W.R. Burnett Movies
Descended from a long line of Ohio political bosses (his grandfather was mayor of Columbus), William Riley Burnett was educated at that state's Miami Military Institute and at O.S.U. Thanks to family connections, Burnett landed a job as an Ohio state statistician, a post he held from 1920 to 1927. Finally wearying of civil service, he moved to Chicago, hoping to make his fortune as a novelist. His first book was Little Caesar, an "a clef" account of the rise of Chi-Town's Al Capone. Little Caesar was made into a landmark gangster picture by Warner Bros. in 1931. Throughout his Hollywood years, Burnett avoided being "typed" by tackling virtually every literary genre: if his work has any unifying theme, it's the story of the tough little maverick at odds with a big, impersonal Establishment. Similarly, Burnett was himself a Hollywood "outsider," refusing to humble himself before major stars or powerful directors. Perhaps significantly, he never won an Oscar (though he was nominated for Wake Island) or even as Screen Writer's Guild award. Most of his post-Little Caesar novels made it to the screen, often adapted by Burnett himself: Saint Johnson, based on the legend of Wyatt Earp, became Law and Order (1932), while Jailbreak was transformed into The Whole Town's Talking (1935). On the whole, Burnett's literary efforts came to the screen with their original titles intact, including Dr. Socrates, Dark Command, High Sierra, Nobody Lives Forever, and best of all, The Asphalt Jungle. He also occasionally worked on screen originals like Scarface (1931) and Crash Dive (1944). Despite his virulent anti-communism, Burnett got along quite well with most of the Hollywood Left and frequently collaborated with them. His last major film work, another "little guy against the odds" affair, was 1963's The Great Escape. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1972
This is a remake of The Asphalt Jungle with an all black cast. In it a paroled convict plans to steal $3 million work of jewels, sell them, and use the bread to start a bank to back black businesses. He is assisted by two pals, his half-brother, and a preacher who also works as a thief. The operation is ultimately backed by a man who cheats on his wheelchair-bound wife with a sexy woman. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1968
Originally telecast on May 26, 1968 as Bonanza's 300th episode, "The Stronghold" finds Joe Cartwright and Ponderosa hand Candy chasing Josh and Mike Farrell (Michael Witney and Paul Mantee), the two men who swindled them out of a herd of cattle. Joe and Candy catch up with the duplicitous brothers at their hideout in Arizona, where a deadly game of cat-and-mouse ensues. The only hope for a happy ending lies with the Farrells, who are slowly but surely growing sick of each other's company. "The Stronghold" was written by John Hawkins and W.R. Burnett. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
In this adventure, set in the south African Transvaal, six robbers begin victimizing an aged, bitter prospector and his daughter in order to steal his gold. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Vincent Price
The Great Escape is based on the true story of a group of Allied prisoners of war who managed to escape from an allegedly impenetrable Nazi prison camp during World War II. At the beginning of the film, the Nazis gather all their most devious and troublesome POWs and place them at a new prison camp, which was designed to be impervious to escapes. Immediately, the prisoners develop a scheme where they will leave the camp by building three separate escape tunnels. Richard Attenborough is the British soldier who masterminds the whole plan, and who commands his motley squad--featuring Charles Bronson as a Polish trench-digging expert, James Garner as an American with a talent for theft, Donald Pleasence as a masterful forger, and Steve McQueen as an American rebel--through the construction of the tunnels and, eventually, their escape. An epic adventure film, The Great Escape runs nearly three hours, featuring a rousing Elmer Bernstein score and exciting action sequences -- including a notorious motorcycle chase between McQueen and the Nazis -- the likes of which had never been seen before in Hollywood productions. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Steve McQueen, James Garner, (more)
- 1963
Following the same storyline as the more successful Asphalt Jungle but set in Cairo, this crime caper about a jewel heist is directed by Wolf Rilla. The focus of attention is Tutankhamen's jewels on display in the Cairo National Museum -- quite a topical topic since the treasures from King Tut's tomb were making the rounds of U.S. exhibition sites around the time this film was released. The lecherous Major Pickering (George Sanders) has been cooling his heels in a German prison, waiting to get out so he can go to Cairo and set the wheels of his big King Tut heist into motion. The jewels are on display, and he is certain he can get his hands on them. To that end he recruits Willy Roberts, Nicodemos, Al Hassan, and Kamel Kuchuk -- stereotypical characters whose talents are supposed to contribute to the success of the robbery. The Major soon discovers that even if a robbery is successful, getting hot property out of a country can be quite another ball game. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- George Sanders, Richard Johnson, (more)
The 1939 adventure classic Gunga Din is transferred from British India to the American West, courtesy of Frank Sinatra's "Clan." Sinatra, Dean Martin and Peter Lawford play three cavalry officers, always ready for a brawl but willing to die for each other if need be. Sammy Davis Jr. a cavalry bugler who has aspirations of being a combat soldier. The three officers and the bugler take on a Napoleonic Native American chief, who plans to unify all the tribes and kill every white man in sight. Davis does his "Gunga" bit by blowing his bugle and warning the approaching cavalry that they're riding into a trap. About all that isn't pilfered from Gunga Din is the death of the noble bugler; Davis survives being shot up by the Indians with little more than a flesh wound! Sergeants Three also stars another Sinatra crony, Joey Bishop, playing the role originally essayed in Gunga Din by Robert Coote. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, (more)
- 1960
In this standard adventure yarn shown in 3-D, four people on a "borrowed" boat -- three men and a woman -- take off looking for sunken gold worth millions. A young, handsome man (Asher Dann) works on the yacht of a Parisian tycoon who happens to be away at the moment. Two nautical layabouts (Mark Stevens and Robert Strauss) convince the man to take them out looking for the sunken treasure, so the three of them set off on their adventure with a beautiful New York model (Joanne Dru) on board. There is some underwater diving and chasing after the model, and as the title indicates, the violent storm that shakes everyone up and makes this run for gold a dangerous proposition. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joanne Dru, Mark Stevens, (more)
- 1960
This episode was written by W.R. Burnett of Little Caesar fame, so it shouldn't be a surprise that much of the story is told from the viewpoint of the nominal villain--in this case, dapper bank robber Larry "Ace" Banner (Dan O'Herlihy). As a clever as he is prolific, Banner is a master of disguise and psychology, frequently covering his tracks by preying on bankers who are even bigger crooks than he is. Unable to put the cuffs on Banner because bank robbery is not yet a Federal crime, Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) must resort to other, more subtle methods to trip up the elusive thief. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1958
Peter Van Hook (Alan Ladd), alias The Dutchman, is nearing the end of a stretch in Yuma Territorial Prison for a gold robbery that he didn't commit. Released early with the unwitting -- and unwilling -- help of fellow inmate John McBain (Ernest Borgnine), he sets about getting even with the men and the mining company whose original owner got him into trouble, in a plan of double- and triple-crosses for which he needs the reluctant help of McBain. The latter wants nothing more than to go back to the life of a rancher -- and then he discovers something equally important in life, when he steps in to help a victimized Mexican woman (Katy Jurado). Suddenly, McBain is very interested in the Dutchman's scheme, and with the help of explosives expert Vincente (Nehemiah Persoff), they pull off what looks like an absolutely perfect robbery of a gold mine -- even the evidence that a crime was committed ends up being covered up. But Cyirl Lounsberry (Kent Smith), the financier who's supposed to fence the gold, has other ideas, and a crooked lawman (Adam Williams) to back him up. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alan Ladd, Ernest Borgnine, (more)
- 1957
As a favor to an old friend, producer Alex Gordon, James Cagney turned director for the first and only time in his career with Short Cut to Hell. The film is a remake of the 1942 Veronica Lake-Alan Ladd starrer This Gun For Hire. Robert Ivers plays Kyle, a hired killer who is double-crossed by his employer Bahrwell (Jacques Aubuchon). Seeking revenge, Kyle is reluctantly teamed with Glory Hamilton (Georgann Johnson), who has been targeted for elimination by Bahrwell and his henchman Nichols (Murvyn Vye). Unfortunately, Glory is the girlfriend of detective Stan (William Bishop), forcing Kyle to go on the lam before he can settle accounts with the film's principal villain. Kyle is finally able to get even with Bahrwell, and in the process reveals his long-dormant "good" side. Though the film itself is nothing special, Cagney's direction is sharp and efficient; it's too bad that Short Cut to Hell was his only effort behind the cameras. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Ivers, Georgann Johnson, (more)
- 1956
Nightclub singer Ilona Vance (Vera Ralston) is Accused of Murder in this Republic programmer. And from the looks of things, Ilona is guilty; she was, after all, the last person to see crooked lawyer Hobart (Sidney Blackmer) alive. But Lt. Roy Hargis (David Brian) is convinced that Ilona is innocent, and he intends to prove it. Except for the mildly surprising denoument, there is little in Accused of Murder that is not thoroughly predictable. Star Vera Ralston, the wife of Republic chieftan Herbert J. Yates, is her usual expressionless self. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- David Brian, Vera Ralston, (more)
- 1955
Rock Hudson stars as Michael Martin, a naive and impetuous young would-be rebel in 1815 Ireland, who turns to robbery in his desire to support the cause against England. Now wanted by the British and forced into hiding, he crosses paths with the renowned rebel leader Captain Thunderbolt aka John Doherty (Jeff Morrow), who takes him under his wing. Impressed with Michael's bravery, Thunderbolt makes him his second-in-command, a job that becomes twice as difficult when Thunderbolt is wounded and must drop out of sight. Michael must replace him, not only as a rebel leader, but also in running the business that Doherty fronts as a cover, and in his household -- and that puts Michaal on a collision course with Doherty's equally impetuous, headstrong daughter Aga (Barbara Rush). Sparks fly between them, as the English draw ever closer in their pursuit of the rebels. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rock Hudson, Barbara Rush, (more)
- 1955
Once again Edward G. Robinson takes a script from the trash bin and makes it into a palatable movie. A remake of The Mouthpiece, this is the story of a district attorney with a conscience. When he discovers that a man he's sent to the electric chair was innocent, he takes to the bottle. His assistants encourage him to get off the booze, stop prosecuting and, instead, become a defense attorney. He agrees but his first client is a notorious gangster who has been in business for so long because of leaks from Robinson's own office when he was the district attorney. Push comes to shove and soon, through multiple machinations and mishaps, Robinson becomes the defender of his former assistant on charges of murder. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Edward G. Robinson, Nina Foch, (more)
- 1955
I Died a Thousand Times is a scene-by-scene remake of the 1941 crime-drama classic High Sierra. Jack Palance steps into the old Humphrey Bogart role as Roy "Mad Dog" Earle, the ageing bank robber who intends to pull off one last heist before retiring. Sprung from prison by likeable crime boss Big Mac (Lon Chaney Jr.), Earle is commissioned to mastermind the robbery of a resort hotel. His partners in crime include the hotheaded, immature Babe (Lee Marvin) and Red (Earl Holliman), as well as "inside man" Mendoza (Perry Lopez). Also along for the ride is Marie (Shelley Winters), a dance-hall girl whom Babe has picked up. Marie falls in love with Earle, but he has eyes only for Velma (Lori Nelson), the club-footed daughter of a farmer (Ralph Moody) whom Earle had earlier befriended. Intending to use his share of the loot to finance Velma's operation, Earle goes through with the robbery, only to be thwarted by the ineptitude of his partners, the treachery of the late Big Mac's successors, and, finally, the fickle Velma. With the faithful Marie by his side, Earle makes a desperate escape into the High Sierras, but fate is still against him. Essentially an itinerary of what has previously "clicked" in High Sierra, I Died a Thousand Times makes a few concessions to changing tastes and mores; the stereotype comedy-relief character played by black actor Willie Best in the original film, for example, has been replaced by the more "acceptable" (at least by 1950s terms) stereotyped Mexican played by Gonzales-Gonzales. While the 1955 film cannot match the excellence of its 1941 role model, I Died a Thousand Times works pretty well on its own terms. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jack Palance, Shelley Winters, (more)
- 1954
The 3D melodrama Dangerous Mission starts off with a bang when innocent Piper Laurie inadvertently witnesses the murder of her gangster boss. Though she doesn't get a particularly good look at the killer, she knows she's dead meat if she remains in town. Thus, Laurie skeedaddles to Montana's Glacier National Park, where most of the film takes place. Following her westward are Victor Mature and Vincent Price. One of these men is a federal agent, bound and determined to bring Laurie back to the East to testify; the other is the murderer, who intends to silence our heroine for keeps. Laurie doesn't know which is which, but the audience does. A bit poky at times (thanks in part to the uninspired editing of Gene Palmer), Dangerous Mission roars into life during a mid-film forest fire and a climactic chase through the glacier fields. Featured in the cast are William Bendix as a Montana ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Victor Mature, Piper Laurie, (more)
Adapted from a novel by W.R. Burnett (which hadn't yet been published when the film was released), Arrowhead is a tough, uncompromising western dealing with the delicate issue of White-Indian relations. Charlton Heston is at his most truculent as Indian agent Ed Bannon, who though raised by Apaches has a very low opinion of the tribe's trustworthiness. Bannon's warnings about Indian treachery would seem to be borne out by a series of bloody raids upon the cavalry, but the officers in charge refuse to believe him. It turns out that the man behind the Apache attacks is Toriano (Jack Palance), the chief's college-educated son, who has rejected the ways of the White Man and intends to reclaim his birthright. The film boils down to a mano y mano battle between Bannon and Toriano, personal enemies from way back. Hardly politically correct, Arrowhead is worth seeing if only for the multitextured performance by Jack Palance. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Charlton Heston, Jack Palance, (more)
The first film version of W.R. Burnett's novel Saint Johnson was filmed as Law and Order in 1932. Essentially an all-names-changed retelling of the Wyatt Earp legend, the film scored on its humanity and restraint. The 1953 remake eschewed the shadings and subtleties of the original in favor of a traditional shoot-em-up, replete with gratuitous violence. Ronald Reagan stars as the Earp counterpart this time, who has sworn to bring criminal Preston S. Foster to justice. The original Law and Order had no love interest at all; the Reagan version pairs up the star with beautiful Dorothy Malone, and offers a second leading lady in the form of Ruth Hampton. The original had a hanging sequence which was treated as business as usual; the remake turns this sequence into a brutal lynching. Common to both films was the final showdown between Reagan and Foster, given added melodrama in the later version by the fact that Reagan had previously sworn to give up his guns for the love of his lady. Like most of Ronald Reagan's 1950s vehicles, Law and Order paid its way and was then forgotten. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ronald Reagan, Dorothy Malone, (more)
- 1951
- NR
The Racket was based on a play by Bartlett Cormack, first filmed as a silent in 1928. The storyline was updated to include references to Estes Kefauver's Senate Crime Investigating Committee: otherwise, the plot (and much of the dialogue) was lifted bodily from the Cormack play. Racketeer Robert Ryan has managed to get several government and law-enforcement higher-ups in his pocket. But Ryan can't touch the incorruptible police officer Robert Mitchum, who refuses all attempts at bribery. Ryan pulls strings to get Mitchum transferred to a series of undesirable precincts, but Mitchum will not be dissuaded. The battle of wills between cop and criminal comes to a head when mob-connected nightclub singer Lizabeth Scott turns on her former protector Ryan. The Broadway version of The Racket starred Edward G. Robinson as the racketeer; the 1928 film version featured Louis Wolheim in the Robinson role and Thomas Meighan as the upright cop. Both the silent and sound versions of the property were personally produced by Howard R. Hughes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Mitchum, Lizabeth Scott, (more)
- 1951
A remake of the 1931 film of the same name, Iron Man stars Jeff Chandler as up-and-coming boxer Cokie Martin. A relatively pleasant fellow outside the ring, Martin turns into a monster whenever he dons boxing gloves and trunks. As a result, he becomes "the man you love to hate" so far as the fans are concerned. Only his fiancee Rose (Evelyn Keyes) is willing to stand by him, but even her devotion is sorely tested when Cokie continues displaying his killer instinct. Only the intervention of "clean" fighter Speed O'Keefe (Rock Hudson) prevents Cokie from destroying himself. Told in flashback, Iron Man is at its best in its expository scenes, showing the hero working his way out of a coal mining town and into the championship. Joyce Holden co-stars as a good-time girl who enjoys a brief fling with the hero; in the original 1931 version, Holden's character was played by Jean Harlow. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jeff Chandler, Evelyn Keyes, (more)
- 1950
Vendetta began as a pet project of producer/director/writer Preston Sturges. Producer Howard R. Hughes was at first enthusiastic about the project, but lost interest after a bitter argument with Sturges. Director Max Ophuls was originally slated to direct, but Hughes lost interest in him and hired Mel Ferrer instead. Eventually, Hughes decided to make the film anyway, primarily to introduce his latest protégé, Faith Domergue. The film sat on the shelf for four years before Hughes finally released it through RKO. The story begins in old New Orleans, where hot-blooded Corsican maiden Colomba (Faith Domergue) coerces her brother Orso (George Dolenz) into avenging their father's murder. There follows a series of labyrinthine plot twists, leading to a corpse-strewn denouement. Hillary Brooke co-stars as British gentlewoman Lydia Nevil, with whom Orso has a brief romance before sacrificing love for honor. The screenplay, which was credited to W.R. Burnett after several other writers had a crack at it, was based on Colomba, a novel by Prosper Merimee. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Faith Domergue, Hillary Brooke, (more)
The Asphalt Jungle is a brilliantly conceived and executed anatomy of a crime -- or, as director John Huston and scripter Ben Maddow put it, "a left-handed form of human endeavor." Recently paroled master criminal Erwin "Doc" Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffe), with funding from crooked attorney Emmerich (Louis Calhern), gathers several crooks together in Cincinnati for a Big Caper. Among those involved are Dix (Sterling Hayden), an impoverished hood who sees the upcoming jewel heist as a means to finance his dream of owning a horse farm. Hunch-backed cafe owner (James Whitmore) is hired on to be the driver for the heist; professional safecracker Louis Ciavelli (Anthony Caruso) assembles the tools of his trade; and a bookie (Marc Lawrence) acts as Emmerich's go-between. The robbery is pulled off successfully, but an alert night watchman shoots Ciavelli. Corrupt cop (Barry Kelley), angry that his "patsy" (Lawrence) didn't let him in on the caper, beats the bookie into confessing and fingering the other criminals involved. From this point on, the meticulously planned crime falls apart with the inevitability of a Greek tragedy. Way down on the cast list is Marilyn Monroe in her star-making bit as Emmerich's sexy "niece"; whenever The Asphalt Jungle would be reissued, Monroe would figure prominently in the print ads as one of the stars. The Asphalt Jungle was based on a novel by the prolific W.R. Burnett, who also wrote Little Caesar and Saint Johnson (the fictionalized life story of Wyatt Earp). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, (more)
William Wellman's westerns always seemed a little claustrophobic, but in Yellow Sky the director's technique works to the film's advantage. Outlaw leader Gregory Peck takes refuge in a frontier ghost town. The only inhabitants are elderly James Barton and his pretty granddaughter Anne Baxter. Barton reveals that there's gold hereabouts, prompting a few of Peck's companions--especially Richard Widmark--to plot the old man's demise and claim the treasure for themselves. For his part, Peck is basically honorable, and offers to split fifty-fifty with Barton. Dissension, hostility and gunplay ensue, finally narrowing down to a standoff between Peck and Widmark. Yellow Sky was based on a novel by W.R. Burnett, who moved from westerns to gangster stories and back again with the greatest of ease. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gregory Peck, Anne Baxter, (more)
- 1947
A young woman rides out for vengeance against the marshall who killed her notorious outlaw mother in this western sequel to 1941's Belle Starr. Once in the rough-and-tumble town where he works she learns the surprising truth. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- George Montgomery, Rod Cameron, (more)
- 1946
In this film noir with romantic overtones, con man and cardsharp Nick Blake (John Garfield) returns home after serving in WWII to discover that a rival syndicate now controls New York's gambling rackets -- and that his girlfriend Toni (Faye Emerson) has run off with his money. Looking for a fresh start, Nick heads for California, where he becomes reacquainted with Pop Grueber (Walter Brennan), who gave him his start in the underworld. Pop and his boss Doc Ganson (George Coulouris) tip Nick off to a scam they've brainstormed to separate young widow Gladys Halvorsen (Geraldine Fitzgerald) from her recently inherited fortune. Nick's job is to sweet talk Gladys out of her money and then make tracks, but he finds himself falling in love with her and wants out of the deal. Meanwhile, Toni comes back into the picture and tries to convince Doc that Nick is trying to cheat him, leading to a kidnapping. Incidentally, John Garfield won the leading role in Nobody Lives Forever after Humphrey Bogart turned it down. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Garfield, Geraldine Fitzgerald, (more)
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