William White Movies
- 1965
A weird little low-budget item featuring Lon Chaney, Jr. and John Carradine as the DeSarde brothers, a pair of sorcerers with opposing powers. The evil brother (Chaney) sports devil's horns and torments the captive guests at the DeSarde mansion, while the invalid benevolent brother (Carradine) languishes in his sickbed. This lackluster production is hampered by a weak story overstuffed with metaphysical mumbo-jumbo and spiced up with belly-dancers and cut-price werewolves, and it keeps its dueling warlocks (who look decidedly bored with the entire ordeal) from sharing any scenes together. Apparently three separate directors contributed footage to this project; the resulting lack of cohesion is obvious. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
Bernhard Wicki directed this hard-hitting World War II espionage drama. Marlon Brando plays Robert Crain, a German deserter who is coerced by British Intelligence officer Colonel Statter (Trevor Howard) to impersonate a Gestapo officer in order to get aboard a German blockade runner that is conveying a valuable rubber cargo from the Orient. Crain's assignment is to save the rubber by finding a way to deactivate the explosives that the ship's captain would use to destroy the ship if captured by the enemy. Crain finds his way aboard the ship, but the ship's commander Captain Mueller (Yul Brynner), skeptical of the Nazis, refuses to let Crain out of his sight. When survivors of a sunken vessel board the ship, and Crain realizes that his identity may be exposed by two rescued German submarine officers, he incites Mueller's officers and the new arrivals to mutiny before his true identity is revealed. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marlon Brando, Yul Brynner, (more)
A misfire for all concerned, The Spirit of St. Louis can be chalked up as a courageous failure. At age 48, James Stewart was far too old to be convincing as 27-year-old "Lone Eagle" Charles Lindbergh. Director Billy Wilder, a past master of cynical pessimism, was clearly the wrong choice to helm this paean to ingenuous optimism. And the CinemaScope process was totally inappropriate for the claustrophobic nature of the film's storyline. Even so, this retelling of Lindbergh's historic flight across the Atlantic has its moments, especially during the main character's flashbacks to the events leading up to his history-making achievement. Reportedly, James Stewart was uncharacteristically sullen and uncomfotable throughout the filming, which as it turned out was wholly appropriate for his portrayal of the equally taciturn Charles Lindbergh. An excellent musical score by Franz Waxman helps smooth over the lumpier portions of the narrative. Though Spirit of St. Louis was a box-office failure, both James Stewart and Billy Wilder rapidly recovered with, respectively, Night Passage and Love in the Afternoon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Stewart, Murray Hamilton, (more)
- 1923
Independently produced by actor-director Ashton Dearholt, At Devil's Gorge tells the oft-told tale of an honest prospector (Edmund Cobb) whose partner (the sly-looking Wilbur McGaugh) attempts not only to cheat him out of his share in a gold mine but also to steal his girlfriend (Helene Rosson, the sister of directors Arthur and Richard Rosson and cinematographer Hal Rosson). Producer Dearholt made most of his films away from Hollywood and usually on a shoestring budget. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1922
Silent Western star Jack Hoxie played a sheriff in this low-budget outing produced by Ben Wilson. Ordered to clean up the rough town of Cactus Flats, Sheriff Hoxie learns that the town's mayor (Claude Payton) is corrupt and the brain behind a recent series of crimes against the local settlers. According to Hoxie, leading lady Evelyn Nelson was one of the best horsewoman around and a nice person to work with. Sadly, the actress committed suicide at the age of 24 in 1923. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Hoxie, Evelyn Nelson, (more)
