Willis B. Bouchey Movies

Coadapted by David Harmon from his own TV play, the psychological western Johnny Concho stars Frank Sinatra as the title character, a callow young punk who lives off the reputation of his gunslinger brother. Most of the townsfolk consider Johnny to be nothing more than a cowardly bully; only Mary Dark (Phyllis Kirk), who loves Johnny, and gunfighter-turned-preacher Barney Clark (Keenan Wynn) can see the scared little boy beneath his swaggering facade. When word comes down that Johnny's brother has been killed and that the killers (William Conrad and Christopher Dark) intend to take over the town, Johnny runs like a scared rabbit. Eventually summoning up his innate courage, Johnny returns, hoping to convince the citizens to help him rid the town of the despotic killers. As "zero hour" approaches, however, Johnny is forced to go up against his enemies all by himself. The political symbolism in Johnny Concho is impossible to ignore, though it is up to the viewer to decide if this is an anti-Red or anti-McCarthy tract. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz beat the odds against TV stars succeeding on the big screen in The Long, Long Trailer (1954), MGM contracted America's favorite couple for a second theatrical feature. Forever Darling casts Desi as Lorenzo Xavier Vega, a brilliant scientist and Lucy as Susan, his neglected wife. Wishing out loud that her husband would pay attention to her, Susan is surprised to find her Guardian Angel standing in her living room. Even more surprising is the fact that said angel is an exact double for Susan's favorite movie star, James Mason. Following the angel's advice, Susan tags along when Lorenzo takes a trip in the woods to test out a revolutionary new insecticide. Hoping that the trip will constitute a second honeymoon, poor Susan is in for a major disappointment; as for Lorenzo, he must suffer his wife's well-intentioned "assistance," which of course is no help at all. After a number of I Love Lucy-style comic situations, the couple is on the verge of divorce, but the angelic Mason straightens things out. Forever Darling tanked at the box office, but at least Desi Arnaz cultivated a hit song by recording the title tune. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

In this violent, gripping drama, a ruthless criminal kidnaps a little boy and takes him into the Colorado wilderness where, unfortunately, the lad accidentally dies in a terrible fall. This doesn't stop the crook from collecting and hiding a substantial ransom. He is eventually captured and imprisoned. There he hooks up with four other bad apples and together they escape and go looking for the money. These criminals are desperate and will stop at nothing to reach their goal. One of them is a true psychopath and the cops and FBI agents must hurry before more blood is spilled. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) investigate reports of a TV repair racket, in which customers are charged for more than the work actually costs, and sometimes aren't even given the tubes and other parts that they've paid for. Going undercover with crusading newspaperman Jack Kennitt (Willis Bouchey), the detectives manage to catch one of these crooked TV technicians in the act. At one point, it is noted that the criminals explain away their confusing MO by telling customers "you wouldn't understand the technical talk" (do those words sound familiar to all you PC owners?) This episode is based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of August 9, 1951, which was prefaced with the information that the crime depicted was "not yet wide-spread"--but probably would be very soon! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Spoilers is the fourth and (very likely) last film version of Rex Beach's rugged Alaskan adventure yarn. Set during the Gold Rush of '98, the film stars Jeff Chandler as mine owner Roy Glennister, cheated out of his claim by gold commissioner Alex McNamara (Rory Calhoun). Though Glennister protests, the crooked McNamara has the law on his side. Saloonkeeper Cherry Malotte (Ann Baxter) constantly shifts her allegiance between Glennister and McNamara, though eventually she chooses the "right" side. Like all previous versions of The Spoilers, this one ends with a knock-down, drag-out fight between Glennister and McNamara--not as realistic, perhaps, as the famous bout between William Farnum and Tom Santschi in the original 1914 adaptation of The Spoilers, but a heck of a lot more exciting. Raymond Walburn makes his final film appearance as town inebriate Mr. Skinner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Suddenly is the name of the small town invaded by professional assassin Frank Sinatra and his henchmen. Taking a local family hostage, Sinatra sets up a vigil at the second-story window of the family's home. From here, he intends to kill the President of the United States when the latter makes a whistle-stop visit. The film's tension level is enough to induce goose pimples from first scene to last. Sinatra is outstanding as the disgruntled war vet who hopes to become a "somebody" by killing the president. The parallels between his character and Lee Harvey Oswald's are too close for comfort, so much so that Suddenly was withdrawn from local TV packages for several years after the JFK assassination. Sinatra would claim in later years that he himself engineered the removal of Suddenly from general distribution, though in fact he'd lost whatever rights he'd held on the film when it lapsed into public domain. Be sure and miss the notorious colorized version of this black-and-white thriller, wherein Sinatra is transformed into Ol' Brown Eyes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though heavily advertised as Delmar Daves' Drum Beat, this film owed its existence to producer-star Alan Ladd. The star is cast as a veteran Indian fighter Johnny MacKay, who because of his close relationship with the Medoc tribe is sent out to negotiate a peace treaty. Once he has arrived in Medoc territory, Johnny (Ladd) must contend with the misspent emotions of his childhood sweetheart Toby (Marisa Pavan), the sister of Indian chief Manok (Anthony Caruso). Jealous over Johnny's relationship with pretty Nancy Meek (Audrey Dalton), Toby has cast her lot with renegade warrior Captain Jack (Charles Bronson), who honors no treaties. Though the film has a Native American villain, Drum Beat is largely sympathetic to the plight of the Indian. Based on a true story, the film is distinguished by J. Peverell Marley's breathtaking exterior photography, and by Victor Young's ballad-like musical score. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fireman Save My Child started out as an Abbott and Costello picture, but then Lou Costello became ill with rheumatic fever. Or Costello turned down the script. Or the team decided to film Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde instead. Whatever the reason, when the film was finally released, Hugh O'Brian and Buddy Hackett were playing the roles originally intended for Bud and Lou (A and C can still be seen in some long-shots, however). Set in San Francisco in the early 1900s, the film casts Hugh and Buddy as a pair of bumbling firemen. Buddy invents a new fire-extingushing device, which the bad guys attempt to steal. Naturally, the film affords plenty of opportunity for slapstick chase sequences, and even allows Buddy Hackett time to do a potted version of his "inferiority complex" monologue. Top-billed over O'Brian and Hackett is the zany musical aggregation of Spike Jones and His City Slickers, who likewise are given several opportunities to shine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The 1954 musical remake of A Star is Born could have been titled A Star is Reborn, in that it represented the triumphal return to the screen of Judy Garland after a four-year absence. The remake adheres closely to the plotline of the 1937 original: An alcoholic film star, on his last professional legs, gives a career boost to a unknown aspiring actress. The two marry, whereupon her fame and fortune rises while his spirals sharply downward. Unable to accept this, the male star crawls deeper into the bottle. The wife tearfully decides to give up her own career to care for her husband. To spare her this fate, the husband chivalrously commits suicide. His wife is inconsolable at first, but is urged to go "on with the show" in memory of her late husband. In the original, Janet Gaynor played Esther Blodgett, who with no training or contacts came to Hollywood hoping for stardom. The remake, scripted by Moss Hart, is a shade more realistic: Garland's Esther, though far removed from fame, is a working professional singer/dancer when first we meet her. Both Gaynor and Garland are transformed from "Esther Blodgett" to "Vicki Lester" after being screen-tested, though Gaynor goes on to star in fluffy costume dramas while Garland more logically headlines big-budget musicals. The 1937 Star is Born costarred Fredric March as Norman Maine, Esther/Vicki's sponsor-cum-spouse. March patterned his performance after the tragic John Barrymore, reining in his emotions in favor of pure technique; James Mason's interpretation is more original, more emotional, and far more effective (who can forget the scene where Norman sobbingly overhears Vicki planning to give up her career for his sake?) As the studio's long-suffering publicist, the 1937 version's Lionel Stander is more abrasive and unpleasant than the 1954 version's introspective, intellectual Jack Carson; on the other hand, Adolphe Menjou and Charles Bickford are fairly evenly matched in the role of the studio head. Several important omissions are made in the remake. The 1937 Star is Born included Esther's indomitable old grandma (May Robson), a helpful assistant director (Andy Devine) and a soft-hearted landlord (Edgar Kennedy); all three characters are missing from the 1954 version, though elements of each can be found in the "best friend/severest critic" character played by Tommy Noonan. Wisely, both versions end with the grieving Vicki Lester coming out of her shell at a public gathering, greeting the audience with a proud, defiant "Good evening, everybody. This is Mrs. Norman Maine". Though directors William Wellman (1937 version) and George Cukor (1954 version) handle this finale in their own distinctive manners, the end result is equally effective emotionally. What truly sets the 1954 A Star is Born apart from other films of its ilk is its magnificent musical score by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin. The songs include The Man Who Got Away (brilliantly performed by Garland in one long take, sans dubbing), It's a New World, Somewhere There's a Someone, I Was Born in a Trunk, Lose That Long Face and Gotta Have Me Go With You. When originally previewed in 1954, the film ran well over three hours, thanks to the lengthy-and thoroughly disposable-Born in a Trunk number, added to the film as an afterthought without the approval or participation of director George Cukor. The Warner Bros. executives trimmed the film to 154 minutes, eliminating three top-rank musical numbers and several crucial expository sequences (including Norman's proposal to Vicki). At the instigation of the late film historian Ronald Haver, the full version was painstakingly restored in 1983, with outtakes and still photos bridging the "lost" footage. Though nominated in several categories, A Star is Born was left empty-handed at Academy Award time, an oversight that caused outrage then and still rankles Judy Garland fans to this day (Footnote: Judy Garland had previously played Vicki Lester in a 1942 Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of the original A Star is Born). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When police officer Jack Conley is murdered in cold blood on New Years' Eve, Joe Friday (Jack Webb) has the unenviable task of breaking the news to Conley's wife Betty (June Whitley)--just as she is preparing a big party. Making it his personal mission to track down Conley's killer, Friday pieces together the evidence and determines that the assailant was a drug addict. Future TV producer Aaron Spelling contributes a memorable cameo as a former dope pusher who has "seen the light." This episode is based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of March 8, 1951. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Technically a "B" western, Gun Belt is a notch or two above the norm. George Montgomery stars as former outlaw Billy Ringo, whose bank-robbing brother Matt (John Dehner) implicates him in a recent holdup. When Matt is killed in a shootout, Matt's son Chip (Tab Hunter) holds Billy responsible. When not trying to clear his name and patch up his family problems, Billy finds time to romance requisite leading lady Helen Westcott. The most tangible asset of Gun Belt is the superb Technicolor photography, courtesy of William Howard Greene. The film was one of several budget-conscious 1950s productions turned out by producer Edward Small for United Artists release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Samuel Fuller scarcely used Dwight Taylor's source material, a languid courtroom romance, in crafting this pugnacious potboiler. Pickup on South Street is strictly Fuller film noir -- lean and wicked straight to its core. Barely out of prison, loner and pickpocket Skip McCoy (Richard Widmark) quietly helps himself to the contents of a woman's purse. His beautiful victim, Candy (Jean Peters), turns out to be an unwitting courier for the communist underground; McCoy's booty is actually microfilmed U.S. government secrets, formerly en route to Moscow. Both the FBI and Candy's employers are desperate to retrieve the film. The apolitical and arrogant McCoy has a plan to play both ends against the middle and come up ahead. However, dealing with the authorities may mean life in the clink, and the sadistic communists would rather kill McCoy than pay him off. He quickly becomes embroiled with Candy, who will risk everything to right her wrongs, and eventually even more to save her new man. When McCoy loses a cohort and Candy is almost killed, the cocksure pickpocket finds a stronger motivation than personal gain. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide