the past two decades. With Wormy in tow, Harold goes on a wild spending and carousing spree, totally losing track of an entire day-and-a-half.

At the end of his revelry, the hung-over Harold is awakened by his sister (Margaret Hamilton), who informs him that he's bought a garish new wardrobe, a ten-gallon hat, and goodness knows what else. He soon finds out what else when he ventures into the street and is informed that he's bought a horse-drawn cab (with driver!) -- and a circus, complete with hungry lions. Quickly formulating a plan to get rid of the circus at a substantial profit, Harold decides to elicit bids from the town's various bankers, bringing Jackie the Lion along with him so that the bank guards won't stop him at the door. All of this leads to a wild recreation of Lloyd's skyscraper-teetering gags from his silent days, a noisy episode at the local jail, and a romantic tête-à-tête with Miss Otis, who reveals at the very end how Harold really spent his "missing" Wednesday! Though it tested well upon its first release, Sin of Harold Diddlebock was abruptly withdrawn from circulation by its co-producer Howard R. Hughes, who spent four years reediting and sometimes reshooting the film before finally releasing it through RKO as Mad Wednesday. Both this version and the original Sin of Harold Diddlebock still exist; while the earlier version is undeniably richer in comic invention and characterization, the shortened Mad Wednesday works better in front of an audience. Neither version completely fulfills the potential of its premise, however. Though not to be missed, this final Harold Lloyd vehicle pales in comparison with his vintage silent comedies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Joseph Kane adapted his own story Diamond Carlisle for the screenplay of In Old Sacramento--the third film version of Kane's original tale. Bill Elliot stars as masked bandit Spanish Jack, who behaves as badly as he wishes with few of the usual redeeming features plaguing most cinema desperadoes. In fact, in the earlier film versions of Diamond Carlisle, Elliot's character was the villain! After numerous hairbreadth adventures, Elliot dies in the arms of loving saloon singer Constance Moore. Also released as Flame of Sacramento, this was the first of a long line of films in which onetime "B" cowboy star Bill Elliot would portray a new kind of "B" western hero--one who drank at any opportunity, took advantage of unarmed foes, and lived by his own personal code rather than the edicts of society. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Writer/director Ben Hecht brings "art" to the artless environs of Republic Pictures in the one-of-a-kind melodrama Spectre of the Rose. The film is set in the rarefied world of the Ballet, featuring a curious blend of ballet artists and veteran Hollywood character actors. Ivan Kirov plays Andre Sanine, a dancer who goes insane every time he hears the music for "Spectre de la Rose". Ballerina Haidi (Violet Kessen), convinced that she can cure Andre of his mental aberration, marries him, despite rumors that he has murdered his first wife. All goes well until Andre is once more compelled to perform "Spectre de la Rose"?and then??Ivan Kirov and Violet Kessen are far more accomplished as dancers than as actors, though Kirov is slightly better than his costar. More at home in the histrionics deparment are Judith Anderson as a patroness of the arts, Michael Chekhov as an apoplectic dance impresario, and Lionel Stander as a Greenwich village poet--all quite adept at mouthing Ben Hecht's eloquent witticisms, of which there are dozens. Spectre of the Rose clearly wasn't designed to please everyone; lovers of the ballet and Hecht aficionados will probably best appreciate the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Danny Kaye's The Kid From Brooklyn is a virtual scene-for-scene remake of Harold Lloyd's The Milky Way (1936), with music and Technicolor added to the proceedings. Kaye is cast as timid milkman Burleigh Sullivan, who through a fluke knocks out prizefighting champion Speed McFarlane (Steve Cochran). Sensing a swell publicity angle, McFarlane's manager Gabby Sloan (Walter Abel) promotes Burleigh as the next middleweight champ-and to insure this victory, Gabby fixes several pre-title bouts. Unaware that his fighting prowess is a sham, Burleigh develops a swelled head, which alienates him from everyone he cares about, including his sweetheart Polly Pringle (Virginia Mayo). The truth comes out during the climactic title fight, but a chastened Burleigh emerges victorious thanks to a series of incredible plot twists. The strong supporting cast includes Vera-Ellen as Burleigh's sister Susie, Eve Arden as Gabby's wisecracking girl friday Ann Westley, and, repeating his role from Milky Way, Lionel Stander as Speed's lamebrained trainer Spider Schultz. Danny Kaye does his best to play Burleigh Sullivan rather than Danny Kaye, though his efforts are undermined by the interpolated "specialty" number "Pavlova," which just plain doesn't belong in this picture. Like The Milky Way, The Kid From Brooklyn was adapted from the Broadway play by Lynn Root. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though running a mere 15 minutes, Watchtower Over Tomorrow boasts some very impressive credits. Written by Ben Hecht, this paean to the newly-formed United Nations does its best to explain the importance of the organization and the Dubarton Oaks Conference which preceded it. The film is in the form of a subway debate, as gravel-voiced laborer Lionel Stander weighs the pros and cons of the UN with well-dressed intellectual Grant Mitchell. John Nesbitt, producer-host of MGM's "Passing Parade" short-subject series, narrates. Watchtower Over Tomorrow is distinguished by a rare on-camera appearance by then-Secretary of State Edward Stettinius, who presided over the inaugural UN meeting. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this romantic musical, a pianist is left stranded in Tahiti. He decides to augment his band by hiring on a new singer. The other band members are skeptical of her, but they head to San Francisco to play. They bomb and the pianist must convince the band to play a new kind of music. Things begin to improve as the inevitable romance between the band leader and the singer heats up. Unfortunately, the woman is already engaged to a sailor. Later another sailor vies for affection, but in the end, she is with the right man and happiness for all involved ensues. Songs include: "Tahiti Honey" (Jule Styne, George H. Brown, Sol Meyer), "You Could Hear a Pin Drop," "Any Old Port in a Storm," "This Gets Better Every Minute," "Koni Plenty Hu-Hu," "Of Course I'm a Cossack" (Charles Newman, Lew Pollack). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The physically challenged bride of the title is played by Lynne Roberts, but it's reporter Ted North who's the film's true central character. Low man on the newspaper totem pole, North gets a chance to scoop everyone in town when he witnesses a bank robbery. Rather than file his story, North tracks down the crooks himself, infiltrates their gang, and helps deliver them to the cops. The whole megillah is over in a brisk 55 minutes. Incidentally, Lynne Roberts has two perfectly good legs (does she ever!) during most of the proceedings, despite the title. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide