Gene Tierney Movies
One of Hollywood's most luminous actresses, Gene Tierney remains best remembered for her performance in the title role of the 1944 mystery classic Laura. Born November 20, 1920, in Brooklyn, NY, Tierney was the daughter of a wealthy insurance broker, and was educated in Connecticut and Switzerland; she traveled in social circles, and at a party met Anatole Litvak, who was so stunned by her beauty that he requested she screen test at Warner Bros. The studio offered a contract, but the salary was so low that her parents dissuaded her from signing; instead, Tierney pursued a stage career, making her Broadway debut in 1938's Mrs. O'Brien Entertains. A six-month contract was then offered by Columbia, which she accepted. However, after the studio failed to find her a project, she returned to New York to star on-stage in The Male Animal. The lead in MGM's National Velvet was offered her, but when the project was delayed Tierney signed with Fox, where in 1940 she made her film debut opposite Henry Fonda in the Fritz Lang Western The Return of Frank James.A small role in Hudson's Bay followed before Tierney essayed her first major role in John Ford's 1940 drama Tobacco Road. She then starred as the titular Belle Starr. Fox remained impressed with her skills, but critics consistently savaged her work. Inexplicably and wholly inappropriately, she was cast as a native girl in three consecutive features: Sundown, The Shanghai Gesture, and Son of Fury. Closer to home was 1942's Thunder Birds, in which Tierney starred as a socialite; however, she was just as quickly returned to more exotic fare later that same year for China Girl. A supporting turn in Ernst Lubitsch's classic 1943 comedy Heaven Can Wait signalled an upward turn in Tierney's career, however, and the following year she starred as the enigmatic Laura in Otto's Preminger's masterful mystery. After 1945's A Bell for Adano, she next appeared as a femme fatale in the melodrama Leave Her to Heaven, a performance which won her a Best Actress Academy Award nomination -- her most successful film to date.
Tierney continued working at a steady pace, and in 1946 co-starred with Tyrone Power in an adaptation of the W. Somerset Maugham novel The Razor's Edge. The 1947 The Ghost and Mrs. Muir was her last major starring role; from 1948's The Iron Curtain onward, she appeared primarily in smaller supporting performances in projects including the 1949 thriller Whirlpool and Jules Dassin's classic 1950 noir Night and the City. After 1952's Way of a Gaucho, Tierney's Fox contract expired, and at MGM she starred with Spencer Tracy in Plymouth Adventure, followed by the Clark Gable vehicle Never Let Me Go. The latter was filmed in Britain, and she remained there to shoot Personal Affair. While in Europe, Tierney also began a romance with Aly Khan, but their marriage plans were met by fierce opposition from the Aga Khan; dejectedly she returned to the U.S., where she appeared in 1954's Black Widow.
After 1955's The Left Hand of God, Tierney's long string of personal troubles finally took their toll, and she left Hollywood and relocated to the Midwest, accepting a job in a small department store; there she was rediscovered in 1959, and Fox offered her a lead role in the film Holidays for Lovers. However, the stress of performing proved too great, and days into production Tierney quit to return to the clinic. In 1960 she married Texas oil baron Howard Lee. Two years later, Fox announced her for the lead role in Return to Peyton Place, but she became pregnant and dropped out of the project. Finally, Tierney returned to screens in 1962's Advise and Consent, followed a year later by Toys in the Attic. After 1964's The Pleasure Seekers, she again retired, but in 1969 starred in the TV movie Daughter of the Mind. Remaining out of the public eye for the next decade, in 1979 Tierney published an autobiography, Self-Portrait, and in 1980 appeared in the miniseries Scruples; the performance was her last -- she died in Houston on November 6, 1991. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1945
Director Henry King's adaptation of John Hersey's novel is a faithful telling of the story of Major Joppolo (John Hodiak), who is assigned to administrate the Sicilian town of Adano after World War II and attempts to return it to its pre-war tranquility. His initial actions include feeding and clothing the villagers, who have been left starved and destitute by the ravages of the war, and preventing the hanging of its former mayor, a Mussolini supporter, although he makes clear that any hints of Fascism will not be tolerated. Suspicious at first, the villagers finally come to trust Joppolo when he works to reclaim the town bell, stolen from the city hall and a symbol of its identity. Gene Tierney plays the fisherman's daughter that Joppolo falls for, while William Bendix is his compassionate orderly and assistant. A Bell For Adano is a low-key look at the effects of war that builds to a quietly powerful conclusion. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luis Alberni, Gene Tierney, (more)
The first of Allen Drury "all names changed to protect the guilty" political novels, Advise and Consent was brought to the screen by producer/director Otto Preminger. The film hinges upon the appointment of Robert Leffingwell (Henry Fonda) to Secretary of State. Leffingwell has been hand-picked by the President (Franchot Tone), meaning that there'll be a battle on the Senate floor between adherents of and opponents to the current administration. Among the participants are veteran Dixiecrat Charles Laughton, freshman Senator Don Murray and powerseeker George Grizzard. Burgess Meredith also shows up as a man who is brought into the Senate to "prove" that Leffingwell is a communist. To neutralize Murray, Grizzard threatens to dredge up a homosexual incident in Murray's past, which results in the latter's suicide. Advise and Consent is a slow and old-fashioned film, coming to life only when Laughton and Grizzard are on screen--and in the climax, in which the fate of Leffingwell's appointment is left in the hands of acting President Lew Ayres. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Fonda, Charles Laughton, (more)
- 1941
20th Century-Fox mixed together elements of its own Jesse James and Selznick's Gone with the Wind, and the resultant brew was Belle Starr. Looking precisely nothing like the real Belle, Gene Tierney plays the title role, whom the screenplay suggests was the daughter of a Southern aristocrat. When those Damn Yankees march in and appropriate Belle's land, she heads to Missouri and joins forces with a Confederate guerilla fighter (Randolph Scott). Belle marries the man, and together they become outlaws, hoping to avenge the fallen South. For reasons best known to the studio, Belle Starr is overloaded with offensive African American stereotypes, including the faithful old ex-slave (George Reed) who narrates the story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Tierney, Randolph Scott, (more)
- 1954
Broadway producer Peter Denver (Van Heflin) takes in young actress Nanny Ordway (Peggy Ann Garner) while his wife (Gene Tierney) is out of town. When Nancy is found murdered in his penthouse apartment, the two prime suspects are Peter and the neglected husband (Reginald Gardiner) of temperamental Broadway star Ginger Rogers, who had also been dallying with the dead girl. Detective Bruce (George Raft) figures out the true identity of the killer, but the audience may be well ahead of him. Despite its resplendant color photography, Black Widow is a "film noir" at heart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ginger Rogers, Van Heflin, (more)
- 1942
China Girl charts the exploits of two-fisted newsreel photographer Johnny Williams (George Montgomery), stationed in Burma and China in the early stage of WW II. Captured by the Japanese, he escapes from a concentration camp with the aid of beautiful, enigmatic "China Girl" Miss Young (Gene Tierney). The two arduously make their way back to friendly lines so that Johnny can deliver the vital military information he's managed to glean from his captors. Though it probably wasn't supposed to happen this way, Lynn Bari steals the film from official star Gene Tierney. China Girl was scripted by Ben Hecht with his usual blend of sentiment and cynicism. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Tierney, George Montgomery, (more)
- 1951
Paramount's Ray Milland and 20th Century-Fox's Gene Tierney star in Warner Bros.' Close to My Heart. The stars play, respectively, journalist Brad Sheridan and his wife Midge. Unable to have children of her own, Midge opts for adoption, thereby subjecting her husband and herself to the very exacting requirements of adoption agencies. Upon learning of an abandoned child left at a police station, Midge determines to claim the baby for her own, but Brad refuses to go along with his wife's plans until he can find out something more about the child's parents. Brad's feverish above-and-beyond search for the facts make him a highly unreliable adoption risk--but there's still hope for a happy ending. Ironically, star Gene Tierney was still trying to cope with the personal tragedy of giving birth to a severely retarded daughter while filming Close to My Heart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Milland, Gene Tierney, (more)
- 1969
Psychologist Don Murray investigates the claim of Nobel prize winning scientist Ray Milland, who insists he has spoken to his young daughter. The thing of it is, the daughter has been dead for several weeks. At first dismissing the claims as the delusions of a grief-stricken man, Murray decides to stick with the case when he notices that the Government is acutely interested in Milland's ethereal "conversations". As the story unfolds, we learn that the apparitions are tied in with a complicated espionage plot. Daughter of the Mind was one of the first high-quality offerings of ABC's Movie of the Week series. The film also represented the TV-movie debut of Gene Tierney, as the other woman in the scientist's life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1946
Years before he became the leading star in horror movies, Vincent Price starred in this gothic thriller based on the best-selling novel by Anya Seton. Nicholas Van Ryn (Vincent Price) is a wealthy feudal heir of Dutch ancestry living in New York's Hudson Valley in the 1840s. Nicholas has come to hate his wife because she has been unable to give him a son; their only child is a daughter he doesn't care for. Miranda Wells (Gene Tierney), a distant relative of the Van Ryns, comes to live at their estate and work as an au pair girl; Nicholas becomes infatuated with her and eventually poisons his wife so they can marry. However, while Miranda gives birth to a son, the boy is sickly and does not live to adulthood. Nicholas begins to slip into insanity, moving to the attic of his mansion and drowning his sorrows in drugs. A distraught Miranda seeks the counsel of the local physician, Dr. Jeff Turner (Glenn Langan); Dr. Turner falls in love with Miranda, and he eventually discovers that Nicholas killed his first wife to be with her, and that Miranda might be next on the madman's list. Dragonwyck was the directorial debut of screenwriter and producer Joseph L. Mankiewicz. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Tierney, Walter Huston, (more)
On the day of his death in 1943, the spirit of Henry Van Cleave (Don Ameche) obligingly heads for the place where so many people had previously told him to go. The immaculately dressed septuagenarian arrives at the outer offices of Hades, where he is greeted by His Excellency (Laird Cregar), the most courteous and gentlemanly Satan in screen history. His Excellency doubts that Van Cleave has sinned enough to qualify for entrance into Hades, but Henry insists that he's led the most wicked of lives, and proceeds to tell his story. Each milestone of Henry's life, it seems, has occurred on one of his birthdays. Upon reaching 15, Henry (played as a teenager by Dickie Moore) naively permits himself to get drunk with and be seduced by his family's French maid (Signe Hasso). At 21, Henry elopes with lovely Martha Strabel (Gene Tierney) stealing her away from her stuffy fiance Albert Van Cleve (Allyn Joslyn), Henry's cousin. At 31, Henry nearly loses Martha when, weary of his harmless extracurricular flirtations, she goes home to her boorish parents (Eugene Pallette and Marjorie Main). Henry's grandpa (Charles Coburn) orders the errant husband not to let so wonderful a girl as Martha get away from him. Henry once more declares his love to Martha, and she can't help but be touched by his boyish sincerity. Twenty years later, Henry, now a faithful and proper husband and father, attempts to charm a beautiful musical-comedy entertainer (Helen Walker) so that she'll forsake his young and impressionable son. But Henry's gay-90s romantic approach is out of touch with the Roaring 20s, and he ends up paying the entertainer a tidy sum to rescue his son--a fact that amuses Henry's understanding wife Martha, who now knows that her husband is hers and hers alone. Ten more years pass: Henry dances a last waltz with Martha, whose loving smile hides the fact that she knows she hasn't much longer to live. Five years later, it is "foxy grandpa" Henry who must be kept in check by his conservative son Jack (Michael Ames). Finally, it is 1943: as he quietly drinks in the loveliness of his night nurse (Doris Merrick), the bedridden Henry contentedly breathes his last. His story told, Henry once again asks to be permitted to enter Hades. But His Excellency, realizing that the only "sin" Henry has truly committed is attempting to live life to the fullest, quietly replies "If you'll forgive me, Mr. Van Cleave, we just don't want your kind down here." While he allows that Henry may have some trouble getting past the Pearly Gates, the wait will be worth it, since his loving wife Martha will be waiting for him. His Excellency cordially escorts Henry to the elevator, giving the operator a one-word instruction: "Up." A charming delight from first frame to last, Heaven Can Wait is another winner from director Ernst Lubitsch, and his first in Technicolor. Samson Raphaelson's screenplay was based on Birthdays, a play by Laslo Bus-Fekete. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Ameche, Gene Tierney, (more)
- 1940
This sweeping drama chronicles the foundation a Canadian institution: the Hudson's Bay Trading Company. Set in the 17th century when the fur trade was at its peak the story centers on Radisson, a far-sighted entrepreneurial fur trapper, and his sidekick who dream of establishing a major trading post on the title bay. Opportunity arises when they encounter an exiled British aristocrat and begin teaching him frontier ways. He in turn has them travel to England with him. There the determined Radisson, must first convince King Charles that the proposed post would be a lucrative venture. The king eventually agrees to fund the first post and Radisson, his partner and the aristocrat return to the Canadian frontier. The company gets off to a good start until the aristocrat's brother-in-law gets drunk and kills a native thereby nearly starting a war that Radisson averts by having the drunken killer killed. The nobleman is outraged and as soon as the three return to England to give a report to the King, he has the two trappers placed in prison. Fortunately, Radisson is able to appeal to the King's greed by telling him that the heretofore successful trading post will collapse without the two of them and they return to Canada to found a business empire that is still going strong today. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Muni, Gene Tierney, (more)
This adaptation of Vera Caspary's suspense novel was begun by director Rouben Mamoulien and cinematographer Lucien Ballard, but thanks to a complex series of backstage intrigues and hostilities, the film was ultimately credited to director Otto Preminger and cameraman Joseph LaShelle (who won an Oscar for his efforts). At the outset of the film, it is established that the title character, Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney), has been murdered. Tough New York detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) investigates the killing, methodically questioning the chief suspects: Waspish columnist Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb), wastrel socialite Shelby Carpenter (Vincent Price), and Carpenter's wealthy "patroness" Ann Treadwell (Judith Anderson). The deeper he gets into the case, the more fascinated he becomes by the enigmatic Laura, literally falling in love with the girl's painted portrait. As he sits in Laura's apartment, ruminating over the case and his own obsessions, the door opens, the lights switch on, and in walks Laura Hunt, very much alive! To tell any more would rob the reader of the sheer enjoyment of watching this stylish film noir unfold on screen. Everything clicks in Laura, from the superbly bitchy peformance of Clifton Webb (a veteran Broadway star who became an overnight movie favorite with this film) to the haunting musical score by David Raskin. Long available only in the 85-minute TV version Laura has since been restored to its original 88-minute running time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, (more)
Gene Tierney portrays a beautiful but unstable woman who marries successful novelist Cornel Wilde. Tierney wants to spend all her time with her new husband, but finds it impossible to do so thanks to his work and the frequent visits of family and friends. When Wilde's crippled younger brother (Darryl Hickman) comes to the couple's summer house to stay, Ms. Tierney indirectly causes the boy to drown. Later, upon discovering that she's pregnant, Tierney deliberately falls down the stairs, choosing to miscarry rather than share her husband's affections with an infant. When it becomes clear that family friend Jeanne Crain is attracted to her husband, Ms. Tierney commits suicide, making her death appear to be murder and framing Crain for the "crime." In court, Ms. Crain is mercilessly grilled by prosecuting attorney Vincent Price, who happens to be Tierney's ex-lover! Filmed in lush Technicolor, Leave Her to Heaven is based on the best-selling novel by Ben Ames Williams. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, (more)
- 1953
Clark Gable's next-to-last MGM film was the Cold War melodrama Never Let Me Go. Filmed in England, the story finds American journalist Philip Sutherland (Gable) desperately trying to retrieve his Russian-ballerina bride Marva Lamarkins (Gene Tierney) from behind the Iron Curtain. Stymied by bureaucracy on both sides, Sutherland attempts to plead his case directly to Soviet bigwig Molotov, in London for a peace conference. When this too fails, Sutherland aligns himself with an Englishman (Richard Haydn) in a similar predicament. Together, the two men formulate a daring escape plan, which could spell instant doom for both their wives and themselves. The Englishman's bride is played by Belita, who unlike Gene Tierney did her own dancing in the ballet scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clark Gable, Gene Tierney, (more)
Jules Dassin's Night and the City opens with cheap grifter Harry Fabian (Richard Widmark) running for his life through the streets of London. Harry wants to be big-time, and he does not care how he raises cash for his schemes. Like a junkie, he uses and steals from his girlfriend Mary (Gene Tierney), a singer at the Silver Fox, a seedy nightclub owned by the physically grotesque Phil Nosseross Francis L. Sullivan. Harry, who also works for Phil steering unsuspecting customers to the club, comes up with a plan to wrest control of professional wrestling from promoter and underworld kingpin Kristo (Herbert Lom) by manipulating Kristo through his father, retired wrestling great Gregorius (Stanislaus Zbyszko). For financial backing, Harry turns to Phil and Phil's wife Helen Googie Withers, both of whom give him the money, but only to further their own ends. When Gregorius is accidentally killed by his protege's upcoming opponent, Strangler (Mike Mazurki), and Phil realizes that Helen is leaving him for Harry, the scheme quickly unravels. Truly a glimpse of hell, Night and the City's distorted visuals and dark symbolism depict an underworld from which there is no escape and in which redemption comes at a very high price. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, (more)
On the Riviera is a remake of 1941's Weekend in Havana, which in turn was a remake of 1934's Folies Bergere. The plot remains the same in all three incarnations: for business purposes, a nightclub entertainer is coerced into posing as his look-alike, a powerful financier/aviator. This time it's Danny Kaye who essays the dual role of American cabaret comedian Jack Martin and French financial wizard Henri Duran. While impersonating Duran, Martin is forced to make amorous advances towards Duran's neglected wife (Gene Tierney), proving himself the better lover in the process. Meanwhile, Martin must mollify his genuine sweetheart (and nightclub partner) Collette (Corinne Calvet) without revealing his ruse. A little too top-heavy in the plot department, On the Riviera must be regarded as a second-echelon Danny Kaye vehicle, though Sylvia Fine's specialty numbers -- especially the eerily autobiographical "Popo the Puppet" -- are well up to standard. One of the uncredited specialty dancers is future Broadway star Gwen Verdon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Gene Tierney, (more)
- 1953
The star power of leading lady Gene Tierney enabled the British Personal Affair to get good bookings in the U.S. The story is set in motion by impulsive schoolgirl Barbara Vining (Glynis Johns), who develops a crush on teacher Stephen Barlow (Leo Genn). Barlow's wife Kay (Tierney) confronts Barbara, advising the girl to get over his misguided ardor. Shortly thereafter, Barbara completely disappears. All evidence suggests that she has either met with foul play, or at the very least has killed herself. With nothing but rumor and hearsay to go on, the Court of Public Opinion forms its own vituperative opinions, thoroughly ruining the lives of Stephen and Kay Barlow. In any other circumstances, the outcome of the film might be regarded as a happy ending. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Tierney, Leo Genn, (more)
- 1942
Director Rouben Mamoulian completed a three-picture 20th Century Fox deal with this airy comic romance that attempted to ape the story and style of the previous year's The Lady Eve (1941) but without that film's success. While vacationing in Southern California, accountant John Wheeler (Henry Fonda) intends to purchase a boat, a luxury for which he's saved long and hard on his limited income. Maybelle (Spring Byington) and Warren (Laird Cregar), a pair of grifters on the prowl for a mark, overhear John discussing the upcoming transaction and mistake him for a millionaire. They persuade pretty sales clerk Susan Miller (Gene Tierney) to help them dupe John by pretending to be their daughter and fall in love with him. As the couple spends time together, however, Susan really does fall in love with John. She backs out of her agreement with the con artists, tells John the truth, and learns that he's not a man of means. The truth does nothing to diminish their feelings for each other, and the happy couple marries, but Warren and Maybelle are not quite done with Susan yet, and they embark on a scheme to find her a real millionaire. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Fonda, Gene Tierney, (more)
- 1980
Adapted from the Judith Krantz novel of the same name, the CBS miniseries Scruples zeroes in on a trendy, upscale Beverly Hills boutique. The guiding force behind the Scruples shop is beautiful Billy Ikelhorn (Lindsay Wagner), who, though born into grinding poverty, had risen to the uppermost rungs of L.A. society by virtue of her marriage to millionaire Ellis Ikelhorn (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.). When her husband dies after a long illness, Billy compensates for her grief by becoming a Boadicea of the fashion industry. Her personal and professional life is entangled with those of her closest associates, fashion photographer Spider Elliott (Barry Bostwick) and designer Valentine O'Neill (Marie-France Pisier). Originally telecast in six two-hour episodes on February 25, 26, and 28, 1980, Scruples proved popular enough to warrant a 1981 TV-movie sequel, starring Shelley Smith as Billy, Dirk Benedict as Spider and Olga Karlatos as Valentine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lindsay Wagner, Barry Bostwick, (more)
This period swashbuckler film is based on the adventure novel Benjamin Blake by Edison Marshall, who also wrote The Vikings (1958). When his brother dies, scheming Arthur Blake (George Sanders) kidnaps his own nephew, Benjamin (played as a youth by Roddy McDowall and as an adult by Tyrone Power). Arthur's purpose is to claim his brother's dukedom for himself. Put to work as a stable boy, Benjamin grows up and develops a crush on his own cousin Isabel (Frances Farmer). When Arthur discovers this, he mercilessly beats Benjamin, who runs away and sails to India on a cargo ship to make his fortune. In Polynesia, he and a friend, Caleb (John Carradine), jump ship and set up camp on a tropical island paradise. There, Benjamin and Caleb become rich mining pearls, while Benjamin falls in love with a native girl, Eve (Gene Tierney). Now that he has amassed wealth, however, Benjamin is determined to return to England and get his revenge on Uncle Arthur. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, (more)
Adapted by Barre Lyndon from his own Saturday Evening Post short story, Sundown takes place in Africa during WW2. British army major Coombes (George Sanders) cannot abide the local Arab population, and he has even less time for district commissioner Crawford (Bruce Cabot), who has befriended the natives. Crawford is particularly fond of the beautiful Zia (Gene Tierney), whom Coombes suspects of being a Nazi sympathizer. But when the British troops must make their way through treacherous uncharted territory, they are forced to rely upon the guidance of the enigmatic Zia. Cedric Hardwycke spouts reams and reams of symbolic dialogue as the local British bishop, while among the native extras is a very young Dorothy Dandridge. Impressively photographed (by Charles Lang) and directed (by Henry Hathaway), Sundown just misses being as profound as it obviously wants to be. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Cabot, Gene Tierney, (more)
- 1948
That Wonderful Urge is the second remake of Love is News (37), and is much closer to the original than the first remake (the Betty Grable musical Sweet Rosie O'Grady). Tyrone Power repeats his role from the 1937 film as a handsome reporter who targets a flighty heiress (Gene Tierney, taking over from Loretta Young) for ridicule. Sick of unwanted public attention, the heiress announces that she has secretly married Power, forcing him to endure the spotlight for a change. Several crosses and double-crosses later, Power and Tierney find that they're really in love after all. Personal item: This writer's favorite version of Love is News is the 1940 radio adaptation, which starred a wildly adlibbing Bob Hope. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, (more)
- 1951
Vernon Sewell, a mercurial filmmaker who preferred to lens his pictures on chunks of his own property, was the director of Black Widow. We don't know which of Sewell's real estate holdings served as the locale for this amnesia meller. We can, however, tell you that the film was inspired by the BBC radio serial "Return from Darkness." Returning from you-know-where is Robert Ayres, who learns that his wife (Christine Norden) is planning to bump him off with the help of her boyfriend (Anthony Forwood). Ayres continues feigning a loss of memory until he is able to get the drop on his would-be murderers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1954
Based on the novel by Mika Waltari and helmed by Casablanca director Michael Curtiz, The Egyptian, a lavish period soaper, is set several centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ. Young Egyptian healer Sinuhe Edmund Purdom (ere accompanied by his servant, Kaptah, played by Peter Ustinov) draws the affection of barmaid Merit (Jean Simmons) who seeks his hand in marriage. Sinuhe provides medical assistance to the epileptic Pharoah, Akhnaton (Michael Wilding), who, meanwhile, becomes convinced that only one god exists, and thus infuriates all of his polytheistic priests, who secretly plot to assassinate him. Sinuhe has an affair with a Babylonian whore, Nefer (Bella Darvi), but grows listless with her and eventually ends the relationship, harkening back to Merit. However, she is soon extinguished, with an arrow through the heart, for also being monotheistic. Angered by this, and believing Akhnaton's ideas directly responsible for Merit's death,
Sinuhe and his muscular friend, the affable Horemheb (screen heartthrob Victor Mature) poison the Pharoah. Akhnaton then dies while Horemheb prepares to ascend to the throne.
Ingmar Bergman had a point when he admonished the idea of falling for one's lead actress, and it is a lesson one wishes producer Daryl Zanuck had learned; he purportedly had an extramarital affair with Darvi, taking her as a "plaything," but grew sick of her after casting her in seven films. Her career then torpedoed. (Little wonder - her horrendous performance in this film must be seen to be believed; Variety called it "less than believable or skilled.") This $4.2 million film (a massive amount for 1954) suffered from additional production problems as well, with Marlon Brando originally slated to star, but replaced, at the very last minute, by Purdom, a contract player for 20th Century-Fox.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edmund Purdom, Jean Simmons, (more)
- 1969
Hollywood film favorite Gene Tierney makes a rare TV appearance in this episode, in which she plays one of three witnesses to a Mob murder. The victim was an ex-FBI agent who just before his death had informed Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) that the Mafia was in the process of taking over an isolated retirement village. Despite a marked lack of cooperation from the witnesses, Erskine endeavors to prevent their extermination at the hands of fugitive killer Leonard King (Ken Lynch). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Like its TV-sitcom counterpart of the 1960s, the original film version of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir was based on the novel by R.A. Dick. Gene Tierney plays turn-of-the-century widow Lucy Muir, who escapes her impossible in-laws by moving into an old house on the English seacoast. Despite the warnings of realtor Combe (Robert Coote) that the house might be haunted, the tenacious young widow calmly establishes residence with her young daughter Anna (Natalie Wood) and housekeeper Martha (Edna Best) in tow. Sure enough, the place is haunted by the spirit of its previous owner-a bombastic, profane, yet somehow attractive sea captain named Daniel Gregg (Rex Harrison). When Lucy steadfastly refuses to be frightened by Captain Gregg, he takes a liking to her, and the two become close friends (in standard ghost-movie tradition, only Lucy can hear or see the Captain). Realizing that Lucy is in dire financial straits, the Captain offers to dictate his colorful memoirs to her, which she promptly parlays into a best-seller and a lasting literary career. Slowly but surely, Gregg falls in love with Lucy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, (more)
