Dan White Movies
In films from 1939, character actor Dan White trafficked in small-town blowhards and rustic constables. Often unbilled in bit roles, White was occasionally afforded such larger roles as Deputy Elmer in Voodoo Man (1944), Millwheel in The Yearling (1946) and Abel Hatfield in Roseanna McCoy (1949). He remained active until the early 1960s. The "Dan White" who appeared in 1977's Alien Factor is a different person. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1975
In this made-for-television drama, a retired businessman's obsession with the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle increase when his lover and her friends become its next victims. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1975
- PG
This western chronicles the struggle of a post-Civil War mountain family to prove that they did not betray the Confederate side during the conflict. The film contains the last film appearance of Walter Brennan. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Sky Terror is the reissue title for Skyjacked, a 1972 MGM all-star adventure based on a novel by David Harper. Charlton Heston mans the controls of a Los Angeles-bound commercial airliner which is hijacked to Russia by an unknown miscreant. Even when the skyjacker, revealed to be passenger James Brolin, is subsequently subdued, the crew must contend with a hidden time bomb. The film is graced with a who's who of MGM contractees past and present, including Yvette Mimieux, Walter Pidgeon and Mike Henry. A flashback sequence contains one of the first examples of an American film coming to grips with how rudely our Vietnam veterans were ignored upon returning home; alas, this compassion quickly degenerates into the odious "crazed Vietnam vet" cliche. Footnote: The first network showing of Skyjacked was boycotted by TV stations owned by the Storer Corporation, which had a hard and fast rule against screening any film concerning a hijacked plane. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlton Heston, Yvette Mimieux, (more)
- 1967
In this routine western, Captain Tom York (Howard Keel) tries to warn the residents of Deadwood of an impending Sioux Indian attack in the wake of the Custer massacre. The people mistake him for a deserter and pay no heed to Tom's warning. Local gunfighter Ep Wyatt (Scott Brady) convinces the locals that York should be taken seriously and combines forces with the Captain. The two fortify the town with a pair of Gatling guns that are later transported to help defend the cavalry under attack from Sioux warriors. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Howard Keel, Joan Caulfield, (more)
- 1966
In this western, a gunfighter is hired to clean up the chaotic streets of Emporia, Wyoming. The gunfighter arrives and finds that his ex-lover is there and is married to the town preacher. Though the two are still attracted, they resist temptation. When he sees how violent the town really is, the gunman sends for help. As soon as his friend gets there, the two begin cleaning up the town. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Howard Keel, Jane Russell, (more)
- 1965
Virginia City is held in a grip of terror by the vicious family of condemned killer Harry Lassiter (Jack Chaplain. Cold-blooded matriarch Ma Lassiter (Marie Windsor) promises to kidnap one citizen per day until Harry is set free. Things get personal for the Cartwrights when Little Joe is among those abducted by Ma's murderous brood. In addition to guest-star Marie Windsor, another film noir stalwart, John Hoyt, is seen as Major Sutcliffe. First broadcast on December 5, 1965, "Five Sundowns to Sunup" was written by William L. Stuart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
- 1965
Dan Duryea plays a Western bounty hunter, expert in his job, but ill at ease with his conscience. He is shunned by the "good" townsfolk until they need him to track down and kill a criminal; the gratitude doesn't last long, and it's back to outcast status for Duryea. At one juncture, the embittered bounty hunter delivers a condemnation against the "hypocrites" who hire him -- but nonetheless takes one more job. Ultimately, Duryea meets his end at the hands of a younger man (Peter Duryea, Dan's son), who becomes a bounty hunter himself, starting the cycle all over again. Produced very economically by B-Western specialist Alex Gordon, The Bounty Killer is distinguished by Dan Duryea's superb performance and by the presence in the supporting cast of several cowboy film veterans -- including Hollywood's very first Westerner, Billy Anderson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Duryea, Rod Cameron, (more)
- 1965
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William "One Shot" Beaudine's companion piece to the equally nonsensical Billy the Kid vs. Dracula represents a memorable closing to the eccentric "Z"-movie auteur's amusing body of work. The hare-brained concept finds the legendary outlaw Jesse James (John Lupton) stumbling into the decrepit lair of Maria Frankenstein (Narda Onyx) -- not the daughter but the granddaughter of the infamous monster-making Baron. Maria is, of course, following in Grandpa's footsteps by creating a creature of her own, transplanting the dormant but still-intact brain of Frankenstein's original monster into the body of one of James' cohorts. The lumbering, homicidal monster -- imaginatively dubbed "Igor" -- begins terrorizing townsfolk until the inevitable showdown between living and undead gunslingers. Though not as flamboyantly awful as its predecessor (mainly due to the absence of John Carradine), this is still worth a look for trash-movie completists. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1965
When Lisa (Eva Gabor) discovers to her horror that Hooterville has no beauty parlor, she decides to set up one of her own. Not surprisingly, Lisa does a land-office business beautifying the wives of the local farmers. But her business enterprise proves to have an injurious effect on the community when the wives refuse to do any of their customary chores, for fear of ruining their glamorous new hair-dos. Wait until you see Doris Ziffel (Barbara Pepper) after she gets "the treatment." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Largely comprised of a Spanish film from 1959 with additional footage added to it. The story centers on a plot to kill a philandering neighbor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
This dark, surrealistic horror film from cult filmmaker Jesus Franco is perhaps best-remembered for its images of the lethal Miss Muerte (Estella Blain) luring victims with razor-sharp fingernails while clad in a skull-mask and a revealing bodysuit. The real star of the film is Mabel Karr, portraying Irma von Zimmer, daughter of a mad scientist whose public humiliation led to his fatal heart attack. Vowing revenge, Irma uses her father's mind-control techniques to possess Miss Muerte, a nightclub performer. The hypnotized dancer murders the doctors whom Irma blames for her father's death, slicing their throats with her poisoned nails, until police Inspector Tanner (Franco) and Miss Muerte's boyfriend (Fernando Montes) track her down. One of Franco's most entertaining films, Miss Muerte is a great improvement over the similar El Secreto del Dr. Orloff, released the previous year. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Estella Blain, Howard Vernon, (more)
- 1963
Suffering from amnesia as the result of an accident, Hoss Cartwright is nursed back to health by an elderly farm couple, Christina (Signe Hasso) and Klaas (Robert Emhardt), who have recently lost their son Hendrick. When Hoss awakens, the couple gently informs him that he is Hendrick, and must remain with them for all time. Their pathetic deception threatens to collapse when Hoss' father Ben arrives at their door, looking for his missing son. Written by William Stuart, "A Stranger Passed This Way" first aired on March 3, 1963. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, (more)
- 1962
Dr. Moody (Alan Baxter) prevails upon Paladin (Richard Boone) to locate Johnny Tully (James Stacy, the son of Moody's former sweetheart. Young Johnny is forsworn to shoot down Cardiff (Edgar Buchanan), the veteran gunslinger suspected of killing Johnny's father. It is up to Paladin to save Johnny from an early grave--or to prevent the boy from becoming a hard-bitten killer himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiographical novel was translated to film in 1962 by Horton Foote and the producer/director team of Robert Mulligan and Alan J. Pakula. Set a small Alabama town in the 1930s, the story focuses on scrupulously honest, highly respected lawyer Atticus Finch, magnificently embodied by Gregory Peck. Finch puts his career on the line when he agrees to represent Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), a black man accused of rape. The trial and the events surrounding it are seen through the eyes of Finch's six-year-old daughter Scout (Mary Badham). While Robinson's trial gives the film its momentum, there are plenty of anecdotal occurrences before and after the court date: Scout's ever-strengthening bond with older brother Jem (Philip Alford), her friendship with precocious young Dill Harris (a character based on Lee's childhood chum Truman Capote and played by John Megna), her father's no-nonsense reactions to such life-and-death crises as a rampaging mad dog, and especially Scout's reactions to, and relationship with, Boo Radley (Robert Duvall in his movie debut), the reclusive "village idiot" who turns out to be her salvation when she is attacked by a venomous bigot. To Kill a Mockingbird won Academy Awards for Best Actor (Peck), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Art Direction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, (more)
- 1961
Riding out of a small town, Bart (Jack Kelly) is surprised to find that his saddle bag is bulging. And no wonder: the bag is stuffed with money stolen from the town's bank. Accused of being a thief, Bart is determined to prove that the real culprit is banker Cyrus Murdock (Tol Avery)--but first he'll have to figure out how to avoid getting captured and/or killed by the bank robbers and the posse members who are hot on his trail. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Military women prove their mettle against military men in this low-budget comedy. The fun begins after a handsome corporal is accidentally assigned to a WAC base located on a Pacific island. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin West, Venetia Stevenson, (more)
- 1961
Wandering into the small Mexican town where Luis Gallegos (John Alonso) is about to be hanged, mercenary peddler Sykes (Thomas Gomez) sells the rope to the hangman, then turns around and sells a handful of "magic dust" to the condemned man's father (Vladimir Sokoloff). Lying through his teeth, Sykes insists that the dust will spread goodwill throughout the community -- and, it is hoped, will spare Gallegos' life. One doesn't have to be a diehard Twilight Zone fan to guess what will happen next. Douglas Heyes, Jr., son of the episode's director, plays a small role. Written by Rod Serling, "Dust" was first telecast January 6, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Gomez, John Larch, (more)
- 1960
Ben and Adam Cartwright are convicted of murder and sentenced to the gallows. Rushing to their defense is a secretive stranger named Lassiter (Vic Morrow). Grateful but bewildered, the Cartwrights try to find out why Lassiter is willing to help them, whereupon they learn that the stranger's own parents had been lynched years before. Also appearing are Jean Allison as Sally, Dan White as Jackson, and Bern Passey as Giles. First shown on March 19, 1960, "The Avenger" was written by Clair Huffaker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, (more)
The story of America's most notorious gangster mother is chronicled in this crime drama. The tale starts in Oklahoma during the Depression. It is she who encourages her sons to become criminals. So sage is her advice, that other infamous mobsters such as Dillinger, and Machine Gun Kelly come to her for advice. She and her outlaw progeny go on the lam until the police finally corner her in her richly appointed Florida hide-out. A bloody shoot-out ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
This hysterical drive-in favorite pits a community of swamp-dwelling yokels against the silliest-looking monsters since the shag-rug aliens of The Creeping Terror. Despite the strange sucker-marks found on a dead trapper's blood-drained body, and a man's story of seeing his unfaithful wife and her lover dragged into the swamp by the creatures, the police refuse to acknowledge that something freaky is going on. Only after more trappers disappear does the local game warden decide to take action, which he does with a vengeance. When the leech lair is discovered in a cave beneath the swamp, explosives are employed to blow them to little rubber bits. It's hard to be too critical of this early film from prolific TV-director Bernard L. Kowalski (Night of the Blood Beast), since executive producer Roger Corman allocated a budget for this production that would hardly cover the catering bill on a major studio film -- even in 1960! Look carefully to spot the scuba tanks beneath the leech costumes. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1959
Based on the novel The Cup and the Sword by Alice Tisdale Hobart, this drama examines the trials and tribulations of three generations of French-American California vineyard owners. It's set during the Prohibition era, when wine makers were financially challenged and had to decide whether or not they wanted to cooperate with bootleggers to survive. Claude Rains plays Philippe Rambeau, an older grower in the Napa Valley who approaches his work like a craftsman. His grandson John (Rock Hudson) wants to make money by getting the family a cut of the bootleg market for wine. John's cousin Elizabeth (Jean Simmons) arrives from England summoned by Philippe, who hopes that she will bring stability to the business. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rock Hudson, Jean Simmons, (more)
- 1958
3DFrontier Gun3D is another of the moderately interesting low-budget westerns turned out by 20th Century-Fox's Regal Films subsidiary in the late 1950s. John Agar plays Jim Crayle, who offers his services as voluntary marshal when crazed gunman Yubo (Robert Strauss) inaugurates a reign of terror. Unfortunately, Crayle is unable to outdraw Yubo due to a wrist injury, leading the townsfolk to assume that their new marshal is yellow. Only when his argument with Yubo becomes personal does Crayle truly rise to the occasion. John Agar does his best in an unsually cerebral role, but his passive character-and characterization-works against the film's suspense. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Agar, Joyce Meadows, (more)
- 1958
The oft-told tale of controversial Southern-sympathizing outlaw Quantrill is recounted again in this low-budget western. Leo Gordon, possessor of one of the meanest faces in the movies, plays Quantrill, but top billing is bestowed upon Steve Cochran as Westcott, a Confederate officer assigned to collaborate with the vigilante leader in a raid on an ammunition depot in Lawrence, Kansas. Westcott is forced to move on when the ammo supply is moved, but the vengeance-driven Quantrill insists upon remaining in Lawrence, there to indulge in one of the bloodiest and most sadistic raids in Kansas history. Quantrill's Raiders was directed by Edward Bernds, who'd come a long way since his Three Stooges shorts of the early 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Cochran, Leo Gordon, (more)
- 1958
In this Western, a rancher must perform a robbery lest the outlaw chief that holds his wounded brother hostage lets him die. The rancher does the job, then escapes to Mexico with his girl. En route, they marry. They soon find a cabin in the middle of Indian country. The Apaches had killed all the occupants, save for one baby. The couple begins raising the child. Soon the posse arrives to take the rancher back. He is charged with a murder that occurred during the heist. Later they realize that he is innocent and they protect him from another Apache attack. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Donlevy, Eilene Janssen, (more)
- 1958
Good samaritan Bart Maverick (Jack Kelly) offers assistance to two tired travellers with only one horse. They repay his generosity by stealing his horse--and then framing him for bank robbery and murder. When one of the thieves is killed, the other escapes with a posse hot on heels. . .while Bart cools his own heels in jail, under the watchful eye of Sheriff Edwards (Dick Foran). Clearly, the only way Bart can clear himself is by capturing the remaining outlaw--but how is he going to get past the sheriff? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
