Sydney Chaplin Movies

London, 1914. Calvero (Charles Chaplin), a once-great music hall comedian, weaves drunkenly home to his shabby flat. As he arrives home, he is suddenly sobered by a bad smell. It isn't his shoes, as he originally assumes, but the smell of gas, emanating from behind a locked door. Calvero smashes his way in, finding the unconscious Terry (Claire Bloom). Carrying the girl to his attic apartment, Calvero revives Terry, then asks why she is so determined to kill herself. The girl explains that she has always dreamed of becoming a great dancer, but her legs are paralyzed. Calvero vows to raise enough money to help the girl. He goes back on stage, where his old-fashioned act is greeted with a riot of silence. Now it is Terry's turn to encourage Calvero to go on living-and in so doing, she regains the use of her legs. Hired by the Empire theatre corps de ballet, Terry arranges for the management to hire Calvero as a supernumerary. Impresario Postant (Nigel Bruce), not recognizing the famous Calvero in clown makeup, fires him. Only after Terry pleads with Postant to give Calvero another chance does the producer relent, securing a comeback appearance for the ageing comedian and his old partner (Buster Keaton). Calvero's antics bring down the house, just like the old days, but the effort is too much for the old fellow, and he collapses backstage. As Calvero dies, he proudly watches his protegee Terry carry on the "show must go on tradition" by dancing for the crowd. Thanks to the political climate of the time, Limelight was denied a wide distribution; in fact, it didn't play Los Angeles until 1972, twenty years after its completion. At that time, Chaplin's theme music, which had gained popularity on the "hit parade," was honored with an Academy Award. While the film has moments of unmatched hilarity (especially during the fabled Chaplin-Keaton teaming towards the end), the elegiac tone of Limelight was best summed up by critic Andrew Sarris: "To imagine one's own death, one must imagine the death of the world, that world which has always dangled so helplessly from the tips of Chaplin's eloquent fingers." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Four Girls in Town is essentially an excuse by Universal-International to test out several of their newer contractees. The plot is motivated by a worldwide movie talent hunt, which naturally arouses the attentions of a bevy of pretty young aspiring actresses. The four girls of the title are Kathy Sonway (Julie Adams, who'd been appearing in films since 1950), Ina Schiller (Germany's Marianne Cook, nee Koch), Maria Antonelli (Italy's Elsa Martinelli) and Vicki Dauray (Gia Scala, also from Italy but herein portraying a Frenchwoman). Conducting the screen tests is budding director Mike Snowden (George Nader), who predictably falls in love with one of the hopefuls. Some laughs are had at the expense of Universal's rival 20th Century-Fox in the person of Helene Stanton, cast as a Marilyn Monroe clone named "Rita Holloway". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Pillars of the Sky is the lyrical title bestowed upon this cinemadaptation of Will Henry's novel Frontier Fury. Jeff Chandler stars as Sgt. Emmett Bell, whose job it is to put down an Indian uprising. Since converting to Christanity, the local tribe has done its best to keep the peace. But Chief Kamiakan (Michael Ansara), understandably angered over an impending government plan to build a road through his territory, intends to break that peace, despite the strenuously pacifistic efforts of missionary Joseph Holden (Ward Bond). A subplot involves a romantic triangle between Bell, Calla Gaxton (Dorothy Malone), and Calla's husband Tom (Keith Andes), Bell's superior officer. Magnificently photographed in Technicolor, Pillars of the Sky is a better-than-average Universal oater. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fred MacMurray plays the head of an outlaw band trying to escape across the Mexican border. The gang is able to elude the law and to navigate the rough terrain, but the flight comes to a halt in an all-but-deserted desert town. Here MacMurray and company are forced to stave off an Indian attack, during which several of the bandits prove to be less venal than they seem. The buildup to the attack seems to take forever, indicating that the producers may have had High Noon and Gunfight at the OK Corrall. It's likely that Fred MacMurray would have ground out budget westerns for the remainder of his career had not Walt Disney and My Three Sons come along. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The fourth of Oscar-winning short-subject director Youngson's comedy compilations (the earlier ones were Golden Age of Comedy, When Comedy was King, and Days of Thrills and Laughter) is, amazingly, almost as full and fresh as those earlier efforts, containing highlights from such silent comedy classics as Chaplin's Floorwalker, Easy Street, Pawnshop and, best of all, Rink; Buster Keaton's Balloonatic and Daydreams; Harry Langdon's Smile Please, and the prototypical Laurel and Hardy team-up, Lucky Dog. Youngson's choice of material is unquestionably fine, and equally satisfying is the quality of the film clips, courtesy of archivist Paul Guffanti. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Charles Chaplin wrote, directed, and scored this old-fashioned romantic comedy, which proved to be his last film. Wealthy American diplomat Ogden Mears (Marlon Brando) is sailing from Hong Kong to Hawaii, where he hopes to meet and reconcile with his estranged wife Martha (Tippi Hedren). However, while the ship takes on passengers in Hong Kong, a stowaway slips into Mears' suite. Natascha (Sophia Loren) is a White Russian countess who was forced to flee the country following the revolution and ended up in Hong Kong, where she earns a meager living as a dime-a-dance girl in a sleazy ballroom. When Mears discovers that Natascha is an uninvited guest in his quarters, she begs him to help her emigrate to the United States; when he refuses, Natascha tries a new tack, threatening to tell Martha that they've been sharing a stateroom if he doesn't cooperate. Mears grudgingly allows Natascha to stay with him and keep her secret until he can figure out a clever way to get rid of her. Margaret Rutherford has a showy supporting role as an eccentric passenger, and Chaplin gives himself a silent cameo as a bumbling porter (no fewer than four of his children also appear). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Ho (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is a racecar driver who is sponsored by a colorful gangster. When his friend is involved in an accident that leads to his death, Ho leaves the world of auto racing behind. He joins the mob and becomes a getaway driver for thugs who pull off bank robberies. When the mob boss dies, Ho muscles in and tries to take over the gang. Kidnapping a journalist to cover the story firsthand, he has an affair with a famous model. The police are soon on the trail of the aspiring crime boss as a shootout leaves the beautiful model dead. Ho sees the end of his criminal dreams coming to an end as the authorities and newspaper photographers converge to chronicle his capture. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Roger Santet (Alain Delon) is a convicted murderer sprung from prison by the Sicilian clan headed by the aging Vittorio Manalese (Jean Gabin). They conspire to steal a large cache of jewels from an exhibit in Rome. As they are preparing for the heist, the mobster's American friend Tony Nicosia (Amedeo Nazzarri) suggests that a better way to get the rocks would be to hijack the transport plane while it is en route to New York. The dogged inspector Le Goff (Lino Ventura) is using all the available resources to thwart their plans. Though the heist itself is successful, Santet finds himself trapped by the mob because of his fling with Manalese's daughter-in-law (Irina Demick). ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide

This psychological drama finds Helen (Margaret Lee) wanting a divorce from her adoring husband John (Klaus Kinski). She leaves him and is killed in an auto wreck. John finds himself the target of a police investigation to determine if the death was an accident, murder or suicide. His wife had owned 90% interest in a British auto company and John is the main suspect should foul play be evident. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this whimsical French comedy, Cookie (Sheila White) is a tough, sweet little rich girl, and is rather smart, too. She's smart enough and charming enough to outwit her kidnappers by setting one against the other until they have all killed each other or died trying to prove their worth to her. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this French crime/action thriller, set in New York City, the young French waiter who stumbles on a killing at his restaurant could not be considered lucky, by any means. He decides to leave New York and return to France to avoid pursuit by the mobster who committed the murder. Unfortunately, he has left too powerful a memento with his American mistress for her to forget that she loves him, for she is pregnant. Even though she marries another, this only adds another person to the list of people searching for him: police, mobster, mistress, mistress's husband. Things look even worse for him when the mobster and the police join forces. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The only noteworthy element of this otherwise undistinguished low-budget suspense flick is the presence of director Reginald LeBorg, who helmed numerous Joe Palooka comedies and several horror projects (including the excellent Vincent Price thriller Diary of a Madman) before taking a career dive into drive-in exploitation fare. As polished as its miniscule budget permits, this lurid psychological thriller involves the plight of a distraught widow (Susan Strasberg), whose fearsome fits of uncontrollable grief land her in the questionable care of her sister (Faith Domergue)... who, fresh out of a sanitarium, is not exactly a pillar of mental stability herself. In no time, the pair skip right through the tearful reunion and go straight to psychological warfare (shades of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?), escalating, of course, to the point of murder. Other than some silly psychedelic depictions of the psycho siblings' increasing delirium, this film lacks the kind of operatic campiness of the suspense melodramas that inspired it. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

In this pilot film for the NBC TV series Medical Story, idealistic young intern Dr. Steve Drucker (Beau Bridges) clashes with three of his superiors over whether a prominent actress should have a hysterectomy. The woman in question is played by Harriet Karr, who had undergone a similar experience in real life. In fact, Karr's ordeal was the inspiration for this film, which was produced and written by her husband, Abby Mann (who also partially adapted the script from an unrelated novel by Dr. Howard A. Oglin). Medical Story first aired on September 4, 1975; the series itself was broadcast weekly until January 8, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide