Tab Hunter Movies
With that fabricated name and those Malibu-beach good looks, Tab Hunter really couldn't hope to be taken seriously as an actor, but he certainly worked hard -- and at times was very good indeed. An early starter, Hunter lied his way into the Coast Guard at the age of 15. Three years later, he was selected on the basis of his physique to appear in a supporting role in the 1950 tale of racial prejudice The Lawless. At 21, Hunter became a major "beefcake" personality after shedding most of his clothes in the low-budget Island of Desire (1952). He was signed to a Warner Bros. contract in 1953, which didn't bring him much in the way of substantial roles but which gave him leeway to work on live television, where he turned in a few creditable performances. Critics wailed when he was selected to star opposite Gwen Verdon and Ray Walston in the 1958 film version of Damn Yankees, but his presence brought in a lot more business from the teenage filmgoing contingent than might otherwise have been possible; besides, he looked like a young Mickey Mantle, which was qualification enough for his role as a baseball player. In 1960, Hunter starred as a bachelor newspaper cartoonist in his own sitcom, The Tab Hunter Show, which opened in an excellent timeslot but failed to please the masses. By the mid-1960s, Hunter was considered something of a "Sonny Tufts" type, best suited for campy, self-mocking roles. Happily, he survived on these terms, proving he could kid himself better than any wiseguy scriptwriter. He was co-starred in several films starring the corpulent female impersonator Divine, including the deathless Lust in the Dust (1985). In 1977, Tab Hunter replaced Philip Bruns on the satirical TV series Forever Fernwood; to answer those who might wonder how the still-handsome Hunter could possibly replace the wizened, chinless Bruns, the scripters contrived to have Bruns fall into a chemical vat, require plastic surgery...and then emerge from the bandages looking just like Tab Hunter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 2003
The life and career of 1940s sex symbol Rita Hayworth (1918-1987) is affectionately but uncompromisingly recounted in this cable TV documentary, produced by Hugh Hefner and narrated by actress Kim Basinger. Born into a show business family, Rita Cansino was still a pre-teen when she attracted the attention of Hollywood with her sultry Latin looks and her remarkable dancing skills. With her first husband, the much-older Edward C. Judson, as her manager and agent, Rita managed to land a starlet contract at 20th Century Fox, then moved on to greater glory when, signed by Columbia Pictures, she was re-christened Rita Hayworth and given a more "all-American" image via cosmetic surgery, electrolysis, and a new crop of flaming red hair. Though her career was sometimes impeded by Columbia boss Harry Cohn, who was upset that she continued to fend off his advances, Rita ultimately achieved superstardom as the alluring star of such films as Cover Girl and Gilda. Alas, her private life was never quite as satisfying as her professional one: After breaking up with Judson, she entered into a well-publicized but ultimately unhappy marriage to Orson Welles, then, in quick succession, wed a foreign prince, Aly Khan; a popular singer, Dick Haymes; and a flamboyant movie producer, James Hill. Through it all, the painfully shy and retiring actress yearned to be simply a normal wife and mother, but the pressures and responsibilities of international stardom denied her this balm. Rita's final years were clouded by Alzheimer's disease, which ended not only her career but her life. Among the interviewees in this documentary are Hayworth's daughter Yasmin Aga Khan, who has devoted her life to helping other victims of Alzheimer's, and Rita's best friend, musical star Ann Miller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kim Basinger, Yasmin Aga Kahn, (more)
- 1998
- Add 50 Years: The Best of Hollywood to QueueAdd 50 Years: The Best of Hollywood to top of Queue
Tab Hunter narrates this collection of clips from classic films. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1979
In this made-for-TV remake of the 1953 comedy, the wisdom of a young batboy (Gary Coleman) leads the San Diego Padres from worst to first and an eventual berth in the World Series. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Kim Basinger was best known as a model when she starred in the made-for-TV Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold. She plays a green-as-grass Texas teenager who wins a beauty contest. Armed with nothing more than delusions, Basinger heads to Hollywood to become a star. As given away by the film's title, Ms. Basinger ends up as posing au naturel. While it received surprisingly good review in 1978, Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold is no more artistically advanced than those Kroger Babb VD exploitation movies of the 1940s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kim Basinger
- 1975
When a couple of ruthless businessmen threaten her logging camp, a defenseless widow is aided by a group of Alaskan lumberjacks. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1970
San Francisco International is a multiplotted drama set at the titular air transport center. Several storylines intersect at various junctures: A $3,000,000 cargo plane robbery, a teenaged boy commandeering an aircraft, and a violent confrontation between a nasty businessman and a an airheaded hippie. Presiding over these major and minor crises is airport manager Pernell Roberts. When San Francisco International became the TV series San Francisco International Airport, Lloyd Bridges stepped into the Van Johnson role. The series, which ran from 1970 to 1971, was part of NBC's Four in One umbrella weekly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
The Arousers was also shipped out as Sweet Kill and A Kiss From Eddie. Former teen heartthrob Tab Hunter stars as a sex-obsessed serial killer. Hunter can't seem to convince the women he meets that he's worth loving and caring about, so he murders them. Based on an actual case history, the film is not as sleazily produced as one might expect. It's not for everyone's taste, but those who stick with are in for quite a jolt. Filmed in Venice, California (a suitably run-down location), The Arousers features a unexpected appearance by 1930s actress Isabel Jewell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
An international crime syndicate is threatened by the information given to American journalist Tab Hunter and sets out to kill him. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1967
The "Fickle Finger of Fate" is one of a pair of priceless religious art icons. This comedy centers around an American engineer who is just about ready to leave Madrid when it is discovered that his suitcase contains one of the missing fingers. The authorities suspect that his suitcase was switched. The engineer begins assisting in the search for the other finger. The prime suspects are five winners of a beauty contest. As he looks, he runs across a murder and a kidnapping. Eventually the real thief is located. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tab Hunter, Luis Prendes, (more)
- 1967
U.S. Marshal Gid McCool (George Montgomery) leads a wagon train of convicted felons to Huntsville prison in this routine western. The only female among the crooks is the dancehall girl Laura Mannon (Yvonne De Carlo), McCool's former flame. When McCool cannot be swayed from completing his lawful duty, Laura tries to endear herself to shotgun rider Mike Reno (Tab Hunter) in hopes he will set her free. The party is shadowed by some outlaws led by Aaron (John Russell), the brother of one of the condemned murderers, in hopes he can free his doomed sibling. Mike's efforts land him in chains, but McCool releases him to fight when the outlaws attack. The hero McCool comes through with only a slight scratch while his adversaries are all beaten to a bloody pulp. Silent movie star Francis X. Bushman was to have appeared in this film, but died in August 1966. His part was taken over by Donald "Red" Barry. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Montgomery, Yvonne De Carlo, (more)
- 1966
Comedian Soupy Sales makes his feature film debut in this silly outing as a janitor cleaning up at Cape Kennedy. He has been specially assigned to make sure that none of the nuclear warheads there get dusty. It's not easy because spies run around spreading dust. One day the janitor stumbles into an experiment and ends up with some very strange abilities: he can fly and women cannot stay away from him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Soupy Sales, Tab Hunter, (more)
- 1965
Frank Sinatra guests on two episodes of The Soupy Sales Show, with spots in color and black-and-white. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
The satire in Evelyn Waugh's darkly comic novel The Loved One was originally double-edged. The book was not only an attack on the Southern California funeral industry but also a lampoon of Hollywood's "British colony," those clannish, cricket-playing English actors of years gone by who bemoaned the artificiality of Tinseltown while eagerly accepting the demeaning and insignificant movie roles they were offered. The film version of The Loved One, anxious to live up to its ad-campaign promise of containing "something to offend everybody," downplays the British-colony business (save for the presence of the magnificent Robert Morley) and pumps up the "death" gags. Innocent British poet Dennis Barlow (Robert Morse) falls in love with funeral-home cosmetician Aimee Thanatogenos (Anjanette Comer), who in turn is loved by prissy funeral director Mr. Joyboy (Rod Steiger). The latter lives with his obese mother (Ayllene Gibbons), whose eating sequence is far more hilarious (and more tasteless) than many of the film's calculatedly "black" jokes. A huge guest-star cast is headed by Jonathan Winters in a dual role as a funeral home manager and his covetous twin brother, who operates an elaborate pet cemetery. Musician Paul Williams is also on hand as a 13-year-old aeronautics genius who develops a method of sending corpses into "eternal orbit" (a plot device that Waugh neglected to include in his novel). Film historian William K. Everson has commented that The Loved One is one of the best and most underrated comedies of the 1960s. For others, especially those who might feel guilty chuckling at the sight of Anjanette Comer committing suicide with an embalming needle, it's purely a matter of taste...or lack of same. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Morse, Anjanette Comer, (more)
This sci-fi fantasy film was supposedly inspired by a line from an Edgar Allen Poe poem. It is also the last film made by distinguished director Jacques Tourneur. The adventure begins when the widowed ruler of a sub-oceanic kingdom spies a woman on the land who closely resembles his late wife. Believing that she is the reincarnation of his beloved spouse, the mer-king orders his gill men to kidnap her. Fortunately two courageous divers and their pet rooster brave the mysterious depths and the deadly gillmen to rescue her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Price, Tab Hunter, (more)
- 1963
This conventional wartime drama is comprised of an inexplicable mix of moods and genres as a U.S. submarine in World War II heads out to the island of Bikini in the South Pacific to destroy the remains of a sunken sister ship. The ruined ship has some delicate radar equipment on board that cannot fall into enemy hands. Meanwhile, the Japanese naval command is sending out its ships as control over the Pacific is at issue. This builds up into a major sea-going confrontation as the forces on each side are strengthened and expanded. Incongruously mixed in with the growing tension is a love story between Lt. Morgan Hayes (Tab Hunter) and the voluptuous Reiko (Eva Six). Frankie Avalon, as one of the seamen, sings a few songs, and others contributing to the action are Jim Backus as a chief bosun's mate, and Gary Crosby as another seaman. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tab Hunter, Frankie Avalon, (more)
- 1962
Tab Hunter guest stars as Del Packer, a famous baseball pitcher who has joined King Company as a draftee. Sgt. Saunders (Vic Morrow) is the only member of the platoon who isn't starstruck by the celebrity in their midst, grimly demanding that Packer be treated just like any other GI. But this proves difficult when the ballplayer reveals himself to be a profoundly--and even dangerously--troubled man. A particularly violent climax caps this terse character study, in which familiar supporting actors Bernard Fox and Eric Braeden (then known as Hans Gudegast appear unbilled. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Filmed in Egypt, The Golden Arrow stars yesteryear's beefcake Tab Hunter as a bold Arabian Nights bandit. He discovers that he's actually the son of a Sultan, and that his kingdom is in danger. In order to save his people and restore his throne, the Tabmeister must locate a magic golden arrow. Or, if you prefer, he must locate "la fraccia d'oro", which was the original Italian title of this film. The Golden Arrow lets us know halfway through that it's not to be taken seriously (as if we had up till then) by offering us two comic genies: One skinny, one lazy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tab Hunter, Rossana Podestà , (more)
- 1961
Based on a play by Samuel Taylor and Cornelia Otis Skinner, The Pleasure of His Company is an old-fashioned romantic comedy. Fred Astaire plays Biddeford "Pogo" Poole, the long-absent prodigal father of Jessica Poole (Debbie Reynolds), who is just about to be married. Much to the dismay of his ex-wife, Katharine (Lilli Palmer), and her new husband, James Dougherty (Gary Merrill), Pogo shows up at the wedding. To get back into the family circle, he puts on the old charm, but before film's end realizes that charm alone is no substitute for parental responsibility. Charlie Ruggles makes a wry turn as Pogo's former father-in-law. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Astaire, Debbie Reynolds, (more)
- 1959
That Kind of Woman stars Sophia Loren as an Italian girl, Kay, who enjoys a brief wartime romance with American paratrooper Red (Tab Hunter). But Kay is already the property of a suave millionaire (George Sanders) known only as "The Man." When next we see her, Kay is living Hollywood's concept of the life of a kept woman: luxurious apartment, limitless wardrobe, and an ever-so-slightly repentant facial expression. When Red reenters her life, she forsakes her wanton lifestyle -- only to lose her newfound love to enemy bullets. Essentially a remake of the World War I war-horse The Shopworn Angel, That Kind of Woman relies solely on Sophia Loren for its emotional punch; Tab Hunter is, after all, Tab Hunter. Watch for fleeting appearances by John Fiedler as a GI and Bea Arthur as a WAC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Tab Hunter, (more)
- 1958
Though director William Wellman was attached to the Lafayette Flying Corps during WW1, many people believed that he was actually with the celebrated Lafayette Escadrille, and this 1958 actioner does little to dispel that belief. The film concentrates on a group of courageous young American aviators who, long before the USA's entry into the Great War, band together to fight the minions of the Kaiser in the skies of France. One of these reckless flyboys is Thad Walker (Tab Hunter), who arrives in Paris after being thrown out of his wealthy father's home. Joining the Escadrille with Walker are fellow expatriates Tom Hitchcock (Jody McCrea), Duke Sinclaire (David Janssen) and "Wild Bill" Wellman (played by the director's son, Bill Wellman Jr.). After a bit of parlez-vous with the local mademoiselles, Walker and his pals take to the air, and at this point, the film really gets off the ground (no pun intended). The spectacular aerial sequences are evocative of those in Wellman's silent classic Wings, though Lafayette Escadrille itself falls a bit short of classic status. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tab Hunter, Etchika Choureau, (more)
