Russ Tamblyn Movies
Tousle-haired juvenile actor Russ Tamblyn began taking up dancing and acrobatics at the age of six. Needing very little prodding from his parents, the eager Tamblyn embarked on his professional career in the late '40s, performing in radio and Los Angeles musical revues. His first "straight" acting assignment was opposite Lloyd Bridges in the 1947 play Stone Jungle. He entered films in 1948, then was given an "introducing" screen credit for his first starring role in The Kid From Cleveland (1949). Signed by MGM, the young actor changed his billing from Rusty to Russ when cast as an army trainee in 1953's Take the High Ground. Beginning with Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Tamblyn became a popular musical star, playing the title role in Tom Thumb (1958) and co-starring as gang leader Riff in the Oscar-winning West Side Story (1961). He was nominated for an Academy award for his performance as the teenaged swain of Allison McKenzie (Diane Varsi) in 1958's Peyton Place. By the late '60s, Tamblyn's career had waned, and he was accepting roles in such cheapjack exploitation flicks as Satan's Sadists (1970) and Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971). Russ Tamblyn stuck it out long enough to make a healthy comeback in the late '80s, notably in the role of psychiatrist Lawrence Jacoby on the cult-TV favorite Twin Peaks (1990). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Set in a post-apocalyptic 21st Century, Aftershock offers us a world ruled by an unseen female voice, where scuzzy paramilitary groups wipe out anyone remotely intellectual. Held for interrogation by government flunkey John Saxon is empty-headed mystery woman Sabina (Elizabeth Kaitan). Sabina is rescued by a pair of resistance fighters (Jay Roberts Jr. and Chuck Jeffreys). Once she arrives at rebel headquarters, Sabina proves to be a lot smarter than we think-as well she should be, since she's a visitor from another galaxy. Having come to earth in the misguided belief that the world has reached a state of peace and harmony, Sabina decides to return to her home planet, only to be captured again by Saxon and his minions ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Kaitan, Chuck Jeffreys, (more)
Based on a story by Paddy Chayefsky, this is the tale of a man who is being forced to retire from his job, at the age of 65, and decides to fight back. Impersonating the head of the company, he sets out to convince them to get rid of their outmoded retirement policy and gives a creditable speech on the dignity of man, gaining national attention. This movie features good performances, but it will probably be remembered more for the bit part played by a young Marilyn Monroe as the boss' secretary. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monty Woolley, Thelma Ritter, (more)
- 1995
- R
When a finalist for "Centerfold of the Year" downs an experimental beauty-enhancing potion concocted by mad-scientist Dr. Lindholm, the unforseen side effects render her a shaply 60 feet tall. Jealous over all the attention, a rival guzzles the elixir, and soon the gargantuan beauties are battling it out and trashing much of Hollywood Boulvard in the process. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- J.J. North, Ted Monte, (more)
- 1988
This gory medical thriller managed to pre-date an early-'90s spate of direct-to-video exploitation films dealing with sleazy black-market organ banks. The plot centers on the activities of the "Body Organ Replacement Network," a secret criminal organization (led by ubiquitous movie villain William Smith) which obtains donor organs -- by any means possible -- for anyone willing to meet their prices and keep their mouths shut. Their methods usually involve patrolling the city in an ambulance looking for unwilling "donors" (usually female), who are promptly chopped up on the operating table. The sinister wheels are put in motion again when a wealthy family approaches the B.O.R.N. network about obtaining a replacement heart for their ailing daughter. Though not quite as gory as it sounds, this is still a pretty sleazy exercise which plays like a tabloid-flavored version of Robin Cook's novel Coma, without the clever insight of Michael Crichton's 1978 film. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ross Hagen, P.J. Soles, (more)
- 1994
Russ Tamblyn guest-stars as Capt. Maynard, an old war buddy of Captain Sheridan's. Maynard's arrival prompts Sheridan to realign his priorities --- and then disaster strikes. On other fronts, Delenn runs afoul of the Delenn hierarchy, while Dr. Franklin tries to administer nutritional advice to some unwilling patients. The episode rushes to a conclusion with a desperate rescue mission, launched from hyperspace. Written by D.C. Fontana, "A Distant Star" was originally telecast on November 23, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Boxleitner, Claudia Christian, (more)
- 1976
- R
In this blaxploitation actioner from cult filmmaker Al Adamson, Timothy Brown plays a Las Vegas detective named "Kicks" Carter. He must foil a gang of criminals dealing arms to Central America and save some gambling addicts who are forced to pay off their debts as prostitutes in a hotel for women. Russ Tamblyn is featured as a vicious thug, Adamson's wife Regina Carrol sings in a nightclub, and there's a vile gang-rape scene. Gary Graver provided the cinematography, which often catches unpleasant real-life details such as toenail clippings on the floor of the hotel. Only genre completists are likely to find much to enjoy, but there are some wonderfully campy moments of unintentional hilarity among the sleaze. Brown had also appeared in Adamson's Dynamite Brothers, while co-star Tanya Boyd was in Greydon Clark's laughable Black Shampoo. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Brown, Russ Tamblyn, (more)
- 1988
Blood Screams, a fairly entertaining, bloody horror thriller filmed in Mexico and directed by Glenn Gebhard, is the familiar story of two young people who must fight a supernatural killer. When the townspeople of a small Mexican village start mysteriously disappearing, the frightened, superstitious local townspeople become suspicious of two young visitors (Stacey Shaffer and Russ Tamblyn), new to the town. In order to save their lives, they must find out the truth, which to their horror involves a legendary madman who begins to hunt them. Blood Screams was originally released as Los Monjes Sangientos. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Russ Tamblyn, Stacey Shaffer, (more)
Former NBC intern and Get a Life creator Chris Elliott stars as the title character, a recent graduate of the exclusive Fancy Lad Academy who unwittingly boards the wrong sea vessel and ends up a whipping post for its gruff, foul-mouthed crew after his predecessor (Andy Richter of The Late Show) falls overboard. Over the course of their adventures, Elliot eventually earns the respect of the crew as he also earns his manhood. This supremely silly film features sight gags and tastelessness galore, including a love scene with a woman who's all hands -- literally. Elliot's old boss David Letterman appears in an amusing unbilled cameo as a sarcastic villager in port. In all, Cabin Boy works much in the same vein as Elliot's former TV show; a crass sense of humor is helpful for full appreciation. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Ritch Brinkley, (more)
- 1950
Alan Ladd plays the title role in Captain Carey USA. A former OSS operative, Captain Carey returns to Italy after the war to avenge the death of resistance worker Giulia (Wanda Hendrix). Much to his surprise, Carey finds that his "deceased" lover is not only still alive, but also the wife of a powerful Italian nobleman (Francis Lederer). He also discovers to his sorrow that the far-from-grateful Italian villagers hold the Americans responsible for their current financial travails. Still, Carey sticks around, hoping to flush out the traitor who'd caused the wartime deaths of several of his OSS colleagues. The box-office success of Captain Carey USA was enhanced by the incidental musical number "Mona Lisa," which subsequently won an Academy Award. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Ladd, Wanda Hendrix, (more)
The Oklahoma land rush of 1889 provides the starting point for this western drama, based on a novel by Edna Ferber. Yancey Cravat (Glenn Ford) is an impulsive, short-fused cowboy who has married an immigrant woman, Sabra (Maria Schell). Together, Yancey and Sabra claim a homestead, and Yancey starts a newspaper. While he doesn't have much of a head for business, Sabra does, and when she takes greater control of the paper, it grows into a profitable and influential journal. Eventually, Yancey becomes a well-recognized figure, and it's suggested that he run for public office. However, Yancey finds himself unable to support legislation that would steal more land and mineral rights away from the Native Americans who first settled the land. Cimarron was previously filmed in 1931; this version reduced the role of stereotyped black characters and has Native American actors playing the "Indians," including Eddie and Dawn Little Sky. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Ford, Maria Schell, (more)
- 1987
- R
Drug enforcement agent Cat (Kathy Shower) is sent to Mexico by her boss (Robert Quarry) when fellow agent and former boyfriend Clint (Brian Thompson) is held captive by cocaine-trafficking fiends. The head of the drug cartel turns out to be Morgan (William Smith), a former agent now on the wrong side of justice. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Thompson, Kathy Shower, (more)
- 1987
- R
In this fast-paced actioner, a brave young woman must deliver a specially designed, top-secret super-destructo armored motorcycle that runs on oxygen to the US military after the man assigned to deliver it, her lover, is murdered by enemy agents. Soon after finding his body, the woman finds a video he made that tells her how to work the machine and where she must take it. Unfortunately for her, the enemy is out there waiting and determined to steal the bike for themselves. Part of the fun in this film is looking for popular B movie stars from years' past. Such stars include Huntz Hall, Troy Donahue, and Michael Reagan. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heather Thomas, Jeffrey Combs, (more)
Deep in My Heart is the MGM-ified biography of composer Sigmund Romberg, here played by José Ferrer. Evidently the scripters didn't feel that the life of Romberg (as set down by author Elliott Arnold, whose book was used as the film's basis) had enough drama to fill out two hours and ten minutes. As a result, the film is overstocked with guest stars, performing such Romberg standards as "One Alone," "Lover Come Back to Me," "When I Grow Too Old to Dream," "Will You Remember," and "Stout-Hearted Men." Among these celebrities are Ann Miller, Vic Damone, Jane Powell, Tony Martin, Cyd Charisse, Rosemary Clooney, and Gene Kelly, the latter performing a dance duet with his seldom-seen brother, Fred. For all the heady competition, it is José Ferrer who renders the most memorable production number: a one-man presentation of the Romberg musical comedy Jazzboat, in which Ferrer assumes all the roles, from star Al Jolson's to the entire female chorus! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- José Ferrer, Helen Traubel, (more)
- 1957
Obviously inspired by such service comedies as Mister Roberts and Operation Mad Ball, Don't Go Near the Water is a tribute to those "unsung heroes" of WW2: the men and women of the Navy's Public Relations Department. Thousands of miles away from the shooting war, Lt. Max Siegel (Glenn Ford) and the rest of the PR staff spend their time issuing colorful reports of Naval heroism and sucking up to visiting US dignitaries on a tiny South Sea island. Siegel and company also battle the anal-rententive pettiness of such superior officers as Lt. Cmdr. Clinton T. Nash (Fred Clark) and such potential foes as abrasive war correspondent Gordon Ripwell (Keenan Wynn). The feminine angle is provided by Gia Scala as Melora, a European-educated local girl, Anne Francis as by-the-book nurse Lt. Alice Tomlen, and Eva Gabor as women's magazine writer Deborah Aldrich. Particularly amusing is Mickey Shaughnessy as foul-mouthed seaman Farragut Jones, whose periodic barrages of profanity are invariably drowned out by the sound of a ratchet-horn (this was, after all, 1957). Don't Go Near the Water was based on the comic novel by ex-PR man William Brinkley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Ford, Gia Scala, (more)
A slapdash epic of bad filmmaking geared strictly toward drive-in audiences, Dracula vs. Frankenstein has gone on to achieve cult status thanks to its sheer ineptness and impressive cast. At an oceanside amusement park, Dr. Frankenstein (J. Carrol Naish) runs a house of horrors that serves as a cover for his more devious scientific experimentation -- work that requires the murderous deeds of his mute assistant Groton (Lon Chaney Jr.). After stealing the corpse of Frankenstein's monster, Dracula visits the doctor and makes him an offer he can't refuse: resurrect the monster so that Dracula can use the beast to carry out his plan to take over the world. At the same time, lounge singer Judith (Regina Carrol) arrives at the park against the advice of detective Martin (Jim Davis) to search for her missing sister. She is drugged in a bar and winds up in the care of kindly stud Mike (Anthony Eisley), who takes up the investigation with her. Meanwhile, Dr. Frankenstein and Dracula resurrect the monster and immediately send it to kill the doctor's old enemy (Forrest J. Ackerman). Judith and Mike encounter the monster and, after a narrow escape, they confront Dr. Frankenstein who is beheaded in the ensuing melee. Sgt. Martin arrives in time to kill Groton before he attacks Judith, but not before Dracula kills Mike and takes Judith captive. He ties her up in the lab and prepares to bite her, but the monster goes mad, leading to a ferocious battle. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide
Spencer Tracy received an Oscar nomination for his performance in this classic comedy. Stanley T. Banks (Tracy) is a securely middle-class lawyer whose daughter Kay (Elizabeth Taylor) announces that she's going to marry her beau Buckley Dunstan (Don Taylor). From that point on, everything in Stanley's life is turned upside down. His wife Ellie (Joan Bennett) wants Kay to have the kind of formal wedding that she and Stanley never had, and between meeting his soon-to-be in-laws, the socially prominent Herbert and Doris Dunstan (Moroni Olsen and Billie Burke), his man-to-man talk with the groom, hosting the engagement party, financing the increasingly lavish wedding, and wondering if Kay and Buckley will resolve their differences before arriving at the altar, Stanley barely has time to deal with his own considerable anxieties about his advancing age and how his "little girl" became a grown woman. Director Vincente Minnelli reunited with the principal cast a year later for a sequel, Father's Little Dividend; and the movie was remade in 1991 with Steve Martin and Diane Keaton. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Spencer Tracy, Elizabeth Taylor, (more)
- 1951
- NR
This sequel to the 1950 comedy hit Father of the Bride finds Spencer Tracy and Joan Bennett returning as Stanley and Ellie Banks, the parents of newlywed Kay Dunstan (Elizabeth Taylor). In the first film, Stanley Banks was forced to endure the chaotic events leading up to the wedding. This time, he must comes to grips with the prospect of becoming a grandfather. Once he's reconciled himself to this jolt of mortality, Stanley must contend with the little bundle of joy, who screams his head off every time Grandpa comes near him. Father's Little Dividend was remade in 1994 as Father of the Bride II, with Steve Martin assuming the Spencer Tracy role, and with the added complication of discovering that his own wife (Diane Keaton) is also pregnant. The copyright for Father's Little Dividend was not renewed in 1978; thus the film has lapsed into public domain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, (more)
- 1963
Follow the Boys attempts to recapture the box-office magic of 1960's Where the Boys Are; sometimes it succeeds. Returning from the earlier film are Connie Francis and Paula Prentiss, here cast as Bonnie Pulaski and Toni Denham, tourists on the French Riviera. Together with their Gallic friend Michelle (Dany Robin), Bonnie and Toni are romanced by three sailors on leave: Smitty (Russ Tamblyn), Pete (Richard Long) and Hulldown (Robert Nichols). Also on hand for the fun are married couple Ben (Ron Randell) and Liz (Janis Paige), the latter justifiably jealous of the former. The plot serves as an excuse for a series of sprightly tunes, including the title number. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Connie Francis, Paula Prentiss, (more)
- 1969
- R
Film editor Bill Brame directed this standard juvenile-delinquent entry featuring a notable cast of exploitation veterans. Richard Beymer stars as a cash-strapped teenager named Dean, who is lured into the world of bikers and addicts by Link (Russ Tamblyn), a sadistic drug dealer. Dean's girlfriend Karen (Lana Wood) helps him smuggle marijuana from Mexico to Los Angeles to raise money, and things appear to be going well until they are involved in the murders of two federal agents (Jody McCrea, Lindsay Crosby). The frightened Dean wants out of the arrangement, but Link drugs him with LSD, attempts to roast him alive, and kidnaps Karen. Dean eventually comes down from his bad trip and rescues his beloved, leaving the hippies in the audience with a warning to avoid free marijuana. Casey Kasem and Warren Finnerty also appear in this odd drug film, which makes very little sense and meanders from one scene to another for no apparent reason. That may be understandable, considering that it took four credited screenwriters to make Free Grass filmable. Leads Tamblyn and Beymer had co-starred in West Side Story and would reunite on television for the cult series Twin Peaks. Brame directed The Cycle Savages the same year. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
Late stuntman Bernhard Pock wrote, directed, and starred in this gritty modern-day fairy tale about a biker poet on a journey of self-discovery. Pock is Jeremy, a lone wolf who takes on a traveling companion when he happens on a young kidnapped girl (Amber Tamblyn). Together the duo crosses the country, meeting an oddball menagerie of characters along the way. Nancy Kwan also stars. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
The definitive Joseph H. Lewis-directed melodrama, Gun Crazy is the "Bonnie and Clyde" story retooled for the disillusioned postwar generation. John Dall plays a timorous, emotionally disturbed World War II veteran who has had a lifelong fixation with guns. He meets a kindred spirit in carnival sharpshooter Peggy Cummins, who is equally disturbed -- but a lot smarter, and hence a lot more dangerous. Beyond their physical attraction to one another, both Dall and Cummins are obsessed with firearms. They embark on a crime spree, with Cummins as the brains and Dall as the trigger man. As sociopathic a duo as are likely to be found in a 1940s film, Dall and Cummins are also perversely fascinating. As they dance their last dance before dying in a hail of police bullets, the audience is half hoping that somehow they'll escape the Inevitable. Some critics have complained that Dall is far too effeminate and Cummins too butch, but Joseph H. Lewis was never known to draw anything in less than broad strokes: recall the climax of Terror in a Texas Town, wherein Sterling Hayden participates in a western showdown armed with a whaler's harpoon. The best and most talked-about scene in Gun Crazy is the bank robbery sequence, shot in "real time" from the back seat of Dall and Cummins' getaway car. Originally slated for Monogram release, Gun Crazy enjoyed a wider exposure when its producers, the enterprising King Brothers, chose United Artists as the distributor. The film was based on a magazine article by MacKinlay Kantor; one of the scenarists was uncredited blacklistee Dalton Trumbo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peggy Cummins, John Dall, (more)
Producer Albert Zugsmith serves up another all-star exposé with High School Confidential. Delivering a superb performance under the circumstances, Russ Tamblyn heads the cast as "typical" high schooler Tony Baker. Usually seen in the company of his voluptuous "aunt" Gwen Dulaine (the truly impressive Mamie Van Doren), Tony convinces one and all that he's looking for kicks of the controlled-substance kind. In truth, however, our hero is really an undercover narcotics agent named Mike Wilson, bound and determined to smash the operation of drug lord Mr. A. (Jackie Coogan). The once-in-a-lifetime cast includes such worthies as John Drew Barrymore (Drew Barrymore's daddy), Ray Anthony (then married to Mamie Van Doren), Charles Chaplin Jr., Michael Landon, and Jerry Lee Lewis as "himself." This updated Reefer Madness is not to be missed! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jan Sterling, John Drew Barrymore, (more)
Hit the Deck is the second film version of the same-named 1927 hit Broadway musical. Though updated for the 1950s, the basic plot remains the same. Sailors Tony Martin, Vic Damone and Russ Tamblyn spend their entire shore leave in pursuit of three beautiful gals. Martin is "that way" about Ann Miller, Damone is stuck on Jane Powell, and Russ Tamblyn only has eyes for Debbie Reynolds. Some fun is extracted from the fact that Tamblyn is the son of by-the-book admiral Walter Pidgeon. Additional comedy relief is provided by Alan King (the same!) and Henry Slate as a pair of dumb-dumb shore patrolmen. The Vincent Youmans-Leo Robin-Clifford Grey-Irving Caesar score includes such standards as "Sometimes I'm Happy", "I Know that You Know", and the showstopping "Hallelujah". The 1930 version of Hit the Deck, starring Jack Oakie, was filmed by RKO; that version was purchased by MGM and hasn't been seen publicly in nearly 70 years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Powell, Tony Martin, (more)
Filmed in panoramic Cinerama, this star-studded, epic Western adventure is a true cinematic classic. Three legendary directors (Henry Hathaway, John Ford, and George Marshall) combine their skills to tell the story of three families and their travels from the Erie Canal to California between 1839 and 1889. Spencer Tracy narrates the film, which cost an estimated 15 million dollars to complete. In the first segment, "The Rivers," pioneer Zebulon Prescott (Karl Malden) sets out to settle in the West with his wife (Agnes Moorehead) and their four children. Along with other settlers and river pirates, they run into mountain man Linus Rawlings (James Stewart), who sells animal hides. The Prescotts try to raft down the Ohio River in a raft, but only daughters Lilith (Debbie Reynolds) and Eve (Carroll Baker) survive. Eve and Linus get married, while Lilith continues on. In the second segment, "The Plains," Lilith ends up singing in a saloon in St. Louis, but she really wants to head west in a wagon train led by Roger Morgan (Robert Preston). Along the way, she's accompanied by the roguish gambler Cleve Van Valen (Gregory Peck), who claims he can protect her. After he saves her life during an Indian attack, they get married and move to San Francisco. In the third segment, "The Civil War," Eve and Linus' son, Zeb (George Peppard), fights for the Union. After he's forced to kill his Confederate friend, he returns home and gives the family farm to his brother. In the fourth segment, "The Railroads," Zeb fights with his railroad boss (Richard Widmark), who wants to cut straight through Indian territory. Zeb's co-worker Jethro (Henry Fonda) refuses to cut through the land, so he quits and moves to the mountains. After the railway camp is destroyed, Zeb heads for the mountains to visit him. In the fifth segment, "The Outlaws," Lilith is an old widow traveling from California to Arizona to stay with her nephew Zeb on his ranch. However, he has to fight a gang of desperadoes first. How the West Was Won garnered three Oscars, for screenplay, film editing, and sound production. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Stewart, Henry Fonda, (more)
- 1982
Rock legend Neil Young directed this bizarre bit of sci-fi-accented satire under his nom de cinema Bernard Shakey, as well as starring as Lionel Switch, an amiable but half-bright auto mechanic who has a furious crush on Charlotte Goodnight (Charlotte Stewart), a waitress at the diner next door to his garage. Lionel dreams of becoming a professional musician, and idolizes Frankie Fontaine (also played by Young), a particularly sleazy lounge singer. One day, to Lionel's astonishment, Fontaine rolls up to his garage in a limousine, and Lionel has the spine-tingling honor of working on his car. Meanwhile, suspicious-looking bad guy Otto Quartz (Dean Stockwell) is scheming to buy the diner, which has something to do with a plot against the rattletrap nuclear power plant just down the road (the plant's maintenance staff is played by members of the pioneering new wave band Devo). Along the way, we're also treated to Lionel hanging out with his equally slow-witted pal Fred (Russ Tamblyn), enjoy the residents of the desert community performing an enthusiastic rendition of the old Kingston Trio chestnut "Worried Man," and witness Lionel and Devo jamming on a long and wildly discordant version of "Hey Hey My My (Into the Black)." Financed by Young out of his pocket, and featuring Stockwell, Tamblyn, Dennis Hopper, and Sally Kirkland several years before they enjoyed critical rediscovery, Human Highway received a mostly puzzled reaction from audiences during its handful of theatrical engagements. It went largely unseen until it was released on home video more than ten years after it was completed (with the box featuring a quote from one of Young's associates: "This is so bad, it's going to be huge!"). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Neil Young, Russ Tamblyn, (more)
