John Beal Movies

That Night! was the film version of a TV drama by Robert Wallace and Burton J. Rowles titled The Long Way Home. John Beal plays a hard-working ad man who suffers a mild heart attack. Despite the admonitions of his doctor, Beal refuses to cut down on his work load, feeling that by doing so he would be depriving his wife (Augusta Dabney) and children of their lavish lifestyle. A second attack is more serious, landing Beal in intensive care. As he recovers, Beal and his wife reassess their values and sort out just what is truly important in their lives. That Night was produced by Himan Brown, the man who created radio's Lights Out and directed by John Newland, best known for his hosting chores on TV's One Step Beyond. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Stanley Kramer's production unit at Columbia Pictures was known for its willingness to tackle subject matter that was not necessarily "box office" (much to the dismay, of course, of Columbia head man Harry Cohn!) Adapted by Michael Blankfort from the autobiography by Donald Powell Wilson, My Six Convicts is the true story of a prison psychologist and his efforts to "reach" his incarcerated patients. John Beal plays the Donald Powell Wilson counterpart, herein known simply as Doc. Convinced that psychological rehabilitation is, indeed, an option, Doc overcomes a great deal of opposition -- from both prison officials and prisoners -- to test out his theories. Once he's won the confidence of hardened safecracker James Connie (Millard Mitchell), Doc is able to bring five more convicts into his circle: murderous mobster Punch Pinero (Gilbert Roland); alcoholic, self-sacrificing Blivens Scott (Marshall Thompson); holdup man Clem Randall (Alf Kjellin); psychopathic killer Dawson (Harry Morgan -- yes, that Harry Morgan); and embezzler Steve Kopac (Jay Adler). These six cons learn to make their life behind bars not only tolerable but productive, and in so doing pass on their new outlook on life to their fellow inmates. Despite the seriousness of the subject matter, My Six Convicts is essentially a comedy, with the all-male cast working together in seamless perfection. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally designed for church showings, Messenger of Peace was blown up from 16mm to 35mm and given a brief theatrical distribution early in 1950. Told in flashback, this is the inspirational story of Pastor Armin Ritter (John Beal), whose faith remains unshakable despite the most extreme forms of personal tragedy. Peggy Stewart co-stars as Ritter's ever-supportive wife, while Paul Guilfoyle has a plum role as an alcoholic who "sees the light." Though excessively hokey at times, the film scores on its obvious sincerity. Messenger of Peace was filmed by Roland Reed Productions, the same firm responsible for TV's religious weekly This is the Life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One thing you can say about Alimony: It tackled a subject that virtually everyone in Hollywood was intimately familiar with. Martha Vickers plays a ruthless young woman who has hit upon a clever (if not original) method of fattening her bank account. She seeks out relationships with wealthy married men, gets them to leave their wives to marry her, then cooks up "alienation of affection" and "adultery" cases against them. As a result, she invariably leaves the divorce court with a huge alimony settlement. Eventually she graduates from breaking hearts to breaking laws, and is thrown in the calaboose for her troubles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With a little extra effort, Columbia's Key Witness might have been a model B picture. John Beal plays inventor Milton Higby, whose treacherous ex-girlfriend is mysteriously murdered. As the number one suspect, Higby is in the doghouse witht he Law. Fortunately, it seems as though someone witnessed the crime; less fortunately, that someone has apparently disappeared from the face of the earth. Higby also tries to disappear by disguising himself as a bum, which only adds to his already mounting problems. So little critical attention was paid to Columbia's B product in the late 1940s that one reviewer labelled Key Witness costar Trudy Marshall as a "newcomer", even though she'd been in pictures since 1942 (Marshall, incidentally, is the mother of 1970s star Deborah Raffin). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Norwegian resistance to the Nazi occupation of their country inspired several wartime films from Hollywood, including this Warner Bros. production, filmed in and around Monterey, California. In October 1942, a German observation airplane discovers a seaside village named Trollness where the Norwegian flag is flying over the town square. A ground patrol discovers an empty town littered with corpses, including a number of Nazi officials. The story of the massacre is told in flashback. Errol Flynn plays Gunnar Brogge, a fisherman engaged to Karen Stensgard (Ann Sheridan), whose father, Martin (alter Huston), is the village physician. Gunnar and Karen are working to undermine the Nazis. The town is divided, with the minister leading a contingent which believes that violence, even against the sadistic Germans, is morally wrong. Karen is concerned about the imminent arrival of her brother, who is known to be friendly to the German occupiers; she fears he may learn of plans by the British to deliver a supply of guns to the resistance. The Nazi commandant, Captain Konig (Helmut Dantine), keeps up the pressure to learn of any opposition to his administration, eventually deciding to execute a selected number of the villagers to force someone to reveal the extent of the resistance's schemes. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide

Among the few wartime comedies that are still genuinely funny today, Monogram's One Thrilling Night (aka Horace Takes Over). stars John Beal and Wanda McKay as a somewhat dimwitted newlywed couple honeymooning in New York. Beal hopes to spend some "quality time" with Wanda before he's to report for Army induction the next morning, but this hardly seems likely. The couple's tiny hotel room is constantly invaded by pesky strangers, the more contentious of which is criminal Tom Neal, who's looking for a cache of loot hidden by Pierce Lynden. Despite the well-meaning efforts of house detective Warren Hymer, poor Beal is kidnapped twice before the night is over. Engaging in its silliness, One Thrilling Night is a special favorite of B-picture enthusiasts: When one such movie buff asked John Beal why his character continually hangs a "Do Not Disturb" inside his hotel suite, the actor replied, "Because he's stupid." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ralph Bellamy makes the third of four appearances as "master detective" Ellery Queen in Columbia's Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime. The principal villain is crooked stockbroker John Mathews (Douglass Dumbrille), whose Wall Street manipulations render Ray Jarden (H. B. Warner) penniless. Mathews' chicanery seems particularly coldblooded, inasmuch as his daughter Marian (Linda Hayes) is engaged to Jarden's son Walter (John Beal). When the latter disappears, Mathews asks Ellery Queen to locate the young man. Shortly thereafter, one of the principal characters is murdered, forcing Ellery to get his deductive skills into high gear-no small task, since he's depicted in this film as a complete dunderhead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this medical melodrama, a young MD finds himself in love with a woman who doesn't love him. She is interested in an older, more sophisticated doctor. After she discovers that the older medic has a sleazy side, she decides to go for the younger doctor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

James Whale directed this screen adaptation of Marcel Pagnol's French classic Fanny. Madelon (Maureen O'Hara) is a lovely young woman who lives in a seaside community, where she has fallen in love with Marius (John Beal), a sailor. Marius is called to duty and sets sail, shortly before Madelon makes the discovery that she'd pregnant with his child. Not sure what to do, Madelon confesses her predicament to Panisse (Frank Morgan), a longtime friend who is pals with Cesar (Wallace Beery), Marius's father. To spare Madelon the shame of a child born out of wedlock, Panisse offers to marry Madelon, and she agrees, though both realize this will be a union of convenience rather than love. When Marius returns after his hitch is up, he declares his love to Madelon, but time has forced her to realize that the older but loving Panisse would be a better father for her child than Marius, who she loves but rarely ever gets to see. Port of Seven Seas was written for the screen by Preston Sturges, who came aboard for the project when William Wyler was originally slated to direct. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

I Am the Law is arguably the best of the late-1930s films inspired by the racket-busting career of New York district attorney Thomas E. Dewey. Edward G. Robinson switches to the right side of the law as the Dewey counterpart, here named John Lindsay (!) A feisty, no-nonsense law professor, Lindsay is approached by a group of concerned citizens to act as special prosecutor to rid up their (unnamed) state of big-time lawbreakers. He wastes no time taking charge, storming into the prosecutor's office and firing anyone whom he suspects of being "on the take." With the help of his dedicated law students, who work alongside him for free, Lindsay purges the local government of such corrupt influences as Eugene Ferguson (Otto Kruger), the outwardly respectable "brains" behind the rackets. Among the minor pleasures in I Am the Law is watching Robinson dancing the Big Apple with gun moll Wendy Barrie in an early scene, and his firing of suspicious-looking Charles Halton with a brusque "Don't like your face! Never have! You've got shifty eyes and a weak chin!" (which, indeed, were Halton's screen trademarks). Barbara O'Neil, who the following year played Scarlet O'Hara's mother in Gone with the Wind, is quietly effective as Robinson's supportive wife. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this entertaining comedy, an American expatriate lives in Paris and fancies himself a clever con artist. Getting cocky, he invites his wife and daughter to join him. The daughter is about to marry and he promises her an exquisite French chalet. Now he must quickly find one before she arrives lest he end up with egg upon his face. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The cattle rustlers in Border Cafe, a modern-day western from the RKO B-unit, are Eastern gangsters headed by none other than that old reprobate J. Carrol Naish. After having landed in jail for drunken driving for the umpteenth time, young Bostonian Keith Whitney (John Beal callously leaves his fiancé (Marjorie Lord) behind and takes off on a whim for Verde, Texas, where he inhales huge amounts of scotch and plays the honky tonk. In the mistaken belief that his son is operating a cattle ranch, Senator Whitney (George Irving) announces his arrival in Verde but Keith is rescued in the nick of time by Tex Stevens (Harry Carey), a leathery cattle baron who has taken a liking to the youngster. Things get dicey when New York gangster Rocky Alton (Naish) arrives to extract protection fees but Keith, who has taken to the wide open spaces like the proverbial fish to water, saves the day for all and sundry. Dumped on the B-Movie market with little fanfare in June of 1937, Border Café marked the screen debut of Marjorie Lord, mother of screen actress Anne Archer. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide