James Whitmore Movies
Leading American character actor James Whitmore specialized in giving tour de force solo performances on stage, screen, and television, notably with his Oscar-nominated solo turn as President Truman in Give 'Em Hell Harry! Whitmore is short and thickset with a well-aged face and gentle smile; he is known for portraying outwardly tough but inwardly caring men. Born in Buffalo, NY, Whitmore attended the private school Choate in Connecticut and then studied pre-law at Yale. While there he was a member of the Yale Drama School Players and co-founded the Yale radio station. He was drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps where during boot camp, he finished his degree and became an officer. Following his discharge, Whitmore joined the U.S.O. and also spent time studying at the American Theater Wing. Before making his Tony-winning debut on Broadway with a supporting role in Command Decision, Whitmore gained experience in summer stock. He made his film debut in The Undercover Man in 1949. That year, he also appeared in Battleground and his performance as a battle-scarred sergeant earned him his first Oscar nomination. Though primarily a supporting player, Whitmore occasionally played leads, notably in films like Them! (1954) and Black Like Me (1964). In addition to his film and stage work, Whitmore also performed on television as a guest star and as the star of the series The Law and Mr. Jones (1960-1962). Between 1972 and 1974, Whitmore co-starred on the series Temperatures Rising. During the '80s, Whitmore often appeared in television miniseries. His career slowed dramatically in the '90s, though in 1994, he offered a memorable performance as an old lifer who finds himself unable to cope outside of prison in The Shawshank Redemption. He died in February 2009 at the age of 87. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
"A rootin', tootin', but sincere picture" was the advertising tag for the comedy western Waterhole No. 3. James Coburn plays the likeably amoral hero, who'll go to any lengths to get his mitts on a treasure map. Like his principal rival, renegade confederate cavalryman Claude Akins, Coburn knows that a fortune in gold bullion is hidden near a desert waterhole; the trick is finding the damned thing. Along the way, Coburn humiliates redneck sheriff Carroll O'Connor and "has his way" with O'Connor's far from unwilling daughter Maggie Blye. When Blye, cast aside by Coburn in favor of his treasure quest, screams rape, Coburn replies that his only crime is "assault with a friendly weapon." Just try to get that bit past an audience in 1996. Supervised by Blake Edwards, Waterhole No. 3 is agreeably irreverent, though a little editing here and there wouldn't have hurt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Coburn, Carroll O'Connor, (more)
- 1967
Roy Thinnes was the star of this 1967-1968 science fiction series, about an Earth poised on the brink of alien takeover. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
The title character (Rod Taylor) is a drifting gunslinger, who enters a Southwestern fort and immediately becomes embroiled with its commander (John Mills). In the end, the wanderer helps the fort guard against attacks from Indians. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Taylor, Ernest Borgnine, (more)
- 1966
Based on author James H. Tevis' Arizona in the 50s, The Tenderfoot stars Brandon De Wilde as young Tevis. With nothing more than a stetson, a gun, and three buddies, Tevis heads west to seek his destiny. Along the way, he befriends a crusty Army dragoons captain (James Whitmore), Kit Carson's black-sheep brother Mose (Brian Keith), and an itinerant musician-turned-trooper (Paul Durand). Tevis' adventures include the roundup of wild mustangs and a climactic horse race. Originally telecast in three parts on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color in October 1964, Tenderfoot was released theatrically overseas two years later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
This 60-minute psychological drama stars Richard Crenna in the title role. Wielding a gun, Edward Smalley invades the office of attorney J. Marvin Bean (James Whitmore). The attorney has no idea what this is all about until forced to remember an incident in World War II when Smalley had been accused of treason, and Bean was his court-appointed military attorney. The trial was cancelled before Smalley was given a chance to exonerate himself; the charges were dropped, but the accused man feels that he has never truly been cleared. Cowritten by director Robert Altman (the same), The Long, Lost Life of Edward Smalley was originally telecast in the fall of 1963 on NBC's Kraft Suspense Theatre. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
James Whitmore guest stars as Hertzbrun, a German officer on a mission to blow up an American-held bridge. Wounded in a skirmish, Hertzbrun takes refuge in a local church. When Saunders (Vic Morrow and his men enter the area, they are effusively greeted by a French priest--actually a disguised Hertzbrun, determined to finish the job he started right under the noses of the enemy! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Black Like Me is the true story of white journalist John Howard Griffin, who "became" a Negro in the late 1950s. Feeling that the best way to understand what it was like to be black in a segregated south was to experience the feeling first-hand, Griffin (James Whitmore) undergoes extensive-and sometimes painful-skin pigmentation treatments. Though he tends to look more like Al Jolson or Eddie Cantor rather than African American, Whitmore does a creditable job playing a proud man forced into subservience by an unfeeling white society. Unfortunately, the film falls prey to stylistic affectations, notably an overabundance of confusing flashbacks. Though dating and occasionally patronizing, Black Like Me is still a worthwhile effort. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Whitmore, Sorrell Booke, (more)
- 1963
Thirty years after leaving Earth, a group of space colonists live a spartan existence on a desolate asteroid. All that keeps these castaways together is the charismatic leadership of Captain William Benteen (James Whitmore), an archetypal "benevolent despot." When a rescue ship arrives to transport the colonists back to Earth, everyone rejoices -- everyone but Benteen, who is unwilling to relinquish his self-anointed authority. Written by Rod Serling, "On Thursday We Leave for Home" was the last of the 60-minute Twilight Zone episodes, though not the last one to be telecast. The episode made its network debut on May 2, 1963. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Whitmore, Tim O'Connor, (more)
- 1960
A screwball comedy that turns into political farce, this film was something of a throwback even in 1960. Real-life husband and wife Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh star as David and Ann Wilson. David is a university professor who is kissing one of his students when Ann walks in on them. She demands a divorce. David turns to his old friend, a television writer, Michael Haney (Dean Martin), who cooks up a cover story. They convince Ann that David is working undercover for the FBI, and that the kiss was part of a sting. The gullible Ann believes the story. Later, when she sees David and Michael in a restaurant with two women, she suspects that the women are spies, and passes David his empty gun. This touches off a disturbance that is filmed by TV news crews. Some real Russian spies think that David really is an FBI agent, and the spies grab the Wilsons and Haney, take them to a secret chamber beneath the Empire State Building, and give them truth serum. From there, the film continues to twist and turn in wildly wacky ways. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Dean Martin, (more)
- 1959
Director Albert Band is also a screenwriter, and this is his second drama based on a story by Stephen Crane (his first screenplay was 1951's Red Badge of Courage). Band's interpretation of Crane's story The Monster, is a slow, pedestrian rendition of the emotional upheaval of a lowly handyman, Monk Johnson (James Whitmore). Johnson works for a local doctor and is a friend of everyone in town when disaster strikes. The doctor's house catches on fire and Johnson's face is completely burnt as he rushes in to save the physician's young son. After he recuperates, his grotesque appearance alienates his former friends to the point where they are aggressive, threatening, and ready for violence. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Mitchell, James Whitmore, (more)
- 1958
Small-minded small town 1950's mores threaten a youthful romance in this sudsy melodrama based on the play Teach Me How to Cry by Patricia Joudry and reminiscent of the previous year's Peyton Place (1957). Sandra Dee stars as Melinda Grant, an illegitimate girl facing the stigma of being a fatherless child in the rigidly judgmental atmosphere of her hometown. Melinda's problems are further compounded by the fact that her mother Elizabeth (Teresa Wright) is a neurotic woman slowly losing her mental grip. Then Melinda meets Will Henderson (John Saxon), the new boy in town, and the two fall in love. Will is from the wrong side of the tracks, however, and his down-on-his-luck father Ed (James Whitmore) doesn't do much to improve the family's reputation. Local tongues are soon wagging over the Melinda-Will romance, casting its future in doubt. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Saxon, Sandra Dee, (more)
- 1958
The conflict between duty and conscience is explored in the WWII drama The Deep Six. Alan Ladd stars as Naval gunnery officer Alec Austin, a Quaker whose sincere pacifist sentiments do not sit well with his crew members. When he refuses to fire upon an unidentified plane, the word spreads that Austin cannot be relied upon in battle (never mind that the plane turns out to be one of ours). To prove that he's worthy of command, Austin volunteers for a dangerous mission: the rescue of a group of US pilots on a Japanese-held island. The ubiquitous William Bendix costars as Frenchy Shapiro (!), Austin's Jewish petty officer and severest critic. If the film has a villain, it is Keenan Wynn as ambitious Lt. Commander Edge, who seems to despise anyone who isn't a mainline WASP.The Deep Six was based on a novel by Martin Dibner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Ladd, William Bendix, (more)
- 1957
17-year-old Sal Mineo was one of the hottest young actors in Hollywood when The Young Don't Cry was specially tailored for his talents. Filmed on location at the Bethesda Home for Boys in Savannah, Georgia, the film stars Mineo as Leslie Henderson, a lonely older orphan who befriends escaped convict Rudy Krist (James Whitmore). Like Leslie, Rudy has spent his entire life feeling alone and unloved, but in his case he is totally irredeemable, using Leslie to further his own getaway plans. At long last, Leslie figures out that Rudy is a no-good--and also finds his own true niche in life. Worth noting is the film's sympathetic treatment of its two principal black characters, played by Leigh Whipper and Ruth Attaway; in 1957, it was still chancy to show any sort of equanimity between black and white people on screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sal Mineo, James Whitmore, (more)
Tyrone Power stars in this tear-jerking biography of the beloved but short-lived pianist and bandleader Eddy Duchin. Boston-born Eddy Duchin (Tyrone Power) moves to New York City to pursue a career as a pharmacist. However, Eddy is also a skilled piano player, and when he meets pretty socialite Marjorie Oelrichs (Kim Novak) who hears him play, she encourages him not to short-change his musical abilities. Marjorie helps get Eddy a job playing at the Central Park Casino; his playing goes over well with the crowd, and Eddy goes over well with Marjorie. Able to support himself full-time with his music, Eddy asks Marjorie for her hand in marriage; she accepts, and soon Marjorie is expecting a child. Tragically, she dies while giving birth to their son Peter; Eddy, shattered by the experience, finds himself unconsciously blaming Peter for Marjorie's passing, and leaves the boy behind with his family and their nanny, Chiquita (Victoria Shaw), while Eddy and his manager Lou Sherwood (James Whitmore) head out for the first of many lengthy world tours. Years later, while serving in the Navy during World War II, Eddy realizes the error of his ways, and begins a long and difficult reconciliation with Peter (Rex Thompson), while falling in love with Chiquita. Eddy and Chiquita marry and budding pianist Peter joins Eddy on stage for an emotional duet; however, Eddy's new contentment with life is cut short when he contracts leukemia. Pianist Carmen Cavallaro dubbed in Duchin's piano parts for non-musician Tyrone Power. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Kim Novak, (more)
- 1956
Frankie Dane (John Cassavetes) is the leader of the hornets, a local street gang that has had its share of rumbles and other trouble with the police. When one of his members is fingered to the police by a neighbor (Malcolm Atterbury) for having a gun, Frankie vows revenge, and when the same man humiliates him in public, he decides it's got to be murder. But only two members of the Hornets, mentally unstable Lou Macklin (Mark Rydell) and would-be full-fledged member "Baby" (Sal Mineo), are willing to go along, and even one of them is shaky -- the rest of the gang draws a line at killing. Social worker Ben Wagner (James Whitmore), who runs the local youth center, has been trying to reach out to the members of the Hornets and sees that something is splitting Frankie and a couple of the others off from the main gang, and is concerned enough to find out what it might be -- especially when Frankie's younger brother, a really nice kid named Richie (Peter J. Votrian), tells him that he thinks Frankie's planning to kill someone. He tries getting help from Frankie's mother (Virginia Gregg), who's too tired from her job to do much more than keep Richie from becoming like his brother, and Mr. Gioia (Will Kuluva), "Baby"'s father, who doesn't understand what went wrong between him and his son. A three-way battle of wills ensues as Frankie tries to hold his plan together and resist Wagner's efforts to intercede -- in the end, several lives are at risk, as Frankie ends up with his knife at the throat of his own brother, fully ready to use it. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Whitmore, John Cassavetes, (more)
Victor Mature is in rare form in this otherwise uneven cavalry Western about a trapper who prevents a Little Big Horn-type disaster. Having been robbed of a year's worth of skins by marauding Indians, Jed Cooper (Mature), Gus Hideout (James Whitmore), and Mungo (Pat Hogan) sign on at a nearby fort. Jed, however, falls in love with Corinna (Anne Bancroft), the refined wife of the commanding officer, Colonel Marston (Robert Preston), and when the latter begins to plan an all-out attack on an unruly Indian tribe, he attempts to prevent what, in all likelihood, will be a mass slaughter. Based on a novel by Richard Emery Roberts, The Last Frontier was re-released to television as Savage Wilderness and came complete with a rousing title song performed by Rusty Draper. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Mature, Guy Madison, (more)
Adapted by Leon Uris from his own novel, the film follows a group of World War II marines, from Basic Training to Battlefield. Major Van Heflin knows that his men are spoiling for a real fight, but must make do with the desultory skirmishes assigned them by the Brass. All this changes with an onslaught of heavy-duty battling in the South Pacific. Aldo Ray plays a tough leatherneck who falls in love with demure Nancy Olson, while James Whitmore, Tab Hunter, Dorothy Malone and Raymond Massey costar. And watch for young Justus McQueen, cast as private L.Q. Jones; McQueen liked his character name so much that he adopted it as his professional cognomen. Composer Max Steiner's musical score earned him an Oscar nomination. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Heflin, Aldo Ray, (more)
Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1943 Broadway musical was considered revolutionary for a multitude of reasons, not least of which were the play's intricate integration of song and storyline, and the simplicity and austerity of its production design. The 1955 film version of Oklahoma! retains the songs (except for Lonely Room and It's a Scandal!, which are usually cut from most stage presentations anyway) and the story, but the simplicity is sacrificed to the spectacle of Technicolor, Todd-AO, and Stereophonic Sound. The story can be boiled down to a single sentence: a girl must decide between the two suitors who want to take her to a social. In her movie debut, 19-year-old Shirley Jones plays Laurie, an Oklahoma farm gal who is courted by boisterous cowboy Curley (Gordon MacRae) and by menacing, obsessive farm hand Jud Frye (Rod Steiger). Fearing that Jud will do something terrible to Curley, Laurie accepts Jud's invitation to the box social. But it's Curley who rescues Laurie from Jud's unwanted advances, and in so doing wins her hand. On the eve of their wedding, Laurie and Curley are menaced by the drunken Jud. During a fight with Curley, Jud falls on his own knife and is killed (this sudden-death motif was curiously commonplace in the Rodgers and Hammerstein ouevre). The local deputy insists that Curley be arrested and stand trial, but he is outvoted by Curley's friends, and the newlyweds are permitted to ride off on their honeymoon. Counterpointing the serious elements of the story is a comic subplot involving innocently promiscuous Ado Annie (Gloria Grahame), her erstwhile sweetheart Will Parker (Gene Nelson) and lascivious travelling salesman Ali Hakim (Eddie Albert). None of the Broadway cast of Oklahoma! was engaged for the film version, though Charlotte Greenwood is finally able to essay the role of Auntie Eller that had been written for her but she'd been unable to play back in 1943. The evergreen songs include Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin', Surrey with the Fringe on Top, People Will Say We're In Love, I Cain't Say No, and the rousing title song. Two versions of Oklahoma! currently exist: the Todd-AO version, filmed on 65-millimeter stock, and the simultaneously shot CinemaScope version, shipped out to the theaters not equipped for the wider-screen Todd-AO process. Both versions have been issued in "letterbox" form on laser disc, and the subtle differences in performance style and camera angles in each and every scene are quite fascinating. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, (more)
- 1955
Alan Ladd plays real-life air force hero Captain Joseph McConnell Jr. in this inspirational biopic, while June Allyson does her usual as McConnell's anxious, waiting-nervously-at-home wife. Assigned to the medical corps during WWII, McConnell takes private flying lessons so that he'll qualify for pilot duty. After serving with distinction in the war, McConnell becomes a pioneer in the testing of jet aircraft. The film ends when McConnell dies while testing a new Sabre Jet. If June Allyson seems genuinely broken up upon learning of her screen husband's death, it may be because the real Captain Joseph McConnell died only a few weeks before filming started on The McConnell Story, necessitating a hurriedly rescripted ending. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Ladd, June Allyson, (more)
- 1954
The Command was Warner Bros.' first Technicolor release. Guy Madison, then extremely popular with western fans by virtue of the TVer Wild Bill Hickok, heads the cast as Army medical captain McClaw. When a cavalry commander is killed, McClaw, the next-highest-ranking officer, is forced to assume command, even though his combat experience is practically nil. Overcoming the resentment of the men under his command, McClaw is able to stem an Indian attack and rescue a wagon train--not through any sort of brilliant strategy, but by improvising as he goes along. Harvey Lembeck's comic-relief role as a grousing trooper was later parodied by Billy Crystal in Mr. Saturday Night (alas, this sequence was left on the cutting room floor when Crystal's film hit the screens). Also in the cast are aish Magnificent Obsession. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Guy Madison, Joan Weldon, (more)
A little girl is found wandering in the desert, in a state of complete shock. When she finally revives, she can scream out only one word: "Them!" Any aficionado of 1950s horror films can readily tell you that "Them" are giant ants, a byproduct of the radiation attending the atomic bomb tests of the era. Extremely well organized, these deadly eight-to-twenty-foot mutations converge on the storm drains of Los Angeles in the finale. Forming a united front against the oncoming ant battalions are New Mexico police sergeant James Whitmore, FBI representative James Arness, and father-and-daughter entomologists Edmund Gwenn and Joan Weldon. Since the details of Them are fairly common knowledge today, the mystery-thriller structure of the film's first half tends to drag a bit. Things liven up considerably during the search-and-destroy final reels, as the audience is barraged with convincing special effects and miniature work-not to mention that eerie ant-induced sound effect, so often imitated by subsequent lesser films. Fess Parker appears in a starmaking cameo as a pilot driven to the booby hatch after witnessing the ants in action, while an uncredited Leonard Nimoy is seen pulling info out of IBM machine. Definitely the high point in the careers of director Gordon Douglas and scenarists Ted Sherdeman and George Worthing Yates, Them is also one of the handful of vintage science-fiction thrillers that holds up as well today as it did when first released. (Sidebar: Though filmed in black-and-white, Them is alleged to have been released with a Technicolor opening title, the word THEM! hurtling towards the audience in a vibrant red). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, (more)
- 1953
Previously adapted to film in 1923, Ben Ames Williams' rousing sea adventure All the Brothers Were Valiant was given the prestige MGM treatment in 1953. Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger star as seafaring siblings Joel and Mark Shore. When Mark disappears during a whaling expedition, Joel and his wife Priscilla Holt (Ann Blyth) set sail in search of his missing brother. They discover to their chagrin that Mark has become a conscienceless reprobate, a disgrace to his family. Not only does Mark make a play for Priscilla, but he foments a mutiny on board Joel's ship so that he may commandeer the vessel and embark on a search for a valuable bed of pearls. Eventually, one of the brothers comes to a literally sticky demise, with Priscilla looking on in wide-mouthed horror. Cast as Priscilla's father is that grand old trouper Lewis Stone, in his final film role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Taylor, Stewart Granger, (more)
Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate is a musical within a musical -- altogether appropriate, since its source material, Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, was a play within a play. Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson star as famous Broadway singing team who haven't worked together since their acrimonious divorce. Keel, collaborating with Cole Porter (played by Ron Randell), plans to star in a musical version of The Taming of the Shrew titled "Kiss Me Kate." Both he and Porter agree that only one actress should play the tempestuous Katherine, and that's Grayson. But she isn't buying, especially after discovering that Keel's latest paramour, Ann Miller, is going to be playing Bianca. Besides, Grayson is about to retire from showbiz to marry the "Ralph Bellamy character," played not by Bellamy, but by Willard Parker. A couple of gangsters (James Whitmore and Keenan Wynn) arrive on the scene, convinced Keel is heavily in debt to their boss; actually, a young hoofer in the chorus (Tommy Rall) owes the money, but signed Keel's name to an IOU. But since Grayson is having second thoughts about going on-stage, Keel plays along with the hoods, who force Grayson at gunpoint to co-star with her ex-husband so that they'll get paid off. Later the roles are reversed, and the gangsters are themselves finagled into appearing on-stage, Elizabethan costumes and all, though that scene is less of a comic success. This aside, Kiss Me Kate is a well-appointed (if bowdlerized) film adaptation of the Porter musical. Virtually all of the play's songs are retained for the screen version, notably "So in Love," "Wunderbar," "Faithful in My Fashion," "Too Darn Hot," "Why Can't You Behave?," "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" (a delightful duet delivered delightfully by Keenan Wynn and James Whitmore), and the title song. Additionally, Porter lifted a song from another play, Out of This World, and incorporated it in the movie version of Kiss Me Kate; as a result, "From This Moment On" has been included in all subsequent stagings of Kate. This MGM musical has the distinction of being filmed in 3-D, which is why Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson throw so many chairs, dishes, and pieces of fruit at the camera in their domestic battle scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, (more)
- 1953
MGM was never quite sure what to do with their resident funster Red Skelton, and The Great Diamond Robbery betrays this uncertainty. Skelton plays Ambrose C. Park, a diamond cutter who is led to believe that he's the long-lost heir to a fortune. Actually, Ambrose has been duped by shyster lawyer Remlick (James Whitmore), who is in cahoots with criminal mastermind Louie (Kurt Kaznar). Convinced that he's being a dutiful nephew, Ambrose helps the crooks steal a valuable diamond, then agrees to cut the jewel himself. There's way too much plot and not enough Skelton in this 69-minute programmer, but Red manages to collect a few loose chuckles along the way. Great Diamond Robbery leading lady Cara Williams was later more memorably teamed with Skelton in the 1962 TV special "Freddie and the Yuletide Doll." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Red Skelton, Cara Williams, (more)
- 1953
A good man tries to warn his daughter away from a bad man who has stolen her heart in this melodrama. Steve Latimer (William Powell) is a successful defense attorney who has gone out of his way to give his daughter Jean (Elizabeth Taylor) every advantage in life. However, Steve's generosity and open minded attitude begin to backfire on him when Jean decides to throw off her boyfriend, the solid and sensible Vance Court (Gig Young), in favor of Victor Ramondi (Fernando Lamas), a handsome but dangerous man with criminal connections whom Steve is representing. Steve tries to warn Jean away from Victor, but she remains undeterred, and accepts his proposal of marriage, even as the authorities tighten their grip on Victor and his crime syndicate. The Girl Who Had Everything was a remake of the 1931 Norma Shearer vehicle A Free Soul. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Taylor, Fernando Lamas, (more)
