Mary Young Movies

This spooky Italian thriller is set in a remote medical clinic for the deaf-mute in a town terrorized by a mysterious hooded slasher. Many suspect that the doctor himself has been killing lovely young women. The rumors say that he does the grisly deeds to help reconstruct the quick-lime burned face of his formerly beautiful sister-in-law. Though it looked as if her falling into the vat of lime was an accident, some believe the doctor pushed her. The mystery comes in because the doctor is not the only one at the clinic with murderous tendencies. Other suspects include his crippled wife, a crazed patient, or an extortionist. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Trouble With Angels opens on the first day of school for a new batch of students at St. Francis Academy, run by a very strong-willed Mother Superior (Rosalind Russell). She is used to having things her way, but she may have met her match in the headstrong and independent Mary Clancy (Hayley Mills) and her newfound friend, Rachel Devery (June Harding). Mary, easily bored and ready to rebel at the drop of a hat, comes up with an endless series of "scathingly brilliant" schemes designed either to amuse her and Rachel, torture insufferable schoolmate Marvel-Ann, or in some way help them get ahead. Rachel, who would never come up with such ideas on her own, is delighted to go along with them. The duo starts right away by convincing several of the girls to join them in giving fake names to the sisters that register them. Future escapades include guided tours of the nuns' living quarters, illicit cigarette smoking that brings about the fire brigade, replacing sugar with soap bubbles, and many others. Several times the Mother Superior is on the brink of expelling the girls, but she relents, knowing something of their home lives and that they will benefit from the more nurturing environment of the school. By the end of the film, the girls have indeed grown, and Mary, in particular, has developed a special love for the Academy. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

In this comedy caper based on a novel by Nathaniel Benchley, a gang of crooks begin exploiting an innocent ex-Navy officer who, wanting to impress his employer's daughter, is sailing a fleet of ramshackle scows. One of the crooks cons the fellow into believing he is a shipwright. The thief then plots to use the vessel for a bank robbery. The hero is then forced to sail the ship himself after he and his girlfriend are captured. Meanwhile another villain tries to commandeer the vessel, but the officer is able to signal the Coast Guard by using his girl friend's bra as a slingshot. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Bob Hope plays a 19th-century insurance agent whose miserable sales record prompts his boss to send him out West, where he can (supposedly) do little harm. Hope manages to sell a $100,000 life insurance policy--to outlaw Jesse James (Wendell Corey), one of the worst "risks" in history! In his efforts to get the policy back, Hope finds himself being mistaken for Jesse, which is all part of the outlaw's plan to get Hope killed and thereby collect the policy money himself. But with the help of beauteous Rhonda Fleming (the essentially honest beneficiary to Jesse's policy), Hope gains a reputation as a lightning-fast gunslinger. In the inevitable shoot-out with the James gang, Hope is helped out by several famous Westerners, including Gary Cooper, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, James "Maverick" Garner, and even Tonto (Jay Silverheels). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Like thousands of other Manhattanites, Tom Ewell annually packs his wife (Evelyn Keyes) and children off to summer vacation, staying behind to work at the office. This particular summer, the lonely Ewell begins fantasizing about the many women he'd foresworn upon getting married (in one of the fantasies, Ewell and Marguerite Chapman parody the beach rendezvous in From Here to Eternity). He is jolted back to reality when he meets his new neighbor--luscious model Marilyn Monroe. Inviting Monroe to dinner, Ewell intends to sweep her off her feet and into the boudoir. Things don't quite work out that way, thanks to Ewell's clumsiness (and essential decency) and Monroe's naivete. Still, Ewell becomes convinced that his impure thoughts will somehow be transmitted to his vacationing wife and to the rest of the world, leaving him wide open for scandal and ruination. In the original play, the husband and the next-door neighbor did have an affair, but both play and film arrived at the same happy ending, with Ewell and his missus contentedly reunited at summer's end. Featured in the cast of The Seven Year Itch are Robert Strauss as a lascivious handyman, Sonny Tufts as Evelyn Keye's former beau, Donald MacBride as Ewell's glad-handing boss, and veteran Broadway funny man Victor Moore in a cameo as a nervous plumber. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Independently produced by Allan Dowling Pictures, This is My Love was distributed in the U.S. by RKO Radio. The film stars Linda Darnell as Vida, a would-be writer, whose vivid imagination contrasts with the harsh realities of her middle-class household. Her sister Evelyn (Faith Domergue), married to the crippled and embittered Murray (Dan Duryea), is unable to escape into Vida's dream world, though she'd certainly like to do so. When Vida introduces her sweetheart Glenn (Rick Jason) to Evelyn, the latter immediate begins drawing up plans to steal the handsome hunk away from her sister. Not unexpectedly, things degenerate into deception, heartbreak and murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Joe Palooka in Triple Cross, like its predecessors, was based on Ham Fisher's comic strip Joe Palooka. This time around, soft-hearted boxer Joe Palooka (Joe Kirkwood Jr.), his wife Ann (Cathy Downs) and his manager Knobby Walsh (James Gleason) are kidnapped by a trio of goofy escaped convicts. One of the crooks decides to cash in on Joe's ring prowess by ordering the pugilist to throw a fight, thereby allowing the baddies to collect a huge sum at the betting booth. A surefire indication that this isn't supposed to be taken seriously is the scene wherein the head kidnapper (John Emery) disguises himself as Ann's spinster aunt. Joe Palooka in Triple Cross hit the screens at the same time that the earliest Palooka films were beginning to sprout up on television. Ring announcer Jimmy Wallington makes a last-reel appearance as himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A pair of top 20th Century Fox contractees were loaned to Paramount as stars of The Mating Season. Gene Tierney plays globe-trotting socialite Maggie Carleton, while Thelma Ritter is cast as Ellen McNulty, the hash-slinging mother of Maggie's husband, Val (John Lund). Perceiving that her son is embarrassed by his lower-class origins, Ellen poses as a maid when she attends Maggie and Val's wedding reception. Even after Val expresses displeasure at this deception, Ellen refuses to reveal her true identity, leading to a series of funny and poignant consequences. Miriam Hopkins co-stars as Ellen's blue-blooded mother, whose third-act arrival heralds the film's inevitable "moment of truth." Rest assured, The Mating Season is never dull. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ronald Colman won an Academy Award for his portrayal of an off-the-beam actor in A Double Life. A beloved stage star, Anthony John (Colman), has problems with his private life due to his unpredictable outbursts of temper. This trait has already cost him his wife, Brita (Signe Hasso), and threatens to sabotage his career. Nonetheless, Anthony makes his peace with Brita, and the two actors star in a new Broadway staging of Othello. The play is a hit, running over 300 performances, but the pressures of portraying a man moved to murder by jealousy takes its toll on Anthony. In a fit of delirium, he strangles his casual mistress, Pat (Shelley Winters), but retains no memory of the awful crime. Press agent Bill Friend (Edmond O'Brien), unaware that Anthony is the killer, uses Pat's murder as publicity for Othello. Anthony becomes enraged at this cheap ploy, and attacks Friend. At this point, Anthony realizes that he has been living "a double life" and is in fact Pat's murderer. A Double Life was written for the screen by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, who occasionally digress from the melodramatic plotline to include a few backstage inside jokes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This 20th entry in Columbia's long-running "Blondie" series finds poor Dagwood Bumstead (Arthur Lake) in financial trouble once again. Unable to obtain a raise from boss Radcliffe (Jerome Cowan), Dagwood begins "playing the ponies" at the race track, which gets him in trouble with the Law-not to mention his long-suffering wife Blondie (Penny Singleton). But salvation is at hand in the form of bank president Samuel Breckinridge (Grant Mitchell), who expresses a lot of gratitude when Dagwood saves Mrs. Breckinridge (Mary Young), likewise a horse player, from being arrested in a bookie-joint raid. The "regular" cast of the "Blondie" series remains the same as before, with the exception of Bobby Larson, who for this entry only replaces Danny Mummert as Alvin Fuddle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Charmless films like The Bride Wore Boots helped to kill the postwar revival of the "screwball comedy" genre almost before it began. Here's the deal: Breeding-farm owner Sally (Barbara Stanwyck) loves horses. Novelist Jeff (Robert Cummings) hates horses, but loves Sally. Jeff and Sally marry, only to break up over their equestrian differences. They spend the rest of the film trying to get back together again, despite such hurdles as flirtatious Southern belle Mary Lou Medford (Diana Lynn) and charming "other man" Lance Gale (Patric Knowles). Is it any surprise that the film ends with a Big Race, and that horse-hating Jeff is astride the winning steed? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Olivia De Havilland won the first of her two Academy Awards for To Each His Own. During World War I, De Havilland falls in love with a young soldier (John Lund). He is killed in battle before they can marry, leaving De Havilland to raise their child alone. She gives the baby up for adoption, then goes to work in the cosmetic business, working her way up to an executive post. While in London on business during World War II, Olivia comes face to face with her grown son (John Lund again), now a military officer himself. Though she resists revealing her true identity, mother and son are brought together by a wise old British peer (Roland Culver). Olivia De Havilland's Oscar win was doubly sweet in that To Each His Own was her first film after an enforced two-year absence, brought about when she sued Warner Bros. to get out of her restrictive contract. Long available only in washed-out TV prints, To Each His Own was eventually restored to its pristine 35-millimeter glory by the American Film Institute. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide