Martin Wilkins Movies

Advertised as an out-and-out horror picture, Voodoo Woman is more of a "greed and revenge" melodrama than anything else. Mad scientist Dr. Roland Gerard (Tom Conway) squirrels himself away in the jungle, hoping to create a race of super-beings. What he comes up with is a passel of hideous-looking female monstrosities, one of whom is played by ace monster creator Paul Blaisdell (who, last time we looked, was a guy). The film goes off on a slightly different tangent when mercenary murderess Marilyn Blanchard (Marla English) invades Dr. Gerard's private domain. It is inevitable that Gerard will transform Marilyn into a monster, leading to a lively if barely credible finale. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Twenty-one-year-old Anne Francis carries off the title-character duties in 20th Century-Fox's Lydia Bailey with class and finesse. Set in Haiti during the Napoleonic era, the film concerns aristocratic landholder Lydia Bailey and her more-than-professional relationship with American attorney Albion Hamlin (Dale Robertson). The idealistic Hamlin becomes involved in the Haitian uprising against the French, aligning himself with rebel leader--and former slave--King Dick (William Marshall). At first, Lydia sides with the French, but she eventually realizes that Hamlin's way is the right way. Based on a novel by Kenneth Roberts, Lydia Bailey was slated for TV presentation on NBC's Saturday Night at the Movies in 1963, but was pulled from the schedule because of a subplot involving miscegenation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Elephant Stampede was the sixth entry in Monogram's "Bomba the Jungle Boy" series. This time Bomba (Johnny Sheffield) must contend with a pair of scurrilous ivory hunters (John Kellogg and Myron Healey). Not above killing pachyderms, the bad guys show an equal lack of remorse when they murder their guide and kidnap Bomba to lead them to the fabled "elephant's graveyard." Emulating Tarzan (Sheffield "Boy" in the old Tarzan flicks), Bomba vocally summons the neighboring elephants to crush the villains into pulp. One film historian, who made no secret of his disdain for the entire "Bomba" ouevre, grudgingly labelled Elephant Stampede "the hokiest but the best of the series." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In Sirocco Humphrey Bogart is cast as Harry Smith, a casino operator in 1925 Damascus. For a tidy profit, Smith runs guns to the Arab insurrectionists attempting to overthrow the French Protectorate. Chastised by French Colonel Feroud (Lee J. Cobb) for his lack of morals and political convictions, Smith merely sneers in agreement. Before long, he has become romantically involved with Feroud's mistress Violetta (Marta Toren), who hopes to use Harry as means of escape to Cairo. Only after being betrayed by the Arabs and roughed up by the French authorities does our "hero" begin to behave ethically -- but by then, it's too late. A weak attempt by Bogart's Santana Productions to duplicate the success of Casablanca. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Bomba on Panther Island was the second in Monogram's series based on Roy Rockwood's "Bomba the Jungle Boy" adventure stories. The plot is set in motion when agriculturist Robert Maitland (Henry Lewis) accidentally stirs up restlessness within the native population. The locals assume that Maitland is responsible for the recent spate of vicious attacks by a black panther, who is regarded as the Devil Incarnate. Bomba (Johnny Sheffield) proves that the panther is just another overgrown kitty-cat in a climactic human vs. animal battle. For those not interested in the plot or the papier-mache sets, Bomba on Panther Island offers two comely leading ladies, Lita Baron and Allene Roberts. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When a man dies under suspicious circumstances, the law must decide if it was murder or an accident. Francis Macomber (Robert Preston) is a wealthy, carefree gentleman who hires Robert Wilson (Gregory Peck), an expert hunter, as his guide when he sets off on a safari in Kenya. Francis' wife Margaret (Joan Bennett) regards her husband as a fool and a coward, and before long, she develops a strong attraction to Robert -- which she does not bother to keep secret. However, Robert informs her that as a matter of personal ethics, he would not consider becoming involved with her. After several weeks on the African savannah, Francis feels himself changing; he's developed a new bravery and sense of confidence, and as a test of himself, he one day stands in the path of a charging buffalo as he prepares to shoot. However, shots ring out from behind him, and Francis falls dead. Margaret insists that she was trying to kill the animal before it could trample Francis and missed, but given her well-documented contempt for her husband, the widow finds herself on trial for murder. The Macomber Affair was based on the short story "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" by Ernest Hemingway, though director Zoltan Korda found it necessary to rework the material (with the input of the featured cast) in order to appease the industry censors of the day. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

It is altogether typical of Republic Pictures that the studio's 1945 horror effort The Vampire's Ghost was interrupted mid-film by a barroom brawl! Set in a coastal African village, the story concerns one Webb Fallon (John Abbott), an unprepossessing sort who holds the region in thrall because of his vampiric tendencies. Fallon attempts to exercise his influence over a local plantation owner, and almost succeeds-until the hand of God, in the form of an intellectual priest (Grant Withers), intervenes. Republic stalwart Peggy Stewart and newcomer Charles Gordon handle the romantic subplot. Vampire's Ghost was the first screenwriting effort by Leigh Brackett, who went on to somewhat loftier projects like The Big Sleep and Rio Bravo. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Set during the turn-of-the-century Moro uprising in the Philippines, The Real Glory stars Gary Cooper as an American Marine doctor and David Niven and Broderick Crawford as a pair of rowdy mercenaries. While staving off the insurgent Moros, Cooper must also combat a cholera outbreak. Once this matter is disposed of, Cooper joins Niven and Crawford in attempting to blow up a dam built by the Moros to cut off the American fort's water supply. After all this activity, it's small wonder that Cooper elects to return to private practice in the States with his new bride Andrea Leeds. While The Real Glory never skimps in the action department, the film is somewhat lacking in historical accuracy: the Moros were hardly the bloodthirsty savages depicted herein. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi