Ben Wright Movies

In this film noir drama, Bill Saunders (Burt Lancaster) is a former Prisoner of War living in England whose experiences have left him emotionally unstable and prone to violence. One night, while drinking in a pub, he gets into an argument with the owner which quickly escalates into a brutal fist fight; Bill kills the publican and flees with the police giving chase. Bill is given shelter by Jane Wharton (Joan Fontaine), a kind-hearted nurse who believes Bill when he tells her that the killing was an accident and that he's innocent of any wrongdoing. Bill soon gets in a fight with a policeman and ends up in jail, but Jane, who has fallen in love with Bill, still has faith in him, and upon his release she finds him a job driving a truck delivering drugs for the clinic where she works. Career criminal Harry Carter (Robert Newton), who witnessed Bill's murder of the pub owner, now sees a perfect opportunity for blackmail, and he forces Bill to tip him off for his next major drug shipment, which can then be routed to the black market at a high profit. Bill has little choice but to agree, but when Jane ends up tagging along when Bill is to make the delivery in question, he refuses to jeopardize her and makes the delivery to the clinic without incident. This quickly earns Harry's wrath, and they soon find themselves at the mercy of a very dangerous man. Miklos Rozsa composed the film's highly effective score. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The Desert Rats was a quickly assembled follow-up to 20th Century-Fox's successful war film The Desert Fox. Richard Burton plays an officer in the British Eighth Army, battling Rommel's forces in defense of Tobruk. Put in charge of an Australian unit, Burton rides his men ruthlessly, with laudatory results. He is briefly captured by the Nazis and questioned by General Rommel himself, but Burton escapes to lead his surviving troops to safety. James Mason, who portrayed Rommel in The Desert Fox, makes a guest appearance in the same role in The Desert Rats. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The CinemaScope process gets a rugged workout in Henry Hathaway's The Racers. Kirk Douglas stars as an Italian bus driver who dreams of entering the Grand Prix as a world-famous race car driver. Being Kirk Douglas, he achieves his goal, racing in all the major events around the globe. Dedicated to the philosophy of "winning is the only thing", Douglas alienates his fellow racers and everyone else with whom he comes in contact. Only when he is on the verge of losing his sweetheart Bella Darvi does our hero put his priorities in order. Adapted from a novel by Hans Ruesch, The Racers was remade in a 60-minute version as Men Against Speed, an entry in the weekly TV anthology The 20th Century-Fox Hour. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Screenwriter Philip Dunne doubled as director on the elaborate filmed biography Prince of Players. Richard Burton stars as the eminent American tragedian Edwin Booth, whose life and career is thrown into turmoil after his younger brother John Wilkes Booth (John Derek) assassinates Abraham Lincoln. The film begins as the younger Edwin assists his alcoholic, ailing father Junius Brutus Booth (Raymond Massey) during a tour of the American hinterlands. When Junius dies just before a performance, Edwin goes on in his stead, thereby launching his own starring career. In danger of becoming as much of a drunk and carouser as his father, Edwin eventually pulls himself together, but his brother's act of violence turns the audience against the name of Booth. Almost booed offstage during a performance of Hamlet, Edwin stands his ground, finally earning the respect of his rowdy audience. Not exactly packed with fast action, Prince of Players will appeal most to lovers of theater in general and Shakespeare in particular. Highlight: Richard Burton and Eva LeGalleine performing the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet in the courtyard of a brothel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Van Johnson portrays a blind American writer living in London. Blessed with an acute hearing sense, Johnson overhears a kidnapping plot but neither his friends nor the authorities believe him, chalking up his story as the product of a writer's imagination. Disgruntled, Johnson vows to scuttle the kidnapping himself -- with the assistant of his fiancée Vera Miles. Despite his handicap, Johnson puts the pieces together using sounds as evidence and guidance. Ultimately Johnson finds his life in danger when he corners the criminal in a dark alley. 23 Paces to Baker Street was one of several ''50s 20th Century-Fox films shot on location in London to take advantage of Fox's "frozen funds" -- money earned by the studio in England which by law could only be spent in that country. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

We don't see much of Omaha Beach in D-Day, the Sixth of June. Instead, the film concentrates on a romantic triangle involving American officer Robert Taylor, British officer Richard Todd and the lovely Dana Wynter. Taylor and Todd spend the last hours before D-Day reminiscing about Wynter. The romantic dilemma is eventually solved shortly after the invasion, when one of the men conveniently steps on a land mine. Lionel Shapiro's novel was geared more for the beach-and-bonbons crowd than war buffs, and the film follows suit. 20th Century-Fox gives a far more thorough account of D-Day itself in 1963's The Longest Day. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Luther Davis' racy wartime comedy Kiss Them for Me was expurgated a bit for the 1957 film version. Cary Grant, Ray Walston and Larry Blyden portray three navy war heroes who've been booked on a morale-building "vacation" in San Francisco. Eluding their ulcerated public relations officer (Werner Klemperer), the trio arranges a wild party with plenty of pretty girls. Cary Grant is paired with knockout Suzy Parker, an icy socialite who eventually thaws under his charms. Also on hand is Jayne Mansfield, playing a "good time girl" whose profession was a bit more explicit in the original play; the role was originated by Judy Holliday, who brought a wistfulness to the character that Ms. Mansfield couldn't quite manage. TV sitcom fans will get a kick out of the supporting cast of Kiss Them For Me: Ray Walston, later star of My Favorite Martian plays a libertine navy officer; Werner Klemperer, shorn of the accent he'd use as Colonel Klink in Hogan's Heroes, is hilarious as the flustered p.r. man; and Richard Deacon (Leave It to Beaver, The Dick Van Dyke Show) pops up unbilled as a dour businessman who can't understand the war-hero mystique. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Paladin (Richard Boone) forms a brief partnership with an old pal, fight promoter Joe Rolland (George E. Stone). The promoter's current client has been slated to box a brutal Welsh heavyweight named Oren Gilliam (Don Megowan), who notoriously ignores the Marquis of Queensbury rules. Alas, Paladin's boy is arrested by the local sheriff just before the match, forcing the gunslinger to strip to the waist and face off against Gilliam himself! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This melodrama tells the tale of a great battle between the French Foreign Legion and the rebellious Arab tribe, the Tuaregs, who fight it out upon the blistering Sahara sands. Just before the Legionnaires embark upon their dangerous mission, the commander discovers that he is being cuckolded by his lieutenant. Because the mission is urgent, there is no time to fight over the commander's wife. Unfortunately, as they travel, the tension between the two mounts and they begin squabbling over how to plan the attack. Their inability to work together results in tragedy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Deranged killer Bert Talman (Leo Gordon) escapes from prison and murders four people in the town of Yucca Bend. Curious as to why Talman has remained in the vicinity instead of making a break for full freedom, Paladin (Richard Boone) learns that the most recent murder victims were four of the five men who had once tried to lynch the fugitive. It now falls to Paladin to protect the "fifth man" from meeting a similar grisly fate--whether he likes the man or not. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Nehemiah Persoff stars as Lanser, who inexplicably finds himself aboard a British ship in a fogbound sea in the year 1942. Somehow, some way, Lanser knows that the ship and its passengers are doomed to a watery grave, but no one will believe him. As it turns out, Lanser has "inside information" -- without giving the game away, it can be said that he is his own executioner. Future TV-series stars Patrick Macnee and James Franciscus appear in significant supporting roles. Written by Rod Serling and first telecast December 4, 1959, "Judgment Night" represents one of the few times that Twilight Zone ran into sponsorial interferences -- instead of drinking tea, the ship's very British crew consumes coffee, as prescribed by sponsor General Foods. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide