Tom Stevenson Movies

"Even a man who is pure at heart/And says his prayers by night/May become a wolf when the wolf-bane blooms/And the moon is full and bright." Upon first hearing these words, Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney) dismisses them as childish folderol. After all, this is the 20th Century; how can a human being turn into a werewolf? Talbot soon learns how when he attempts to rescue Jenny Williams (Fay Helm) from a nocturnal attack by a wolf. Collapsing, Talbot discovers upon reviving that Jenny is dead-and, lying by her side, is not the body of a beast, but of a gypsy named Bela (Bela Lugosi). The son of fortune teller Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya), Bela was a lycanthrope, or "wolf man." And now that he has been bitten by Bela, Talbot is cursed to suffer the torments of the damned whenever the moon is full. Arguably the best of the "original" Universal horrors (original in the sense that it was not based on an existing literary property, a la Frankenstein, Dracula and The Invisible Man), The Wolf Man boasts one of the most stellar casts ever to grace a "B" picture: Lon Chaney Jr., Claude Rains, Evelyn Ankers, Ralph Bellamy, Warren William, Patric Knowles, Maria Ouspenskaya and Bela Lugosi. The man-to-wolf transformation sequences -- one of which took a full 24 hours to film -- are thoroughly convincing, thanks to the cosmetic genius of Jack P. Pierce (Chaney had wanted to emulate his father by developing his own werewolf makeup, but existing union rules would not permit this). Alas, after this powerhouse opening volley, the Wolf Man character was relegated to a series of cheap sequels, teaming him with other Universal shock stars: Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944) and House of Dracula (1945). The final ignominy was Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1945), in which Lawrence Talbot (Chaney again), having been cured of lycanthropy in House of Dracula, reverts to his werewolf status -- and has to endure the one-liners of Lou Costello to boot! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a crime novelist spins a yarn to impress the apple of his eye. He tells her that he has been involved in a murder. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this thriller set in WW II London during the bombing raids, a surgeon becomes a homicidal maniac during the frequent blackouts. Using his hypodermic needle, he only kills the people he believes are enemies to the Allies. Unfortunately, there is no real proof that the people he has offed are enemies. In the end, the police discover that several years earlier, he killed his wife. The trial is held in a basement courthouse during an air raid. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Counter-Espionage was the ninth film in Columbia's "Lone Wolf" series, based on characters created by Louis Joseph Vance. Warren William stars as Michael Lanyard, the suave ex-criminal known as The Lone Wolf. This time around, Lanyard is in London during the Blitz, where he finds himself up to his neck in Nazi spies. Counter-Espionage was one of several mid-1940s Columbia "series" films which dropped the name of the series from the title in hopes of attracting new audiences. Other examples of this trend include the "Blondie" episode It's a Great Life (43) and the "Boston Blackie" opus The Chance of a Lifetime (43). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A lively espionage drama that reunited the stars and director of the previous year's The Maltese Falcon, Across the Pacific was originally envisioned as the story of a Japanese invasion of Hawaii. Real-life events of December of 1941, however, precluded such a scenario and the location was changed to the Panama Canal. For reasons known only to Warner Bros., the title was retained despite the fact that none of the action takes place in the Pacific. Humphrey Bogart plays Rick Leland, a disgraced ex-army man, who, after being turned down by the Canadian military, jumps a Japanese steamer bound for the Panama Canal Zone. Also onboard are Alberta Marlow (Mary Astor), a small-town girl claiming to be en route to Los Angeles; Dr. Lorenz (Sydney Greenstreet), a corpulent sociologist with a suspiciously friendly regard for all things Japanese; and Joe Totsuiko (Victor Sen Yung), a happy-go-lucky second generation Japanese-American on his way to visit the old country. But no one is exactly who he or she claims to be and the voyage from Halifax via New York City to Panama becomes a matter of life and death for the passengers in general, and for the future of the United States in particular. Director John Huston was forced to leave the film three weeks into the four-week shooting schedule when summoned to report to the Department of Special Services. According to Huston, he purposefully placed Humphrey Bogart's character in a highly precarious situation and left it up to his replacement, Vincent Sherman, to come up with the solution -- which Sherman did in an especially fiery climax. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

A retired septuagenarian writes books on criminology based on his experiences as a Scotland Yard officer. On his seventieth birthday, the DA's office pays homage to him by requesting his assistance on a puzzling case. Though the police are sure they have solved the case, it is the old man using his old fashioned methods who proves them terribly wrong. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Song of Bernadette is a reverent recounting of the life of St. Bernadette of Lourdes. As a teen-aged peasant girl growing up in the tiny French village of Lourdes in the 19th century, Bernadette (Jennifer Jones) experiences a vision of the Virgin Mary in a nearby grotto. At least, she believes that she did. The religious and political "experts" of the region cannot accept the word of a silly little girl, and do their best to get her to renounce her claims. Bernadette's vision becomes a political hot potato for many years, with the authorities alternately permitting and denying the true believers' access to the grotto. No matter what the higher-ups may think of Bernadette, there is little denying that the springs of Lourdes hold some sort of recuperative powers for the sick and lame. Eventually, Bernadette dies, never faltering in her conviction that she saw the Blessed Virgin; years later, she is canonized as a saint, and the Grotto of Lourdes remains standing as a permanent shrine. The 20th Century-Fox people knew that The Song of Bernadette would whip up controversy from both the religious and the agnostic. The company took some of the "curse" off the project with a now-famous opening title: "To those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary. To those who do not believe in God, no explanation is possible." Jennifer Jones' performance in The Song of Bernadette won her the Best Actress Oscar in 1943. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

From a novel of the same name by "Elizabeth", the film begins in 1914, with Bette Davis cast as vain, flighty society woman Fanny Trellis. Informed by Jewish-American financier Job Skeffington (Claude Rains) that her brother Trippy (Richard Waring) has stolen money to pay his gambling debts, Fanny marries Job, securing his promise that he won't prosecute her thieving sibling. Angered by Fanny's agreeing to this loveless union, Trippy runs off to join the army, and is killed during World War I. Fanny holds Skeffington responsible for her brother's death, and demands a divorce with a generous cash settlement. Despite Job's oft-repeated belief that "a woman is only beautiful when she is loved," Fanny uses her coquettish beauty to flit indiscriminately from man to man. While on a sailing trip with her latest beau, Fanny comes down with diphtheria. The disease destroys her facial beauty, and before long the shallow Fanny is left completely alone. Her self-centered efforts to reunite all of her old boyfriends for a party is a failure due to her pathetic middle-aged efforts to be kittenish, and the grotesqueness of the mounds of facial makeup she apples. Meanwhile, Skeffington, who has resettled in Europe with his daughter, is captured by the Nazis and placed in a concentration camp. He manages to escape, returning to the US totally blind and utterly penniless. A chastened Fanny comes back to her husband, promising to care for him for the rest of his life. Most TV prints of Mr. Skeffington run 127 minutes; the videocassette and cable TV versions have been restored to the original length. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set during WWII, this taut and suspenseful espionage outing chronicles the courage of a brand-new cadre of specially trained American O.S.S. agents who parachute into France to destroy the vital Corbett Mallon tunnel to stop the German invaders from shipping supplies to their troops. One of the spies is a woman, and this bothers the group leader, who doubts her abilities. She soon proves herself, and the two embark on several exciting adventures before and after the completion of their mission. Along the way, the two manage to fall in love. Unfortunately, their commitment to duty is necessarily greater than their love and one of them will make a great sacrifice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Nostalgic and sweet, this tuneful comedy centers on a mother's reminiscence of her wild time as a 1920s teenage flapper. Margie is first seen fully grown telling her stories to her own teenage daughter. Back then, Margie was a typical adolescent, crazy about boys (especially those in raccoon coats) and an expert on the day's fashions. Margie was quite the cat's meow back then and found herself pursued by a handsome young man. Unfortuantely for him, Margie and the other girls only have eyes for the dashing new French teacher. Though busy vying for the teacher's affections, the teens still have time to perform many of the 1920's most popular songs. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

When he was first offered the film version of the best-selling Frederick Wakeman novel The Hucksters, Clark Gable turned it down, characterizing the book as "filthy and not entertainment." He finally agreed to star in the film after screenwriter Luther Davis' extensive laundering job. Gable plays Vic Norman, a radio advertising executive just returned from World War II. His wartime experiences have soured him on the phony aspects of his profession; nonetheless, he takes a job with the biggest and phoniest agency in town, headed by the glad-handing Kimberly (Adolphe Menjou). At Kimberly's recommendation, Vic takes over the Beautee Soap account, which brings him in close quarter's with Beautee's boorish head man Evans (Sidney Greenstreet). At their first meeting, Evans unexpectedly spits on his highly polished conference table. "Gentlemen," he growls, summing up his philosophy on advertising, "You have just seen me do a disgusting thing. But you will always remember it!" (Evans was based on George Washington Hill, the colorfully crude president of the American Tobacco Company). Vic's first assignment for Evans is to round up 25 high society women to sign testimonials for Beautee Soap. The least cooperative of the bunch is young widow Mrs. Dorrance (Deborah Kerr, in her American film debut), the stepdaughter of an American war hero. Attracted to Vic, Mrs. Dorrance signs the agreement, but breaks off her personal relationship with Vic when it appears as though he's making unsolicited advances towards her. The ever-demanding Evans then insists that Vic sign up two-bit comedian Buddy Hare (Keenan Wynn) for a radio program. Becoming more and more corrupt with each passing day, Vic obtains Hare's service at a rock-bottom price by blackmailing the comedian's agent (Edward Arnold), Vic's onetime close friend. A demo record is made of Hare and of nightclub singer Jean Ogilvie (Ava Gardner), who is in love with Vic but who eventually gives him up because of his apparent lack of scruples. Returning to the Beautee Soap headquarters, Vic watches dumbstruck as Evans smashes the demo record--then laughs uproariously, telling Vic that the contract is his, along with a $25,000 bonus. By this time, Vic is so disgusted with himself and with Evans' childish baiting tactics that he tells off the soap mogul in no uncertain terms, ending his tirade by dousing Evans with a pitcher of water. Having regained his integrity, Vic is now worthy of the love of Mrs. Dorrance, who has forgiven him his earlier misdeeds. As the film ends, she encourages Vic to use his advertising talents for something clean and honest (and, undoubtedly, starve to death in the process!) To mollify Madison Avenue, screenwriter Davis narrowed the attack on advertisers to one single radio sponsor; to please Gable, Mrs. Dorrance was changed from a still-married woman to a widow, while Vic Rodman is transformed from a "huckster" to an idealist who Does the Right Thing at the end. The Hucksters is one of Clark Gable's best postwar films, as well as one of the finest Hollywood satires of the rarefied world of advertising. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Michael Lanyard, aka the Lone Wolf, ventures into Sherlock Holmes territory in this series entry. When a cache of internationally famous diamonds is stolen, Scotland Yard automatically suspects Lanyard (Gerald Mohr). While trying to prove his innocence, Lanyard is approached by Sir John Helmscott (Vernon Steele), who wants our hero to arrange a sale of Helmscott's gem collection. Lanyard figures out that there's a connection between his new client and the stolen jewels when Helmscott's butler Robards (Tom Stevenson) is murdered. The Lone Wolf in London represents Gerald Mohr's second appearance as Louis Joseph Vance's celebrated criminal-turned-sleuth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Capitalizing on Larry Parks' "overnight" success in The Jolson Story, Columbia Pictures rushed their hottest new star from one picture to another, whether he was suited to the role or not. In The Swordsman, Parks makes a valiant stab at swashbucklery, playing an 18th-century Scottish aristocrat named Alexander MacArden. The plot revolves around the "forbidden" romance between Alexander and Barbara Glowan (Ellen Drew) of the hated Glowan clan. Managing to effect a truce between the MacArdens and the Glowans, Alexander has his hands full when a couple of hot-headed clansmen starts up the feud all over again. Full-scale warfare explodes between the rival families, but so long as Alexander has his wits about him and a sword in his sheath, the audience can be assured that he'll straighten things out by the ninth reel. Famed dancer-choreographer Marc Platt is uncomfortably cast as a pugnacious member of the Glowan clan, moving one critic to postulate that Columbia must have had a grudge against Platt. The Swordsman was directed by Joseph H. Lewis, who'd previously helmed the production numbers in The Jolson Story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide