Otto Waldis Movies
With his learned countenance and a correct Germanic manner that could be avuncular or threatening, Otto Waldis was one of the more familiar European character actors in Hollywood and on television in the years after World War II. Born Otto Brunn in Vienna, Austria, in 1901, he turned to acting in his twenties and made his screen debut in an uncredited role in Fritz Lang's M in 1931. He worked in one more movie that year -- Kinder Vor Gericht -- and then was unseen in films until after the war. Waldis' career resumed in 1947 in Hollywood under the aegis of his fellow European expatriate, director Max Ophüls, in the latter's The Exile. He was fully employed over the next decade, working constantly in television and movies, his performances covering a wide swath of entertainment. In 1948 alone, before he'd even made the jump to television, Waldis worked in popular, big studio productions like Henry Hathaway's Call Northside 777, Jacques Tourneur's Berlin Express, and independent films such as Ophüls' Letter From an Unknown Woman. He went on to play character roles in lighter fare, including the comedies I Was a Male War Bride and Love Happy (both 1949). With his wizened, bespectacled presence and correct Austrian bearing, Waldis was suited to roles ranging from valets to scientists; in The Whip Hand (1951), he played an unrepentant Nazi germ-warfare expert, while in Unknown World (1951) and Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958), he played more benign scientists. But in 5 Fingers (1952), he was a Pullman porter, and in the Adventures of Superman episode "The Whistling Bird," he was part of a criminal conspiracy. He would occasionally play much more offbeat parts, such as Patch-Eye in Prince Valiant (1954). He closed out the 1950s portraying a police officer in Edward Dmytryk's disastrous remake of The Blue Angel (1959). Waldis' activity slackened considerably in the '60s, a period in which he made his first appearances in German films since the '30s. He was back in Hollywood during the '70s and had just been signed to appear in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein at the time of his death from a heart attack in early 1974. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide- 1967
In order to destroy a German ammunition factory, Hogan and his men go undercover as workers in the target factory. Their plans to blow up the place hit a snag when, through a fluke, Newkirk is drafted into the German army. Hal Smith, best known for his portrayal of town drunk Otis Campbell on The Andy Griffth Show, is here seen as Hans Spear. Written by Art Baer and Ben Joelson, "The Swing Shift" made its first network appearance on February 3, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer, (more)
In this mystery, a beautiful mystery writer helps a Scotland Yard detective look into the murders of several important business man. She solves the mystery before the cop and informs him that the killer's identity will be revealed in the last chapter of her newest book. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dieter Borsche, Hans Söhnker, (more)
- 1962
Charles Bronson guest stars as Janos Kolescu, a renegade gypsy hired by the Syndicate to establish a new illegal-liquor market amongst his own people in Chicago. Kolescu has an intensely personal reason for casting his lot with the Mob: He intends to carry out an old vendetta against the head of Chicago's "gypsy senate", who back in the Old Country had stolen a religious icon and shifted the blame to Kolescu's father. In his efforts to bring Kolescu to justice, Elliot (Robert Stack) finds himself up against one of his most elusive--and most deadly--adversaries. This episode features the first of four Untouchables appearances by future Lou Grant star Edward Asner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
After the end of World War II, the world gradually became aware of the full extent of the war crimes perpetrated by the Third Reich. In 1948, a series of trials were held in Nuremberg, Germany, by an international tribunal, headed by American legal and military officials, with the intent of bringing to justice those guilty of crimes against humanity. However, by that time most of the major figures of the Nazi regime were either dead or long missing, and in the resulting legal proceedings American judges often found themselves confronting the question of how much responsibility someone held who had "just followed orders." Judgment at Nuremberg is a dramatized version of the proceedings at one of these trials, in which Judge Dan Haywood (Spencer Tracy) is overseeing the trials of four German judges -- most notably Dr. Ernst Janning (Burt Lancaster) and Emil Hahn (Werner Klemperer) -- accused of knowingly sentencing innocent men to death in collusion with the Nazis. Representing the defense is attorney Hans Rolfe (Maximilian Schell), while prosecuting the accused is U.S. Col. Tad Lawson (Richard Widmark). As the trial goes on, both the visiting Americans and their reluctant German hosts often find themselves facing the legacy of the war, and how both of their nations have been irrevocably changed by it. Judgment at Nuremberg also features notable supporting performances by Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, and Montgomery Clift. Originally written and produced as a play for television, the screen version of Judgment at Nuremberg was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, with Maximilian Schell and Abby Mann taking home Oscars for (respectively) Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, (more)
- 1961
Journeying through the mountains, Paladin (Richard Boone) is mauled by a cougar. Seeking the aid of two men named Cull (Wright King) and Boggs (Ben Wright), the injured Paladin is instead robbed of everything he owns--and then left for dead. Painfully making his way to a nearby town, Paladin demands answers for why Cull and Boggs are seemingly free to come and go as they like, and to victimize anyone they choose. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
Having the unique distinction of being perhaps the only American drama filmed in Cuba just after Fidel Castro's revolution, Pier 5, Havana is also distinctive because the American hero Steve Daggett (Cameron Mitchell) fights to protect Castro from dangerous pro-Batista counterrevolutionaries. Steve comes to Cuba to find his friend Hank Miller (Logan Field) who has been missing for awhile. It turns out that he has been captured by Fernando (Eduardo Noriega), the leader of the pro-Batista forces, who needs Hank to convert their airplanes into bombers. Steve enlists the help of the local police in his search for Hank. Complicating matters is the fact that Steve's former girlfriend Monica (Allison Hayes) is now Mrs. Hank Miller. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Mitchell, Allison Hayes, (more)
Attack of the 50 Foot Woman may well be one of the worst science-fiction films of all time, but that's not to say that it isn't thoroughly enjoyable. Allison Hayes achieved screen immortality as Nancy Archer, the wealthy, dipsomaniac wife of shameless philanderer Harry Archer (William Hudson). When she witnesses the crash landing of a alien spaceship -- whose occupant is a 30-foot giant, dressed in the manner of a medieval Frenchmen! -- Nancy goes to the local sheriff (George Douglas) with her story, only to be laughed off as a drunken crank. Even the local TV anchorman makes cruel fun of Nancy on his nightly newscast. Meanwhile, hubby Harry is making whoopee at a roadhouse with his latest tootsie, Honey Parker (Yvette Vickers). Not long afterward, Nancy, who's been exposed to the radiation of the spaceship, begins to feel queasy. Within a few days, she has grown to the height of 50 feet and is lumbering around the countryside clad only in a gigantic towel, smashing houses and trees in search of her faithless husband ("HARRY-HARRY!!!") Hilarious in its ineptitude (the special effects are particularly shoddy), Attack of the 50 Foot Woman is impossible to dislike, which cannot be said of its slicker but less entertaining 1993 cable-TV remake (with Darryl Hannah in the title role). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Allison Hayes, William Hudson, (more)
- 1958
An old backstage legend is the source for this, the final episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents' third season. Herbert Marshall stars as over-the-hill actor Colin Bragner, who hopes to stage a comeback in a play written by Adam Longworth (Tom Helmore). For his part, Longworth wants nothing to do with Bragner, considering him to be a mediocre actor. Nevertheless, Bragner invites Longworth and his wife (Julie Adams) to dinner, where he ultimately moves them to tears by telling them of a profoundly tragic incident in his past. Naturally, there's a twist to the story...but no murder this time out. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
The Hargrove Finance Company has been robbed and Frank Anderson (James Anderson) lies dead. Identified by witnesses as one of the robbers, old Pop Renzi (Eduardo Ciannelli) is accused of murder. At the behest of Renzi's little grandson Nicky (Bobby Clark), Perry (Raymond Burr) agrees to handle Pop's defense--which proves a formidable task indeed, thanks to the obstreperous attitude of the dead man's sexy widow Iris (Nita Talbot). Veteran movie "gunsel" Elisha Cook Jr. appears in this episode, which was directed by the prolific Buzz Kulik. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
In San Francisco, Bart (Jack Kelly) suspects that one of the town's leading citizens, Van Buren Kingsley, is a swindler. Before long, Kingsley shows his hand by arranging for Bart to get beaten up and shanghaied. In typical Maverick fashion, Bart tries to turn the tables on the duplicitous Kingsley by setting up a sting operation involving a cache of valuable diamonds. Watch for veteran character actor Sig Ruman, aka "Concentration Camp Ehrhardt" in the Jack Benny film To Be or Not to Be, in a supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
This classic Emmy-nominated episode stars Barbara Bel Geddes as Mary Maloney, the wife of philandering police chief Patrick Maloney (played by former cowboy star Allan Lane, best known to TV fans as the voice of Mister Ed). When Patrick comes home to tell his wife that he is leaving her for another woman, the outraged Mary clubs her husband to death with a frozen leg of lamb. She then calls the police to announce that she has come home to find her husband dead, with no murder weapon in sight. Eventually the cops arrive to comb the Maloney apartment for evidence -- little realizing that the solution to the crime is literally under their noses. Arguably the most famous Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode of all, "Lamb to the Slaughter" is one of those rare murder yarns which can be enjoyed repeatedly even after the viewer knows the outcome. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Doris Hocksley (Toni Gerry, long-lost daughter of the late Adam Hocksley and sole heir to Hocksley's estate, arrives in Los Angeles and contacts Alan Neil (Warren Stevens), nephew of the estate's executor Elston Carr (Anthony Joachim). Later, Carr is found murdered in his home--and Doris is hiding in on the premises. With her fingerprints all over the murder weapon, Doris would seem to be caught red-handed, but Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) believes in her innocence. Problem is, the only other likely suspect is Alan Neil--and he turns up murdered as well. This episode is based on a 1941 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1956
The dramatic weight of Man From Del Rio rests securely on the broad shoulders of star Anthony Quinn. Cast as an indigent Mexican gunslinger, Quinn is asked by an old pal to clean up an outlaw-ridden western town. Knowing that his reputation is exaggerated, Quinn relies on braggadocio and bluff to keep the villains at bay. But when he is appointed town sheriff, it is "put up or shut up" time. Katy Jurado, who'd become "typed" as a western actress since High Noon, costars as Quinn's would-be lover. Man From Del Rio offers little that hasn't been seen before, but Anthony Quinn keeps things moving at a fast and exciting clip. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Quinn, Katy Jurado, (more)
- 1956
Ride the High Iron originated as the 74-minute pilot episode of the proposed TV anthology Command Performance. When the series failed to sell, the film was released theatrically by Columbia Pictures. Don Taylor stars as Hugo Danielchick, the son of poor but proud railroad worker Yanusz Danielchick (Otto Waldis). Hoping to find success in the Big City. Hugo is hired as the assistant of high-pressure PR man Ziggy Moline (Raymond Burr), whose job it is to keep his high-profile clients' indiscretions out of the newspapers. Endeavoring to protect the good name of socialite Elise Vanders (Sally Forrest), Hugo falls in love with the girl--much to the displeasure of Moline, who suffers from a bad case of class envy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Taylor, Sally Forrest, (more)
- 1955
At the height of his TV fame, flamboyant pianist Liberace starred in the lavish Warner Bros. production Sincerely Yours. A remake of the old George Arliss vehicle The Man Who Played God, the film casts "Mr. Showmanship" as famed concert pianist Anthony Warren, who at the height of his popularity is stricken with deafness. Learning to lip-read in record time, Warren sits in his luxurious New York penthouse apartment, using high-powered binoculars to spy on the various strollers in Central Park. Warren soon discovers that others have problems worse than his own and sets out to help those less fortunate souls.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liberace, Joanne Dru, (more)
- 1955
In this early disaster film, the tough-minded and strict Los Angeles Harbormaster must use his courage and wits when the communists announce they have planted an atomic bomb on a freighter. It will detonate in 12 hours. Now, the harbormaster must not only save the city, he must keep his actions mum to prevent mass hysteria. He quietly tows the vessel out to sea where it explodes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dane Clark, Carole Mathews, (more)
- 1955
One of the earliest examples of the hot rod/juvenile delinquency flick, Running Wild featured William Campbell as a rookie cop infiltrating a gang of teenagers that are stealing cars for Ken Osanger (Keenan Wynn), a nasty type who uses a gas station as a front for his nefarious purposes. Going undercover as a teenage rebel, Ralph Barclay (Campbell) not only saves pretty Leta Novak (Kathleen Case) from being ravaged by Osanger, but wins the love of voluptuous Irma Bean (Mamie van Doren), the former girlfriend of teenage gang leader Scotty Cluett (Jan Merlin). John Saxon, Walter Coy, and teen flick regular Kenny Miller also appeared in this highly exploitative crime drama from Universal directed by character actor Abner Biberman. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Campbell, Mamie van Doren, (more)
- 1955
Although the French Foreign Legion became increasingly anachronistic in the 1950s, films like Desert Sands helped to perpetuate the glamorous legend of this mercenary aggregation. Ralph Meeker heads the cast as a bold legionnaire who falls in love with gorgeous Arab girl Marla English. Alas, Marla is the daughter of shiek John Carradine and the sister of vengeful Keith Larsen, both of whom have vowed to kill all Legionnaires within shouting distance. Larsen eventually discovers that his real enemy is not Meeker, but the duplicitous Carradine. Director Lesley Selander staged most of the action scenes in the manner of his western films, with excellent results. One of the scriptwriters of Desert Sands was Danny Arnold, later the prime mover of TV's Barney Miller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Meeker, Marla English, (more)
- 1954
With the exception of the brilliant The Court Jester, Knock on Wood must rank as the best of Danny Kaye's movie vehicles. Capitalizing on the star's recent successful engagement in London, the film casts Kaye as a neurotic American ventriloquist performing in England and Europe. In a parody of the 1946 thriller Dead of Night, Kaye is unable to control the words coming out of his dummy, resulting in a near-nervous breakdown. On the advice of his manager (David Burns), Kaye seeks out the help of a psychiatrist, who turns out to be beautiful Mai Zetterling. But first, he heads to a local repair shop to pick up one of his dummies. What Kaye doesn't know is that a set of stolen blueprints for a top-secret weapon have been secreted into his dummy's head. Before he knows what's happening, our hero is up to his ears in spies, counterspies, and corpses. Falsely accused of murder, Kaye spends the rest of the film adopting one disguise after another to elude both the authorities and the various enemy agents roaming about. Filled to overflowing with musical and comedy highlights, Knock on Wood includes the famous "under the table" bit wherein Kaye finds himself literally between two warring spy factions, and a climactic ballet sequence reminiscent of (and superior to) the comic-opera finale of Kaye's Wonder Man (1945). And of course, the audience is treated to the tongue-twisting patter songs written for Kaye by his wife Sylvia Fine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Mai Zetterling, (more)
Hal Foster's Sunday-comics saga of a young Viking prince in the service of King Arthur is brought to the screen in CinemaScope and Technicolor in Prince Valiant. Despite the fact that he sports a dutch bob that makes him look like actress Phyllis Kirk, Robert Wagner is quite virile and convincing as the title character. Trained for the Round Table by Sir Gawain (Sterling Hayden), Valiant takes time out to fall in love with the beautiful Princess Aleta (Janet Leigh). The villain of the piece is The Black Knight, aka Sir Brack (top-billed James Mason), who intends to topple King Arthur (Brian Aherne) from his throne, then conquer Valiant's people in Scandia. But Prince Valiant proves a fearsome opponent to the usurping Sir Brack. Sadly, most currently available prints of Prince Valiant have been panned-and-scanned, denying viewers the opportunity to revel in Henry Hathaway's creative utilization of the CinemaScope format. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Mason, Janet Leigh, (more)
- 1954
Sterling Holloway returns as eccentric scientist Uncle Oscar, who while trying to cook up a formula for flavored stamp glue ends up with a powerful explosive. Rather than write down the entire formula, Uncle Oscar teaches vital segments of the formula to his talking parakeet Schuyler. A pair of foreign spies steal Schuyler and substitute a lookalike, then kidnap Oscar and his niece Nancy (Allene Roberts) in order to steal the explosive. This looks like a job for Superman (George Reeves)--but it may also prove to be his undoing, inasmuch as the loquacious Schuyler is savvy to Superman's "Clark Kent" guise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1954
Robert Stack stars with Ursula Theiss (the wife of Robert Taylor) in the Columbia costumer The Iron Glove. Stack, an 18th century Scots adventurer, swashes and buckles on behalf of self-styled Prince James (Richard Stapley). Our hero insinuates himself into the court of King George I, the better to install the man known as "The Old Pretender" into the British throne. Supporting actor Alan Hale Jr. goes through many of the motions of his late father in support of Errol Flynn wannabe Stack. The Iron Glove puts the lie to the rumor (perpetuated by The Untouchables) that Robert Stack was constitutionally incapable of smiling. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Stack, Ursula Thiess, (more)
- 1953
Rebel City is a "B" western with "A" aspirations. Wild Bill Elliot plays gambler Frank Graham, who heads to Kansas in search of his father's murderer. This being 1864, the local military presence is more preoccupied with keeping Southern sympathizers out of the state to worry about Graham's problems. Thus, our hero undertakes the task of exposing the killer himself. As always, the least likely suspect is the guilty party (though sharp-eyed viewers were wise to the villain from the first reel). Marjorie Lord co-stars as Jane Dudley, the comely operator of the local freight line who helps Graham in his task. Producer Thomas M. Fennelly and director Thomas Carr later collaborated on the Richard Diamond TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William "Wild Bill" Elliott, Marjorie Lord, (more)
- 1953
In this suspense drama, a group of strangers becomes acquainted as they wait for a plane to arrive at an airport in Tangier. Among those awaiting the flight are Susan (Joan Fontaine), an American who is dating the pilot; Gil Walker (Jack Palance), an expatriate who received the Congressional Medal of Honor during the war; and Nicole (Corinne Calvet), a lovely but mysterious French woman who seems to be attracted to Walker. When the plane they've been waiting for crashes, no pilot or passengers can be found -- and that $3 million on board, being smuggled into Tangier to buy fighter planes for Soviet forces on the black market, have also gone missing. Susan immediately organizes a search party to find the pilot; Walker eagerly joins in, though Susan soon discovers he has his own reasons for being concerned about the fate of the plane and its cargo. Flight To Tangier was shot and initially released in 3-D, as well as Technicolor. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Fontaine, Jack Palance, (more)
