Alfred Hayes Movies
Screenwriter Alfred Hayes was born in London, but raised in New York City. Following graduation from City College and experience as a newspaper reporter, Hayes began writing fiction and poetry. He next served in the US Army Special Services in Europe during WW II. Following the war, he stayed in Rome and became a screenwriter of neo-realist films. In 1946, he earned an American Academy Award nomination for his co-writing on Rossellini's Paisan. Hayes also worked without credit on the script of De Sica's b The Bicycle Thief. In 1951, Hayes was again Oscar-nominated for the screenplay of Teresa. In 1954, his play The Girl on the Via Flaminia, itself an adaptation of his novel, became a film. Eventually Hayes began writing television scripts for such American series as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Twilight Zone, and Mannix. He also continued to write poems and song lyrics. Of the latter, his most famous are the words for the ballad "Joe Hill," which singer Joan Baez made famous. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1976
The first official co-production between the United States and the Soviet Union, The Blue Bird was the third screen adaptation of the children's story by Maurice Maeterlinck about a pair of children, Tyltyl (Todd Lookinland) and Mytyl (Patsy Kensit), who leave home to search for the Blue Bird of Happiness. After spending some time wandering through a fantasy world and encountering The Night (Jane Fonda), The Cat (Cicely Tyson), Luxury (Ava Gardner), Father Time (Robert Morley), and The Oak (Harry Andrews), they meet The Queen of Light (Elizabeth Taylor) and discover that true happiness can be found right at home, with your family. As the box-office failure of the first two versions of this story proves, putting this sort of children's fantasy on film is tricky business, and despite a top-notch cast of American and Soviet talent and the directorial expertise of veteran filmmaker George Cukor, The Blue Bird had a notoriously difficult production, with the American and Russian crews not always understanding each other's working methods, the Soviet camera crew not knowing how to light African-American actress Cicely Tyson, and Jane Fonda often trying to engage the Russian crew members in political discussions. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda, (more)
Lost in the Stars was an American Film Theatre adaptation of the musical play by Maxwell Anderson and Kurt Weill--which in turn was based on the Alain Paton novel Cry the Beloved Country. Brock Peters portrays a South African minister who goes to the Big City to locate his son Raymond St. Jacques, who is now a criminal in the eyes of the white rulers. The minister forges a curious, foredoomed friendship with a white farmer (Paul Rogers). Lost in the Stars has sometimes been accused of blunting the edge of Paton's angry study of the cruelties of Apartheid; fans of musical theatre will be more politely inclined to this loving filmization of the Broadway play. On its own, Cry the Beloved Country was previously filmed in 1951, with Canada Lee, Sidney Poitier and Charles Carson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
This highly fictionalized biography chronicles the exploits leading up to the execution of the notorious labor leader. The story begins as he is seen immigrating from Sweden to the U.S. Once there he began his involvement with the Wobblies (the Industrial Workers of the World). He becomes more deeply involved with the union. Hill was never without his banjo, and soon he began to write labor songs. After working with the Wobblies for a while, Hill travelled to Utah. There he attempts to protect a woman he loved, takes the blame for a murder and is executed before a firing squad. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1967
In this espionage thriller, Dan Slater (Yul Brynner) is a CIA agent who travels to Austria after his son dies in a skiiing mishap. Slater begins to suspect that his son's death wasn't an accident and begins investigating the matter on his own. Slater finds that fellow agent Frank Wheatley (Clive Revill) is of little help to him. Beautiful Gina (Britt Ekland), the companion of prominent socialite Mrs. Carrington (Moira Lister), then slowly draws Slater into her web. In time, he discovers that his son's death was all part of a diabolical plan to lure him to Austria; Soviet agents led by Bethold (Anton Diffring) have performed extensive plastic surgery on one of their top spies until he's identical to Slater, and they intend to send him back in Slater's place, giving them an insider at the highest levels of U.S. intelligence. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yul Brynner, Britt Ekland, (more)
- 1965
In this romantic drama based on a novel by Betty Smith, Carl Brown (Richard Chamberlain) is a student in law school who wants to marry his sweetheart, Annie McGairy (Yvette Mimieux). However, Carl and Annie's parents knew each other when they grew up in Ireland before emigrating to America, and Carl's father Patrick (Arthur Kennedy) vehemently objects to their engagement. The young couple decide to tie the knot anyway, and Patrick retaliates by cutting off financial support to his son. The young couple deal with the usual tribulations of newlyweds while they struggle to keep their heads above water -- Carl takes a job as a night watchman, while Annie makes a few dollars babysitting for Beverly Karter (Joan Tetzel), a married woman who is cheating on her husband with Stan Pulaski (Oscar Homolka), a married man. Living in a tiny apartment on the shabby side of town, Carl and Annie get to know other people too poor or too different to fit in elsewhere in an upscale college town. When Annie becomes pregnant, she leaves Carl, not wanting to burden him so that he can continue with his education. This sends Carl into an emotional tailspin, and Patrick tries to patch up the marriage he once opposed for the sake of his son's happiness. Joy in the Morning marked the first and only feature film role for TV and stage actor Donald Davis, who played Anthony, a gay florist who befriends the young couple. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Chamberlain, Yvette Mimieux, (more)
- 1965
The photographer is Arthur Mannix (Jack Cassidy); the undertaker is Hiram Price (Harry Townes). Both men supplement their incomes by moonlighting as professional hitmen -- and both work for the same gangster boss. The "fun" begins when Arthur is ordered to bump off Hiram, and vice versa...leading to a bizarre set of circumstances that neither one of our "heroes" could ever have anticipated. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Cassidy, Harry Townes, (more)
- 1964
Defense lawyer Ned Murray (Martin Landau) is certain that he has made a name for himself by getting his client Lew Rydell (Frank Gorshin) acquitted on a murder charge. Later on, however, Lew mockingly informs Ned that he was actually guilty of the crime -- and under the rule of double jeopardy, he cannot be prosecuted twice for the same crime. Motivated by both guilt and the fear that he will be ruined if the truth comes out, Ned tries to figure out a way to bring Rydell to justice. But, as things turn out, the lawyer is placed in the unenviable position of saving Lew's life all over again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Landau, Frank Gorshin, (more)
- 1964
Having been burned by a previous marriage to a callous fortune hunter, heiress Grace Renford (Diana Hyland) promises herself that she won't make the same mistake again. Thus, when she falls in love with handsome engineer Keith Holloway (Jeremy Slate), Grace does not tell him that she is fabulously wealthy. Nonetheless, Grace's surrogate mother, Minnie (Mildred Dunnock), is suspicious of the gregarious Holloway -- but this hardly seems to matter when an unexpected tragedy strikes, requiring the services of a spiritualist named Dr. Shankara (Abraham Sofaer). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mildred Dunnock, Diana Hyland, (more)
- 1964
The moment he is sprung from prison, smooth-talking Rusty Connors (John Cassavetes) pays a visit to Helen Krause (Ann Sothern), the dowdy widow of Rusty's late cellmate Miles Krause. It seems that Krause had hidden a huge amount of money before he was arrested, and Rusty hopes to persuade Helen to lead him to the loot. Unfortunately, Helen has no idea where the money is, so the two of them piece together the existing clues in order to share the cash once they locate it. Trouble is, Rusty can't be trusted as far as he can be thrown...and neither can Helen. The "Grand Guignol" climax of this episode is made doubly creepy by Bernard Herrmann's chillingly evocative musical score. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sothern, John Cassavetes, (more)
- 1963
Joan Fontaine, who starred in Alfred Hitchcock's first American film, Rebecca, and subsequently won an Oscar for her performance in Hitchcock's Suspicion, is here cast as Alice Pemberton, a well-meaning busybody. Unable to keep her nose out of other people's business, Alice has become a pariah in her neighborhood. The only person willing to put up with Alice's meddling is her husband, John (Gary Merrill), but even he has a breaking point -- and it is John who comes up with a rather blunt method to bring his wife's buttinsky behavior to a permanent end. "The Paragon" is based on a story by prolific novelist Rebecca West. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Fontaine, Gary Merrill, (more)
- 1962
Two-bit evangelist Robert Evans (Peter Falk) attaches himself to a wealthy elderly woman named Naomi Freshwater (Patricia Collinge). Evans hopes to inherit Naomi's mansion and convert into a temple -- and to expedite this, he sends her into the next world a bit ahead of schedule. Unfortunately for Evans, he may not be able to enjoy his ill-gotten gains for long: Naomi's niece Laura (Dina Merrill) has arrived in town with plans of her own. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Falk, Dina Merrill, (more)
- 1962
Alfred Hitchcock's long-running TV suspense anthology moved from NBC to CBS for its eighth season on the air, and in the process expanded from 30 to 60 minutes, necessitating a change in title from Alfred Hitchcock Presents to The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. Gig Young guest stars in the first of these "hours" as Duke Marsden, businessman by day, high-rolling gambler by night. Although his wife, Alice (Martha Hyer), has threatened to leave him if he doesn't give up poker, Duke enters into a high-stakes game in order to save his younger brother, Chuck (Robert Redford), from catching the gambling bug himself. Unfortunately, Duke's main opponent in the big game is a former gangster who is a notoriously sore loser. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
In this wartime drama set during WW II, a US Army major is assigned to travel to China with an eight-man demolition team and destroy all bridges and roads needed by the Japanese. They are assisted by two Chinese fellows. At one point the major blows of a mountain bridge that leaves thousands stranded. His escort is outraged by the major's lack of sympathy. The major's antipathy towards his hosts increases when two of his men are trampled by a hoard of starving Chinese who run to grab rations. Later two more of his men die at the hands of Chinese military deserters, prompting the vengeful major to order the destruction of an entire village. Hundreds of innocent people die, and at last the Chinese guide leaves them in disgust. In the end the major understands the wrong he has done. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Stewart, Lisa Lu, (more)
Don Murray stars as a humble cowboy with aspirations for bigger things. He borrows money from his dance-hall girlfriend Lee Remick to buy a ranch, then dumps Remick in favor of banker's daughter Patricia Owens. Murray runs for political office, and in so doing is compelled to join a posse in search of his best friend Stuart Whitman, who has turned rustler. Anxious not to compromise his climb to the top, Murray stands by in silence as Whitman is lynched. In the end, however, Murray regains his essential decency when he is shot while trying to protect his ex-girlfriend Remick from bullying land baron Richard Egan. Based on a novel by A. B. Guthrie Jr., These Thousand Hills may look and sound like a western, but it has "film noir" written all over it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Murray, Richard Egan, (more)
- 1957
A Hatful of Rain, based on the stage play by Michael V. Gazzo, is the story of a drug addict's debilitating effect on his family. Don Murray has managed to keep his addiction secret from his pregnant wife Eva Marie Saint and his boorish father Lloyd Nolan, but Murray's brother Anthony Franciosa knows the truth. Murray hits up Franciosa for money to support his habit, but even this is not enough as the addiction deepens and Murray finds himself beholden to a vicious pusher (Henry Silva). Murray is unable to cope with his private hell until he confesses to his wife and father that he's a junkie and needs help. Considered the last word in realism in 1957, A Hatful of Rain seems slightly antiquated in the light of the drug-abuse excesses of the 1990s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eva Marie Saint, Don Murray, (more)
Political intrigue and romantic gamesmanship send an already torrid Caribbean community to the boiling point in this drama. Maxwell Fleury (James Mason) and David Boyeur (Harry Belafonte) are two men running for political office in a British-controlled island in the West Indies. Maxwell is the son of a wealthy and socially prominent white family, while David is a black labor leader with a groundswell of popular support but little money. A scandal erupts in the press alleging that Maxwell is of mixed racial ancestry, but Maxwell is actually pleased about the news, thinking that it may endear him to black voters. Maxwell is not pleased, however, when he hears that his wife Sylvia (Patricia Owens) has been having an affair with the urbane but rootless Carson (Michael Rennie), taking the matter seriously enough to murder Carson himself. Maxwell's younger sister Jocelyn (Joan Collins) is also in hot water, romantically speaking; she has set her sights on Eun Templeton (Stephen Boyd), the son of the Island's governor, and she hopes to snare him into marriage by allowing him to get her pregnant. Elsewhere on the island, David is secretly having an affair with a white woman, Mavis Norman (Joan Fontaine), while David's former girlfriend, Margot Seaton (Dorothy Dandridge), has become involved with a white man, Denis Archer (John Justin). Based on the novel by Alex Waugh, Island in the Sun also features songs from Harry Belafonte, including "Lead Man Holler" and the title tune. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Mason, Joan Fontaine, (more)
- 1955
Humphrey Bogart stars in this improbable tale that marked Gene Tierney's return to the screen after battling mental illness for a number of years. Bogart plays Jim Carmody, an American soldier of fortune who, after crashing his plane in China, takes up with the Chinese warlord General Yang (Lee J. Cobb). Jim becomes Yang's advisor, but after watching one of the General's flunkies brutally kill a priest, Jim decides to leave. Unfortunately, Yang has declared that any deserter will be shot. Disguising himself as the slain priest, Jim sneaks out of the General's headquarters and makes his way to a mountain village where missionaries Beryl (Agnes Moorehead) and David (E.G. Marshall) take him in. Jim still is posing as the priest but his vows of celibacy are challenged when he falls in love with the attractive mission nurse Anne Scott (Gene Tierney). Anne feels ashamed because she is also attracted to him, but Jim writes to the bishop confessing that he is an impostor. At that moment, General Yang arrives, insisting that Jim rejoin his army or else he will burn down the village. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Humphrey Bogart, Gene Tierney, (more)
- 1954
Carl Buckley (Broderick Crawford) needs the intervention of his beautiful wife Vicki (Gloria Grahame) to keep his job, so Vicki meets with Carl's boss Owens (Grandon Rhodes), and Carl's job is secure. Insanely jealous, Carl finds Vicki with Owens on board a train and kills Owens. Jeff Warren (Glenn Ford), an off-duty train engineer protects Vicki and they begin an affair. Still obsessively jealous, Carl becomes an alcoholic and blackmails Vicki into staying with him. Vicki persuades Jeff to kill Carl, but at the last minute Jeff relents, taking on the letter which Carl has used to blackmail Vicki with. Vicki leaves town on the train with Carl -- all the while taunting him with her infidelity. Carl is overcome with a jealous rage that ultimately leads to tragedy. Directed by Fritz Lang), Human Desire an updated remake of Jean Renoir's adaptation of Emile Zola's novel, La Bete Humaine, is a grim sordid story in which desperate people try to relieve their desolate lives with cheap pleasures. Gloria Grahame is perversely alluring as the sexually driven Vicki and Broderick Crawford evokes some empathy as the obsessed Carl. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, (more)
- 1953
Act of Love was based on The Girl on the Via Flamina, a novel by Alfred Hayes. Kirk Douglas plays an American soldier, participating in the 1944 liberation of France. Making the acquaintance of impoverished Parisian girl Dany Robin, Douglas takes pity on the girl, pretending to be married to her so that she won't be unfairly arrested as a prostitute. When Douglas attempts to make their union legal, he is denied permission by his superior officers. So far as they are concerned, Robin is just another little opportunist, marrying a GI in order to gain US citizenship. But Robin is genuinely in love with Douglas-and proves it, in a profoundly tragic manner. Producer/director Anatole Litvak and screenwriter Irwin Shaw do their best to bring some cinematic excitement to the somber goings-on. Act of Love represents the first appearance in an English-speaking film by Brigitte Bardot, here playing the minor role of "Mimi". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Douglas, Dany Robin, (more)
The opening credits appearing over a turbulent ocean serve as a foreshadowing of things to come in this standard-issue love triangle that shifts into high drama thanks to taut direction by Fritz Lang and a sizzling performance by Barbara Stanwyck. Returning to live with her brother, Joe (Keith Andes), at her family's home in a small fishing village, Mae Doyle (Stanwyck) has reached rock bottom. Reeling from the pain of her previous romances, Mae slowly pieces things together and begins dating Jerry (Paul Douglas), a simple-minded fisherman. More along Mae's speed is Jerry's slick, boozy pal Earl Pfeiffer (Robert Ryan), a film projectionist who makes his feelings for her known right away despite the fact that he is married. Mae spurns his advances and decides to marry Jerry. Meanwhile, Joe has grown close to ditzy factory worker Peggy (Marilyn Monroe). Some time later, Mae and Jerry have had a baby, and things appear happy, but Mae is not in love with Jerry, and soon finds herself in Earl's arms. Jerry discovers the affair, and during a confrontation with the deceitful couple, Mae reveals that she is leaving to be with Earl. After some booze and a pep talk from his Uncle Vince (J. Carrol Naish), Jerry confronts Earl and proceeds to nearly strangle him until Mae arrives. Jerry storms off, but when Mae comes to their home to retrieve the baby, she discovers that Jerry has taken the child. Desperately upset, she explains the situation to Earl, but as they talk, she begins to arrive at a new realization about her life and what it takes to find happiness. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas, (more)
- 1951
In Teresa, director Fred Zinnemann adopts the same quasi-documentary approach he'd used in The Search (1948). Lensed on location in Italy and New York, the film introduces Pier Angeli in the title role, and co-stars three male newcomers: John Ericson, Ralph Meeker and Rod Steiger. Teresa is the Italian bride of GI Philip (Ericson), who is established from the outset as mentally disturbed. Taking Teresa home with him to New York, Philip begins to crack under the pressure of married life -- not to mention the angst brought to bear by his highly dysfunctional family. A happy ending doesn't seem likely under these circumstances, but there's always hope. The best scene in Teresa occurs during an fateful visit to Coney Island. Featured in the cast is political cartoonist Bill Mauldin, who'd subsequently co-star in John Huston's Red Badge of Courage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Maria Pier Angeli, John Ericson, (more)
- 1946
Roberto Rossellini's Paisan (originally Paisa) is one of the best-known and most important of the postwar Italian neorealist films; certainly it has one of the finest pedigrees, representing the combined talents of two of Italy's most prestigious filmmakers. The second of Rossellini's "war trilogy" (bracketed by Open City and Germany Year Zero), Paisan is divided into six episodes, each elucidating upon the tenuous relationship between the recently liberated Italians and their American liberators. In the first episode, Joe From Jersey (Robert Van Loon), assigned to guard a taciturn Sicilian woman (Carmela Sazio), tries to communicate with his monolingual prisoner. Next, a black MP (Dotts Johnson) is robbed of his shoes by an impoverished Neopolitan street urchin (Alfonsino Pasca). This is followed by an episode set in Rome, where drunken GI Fred (Gar Moore) is reunited with a streetwalker (Maria Michi) whom he's met before but does not recognize. In Florence, American nurse Harriet (Harriet Medin) and an Italian partisan (Gigi Gori) dodge bullets as they make their way through enemy-held territory in search of Harriet's lover. Next comes a comic interlude involving a theological argument between a Catholic, a Protestant, a Jew and a group of Fransiscan monks. The film concludes with a bloody confrontation in the Po Valley between the OSS and a band of intractable Germans who refuse to surrender. Everyone who's ever seen Paisan has his or her favorite episode: by consensus of opinion, the most popular vignettes are the Naples episode (largely adlibbed by actors Dotts Johnson and Alfonsino Pasca) and the thrilling Florentine vignette with Harriet Medin and Gigi Gori. Giulietta Masina, the wife of Federico Fellini, shows up in a bit role; Fellini himself collaborated on the screenplay with Rossellini and Annalena Limentani. Originally released at 115 minutes, Paisan was expertly edited to 90 minutes for American consumption by Stuart Legg and Raymond Spottiswoode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carmela Sazio, Dotts Johnson, (more)
