Pierre Watkin Movies
Actor Pierre Watkin looked as though he was born to a family of Chase Manhattan executives. Tall, imposing, imbued with a corporate demeanor and adorned with well-trimmed white mustache, Watkin appeared to be a walking Brooks Brothers ad as he strolled through his many film assignments as bankers, lawyers, judges, generals and doctors. When director Frank Capra cast the actors playing US senators in Mr Smith Goes to Washington (1939) using as criteria the average weight, height and age of genuine senators, Watkin fit the physical bill perfectly. Occasionally Watkin could utilize his established screen character for satirical comedy: in W.C. Fields' The Bank Dick, he portrayed Lompoc banker Mr. Skinner, who extended to Fields the coldest and least congenial "hearty handclasp" in movie history. Serial fans know Pierre Watkin as the actor who originated the role of bombastic Daily Planet editor Perry White in Columbia's two Superman chapter plays of the late '40s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1953
This pedestrian chapterplay added William Henry -- renamed Bill Henry for the occasion -- to the long list of lesser known journeymen actors elevated for economy purposes to stardom during the last years of American movie serials. As the title suggests, Canadian Mounties vs. Atomic Invaders combined two cherished genres: Northwest melodrama and Science Fiction. Not that the two necessarily mixed well, and the drawn out story of a Canadian mountie teaming up with a female undercover agent (Susan Morrow broke no new ground, to put it mildly. The 12 chapter serial was edited down and released as a feature film entitled Missile Base at Taniak. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1952
The Bowery Boys go to college in Hold That Line. Things haven't changed much since the Marx Bros. went to college in Horse Feathers: academic achievement still takes second place to football. The story shifts into gear when Sach (Huntz Hall) swallows a chemical-lab mixture which turns him into a super-athlete. Sach's pal Slip (Leo Gorcey) parlays this metamorphosis into an unbroken winning streak for the university's gridiron team. Football star Biff Wallace (John Bromfield), who has bet heavily on the opposing team, arranges for Sach to be kidnapped just before the Big Game, but eventually sees the error of his ways and tells Slip where to locate his pal. The climax is right out of Harold Lloyd's The Freshman, but if one must steal, steal from the best. Most of Hold That Line was filmed on location at Los Angeles City College, not far from the Bowery Boys' headquarters at Monogram Studios. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
- 1952
Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia were still referred to as Indo-China when this Sam Katzman-produced adventure quickie was filmed. John Archer (the father of actress Anne Archer) stars as the titular "yank," a devil-may-care pilot named Mulvaney. Together with his partner Clint Marshall (Douglas Dick), Mulvaney runs a profitable air-freight line in Indo-China. After antagonizing a band of Red Chinese, Mulvaney and Clint attempt to rescue two American women (Jean Willes and Ellen Murphy) who'd foolishly allied themselves with the bad guys. Shamelessly jingoistic, A Yank in Indo-China is a fascinating artifact from an era in which America thought of Southeast Asia in terms of Black and White. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Archer, Douglas Dick, (more)
- 1952
The staff of the "Daily Planet" investigates when several armored trucks are hijacked in Metropolis. It turns out that the thieves are being supplied with information concerning the truck's routes by a specially rigged ventriloquist's dummy. Stumbling on to vital evidence, cub reporter Jimmy Olsen (Jack Larson) is kidnapped a locked in safe. Good thing that his colleague Clark Kent (George Reeves), alias Superman, possesses the gift of X-Ray vision. Pierre Watkin, who previously played "Daily Planet" editor Perry White in two Superman movie serials, is here seen in a different role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1952
The distinctive stamp of action-film director Phil Karlson is very much in evidence in Scandal Sheet. Broderick Crawford plays tabloid editor Mark Chapman, whose burgeoning success is threatened by the arrival of his wife Charlotte (Rosemary DeCamp), whom he deserted 20 years earlier. Hoping to keep Charlotte's mouth shut, Chapman accidentally kills her. He does his best to cover his tracks, but his best is none too good, and another murder follows. Meanwhile, Chapman's star reporter Steve McCleary (John Derek) is busy investigating the still-unsolved murder of Charlotte. Though Steve holds no grudge against his boss, the same cannot be said of feature writer Julie Allison (Donna Reed), who resents Chapman's sensationalist methods. Slowly but surely, the noose tightens around Chapman's neck, thanks to the diligence of McCleary and, indirectly, the inquiries of Julie. Scandal Sheet was based on a novel by former newspaperman Samuel Fuller, an excellent film director in his own right. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donna Reed, Broderick Crawford, (more)
- 1952
In this western, a US marshal tries to stop a nefarious gang of thieves from harassing the local sheriff and from stealing shipments of gold ore by putting their leader into the jail. The ringleader turns out to be a female newspaper publisher who has been creating all the problems to make sure her brother will be elected sheriff. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Allan Lane, Eddy Waller, (more)
Yet another Roy Rogers Western whose title refers to a song, In Old Amarillo actually takes place in and around Amarillo of 1951. Fired by cattleman George Hills (Minor Watson), foreman Clint Burnside (Roy Barcroft) plans to avenge himself by ruining Hills' wastrel son, Philip (Ken Howell). Along with local saloon owner Mike Carver (William Holmes), Burnside is also attempting to buy up all the area's ranches during a prolonged drought. When Roy Rogers, Hills' new foreman, suggests that the ranchers come together and use modern rainmaking equipment, including airplanes armed with dry ice, Burnside and Carver lure Philip into committing a bit of sabotage. At first Roy accuses the young man of shooting down the rainmaking aircraft but then discovers that he was forced to pilot the attacking plane by Burnside, the real killer, who is himself killed in a climactic fistfight. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, (more)
- 1951
This serial is set during the American Civil War and is based on the Jules Verne story. A Union Army captain is captured by the Confederates and imprisoned in Richmond, Virginia. He and four other men escape in a balloon, but a hurricane blows them off course and they land on an uncharted island. There they encounter a tribe known as the Volcano People, are menaced by a wild savage, and run into a female alien from outer space bent on world domination. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- 1950
Ann Sothern closed out her MGM contract with the Technicolor musical Nancy Goes to Rio. As Frances Elliot, Sothern is billed second to Jane Powell, who plays Nancy Barklay. A popular Broadway star, Frances heads to Rio for R&R before starting her next production. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Frances, her daughter Nancy is hired to appear in her mother's starring vehicle. This would seem to be enough to sustain a plot, but the screenwriters contrive to have Frances mistakenly believe that Nancy is about to become an out-of-wedlock mother. In addition, both ladies vie for the romantic attentions of leading man Paul Berten (Barry Sullivan). Also appearing is Carmen Miranda, just to remind us that the film takes place in Brazil. Producer Joe Pasternak handles the material with the same tastefulness that he'd applied to his Deanna Durbin pictures at Universal: in fact, Nancy Goes to Rio is a remake of Durbin's 1940 vehicle It's a Date. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Powell, Ann Sothern, (more)
- 1950
The second of Columbia's Superman serials, the 15-episode Atom Man Vs. Superman stars Kirk Alyn in the dual role of Clark Kent and the "Man of Steel." This time, Kent/Superman is pitted against bald-pated Lex Luthor (Lyle Talbot), who, disguised as Atom Man, threatens to devastate Metropolis with any number of devilish devices-the deadliest of which is a disintegration machine. Luthor tumbles onto Superman's Achilles' heel: Kryptonite. Once our hero has been exposed to this fatal ore, Metropolis becomes a wide-open town for criminals of all varieties. But Superman regains his full powers in time to stop Luthor from laying waste to Metropolis with his latest demon machine, a sonic vibrator. Also appearing in Atom Man vs. Superman are Noel Neill as Lois Lane, Tommy Bond (the onetime "Butch" of The Little Rascals) as Jimmy Olson, and Pierre Watkin as Perry White. The serial is energetic enough, but the flying scenes (crudely conveyed via animation) are rather laughable. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Alyn
- 1950
Singing cowboy Rex Allen continued currying favor with audiences and exhibitors alike with Redwood Forest Trail. The story gets under way when Allen decides to help out a heavily mortgaged boy's camp. A nasty lumber baron wants to dismantle the camp so he can cut down all the trees. Believing that the underprivileged camp kids are somehow responsible for her father's death, mortgage-holder Julie Wescott (Jeff Donnell) intends to sell to the lumber interests. Allen not only proves who really killed Julie's father, but also routs the villains -- and still has time to sing three songs. Rex Allen's semicomical sidekick is played by Carl Switzer, the former Alfalfa of Our Gang fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rex Allen, Jeff Donnell, (more)
- 1950
Filmed under the title Radar Patrol, Lippert's Rader Secret Service wastes no time getting down to business. Indeed, with a 59-minute running time, no waste would have been tolerated. John Howard and Ralph "Dick Tracy" Byrd star as Bill and Static, a pair of secret service operatives, in search of stolen uranium ore. Per the film's title, Our Heroes use radar to track down the atomic bandits. This was hardly necessary: any dyed-in-the-wool movie fan could have told Bill and Static from the get-go that the villains are Moran (Tom Neal) and Michael (Tris Coffin). Lippert's resident comic relief Sid Melton provides some amusing moments, while the feminine angle is handled by Adele Jergens and Myrna Dell, two of the best "bad girls" in "B"-pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Howard, Adele Jergens, (more)
- 1950
Generous amounts of stock footage from 1950's Fortunes of Captain Blood made its way into the Sam Katzman production Last of the Buccaneers. Paul Henreid plays famed buccaneer Jean Lafitte, who, after being chased out of Louisiana following the Battle of New Orleans, sets up shop on the island of Galveston. The American authorities leave Lafitte alone, so long as he confines his raids to Spanish vessels. But when one of Lafitte's lieutenants attacks an American ship, it's open season on the handsome pirate. Though Karin Booth is the nominal leading lady, second billing in The Last of the Buccaneers is bestowed upon Jack Oakie, who makes the most of the few comic opportunities he is given. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Henreid, Jack Oakie, (more)
- 1950
1950's Emergency Wedding is a remake of 1940's You Belong to Me. The later film stars Larry Parks, who'd had a bit role in the original. Parks plays wealthy Peter Kirk, a playboy, while Barbara Hale co-stars as female doctor Helen Hunt. When Peter marries Helen, it is a "given" that he'll stay home while she works. Unfortunately, Peter becomes jealous of the amount of time Helen spends at the hospital with her patients. Out of pique, Peter makes the supreme sacrifice and offers to get a job himself. All sorts of misunderstandings and remonstrations ensue before the title Emergency Wedding is explained at the very end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larry Parks, Barbara Hale, (more)
- 1950
Rock Island Trail is proof enough that Republic could turn out an "A" western as well as any of the "majors." This saga of pioneer railroading stars Forrest Tucker as Reed Loomis, a visionary railman who dreams of the day that trains will run from coast to coast. During his own efforts to make this dream come true, Loomis must face the formidable opposition of steamboat operator Kirby Morrow (Bruce Cabot). Another ongoing problem is lack of funds: fortunately, Loomis is in love with Constance Strong (Adele Mara), who happens to be a banker's daughter. Longtime Republic leading-lady Adrian Booth plays Aleeta, an Indian princess who has a yen for Loomis -- meaning, of course, that she probably won't survive to the end of the film. The film's climax is an all-out action orgy in the grand Republic tradition. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Forrest Tucker, Adele Mara, (more)
- 1950
Sunset in the West finds Roy Rogers playing a deputy sheriff in a wide-open town. Roy must contend with a vicious gun-smuggling ring, this time aided and abetted by a bloodhound (not Rogers' "wonder dog" Bullet). The climax, set aboard a moving freight-car festooned with cases of live ammunitions, is one of the more exciting in the entire Rogers canon. Though Penny Edwards plays the nominal heroine, Estelita Rodriguez dominates the proceedings as a peppery South American songstress. Also contributing to the musical portion of the program are Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Rogers, Estelita Rodriguez, (more)
- 1950
A murder is witnessed by the victim's little daughter (Gigi Perreau), who immediately goes into a state of shock. All the girl has seen is the shadow of her mother's killer, but the audience knows that the murderer is Ann Sothern. At first Sothern is secure that the girl will never be able to identify her, but as the child shows signs of recovering, Sothern panics. Though the murder was unintentional and the killer is quite fond of the little girl, she nonetheless begins scheming to put the potential witness out of the way. Quite tense at times, especially in the last scene, Shadow on the Wall represents one of the few unsympathetic performances by the otherwise likable Ann Sothern. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sothern, Zachary Scott, (more)
Veteran cinematographer-turned-director Norman Dawn calls the shots in Two Lost Worlds. Set in the Australian colony of Queensland, the film stars Jim Arness as Kirk Hamilton, an American seaman who conducts an ongoing battle of wills and weapons against marauding pirates. After a particularly deadly skirmish, Hamilton and his men find themselves marooned somewhere in the Dutch East Indies. The film's many subplots are dispensed with during a last-reel volcanic eruption. When not indulging in derring-do, Hamilton romances an Aussie lass (Laura Elliot). If Elliot looks familiar, that's because she later played Mrs. Larry Tate on TV's Bewitched, billed under her new "nom de film" Kasey Rogers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1950
Western star Charles Starrett does not disappoint his fans in Frontier Outpost. As usual, Starrett plays Steve Lawton, a lawman who is compelled to assume the identity of the masked avenger known only as "The Durango Kid." This time, the villains are gold raiders, preying upon Army shipments. Falsely imprisoned through the machinations of the head criminal (who, of course, is an "above suspicion" solid citizen), Lawton escapes, dons his Durango disguise, and brings the crooks to justice. Way down the cast list as "Lieutenant Peck" is Jock O'Mahoney, who also doubled for Charles Starrett in the tougher stunt sequences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Starrett, Smiley Burnette, (more)
MGM's Three Little Words is a "twin" musical biopic, covering the lives and careers of songwriters Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. Fred Astaire plays Kalmar, a frustrated magician, while Red Skelton is cast as Ruby, a wannabe baseball player. After "meeting cute" during a disastrous vaudeville show, the oil-and-water Bert and Harry become a popular songwriting team, dashing off such favorites as Who's Sorry Now?, Nevertheless, So Long Oo-Long, I Wanna be Loved by You, All Alone Monday and the title song (the film unfortunately skimps on Kalmar and Ruby's Gilbert-and-Sullivan style novelty ditties, with the exception of Hooray for Captain Spaulding, Groucho Marx' signature tune in Animal Crackers). Adhering more to MGM formula than the facts, the script contrives to have Kalmar and Ruby split up over a trivial misunderstanding, only to be reunited by their wives for an "all is forgiven" radio broadcast hosted by bandleader Phil Regan. Vera-Ellen co-stars as Kalmar's vaudevillian wife Jessie Brown, while Arlene Dahl portrays Ruby's movie-star spouse Eileen Percy. Gloria DeHaven is seen as her own mother, Mrs. Carter DeHaven; and Debbie Reynolds plays "boop-a-doop" girl Helen Kane, her singing voice dubbed in by Ms. Kane herself. Though not quite as humorous as the subject matter would seem to dictate (Red Skelton gets his biggest laughs in the scenes wherein he, as Harry Ruby, participates in spring training with his favorite baseball club) Three Little Words is an excellent example of MGM's musical unit at the height of its powers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Astaire, Red Skelton, (more)
- 1950
Johnny Mack Brown stars in the rubber-stamp western Over the Border. Bringing Bart Calhoun (Marshall Reed) to justice for his complicity in a robbery/murder, Johnny assumes that his job is over. Not by a long shot! Calhoun's arrest leads to the uncovering of a wide-ranging conspiracy to smuggle silver from Mexico to the United States. With Calhoun's cooperation, Johnny exposes the "Mister Big" behind the whole operation. There isn't much action in Over the Border; the screenwriters seem more concerned with mystery and intrigue. Johnny Mack Brown is obviously getting too old for this sort of thing, but he carries his years -- and excess poundage -- quite well. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Myron Healey, (more)
- 1950
George Sidney directs this pleasant romantic comedy concerning mayoral love. During a convention of mayors in San Francisco, Clarissa Standish (Loretta Young), the mayor of a small town in Maine, meets Steve Fisk (Clark Gable), the down-to-earth leader of a tiny northern California community. During the rowdy proceedings of the convention, the two find themselves pushed together frequently, with the typical result -- they fall in love. After the convention, the two head back to Steve's town, where crooked local politician Les Taggart (Raymond Burr) is squaring off against Fisk in a mayoral election. With the help of Clarissa, Steve gears up for his reelection bid. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clark Gable, Loretta Young, (more)
- 1950
As indicated by its title, Blue Grass of Kentucky is a horse-racing opus. Bill Williams plays Lin McIvor, the owner of a horse named Blue Grass. He doesn't know it, but the horse was sired by a Kentucky Derby winner, owned by Armistead (Russell Hicks). The aristocratic Armistead had previously refused to mate his prize horse with McIvor's best mare, but the union was orchestrated in secret by Armistead's sympathetic daughter Pat (Jane Nigh). Highlighted by actual scenes from the annual Derby at Churchill Downs, Blue Grass of Kentucky was pleasingly lensed in Cinecolor. The film is ample proof that prolific "B"-flick director William "One Take" Beaudine was capable of turning out first-rate work. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Williams, Jane Nigh, (more)
- 1950
Phyllis Holmes (Ella Raines) has resigned herself to being too plain-looking to attract men. All this changes when Phyllis is injured in an auto accident. Plastic surgery transforms Phyllis into a vision of loveliness, but there's more to it than that: the surgery was financed by an unknown benefactor, who disappears after the girl recovers. Determined to find the man who cared enough to give her a new lease on life, Phyllis spends the rest of the picture trying to find him, convinced that he's in love with her. The results are surprising for both Phyllis and the audience. Second Face wavers uncertainly between straight romance and psychological melodrama. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ella Raines, Bruce Bennett, (more)
- 1950
Nobody sits on the fence so far as The Big Hangover is concerned. Leonard Maltin considers it "predictable, as well as silly and boring," while the late William K. Everson regarded it as one of Hollywood's best and most underappreciated screwball comedies. Examine the premise and judge for yourself: Van Johnson plays David Maldon, an attorney with an acute allergy to liquor. It seems that, during the war, Maldon was nearly drowned in an overstocked wine cellar; ever since that time, he can't even smell booze without becoming inebriated. The young, rich, and pretty Mary Belney (Elizabeth Taylor) does her best to save Maldon from embarrassment whenever he comes into proximity with alcohol. Typical of many postwar comedies, Norman Krasna's screenplay has a sturdy inner lining of social consciousness: Maldon must choose between becoming a partner in a high-profile firm or devoting his time to fighting for the civil rights of minorities. In addition to his scripting chores, Krasna also produced and directed The Big Hangover. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Johnson, Elizabeth Taylor, (more)
