John Cameron Swayze Movies
John Cameron Swayze was not a movie star, but a pioneering news commentator and a spokesperson for Timex watches whose "It takes a licking and keeps on ticking" became a popular catch phrase during the '60s and '70s. Swayze first entered the public eye in 1949 as a the host of the Camel News Caravan on NBC. Beginning with the line "hopscotching the world for headlines" Swayze would perform on-air interviews with newsmakers, witness breaking stories and comment upon the days' events. Camel News Caravan replaced the newsreel and became a forerunner of the modern television newscast. The show became quite popular, and Swayze was one of television's first stars. In addition to hosting this show, Swayze appeared on other programs during the early '50s including the NBC quiz show Who Said That? and the kiddie show Watch the World. The news show ended in 1956. Swayze then began doing the Timex commercials. Though over the next 20 years their basic format never changed and Timex watches remained popular, a poker-faced Swayze would stand by, commenting upon some foolish situation or outrageous stunt, which while potentially fatal for the participants, and certainly bad for any average timepiece, would prove the durability of Timex watches. Born in Witchita, Swayze got his start reporting for the Kansas City Journal Post before switching to radio and television. Again, though Swazye was not an actor, he did occasionally make cameo appearances in films, beginning with A Face in the Crowd (1957). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In the wacky satire When Nature Calls, an urban family moves to the country in order to get back to nature. Set as a film within a film, the movie mocks a number of film and television cliches with an exaggerated glee; it also features cameos from a number of celebrities. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Orange, Barbara Marineau, (more)
The Boston Strangler adopts the split-screen technique then in vogue (see also The Thomas Crown Affair) to relate the true story of self-confessed mass murderer Albert DeSalvo. Adapted by Edward Anhalt from the book by Gerold Frank, the film covers the years 1962 to 1964, during which time a dozen women were raped and murdered in the Boston area. State-appointed officer John Bottomly (Henry Fonda) arrests as many known sex offenders as he can get his hands on in hopes of finding a clue as to the Boston Strangler's identity. As these things often happen, the police come across the necessary evidence through pure luck. Well-played by Tony Curtis (whose makeup is startling), DeSalvo himself does not appear until an hour into the film. When caught, the schizophrenic DeSalvo insists that he knows nothing of the murders. Under interrogation and hypnosis, his homicidal impulses are exposed. Meticulously cast, The Boston Strangler offers excellent vignettes by Sally Kellerman as the Strangler's only surviving victim and by Hurd Hatfield as an erudite sex pervert. When Boston Strangler was first shown on TV in 1974, a voice-over coda was added, noting that Albert DeSalvo was stabbed to death in prison on November 26, 1973, and that many experts were convinced that he was not the killer but that his confessions were the product of a delusional mind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Henry Fonda, (more)
The meteoric popularity of Arthur Godfrey was allegedly the basis of the 1957 drama Face in the Crowd. Andy Griffith makes a spectacular film debut as Lonesome Rhodes, a philosophical country-western singer discovered in a tanktown jail by television talent coordinator Patricia Neal and her assistant Walter Matthau. They decide that Rhodes is worthy of a TV guest spot, the result being that the gangly, aw-shucks entertainer becomes an overnight sensation. As he ascends to stardom, Rhodes attracts fans, sponsors and endorsements by the carload, and soon he is the most powerful and influential entertainer on the airwaves. Beloved by his audience, Rhodes reveals himself to his intimates as a scheming, power-hungry manipulator, with Machiavellian political aspirations. He uses everyone around him, coldly discarding anyone who might impede his climb to the top (one such victim is sexy baton-twirler Lee Remick, likewise making her film debut). Just when it seems that there's no stopping Rhodes' megalomania, his mentor and ex-lover Neal exposes this Idol of Millions as the rat that he is. She arranges to switch on the audio during the closing credits of Rhodes' TV program, allowing the whole nation to hear the grinning, waving Rhodes characterize them as "suckers" and "stupid idiots." Instantly, Rhodes' popularity rating plummets to zero. As he drunkenly wanders around his penthouse apartment, still not fully comprehending what has happened to him, Rhodes is deserted by the very associates who, hours earlier, were willing to ask "how high?" when he yelled "jump". Written by Budd Schulberg, Face in the Crowd was not a success, possibly because it hit so close to home with idol-worshipping TV fans. Its reputation has grown in the intervening years, not only because of its value as a film but because of the novelty of seeing the traditionally easygoing Andy Griffith as so vicious and manipulative a character as Lonesome Rhodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, (more)
