Oscar Brodney Movies

1,000 Convicts and a Woman was the lurid alternate title to the British skinflick Fun and Games. Alexandra Hay, whose two talents are on display throughout, plays the daughter of prison warden Neil Hallett. She abuses her position by assuming other positions with prisoners and guards alike, then swearing them to secrecy lest she broadcast ugly rumors about them to her unsuspecting daddy. Tired of being mere sexual playthings, two convicts set a trap that will show Hay for the strumpet that she is. Politically correct? Don't be silly. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Maurice Chevalier plays Philip Dulaine, a supposedly dying millionaire, while Sandra Dee co-stars as Cynthia, the elderly man's granddaughter. To allow Dulaine to die happy, Cynthia promises to find a husband. Actually, Dulaine is only pretending to be at death's door to get Cynthia married off. Subsequent complications involve Cynthia's personal choice for a husband, Warren Palmer (Andy Williams), and Dulaine's selection, Paul Benton (Robert Goulet). Deanna Durbin fans will quickly detect that I'd Rather Be Rich is a remake of Durbin's It Started With Eve (1941), with a gender switch (in the original, Robert Cummings is the grandson, and Durbin is the instant fiancee) and with Maurice Chevalier filling the sizeable shoes of Charles Laughton as the foxy grandpa. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This time around, Tammy, played by Sandra Dee, becomes a nurse's aid to care for an old rich woman and causes a commotion. Since she is charming and warm, everyone likes her--especially Dr. Mark Cheswick (Peter Fonda)--who is warned by boss Dr. Bentley (MacDonald Carey) of the consequences of his pursuit. Fearing for his job, Doc Cheswick backs off, but everything gets complicated by romantic inclinations between head nurse Rachel Coleman (Margaret Lindsay) and head Doc Bentley. After Tammy saves the elderly woman's life and Bentley and Rachel get together, she and the Doctor soon are left to bask in the glow of new love. Third in the series of four, Tammy and the Doctor spun from the original Tammy and the Bachelor (1957)--starring Debbie Reynolds, and is followed by the last Tammy and the Millionaire (1967). ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

This is a routine drama about Leo Mack (Frankie Vaughn) a good-for-nothing, aspiring actor who goes to Hollywood and then ruins one life after another. Based on a stage play by the late Garson Kanin and adapted by his brother, scripters Michael Kanin and his wife Fay Kanin, the story is one long series of disasters wrought by Leo. Alleviated by several pop songs, Leo first wrecks the relationships between five young men who had been living equitably together in a bachelor pad. He goes on to mess up his budding romance with Ursula (Juliet Prowse) and Anne (Martha Hyer) and continues in that way until fame is almost certain. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

A full thirty years before Look Who's Talking would hit the screens with its verbose little infant, Max Bygraves and Shirley Jones starred in this routine comedy about a talking baby. Little Bobbikins (Steven Stocker) is the 14-month-old son of Benjamin and Betty (Bygraves and Jones) who is perfectly normal until his father comes home from his stint in the Navy and decides to reprise a career in show business. When nothing seems to go right for him, little Bobbikins decides to give Dad a few helpful hints. He never talks to anyone else, and this leads others to think his father is hearing things. Soon the baby gives some hot tips when his Dad becomes friends with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, leading to a killing on the stock market. Now rich and definitely affected by it, this new Dad has baby wondering if there is something he could do to bring him back down to earth again. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Debbie Reynolds stars as Tammy in this romantic comedy of a country girl living in the South who cares for pilot Peter Brent (Leslie Neilsen) after his plane crashes near her home. At the beckoning of mutual admiration, Peter soon invites her to his plantation where she charms the fancy-shmancy attitude out of his family and transforms the whole place into virtual sweetness and sunshine. Tammy and the Bachelor presented the original song Tammy by Ray Evans and Jay Livingston, which gained the two an Oscar nomination for Best Song and became a hit song for Reynolds. Tammy Tell Me True (1961), Tammy and the Doctor (1963) and Tammy and the Millionaire (1967), as well as a television series, all were spun from this film. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

A Day Of Fury stars Jock Mahoney as town marshal Alan Burnett, whose life is saved by a stranger he meets on the trail. His rescuer turns out to be Jagade (Dale Robertson), a gunslinger just returned after years away, who finds when he gets into town that he can't abide the peace that has been settled between "his" people (i.e. the saloon-keepers, gamblers, etc.) and the righteous, "respectable" folk. Jagade stirs up trouble by persuading the saloon owners to open on Sunday, which they'd voluntarily stopped doing years ago. Suddenly, the peace that had settled over the town is broken, and gambling and other vices that had been in check rise anew, drawing in many of the respectable townsmen and women in the process -- some of the men can't resist the lure of a good high-stakes poker game or a pretty woman, and even the spinster schoolteacher finds herself drawn to Jagade's dark charisma. An escalating cycle of vice and violence unfolds in barely 24 hours; Burnett won't back Jagade down, partly because the man has broken no laws and also partly due to his gratitude to the gunman for saving his life. None of the townspeople can comprehend his inaction, however, and this soon jeopardizes not only his job as marshal and his safety, but also the well-being of his fiancée, Sharmon Fulton (Mara Corday), who was a saloon girl before she was brought out of that life and given a home with a respectable family. Soon Jagade loses control of what he's started, and the town begins to destroy itself in a cycle of guilt, anger, betrayal, murder, suicide, and lynch law.
~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

The Spoilers is the fourth and (very likely) last film version of Rex Beach's rugged Alaskan adventure yarn. Set during the Gold Rush of '98, the film stars Jeff Chandler as mine owner Roy Glennister, cheated out of his claim by gold commissioner Alex McNamara (Rory Calhoun). Though Glennister protests, the crooked McNamara has the law on his side. Saloonkeeper Cherry Malotte (Ann Baxter) constantly shifts her allegiance between Glennister and McNamara, though eventually she chooses the "right" side. Like all previous versions of The Spoilers, this one ends with a knock-down, drag-out fight between Glennister and McNamara--not as realistic, perhaps, as the famous bout between William Farnum and Tom Santschi in the original 1914 adaptation of The Spoilers, but a heck of a lot more exciting. Raymond Walburn makes his final film appearance as town inebriate Mr. Skinner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Tony Curtis was by 1955 an accomplished enough actor to get through the costumed derring-do of The Purple Mask minus the awkwardness he'd displayed in his earlier swashbucklers. Curtis is cast as Rene, a foppish 18th century French nobleman who doubles as the Purple Mask, a Royalist supporter who kidnaps officers of the Republic and ransoms them back to Napoleon (Stefan Bekassy) for a hefty fee. Managing to elude Napoleon's minions through most of the picture, Rene gives himself up only when the love of his life, the beautiful Laurette (Colleen Miller), is placed in danger. Even when facing the guillotine, however, Rene has a few tricks up his lacey, perfumed sleeve. The Purple Mask was based on La Chevalier au Masque, a play by Paul Armont and Jean Manouissi. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Jeff Chandler may be the top-billed star of Sign of the Pagan, but the film belongs to Jack Palance, cast as no less than Attila the Hun. As Attila's hordes advance upon Rome, noble centurion Marcian (Chandler) mounts a counteroffensive. Alas, the Scourge of God cannot be stopped by weaponry or sheer brute strength. No, Attila can be halted in his tracks only by the hand of God Himself. Through a deft combination of historical fact and movie magic, this is precisely what happens. Ballerina Ludmilla Tcherina, her voice dubbed by an anonymous American actress, co-stars as Marcian's lady love, while Rita Gam is sublimely cast as Attila's long-suffering daughter. Also appearing as Attila's slave bride is Allison Hayes, some three years away from her starring turn in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. Filmed on a more spectacular scale than one usually associates with Universal-International, Sign of the Pagan loses some of its scope when shown on television. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this fourth of the "Francis" series, former Army officer Peter Stirling (Donald O'Connor) becomes a reporter for a big city newspaper. His greatest source of news tips is his talking mule Francis (voice by Chill Wills), who has become friendly with all the police horses. When asked how he manages to stay abreast of the news, Peter tries to explain about Francis, and is not unexpectedly labelled a looney-tune. But when Peter is brought to court on a homicide charge, Francis breaks his self-imposed rule of talking only to Peter and testifies on his master's behalf. With Francis' aid, Peter cracks the murder case and is graduated to star reporter. At fadeout time, Francis is seen wooing a female zebra, explaining "Don't let the striped pajamas fool ya." Francis Covers Big Town is harmless fun, bolstered by an expert supporting cast, including the always reliable Gene Lockhart (as Peter's editor) and Gale Gordon (as a flustered D.A.). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Back at the Front is the second of two film comedies based on the wartime cartoons of Bill Mauldin. As in Up Front, the principal characters are woebegone GIs Willie and Joe: Tom Ewell is back as Willie, but Harvey Lembeck replaces David Wayne as Joe. The original purpose of Mauldin's newspaper cartoons--to give enlisted men a surreptitious means of blowing off steam concerning the iniquities of war and the occasional idiocies of their officers--is completely ignored in Back at the Front. Instead, we are offered a very standard spy plot set in postwar Tokyo, involving femme fatale Mari Blanchard and a shipment of booby-trapped food tins. Back at the Front could have been done just as well with Abbott and Costello--better, in fact. Watch in the closing scenes for David Janssen, playing a one-line bit as a rookie soldier. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi