Leon Tyler Movies

Son of Flubber represented the first time that Walt Disney ever attempted a theatrical feature sequel: in this case, the earlier film was the 1961 moneyspinner The Absent-Minded Professor. While Flubber is more formula-bound than Professor, it proved an instant audience-pleaser, and a hit to the tune of nine million dollars. Fred MacMurray returns as professor Ned Brainerd, currently working on his new discovery, "dry rain." The comically destructive side effects of this discovery seemingly doom the professor to failure -- at least until the closing courtroom sequence -- but meanwhile he has better luck with Flubbergas, a byproduct of the antigravity glop he'd invented in the first film. In addition to MacMurray, Absent-Minded Professor alumni Nancy Olson, Keenan Wynn, Tommy Kirk, Leon Ames, Elliott Reid, Alan Carney, Gordon Jones, Forrest Lewis, and James Westerfield reprise their roles from the earlier film, while Ed Wynn shows up in a new guise as a nervous agricultural agent. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of Disney's most entertaining forays into live-action, this hit family comedy stars Fred MacMurray as a college professor so forgetful that he missed his own wedding twice. He creates an extremely resilient flying rubber, dubbed "Flubber," and manages to make his old Model-T bounce all the way to Washington, DC, where it is mistaken for a UFO, as well as helping the college basketball team win the big game with Flubber-powered sneakers. MacMurray is a lot of fun in the title role, ably supported by a cast including Tommy Kirk, Keenan Wynn and Leon Ames, although the central romance between MacMurray and huffy bride-to-be Nancy Olson gets a bit annoying in its repetitiveness. In all, however, this is one of the best children's films of the '60s, and is highly recommended. A sequel, Son of Flubber, followed, with a remake simply titled Flubber appearing in 1997. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

In this WW II actioner, the crew of the Seahawk nearly mutinies when they discover that their new commander is a tactical instructor who has very little experience as a leader. They are quite angry because he refuses to allow them to sink the Japanese warships that are so close to them. Later they change their opinion after learning that he was only following orders. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Juvenile Jungle looks suspiciously like a standard kidnap drama, rewritten to conform with the "juvernile delinquent" cycle of the late 1950s. Gang leader Hal McQueen (Corey Allen) goes out of his way to ingratiate himself with Caroline Elliot (Anne Whitfield), the daughter of a wealthy shopkeeper. It's all part of McQueen's master plan to fake Caroline's abduction and extort a great deal of money from her daddy. Trouble begins brewing when Hal falls in love with Caroline, while his hoodlum buddies intend to go through with the snatch for real. Director William Witney struggles manfully to inject some excitement into the plodding plotline. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Kim Novak is clearly out of her depth as legendary Broadway actress Jeanne Eagels, but one can't fault her for trying very hard. As this filmed biography gets under way, wide-eyed Eagels finds herself stranded in a tank town by a smooth-talking traveling salesman. Carnival operator Sal Satori hires Eagels as a kootch dancer, but her ambition is to become a serious dramatic actress. When she and Sal reach New York, she signs up for acting lessons under the tutelage of a Mme. Neilson (Agnes Moorehead). Before long, Jeanne is understudying on Broadway, and in 1922 she takes audiences and critics by storm with her unforgettable portrayal of Sadie Thompson in Rain, a role she landed by ruthlessly double-crossing the actress originally slated for the part (Virginia Grey). When her rival commits suicide, the chastened Jeanne turns to booze and drugs to assuage her conscience. The real-life Jeanne Eagels died of narcotics addiction in 1929, a fact that the Hollywood version skims over. Eagels' family sued Columbia Pictures over the "distortions" offered in Jeanne Eagels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally double-billed with Rock All Night, Dragstrip Girl is a typical J.D. potboiler from American-International. The title character, played by Fay Spain, is insatiable in her search for new thrills. Fay derives great pleasure in playing her two boyfriends, garage mechanic Steve Terrell and wealthy, arrogant drag-racer John Ashley, against each other. The story comes to a lively conclusion during a winner-take-all race, but not before the viewer is treated to a rip-off of the "Chickie Run" in Rebel Without a Cause. The 1994 entry in Showtime Cable's "Rebel Highway" series titled Dragstrip Girl bears little relationship to the original. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The endearingly awful Shake, Rattle and Rock! serves as a showcase for four top rock-and-roll talents of the 1950s. Fats Domino heads the cast as "himself", performing "I'm in Love Again", "Ain't it a Shame" and "Honey Chile". Likewise, Joe Turner offers renditions of "Feelin' Happy" and "Lipstick, Powder and Paint", while Tommy Charles and Annita Ray let loose with "Sweet Love on My Mind" and "Rockin' on Saturday Night". The plot is one of the oldest known to man: a quartet of buttinsky do-gooders, played by screen veterans Douglass Dumbrille, Margaret Dumont, Raymond Hatton and Percy Helton, try to impose a ban on rock-and-roll, while TV producer Touch (later Mike) Connors does his best to convince the "squares" that the new musical style is harmless fun. Sterling Holloway is a riot as Connors' jive-talking assistant, who lays on the hipster slang so heavily in one scene that he requires English subtitles! Shake, Rattle and Rock was (sort of) remade for TV in 1994 as one of Showtime Cable's "Rebel Highway" entries. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Nightclub singer Ilona Vance (Vera Ralston) is Accused of Murder in this Republic programmer. And from the looks of things, Ilona is guilty; she was, after all, the last person to see crooked lawyer Hobart (Sidney Blackmer) alive. But Lt. Roy Hargis (David Brian) is convinced that Ilona is innocent, and he intends to prove it. Except for the mildly surprising denoument, there is little in Accused of Murder that is not thoroughly predictable. Star Vera Ralston, the wife of Republic chieftan Herbert J. Yates, is her usual expressionless self. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the most famous of the pre-East of Eden TV appearances by the immortal James Dean, this 30-minute adaptation of Sherwood Anderson's short story "I'm a Fool" originally aired live as the November 14, 1954 episode of the CBS anthology General Electric Theater. Narrated by Eddie Albert, this is an extended flashback, wherein a young country boy (Dean), working in a menial job in a middle-sized midwestern town, falls in love with that town's prettiest gal, Lucy (Natalie Wood). Aware that Lucy is already being courted by the wealthier youths in the vicinity, the boy tries to impress the girl by pretending to be something he's not. Only when it is too late does he realize that he would have been far, far better off simply being "himself" (it gives away nothing to reveal that Eddie Albert and James Dean essentially play the same character). Worth noting is the play's impressionistic staging, using fragmentary sets and minimal props, and the remarkable chemistry between James Dean and Natalie Wood, even before they were paired in Rebel without a Cause. On November 18, 1956, nearly a year after Dean's untimely death, a kinescope of "I'm a Fool" was rebroadcast on General Electric Theatre by popular request (at least according to host Ronald Reagan); it is this rerun version that is currently available on home video. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ray Middleton and Bill Shirley, Republic Pictures' answer to Hope and Crosby, star in Sweethearts on Parade. Middleton and Shirley play Cam Ellerby and Bill Gamble, the featured singers in a travelling medicine show. While stopping over in a small town, Cam renews his acquaintance with his former wife Sylvia (Eileen Christy), who now has a pretty, grown-up daughter -- Kathleen -- played by Lucille Norman. When Kathleen makes noises about a show-business career, Sylvia won't hear of it -- nor does she approve of her daughter's romance with Bill. One gets the sneaking suspicion that everything will turn out all right in the end for all four protagonists. With 26 songs in the picture, how could things not turn out all right? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Carrie is based on Sister Carrie, a novel by Theodore Dreiser. Dreiser's clumsy, unwieldy prose is streamlined into a neat and precise screenplay by Ruth and Augustus Goetz. Jennifer Jones stars as Carrie, who leaves her go-nowhere small town for the wicked metropolis of Chicago. Here she becomes the mistress of brash traveling salesman Charles Drouet (Eddie Albert), then throws him over in favor of erudite restaurant manager George Hurstwood (Laurence Olivier). Obsessed by Carrie, George steals money from his boss to support her in the manner to which he thinks she is accustomed. Left broke and disgraced by the ensuing scandal, Carrie deserts George to become an actress. Years later, the conscience-stricken Carrie tries to regenerate George, who has fallen into bum-hood. If Laurence Olivier seems a surprising casting choice in Carrie, try to imagine what the film would have been like had Cary Grant, Paramount's first choice, accepted the role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Columbia Pictures attempted to duplicate the success of Monogram's "Bowery Boys" pictures with its 1950 programmer Military Academy with That Tenth Avenue Gang. Four tough-but-lovable juvenile delinquents are sent to military school but a tough-but-kindly judge. It is hoped that the school's regimen will straighten out the boys and send them down the right path in life. It does, but there are plenty of twists on that path along the way. Topping the cast in Military Academy is Stanley Clements, who in 1956 would replace "Bowery Boys" star Leo Gorcey. Among the supporting players is Buddy Swan, who in 1941 played young Orson Welles in Citizen Kane. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide