James Westerfield Movies

Rudolphe Maté directs the western The Violent Men, based on the novel Rough Company by Donald Hamilton. Edward G. Robinson plays Lee Wilkison, the bad-guy owner of Anchor Ranch with a plan to buy out all the smaller ranches to gain control of the valley. Barbara Stanwyck plays his wife Martha, who secretly has an affair with his brother, Cole (Brian Keith). Meanwhile, Cole hangs out with hired gun Wade Matlock (Richard Jaeckel) and his other girlfriend, Elena (Lita Milan). Glenn Ford plays ex-military man John Parrish, the good-guy small ranch owner who is willing to sell until one of his ranch hands turns up dead. He fights back with a vengance using his military training and sets his eyes on Wilkison's daughter, Judith (Dianne Foster). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Produced by "March of Time" maven Louis de Rochemont, Whistle at Eaton Falls is docudrama concerning a labor dispute in a small New Hampshire town. Union leader Lloyd Bridges is reluctantly promoted to the presidency of Eaton Falls' plastics plant. Now in a management position, Bridges must lay off several of his old friends in order to cut down costs. He tries to do this as painlessly as possible, but his union-boss successor Murray Hamilton public derides Bridges' methods. The potent problems posed by the film are solved in too-slick Hollywood fashion when the plant is saved by a huge government contract and the introduction of cost-efficient machinery. Dorothy Gish makes one of her rare talking-picture appearances as the widow of the plant's former owner in Whistle at Eaton Falls, and if you look closely you'll spot Lloyd Bridges' infant son Jeff in his movie debut. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set during WWII, this taut and suspenseful espionage outing chronicles the courage of a brand-new cadre of specially trained American O.S.S. agents who parachute into France to destroy the vital Corbett Mallon tunnel to stop the German invaders from shipping supplies to their troops. One of the spies is a woman, and this bothers the group leader, who doubts her abilities. She soon proves herself, and the two embark on several exciting adventures before and after the completion of their mission. Along the way, the two manage to fall in love. Unfortunately, their commitment to duty is necessarily greater than their love and one of them will make a great sacrifice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Originally slated for release through Monogram Pictures, The Chase was ultimately distributed by United Artists. Adapted by Philip Yordan from Cornell Woolrich's The Black Path of Fear (a perennial of the radio series Suspense), the film stars Robert Cummings as Chuck, shell-shocked ex-GI. Tormented by bizarre dreams, Chuck is drawn into the orbit of racketeer Roman (Steve Cochran). Hired as Roman's chauffeur, Chuck deals as best he can with his boss' faithless wife Lorna (Michele Morgan) and sinister henchman Gino (Peter Lorre). Persuaded by Lorna to help her escape the brutish Roman, Chuck agrees, only to end up accused of a murder he didn't commit. Thus begins the chase of the title, with Chuck eluding not only the authorities but also the stiletto-wielding Gino. Just when it seems that Chuck has cleared himself and all's right with the world, the story takes an unexpected turn, thrusting the hero back into a nightmarish maelstrom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Orson Welles' followup to Citizen Kane (1941) was utterly different from Kane in style and texture, but just as brilliant in its own way. Writer/director Welles does not appear on camera, but his voiceover narration superbly sets the stage for the movie's action, which fades in valentine fashion on Amberson Mansion, the most ostentatious dwelling in all of turn-of-century Indianapolis. Its mistress is the haughtily beautiful Isabel Amberson (Dolores Costello). When Isabel's beau, erstwhile inventor Eugene Morgan (Joseph Cotten), inadvertently humiliates her in public, she breaks off the relationship and marries colorless Wilbur Minafer (Donald Dillaway). The neighbors are certain that, since Isabel can't possibly love Wilbur, she will spoil her children rotten. As it turns out, she has one child, George Minafer (Tim Holt), and that one is enough as far as the rest of Indianapolis is concerned. There are those who live for the day that the arrogant, insufferable George will get his comeuppance. When George returns home from college, his mother and grandfather (Richard Bennett) hold a gala reception in his honor. Among the guests is the older-and-wiser Eugene, now a prosperous automobile manufacturer, and his pretty daughter Lucy (Anne Baxter). George takes to Lucy immediately, but can't warm up to Eugene, especially after learning from his uncle Jack Amberson (Ray Collins) and his maiden aunt Fanny (Agnes Moorehead) that Eugene and Isabel had once been sweethearts. After the death of Wilbur Minafer, the widowed Eugene feels emboldened enough to propose to Isabel again. This time she is willing, but the obstreperous George refuses to allow his mother to see Eugene. His imperious bullheadedness will lead to tragedy for all concerned--and, at long last, a chastened George Minafer will indeed receive his comeuppance. The film's real villain is not George but that old intangible bugaboo called "Progress." As the automobile age comes to fruition, the elegant, cloistered lifestyle of the Ambersons fades from view, finally disappearing altogether. This is superbly foreshadowed in the "winter outing" sequence (filmed in an L.A. icehouse) in which George's two-horse sleigh is abandoned in favor of Eugene's clunky horseless carriage. Welles evokes performances that his actors seldom (if ever) matched in later years; even the very limited Tim Holt is wholly believable-and even a bit pitiable-as the blinkered George Amberson Minafer. The current version, however, is but a pale shadow of Welles' original concept. Out of time and overbudget, the movie previewed badly and was eventually sliced down to an abrupt 88 minutes (by, among others, editor Robert Wise, who would go on to direct such films as West Side Story and The Sound of Music). Even though the film therefore must be regarded as a marred masterpiece, the remaining two-thirds of Welles' original concept is still a thrilling cinematic experience, especially whenever Agnes Moorehead is on the screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, a remake of Heat Lightning(1931), a robber kills a bank teller during a robbery and then takes his wife, who believes he is a traveling businessman, on the road with him as he flees. He is eventually captured and sentenced. Meanwhile his wife returns to running a motel and gas station with her sister. Her drab daily existence changes dramatically when her husband escapes from prison three years later and forces her to protect him. In the end, he is finally captured by the dogged cop who has been pursuing him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide