William Girard Movies

Circumstantial Evidence is so expertly acted and directed that the audience is willing to forget its gaping logic holes. Pugnacious family man Joe Reynolds (Milo O'Shea), blowing his top as usual, threatens violence to an unlikeable storekeeper (Ben Welden). When the latter is killed, Joe is arrested for murder. Thanks to circumstantial evidence and faulty eyewitness accounts, Joe is sentenced to death in what seems to be a matter of days-and never mind that the defense attorney hasn't the presence of mind to enter medical testimony into the record. While awaiting his fate on death row (one of the nicest, most inviting death rows in cinema history), Joe is regularly visited by his young son Pat (Billy Cummings), who has always believed in his dad's innocence. For Pat's sake, Joe escapes from prison on the eve of his execution. Meanwhile Pat and a family friend, postman Sam Lord (Lloyd Nolan), have sought out the eyewitnesses whose testimony cinched Joe's conviction; with a little gentle persuasion, the witnesses probe their memories and realize that they were mistaken, and that the victim's death was accidental. Armed with this new evidence, Pat and Sam convince Joe to break back into jail so that his release can be secured through the proper channels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Laurel & Hardy's last American film is a marked improvement over their previous 20th Century-Fox features, though still not in the same league as their 1930s classics. Stan and Ollie play a couple of detectives from Peoria, Illinois, who fly to Mexico City to arrest the notorious Larceny Nell (Carol Andrews). Their South-of-the-Border visit coincides with the much-anticipated arrival of famed Spanish bullfighter Don Sebastian-who happens to be the exact double of Stan Laurel! When Don Sebastian's Mexican debut is delayed by passport problems, press agent Hotshot Coleman (Richard Lane) persuades Stan to take the toreador's place in the bullring. Stan is understandably reluctant until Hotshot threatens to turn the boys over to his business partner, sports promoter Richard K. Muldoon (Ralph Sanford). It seems that several years earlier, Stan and Ollie wrongly sent Muldoon to prison; upon his release, he vowed to someday catch up with the boys and literally skin them alive ("First the little one, then the big one!") With this threat hanging over their heads, Laurel & Hardy are forced to acquiesce to Hotshot's scheme-leading to a chaotic nightclub incident, a hectic misadventure at a bull farm, and a climactic riot at the bull arena when the real Don Sebastian finally shows up. Though it falls apart in the final reel thanks to an overabundance of mismatched stock footage gleaned from Blood and Sand (1941), The Bullfighters is for the most part a fond throwback to Laurel & Hardy's glory days: the highlight is an egg-breaking routine revived from 1934's Hollywood Party. Curiously, none of the reviewers in 1945 mentioned the film's grotesquely hilarious closing gag, which must be seen to be believed. Rory Calhoun (billed as Frank McCown) shows up in a bit as a rival bullfighter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Also known as Ladies in Washington, this 61-minute quickie utilizes the services of several 20th Century-Fox contractees. Set in the nation's capital, the film delves into the living and working conditions of the girls employed in wartime government jobs. Jerry (Sheila Ryan), a Washington secretary, is in the doldrums because of an unhappy affair with her married employer. Michael (Anthony Quinn), a secret agent for the enemy, uses Jerry to get information on her boss. All of this has an adverse effect on Jerry's roommates, especially her best friend Carol. The whole mess ends in a bloody gun battle, exacting a heavy toll on both the innocent and the guilty. Halfway down the cast list of Ladies of Washington is former Miss America Jo-Carroll Dennison, who later became the wife of comedian Phil Silvers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide