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
- 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)
One of the most memorable sports dramas because of its strong character development, Requiem for a Heavyweight is carried by Anthony Quinn as the washed-up boxer Mountain Rivera, and Jackie Gleason as his sleazy manager, Maish Rennick. In the opening scenes, Cassius Clay -- before he became Muhammad Ali -- knocks out Rivera in a stunning fight sequence. Rivera's career is over, and although his trainer Army (Mickey Rooney) and a social worker (Julie Harris) encourage him with vain hopes for an alternate career, the boxer's courage is stronger than his addled senses, a serious barrier to getting any job. Then Rivera's manager Rennick breaks down and tells him he has lost a gambling bet against the fighter and needs him to bail him out -- by becoming a wrestler. The question is, will Rivera take this humiliating path just to save his unethical manager, or will he stick to his scruples and reject the idea? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, (more)
- 1962
In this epic, a medieval adventurer heads to China and winds up saving the Grand Khan's daughter from bandits. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Yoko Tani, (more)
- 1961
In this adventure, a variation of the classic Dumas story, a band of 19th-century treasure seekers put together a map and go off to the Italian coast to find a fabulous treasure. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Sergio Leone's first solo directorial effort was this colorful sword-and-sandal epic set in ancient Greece. Rory Calhoun stars as Dario, a captain in the Greek army who must travel to the island of Rhodes to destroy the huge bronze statue of Colossus, which hurls molten lead at its attackers. Dario also battles for his life in the arena and saves victims from a torture chamber before the climactic earthquake which brings the Colossus down. Many of the supporting players in this Italian-French-Spanish co-production went on to become regulars in the exploitation films of Jesus Franco. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Lea Massari, (more)
- 1961
In this romantic adventure set in Italy around 1815, a courageous soldier endeavors to find a hidden treasure on the island of Monte Cristo. He then escorts the daughter of a murdered explorer on a quest to find the map they need to locate the loot. The daughter doesn't trust the soldier, but after he kills a few of their foes, she changes her mind. Finally, after many adventures, they find the valuable chest, but upon opening it, they find it to be filled with nothing but chains and ropes as the real treasure was aboard a different ship. Somehow the two seekers are not too disappointed as along the way, they have fallen in love. The film is also titled Treasure of Monte Cristo. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Patricia Bredin, (more)
- 1960
Hard Drivin' is a lively precursor to all those "on the road" flicks of the 1970s. Rory Calhoun, John Gentry and Alan Hale Jr. star as three hellraising Southern stock car drivers. The racing scenes themselves are well photographed, with the stars apparently doing a lot of their own stunts. These sequences are intercut with footage from the real-life Southern 500 competition. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Alan Hale, Jr., (more)
- 1958
Saga of Hemp Brown gets under way when the title character (Rory Calhoun) is court-martialed and booted from the Cavalry. Brown is accused of permitting his men to walk into a deadly ambush; he knows he's innocent, and he spends the rest of the picture tracking down the real culprit. Joining a travelling medicine show, Brown falls in love with pretty snake-oil peddler Mona Langley (Beverly Garland). She is instrumental in helping Brown corner the mastermind behind the ambush (whose identity must remain secret in this paragraph). As a western, Saga of Hemp Brown is more of the same; the film's greatest strength is the unstressed rapport between stars Rory Calhoun and Beverly Garland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Beverly Garland, (more)
- 1958
A wandering cowboy endeavors to save a wagon train from an Apache attack in this western that is based upon a Louis L'Amour novel. The settlers are frightened and flee. They all end up dead, but for one little girl, whom the cowboy saves. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Barbara Bates, (more)
- 1957
Rory Calhoun is the star of this minor oater, playing a roving gunman for hire. His latest mission is to track down a murderer and bring the killer back dead or alive. Calhoun's quarry turns out to be the alluring Anne Francis, who insists she didn't murder her husband as charged. After the usual "drop that gun and come peaceably" prelims, Francis persuades Calhoun to go after the man she claims is the real culprit. Independently produced, The Hired Gun was released by Columbia Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Anne Francis, (more)
- 1957
Rory Calhoun is Utah Blaine in this pinch-penny Sam Katzman-produced western. Adapted from a novel by Louis L'Amour, the story concerns the efforts of gunslinger Blaine to save a group of ranchers from an outlaw gang. When one the ranchers is killed, Utah finds himself half-owner of a valuable spread, placing him directly in the line of fire along with his attractive "business partner" Angie Kinyon (Susan Cummings). Ray Teal is all snarls as the outlaw leader, while former boxer Max Baer Sr. does a brief turn as a slow-witted hooligan. Like most Sam Katzman efforts, Utah Blaine turned a tidy profit for Katzman's home base of Columbia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Cummings, Angela Stevens, (more)
- 1957
In this revisionist western, Captain George (Lloyd Bridges) is a cavalry officer of dubious principles who is given the assignment of escorting a tribe of Cheyenne Indians from the land of their birth to a government reservation. However, as the Cheyenne are en route to their new home, gold is discovered on the land, and suddenly a call goes up to relocate the Indians somewhere else. Tate (Rory Calhoun) is a cavalry scout with a conscience who is determined to see that the Cheyenne are treated fairly, protected from ruthless prospectors as well as hateful lawmen. Gloria Grahame and Vince Edwards highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Gloria Grahame, (more)
