Carleton Young Movies

This 1954 Disney version of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea represented the studio's costliest and most elaborate American-filmed effort to date. Kirk Douglas plays a trouble-shooting 19th century seaman, trying to discover why so many whaling ships have been disappearing of late. Teaming with scientist Paul Lukas and diver Peter Lorre, Douglas sets sail to investigate--and is promptly captured by the megalomaniac Captain Nemo (James Mason), who skippers a lavish, scientifically advanced submarine. The film's special effects, including a giant squid, were impressive enough in 1954 to win an Academy Award. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Man Betrayed in this Republic actioner is hero Eddie Nugent, though this doesn't occur until the film is half over. Framed for a murder he didn't commit, Nugent finds support from an unlikely corner: a group of crooks, led by John Wray, set about to prove the boy's innocence. All of this meets with the benign approval of clergyman Lloyd Hughes, whose beatific good influence turns out to be contagious. Evidently intended to be longer than its present 58 minutes, Man Betrayed contains several gaping plot and continuity holes, the result of what seems to have been ruthless wholesale editing. The film makes even less sense on TV, where it was pared down to 53 minutes -- and then, to accommodate extra commercials, was whittled down further to 48 minutes (whew)! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this subtle 1954 comedy with feminist overtones, Clifton Webb plays Gifford, an executive with a large automobile manufacturer who is having trouble deciding who to hire as his chief sales manager. His three candidates are equally competent, so he brings their wives with them to New York headquarters, planning to hire the one whose wife is most suited to be an executive's wife. Elizabeth (Lauren Bacall) is the wife of Sid (Fred MacMurray), a company man. Elizabeth knows that Sid is such a workaholic that she will never see him if he gets the new job, but she is loyal to her husband and impresses the hiring team with her competency. Bill Baxter (Cornel Wilde) is handicapped in the competition by his wife Katie (June Allyson), a clumsy but sweet small-town girl from the Midwest. Katie dutifully tries to impress the big boss but proves inept at handling the social responsibilities. She would prefer to stay in Kansas City anyway. Jerry (Van Heflin) is married to Carol (Arlene Dahl), a seductive gold-digger who sexually teases various executives in the hopes that her assets can help land Jerry the job. Instead, her out-of-bounds behavior gets Jerry eliminated from the list, at least until Jerry tells Gifford that he doesn't sanction his wife's behavior. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

The last of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello's three MGM features, Abbott & Costello in Hollywood is a loose remake of Buster Keaton's Free and Easy. Bud and Lou play a pair of Tinseltown barbers who dream of becoming high-priced showbiz agents. Their first clients are Frances Rafferty and Robert Stanton, whose careers may be over before they begin when A&C manage to antagonize powerful producer Donald MacBride and stuck-up film star Carleton Young. The plot serves only as a clothesline upon which to hang several sidesplitting comedy routines: Abbott teaching Costello how to give a shave, Lou vainly trying to get a good night's sleep, a "stunt man" bit involving the tremulous Costello and hulking Mike Mazurki, and a wild roller-coaster finale. MGM contractees Lucille Ball, Jackie "Butch" Jenkins, Preston S. Foster and Robert Z. Leonard make guest appearances. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fred Harmon's popular comic strip and radio hero Red Ryder came to the screen in this above-average Republic serial directed by the team of William Witney and John English. Don Barry, until this film mainly playing villains, was cast in the title-role, a rancher organizing the local land owners in opposition to crooked banker Calvin Drake (Harry Woods) and his chief henchman Ace Hanlon (Noah Beery, Sr.). Having learned that the Santa Fe Railroad is planning to build a line through the town of Mesquite, Drake and Hanlon are attempting to buy all the surrounding land by any means possible, including murder. When Colonel Ryder (William Farnum), Red's father, is murdered by Drake's hired killers, Red teams of with his young Native American pal Little Beaver (Tommy Cook) and lovely Beth Andrews (Vivian Coe) aka Vivian Austin), the daughter of another murder victim, Sheriff Andrews (Lloyd Ingraham). With the new sheriff (Carleton Young) in the employ of Drake and Hanlon, it takes the combined efforts of Red, Little Beaver, Cherokee (Hal Taliaferro, formerly Wally Wales) and "The Duchess" (Maude Pierce Allen), Red's indomitable aunt, to bring the villains to justice in the 12th and final chapter, "Frontier Justice." According to co-director Witney, a staged fire went out of control during the filming of this serial, almost burning the soundstage to the ground. Although highly praised by reviewers and audiences alike, Don Barry, whom some observers compared favorably to James Cagney, hated the role and balked at playing it again. Consequently, when Republic inaugurated a regular series in 1944, William Elliot played Ryder. But so popular was Barry's original rendition of the role that he would henceforth be known as Don "Red" Barry. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In December of 1944, while the Battle of the Bulge rages in the Ardennes, the American 7th Army settles in to what most of its officers and men figure to be a routine and peaceful occupation of the Vosges-Alsace area. The region is mountainous and treacherous, and there are still German forces nearby, but everyone from division intelligence on down figures those forces to have been stripped to support the Ardennes offensive -- everyone except Col. Mark Devlin (Howard Keel), who keeps reminding everyone that the Germans would never leave their forces stretched that thin so near their own border; but his warnings fall on deaf ears. Meanwhile, at the front lines, an infantry platoon finds a woman wounded in the snow. Alexandra Bastegar (Tina Louise) is an Alsatian and speaks all the local languages and dialects, which is more than the American interpreters can do, and she's only too happy to help the people who rescued her -- except that she was shot as a cover and is working on behalf of the Germans. Can Devlin find the proof he needs of a German offensive-in-the-making before Alexandra completes her mission? ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Bearing very little relation to the 1937 Paramount musical of the same name, Artists and Models is a lavish, girl-filled vehicle for the popular team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Martin plays Rick Todd, a comic-book artist who is under fire from his publisher (Eddie Mayehoff), who complains that Rick's work isn't gory enough. Lewis plays Eugene Fullstack, Rick's roommate, who while asleep dreams up elaborate comic-book plots and garishly costumed superheroes. Eugene's nightmares help Rick become a success; meanwhile, our two heroes romance their luscious neighbors, artist Dorothy Malone and rambunctious model Shirley MacLaine (who during one song wrestles Eugene to the floor and sits on his chest!) Eugene's overworked imagination somehow attracts the attention of a group of Russian spies, who attempt to abduct Eugene during the annual Artists and Models Ball. Director Frank Tashlin uses Artists and Models as an excuse for some of the wildest sight-gags seen in a mid-1950s film. At one point, the director contrives to stuff a gag in Shirley MacLaine's mouth. Tashlin also exhibits his ongoing fascination with female breasts and legs by giving ample screen time to the natural attributes of co-stars Anita Ekberg and Eva Gabor. One of the best of the Martin/Lewis efforts, Artists and Models suffers only from being about 20 minutes too long. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Battle Hymn was inspired by the true story of American minister Dean Hess, played here with rare sensitivity by Rock Hudson. A bomber pilot during World War II, Hess inadvertently releases a bomb which destroys a German orphanage. Tortured by guilt, Hess relocates in Korea after the war to offer his services as a missionary. Combining the best elements of Christianity and Eastern spiritualism, Hess establishes a large home for orphans. The preacher's efforts are threatened when the Korean "police action" breaks out in 1950. Battle Hymn was one of several collaborations between Rock Hudson and director Douglas Sirk--though Sirk felt that Robert Stack would have been better suited to the role of Rev. Hess. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though RKO Radio Pictures was, in 1951, still faithful to the concept of "B" westerns starring Tim Holt, the studio was more than capable of turning out an "A" oater from time to time. Best of the Badmen stars Robert Ryan as a former Union officer who persuades a fictional vigilante group which closely resembles Quantrill's Raiders to lay down their arms and seek out new and honest lives. Ryan is undercut by shifty Pinkerton man Robert Preston, who wants to collect the rewards on the heads of the ex-vigilantes; to that end, he frames Ryan for murder. With the help of Preston's embittered wife Claire Trevor, Ryan escapes and turns outlaw with the men whom he'd earlier convinced to turn honest. Best of the Badmen was produced in Technicolor, enhancing its already potent box-office appeal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The second entry PRC's "Billy the Kid" series was 1940's Billy the Kid in Texas. The titular Kid is played by Bob Steele, who this time out becomes sheriff of a Texas town (despite the price on his own head). In this capacity, he is forced to do battle with any number of outlaws, one of whom turns out to be his own brother (Carleton Young). Al "Fuzzy" St. John, comic sidekick to every one of PRC's western heroes, does his usual here. Eventually, the "Billy the Kid" series would serve as a showcase for Buster Crabbe-whose sidekick, of course, was the inescapable Fuzzy St. John. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Small-but-wiry Bob Steele plays the title role in the PRC western Billy the Kid's Range War. Once again rewriting history, the script contrives to have honest Billy falsely accused of a series of killings. The actual murderers are trying to sabotage an under-construction stagecoach road. Hiring on as a stage driver, Billy not only clears his name but corrals the crooks. He also exposes the brains behind the scheme, who turns out to be a supposedly respectable peacekeeper. Ubiquitous PRC cowboy sidekick Al St. John shows up in his customary role of Fuzzy Q. Jones to offer Billy some much-needed assistance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Neither a B nor an A picture, Bitter Creek is a solid western programmer, offering an excellent, unglamorized performance by Wild Bill Elliot. Though officially prohibited to do so by the Production Code, the film is motivated by revenge. Elliot arrives in Bitter Creek seeking retribution for the murders of his brothers. He suspects that powerful rancher Carleton Young is responsible, but has no proof. In the course of events, Elliot behaves with the same cold-blooded ruthlessness as the villains, with no concessions made to the kids in the audience: this, of course, results in a far more powerful film than usual. Beverly Garland is well cast as the vacillating heroine who believes in Young's innocence until it's almost too late. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hopalong Cassidy gallops to the rescue once again in this seventh entry in the long-running series. This time the trouble begins when bad-guys begin harassing the townsfolk. In desperation, Hoppy's former gal sends him a plea for help. With guns a-blazing, he gets there just in time to round 'em up and throw 'em in the hoosegow. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide