Albert van Antwerp Movies

In this film noir with romantic overtones, con man and cardsharp Nick Blake (John Garfield) returns home after serving in WWII to discover that a rival syndicate now controls New York's gambling rackets -- and that his girlfriend Toni (Faye Emerson) has run off with his money. Looking for a fresh start, Nick heads for California, where he becomes reacquainted with Pop Grueber (Walter Brennan), who gave him his start in the underworld. Pop and his boss Doc Ganson (George Coulouris) tip Nick off to a scam they've brainstormed to separate young widow Gladys Halvorsen (Geraldine Fitzgerald) from her recently inherited fortune. Nick's job is to sweet talk Gladys out of her money and then make tracks, but he finds himself falling in love with her and wants out of the deal. Meanwhile, Toni comes back into the picture and tries to convince Doc that Nick is trying to cheat him, leading to a kidnapping. Incidentally, John Garfield won the leading role in Nobody Lives Forever after Humphrey Bogart turned it down. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Zachary Scott made his screen debut in this clever bit of film noir that has gained a cult reputation in recent years. Dutch mystery novelist Cornelius Leyden (Peter Lorre) is travelling through Istanbul when he meets Col. Haki (Kurt Katch), head of the secret police and a big fan of Leyden's work. He offers to tell Leyden about Dimitrios Makropoulos (Zachary Scott), a notorious criminal whose body was just found washed up on the beach. It seems that Makropoulos was involved in nearly every sort of lawless act imaginable, from murder and blackmail to espionage and political assassination. Fascinated, Leyden decides that Makropoulos would be a fine subject for his next book, and he begins researching his life, beginning with Haki's dossier on the criminal. Leyden's research takes him through much of Europe; while en route by rail to Sofia, he meets a large man with an ingratiating chuckle, Mr. Peters (Sydney Greenstreet), who informs Leyden that "There is not enough kindness in the world," and tells him of a good hotel in town. Grateful for the advice, Leyden checks in, only to later find Peters ransacking his room and holding him at gunpoint; it seems that Peters had business with Makropoulos, and he isn't entirely convinced that the master criminal is dead -- especially since his body was found with shabby clothes and no money, and the police in Istanbul had never actually seen a photo of Makropoulos. Based on a novel by Eric Ambler, The Mask of Dimitrios also features Faye Emerson, who was in the news at the time, as she had just wed the son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This tale of the Gold Rush days in the Klondike was produced by Austin E. Lathrop, who was once a prospector himself. Because of his experience -- and because the film was shot in Alaska -- this production is especially realistic. A group of Chechahcos (Eskimo for newcomers, or tenderfeet) are sailing for Alaska. The boat catches fire, and gambler Richard Steele (Alexis B. Luce) rescues a woman, Mrs. Stanlaw (Eva Gordon), while young prospector Bob Dexter (Albert Van Antwerp) saves Mrs. Stanlaw's child. Twelve years pass, during which mother and child are separated. The girl, Ruth (Gladys Johnston), grows up to be a pretty young woman who falls in love with Dexter. When Dexter, who has struck it rich, goes to a new dancehall, he finds Mrs. Stanlaw working there. She tells him the sorry story of her relationship with the wicked Steele. The dancehall burns to the ground, but Steele escapes with a dog team, with Dexter in pursuit. Ruth, meanwhile, has discovered the truth about her mother and gets lost on a glacier while trying to go to her. Steele, too, winds up on the glacier, but the piece he is on crumbles into the sea. Dexter saves Ruth once again, and brings her to Mrs. Stanlaw, who is waiting for her. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi