Rory Calhoun Movies
Handsome leading man Rory Calhoun's successful film and television career spanned well over 50 years. In the mid-1940s,after a difficult childhood and adolescence, Calhoun found work as a lumberjack in Santa Cruz, California. It was while there employed that Calhoun was discovered by actor Alan Ladd, who suggested that the rugged young man give movies a try. Billed as "Frank McCown," Calhoun was signed to a brief contract at 20th Century-Fox, but most of his earliest movie scenes (including a sizeable supporting role in the Laurel and Hardy vehicle The Bullfighters) ended up on the cutting room floor. Free-lancing in the late 1940s, Calhoun first attracted a fan-following with his supporting role as a high-school lothario in 1948's The Red House. He returned to Fox in 1950, enjoying major roles in such films as How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) and River of No Return (1955). Established as a western player by the late 1950s, Calhoun starred on the popular TV western The Texan from 1958 through 1960. He spent his spare time writing, publishing at least one novel, The Man From Padeira. From 1949 through 1970, Calhoun was married to actress Lita Baron. Perpetuating his career into the 1980s and '90s, a more weather-beaten Rory Calhoun was seen in the lead of the satirical horror film Motel Hell (1980), was quite funny as a washed-up macho movie star in Avenging Angel (1985), and stole the show from ostensible leading-man George Strait in Pure Country (1992). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1990
In this sci-fi adventure, beautiful women don in-line skates to thwart the plans of a malicious mutant. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Veteran Hollywood screenwriter Clyde Ware handled the directing chores in Bad Jim. The film is worth noting as the cinematic debut of John Clark Gable, the son of guess who. Gable, James Brolin, and Richard Roundtree play three soft-hearted bandits who purchase a horse from Billy the Kid. They use the easily recognizable steed to convince their victims that they are members of Billy's gang-thus eliminating the nasty necessity of gunplay. One of the gang members breaks away from the others, taking the horse with him, and pretty soon he's every bit as mean and dangerous as the real Billy. The film's pace may be a bit too measured for some tastes, but the characters are believable and the story has its own peculiar logic. Bad Jim is slightly reminiscent of John Ford's Three Godfathers; both films, in fact, feature Harry Carey Jr. is a supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Brolin, Richard Roundtree, (more)
- 1985
Betsy Russell takes over as part-time prostitute Molly Stewart in this disappointing sequel to the surprisingly good Angel (1984). Old pals Rory Calhoun and Susan Tyrrell are along for the search for the killer of the cop who saved Molly's life in the first film, joined by street magician Johnny Glitter (Barry Pearl). More brutal and hard-edged than the original, this installment is just another violent action movie, despite some slick camerawork and a fast pace. One peculiar touch is the frequent use of Bronski Beat's savage dance hit "Why?" which, although it has appropriately exciting music, it concerns gay-bashing and has no relation whatsoever to the storyline. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betsy Russell, Rory Calhoun, (more)
- 1985
Half-Nelson was a very brief TV cop series which made its bow on March 24, 1985, with a two-hour "special". Joe Pesci, sporting lots and lots of hair, stars as ex-Manhattan cop Rocky Nelson, nicknamed "Half" Nelson because he stands well under six feet. Nelson is now a Beverly Hills security guard who dreams of launching an acting career. Guest star Morgan Brittany shows up just long enough to die along with an old buddy of Nelson's. The official police verdict is suicide, but Nelson suspects foul play. Also showing up in cameo roles are Dean Martin, John Matuszak, Larry Holmes and Jerry Reuss. The Half-Nelson pilot was telecast on a Sunday; the subsequent series settled into a Friday night slot (but not for long). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
The original "honor student by day, hooker by night" melodrama, Angel stars Donna Wilkes in the title role. During the daylight hours, the 15-year-old Angel is known as Molly, a model prep school student. Devoid of parents, Molly must find some way to keep up the cash flow, so she hits the Hollywood mean streets as a prostitute. While we thankfully don't see Angel "in action", as it were, the film makes up in violence what it lacks in raw sex. Psycho John Diehl is on the loose murdering prostitutes; detective Cliff Gorman tries to stem the murder spree, but soon the hooker ranks are sorely diminished, leaving Angel the next likely target. With the help of such friends as ex-cowboy star Rory Calhoun and transvestite Dick Shawn, Angel manages to avoid becoming a statistic. We're not giving anything away here: after all, there was a 1986 sequel, Avenging Angel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cliff Gorman, Susan Tyrrell, (more)
- 1979
The Rebels was the second "Operation Prime Time" miniseries to be based on author John Jakes' Kent Family Chronicles (the first was The Bastard). The saga of Philip Kent (Andrew Stevens), illegitimate son of a British blueblood, picks up with Kent fighting in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Part One of this two-part endeavor busies itself with setting up characters, places and events; Part Two finds Kent and his pal Judson Fletcher (Don Johnson) teaming up to prevent the assassination of General George Washington (Peter Graves). The enormous all-star cast includes Richard Basehart, Doug McClure, Joan Blondell, Tom Bosley, Macdonald Carey, Robert Vaughan, William Daniels and Nehemiah Persoff; William Conrad does off-screen duty as narrator. The Rebels was syndicated to local TV stations beginning the week of May 14, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Flatbed Annie is played by Annie Potts; her sidekick Sweetiepie, aka Ginny La Rosa, is played by Kim Darby. Annie is a hard-bitten veteran, Sweetiepie a starry-eyed novice. Harry Dean Stanton co-stars as a mean, nasty, awful bad guy who wants to repossess the girls' truck. The plot is further complicated by a gang of hijackers. Fred Willard plays Sweetiepie's hubby, while Arthur Godfrey, of all people, is the lovable Special Guest Star. And they hoped that this thing would graduate into a weekly TV series, did they? Flatbed Annie & Sweetiepie: Lady Truckers was first telecast February 10, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Though not readily apparent, Flight to Holocaust is the feature-length pilot film for a potential TV series. Crashing into the side of a high-rise building, an airplane is precariously wedged in the structure's 20th floor. Dispatched to rescue the survivors are a team of acrobatic troubleshooters, played by female circus performer Fawne Harriman and combat veterans Chris Mitchum, Patrick Wayne, Desi Arnaz Jr. and Paul Williams. As can be gathered by a perusal of the cast list, the film's gimmick was the presence of three second-generation Hollywood stars. After the initial telecast of Flight to Holocaust on March 27, 1977, NBC invited viewers to mail in their opinions of the film. Evidently the verdict was unanimous, since no weekly series resulted. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
In this thrilling war drama set during WW II, a pair of courageous commandos endeavor to kidnap an important German general. The film is also known as American Cross Eagles. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1969
This internationally produced war flick represents actor Richard Conte's only directorial effort. Conte casts himself as the leader of a band of Yugoslav partisans. He links up with American officer Rory Calhoun, ostensibly for the purpose of setting up an exchange of prisoners. When it becomes obvious that there's a traitor among the partisans, Conte is forced to reveal Calhoun the true purpose of his mission. American Cross Eagles was also released as Operation Cross Eagles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
Frank Dayton (Leslie Nielsen) leads a group of crooks in a caper to steal one and a half million dollars from an Air Force base. Dayton is the tough-guy military leader who recruits Mike (Rory Calhoun), ex-Nazi Max (Hans Gudegast), sadistic killer Barney Barry (Barry Sadler), and failed French artist Claude (Pat Renella) in the scheme. Singer Laine Kazan plays the romantic interest for Dayton as the nightclub songbird Leda. Sadler, who's "Ballad Of The Green Berets" was a pro-war, right-wing anthem, would later serve time for murder in real life in an ironic twist on his cinematic character in the film. Nielsen, always the consummate professional, would gain a large following as a comedic actor in such films as Airplane and The Naked Gun. Ironically, his character name in the latter series of films was Frank Drayton. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Leslie Nielsen, (more)
- 1967
Rory Calhoun is the one box-office name in the forgotten actioner Emerald of Artama. The titular emerald carries a curse. No, Shecky, the curse isn't Mrs. Artama. Whosoever comes into possession of the emerald dies a horrible death. Rugged adventurer Calhoun doesn't believe this at first, but he will, he will. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
In this elaborate spoof of "The Most Dangerous Game", Rory Calhoun guest stars as celebrated big game hunter Jonathan Kincaid. Bored with merely tracking down animals, Kincaid has arrived on the island in hopes of bagging the "biggest game" of all--specifically, he wants to add a human being to his trophy room. Naturally, Gilligan is chosen as Kincaid's quarry: If he can remain alive for 24 hours, he and the rest of the Castaways will be rescued and taken home. . .but if he doesn't, Gilligan will very likely be stuffed and mounted along with the rest of Kincaid's victims! Harold Sakata, best known as "Oddjob" in the James Bond flick Goldfinger, appears as Kincaid's brutish assistant Ramoo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Harold Sakata, (more)
- 1967
An espionage saga as a secret agent tries to infiltrate a spy ring in the Middle East, this one holds no real surprises. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Jim Walker Rory Calhoun is a hero who fights Indians and crooks who plan a series of stagecoach robberies in this routine western. He defends the honor of a woman (Corinne Calvet) wrongly accused of having a bad reputation. Johnny Mack Brown plays the local Sheriff Ben Hall, with Lon Chaney, Jr. as the friendly stagecoach driver Charlie Russell. Watch for DeForest Kelley in a pre-Star Trek role as a crazed gunman. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Corinne Calvet, (more)
- 1966
In this political satire, a bearded Marxist takes over a Caribbean island, and the rest of the democratic world wants him ousted. To do this, they assign the owner of a razor company to lead a covert operation. He enlists the aide of a sexy stripper. Their mission is to shave the leader's beard so that he will no longer be identifiable as a Marxist. The woman dances her way into the leader's boudoir, but soon discovers that his beard is false and the new leader is really the old one in disguise. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1965
In this western, a world-weary bounty hunter begins working for an avaricious crook who wants to destroy the good name of a little town so that the railroad will be built across his land. To enact his plan he brings a notorious gambler to town. He also establishes a brothel in the saloon. The sheriff and the good townspeople protest, but the villain takes care of him. This angers the bounty hunter, who has come to like the lawman and he turns against his boss. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Linda Darnell, (more)
- 1965
The Yankees and the Rebels must stop fighting over a stolen gold shipment and join forces to save a New Mexico fort from a major Indian attack in this western. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, James Philbrook, (more)
- 1965
In this western, a gunslinger runs from the Dawson gang and decides to return home to the wife he abandoned many years before. There he finds that his infant son has grown into a thuggish hellion who has been lead to believe that his mother is dead. He also hates the father who left him. The mother isn't dead. She works as a saloon keeper, but her son doesn't recognize her. The father and son end up staging a showdown, and the father quickly outdraws his son. Later, the Dawsons catch up to the gunfighter. His son plans to do nothing to save him, but then he learns that his father left because his mother had cheated upon him. The son changes his mind and rides out to save his dad. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Virginia Mayo, (more)
- 1964
Adam Cartwright is rescued from drowning by Tom Wilson (Rory Calhoun), a man as lucky at cards as he is at love. Though grateful to Tom, Adam looks askance when Tom moves in on Matilda (Barbara Wilkin), the girlfriend of a man named Jerry (Tom Skerritt). When Tom is accused of killing Matilda's father, Adam tries to prove his innocence-a task that proves deceptively easy when Sue makes an all-too-convenient confession. Written by Jerry Adelman, "Thanks For Everything, Friend" originally aired on October 11, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, (more)
- 1963
Allied Artists' Gun Hawk puts Rory Calhoun through his usual paces as an aging gunman. Calhoun has pretty much retired from shoot outs, and now runs a small town populated by outlaws. He befriends hotheaded fast gun Rod Lauren, who behaves as impulsively as Calhoun had in his earlier days. When the outlaws turn on Calhoun and shoot him down, the mortally wounded gunslinger tries to goad Lauren into a fight so that he can die with a modicum of dignity. Producer Richard Bernstein co-wrote the screenplay of Gun Hawk from his own story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Rod Cameron, (more)
- 1963
In this melodrama, set in German-occupied Italy during WW II, a Yankee spy is concealed in the attic of an underground contact's house. The contact's wife does not want him there as she is having an affair with the German Officer who is looking for him. He remains in the attic, hidden by the woman's son. Trouble ensues when the American is seen by the woman and her lover. He must escape across the slippery rain-soaked tile roof tops. The German troops are in hot pursuit. They are also after the woman who stands accused of sheltering the spy. Her lover, the German officer, realizing that he could lose it all for consorting with a local, shoots and kills the woman. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Marina Berti, (more)
- 1963
In this Korean War drama, three POWs escape the North Koreans and try to make it safely across enemy lines. During their flight, the soldiers encounter a young boy and his German Shepherd. The boy hates the communists because they killed his parents for sheltering American soldiers, and he offers to help the Americans escape. The journey is arduous and one of the soldiers dies. The fugitives are then joined by a victim of brainwashing. Finally they find the rescue helicopter, but the two original soldiers refuse to board until they can ensure the safety of the brave boy. They decide to take him to America, even though it means they may be court-martialed. One of the men becomes the lad's step-father. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, William Bendix, (more)
