Joe Turkel Movies
American actor Joe Turkel had at least one movie leading role, as the Genie in the 1961 kiddie-matinee feature The Boy and the Pirates. Otherwise he seldom rose any farther than featured billing (sometimes, as in Harold and Maude [1971], he got no billing at all). In films since the late '40s, Turkel essayed character parts in such productions as City Across the River (1949), Visit to a Small Planet (1959), The Sand Pebbles (1966), Hindenberg (1977) and Blade Runner (1980) (as Tyrrell); though firmly entrenched in Hollywood, he occasionally grabbed a quick paycheck in such exploitation flicks as Savage Abduction (1975), which afforded him star billing if not a whole lot of prestige. Joe Turkel is best remembered by "auteur" critics for his appearances in the films of director Stanley Kubrick: He played Tiny in The Killing (1955), Private Arnaud in Paths of Glory (1957), and the other-worldly bartender Lloyd in The Shining (1978). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1950
Former juvenile star William Henry is the all-grown-up hero of Federal Man. Henry is cast as a government agent who dogs the trail of illegal narcotics peddlers. This requires several trips south of the US-Mexico border and back again. Scenes of startlingly vivid violence are counterpointed with prosaic shots of the scientific paraphernalia used by modern-day crime fighters ("modern," of course, by 1950 standards). Though leading lady Pamela Blake is ill-served by her bland dialogue, veteran utility player George Eldredge enjoys one of the largest assignments of his career as the slimy gang leader. Like many crime films of the era, Federal Man adopts a documentary approach to its scripted scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Henry, Pamela Blake, (more)
- 1949
Sword in the Desert is set in Palestine during World War II. Dana Andrews plays an American seaman engaged in smuggling European Jewish refugees into the Holy Land, despite the restrictions levied by the British occupation troops. Fifth-billed Jeff Chandler makes his movie debut as an Israeli rebel leader; his performance garnered so much fan mail that Chandler was given a seven-year contract at Universal. Few of those letters came from Britain, where Sword in the Desert ran into distribution difficulties due to its blatant anti-British slant--especially as manifested in the underground radio broadcasts of leading lady Marta Toren. The principal complaint was that the British seemed to be the sole villains in the script, which virtually ignored the Arab resistance to the formation of Israel. Sword in the Desert represents a low-key warm-up to the blood-and-thunder excesses of Otto Preminger's 1960 Exodus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dana Andrews, Märta Torén, (more)
- 1949
The 15th film in the Bowery Boys series, Angels in Disguise combines lowbrow humor with "film noir" melodramatics. Bowery boys Slip (Leo Gorcey) and Sach (Huntz Hall) are copy boys for a crusading newspaper, whose publisher (Ray Walker) is trying to crush the notorious "Loop Gang". When the boys' policeman pal Gabe (Gabriel Dell) is wounded in a shoot-out with the Loop mob, Slip and Sach take it upon themselves to expose the gang. All the Bowery boys (including sweet-shop proprietor Louie) disguise themselves as gangsters and infiltrate the Loop Gang, which is run by a young, erudite intellectual (Mickey Ryan). The scheme to destroy the Loop mob from the inside is flummoxed by the crusading newspaper's cartoonist, actually a member of the crooked gang who has been sending out coded tips in his comic strip. The Loop Gang gives the Bowery Boys a real "going over", but the cops arrive in time to round up the crooks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1949
This slightly bowdlerized version of Irving Shulman's The Amboy Dukes was used by Universal-International to showcase several of its new male contractees. Set in the slums of Brooklyn, the film follows the exploits of the Amboy Dukes, a teenaged street gang. Foremost among the Dukes is Frank Cusack (Peter Fernandez), who loses all opportunity to escape his grim existence when he accidentally kills his high-school teacher. The film tries to demonstrate that the so-called "code of the streets"--never rat on a pal--is possibly more destructive than any brass knuckle or switchblade. Maxwell Shane and Dennis Cooper's screenplay resists any temptation to sentimentalize the kids or trivialize their plight; the closest the film comes to comedy relief are the shattered romantic illusions of the near-moronic Crazy Perrin. Prominent among the supporting players are Thelma Ritter as Frank Cusack's anguished mother, Stephen McNally as a community center counselor, and Anthony (Tony) Curtis as the leather-jacketed gang leader. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen McNally, Thelma Ritter, (more)
