Jon Hall Movies
Athletic leading man Jon Hall felt safe when, late in his career, he played fast and loose with the facts concerning his early life -- including his actual date of birth. That's because until 1937, there was no Jon Hall, at least not officially. When he began his film career, he was billed as Charles Locher (notably in 1935's Charlie Chan in Shanghai) then went by the named of Lloyd Crane. With his starring role as a persecuted native boy in John Ford's The Hurricane (1937), the actor became Jon Hall for keeps. During the 1940s, Hall co-starred with the exotic Maria Montez in a series of nonsensical but very popular Technicolor costume pictures at Universal, bearing such titles as Arabian Nights (1942) and White Savage (1943). With his beefcake physique beefing up where it shouldn't by the early 1950s, Hall turned to television, where he starred in the well-circulated syndicated series Ramar of the Jungle from 1952 through 1954. He then left acting cold for several years to become an accomplished manufacturer of photographic equipment, making an excellent living renting out his underwater cameras to various Hollywood producers. He returned to films as the star and director of The Beach Girls and the Monster (1965), which not surprisingly was more entertaining in its underwater scenes than when it bobbed to the surface. He also kept busy as owner-manager of a small flying school. Hall was married four times; his second wife was singer Frances Langford, and his third and fourth was actress Raquel Torres. In 1979, suffering from terminal bladder cancer and not wishing to be a further burden on his relatives, Jon Hall shot himself in his sister's North Hollywood home. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The general perception of the Technicolor costume adventure movies that Maria Montez and Jon Hall made for Universal in the early 1940's is that they were pure escapist entertainment, intended to make people forget for an hour or so about the Second World War and the general world situation. And generally that is true about them -- they were mostly no "about" much more than having fun for 90 minutes or so amid pretty sets with lots of action and some pretty women in exotic outfits. But watching Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, one has to wonder if even here the screenwriter, Edmund L. Hartmann, was able to totally get away from the day-to-day reality around him. The opening Mongol invasion of Bagdad and the murder of the old Caliph (Moroni Olsen) while trying to set up a government-in-exile without thinking of the German and Japanese conquests and occupations of various nations that would have been going on at the time; additionally, the fact that the old Caliph is murdered with the help of a traitor in his own noble ranks -- a "quisling" in the term coined during World War II -- wouldn't have been missed by audiences at the time. Further, the screenplay very specifically paints the forty thieves as heroes who have gone from being criminals to an active resistance force against the occupying Mongols -- indeed, at the denouement, their invasion of the palace is greeted as a day of liberation by the people of Bagdad. The movie walks a strange tightrope, casting about veiled topical references of that sort, even as is otherwise sufficiently tongue-in-cheek to cast Andy Devine as a desert bandit. Obviously, Ali Baba And The Forty Thieves was sold as -- and mostly intended as -- light entertainment, but just below that glitzy Technicolor surface were some fascinating allusions to the real world. None of this stops Ali Baba And The Forty Thieves from being immense fun -- it is, even if the "fun" isn't totally escapist in nature -- and it's great to look at as well, even 60 years on; Universal has apparently kept preservation-quality source materials on this and Hall and Montez's other Technicolor costume romps. And this particular entry in that group of movies also contains one very instructive clue to the morays and censorship of the time in one scene, in which the hero meets the heroine bathing at an oasis -- the makers seem to have been forced to insert a particular shot that is there for no other reason then to make it clear that she is not totally naked when he sees her. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Hall, Maria Montez, (more)
- 1941
The South Seas romance is set on the scenic island of Tahiti where the island chief betroths his son to a woman and then ships him to the US to attend Harvard. During the return voyage the lad is befriended by the ship's captain who also protects the beautiful girl the boy meets, but doesn't know he is supposed to marry. The two end up falling in love, even though the young man has sworn not to marry the girl his father picked out for him 15 years before. Meanwhile another jealous girl interferes with the romance as does another chieftain who wants the betrothed girl for himself and so tries to kill the young man. The whole mess is later resolved by a tremendous volcanic eruption which destroys the island and leaves the girl standing alone on a rocky peak staring at the blood red sun slowly sinking beneath the horizon. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Lamour, Jon Hall, (more)
- 1952
Veteran serial director Spencer Gordon Bennett keeps things moving at a hectic pace in Brave Warrior. The title character is legendary Shawnee chief Tecumseh, well-played by Jay Silverheels (better known as Tonto on TV's The Lone Ranger). Though he has every reason to distrust the White Man, Tecumseh comes to the aid of American emissary Steve Ruddell (Jon Hall) during the War of 1812. The villain is a renegade medicine man known as The Prophet, played by Michael Ansara, who later portrayed the peace-loving Cochise on the TV version of Broken Arrow. Considering that this is a typically low-budget Sam Katzman production, Brave Warrior is fairly elaborately mounted. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Hall, Christine Larson, (more)
- 1935
After wrapping up his last case in Egypt, Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) heads to Shanghai for a well-deserved rest. It isn't long, however, before Chan has been summoned by the local constabulary to help smash an international dope ring. He is aided by erudite American intelligence agent James Andrews (Russell Hicks) and to a lesser extent by his overeager Number-One-Son Lee Chan (Keye Luke). The film is structured more like a serial than a mystery, with Chan and his friends escaping death and/or abduction at every turn. Only after rounding up the smugglers does Charlie reveal the well-concealed identity of the criminal mastermind behind it all. The nominal romantic lead is played by Charles Locher, who went on to greater fame as Jon Hall. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Oland, Irene Hervey, (more)
- 1951
In this exciting actioner a daring Eurasian woman gets involved with a shipwrecked engineer whom she rescues from a remote island. Together, they have many romantic and exciting adventures as they try to keep a crook from selling her uncle's priceless collection of antique jade. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Hall, Lisa Ferraday, (more)
- 1944
On the eve of her wedding to Ramu (Jon Hall), the beautiful Tollea (Maria Montez) is spirited away from her tranquil South Sea island to the mysterious, forbidden place of her birth, Cobra Island. Ramu follows and, with help from his young-but-not-too-bright friend Kado (Sabu) and their chimp Coco, manages to land on the island and avoid capture, which would mean death. It turns out that Tollea is the rightful high priestess of Cobra Island, the first born of two twin daughters of the earlier priestess. Tollea was not immune to the venom of the king cobra, however, so she was spirited away from the island as an infant to avoid her unnecessary death. Now her grandmother, the Queen (Mary Nash), has secured her return. Tollea's twin sister, Naja (also played by Montez), has turned cruel, greedy, and ambitious, and is killing, torturing, and tormenting her people and perverting their religion; Naja must be deposed, hopefully before the volcano on the far side of the island registers too loud an objection to her blasphemies. But Naja -- who is wanton enough to want Ramu for her own pleasure -- and her confederate, the evil, ambitious Martok (Edgar Barrier), don't plan on leaving quietly.
Meanwhile, Ramu has to keep himself and Kado alive and decide if he's willing to give up the woman that he loves so that she can save her people; Tollea must choose between love and duty, fate and her birthright. One of the most ridiculously and unselfconsciously campy costume adventure movies of its era, Cobra Woman was apparently a lot of fun to work on and a relief from the reality of the Second World War for audiences in 1944. The script, co-authored by Richard Brooks a long time before he wrote The Brick Foxhole, much less directed Blackboard Jungle or made In Cold Blood or Lord Jim, is incredibly sloppy, the mix of harem dancers and ridiculous prop snakes is bizarre, and some of the worst choreography of its era doesn't help -- and yet it all hangs together, somehow, as entertainment. Director Robert Siodmak reportedly liked it, and as a refugee from the Nazis, working on it still beat the fate he'd fled in Germany. The movie is also alleged to be the primary inspiration for Jack Smith's Flaming Creatures -- which starred female impersonator Mario Montez -- and looking at it in the 21st century, one wonders if it was ever seen by Edward D. Wood Jr.; not only does the production sort of anticipate (albeit on a much higher level and budget) his work in the adventure genre, but the script seems to contain the essence of inept moments that he would elevate to an art of sorts. And one can just imagine Wood, as a young marine recruit, watching Cobra Woman eagerly and "learning" all the wrong lessons from its writing and production. But, like the best of Wood's movies -- only more so -- Cobra Woman is still great fun of the "guilty pleasure" sort. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
Meanwhile, Ramu has to keep himself and Kado alive and decide if he's willing to give up the woman that he loves so that she can save her people; Tollea must choose between love and duty, fate and her birthright. One of the most ridiculously and unselfconsciously campy costume adventure movies of its era, Cobra Woman was apparently a lot of fun to work on and a relief from the reality of the Second World War for audiences in 1944. The script, co-authored by Richard Brooks a long time before he wrote The Brick Foxhole, much less directed Blackboard Jungle or made In Cold Blood or Lord Jim, is incredibly sloppy, the mix of harem dancers and ridiculous prop snakes is bizarre, and some of the worst choreography of its era doesn't help -- and yet it all hangs together, somehow, as entertainment. Director Robert Siodmak reportedly liked it, and as a refugee from the Nazis, working on it still beat the fate he'd fled in Germany. The movie is also alleged to be the primary inspiration for Jack Smith's Flaming Creatures -- which starred female impersonator Mario Montez -- and looking at it in the 21st century, one wonders if it was ever seen by Edward D. Wood Jr.; not only does the production sort of anticipate (albeit on a much higher level and budget) his work in the adventure genre, but the script seems to contain the essence of inept moments that he would elevate to an art of sorts. And one can just imagine Wood, as a young marine recruit, watching Cobra Woman eagerly and "learning" all the wrong lessons from its writing and production. But, like the best of Wood's movies -- only more so -- Cobra Woman is still great fun of the "guilty pleasure" sort. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Montez, Jon Hall, (more)
- 1946
The titular valley is the locale for an inordinate amount of double-crosses and betrayals. Young prospector Carroll Nye thinks he's doing a good deed when he rescues heroine Rada Rae, whom he finds wandering aimlessly in the desert. Little does Nye realize that Rae is in cahoots with claim-jumping Raymond Wells, who intends to get his hands on a valuable gold mine, the location of which is known only by our hero. Upon realizing he's been duped, Nye begins to punch out the girl (a startling scene!), but comes to regret his rash behavior when it develops that Rae has been forced to betray him under threat of death. By film's end, however, it is the villainous Wells who suffers the most. Death Valley was remade, scene-for-scene, in 1946, with Helen Gilbert and Nat Pendleton in the main roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1949
Based on a novel by Charles Huckelmann, Deputy Marshal was a "special" by the standards of cost-conscious Screen Guild productions. The film stars Jon Hall and Frances Langford, who were Mr. and Mrs. at the time. Hall plays the title character, aka Ed Garry, while Langford essays the role of Janet Masters, a Wyoming ranchowner threatened by land thieves. While Garry does the dirty work so far as keeping the villains at bay, Janet gets to sing a couple of pleasant songs. Deputy Marshal was promoted on its novelty value; the film was photographed by Carl Berger with the Garutso Balanced Lens, a deep-focus apparatus that simulated a 3-D effect. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Hall, Frances Langford, (more)
- 1942
With America's Air Force not completely mobilized in mid-1942, Universal paid tribute to those foresighted Yankee flyboys who joined England's Royal Air Force before America's entry into WW2 in Eagle Squadron. Robert Stack stars as Chuck Brewer, one of several US flyers participating in RAF bombing raids of Germany. The film stresses the importance of hands-across-the-sea teamwork in this massive undertaking, concluding with Brewer leading his British compatriots on a Commando raid behind enemy lines, the better to capture a revolutionary new Nazi war plane. Every so often, the story slows to a walk as Brewer romances British lass Anne Partridge, played by the unfortunate Diana Barrymore in her last truly important screen role. Producer Walter Wanger made special arrangements with the British government to incorporate several exciting shots of authentic air battles in the film's 108 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Stack, Diana Barrymore, (more)
- 1953
Evil traders and superstitious natives in India complicate the research efforts of an American doctor. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1969
- R
In this action film, a racer of three-wheeled motorcycles meets another rider during a weekend competition and finds himself the object of his rival's girlfriend's attention. He rejects her and she retaliates by telling her boyfriend that the hero raped her. In return, the rival and his pals beat up the hero and rape and kill his fiancee. As soon as the hero heals from the beating he avenges her wrongful death. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ross Hagen, Diane McBain, (more)
- 1959
More noted in its day for its underwater photography than for any distinction in its script or characters, this simple crime drama evolves around the retrieval of a priceless emerald from a sunken ship. Stuart Godfrey (John Farrow) is the black-hearted leader of a diving expedition to get the gem. He has forced the winsome Joanne (Nan Adams) to pretend to be his wife and has conned an outfit of frogmen into diving for the emerald. Dave Courtney (Jon Hall) heads up the divers, who mysteriously start to die off after one discovers an underwater skeleton with Godfrey's belt still tightly wound around its neck. The underwater mayhem continues right up to the above-water ending. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- 1944
In this swashbuckler, a princess is raised by gypsies and becomes their queen. The trouble really begins when a count is murdered and the evil, ambitious baron who really did it blames the crime on the gypsies. The baron's messenger knows the truth and tries to prove it. When he notices that the gypsy queen is wearing a pendant bearing the slain count's crest, he reveals her true identity--the count's estranged sister and heir to the throne. The messenger then accuses the baron of the death. The baron has him thrown into the same dungeon as the gypsies and together they team up and escape. Meanwhile the gypsy girl, who has finally promised to marry the wicked baron in exchange for her clan's freedom, is kidnapped by the baron. The gallant messenger rescues her, kills the baron, and gets to marry the young queen. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Montez, Jon Hall, (more)
In this South Seas adventure, a sea captain teams up with lovely island princess help her vanquish the brutal smugglers who are forcing her people to dive for pearls. There are French colonialists on the island and a judge is there to ensure justice. Unfortunately, he is crooked, and after the smugglers are captured he gives them a choice: they can help him retrieve a sunken treasure or they can go to prison. They choose the former, but afterward, they double-cross the judge. Fortunately, the sea captain is still around to see that justice is served. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1951
Jon Hall is right in his element in the Columbia low-budgeter Hurricane Island. Hall plays Captain Carlos Montalvo, second-in-command to Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon (Edgar Barrier). Engaged in a search for the Fountain of Youth, Montalvo gets mixed up with lady buccaneer Jane Bolton (Marie Windsor) and Indian princess Okahia (Jo Gilbert). The villains, who lurk at every plot turn, are thwarted in a climactic hurricane, chiefly comprised of stock footage from earlier films (a specialty of producer Sam Katzman). Hurricane Island is in and out in 71 breezy minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Hall, Marie Windsor, (more)
- 1942
Universal's "Invisible Man" series does its bit for the war effort in this slyly tongue-in-cheek action melodrama. Jon Hall stars as Frank Raymond, grandson of the man who invented the invisibility formula several pictures back. When Nazi agents try to coerce the secret formula out of Raymond, he eludes them by becoming transparent himself. Shortly afterward, the US government parachutes Raymond behind enemy lines, reasoning that an invisible counterespionage agent would be an invaluable tool in defeating the Axis. He is aided and abetted by the beautiful Maria Sorenson (Ilona Massey), who may or may not be in league with villains Helser (J. Edward Bromberg in a scene-stealing turn), Stauffer (Cedric Hardwicke) and Japanese spy Ikito (Peter Lorre). As was always the case in Universal's mid-1940s fantasies, David Horsley's special effects work in Invisible Agent is absolutely first-rate, with some truly eye-popping moments. Incidentally, this is the film in which an elderly victim of Nazi persecution moans "I can't sign? I can't sign? You have broken my fingers!" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ilona Massey, Jon Hall, (more)
- 1940
- NR
This typically economical Edward Small historical drama stars Jon Hall as legendary frontiersman Kit Carson. Wasting no time, the film gets off to an exciting start as Carson and his two saddle pals (Ward Bond and Harold Huber) are attacked by Indians. They manage to escape unscatched and make their way to Fort Bridger, where Captain John "Frontier" Fremont (Dana Andrews) hires Carson to guide a wagon train westward. The plot thickens when both Carson and Fremont fall in love with pretty Dolores Murphy (Lynn Bari), but all misunderstandings and rivalries are forgotten when the two heroes fight shoulder to shoulder against another Indian attack. Despite obvious budgetary limitations, the battle scenes are well staged by serial veteran George B. Seitz. Originally distributed by United Artists, Kit Carson was later reissued by minor-league PRC Pictures, which is why the film is currently in Public Domain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1952
In this lively adventure, an American ambassador arrives in India as it prepares to fight a civil war. He soon learns that it is his old friend who has been insighting the conflict. Unfortunately, the troublemaker is killed, but before he expires, he tells the diplomat that a trainload of explosives is set to blow up another train carrying an important Indian prince. The assassins know the diplomat knows of the plot and he becomes their next target. At the same time, he is also accused of his pal's murder. The brave ambassador then goes on to risk his own life to save that of the prince. He does, his name is cleared, and the war is stopped. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Hall, Christine Larson, (more)
- 1945
In 1912, John Bunny and Flora Finch starred in the one-reel farce The New Secretary, wherein Bunny's wife hires a homely stenographer to keep her hubby from straying. 33 years later, this old chestnut was reheated for The Men in Her Diary. The cute-as-a-button Peggy Ryan "dresses down" to portray the unattractive secretary--who, unfortunately for her boss, keeps a diary of her imagined love affairs. Everything runs according to expectation in this lively Universal second feature. Men in Her Diary was written by the "odd couple" team of playwright F. Hugh Herbert and Three Stooges gagman Ellwood Ullman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peggy Ryan, Louise Allbritton, (more)
- 1937
In this drama, a Boy Scout leader hosts a local gossip show. Trouble ensues when he predicts a politician's murder just before it occurs. He is arrested by the DA, but before getting to jail, he is abducted by irate gangsters--the real killers. Fortunately, his loyal Scout troop rallies to his rescue. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Ruggles, Alice Brady, (more)
- 1950
In On the Isle of Samoa, beefcake star Jon Hall plays Kenneth Crandall, an unsavory gambler who absconds with his partner's money in a stolen plane. He crashes on an unchartered island, where he comes across a tribe of English-speaking natives, benevolently overseen by selfless missionary Peter Appleton (Raymond Greenleaf). The hard-bitten Crandall comes around to Appleton's way of thinking after a near-cataclysmic volcanic eruption, realizing at long last that money isn't everything. It helps, of course, that native girl Moana (Susan Cabot) has fallen in love with Crandall in the meantime. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Hall, Susan Cabot, (more)
- 1965
Perry (Raymond Burr) and Paul (William Hopper) arrive in beautiful Hawaii to investigate the viability of a land deal between Jarvis Logan (John Van Dreelen) and the Pan-Pacific Hotel chain. Logan wants to purchase Kameamea Point, which cuts into his property straight down the middle, but the deal goes sour when the owner of the Point, Anona Gilbert (Wende Wagner), is jilted by mercenary beachcomber Douglas Kelland (Michael Dante). When Kelland is speared to death (yes, speared to death!) Anona is accused of the crime, forcing Perry to forget about the pleasures of the Islands and focus exclusively on business. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
Althhough she is on her deathbed, wealthy Be Be Brent (Anne Barton) is sufficiently hale and hearty to enrage her relatives by leaving the bulk of her estate--one million dollars--to her nurse Hetty Randall (Anne Seymour). The family members hire Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) to contest the will, but instead he ends up with another murder case on his hands. This time, the victim is Justin Grover, and the accused is a girl named Madeline (Sherry Jackson)...whose last name is also Randall. Former "beefcake" leading man Jon Hall, who hadn't appeared on TV since 1958, came out of retirement to play a major role in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1955
In this adventure, set in the dark African jungles, visiting American scientists inadvertently enrage the local natives when they steal a sacred golden tablet. Fortunately a jungle dwelling doctor helps the insensitive brutes return the tablet before they are killed by the natives. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
