Robert Wright Campbell Movies

Captain Nemo and the Underwater City thrusts several "name" actors into the specialized world of Jules Verne. Six 19th-century shipwreck victims are rescued by a modernistic submarine. The skipper is Captain Nemo (Robert Ryan), who had not died at the end of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as viewers had been led to believe. Instead, he has installed a fantastic underwater city, using this subterranean metropolis as a base of operations for his war against mankind. The ambitions of the screenwriters and director are defeated by the tackiness of the film's model and miniature work. Captain Nemo and the Underwater City represented MGM's first Jules Verne epic since its 1929 spectacular Mysterious Island. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though based on two Edgar Allen Poe stories, Masque of the Red Death relies more upon its mood and atmosphere than its story values for its success. During a devastating 12th-century plague called "The Red Death," the decadent, devil-worshipping Prince Prospero (Vincent Price) holds court over a bizarre masked ball. Already established as a sadistic torturer, Prospero insists that his "guests" indulge in numerous depraved games, most of them ending with someone's death. Only two innocents are permitted to escape intact, but they go through the torments of the Damned to do so. Hazel Court is on hand as a Satanist who brands her breast for Price's bored amusement, while Patrick Magee is horribly burned to death by "Hop Frog" (Skip Martin), Price's demonic flunkey. The literally diabolical performance of Vincent Price is superbly complemented throughout by the crimson-dominated cinematography of Nicholas Roeg. Unlike many of Roger Corman's economical Price/Poe projects, The Masque of the Red Death boasts a generous budget, which the canny filmmaker exploits to the utmost. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A young Francis Coppola was given the job of directing this moody low-budget chiller after begging producer Roger Corman for the opportunity to reuse the sets for another film which Corman was shooting in Ireland. The story centers on the dysfunctional Haloran family, who live in a state of perpetual sorrow in a spooky Irish castle. Still mourning the death of her young daughter Kathleen -- who drowned in the lake seven years ago -- Lady Haloran (Ethne Dunn) tortures herself regularly by visiting the girl's grave (when she's not shrieking and collapsing in anguish every five minutes). When daughter-in-law Louise Haloran (Luana Anders) loses her husband to a heart attack, she manages to conceal the body for fear of being cut out of Lady Haloran's will. To further complicate matters, a mysterious interloper begins prowling the grounds with an axe to grind... a very big axe. This enjoyable, quirky psycho-thriller is enlivened by Coppola's inventive camera setups, atmospheric locations and Patrick Magee's over-the-top performance as the leering family doctor. Despite some ragged editing (probably not Coppola's doing), this has relatively high production values for a spare-change Corman project. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

This uneven, wartime drama delves into the complexities of the political situation in Northern Ireland, compounded in World War II when the IRA collaborated with the Nazis against England, their long-time foe. Robert Mitchum stars as the heroic Dermot O'Neill, willing to join the IRA yet unhappy with their ties to fascist Germany. His interaction with the local IRA unit is intense and occurs at the same time as his love affair with Neeve Donnelly (Anne Heywood). His buddy Sean Reilly (Richard Harris) is also around to lend moral support when a situation calls for it. Between Dermot and his relationships and family clan, and the political intrigues, things can get a little crowded at times. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Filmed under the title Prehistoric World, Teenage Caveman stars future Man From UNCLE Robert Vaughn as the eponymous hero, known only as The Boy. A member of a primitive tribe living in a desolate valley, The Boy has been warned never to journey into the Forbidden Area, lest disaster or death befall him. But after participating in a bear hunt, The Boy and his spear-carrying fellow tribesmen head into the Forbidden Area in search of fresh game. One by one, the intrepid hunters are killed off by quicksand, stock-footage dinosaurs and other such impediments to progress. Exiled by his tribe for venturing into the Forbidden Area, The Boy is compelled to live for a time in an isolated cave, where he is comforted by the Maiden (Darrah Marshall), who has fallen in love with him. Later on, the Boy once more risks life and limb by entering the Forbidden Area. It is at this point that he is told the horrible truth of the Valley's history by a very old man who is dressed in what looks like a 20th-century radiation suit. Without revealing the "surprise" denoument (surprising only to those who've never seen a post-apocalyptic movie), it can be noted that Teenage Cavemen comes to a close with the words "The Beginning." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having inherited a huge cattle ranch from his late father, Will Keough (Fred MacMurray) wants nothing more than to tend to his work and live in peace, but this is made impossible by the tense situation in his own household. Will's two younger brothers, Bless (Jeffrey Hunter) and Hade (Dean Stockwell), are as different as night and day: Convinced that he was responsible for the death of his father, Bless refuses to use a gun, and is thus branded a coward; conversely, Hade is wild and reckless, literally an accident waiting to happen. Exacerbating the situation is the brothers' grim and merciless mother (Josephine Hutchinson), who has instilled most of Bless' guilt feelings, and Will's sweetheart Aud Niven (Janice Rule), who finds herself drawn to the sensitive Bless. Ultimately, there will have to be a showdown...but who among the Keogh siblings will survive? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Five convicted outlaws, sentenced to hang, are recruited by a Confederate Army officer on what could easily be a suicide mission -- they're each given a full pardon in exchange for a quick ride through hostile Indian territory to Dawn Springs, Kansas, where their job is to stop a stagecoach coming in from California. The coach is carrying Stephen Jethro, the head of intelligence for the Confederacy in California, who has sold out to the Union, and $30,000 in gold that Jethro was to use for espionage work on behalf of the south -- their job is to bring Jethro in alive if possible, but to stop him from reaching Union territory, and to bring the gold back to the Confederacy. But the temptation of that gold weighs on all of these men -- Hale Clinton (Touch Connors) and Govern Sturgess (John Lund) seem destined to fight it out to the death -- and the presence of Dorothy Malone at the Dawn Springs relief station doesn't help matters. Before it's over, there will be multiple double-crosses, one important partial redemption, and an ever growing list of casualties. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide