Richard Harrison Movies
Though Richard Harrison is perhaps best remembered by American audiences as a footnote in most biographies of Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood (he recommended Eastwood for the lead in Leone's Fistful of Dollars), the ruggedly handsome actor enjoyed one of the longest film careers of any American expatriate performer. Born in Utah in 1935, Harrison relocated to Los Angeles and worked as a fitness trainer and physique model before moving onto bit parts in television and films like South Pacific and Kronos. He married Loretta Nicholson, daughter of American International Pictures chief James Nicholson, and was on the verge of becoming an AIP stock player when he received an offer from Italian producer Italo Zingarelli to come to Europe and star in The Invincible Gladiator, one of a host of sword-and-sandal films made in the wake of Steve Reeves' Hercules (1958). Harrison's toned (but not overdeveloped) build, male-model good looks, and physical prowess helped make the film into a success, and he would star in several more "peplum" before making the transition to Italian Westerns and spy pictures in the mid-'60s. Though virtually unknown in the United States, Harrison quickly became a top draw in the rest of the world, and remained a leading man well into the late '70s. Under the name James London, Harrison also wrote and directed Two Brothers in Trinity, (1972), a broad Western-comedy co-starring Donald O'Brien. As the '70s drew to a close, Harrison made films in Yugoslavia, Turkey (Una donna per sette bastardi), and later the Philippines and Hong Kong, where he appeared in two films for the Shaw Brothers, including Marco Polo (1975). While in Hong Kong, he made the acquaintance of Godfrey Ho, who directed him in Inferno Thunderbolt, a low-budget martial arts film which was incorporated into at least nine other films, each touting Harrison as the star without his knowledge. Harrison returned to the United States in the early '90s, a wealthy man from his adventures in Europe; aside from a few friendly appearances for Fred Olen Ray and a pair of bids for mayor of Palm Springs, he is content to enjoy his life in well-deserved anonymity. Harrison's son Sebastian also had a brief acting career in Europe; among his credits is the 1987 Western Scalps, directed by Bruno Mattei, and featuring a script co-written by his father. ~ Paul Gaita, All Movie Guide
- 1959
This routine and somewhat trite war movie develops slowly until a group of five nurses are captured by North Korean troops and quite clearly need to be rescued. At the head of the rescue task force is Lt. Frank Davis (Scott Brady). Frank has a special interest in freeing the women because one of them, Mary (Elaine Edwards) is more than just a pretty face in a uniform. Even though she is engaged to a Navy surgeon she is falling in love with the young lieutenant, and vice-versa. In the meantime, there is the little matter of the rescue itself. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Brady, Elaine Edwards, (more)
Producer/director Joshua Logan's long-awaited filmization of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Pulitzer Prize winning musical South Pacific was not the classic that everyone hoped it would be, principally because of some curious creative choices made by the production personnel. Adapted from James A. Michener's best-selling novel Tales of the South Pacific, the film stars Mitzi Gaynor as WAVE officer Nellie Forbush, who while stationed overseas during World War II falls in love with wealthy French planter Emile De Becque (Rosanno Brazzi). The Navy would like DeBecque to help them in a reconnaissance mission against the Japanese, but he refuses; having run away from the outside world after killing a man in his home town, De Becque sees no reason to become involved in a war which he did not start and in which he has no interest. But when Nellie, her inbred bigotry aroused when she discovers that Emile has two mixed-race children, refuses his proposal of marriage, DeBecque, having nothing to lose, agrees to go on the mission. His partner in this venture is Lt. Joseph Cable (John Kerr), who like Nellie is a victim of prejudicial feelings; Cable has previously thrown away a chance at lasting happiness by refusing to marry Liat (France Nuyen), the dark-skinned daughter of Tokinese trader Bloody Mary (Juanita Hall). When Cable is killed and DeBecque is seemingly lost in battle, Nellie, realizing the stupidity of her racism, prays for Emile's safe return. The dramatic elements of South Pacific are offset by the low-comedy antics of "Big Dealer" seabee Luther Billis (Ray Walston). Outside of Walston and Hall, both repeating their stage characterizations, South Pacific suffers from a largely noncharismatic cast. Mitzi Gaynor never rises above cuteness in the difficult role of Nellie Forbush, while Rosanno Brazzi (whose singing is dubbed by Giorgio Tozzi) seems to be striking poses rather than acting as Emile DeBecque. These casting deficiencies might have been ignored had not South Pacific been laboring under an additional handicap: director Joshua Logan's decision to use colored filters in several key scenes, representing the emotions experienced by the actors. The constant color shift is more unsettling than attractive, drawing attention to Logan's technique and thereby taking the audience "out" of the picture. With all this going against it, however, South Pacific has much to be treasured. For one thing, all of Rodgers & Hammerstein's immortal songs--"Some Enchanted Evening," "Bali H'ai," "There is Nothing Like a Dame," "I'm in Love With a Wonderful Guy," "Younger Than Springtime" etc.--are retained, and, as a bonus, a song cut from the original stage production, "My Girl Back Home," is revived herein. In addition, the film is a bonanza for movie buffs who enjoy playing "spot the bit player:" among the supporting-cast ranks are Tom McLaughlin, Ron Ely, Doug McClure, John Gabriel and James Stacy (rumors persist that Joan Fontaine shows up unbilled as a nurse, but we've yet to spot her). Though artistically disappointing, South Pacific ended up one of the biggest box-office gold mines of the 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rossano Brazzi, Mitzi Gaynor, (more)
A alien satellite enters close orbit around the Earth and releases a projectile that takes over the body and mind of Dr. Hubbell Eliot (John Emery), the director of Lab Central, America's top astrophysics research facility. Even as Elliot is falling victim to the invaders, Lab Central scientist Dr. Leslie Gaskell (Jeff Morrow) and his colleagues, Vera Hunter (Barbara Lawrence) and Dr. Arnie Culver (George O'Hanlon), have begun tracking the object -- not certain what it is -- and determine that it is going to hit the Earth in less than 24 hours. An attempt to destroy it with nuclear warheads fails, and the vehicle comes down off the coast of Mexico. While Eliot tries to resist the invaders' control and is hospitalized in a state of collapse, Gaskell, Vera, and Culver fly to the site of the landing, where the submerged craft emits a powerful energy pulse that spreads across the surface of the ocean and toward the beach. When it clears, there stands on the beach a huge metallic object -- a towering robot, inadvertently christened "Kronos" by Gaskell, in a relative moment of whimsy. Hundreds of feet tall and possessing immense power, Kronos proceeds to rampage across the countryside, destroying everything in its path as it seeks out and absorbs all sources of electrical and atomic energy. Back at Lab Central, Eliot temporarily breaks free of the aliens' control, long enough to tell Gaskell of the robot's purpose and mission -- Kronos is a accumulator, sent to Earth by a race whose own planet is depleted of energy, and it will continue to grow stronger unless someone can find a way of reversing the process; worse yet, if Kronos isn't destroyed, other accumulators will be sent to drain the Earth of all its energy. The robot advances relentlessly, growing in destructive power as it moves up the coast, and not even a hydrogen bomb can slow it down. Finally, as it heads toward an H-bomb depository and prepares to destroy the city of Los Angeles in its path, Gaskell devises a possible method of stopping Kronos, based on an untested, untried scientific theory. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Morrow, Barbara Lawrence, (more)
- 1957
Kim Novak is clearly out of her depth as legendary Broadway actress Jeanne Eagels, but one can't fault her for trying very hard. As this filmed biography gets under way, wide-eyed Eagels finds herself stranded in a tank town by a smooth-talking traveling salesman. Carnival operator Sal Satori hires Eagels as a kootch dancer, but her ambition is to become a serious dramatic actress. When she and Sal reach New York, she signs up for acting lessons under the tutelage of a Mme. Neilson (Agnes Moorehead). Before long, Jeanne is understudying on Broadway, and in 1922 she takes audiences and critics by storm with her unforgettable portrayal of Sadie Thompson in Rain, a role she landed by ruthlessly double-crossing the actress originally slated for the part (Virginia Grey). When her rival commits suicide, the chastened Jeanne turns to booze and drugs to assuage her conscience. The real-life Jeanne Eagels died of narcotics addiction in 1929, a fact that the Hollywood version skims over. Eagels' family sued Columbia Pictures over the "distortions" offered in Jeanne Eagels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kim Novak, Jeff Chandler, (more)
