Charles D. Brown Movies

Lieutenant Harry Grant (William Lundigan) and Sgt. Art Collins (Jeff Corey) have been handed the unenviable assignment of tracking down "The Judge," a mysterious serial murderer responsible for seven deaths over the past few months. The police have plenty of clues and forensic evidence, but no solid leads to who this highly resourceful strangler is. Complicating Grant's work is the presence of Ann Gorman (Dorothy Patrick), an ambitious reporter for a sensationalistic crime magazine, who keeps sticking her nose into this case and into his work. In exasperation over The Judge's latest victim, a newspaper editor named McGill (Frank Ferguson), Grant decides to take a novel approach to catching the killer -- he prepares a life-size blank-faced dummy using all the clues the police have, as to height, weight, physique, preferred way of dressing etc., in order to give his officers a clearer picture of who and what they're looking for. The result is creepy but effective, and soon Grant is getting closer to the killer -- but The Judge is insane, and agitated by all manner of outside stimuli, and he might prove too much even for a police detective to deal with in a direct confrontation. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

This comedy focuses on a nuclear scientist who believes that his dead brother has been reincarnated as a dog. ~ All Movie Guide

This boxing drama focuses on the manager rather than the fighter. The story begins as a corrupt manager fakes the death of his fighter's sparring partner after he refuses to take a dive knowing that it will push him over the edge and destroy his career as he accidently killed a man while boxing in the military. Fortunately, the boxer has a devoted, supportive girlfriend who investigates the "death" and brings the dead partner to ringside at the crucial moment. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Acclaimed playwright George S. Kaufman made his directorial debut with this broad political satire. Senator Melvin G. Ashton (William Powell) is a long-time congressman for whom the phrase "dumb as a log" would be fitting if one were not afraid of insulting the trees. After more than twenty years of representing his clueless constituents, Ashton decides to take a shot at the presidential race, and hires Lew Gibson (Peter Lind Hayes) is his press agent. Party topkick Dinty (Charles D. Brown) considers Ashton an utterly hopeless candidate, especially after he begins making fantastic campaign promises no one could possibly keep, but Ashton turns out to be a bit more shrewd than expected. The senator has kept a detailed journal documenting the many underhanded deals his colleagues have had their hands in over the years; all he has to do is slip the diary to a reporter and most of congress will be run out of town on a rail. This possibility seem all the more urgent when Ashton starts dating Poppy McNaughton (Ella Raines), a journalist. The Senator Was Indiscreet boasts a fine supporting cast, including Ray Collins, Allen Jenkins, Hans Conreid, and a cameo appearance from Myrna Loy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

MGM's "Maisie" series came to an end with this undistinguished entry. Eschewing show business for the time being, perennially stranded showgirl Maisie Revere (Ann Sothern) decides to join the Los Angeles police force. This she does primarily to be near her latest beau, Lt. Paul Scott (Barry Nelson). After an amusingly grueling training session, our heroine goes undercover to infiltrate a gang of confidence tricksters, headed by phony swami Willis Farnes (Leon Ames). When she's found out, Maisie is taken for a one-way ride by the crooks, but Lt. Scott comes to the rescue by following a trail of clues that Maisie has cleverly left behind. More slapsticky than most "Maisie" entries, Undercover Maisie subjects Ann Sothern to an incredible amount of physical abuse, though sharp-eyed viewers will be able to detect that she is extensively doubled by diminutive David Sharpe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The George S. Kaufman-Marc Connelly play Merton of the Movies was previously filmed in 1923 with Glenn Hunter, and in 1932 (as Make Me a Star) with Stu Erwin. This time around, Red Skelton plays Merton, the small-town rube who aspires to become a dramatic actor in silent pictures. Bumbling his way into Hollywood, he lays waste to several movie sets before he finally lands a screen test. When his histrionic efforts are greeted with derisive laughter, Merton slinks away disappointed and disillusioned-only to re-emerge triumphant as moviedom's newest comedy sensation! In one of her few non-musical appearances, deadpan comedienne Virginia O'Brien plays Phyllis "Flips" Montague, the warmhearted Hollywood stunt girl who befriends and eventually falls in love with the hapless Merton. Reportedly, Buster Keaton supplied a few of the film's sight gags, but apparently not enough to permit Merton of the Movies to rise above mediocrity and predictability. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, relationships formed in childhood lead to murder and obsessive love. The wealthy Martha Ivers (Barbara Stanwyck) is the prime mover of the small Pennsylvania town of Iverston. Martha lives in a huge mansion with her DA husband, Walter O'Neil (Kirk Douglas), an alcoholic weakling. No one knows just why Martha and Walter tolerate one another....but Sam Masterson (Van Heflin), an Iverstown boy who returns to town, may just have a clue. At least that's what Martha thinks when Sam asks Walter to intervene in the case of Toni Marachek (Lizabeth Scott), who has been unjustly imprisoned. It seems that, as a young boy, Sam was in the vicinity when Martha's rich aunt (Judith Anderson) met with her untimely demise. What does Sam know? And what dark, horrible secret binds Martha and Walter together? Directed by Lewis Milestone, and based on John Patrick's Oscar-nominated original story, Love Lies Bleeding, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers creates in Martha a unique and interesting, driven, obsessed, and spoiled character, but one not without sympathy. Barbara Stanwyck is outstanding as Martha, with her predatory smile and sharp, manicured nails. Kirk Douglas is surprisingly convincing as a lost, sad, weak man, who loves his wife, but is unable to gain her respect. The Strange Love of Martha Ivers eventually lapsed into public domain and became a ubiquitous presence on cable television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Republic contractee Don Barry plays private eye Tom Dwyer, whose ability to irritate both cops and crooks alike hides his keen deductive skills. Dwyer takes on the case of a missing $300,000, stolen from a bank by three robbers who were subsequently killed in a car accident. Before he can recover the loot, three more murders are committed to cover up the tracks of the person in possession of the money. Two B-picture icons, Adele Mara and Ann Savage, weave in and out of the proceedings. Among the suspects are veterans Tom Powers and Sheldon Leonard and relative newcomer John Dehner. Released at 67 minutes, The Last Crooked Mile was cut by 13 minutes for its earliest TV showings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Elizabeth MacDonald (Claudette Colbert) is a newly married corporate librarian in 1918 Baltimore working for a chemical company owned by the Hamilton family and managed by Larry Hamilton (George Brent). Just as she is celebrating the armistice and anticipating the return of her husband John (Orson Welles), she learns he was killed in action, just days before the cease fire. Pregnant with their child and alone in the world, she is taken in by Larry Hamilton, who has loved her from afar and is driven by sympathy for her plight. She has her baby, a boy named Drew, and she and Larry marry, raising the child as his own and never telling the boy of his real father. Meanwhile, in an Austrian hospital, a horribly wounded and disfigured American officer (Welles) without any identification insists to the doctor treating him (John Wengraf) that he be allowed to die. The doctor saves his life, but the shock of his injuries and the strain of his recovery causes him to lose his memory, and he ends up adopting a new identity. Cut to 1939, and the outbreak of the Second World War in Europe. Drew (Richard Long) is about to graduate from college and wants to join his fraternity brothers, who are planning on going to Canada, signing up with the Royal Canadian Air Force, and heading to England to fly against the Germans. Drew is not yet 21, however, and needs the permission of his parents, but Elizabeth is appalled by the notion of losing Drew to war the same way that she lost John.

Into their family comes a visitor, Erich Kessler (Welles), a crippled, ailing Austrian refugee and chemical expert hired by Hamilton's company, who arrives in Baltimore with his young daughter Margaret (Natalie Wood). Kessler starts to recognize places in the city, including the home where Elizabeth lived, and when they meet, despite her discomfort at having an Austrian army veteran in the house, she does her best to welcome him. Elizabeth also starts to notice little aspects of Kessler that remind her vaguely of John. But much as she is haunted by these strange similarities, she is appalled when Kessler seems to encourage Drew to pursue his goal of fighting the Nazis. Even Kessler's presence in their home, despite his genial and deferential manner, is a vexation to Elizabeth, bringing the horror of the war and what the Nazis represent into their midst and making Drew even more fervent in his desire to join up and fight. When Margaret displays terrible fears and nightmares, it comes out that she isn't really Kessler's child at all, but the daughter of the doctor who saved his life (he and his wife had been executed by the Nazis).

Larry, meanwhile, must watch from the sidelines, not aware of Kessler's real identity and unable to resolve the conflict between his admiration for Drew's intentions and his love for his wife. When Drew decides to ignore his parents' wishes and go to Canada and enlist without their permission, Kessler follows and stops him (despite his own weakened condition), and brings the young man home. A confrontation ensues upon their return, and Kessler explains to her that, whomever she thinks he might have been, the past has passed. Elizabeth finds the strength and courage to face the future, and the coming of the new war and what it may bring. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

William Powell plays a cynical con man who graduates from penny-ante operations to a big-time charity racket. The scam involves collecting money on behalf of St. Dismas, bringing Powell in close contact with several men of the cloth. As the racket rolls on, Powell is touched by the sincerity of the religious men and the plights of the charity's rightful recipients. He has a change of heart, confessing his original criminal intentions but seeing to it that the money goes to the right people. Hoodlum Saint was typical of the facile religiosity often found in MGM pictures of the period. The film is best remembered as the first non-aquatic performance of MGM swimming star Esther Williams. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The oft-used title The Man Who Dared was applied to an oft-filmed movie plotline in 1946. George Macready, in a respite from his usual villainous roles, plays a crusading newspaperman who questions the efficacy of "circumstantial evidence." He wants to prove that it's quite possible to railroad an innocent man to the death house, thus force the courts to reassess their procedures. To do this, he allows himself to be arrested as the prime suspect in a murder case--a bold move which backfires on the well-meaning Macready. The Man Who Dared was an impressive first solo effort for director John Sturges (The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, Ice Station Zebra et. al.) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this adventure, a young woman travels across Europe in search of her brother who was listed as missing in action during WW II. He had earlier told her that should he ever disappear, he could be found on a certain tiny island. She and her brother's girl friend head off and meet a strange old man. Though his boat is 300 miles from the nearest sea, she asks him to take her to this strange "dream" island. Suddenly a violent storm comes up and the land is flooded. The little boat is flushed out to sea. The hapless drifters end up saved by the Coast Guard who returns them to the brother who has at long last returned. Songs include: "Give Me the Simple Life," "I Wish I Could Tell You," "Into the Sun" (Harry Ruby, Rube Bloom), and "Who Knows?" (Don Raye, Gene De Paul). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide