John Brown Movies

"What are you rebelling against?" asks someone. "What've you got?" responds surly, leather-jacketed motorcycle punk Marlon Brando. It comes as a disappointment to discover that The Wild One, the quintessential Brando "rebel" film, is at base a traditional "misunderstood youth vs. the nasty system" effort, with a particularly banal finale. Based on a true incident, the film begins with Brando and his motorcyle gang invading a small town after having been kicked out of a cycle competition (but not before stealing the second-prize trophy). Brando's bikers raise hell all day, but some of the townsfolk are shown to be little better than the invaders. Sheriff Robert Keith, whose daughter (Murphy) has gone fond of Brando, finally responds to the bikers' destructiveness by jailing Lee Marvin, leader of a rival gang. When Marvin's buddies goes on a rampage, Brando exhibits his essential decency by safely escorting the sheriff's daughter out of the melee. The townsfolk misunderstand, assuming that Brando intends to rape the girl. He is attacked by a vigilante mob led by town hothead Ray Teal, who uses this excuse to exercise his own sadistic tendencies. Keith breaks up the mob and suggests that Brando leave; he tries to do so, but another angry response from the mob causes him to inadvertently strike and kill a pedestrian. At the subsequent hearing, the girl rushes to Brando's defense. Though grateful for the unexpected kindness, Brando is constitutionally unable to say "thank you" and rides out of town alone. The image of Marlon Brando astride his Triumph has entered movie folklore, just like King Kong on the Empire State Building or the billow-skirted Marilyn Monroe standing over a subway grating; it's too bad that The Wild One isn't a more worthy vehicle for Brando's talents. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

All-American football star Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch plays himself in this rousing filmed biography. Beginning with his years in a mid-Wisconsin high school, the film traces Hirsch's multi-lettered career at the University of Wisconsin. After military service, Hirsch turns pro, eventually joining the LA Rams. Sidelined by an injury that threatens his athletic future, "Crazylegs" makes a spectacular comeback. Lloyd Nolan co-stars as coach Win Brockmeier, while Joan Vohs plays Hirsch's high-school sweetheart (and later wife); real-life sports personages in the cast include Bob Waterfield, Bob Kelley, and Bill Brundage. The film was released in most markets under the streamlined title Crazylegs. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A young boy named Johnny (Gregory Moffett) is on a picnic with his widowed mother (Selena Royle) and sister (Claudia Barrett), when he meets a pair of archeologists (John Mylong, George Nader) exploring a nearby cave. Later, while napping, he has a dream -- that the Earth has been attacked by an alien named Ro-Man (played by George Barrows in a gorilla suit with a diving helmet), using the "calcinator death ray," and that he and his family (with Mylong and his mother now married) and scientist Nader are the only survivors. They try to elude capture by Ro-Man, who turns out to have some very human failings despite his mechanized mentality, including a desire to experience human emotions, which greatly complicates his efforts to destroy the family. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Having grown a moustache for a TV role, Ricky (Desi Arnaz) seems disinclined to shave off his new lip adornment. Hoping to get Ricky to remove the moustache, Lucy (Lucille Ball) decides to prove how silly he looks by donning a false beard. Alas, the beard has been fastened to Lucy's jowls with "Bulldog Cement" rather than spirit gum -- and nothing she can do will remove the whiskers. Making matters even worse, Ricky is bringing home a talent scout in hopes of landing another TV part. Anxious to make a good impression on the scout, Lucy hatches a scheme to "logically" hide that pesky beard -- and guess what happens next! ~ Rovi

Hans Christian Andersen was Sam Goldwyn's final production for RKO Radio release, and also the producer's last Danny Kaye vehicle. The Moss Hart-Myles Connolly screenplay largely disregards the facts concerning Denmark's great storyteller, opting for a fanciful blend of comedy, fantasy, romance and music. As played by Kaye, Hans Christian Andersen starts out as a small-town cobbler whose gift for spinning fairy tales is keeping the local kids from attending school. Asked to leave town, Hans heads to Copenhagen to seek his fortune as a writer. After having his heart broken by the beautiful ballerina Doro (Jeanmaire), Hans finds solace--and happiness--in the knowledge that hundreds of thousands of children the world over are devoted to his enchanting fantasy stories. The lilting Frank Loesser score includes such tunes as "No Two People," "The King's New Clothes," "Wonderful Copenhagen," "Inchworm," "The Ugly Duckling," "Thumbelina," and the title song. Though Hans Christian Andersen was a smashing box-office success, and as a bonus earned five Oscar nominations. Originally released at 112 minutes, the film is generally available in its 104-minute TV-release form. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In one of Alfred Hitchcock's suspense classics, tennis pro Guy Haines (Farley Granger) chances to meet wealthy wastrel Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker) on a train. Having read all about Guy, Bruno is aware that the tennis player is trapped in an unhappy marriage to to wife Miriam (Laura Elliott) and has been seen in the company of senator's daughter Ann Morton (Ruth Roman). Baiting Guy, Bruno reveals that he feels trapped by his hated father (Jonathan Hale). As Guy listens with detached amusement, Bruno discusses the theory of "exchange murders." Suppose that Bruno were to murder Guy's wife, and Guy in exchange were to kill Bruno's father? With no known link between the two men, the police would be none the wiser, would they? When he reaches his destination, Guy bids goodbye to Bruno, thinking nothing more of the affable but rather curious young man's homicidal theories. And then, Guy's wife turns up strangled to death. Co-adapted by Raymond Chandler from a novel by Patricia Highsmith, Strangers on a Train perfectly exemplifies Hitchcock's favorite theme of the evil that lurks just below the surface of everyday life and ordinary men. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Lippert Studio's first 1951 release was the compact western 3 Desperate Men. The title characters are the Denton Brothers, played by Preston S. Foster, Jim Davis and Ross Latimer. Accused of crimes they didn't commit, the Dentons are obliged to become outlaws to survive. So long as they stay away from their home town, the brothers are able to pull off their crime spree unabated. But their fate is sealed the moment they head homeward to exact revenge against those who framed them. Critics of the period were satisfied with 3 Desperate Men, though it was felt that at least two of the three Dentons could have used some lessons in horsemanship. The film secured pretty good bookings for a Lippert production. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Though Jack Benny made a cottage industry out of joking about the purported rottenness of his 1945 vehicle Horn Blows at Midnght, the film is in fact a delightful comedy-fantasy-certainly not Benny's best film, but far from his worst. While dozing off during a radio broadcast, studio musician Athaniel (Benny) dreams he's a trumpet player in Heaven's celestial orchestra. At the behest of glamorous angel Elizabeth (Alexis Smith), Athaniel is brought into the lavish chambers of The Chief (Guy Kibbee), who has a job for our hapless hero. It seems that The Front Office, dissatisfied with the state of things on planet Earth ("just a six-day job"), has decided to destroy the tiny globe. Athaniel is to go down to New York City and blow his trumpet at midnight, thereby heralding the end of the world. Unfortunately he botches the job and remains stuck on earth as a "fallen angel" along with previous Heavenly dropouts Osidro (Allyn Joslyn) and and Doremus (John Alexander). Having persuaded The Chief to give Athaniel a second chance, Elizabeth herself comes to Earth to make sure that her sweetheart successfully completes his mission. Alas, the impoverished Athaniel has used his precious trumpet to pay for a meal, thereby setting off a chain reaction of comic complications, culminating with a Harold Lloyd-like climax wherein Athaniel is but one of six people precariously dangling from a skyscraper ledge. Evidence exists that the "dream" framework and slapstick finale of Horn Blows at Midnight were last-minute additions: A 1949 radio version of the Sam Hellman-James V. Kern screenplay is quite different, with a more sentimental and "meaningful" finale. Whatever the case, the screen version of Horn Blows at Midnight delivers plenty of laughs for Benny fans and casual viewers alike. Alas, the film proved a box-office disappointment, which was injurious for Benny's film career but a boon to his radio and TV shows, which thrived on derisive Horn Blows at Midnight jokes for the next two decades! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi