Angela Stevens Movies
- 1960
Wealthy Morgan Gibbs (Robert F. Simon) hires Paladin (Richard Boone) to locate Gibbs' son David (Bud Slater), a fugitive from justice, and bring him back alive. Shortly thereafter, Paladin returns with David's dead body in tow. Accused of murdering the boy in order to collect a $500 body, Paladin is himself put on trial--and the jury has been hand-picked by the vengeful Morgan Gibbs. One of the best episodes of the series' third season, this one is a real treat for movie buffs, filled to overflowing with an abundance of familiar faces in the supporting cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
In their penultimate two-reel comedy, the Three Stooges used mainly stock footage from their earlier He Cooked His Goose. Bachelor Larry makes a play for Moe's wife (Mary Ainslee, in stock footage) and Joe's fiancée (Angela Stevens). The few new scenes featuring Joe Besser were filmed in 1957. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1957
Musical comedy star Betty Garrett goes dramatic big-time in the hostage drama Shadow on the Window. Betty plays Linda Atlas, the mother of seven-year-old Petey Atlas (portrayed by Jerry "The Beaver" Mathers). When Petey witnesses a murder committed by a trio of juvenile delinquents, he wanders off in a state of shock. The three punks (John Barrymore Jr., Corey Allen and Gerald Sarricini) kidnap Linda, who's also witnessed their crime, holding her prisoner to keep the boy from talking -- if and when he recovers. Meanwhile, the authorities launch a frenzied manhunt in search of the catatonic boy, led by Petey's dad, police officer Tony Atlas (Phil Carey). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philip Carey, Betty Garrett, (more)
- 1957
Rory Calhoun is Utah Blaine in this pinch-penny Sam Katzman-produced western. Adapted from a novel by Louis L'Amour, the story concerns the efforts of gunslinger Blaine to save a group of ranchers from an outlaw gang. When one the ranchers is killed, Utah finds himself half-owner of a valuable spread, placing him directly in the line of fire along with his attractive "business partner" Angie Kinyon (Susan Cummings). Ray Teal is all snarls as the outlaw leader, while former boxer Max Baer Sr. does a brief turn as a slow-witted hooligan. Like most Sam Katzman efforts, Utah Blaine turned a tidy profit for Katzman's home base of Columbia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Cummings, Angela Stevens, (more)
- 1956
Blackjack Ketchum, the real-life gunslinger who'd previously been a peripheral character in several westerns, is herein afforded his own feature-length "vehicle". Howard Duff plays the title role, who at the beginning of the film is doing his best to live down his reputation. This proves impossible when land baron Jared Tetlow (Victor Jory) and his brood muscle into the territory. Hoping to champion the cause of his fellow ranchers, Ketchum once more straps on his guns and prepares to do battle against Tetlow's henchmen. Naturally, Ketchum's sweetheart Nita Riordan (played by Maggie Mahoney, the mother of actress Sally Field) would prefer that Our Hero abstain from gunplay, but.Blackjack Ketchum, Desperado was based on a novel by Louis L'Amour. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Howard Duff, Victor Jory, (more)
- 1955
A ruthless crime lord saves his sister from social embarrassment by working diligently to get the gangster who fathered her unborn baby off death row and out of prison so he can do the decent thing and marry the girl. The freed gangster is not thrilled with his new bride, but stays loyal until the woman miscarries. He then returns to crime and begins messing with other women, something that outrages his wife's nefarious brother and leads him to frame the cocky youth and get him sent back to prison and certain death. Just before he is to die, the youth tells his story to a sympathetic reporter, who decides to go after the real troublemaker. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Quinn, Anne Bancroft, (more)
- 1955
Devil Goddess was the sixteenth and last of Columbia's "Jungle Jim" series. Johnny Weissmuller, playing "himself" (as he had in the last few films in this series), agrees to help a professor (Selmer Jackson) find a colleague who has disappeared into the jungle. Before you can say "Heart of Darkness", we learn that the missing man (William Griffith) has set himself up as a white god, ruling over a tribe of fire worshippers. The "god's" headquarters is a volcano, long dormant but ripe for eruption. The "goddess" of the title is the daughter (Angela Stevens) of the investigating professor, whom the white despot hopes to marry after bumping off the rest of the search party. Weissmuller and his friends narrowly escape the inflammatory volcano with an unburied treasure in tow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Weissmuller, Angela Stevens, (more)
- 1955
A gangster is killed by a big man who pays no attention to bullets, and who leaves glowing fingerprints. Police scientist Chet Walker (Richard Denning) discovers that the fingerprints are radioactive -- as well as those of a dead man. We soon learn that this walking corpse was created by Dr. Wilhelm Steigg (Gregory Gaye); he's allowing secretly-returned deported gangster Buchanan (Michael Granger) to get revenge on those who were responsible for his conviction. Steigg removes part of the brains of recently-dead men, and replaces them with a device that allows them to control the body from a distance, like a robot; they can even see through the creature's eyes via television. Another atomic zombie kills the district attorney who convicted Buchanan, which leads Chet and his homicide detective friend Dave Harris (S. John Launer) to deduce that the killings are connected to the Buchanan case. Warnings are issued to other possible targets, but they're unable to prevent another death. The last two go into hiding. The movie concludes with a headline: "Creatures with the Atomic Brains Destroyed." This entertaining but cheesy little movie is completely unpretentious. Broad, surprisingly gruesome and well-paced, it's obviously aimed straight at the juvenile market -- and it hits it, too. A sterling artifact of its time: brisk, efficient and entertaining, even if it is awfully silly. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Denning, Angela Stevens, (more)
"What are you rebelling against?" asks someone. "What've you got?" responds surly, leather-jacketed motorcycle punk Marlon Brando. It comes as a disappointment to discover that The Wild One, the quintessential Brando "rebel" film, is at base a traditional "misunderstood youth vs. the nasty system" effort, with a particularly banal finale. Based on a true incident, the film begins with Brando and his motorcyle gang invading a small town after having been kicked out of a cycle competition (but not before stealing the second-prize trophy). Brando's bikers raise hell all day, but some of the townsfolk are shown to be little better than the invaders. Sheriff Robert Keith, whose daughter (Murphy) has gone fond of Brando, finally responds to the bikers' destructiveness by jailing Lee Marvin, leader of a rival gang. When Marvin's buddies goes on a rampage, Brando exhibits his essential decency by safely escorting the sheriff's daughter out of the melee. The townsfolk misunderstand, assuming that Brando intends to rape the girl. He is attacked by a vigilante mob led by town hothead Ray Teal, who uses this excuse to exercise his own sadistic tendencies. Keith breaks up the mob and suggests that Brando leave; he tries to do so, but another angry response from the mob causes him to inadvertently strike and kill a pedestrian. At the subsequent hearing, the girl rushes to Brando's defense. Though grateful for the unexpected kindness, Brando is constitutionally unable to say "thank you" and rides out of town alone. The image of Marlon Brando astride his Triumph has entered movie folklore, just like King Kong on the Empire State Building or the billow-skirted Marilyn Monroe standing over a subway grating; it's too bad that The Wild One isn't a more worthy vehicle for Brando's talents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marlon Brando, Mary Murphy, (more)
The scene is Schofield Army Barracks in Honolulu, in the languid days before the attack on Pearl Harbor, where James Jones' acclaimed war novel From Here to Eternity brought the aspirations and frustrations of several people sharply into focus. Sergeant Milt Warden (Burt Lancaster) enters into an affair with Karen (Deborah Kerr), the wife of his commanding officer. Private Robert E. Lee "Prew" Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) is a loner who lives by his own code of ethics and communicates better with his bugle than he does with words. Prew's best friend is wisecracking Maggio (Frank Sinatra, in an Oscar-winning performance that revived his flagging career), who has been targeted for persecution by sadistic stockade sergeant Fatso Judson (Ernest Borgnine). Rounding out the principals is Alma Lorene (Donna Reed), a "hostess" at the euphemistically named whorehouse The New Congress Club. All these melodramatic joys and sufferings are swept away by the Japanese attack on the morning of December 7. No words could do justice to the film's most famous scene: the nocturnal romantic rendezvous on the beach, with Burt Lancaster's and Deborah Kerr's bodies intertwining as the waves crash over them. If you're able to take your eyes off the principals for a moment or two, keep an eye out for George Reeves; his supporting role was shaved down when, during previews, audiences yelled "There's Superman!" and began to laugh. From Here to Eternity won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and supporting awards to Sinatra and Reed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, (more)
- 1953
Jack McCall, the man who shot Wild Bill Hickok in the back, is presented in a sympathetic light in this "revisionist" western. During the Civil War, McCall (George Montgomery) is falsely accused of treason. He escapes to prove his innocence, but vengeful union sergeant Will Bill Hickok (Douglas Kennedy) won't let him. It's Les Miserables, western style, not to mention once of the few cinematic depictions of Hickok as an unregenerate villain: Wild Bill even participates in the murder of McCall's parents! Thus, the death of Hickok is seen as a justifiable act of revenge, with Jack McCall living happily ever after with Rose Griffith (Angela Stevens)--and never mind that the real McCall was hanged shortly after plugging Hickok during that fateful poker game. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Montgomery, Angela Stevens, (more)
- 1953
1953's The Mississippi Gambler was the third Universal Studios film to bear this title--though with a different plot each time. Tyrone Power plays an all-around adventurer who cuts quite a swath through antebellum New Orleans. In between scenes of gambling, fist-fighting and swordplay, Power woos Piper Laurie, who chooses to marry wealthy Ron Randell; in turn, Power is wooed by Julie Adams, whose ardor is not reciprocated. The climax finds Power in a card table showdown with Ms. Laurie's ill-tempered brother John Baer. Mississippi Gambler is consistently good to look at, even when the storyline threatens to snap under the pressure. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Piper Laurie, (more)
- 1953
The tenth of Columbia's "Jungle Jim" series, Savage Mutiny finds Jim (Johnny Weissmuller) working on behalf of the US government. Jim must evacuate a tiny African island that is to be used for atomic testing. Scurrilous Communist agents hope to thwart America's defense program, and also stir up anti-US propaganda, by encouraging the natives to stay put. By the time Jungle Jim gets through with them, the spies would rather be dead than Red. Much of the footage of Savage Mutiny--and a good portion of the plot--would be re-used on an episode of TV's Captain Midnight. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Weissmuller, Angela Stevens, (more)
- 1952
This is rather an odd Three Stooges short -- instead of the warm (although knockabout) friendship they usually have, here they are vicious rivals who don't seem to have much of a relationship at all. Larry is a compulsive womanizer who is having an affair with Moe's wife, and is also trying to make moves on Shemp's fiancee, Millie. Back at his pet shop, Larry finds himself faced with an angry and suspicious Moe and realizes he needs a "fall guy" to cover his tracks. Just then Shemp shows up, and Larry sees a way out -- he gets Shemp a job as an underwear salesman and the first place he goes is Moe's home. Shemp models "the latest fashions" for Moe's wife, while Larry tells both Moe and Millie of Shemp's two-timing ways. Both of them go storming over to Moe's, and Shemp frantically tries to hide. He ends up in the chimney and emerges as Santa Claus. He escapes to a janitor's closet, and when Larry heads down the hallway to see the damage he has wreaked, Shemp grabs him and puts the Santa suit on him. Then he marches Larry over to Moe's for his punishment. This short was remade in 1958 as Triple Crossed with Joe Besser. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
Adam Williams is frighteningly effective as the "psycho next door" in Without Warning. Normally a quiet, unobtrusive fellow, Carl Martin (Williams) is pushed over the edge when his blonde wife cheats on him. Thereafter, he uses a pair of garden shears to kill every blonde female with whom he comes in contact. The then-new Los Angeles Freeway provides a thrilling backdrop for the film's pulse-pounding final scenes. Without Warning was produced by Arthur Gardner and Jules Levy and directed by Arnold Laven, the same production team that was responsible for such 1950s and 1960s TV weeklies as The Rifleman, Burke's Law and The Big Valley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adam Williams, Meg Randall, (more)
- 1952
In his final Durango Kid Western (and final film appearance), Charles Starrett once again played an avenger named Steve, Reynolds this time. Donning his mask once again, Steve comes to the aid of Jock Mahoney, who has been wrongfully accused of murder. The real murderer, as it turns out, is Jock's own lawyer, Gail Kingston (Angela Stevens). As usual, Smiley Burnette is along for the ride to provide comedy relief and a hayseed ditty or two. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Starrett, Smiley Burnette, (more)
