Cecil Weston Movies

This uneven farce by director Richard Quine has its hilarious and witty moments as American diplomat William Gridley (Jack Lemmon) inadvertently gets caught up in a jewel theft and mayhem. After William lands in London to take up his new position and get settled in his new digs, he becomes involved with his gorgeous landlady Carlye Hardwicke (Kim Novak). Carlye's husband is missing, and she is suspected of doing him in. But then he unexpectedly comes back home where an argument with Carlye over some jewels makes him as dead as everyone had assumed -- with her wielding the murder weapon. Carlye is eventually acquitted thanks to a witness who has designs on the jewels herself -- but the story is far from over. First there is an exciting helicopter ride and a wild chase to decide just who will end up with the loot. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Jim Davis was light-years away from his role as Larry Hagman's dad on Dallas when he starred in Noose for a Gunman. In this 1960 B oater, Davis is a gunslinger who is appointed town marshal to clean out the criminal element. It isn't long before Davis is kicked out of town on a trumped-up murder rap. The real villain is cattle baron Barton MacLane, who exercises his usual prerogative of shouting all his lines. Noose for a Gunman was a Premium Production (an inaptly-named firm), released through United Artists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A routine story about an attempted assassination of a foreign head of state, Three Came to Kill is one of many action dramas directed by the indefatigable Edward L. Cahn in 1960 and '61. In this instance, the setting is Los Angeles and a gang of hoodlums, for their own reasons, are intent on murdering a visiting Asian Prime Minister. Three of the men are professional killers, and their plan is to break into the house of an airport employee and shoot down the plane that is carrying the PM out of the U.S. The L.A. police are alerted, placing the plan in jeopardy before it can be put into effect. Cameron Mitchell is the head hoodlum honcho. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Tyrone Power is a Dutchman, and Susan Hayward is an Irish lass. If you believe that, then the rest of Untamed will go down a lot easier. Power is a Boer calvary commander attempting to bring peace to his South African homeland. He has an affair with Hayward, a married woman whose husband is killed during a Zulu attack. While rescuing the survivors, Power runs afoul of Dutch farmer Richard Egan, who insists that Hayward is his property. Egan turns bandit, targeting the diamond mines. Power is bound and determined to stop Egan--and, it is hoped, to clear the path towards lasting happiness with Hayward. The Untamed is a CinemaScope adaptation of a novel by Helga Moray. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Joan Crawford is appropriately cast as the title character in This Woman is Dangerous. Crawford plays master criminal Beth Austin, the lady friend of dangerous gangster Matt Jackson (David Brian). After being caught in the crossfire of a robbery engineered by Jackson, Beth recuperates in a hospital, hoping to keep her past a secret from the authorities. But the FBI wants Beth to lead them to Jackson, and to that end, her doctor Ben Halleck (Dennis Morgan) is strong-armed into inaugurating a romance with his gorgeous patient. Eventually, of course, Ben and Beth fall genuinely in love, thereby incurring the terrible wrath of the vengeful Jackson. And to think that Joan Crawford endures all this without a hair out of place on her lovely head! TV's future "Captain Midnight" Richard Webb co-stars as a diligent FBI agent. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After a lengthy absence from the screen, Judy Canova returned in the raucous musical Honeychile. The plot had been utilized in several previous Republic films, but was good for yet another go-round here. Canova plays Judy, a would-be songwriter who sends one of her tunes to a big-city composer. When the song, published under another author's name, becomes a hit, music agent Eddie Price (Eddie Foy Jr.) heads to the sticks to negotiate a contract with Judy. By now, however, she doesn't want to sell her song: instead, she wants all the royalties for herself. Eddie's efforts to get her to change her mind are stymied by the presence of Judy's muscle-bound boyfriend Joe Boyd (Alan Hale Jr.) Somehow, everything is resolved during a climactic chuck-wagon race. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A rare comedy from director John Ford, this story about a WWII soldier trying to gain some respect is based on the published war memoirs of Sy Gomberg. Bill Kluggs (Dan Dailey) is the first man in his small West Virginia town to enlist, and his father Herman (William Demarest) and the locals give him a big sendoff. But Bill returns from boot camp, assigned to be a gunnery instructor at a new air base in his hometown. While other boys go off to war, Kluggs becomes a local laughingstock. When a bomber pilot falls ill, however, Kluggs replaces him on a secret mission. He falls asleep on the plane and bails out over the French countryside. Found by Resistance fighters, Kluggs accompanies them on a dangerous mission to take pictures of a German V-2 base. To get him out of the country, the Resistance fighters then stage a mock wedding between Kluggs and the fetching Yvonne (Corinne Calvet), whom Kluggs hates to leave behind when he flees to London. Returning home after only a few nights away, Kluggs is attacked by his own father, who mistakes him for a spy. The townsfolk suspect that he deserted the service and heap more scorn on him. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

The year is 1908 and the setting Jericho, Kansas, a veritable cesspool of sin and vice. Dave Connors is a politically ambitious lawyer married to Belle, the town lush, and is in love with beautiful colleague Julia Norman. Matters are worsened when Algeria Wedge, his best friend's wife, makes a pass at him. When Dave rejects her advances, she retaliates by printing vile things about him in the town paper. This effectively destroys his political career and causes him to leave town. Algeria then successfully helps to launch her husband's career so she can remain in town and cause even more trouble. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

They said it couldn't be done, but they did it: Kathleen Winsor's "notorious", bestselling bodice-ripper Forever Amber actually made it to the screen in 1947 with full censorial approval. Of course, it was necessary to tone down the more erotic passages of Winsor's novel, but the end result pleased fans of the book and bluenosed nonfans alike. A last-minute replacement for British import Peggy Cummins, Linda Darnell steps into the role of 17th century blonde bed-hopper Amber as though she'd been born to play it. Feeling suppressed by her Puritan upbringing, Amber heads to London, finding considerable success as a courtesan (that's the polite word for it). The first real love of her life is dashing soldier Bruce Carlton, who leaves her pregnant and penniless when he marches off to war. Subsequent amours include the sadistic Earl of Radcliffe (a superbly loathsome performance by comic actor Richard Haydn), handsome highwayman Black Jack Mallard (John Russell) and privateer Captain Rex Morgan (Glenn Langan). Surviving the Plague and the Great London Fire with nary a hair out of place, Amber ends up in the arms of no less than King Charles II (wittily portrayed by George Sanders), but true love, as personified by Bruce Carlton, will always elude her. Taking no chances, 20th Century-Fox sent out Forever Amber with a spoken prologue, heard over the opening credits, which explained that the film in no way endorsed its heroine's libertine behavior, and that she would be amply punished for her sins before fadeout time (that prologue has thankfully been removed from current prints). A model of restraint by today's standards, Forever Amber was sufficiently titillating in 1947 to post an enormous profit, far in excess of its $4 million budget. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A man down on his luck runs afoul of a beautiful but dangerous woman in this superior low-budget film noir. Mike Lambert (Glenn Ford), while trained as a mining engineer, has fallen on hard times and is driving a truck when his rig breaks down in a small town. He soon meets the seductive Paula Craig (Janis Carter) at a cafe and is quickly drawn into her web of larceny. Paula encourages her lover, Stephen Price (Barry Sullivan), to rob the bank that he manages, then kills Stephen and takes the ill-gotten money. Paula confesses the killing to Mike and begs him to run away with her, claiming she murdered Price in a fit of passion while she was drunk. Mike considers her offer until he learns that his close friend Jeff Cunningham (Edgar Buchanan) has been accused of killing Stephen -- and that Paula intends to pin the robbery that Stephen committed on Mike. Femme Fatale Janis Carter originally studied to be a classical musician before her career as an actress took off, while Edgar Buchanan's big break would come 16 years down the road, when he was cast as "Uncle Joe" on the television series Petticoat Junction. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Much of the enjoyment inherent in Money Madness can be derived from watching Hugh Beaumont, nine years before his "Ward Cleaver" stint on TV's Leave It to Beaver, playing a low-down, dirty-rat heavy. Armored-car driver Steve Clark (Beaumont) gets tired of hauling around other people's money and begins drawing up plans to accumulate his own loot. Using inside information, Clark manages to pilfer 200 grand without arousing the suspicions of the authorities. He then weds heiress Julie (Frances Rafferty), for the express purpose of murdering both her and her wealthy aunt Cora (Cecil Weston). Only attorney Donald (Harlan Warde) figures out that the smooth-talking Clark is up to no good, but by then it's too late. Hugh Beaumont's cold-blooded performance in the film's final scenes is enough to make one fear for the future safety of Barbara Billingsley, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Setting something of a record for flashbacks within flashbacks, The Locket recounts the mental disintegration of bride-to-be Laraine Day. As a child, Day was accused of stealing a locket at a fancy party. She has spent her life getting even for this false accusation by becoming a kleptomaniac and ruining the lives of those around her. She drives one man (Robert Mitchum) to suicide, and stands by as another man is executed for a murder which she has committed. Assuming her revenge on the world is complete when she becomes engaged to the son of the woman who'd accused her of thievery, Day is overtaken by the demons within her and collapses on the altar. The Locket is difficult to follow at times, especially when seen in commercialized chunks on the Late Late Show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a novel by Barry Fleming, Colonel Effingham's Raid stars Charles Coburn in the title role. Upon retiring from the army, Effingham returns to his home town of Fredericksville, Georgia. Dismayed by the town's paucity of civic pride, the Colonel begins writing a newspaper column honoring Fredericksville's old traditions and chastizing those who would tear those traditions down. His pet peeve is the city administration's plan to rename Confederate Square after the pompous, mildly corrupt town mayor (Thurston Hall). When it seems that his protests are falling upon deaf ears, Colonel Effingham literally stage a "military assault" against City Hall, which in real life would get him thrown in the looney bin but which in a whimsical comedy of this nature results in a smashing success for the "good guys". If Colonel Effingham's Raid seems to be popping up on TV at a rate of once a day, it is because the film lapsed into public domain in 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide