Emmett Vogan Movies

At the height of their TV fame, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were contracted by MGM to make two theatrical films. The first of these, The Long, Long Trailer, stars Lucy and Desi as an upwardly mobile couple who decide to buy a trailer so they can live together while his job takes him around the country. Thanks to their naivete in such matters, they end up with a huge, bulky RV that costs five times what they planned. Their "seeing America" trip turns out to be a slapstick disaster, topped by Lucy's foolish decision to hide a heavy rock collection in the trailer; as Desi tries to maneuver a treacherous mountain road, the weighted-down home-on-wheels nearly loses its balance and almost tumbles off a cliff. The story is told in flashback, as Desi 'splains the breakup of his marriage to a motel court manager. Happily, Lucy shows up, goes "Waaaaah" a little, and all is forgiven. Despite the fact that audiences were getting Ball and Arnaz for free each week on television, The Long, Long Trailer was a big hit at the box-office. The film was adapted by Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich from a novel by Clinton Twiss, with uncredited assistance from the I Love Lucy writing staff. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This children's sci-fi adventure chronicles the friendship between an 11-year-old and his grandfather's robot Tobor, who was designed to explore deep space. Tobor, unlike other machines, was endowed with human emotions. Trouble erupts when the communists kidnap him and try to make him do their evil bidding. Fortunately, Tobor is mind-linked to his creator and cannot be easily reprogrammed. The adventure begins when the boy and the scientists attempt to save the robot. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A remake of 1933's The Greeks Had a Word for Them, as well as a retread of 20th Century-Fox's favorite plotline, How to Marry a Millionaire was the first Hollywood comedy to be lensed in Cinemascope. Lauren Bacall, Betty Grable and Marilyn Monroe play three models of modest means who rent an expensive Manhattan penthouse apartment and pose as women of wealth. It's all part of a scheme hatched by Bacall to snare rich husbands for herself and her roommates. The near-sighted Monroe is wooed by an international playboy, but ends up settling for the tax-dodging fugitive (David Wayne) who owns the girls' apartment. The knuckle-headed Grable goes off on an illicit weekend in the mountains with a grouchy married executive (Fred Clark), but falls instead for a comparatively poor--but very handsome--forest ranger (Rory Calhoun). And Bacall very nearly lands an aging millionaire (William Powell), but has a sudden attack of conscience and opts instead for the supposedly poverty-stricken chap (Cameron Mitchell) who has been pursuing her since reel one. It turns out that she has actually landed one of the richest men in New York--and upon learning this, our three luscious heroines faint dead away. Before the opening credits roll in How to Marry a Millionaire, we are treated to a "live" orchestral rendition of Alfred Newman's "Street Scene" overture, conducted by Newman himself. In addition to its being the first wide-screen comedy, Millionaire was also the first-ever presentation of the weekly NBC series Saturday Night at the Movies, premiering on the small screen on September 23, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Something for the Birds is a toothless satire of Washington, filmed during the McCarthy era. For lack of a political target that wouldn't get them labeled as Communists, the producers decided to go after lobbyists. Patricia Neal comes to Washington on behalf of the preservation of the California Condor; she finds herself the object of ridicule for almost everyone, including leading man Victor Mature, a lobbyist for the oil interests who threatens a large bird sanctuary. Edmund Gwenn is one of the few Washingtonians willing to financially back Neal's cause; unfortunately he turns out to be a charlatan with nary a nickel to his name. Eventually Mature is made to realize that the plight of the Condor is worthy worrying about, and he is able to dissuade the agreeable oil executives from drilling on the bird's territory. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With a Song in My Heart is the story of popular 1930s songstress Jane Froman, here portrayed by Susan Hayward. We first see Ms. Froman as a humble staff singer at a Cincinnati radio stations, but it doesn't take her long to rise to the uppermost rungs of network radio fame. Jane gratefully marries her agent (David Wayne), but soon both realize they're not truly in love. While touring with the USO during World War II, Jane is in a plane crash, which severely injures her. She nonetheless valiantly makes a professional comeback, and begins a relationship with the pilot (Rory Calhoun) who rescued her. Jane Froman herself provided the vocals for With a Song in My Heart, with Susan Hayward doing a topnotch miming job. Watch for Robert Wagner in his starmaking cameo as a shell-shocked GI. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Young Man with Ideas in this MGM production is idealistic lawyer Maxwell Webster (Glenn Ford). Too self-effacing for his own good, Webster vegetates in Montana with his wife Julie (Ruth Roman) and children for nearly 10 years before starting life anew in California. Living penuriously while studying for his California bar exam, Webster tries out several moneymaking schemes, most of which come acropper. Along the way, he inadvertently gets involved with a bookie ring, culminating in a climactic courtroom scene wherein Webster defends himself -- and surprise, he doesn't have a fool for a client. In typical Hollywood fashion, the script requires the talented Ruth Roman to express jealousy when a brace of lovely females played by Nina Foch and Denise Darcel briefly set their caps for the ingenuous Glenn Ford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this old-fashioned screwball comedy, Christy Sloane (Eleanor Parker) is a secretary with a large legal firm who is sent to California to inform Peter Lockwood (Fred MacMurray), an overly sentimental radio host, that he's just inherited $2 million. Christy is looking to raise her standard of living, and she gets an idea -- what if she woos Peter and gets him to marry her before telling him that he's a millionaire? Christy decides that it's worth a try, even though she soon learns that Peter is due to marry his fiancée June Chandler (Kay Buckley) in a matter of days. However, the wedding goes haywire when Dr. Roland Cook (Richard Carlson), Peter's best man, takes a flyer shortly before the ceremony. It seems that he's secretly in love with June, and he can't bear to see her marry anyone else, even his best friend. Peter takes off to find Roland, with Christy eagerly tagging along, but after the two are soaked by massive waves while driving along the coastline, they wind up at a wild party thrown by a large, overly-cheerful Mexican gentleman (Chris-Pin Martin) who has somehow decided that they're honeymooners and begins plying them with large amounts of tequila. After a few drinks, Christy begins to realize that she actually likes Peter for himself, not just his money, but where does this leave his almost-wedding to June? A Millionaire for Christy was directed by George Marshall, who would go on to helm a number of Jerry Lewis vehicles (including several with his sometimes-partner Dean Martin). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Wayne Morris and Preston S. Foster go through their patented he-man paces in Columbia's The Big Gusher. Cast as oil-field workers Kenny Blake and Hank Mason, our heroes try their luck as wildcatters. Against their better judgment, they rely upon grizzled Cappy Groves (Paul E. Burns) to locate hidden oil with a divining rod. On the brink of success, the boys fall for the trickery of Betsy Abbott (Dorothy Patrick), who is in cahoots with crooked oil-supply dealer Jim Tolman (Emmett Vogan). It takes a while before the titular gusher solves everyone's problems. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Follow the Sun is the filmed biography of golf champion Ben Hogan. Glenn Ford, no mean duffer himself, stars as Hogan, here depicted as a single-purposed individual to whom golf is everything. Anne Baxter co-stars as Hogan's supportive wife Valerie, who sticks with him through thick and thin. On the brink of his greatest success, Hogan is seriously injured in an auto accident. His recovery and return to the links provides the dramatic momentum of the film's final reels. Co-starring as themselves in Follow the Suns are such golfing legends as Sam Snead, Jimmy Demaret, and Dr. Cary Middlecoff. An uncredited Harold Blake appears as Ben Hogan at the age of 14. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this entry in the "Henry Latham" comedy series, the parsimonious Henry protests the rising cost of meat and decides to take up hunting for wild game. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Warren Douglas is Post Office Investigator Bill Mannerson in this diligent Republic programmer. Top billing, however, is awarded to Audrey Long as villainess Clara Kelso. The "maguffin" is a collection of rare stamps, which the baddies attempt to steal from stalwart Mr. Mannerson. Aiding and abetting the hero is his spirited fiancee April Shaughnessy (Jeff Donnell). The film's most interesting performances are rendered by Marcel Journet as a cosmopolitan criminal mastermind and former boxer Richard Benedict as Journet's deaf-mute henchman. Originally clocking in at 60 minutes, Post Office Investigator seems to be brisker and more entertaining in the 48-minute version prepared for television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Robert Lowery stars in the 65-minute actioner Arson Inc. Lowery plays a fireman in search of a seemingly random arsonist--or arsonists. Putting two and two together, our hero figures out that culprits are a gang of thieves who've been torching businesses to cover up their robberies. Much of the film has a semidocumentary quality, as director William Berke concentrates on the real-life methods and firefighting equipment of the LA Fire Department. Curiously, the film's co-scripter was Arthur Caesar, one of Hollywood's foremost humorists. Trade-shown in May of 1949, Arson Inc. hit the neighborhood theatre screens in June. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide