Richard Webb Movies

The 1954 musical remake of A Star is Born could have been titled A Star is Reborn, in that it represented the triumphal return to the screen of Judy Garland after a four-year absence. The remake adheres closely to the plotline of the 1937 original: An alcoholic film star, on his last professional legs, gives a career boost to a unknown aspiring actress. The two marry, whereupon her fame and fortune rises while his spirals sharply downward. Unable to accept this, the male star crawls deeper into the bottle. The wife tearfully decides to give up her own career to care for her husband. To spare her this fate, the husband chivalrously commits suicide. His wife is inconsolable at first, but is urged to go "on with the show" in memory of her late husband. In the original, Janet Gaynor played Esther Blodgett, who with no training or contacts came to Hollywood hoping for stardom. The remake, scripted by Moss Hart, is a shade more realistic: Garland's Esther, though far removed from fame, is a working professional singer/dancer when first we meet her. Both Gaynor and Garland are transformed from "Esther Blodgett" to "Vicki Lester" after being screen-tested, though Gaynor goes on to star in fluffy costume dramas while Garland more logically headlines big-budget musicals. The 1937 Star is Born costarred Fredric March as Norman Maine, Esther/Vicki's sponsor-cum-spouse. March patterned his performance after the tragic John Barrymore, reining in his emotions in favor of pure technique; James Mason's interpretation is more original, more emotional, and far more effective (who can forget the scene where Norman sobbingly overhears Vicki planning to give up her career for his sake?) As the studio's long-suffering publicist, the 1937 version's Lionel Stander is more abrasive and unpleasant than the 1954 version's introspective, intellectual Jack Carson; on the other hand, Adolphe Menjou and Charles Bickford are fairly evenly matched in the role of the studio head. Several important omissions are made in the remake. The 1937 Star is Born included Esther's indomitable old grandma (May Robson), a helpful assistant director (Andy Devine) and a soft-hearted landlord (Edgar Kennedy); all three characters are missing from the 1954 version, though elements of each can be found in the "best friend/severest critic" character played by Tommy Noonan. Wisely, both versions end with the grieving Vicki Lester coming out of her shell at a public gathering, greeting the audience with a proud, defiant "Good evening, everybody. This is Mrs. Norman Maine". Though directors William Wellman (1937 version) and George Cukor (1954 version) handle this finale in their own distinctive manners, the end result is equally effective emotionally. What truly sets the 1954 A Star is Born apart from other films of its ilk is its magnificent musical score by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin. The songs include The Man Who Got Away (brilliantly performed by Garland in one long take, sans dubbing), It's a New World, Somewhere There's a Someone, I Was Born in a Trunk, Lose That Long Face and Gotta Have Me Go With You. When originally previewed in 1954, the film ran well over three hours, thanks to the lengthy-and thoroughly disposable-Born in a Trunk number, added to the film as an afterthought without the approval or participation of director George Cukor. The Warner Bros. executives trimmed the film to 154 minutes, eliminating three top-rank musical numbers and several crucial expository sequences (including Norman's proposal to Vicki). At the instigation of the late film historian Ronald Haver, the full version was painstakingly restored in 1983, with outtakes and still photos bridging the "lost" footage. Though nominated in several categories, A Star is Born was left empty-handed at Academy Award time, an oversight that caused outrage then and still rankles Judy Garland fans to this day (Footnote: Judy Garland had previously played Vicki Lester in a 1942 Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of the original A Star is Born). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the eerier chillers of its period -- and one of the best ever to come out of Paramount -- Stuart Heisler's Among the Living is a strange and compelling mix of social drama, horror film, and suspense thriller. The story opens with the funeral of Maxim Raden, the patriarch who was pretty much responsible for building up the town that bears the family name, and which has been dominated for decades by the now-idle mill that he owned. Present at the funeral is Dr. Ben Saunders (Harry Carey Sr.), Raden's oldest friend, and the surviving Raden son John (Albert Dekker), who has been away for most of the last 25 years and recently married Elaine (Frances Farmer), a beautiful young woman from New York. John was one of a pair of twin boys; the other, Paul, died in an accident a quarter century ago, just after John was sent away to school. But Saunders and Maxim Raden had a secret between them -- that Paul Raden didn't die, but went dangerously insane, and has kept been alive all of this time, in a hidden room in the decaying Raden mansion, tended to by the doctor and the faithful family servant Pompey (Ernest Whitman). Paul was a victim of abuse by his overbearing father, and suffered brain damage from a beating he received while trying to protect his mother. He has never stopped "hearing" his father's threats or his mother's weeping, and they leave him prone to violent, potentially murderous outbursts of rage. Worse still, the death of his father has agitated him into a state where he is able to escape the mansion. Once freed and relieved of his quarter century of isolation, Paul is at once confused by and delighted with the company of people; he heads to the town and rents a room at a seedy boarding house, where he immediately attracts the attention of the landlady's frisky (and avaricious) daughter Millie (Susan Hayward) with his large bankroll, free-spending habits, and lost-puppy-dog demeanor. Meanwhile, the doctor reveals the truth about Paul to John, who wants to notify the authorities that his brother is loose and potentially dangerous -- but the doctor won't hear of it, fearing that news of the insane son will tarnish the Raden name and the reputation of the clinic that Maxim founded and funded on the doctor's behalf, in return for his covering up the son's existence.
The stakes get raised higher when the coroner reveals that a death the doctor tried to cover up was, in fact, a murder, and then a young woman is found strangled. While John is torn between sympathy for his brother, who never got the help or care he needed, and his feeling of responsibility to the town, the doctor tries to continue the cover-up by posting a 5,000-dollar reward for the capture of the killer. This sets off an orgy of assaults and destruction as the work-starved townspeople, led by Millie's ex-boyfriend Bill Oakley (Gordon Jones), begin rounding up anyone who looks even the least bit suspicious or out of place, trying to get the reward. Millie's greed is also brought to the fore and she persuades her new boyfriend, Paul, to go with her to the one place no one has searched yet -- the Raden mansion. Paul's veneer of calm unravels as he finds himself back in the location of his imprisonment, and in the course of the fight and the chase that ensues, John is caught and accused, by Millie and all of the other witnesses to Paul's outbursts, as the killer. Now it looks like a lynching is in the offing as hundreds of angry, drunken, greedy townspeople gather together to mete out justice -- and John must make them believe that he has a twin who is responsible for the murders. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

American "B"-movie mogul Jerry Warren can always be counted on to turn a cheap but fun horror import into a boring, unwatchable mess -- as proven by this tedious effort, originally produced in Mexico as The Aztec Mummy and later padded out with deadly-dull exposition. The original film is silly enough; the first of a popular Mexican series, it involves the awakening of the mummy Popoca to avenge the desecration of his tomb by infidels. As a cost-saving measure, instead of re-dubbing the Spanish dialogue, Warren added new scenes with American actors, who drone on about reincarnation and past-life regression and bring the action to a screeching halt. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Child actress Suzanne Cupito, who went on to a long and rewarding adult career under the name Morgan Brittany, essays the title role in this, the final episode of Branded. The daughter of a bank robber, 11-year-old Kellie has sworn to kill the man responsible for her father's death: namely, Jason McCord (Chuck Connors). Making return appearances in this series finale are Lola Albright as feisty newspaperwoman Ann Williams and John Carradine as Jason's grandfather, General Joshua McCord. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Veteran actor Richard Webb stars as the titular superhero, aided by his jet plane The Silver Dart, sidekick Ikky, and his all-children Secret Squadron. The series was retitled Jet Jackson, Flying Commando for syndication. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide

This laid-back western manages to deliver a full quota of action, an agreeable dash of sentiment, and quite a few three-dimensional characterizations. Van Heflin plays Luke Fargo, a Civil War veteran who returns to his Southern homeland to find his house destroyed, his crops burned out, and the local town under the thumb of "white trash" Vancey Huggins (Raymond Burr). In addition, Fargo is on the outs with the townsfolk because he fought for the Union instead of the Confederacy. Having grown weary of death and killing, Fargo hopes to start life anew as a minister, and to that end intends to rebuild the town's only church. Complicating matters is the presence of unkempt, hoydenish teenager Lissy (Joanne Woodward, in her film debut). Though Fargo's feelings for Lissy are basically paternal, the townsfolk, stirred up by Huggins, suspect the worst and prepare to drive the novice minister out of town. A happy--or at least satisfying--ending is reached through a series of logical events not often seen in "formula" westerns. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It was the kids vs. the adults in the lively British game show Get Your Own Back. On each 15-minute episode, youngsters were pitted against older authority figures (parents, teachers, etc.) in a series of quizzes and contests. Whenever the adults lost, they were dumped in "the gunge," which looked a lot like the ubiquitous "slime" seen on the programs carried by the American Nickelodeon cable service. Created by Brian Marshall, Get Your Own Back was seen on BBC1 beginning in 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Agar leads an American demolition squad into Italy to destroy a U.S. headquarters recently commandeered by Axis forces. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Hold Back the Dawn begins with a shabby immigrant (Charles Boyer) wandering onto a Paramount sound stage and telling his life story to director Mitchell Leisen (who actually directed this film). In flashback, we see that Boyer was once a conscienceless gigolo, desperate to flee Nazi-occupied Europe. He makes it to Mexico, where he pretends to fall in love with shy schoolteacher Olivia de Havilland. It is his plan to marry her, thus be able to enter the United States; then he intends to dump her and pursue the woman he really loves. Boyer's regeneration, and the price he pays for his previous callousness, brings Hold Back the Dawn to its tearful conclusion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Three disparate young men struggle to become Army Air Corps pilots in this rousing drama that earned an Oscar for its excellent aerial special effects. The film is also noted for making Veronica Lake, who previously appeared in films under the name Constance Keane, a star. For added realism, the three male leads, William Holden, Ray Milland and Wayne Morris were placed into the same training program at Randolph Field, Texas (and also Kelly Field, Texas) as real recruits. Lake plays a seductress who pursues Holden while Constance Moore plays a female photographer who comes to shoot a story and ends up falling for Milland. By the time the pilots' rigorous training has finished only one will have proved himself fit to fly. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

One of the more popular movie-review paperbacks sums up Paramount's Isn't it Romantic? with a terse "No." There's actually more to the film than that, but not much. Set in Indiana in the 1890s, the story revolves around an diehard Confederate soldier named Major Euclid Cameron (Rolan Culver), who refuses to acknowledge that the South lost the Civil War. Cameron also regards himself as an aristocrat who will never sully his hands with work, which is why he and his family are flat broke. It is up to the Major's three pretty daughters-Candy (Veronica Lake), Susie (Mona Freeman) and Rose (Mary Hatcher)-to make ends meet financially, even if it means marrying for money rather than love. Pearl Bailey transcends the stereotypical role of the Cameron's housekeeper Abigail with her soulful renditions of such forgettable tunes as "I Shoulda Quit When I Was Ahead" (a bit of advice that could have profited the film's producers!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a novel by Gwen Bristow, Jubilee Trail is a sprawling, all-star western from the Republic Studio mills. Despite is vaunted budget, the plot is strictly B-picture material. Ambitious California landowner Charles Hale (Ray Middleton) hopes to add to his riches by marrying off his brother Oliver (John Russell) to a wealthy Spanish family. But when Oliver weds a gal named Garnet (Joan Leslie) instead, Charles vows revenge against the new bride. Later, Oliver is killed, leaving Garnet to raise their baby alone. Charles intends to claim the baby for himself, but Garnet, who has subsequently fallen in love with John Ives (Forrest Tucker), isn't about to let that happen. Top-billed Vera Ralston plays saloon-hall chirp Florinda, a Woman With a Past who is peripherally involved in the plot proper, while Richard Webb, TV's "Captain Midnight", fills the obligatory "disgruntled suitor" role. The film is stolen hands down by Pat O'Brien as a drunken doctor who serves as last-minute problem-solver. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide