Kenneth Higgins Movies
- 1987
It's Sullivan's Pavilion all right. The film was produced, directed and written by Fred G. Sullivan. And its leading players are Fred, Polly, Tate, Katie, Kirk, and Ricky Sullivan. Fred is an independent filmmaker, who's moved his entire family to the Adirondacks. When he's not making films (which is often), Fred takes odd jobs while his wife wrangles the kids. A textbook case of the "cinema of personal expression" Sullivan's Pavilion devotes much of its running time to Sullivan's self-reflective musings. If he's not likely to become a success, he asks himself, why does he continue making films? Why, for the sheer love of filmmaking, of course! Is there any other reason? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Polly Sullivan, Katie Sullivan, (more)
- 1986
- R
A group of curious kids get into big trouble when they decide to explore a ramshackle mansion in this horror movie. They believe that the place is empty but too soon they discover it is inhabited by a wicked sorcerer who uses black magic and human sacrifice to try and revive his comatose bride. He is very close to success and only needs a few more sacrifices. How convenient that the hapless teens should arrive at that moment. He sends out his zombies to welcome them and bring them back. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Felix Ward, Alec Nemser, (more)
- 1957
Western writer/director Charles Marquis Warren makes one of his periodic excursions into horror with The Unknown Terror. Filmed in Mexico, the story focuses on three American adventurers (John Howard, Mala Powers and Paul Richards) who search for a missing explorer. They stumble across the Cave of Death, the forbidden domain of a mad scientist (Gerald Milton) who has developed a "killer fungus." Before long, one of the trio has fallen victim to the homicidal mold. It is up to the survivors to escape the scientist's clutches and warn the rest of the world of the now-known terror that festers in the wilds of Mexico. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mala Powers, Paul Richards, (more)
- 1943
Dick Foran is back for another seven-reel melange of music and comedy in Universal's He's My Guy. Foran is cast as defense-plant worker Van Moore, who is casting about for ways of boosting morale amongst his fellow workers. Coming to the rescue are a group of veteran vaudevillians, who stage a spectacular show for the plant. Among these beloved performers are Gertrude Niesen, the Mills Brothers, Louis Da Pron, Lorraine Krueger, The Diamond Brothers and the Dorene Sisters. The feminine angle of the storyline is handled by heroine Irene Hervey and comedienne Joan Davis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Foran, Irene Hervey, (more)
Ghosts on the Loose (which features no ghosts whatsoever) is perhaps the best-known of Monogram's "East Side Kids" series. This time, Muggs (Leo Gorcey), Glimpy (Huntz Hall), and the rest of the kids offer to decorate the honeymoon cottage of Glimpy's sister, Betty (Ava Gardner), and her new husband, Jack (Rick Vallin). Unfortunately, the boys end up at the wrong house, a sinister mansion that serves as the headquarters for a Nazi spy ring headed by Emil (Bela Lugosi). The rest of the film is an extended chase -- first the Nazis chasing the boys, then the boys chasing the Nazis. Incidentally, this is the film in which Bela Lugosi allegedly sneezes out an obscenity. Ghosts on the Loose has been reissued under several titles, notably The East Side Kids Meet Bela Lugosi. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bela Lugosi, Ava Gardner, (more)
- 1942
A college student's passion for swinging music leads him to found his own band. When he starts spending more time playing music than studying, his father, a prominent hotelier, steps in and sends the lad to a dude ranch in Arizona. Undeterred, the boy brings the band with him. Once there, he encounters a pretty girl. Unfortunately, her father owns a rival hotel chain. Fortunately, after much singing, dancing and misunderstanding, the two young people finally manage to fall in love. Though only an hour long, the film is packed with 16 popular songs. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Healy, Richard Davies, (more)
- 1941
Hal Roach's first Technicolor production was the 48-minute musical Fiesta. The story takes place on the Mexican ranch owned by Don Hernandez (Antonio Moreno), whose niece Cholita (Anne Ayers) is returning home to marry local caballero Jose (George Negrete). When Cholita arrives, however, she has a new fiance in tow: pompous radio star Fernando Gomez (George Givot). Unwilling to resort to anything as crass as physical violence, Jose spends the next four reels cooking up schemes to scare Gomez off the property. Like Roach's first "streamlined" musical All-American Co-Ed, Fiesta was directed by choreographer Leroy Prinz. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Ayars, Jorge Negrete, (more)
- 1941
This 48-minute Hal Roach "streamliner" represents a rare directorial assignment for veteran Hollywood choreographer LeRoy Prinz, who also produced the film. Johnny Downs stars as Bob Sheppard of Quinceton University, who is appointed by his frat brothers to get even with the snotty sorority gals at all-female Marr Brynn U. This requires Bob to dress up in drag as a "blonde bombshell" and to enter Marr Brynn's annual beauty contest. When he's not flouncing around in curls and crinolines, Bob spends his time romancing pert co-ed Virginia (Frances Langford). The supporting cast ranges from silent-comedy veteran Harry Langdon to leggy newcomer Marie Windsor. The film's four musical numbers (representing approximately 25 percent of the running time!) include the Oscar-nominated "Out of the Silence". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frances Langford, Johnny Downs, (more)
