Michael Whalen Movies

Elmer Gantry (Burt Lancaster), a drunken, dishonest street preacher allegedly patterned on Billy Sunday, wrangles a job with the travelling tent ministry conducted by Sister Sharon Falconer (Jean Simmons). Thanks to Gantry's enthusiastic hellfire-and-brimstone sermons, Sister Sharon's operation rises to fame and fortune, enough so that Sharon realizes her dream of building her own enormous tabernacle. These ambitions are put in jeopardy when a prostitute (Oscar-winning Shirley Jones), a former minister's daughter who'd been deflowered by Gantry years earlier, lures Gantry into a compromising situation and has photographs taken. It took several years for any Hollywood studio to take a chance with Sinclair Lewis' novel, and when it finally did arrive on the screen, producer/director Richard Brooks was compelled to downplay some of the more "sacrilegious" passages in the original. Also appearing in Elmer Gantry are Arthur Kennedy as an H.L. Mencken-style atheistic journalist, and Edward Andrews as George Babbitt, a character borrowed from another Sinclair Lewis novel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A series of mysterious deaths of fishermen and swimmers along a stretch of beach attract the attention of scientist Dr. Ted Stevens (Kent Taylor) and government investigator William Grant (Rodney Bell) -- they both want to know why the victims and their boats all show signs of exposure to atomic radiation, and if there's a connection between the deaths and the nearby Pacific College of Oceanography, run by Professor King (Michael Whalen); and they're also interested in why King's assistant, George Thomas (Phillip Pine), is always lurking around the beach, often armed with a spear gun. Stevens establishes a friendship with King's daughter Lois (Cathy Downs) that turns to romance, but he's principally concerned with finding out about an apparent source of radiation on the ocean floor, and what its connection might be with the unearthly sea creature rumored to be stalking that section of the beach. Helene Stanton hangs around in a fairly revealing (for the time) bathing suit, waiting on the beach for some top-secret information, and Vivi Janiss overacts nicely as a woman with too much on her mind for her own good. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Edgar Buchanan enjoys a rare top-billed assignment in Lippert's The Silver Star. The film's leading man, however, is one Earle Lyon, who also produced the picture. Lyon plays a reluctant sheriff who turns tail and runs when three outlaws come to town intending to do him in. Ultimately, Lyon is shamed into behaving like a man by his predecessor Edgar Buchanan. As can be seen, Silver Star manages to emulate the High Noon formula without resorting to outright imitation. Lon Chaney Jr., one of the supporting players in High Noon, is third-billed in Silver Star as Lyon's disgruntled political opponent, while Marie Windsor registers well in a less aggressive characterization than usual. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lippert's Fingerprints Don't Lie stars Richard Travis as fingerprint expert James Stover. At the moment, Stover is attempting to solve the murder of a small-town mayor. When the most likely suspect has been collared, Stover determines that the fingerprints found at the scene of the crime have been forged. Thus it is that the actual murderer is still around and about. In fact, he's much closer to Our Hero than anyone might have suspected. Fingerprints Don't Lie co-stars Sheila Ryan (in one of her last film appearances before becoming Mrs. Pat Buttram) and Lippert's resident utility player Sid Melton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lippert's Mask of the Dragon was filmed simultaneously with Fingerprints Don't Lie, utilizing the same director and cast. Richard Travis plays Phil Ramsey, a private eye, headquartered in San Francisco. He is obliged to investigate the murder of an old friend, a Korean war vet who had recently delivered a jade dragon to a Chinatown merchant. Aided by heroine Ginny O'Donnell (Sheila Ryan), Ramsey follows the trail of clues to a deserted TV studio (actually Los Angeles' KTLA). Sid Melton provides comedy relief as the head villain's dopey henchman. Though cheaply produced, Mask of the Dragon doesn't stint entertainment-wise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Byington, a retired teacher, sells her apartment complex to ex-gangsters who begin kicking out the tenants. Byington tries to help the reformed mobsters, headed by Caruso, to undergo a change of heart. But one of the group, Karnes, still is out to cheat the system. ~ All Movie Guide

By the standards of low-budget Lippert Productions, Everybody's Dancin' is an "A" picture. Country-western favorite Spade Cooley (who also co-produced and co-scripted) heads the enormous cast of this innocuous musical comedy. Setting the plot in motion is fast-talking Dick Lane, playing a phony entrepreneur who hopes to rescue a bankrupt ballroom called "Waltzland." The climax is the standard-issue Big Show, staged at the studios of Los Angeles television station KTLA (where Dick Lane was gainfully employed as a sportscaster). Featured acts include The Sons of the Pioneers, the Chuy Reyes Orchestra, The Flying Taylors, the Great Velardi and the Medians. Also thrown into the stew are a bunch of guest stars, including Roddy McDowall, western stars Jimmy Ellison , and Russell Hayden, and UPI columnist Virginia McPherson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The film career of actress Leslie Brooks lasted long enough for her to contribute several mesmerizingly bitchy performances. In Blonde Ice, Brooks is cast as Claire, a society reporter who'll do literally anything for a story. She manages to keep herself in the headlines by marrying and romancing a series of wealthy men, all of whom die under mysterious circumstances. To deflect suspicion from herself, Claire frames her erstwhile boyfriend, sportswriter Les Burns (Robert Paige). Because the police department is incredibly obtuse throughout the film, it's up to a criminal psychologist (David Leonard) to expose Claire as a homicidal sociopath. Blonde Ice might make a fascinating double feature with Nicole Kidman's 1994 starrer To Die For. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Shep Comes Home was the belated sequel to Screen Guild's My Dog Shep (1946). The title pooch is played by "Flame" (who also starred in Columbia's "Rusty" series), while his orphaned master Larry is portrayed by Billy Kimberly. Escaping from an orphanage, Larry and Shep hit the road, with a sympathetic old sheriff (J. Farrell McDonald) in pursuit. The boy and his dog come to the rescue of an innocent emigrant (Martin Garralaga) who has been blamed for the perfidy of a two-bit crook (Sheldon Leonard). Thankfully, the film's inherent sentiment never gets too gooey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Omoo-Omoo (The Shark God) is based on a novel by Herman Melville. Within its attenuated budget, the film does a nice job visualizing Melville's concept. A sea captain (Trevor Bardette) courts disaster when he removes a pair of black pearls from a native shrine. According to native legend, bad luck will befall the captain and everyone else who comes in contact with those pearls. By the time the film's 57 minutes have run their course, practically everyone has come to grief except top-billed Ron Randell. Cast as Trevor Bardette's luckless daughter is Devera Burton, of whom little was heard after Omoo-Omoo ended its theatrical run. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Following up on the popular 1943 film serial The Batman, this 15-part serial is about a nefarious masked figure called the Wizard, who swipes a diamond-powered remote control device that renders all of Gotham City's machines immobile. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

This seedy anti-marijuana tract was distributed as She Shoulda Said No. The star is one Lila Leeds, who gained notoriety in 1948 when she and Robert Mitchum were arrested during a Hollywood pot party. Leeds plays an impressionable chorus girl who is hooked onto marijuana by her collegiate brother. Going from bad to worse, the girl becomes a dope pusher to support her reefer habit. Ultimately, she goes "cold turkey" and becomes a narc, working with the feds to smash the dope peddlers once and for all. Like most films of its ilk, Wild Weed is an unintentional laugh riot when seen today. The cast is a surprisingly good one, including Alan Baxter, Lyle Talbot, Michael Whalen and pianist Rudolf Friml Jr. Director "Sherman Scott" also travelled under the name of Sam Newfield. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set virtually in its entirety in an airborne TWA Constellation (evidently the company agreed to the use of its name in exchange for free advertising), Sky Liner stars Richard Travis as FBI agent Steve Blair. At the beginning of the film, a government courier is murdered by a foreign spy during a transcontinental flight. Blair manages to collar the spy, who is then promptly murdered himself. Now Blair is forced to play detective, sifting out the guilty party (or parties) from the passenger list. Pamela Blake and Rochelle Hudson play the standard "good" and "bad" girls, while the rest of the cast is a film-buff's dream: Steven Geray, Bess Flowers, Jack Mulhall, George Meeker et. al. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide