Onslow Stevens Movies

In the 14th episode of Walt Disney's 17-part miniseries Tales of Texas John Slaughter, John (Tom Tryon) is summoned by General Miles (Onslow Stevens) to aid the cavalry in tracking down the elusive renegade Apache Geronimo (Pat Hogan). The two men are assisted by John's old Texas Rangers comrade Ben Jenkins (Harry Carey Jr.), now serving as a cavalry corporal (it must have been "old home week" for actor Carey, who had previously donned a cavalry uniform in several John Ford Westerns). Originally aired as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology, "The End of the Trail" and the 1960 episode "Geronimo's Revenge" were edited together in 1964 and released theatrically overseas as a "feature film," also titled Geronimo's Revenge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Determined to track down the man who murdered his wife, Flint Johnson (Onslow Stevens) forms a posse. Adam and Little Joe Cartwright, longtime friends of Johnson, join the posse to make sure that proper justice is meted out -- but Johnson has no intention of allowing the law to take its course. Also appearing are Adam Williams as Blackie and Arthur Hunnicutt as Piute. First broadcast on November 28, 1959, "The Posse" was written by Carey Wilbur. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When Cecil B. DeMille was set to direct a re-make of his 1938 swashbuckler The Buccaneer and suddenly became ill, his son-in-law, Anthony Quinn, jumped into DeMille's jodhpurs. In this version, Yul Brynner plays the starring role of debonair pirate Jean Lafitte, who is contacted by General Andrew Jackson (Charlton Heston) to come to the aid of the United States when the British attack New Orleans during the War of 1812. Lafitte immediately falls in love with Annette Claiborne (Inger Stevens), the daughter of William Claiborne (E.G. Marshall), the first governor of Louisiana. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Cocky Twig Webster (Mark Damon) is the leader of a gang of wealthy teenagers who go around crashing - and trashing - parties, just for kicks. And where are Webster's parents during all this antisocial behavior? Well, Twig's mom (Doris Dowling) happens to be the drunken, bleary-eyed center of attention at one of the parties invaded by the gang. At the sight of her son and his friends, Mrs. Webster -- and the rest of the neglectful neighborhood adults -- come to the sudden realization that they'd better start spending a lot more time being "real" parents to their kids. The specter of impending tragedy looms throughout Party Crashers, if for no other reason than the fact that this was the final film for ex-child-actor Bobby Driscoll, who died of a drug overdose in 1968, and for onetime Paramount leading lady Frances Farmer, a recovering alcoholic who'd spent the past 15 years in and out of mental institutions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Kelly is a big, lovable, immensely talented German Shepherd. "Me" is Len Carmody (Van Johnson), a third-rate vaudevillian. Carmody's fortunes take an upswing when he teams with the personable Kelly for professional reasons. When talking pictures come in, Carmody is signed to appear in short subjects, only to discover that it's the dog the producers want, rather than him. As if this wasn't enough for Carmody to worry about, Kelly's original owner pops up out of nowhere, demanding that the dog be returned to him. As something of a balm, Carmody enjoys the romantic attentions of two lovely ladies: Mina Van Runkel (Piper Laurie), daughter of movie-studio owner Walter Van Runkel (Onslow Stevens), and cinema vamp Lucy Castle (Martha Hyer). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The seventh live presentation of the CBS drama anthology Playhouse 90 was "Heritage of Anger", written especially for television by Harold Jack Bloom. Ralph Bellamy heads the cast, as ruthless millionaire industrialist Eddie Hannemann. Naturally expecting his two sons to follow in his footsteps, Hannemann is outraged to discover that the "boys" would rather chart their own course in life. But more trouble is to come in the Hannemann household, thanks to the old man's sales manager Paul Fletcher (Lloyd Bridges), who wants to take over the business himself. Nina Foch and John Ericson costar in this drama, directed by a young John Frankenheimer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the Holy Scriptures, with additional dialogue by several other hands, The Ten Commandments was the last film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The story relates the life of Moses, from the time he was discovered in the bullrushes as an infant by the pharoah's daughter, to his long, hard struggle to free the Hebrews from their slavery at the hands of the Egyptians. Moses (Charlton Heston) starts out "in solid" as Pharoah's adopted son (and a whiz at designing pyramids, dispensing such construction-site advice as "Blood makes poor mortar"), but when he discovers his true Hebrew heritage, he attempts to make life easier for his people. Banished by his jealous half-brother Rameses (Yul Brynner), Moses returns fully bearded to Pharoah's court, warning that he's had a message from God and that the Egyptians had better free the Hebrews post-haste if they know what's good for them. Only after the Deadly Plagues have decimated Egypt does Rameses give in. As the Hebrews reach the Red Sea, they discover that Rameses has gone back on his word and plans to have them all killed. But Moses rescues his people with a little Divine legerdemain by parting the Seas. Later, Moses is again confronted by God on Mt. Sinai, who delivers unto him the Ten Commandments. Meanwhile, the Hebrews, led by the duplicitous Dathan (Edward G. Robinson), are forgetting their religion and behaving like libertines. "Where's your Moses now?" brays Dathan in the manner of a Lower East Side gangster. He soon finds out. DeMille's The Ten Commandments may not be the most subtle and sophisticated entertainment ever concocted, but it tells its story with a clarity and vitality that few Biblical scholars have ever been able to duplicate. It is very likely the most eventful 219 minutes ever recorded to film--and who's to say that Nefertiri (Anne Baxter) didn't make speeches like, "Oh, Moses, Moses, you splendid, stubborn, adorable fool"? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Charles Chaplin Jr. makes his film starring debut in the location-filmed meller Fangs of the Wild. It's the old "boy cries wolf" story, featuring a lad named Tad (Freddie Ridgeway) who is inclined to stretch the truth now and then. Thus, when Tad insists that he's witnessed a murder, no one believes him. No one, that is, except the killer (Chaplin), who now realizes that he must put Tad out of the way as well. As indicated by the film's title, Tad's fate is in the paws of his faithful dog Shep (played by Buck, who also "starred" as the bibulous St. Bernard on the Topper TV series). Fangs of the Wild was one of the better efforts to emerge from bargain-basement Lippert Studios. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A little girl is found wandering in the desert, in a state of complete shock. When she finally revives, she can scream out only one word: "Them!" Any aficionado of 1950s horror films can readily tell you that "Them" are giant ants, a byproduct of the radiation attending the atomic bomb tests of the era. Extremely well organized, these deadly eight-to-twenty-foot mutations converge on the storm drains of Los Angeles in the finale. Forming a united front against the oncoming ant battalions are New Mexico police sergeant James Whitmore, FBI representative James Arness, and father-and-daughter entomologists Edmund Gwenn and Joan Weldon. Since the details of Them are fairly common knowledge today, the mystery-thriller structure of the film's first half tends to drag a bit. Things liven up considerably during the search-and-destroy final reels, as the audience is barraged with convincing special effects and miniature work-not to mention that eerie ant-induced sound effect, so often imitated by subsequent lesser films. Fess Parker appears in a starmaking cameo as a pilot driven to the booby hatch after witnessing the ants in action, while an uncredited Leonard Nimoy is seen pulling info out of IBM machine. Definitely the high point in the careers of director Gordon Douglas and scenarists Ted Sherdeman and George Worthing Yates, Them is also one of the handful of vintage science-fiction thrillers that holds up as well today as it did when first released. (Sidebar: Though filmed in black-and-white, Them is alleged to have been released with a Technicolor opening title, the word THEM! hurtling towards the audience in a vibrant red). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In 1945, James Cagney, through his independent production company, bought the rights to a lurid novel by Adria Locke Langley, concerning the rise of a Southern demagogue, loosely based on the political career of Huey Long. By the time the film finally went into production and was released in 1953, the film became an also-ran, trailing behind Robert Rossen's Oscar-winning production All the King's Men, which concerned the same subject. The film, directed by Raoul Walsh, never escapes from the towering shadows of the Rossen film, so it becomes, in the end, a matter of preference for the lead character -- whether one prefers the looming intimidation of Broderick Crawford or the brisk pugnacity of James Cagney. Cagney plays swamp peddler Hank Martin, who tries to ride into the governor's mansion in a backroad Southern state by making a crusade out of the plight of the poor and impoverished majority of the state. He begins his political assent by leading a sharecropper's revolt against the rip-offs the sharecroppers are receiving at the local cotton mill. But things become more intense and Hank Martin sows the seeds of his own destruction when he makes a deal with a local, crooked political boss in order to get ahead in his political career. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

A lawyer must make the most difficult decision of his life in this crime drama that begins when the attorney's son inadvertently kills his best friend. No one was around to see what happened and only his family is the wiser. But the death creates a rift in the family. His father wants him to confess while his mother begs him to stay quiet. Eventually she prevails and the father promises to keep the secret. Then he finds himself appointed to defend the innocent man accused of the killing. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide