John Bryant Movies
Rugged-looking American actor John Bryant is best remembered as the original "Marlboro Man" from the 1950s. He went on to play Dr. Robert Spaulding on the TV western, The Virginian. Bryant has subsequently played numerous character roles on a variety of television series ranging from westerns through sitcoms. He has appeared on Broadway and on stages throughout the country. Bryant also acted in films during the '50s and '60s. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1964
In this crime drama a Yankee visiting England ends up arrested for murder. Not wanting to go to prison, he tries to convince his partner into rigging the jury. Unfortunately for him, the partner double-crosses him and justice is served. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1963
This episode opens with an apparent murder in a college classroom--which turns out to be a staged event, dreamed up by Professor Ronald Hewes (Barry Atwater) to test his students' powers of observation. After the demonstration, however, Hewes discovers that the gun used to "kill" him had only one blank and five real bullets, ample proof that someone is planning to do away with him. Can this have anything to do with the fact that Hewes has made a small fortune by claiming authorship of a lurid bestseller which was actually written by one of his former students, a young girl who'd committed suicide? Whatever the case, Hewes is currently being taken to the cleaners not only by the dead girl's sister, but also by his own wife Laura (Patricia Breslin)--and it is Laura whom Perry Mason must ultimately defend on a charge of murdering the "prankish professor". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Bill Williams, real-life husband of Perry Mason costar Barbara Hale (Della Street), appears as Mike Preston, an embittered oilman determined to get even with the man who crippled him and stole $100,000. When Harlow Phipps (Noah Keen) is murdered, Preston is framed for the crime by his elusive enemy, whereupon Preston's lovelorn housekeeper Lydia hires Perry to defend her boss in court. The solution to the case is tied in with an earlier incident wherein Preston angrily confronted a pair of hunters who shot and wounded a cougar near his property. (Ironically, this episode originally aired the same week that TV Guide featured a cover story about Barbara Hale). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This moody and controversial drama takes place in Depression-era New Orleans. Dove (Laurence Harvey) has traveled by bus from Texas to find his wayward lover Hallie (Capucine). He meets young Kitty Twist (Jane Fonda) as the two get off in the crescent city. Teresina (Anne Baxter) gives him a job at her small cafe. In his free time, Dove searches for Hallie and finds her at work as a prostitute in the Doll's House. Dove implores Hallie to return to him but she refuses. When the lecherous lesbian madame Jo (Barbara Stanwyck) discovers Dove's intentions towards Hallie, she has him beaten to a bloody pulp by her hired goons. He is found by Kitty, now a happy hooker at the Doll House, and is taken back to the cafe where the compassionate Teresina heals his physical and emotional wounds. The film taken from the novel by Nelson Algren is much tamer than the original text. The title track, sung by Brook Benton, was nominated for an Academy Award. The "black-cat stalking" opening and closing sequences (by designer Saul Bass) is a perfect little "film-within-a-film." This footage, with its superb lighting, framing, panning, and editing, should be appreciated by anyone who wants to know more about the art of cinematography. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Harvey, Capucine, (more)
- 1961
Flight that Disappeared sugars its Vital Message with a sci-fi/fantasy coating. Three nuclear scientists prepare to deliver their report on the potentials of atomic weaponry to the President. En route to Washington, the scientists' plane disappears from view. They awaken to find themselves in the presence of benign aliens, possibly residents of the Afterworld. Before the scientists are permitted to leave, they have been persuaded that their nuclear report will need a healthy dose of anti-bomb rhetoric. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig Hill, Paula Raymond, (more)
- 1961
Unlike some of the "twist" movies that hit the theaters in the early '60s when the dance craze flourished, Twist around the Clock has something resembling a plot. Mitch Mason is an out-of-work promoter who sees people doing the "twist" in a regional backwater -- and immediately understands that the dance could be a real hit. His problem lies in getting anyone to believe him, and making money in the process. It turns out that the daughter of the head of a major agency could be his ticket to fame and fortune but he ignores her interest in him, at least for awhile. In the end, this teen-oriented tale is best remembered for two of Dion's hit songs, Runaround Sue and The Wanderer. Other vocals are supplied by Chubby Checker, The Marcels, and Vicki Spencer. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- 1960
Leslie Stevens adapted his own stage comedy Marriage-Go-Round for the movies, watering down the more explicit sex talk but keeping its sly innuendo intact. The stunning Julie Newmar plays a Swedish gymnast who wishes to mate with a genius and produce the "perfect child." She chooses professor James Mason for this honor, which wouldn't have been such a problem had not Mason already been married to Susan Hayward. Mason is tempted, but ultimately the head wins out over the libido and the professor returns to his wife, while the decidedly unpregnant Newmar returns to Sweden. Marriage-Go-Round is inclined towards staginess, but this can be forgiven whenever Julie Newmar, recreating her Broadway role, sashays into view. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, James Mason, (more)
Sexual misconduct in white-collar suburbia is the topic of this routine melodrama involving two neighboring couples. Architect Larry Coe (Kirk Douglas), unhappy with his wife Eve's (Barbara Rush) fixation on their bank balance, starts taking an interest in Maggie Gault (Kim Novak), whose husband has been losing interest in her. The two steal several illicit moments together, but this activity has not gone unnoticed. Good ol' neighbor Felix (Walter Matthau) figures that Eve might be feeling a little neglected, so he decides to move into the picture. Richard Quine's direction is an asset to an otherwise clichéd tale. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Douglas, Kim Novak, (more)
- 1959
Millie Crest (Ruta Lee) is in big trouble. Already framed for embezzlement, Millie could also face a charge of "stolen identity" by posing as Fern Driscoll (Helene Stanley), a woman who is supposed to have died in a car accident in which Millie was involved. The beleagured girl has also stabbed seedy private eye Carl Davis (Robert Bray) in self-defense--and now Davis is dead. Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is going to have to work overtime to earn the retainer (all of 38 cents!) given him by poor Millie (or is it poor Fern)? Based on a 1958 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner, this episode was remade in 1965 as "The Case of the Fanciful Frail". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
Having planned to marry heiress Helen Harvey (played by future Happy Days costar Marion Ross) only for her money, Stacey Chandler (John Bryant) has fallen genuinely in love with her. Thus, Stacey is none too happy when his ex-girlfriend Irene (Jean Willes), a crooked private detective, shows up to demand a cut of Helen's inheritance to keep her mouth shut. Inevitably, Irene is murdered--but it is Helen rather than Stacey her is charged with the crime. Of course, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is convinced that Helen is innocent, and intends to prove it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This fourth film version of the Mary Roberts Rinehart-Avery Hopwood stage chestnut The Bat is so old-fashioned in its execution that one might suspect it was intended as "camp" (though that phrase wasn't in common usage in 1959). Agnes Moorehead plays mystery novelist Cornelia Van Gorder, whose remote mansion is the scene for all sorts of diabolical goings-on. The "maguffin" is a million dollars' worth of securities, hidden away somewhere in the huge and foreboding estate. Vincent Price is seen committing a murder early on-but he's not the film's principal villain. Others in the cast include Gavin Gordon as an overly diligent detective, and former Our Gang star Darla Hood as a murder victim. The Bat was adapted for the screen by its director Crane Wilbur, himself a prolific "old dark house" scenarist and playright. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Price, Agnes Moorehead, (more)
- 1959
In this tearjerker, a morally disparate father and son attempt to reconcile their differences. The father is a major construction magnate who has dreamed of his son taking over the lucrative family business. The father's heart is devastated when the son decides to become a missionary after graduating with an engineering degree and a great rift is formed between them, one that does not heal until a terrible tragedy ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1959
In her second Perry Mason appearance, onetime King Kong leading lady Fay Wrayis cast as fading movie star Lorna Thomas. Years earlier, Lorna had given up a daughter for adoption; now, one George Clark (John Bryant) appears, insisting that his wife Betty (Dusty Anders) is Lorna's long-long daughter and demanding a portion of the girl's inheritance. Not only does George go home empty-handed, but he is also charged with murder when Lorna turns up dead. Can Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) sift through the evidence and come up with the real guilty party before it's too late? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The contrasting acting styles of Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster serve to increase the already high tension level of the WW2 drama Run Silent, Run Deep. Gable plays submarine commander "Rich" Richardson, who assumes command of the USS Nerka. Because his previous sub was sunk by the Japanese under highly suspect circumstances, Richardson inspires nothing but animosity from his new crew. Particularly hostile is executive officer Lt. Jim Bledsoe (Burt Lancaster), who'd assumed that he was next in line to command the Nerka. Obsessed with tracking down the Japanese destroyer that sank his old sub, Richardson drives his crew mercilessly, and even disobeys direct orders from his own higher-ups. The Nerka manages to blast the Japanese vessel out of the waters, but in so doing the sub is placed in dire peril in enemy waters. In his desperate efforts to save the Nerka, Richardson at long last wins the respect of Bledsoe and the rest of the crew. Featured in the cast of Run Silent, Run Deep are Burt Lancaster's old circus partner Nick Cravat, and, in his unbilled movie debut, Don Rickles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, (more)
- 1957
A locked-in-the-fifties science fiction film, The 27th Day begins with five different people from five different countries suddenly disappearing from view. They have been gently abducted by the agent (Arnold Moss) of a faraway dying planet, who gives each of the five earthlings a "killing capsule" that will destroy everything on Earth and allow the residents of the alien planet to re-colonize the planet--but which will be ineffective if not used after 27 days. In typical Cold War fashion, the representatives of the "good" countries (including Gene Barry) refuse to utilize the capsules, while the Soviets, (personified by Azemat Janti and Stefan Schnabel) intend to deploy the capsules for their own nefarious purposes. Their perfidy only results in the utter decimation of the USSR. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Barry, Valerie French, (more)
- 1957
Shortly before signing on for TV's The Rifleman, Johnny Crawford played the juvenile lead in Courage of Black Beauty. Feeling alienated from his rancher father John Bryant,Crawford invests all his affections in his pet foal. Through his love for the horse--who of course grows up to become Black Beauty--Crawford learns to better appreciate his own lot in life. For a while, it looks as though the horse will be destroyed, but when this doesn't happen, Crawford draws even closer to his dad. No screen credit is afforded Anna Sewell, author of the original Black Beauty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Crawford, Mimi Gibson, (more)
- 1956
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
- Starring:
- George Nader, Julie Adams, (more)
The highly variable Audie Murphy delivers his best screen performance as "himself" in Universal's To Hell and Back. Based on the star's autobiography, this is the story of how Murphy became America's most-decorated soldier during WW II. After dwelling a bit on Murphy's hard-scrabble Texas upbringing, the story moves ahead to 1942, when, at 18, Audie joined the army. Within a year, he was a member of the 7th Army, serving in North Africa, Italy, France and ultimately Germany and Austria. One by one, the members of Murphy's Company B are killed in the war, until only three men from the original company are left (the others appear at the finale as ghostly images, a standard visual cliché of 1950s war films). The bulk of the film is given over to Murphy's conspicuous acts of combat bravery, and his killing of 240 enemy soldiers. Highlighted by excellent battle sequences, To Hell and Back is a serviceable tribute to a most complex individual. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Audie Murphy, Marshall Thompson, (more)
The scene is Schofield Army Barracks in Honolulu, in the languid days before the attack on Pearl Harbor, where James Jones' acclaimed war novel From Here to Eternity brought the aspirations and frustrations of several people sharply into focus. Sergeant Milt Warden (Burt Lancaster) enters into an affair with Karen (Deborah Kerr), the wife of his commanding officer. Private Robert E. Lee "Prew" Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) is a loner who lives by his own code of ethics and communicates better with his bugle than he does with words. Prew's best friend is wisecracking Maggio (Frank Sinatra, in an Oscar-winning performance that revived his flagging career), who has been targeted for persecution by sadistic stockade sergeant Fatso Judson (Ernest Borgnine). Rounding out the principals is Alma Lorene (Donna Reed), a "hostess" at the euphemistically named whorehouse The New Congress Club. All these melodramatic joys and sufferings are swept away by the Japanese attack on the morning of December 7. No words could do justice to the film's most famous scene: the nocturnal romantic rendezvous on the beach, with Burt Lancaster's and Deborah Kerr's bodies intertwining as the waves crash over them. If you're able to take your eyes off the principals for a moment or two, keep an eye out for George Reeves; his supporting role was shaved down when, during previews, audiences yelled "There's Superman!" and began to laugh. From Here to Eternity won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and supporting awards to Sinatra and Reed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, (more)
- 1952
Red Snow utilizes several reels of documentary footage around which to construct a fictional Cold War plotline. Guy Madison stars as a US pilot, sent to the Bering Straits to investigate suspicious activities. Madison teams with Eskimo soldier Ray Mala to discover that the rascally Russians--only 35 miles away from Alaska--are up to no good. It's up to the Good Guys to stop the Reds from developing a top-secret weapon. Much of Red Snow is taken up by pedestrian footage of real Eskimos going about their usual daily activities, while the narrative contrives to impose a hidden meaning on the most innocent of gestures and reactions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Guy Madison, Ray Mala, (more)
- 1951
Darling, How Could You is an amiable adaptation of James M. Barrie's stage perennial Alice-Sit- By-the-Fire. Joan Fontaine and John Lund head the cast as Alice and Robert Grey, who return to London from a five-year sojourn at the Panama canal, where Robert, a doctor, has tended to the sick. Upon arriving home, Mr. and Mrs. Grey must become reacquainted with their ever-growing children, especially precocious teenager Amy (Mona Freeman). Having just seen a play about an errant wife, Amy misinterprets the attentions paid to her mother by young physician Steve Clark (Peter Hanson), leading to a bottomless reserve of whimsically comic complications. Long unavailable to TV due to legal hassles with the Barrie estate, Darling, How Could You has since lapsed into public domain, and is now more available than ever. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Fontaine, John Lund, (more)
- 1951
A pair of top 20th Century Fox contractees were loaned to Paramount as stars of The Mating Season. Gene Tierney plays globe-trotting socialite Maggie Carleton, while Thelma Ritter is cast as Ellen McNulty, the hash-slinging mother of Maggie's husband, Val (John Lund). Perceiving that her son is embarrassed by his lower-class origins, Ellen poses as a maid when she attends Maggie and Val's wedding reception. Even after Val expresses displeasure at this deception, Ellen refuses to reveal her true identity, leading to a series of funny and poignant consequences. Miriam Hopkins co-stars as Ellen's blue-blooded mother, whose third-act arrival heralds the film's inevitable "moment of truth." Rest assured, The Mating Season is never dull. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Tierney, John Lund, (more)
