Eugene Frenke Movies
Historical accuracy is cast aside in the film version of Peter Shaffer's play. Fueled by promises of gold, Pizarro (Robert Shaw) and his explorers make a third trip across the treacherous Andes Mountains to Peru. There they meet King Atahuallpa (Christopher Plummer), considered to be a god by his faithful followers. The two leaders overcome their initial mistrust and suspicion, garnering admiration for each other. When the King is sentenced to die, Pizarro tries unsuccessfully to prevent the monarch's death at the hands of gold-hungry explorers. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Shaw, Christopher Plummer, (more)
- 1962
In this war drama set during the Korean War, a grizzled GI must undertake a potentially suicidal mission. He decides not to waste his best soldiers and instead chooses from amongst his very worst. He then attempts to train them. His methods are harsh, and his men hate him. Secretly, they conspire to kill him and go AWOL as soon as possible. However, as soon as they cross enemy lines, they meet an injured American nun and her schoolgirls at the place they must blow up. Their hated, but experienced leader manages to help them all out of a potentially horrific situation thereby winning the respect of both the men and the young girls. The men become loyal to him. Only one remains rebellious. He attempts to rape one of the girls. Because the nun's injured leg grows worse, he allows the girls to take her to safety. He and his men then go on to succeed in their endeavors and they all become heroes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Webber, Anna Sten, (more)
- 1961
Scripted by Dalton Trumbo and directed by Robert Aldrich, this off-beat, almost eclectic film could be hailed as a thinking person's western. It is the dark cat-and-mouse tale of a sherrif's hunt for a philosophy-spouting criminal in the midst of a great cattle drive. The outlaw killed the sherrif's brother-in-law. During his flight, the outlaw pauses long enough to drop by the ranch where his former lover lives with her husband and 16-year-old daughter. While there, the rancher hires him to lead a cattle drive to Texas. The sheriff soon catches up, but he decides to help the killer with the drive before bringing him in. Along the way, the two men gain a grudging respect for one another. Also the sheriff begins to fall in love with the rancher's wife, while the crook finds himself drawn to her lovely daughter. The rancher ends up killed during the trip and this allows the romances to bloom until the widow tells the outlaw an awful secret about the young woman he loves. Grecian-style tragedy ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rock Hudson, Kirk Douglas, (more)
- 1958
John Wayne's only collaboration with director John Huston turned out to be a major career misstep for both men. Barbarian and the Geisha is the true story of Townsend Harris (Wayne), who in 1856 was appointed the first American consul to Japan. Headquartered in Shimoda, Harris discovers that the Japanese thoroughly mistrust the Americans (and, as it turned out, not without reason). It's an uphill climb, but Harris gradually earns the respect of the local power brokers-and in so doing, is permitted to enter the city of Tokyo. Geisha girl Eiko Ando, originally sent to thwart Harris' mission, falls in love with him and protects him from harm. Though running only 104 minutes, the film seems to drag on for eons. Filmed on location, The Barbarian and the Geisha is consistently good to look at, but the discomfort of both star Wayne and director Huston is painfully obvious in every frame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Eiko Ando, (more)
A two-person character study directed by John Huston, Heaven Knows Mr. Allison stars Robert Mitchum as a World War II Marine sergeant and Deborah Kerr as a Roman Catholic nun. Both nun and sergeant are marooned on a South Pacific island, hemmed in by surrounding Japanese troops. Mitchum does his best to make the nun's ordeal less painful, but is torn by his growing love for her. Kerr is equally fond of Mitchum, but refuses to renounce her vows. Their unrealized ardor mellows into mutual respect as they struggle to survive before help arrives. Based on a novel by Charles K. Shaw, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison was coproduced by Eugene Frenke, who later filmed a low-budget variation on the story, The Nun and the Sergeant (62), which starred Frenke's wife Anna Sten. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, (more)
- 1954
Producer/director Eugene Frenke, of whom it was said his taste was entirely in his mouth, was responsible for the tickle-and-tease farce Miss Robin Crusoe. Amanda Blake, one year shy of Gunsmoke, plays a shipwrecked lass who sets up housekeeping on a desert island. Amanda rescues female native Rosalind Hayes from certain doom, thereby winning herself a Girl Friday. The fun begins when handsome George Nader, likewise shipwrecked, shows up on the island. Played surprisingly straight, Miss Robin Crusoe will appeal most to aficionados of 1950s "leg art". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1952
As indicated by the title, Lady in the Iron Mask is a distaff version of the famous Alexandre Dumas yarn. D'Artagnan (Louis Hayward) and his fellow musketeers vow to defend France's Princess Anne (Patricia Medina) to the death. It seems that Anne has been thrown into a dungeon with her face enveloped in an iron mask, while her long-lost sister Louise (also Patricia Medina) is placed on the throne by scheming Duke De Valdac (John Sutton). D'Artagnan and his pals must rescue the princess before the impostor goes through with an arranged marriage to King Phillip of Spain (Hal Gerrard). Porthos, Aramis and Athos are played respectively by Alan Hale Jr., Judd Holdren (TV's Commando Cody) and Steve Brodie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Hayward, Patricia Medina, (more)
- 1948
Sexual harassment can work both ways as can be seen in this romantic comedy when ad man endeavors to maneuver out of a relationship with his girlfriend. This is difficult as she controls a major account for his company and refuses to renew it unless he continues to go out with her. The frustrated fellow then begins having neurotic fits until, at last, he is taken off her account. For his new assignment, he must promote a psychiatrist's latest book. They meet and he is captivated by the lovely doctor. The nervous fellow then becomes her patient, and before long they both fall in love. Unfortunately, the other woman has not given up. His troubles are far from over when he later discovers that the shrink doesn't really love him--she is only using him for a case study. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hedy Lamarr, Robert Cummings, (more)
- 1939
A genuine oddity, Life Returns was originally filmed by Universal Pictures in 1935. The story, concerning the efforts by researchers Onslow Stevens and Lois Wilson to find a means to briefly bring dead animals back to life for research purposes, was built around the actual accomplishments of Dr. Robert E. Cornish of the University of California-Berkeley. On May 22, 1934, Cornish was successful in reviving a dog that had been pronounced dead: the actual footage of this experiment was incorporated into Life Returns. Presumably because of its controversial subject matter, the film was shelved by Universal and never released by that studio. It finally received distribution in January 1939 via a small-time firm called Scienart Pictures, which also took credit for producing the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Onslow Stevens, Lois Wilson, (more)
Exile Express was the last film produced by Grand National Pictures, and a worthy farewell it was. Anna Sten, former Sam Goldwyn protegee and the wife of Exile Express producer Eugene Frenke, stars as Nadine Nikolas, a young European girl whose chances of becoming an American citizen are scotched when she is implicated in a murder. About to be deported, Nadine is rescued by reporter Steve Reynolds (Alan Marshall), who suspects that the killing was engineered by a gang of international spies. One delightful scene permits the haughty Ms. Sten to "let herself go" by dancing an energetic jitterbug. Directed by Universal contractee Otis Garrett, Exile Express is a satisfying blend of comedy, romance, and edge-of-the-seat suspense. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Sten, Alan Marshal, (more)
- 1937
Having flunked out as Sam Goldwyn's answer to Greta Garbo, Russian actress Anna Sten retreated to Britain for the 1936 historical drama A Woman Alone. Based on a novel by Fedor Ozop, the film is set in 19th century Russia. Sten plays a peasant girl who falls in love with military captain Henry Wilcoxon. The subsequent emotionally supercharged complications are reminiscent of the similar ill-fated romance in Tolstoy's Resurrection (which Sten had earlier filmed as We Live Again). Produced by Anna Sten's husband Eugene Frenke, A Woman Alone was originally released in Britain as Two Who Dared. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Sten, Henry Wilcoxon, (more)
