Harte Wayne Movies
Young at Heart is a soft-pedaled, musicalized remake of 1938's Four Daughters. Robert Keith takes over the Claude Rains role as paterfamilias to a family of musical prodigies, all girls: Doris Day, Dorothy Malone, Elizabeth Fraser (the fourth daughter was written out of proceedings, no great loss). Keith's new boarder Gig Young, a musical-comedy composer, becomes the three daughters' heart balm, whether he wants to our not. When he gets stuck creatively, Young invites his tempestuous pal Frank Sinatra to help him finish his score. Sinatra essays the old John Garfield role, retaining a generous supply of Garfield's chip-on-shoulder edginess. But whereas Garfield's character dies in Four Daughters, Sinatra survives for a happily-ever-after clinch with Doris Day. Most of the songs heard in Young at Heart were already standards in 1954--with the notable exception of the Johnny Richards-Carolyn Leigh title number, which of course became a part of Frank Sinatra's standard repertoire. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Doris Day, Frank Sinatra, (more)
- 1952
Despite its ebullient title and the presence of lightweight dancing star Dan Dailey, Meet Me at the Fair has a lot more meat on its bones than most musicals of the early 1950s. Dailey plays an early-1900s medicine show huckster who finds himself the reluctant guardian of orphanage escapee Chet Allen. As he grows fond of the boy, Dailey becomes determined to thwart the corrupt system that allows substandard orphan asylums to operate while political hacks get rich on government funding. Dailey wins the confidence (and love) of orphan committee member Diana Lynn, who helps to foil the machinations of crooked district attorney Hugh O'Brien. The darker aspects of Meet Me at the Fair are lightened by director Douglas Sirk's marvelous recreations of backstage life at the turn of the century. The film is also a special treat for fans of Scatman Crothers, who is never less than terrific as Dan Dailey's sidekick. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dan Dailey, Diana Lynn, (more)
- 1951
Highly respected defense attorney Dwight Bradley Mason (Walter Pidgeon) is able to clear young Rudi Wallchek (Keefe Brasselle) of a murder rap. When it's all over, however, Rudi lets slip a careless comment which leads Mason to believe that his client was guilty after all. Using the evidence at hand, the attorney retraces his steps, only to discover that one of the town's leading citizens is a criminal mastermind. The solution to this ethical dilemma is straight out of the "postman always rings twice" school of crime fiction. Even after justice has been served, however, Mason's conscience dictates that everyone responsible for all previous legal miscarriages be punished -- including himself! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Walter Pidgeon, Ann Harding, (more)
- 1950
In a season that also brought the world such cinematic confessions as I Shot Jesse James (1949) and I Shot Billy the Kid (1950), both from low-budget Lippert Productions, rival producer Jack Schwarz released I Killed Geronimo, starring former "Hopalong Cassidy" sidekick James Ellison. Going undercover as the notorious "Waco Kid," U.S. Army Captain Jeff Packard (Ellison) manages to infiltrate a gang of gold-shipment thieves lead by nasty Walt Anderson (Ted Adams). But Anderson and his gang are not the only troublemakers around: Packard must also contend with Geronimo (Chief Thundercloud) and his Apache warriors, who are demanding guns in exchange for peace. When Major French (Luther Crocker) refuses, the Apaches attack. In the ensuing melee, Geronimo is stabbed to death by Packard, who almost single-handedly saves the fort. The demise of the great Indian warrior is, of course, totally fictitious. Rather than perish in heroic combat, the historic Geronimo (1829-1909) surrendered and was relocated to Florida, where he spent his declining years as a tourist attraction. Enhanced by heavy doses of stock footage from, among other films, John Ford's classic Stagecoach (1939), the film also marked the final appearance of Smith Ballew, a star of low-budget music oaters in the 1930s. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
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