Eugene Borden Movies

Joseph Cotten stars in A Blueprint for Murder as Whitney Cameron, a man who harbors a deep and abiding affection for his pretty sister-in-law Lynne Cameron (Jean Peters). When one of Lynne's stepchildren dies, the autopsy indicates that the child was poisoned. Despite his feelings for Lynne, Whitney can't help but feel that she was responsible for the child's death--and that she intends to go on killing until she becomes sole heir of her late husband's estate. The "moment of truth" occurs during a climactic ocean voyage which consumes nearly a third of the film. A Blueprint for Murder was written and directed by Andrew L. Stone, whose legendary insistence upon "realism" at all costs was such that it's a wonder he didn't persuade Peters to commit a real murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Its wartime setting notwithstanding, the fast-paced Warner Bros. B-picture Adventures in Iraq is a remake of the 1930 George Arliss vehicle The Green Goddess, with much of the original dialogue intact. Forced to making a landing in the Syrian desert, pilot Doug Everett (Warren Douglas) and his passengers George and Tess Torrence (John Loder, Ruth Ford), find themselves the unwilling guests of Sheik Ahmid Bel Nor (Paul Cavanagh, in the George Arliss role). The civilized but deadly Sheik intends to hold the threesome as hostages to prevent the execution of his three Nazi-spy brothers by the British. After several desperate escape attempts, the trio is prepared for human sacrifice by the ruthless Shiek. The ending is substantially the same as in The Green Goddess. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Former doctor Jim Howard (Herbert Marshall) helps desperate Margot Weston (Barbara Stanwyck), pregnant and unmarried; when her son is born, Jim helps her place the baby with Phil Marshall (Ian Hunter) and his wife, on the condition that neither the Marshalls nor the child ever know Margot is his mother. Five years later, Margot is now a well-paid buyer for the store owned by Harriet Martin (Binnie Barnes); she meets Jim again, and a romance begins to blossom, but she's off to Paris on Harriet's behalf. There, Margot is wooed by the charming but carefree Count Giovanni Corini (Cesar Romero) and she happens to meet her son Roddy (Johnnie Russell), traveling with his aunt, as Mrs. Marshall has died. On the trip back to America, Margot and Roddy become very close, while Corini, on the same ship, continues to pursue Margot. At home, she becomes convinced that Jessica (Lynn Bari), Phil's new fiancee, doesn't love him, and will be a bad mother to Roddy, so she decides to break up the engagement, but Jim, beginning a career as a scientist, reminds her of her earlier promise not to interfere in the boy's life. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide

In this musical sequel to the highly successful Artists and Models, Jack Benny plays Buck Boswell, the leader of a troupe of performers who end up broke and stranded in gay Paris. To rustle up a little cash, he decides to produce a musical fashion show. Boswell hires an American father and daughter to perform because he thinks they too are impoverished. Things happen, and Boswell nearly loses his show until his two Yanks reveal that they are loaded. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Cafe Metropole stars Tyrone Power as an international playboy with a habit of writing rubber checks. Heavily in debt to cafe owner Adolphe Menjou, Power agrees to pose as a Russian nobleman and woo heiress Loretta Young, so that Menjou can get his mitts on the girl's money. Avarice gives way to love, but not before Young walks out on Power when she catches on to his original selfish intentions. The script for Cafe Metropole was written by actor/director Gregory Ratoff, who also plays a supporting role. The film's first biggest laughs are reserved for the first scene, in which mild-mannered Christian Rub attempts to collect on one of Power's debts by clumsily wielding a loaded revolver. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This timely entry in Fox's Charlie Chan series is set in Paris during the Munich Crisis of 1938. Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) arrives in the City of Light for a reunion with his war buddies, only to find those lights dimmed by a city-wide blackout. The murder victim this time out is munitions manufacturer Douglas Dumbrille, who sells out his country by selling arms to an unnamed enemy. Harold Huber shamelessly overacts as the Parisian inspector assigned to the case. Charlie Chan in City of Darkness ends on a prescient note, with Chan expressing trepidation over the "Peace in Our Time" solution to the Munich affair. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this episode of the popular detective series, Chan attends a WW I reunion in Paris. While catching up with his buddies, he gets entangled in the investigation of the murder of a munitions maker who sent arms to the other side. The film was created in response to the Munich crisis of 1938. At the film's end Charlie delivers a stern warning about bargaining at conference tables. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this musical comedy a young man and woman base their love on lies that eventually manage to come true. Songs include: "It's All In The Mind," "The More We Get Together," "How Can You Tell?" "They Won't Let Me Sing," "Honeymoon On A Dime." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Saunders (Vic Morrow) an his men are assigned to smuggle valuable French partisan Bresson (Eugene Borden) past enemy lines. En route, Bresson is shot in the back, and is in dire and immediate need of medical attention. Thanks to a series of tragic mishaps, the only doctor available to operate on Bresson is a German (Gunnar Hellstrom). This episode is full of characteristic Robert Altman touches, from the excellent use of mood lighting to the almost casual death of a familiar supporting character. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

According to Hollywood lore, both John Wayne and director Frank Borzage refused to work with Vera Hruba Ralston, the Czech-born inamorata (and future wife) of Republic Pictures owner Herbert I. Yates. Yates somehow managed to convince Wayne to change his mind, but Borzage was replaced by contract director Joseph Kane. The result was Dakota, the company's major release of 1945, a potentially sprawling empire-building Western. Wayne and Ralston play newlyweds heading for Fargo, North Dakota, where they plan to buy land in anticipation of the coming of the railroad. They are opposed by saloon owner Jim Bender (Ward Bond), who also knows about the expansion and is coercing the homesteaders into selling their land to him and his chief lieutenant, Collins (Mike Mazurki). The latter has been elected president of the Wheat Growers Association, and soon the farmers find themselves indebted to Bender. But Wayne, with his wife's help, beats Bender and his henchman at their own game, making certain that the farmers are well compensated for selling their land to the railroad company owned by Ralston's father (Hugo Haas). Contrary to popular belief, Vera Hruba Ralston was not Dakota's chief liability. For some reason, Republic Pictures, normally a leader in action-oriented melodrama, chose to employ an inordinate amount of rear projection footage this time around, making for rather dull viewing. The Western only leaves the confines of the studio back lot for the climactic prairie fire scenes, filmed by a second unit under the direction of stunt expert Yakima Canutt. Apparently a better figure skater than an actress, Ralston actually shows a bit of spirit in some of her scenes but is rather obviously upstaged by the veteran Ona Munson as a kind-hearted saloon entertainer. Munson was borrowed from Warner Bros. and her singing of "Coax Me" by Andrew B. Sterling and Harry Von Tilzer remains one of Dakota's main pleasures despite editor Fred Allen's endless cross-cutting to Ralston's reactions. The latter was reportedly a very pleasant person devoid of a prima donna ego and would be cast opposite John Wayne again in The Fighting Kentuckian (1949). Republic serial heroines Linda Stirling and Adrian Booth can be spotted among Munson's dancing girls. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Adapted from a Saturday Evening Post serial by Frank and Marian Cockrell, Dark Waters stars Merle Oberon as heiress Leslie Calvin, a woman with a neurotic aversion to water. This stems from the fact that in her childhood, Leslie was one of four survivors of a torpedoed steamship. Preying upon Leslie's fears, conniving Mr. Sydney (Thomas Mitchell), a guest at the Calvin family's Louisiana plantation, concocts a campaign of terror designed to drive the poor girl crazy so that he can claim her vast inheritance. Sydney and his cohorts also have the presence of mind to murder all of Leslie's closest relatives, leaving her utterly helpless. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A remake of the 1927 horror melodrama The Wizard (which, alas, no longer exists), 20th Century-Fox's Dr. Renault's Secrets packs a real wallop in its brisk 58-minute running time. The scene is a remote French village, where the murder of drunken tourist Austin (Jack Norton) coincides with the arrival of young doctor Larry Forbes (John Sheppard, aka Sheppard Strudwick). It develops that Sheppard is the house guest of the outwardly benign Dr. Renault (George Zucco), who lives with his pretty niece Madeline (Lynne Roberts) and his bizarre manservant Noel (J. Carroll Naish), who possesses more than a few apelike tendencies. Several more murders occur, and the clues point in a number of directions. Upon learning Dr. Renault's secret -- which is something straight out of H. G. Well's The Island of Dr. Moreau -- the audience is able to discern the killer's identity. Alas, it may be too late for heroine Madeline, at present being kidnapped by a local hooligan (Mike Mazurki) and thus apparently at the mercy of the rampaging murderer. Dr. Renault's Secret was frequently shipped out on a double bill with Fox's other 1942 horror piece, The Undying Monster. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

20th Century Fox's Christmas gift to moviegoers in 1939, this fanciful comedy-drama features the studio's darling of the ice, Sonja Henie. She plays the daughter of a Nobel Peace Prize-winner feared murdered by the German Gestapo. A couple of rival American newspaper reporters, Ray Milland and Robert Cummings, discover that the legendary Professor Norden (Maurice Moscovich) is still very much alive and living under an assumed name in Switzerland. The heroes, however, completely forget their critical assignment after spotting the professor's lovely daughter, Louise (Henie), and their preoccupation with the girl nearly leads to disaster. Fox borrowed Ray Milland from Paramount for this Henie vehicle, which was partially filmed at Sun Valley, ID. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide