George Jackson Movies
Peter Hunt directed this old fashioned -- if not reactionary -- action film about gold-mining in South Africa. The story concerns a nefarious scheme to control the international price of gold by sabotaging the country's largest gold mine, flooding it with an underground sea. Hurry Hirschfeld (Ray Milland) is a cranky but kind millionaire who owns the gold mine. His granddaughter, Terry Steyner (Susannah York), is a beautiful women suffering from the old ennui. She happens to be married to chief bad-guy Manfred Steyner (Bradford Dillman), who, along with unscrupulous international tycoon Farrell (John Gielgud), hatches the plot to flood Hurry's gold- mine. To the rescue comes Rod Slater (Roger Moore) and his faithful black sidekick Big King (Simon Sabela), ready to right the wrongs and stem the tide in order to make South Africa safe for cheap black labor. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Moore, Susannah York, (more)
- 1966
A clairvoyant 15-year old girl meets an enterprising rock star in this drama shot in the Ozarks. The rock star has come to the mountains to build a performance arena with a large tent-like structure known as the Plastic Dome. He sees the girl as a potential audience draw and talks her into joining his act. Her talents make her quite popular and tourists come from all over to see her. Unfortunately, the honest girl doesn't always make happy prophesies. When they all begin to come true, the rock star gets quite upset until she finally quits performing. Her fans are so upset that the rocker attempts to return her forcibly. Sadly, as he attempts to abduct her, he accidentally causes her death. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sharon Henesy, Robert Gentry, (more)
- 1964
This drama is set in an Ozark mountain community where a family is frequently assisted by an amiable old mountain man nicknamed "The Shepherd," who is actually the grandfather to the clan. Unfortunately, his son deserted the family after his young wife died in childbirth. The young son survived though and has now grown up and fallen in love with a pretty young woman who has, unfortunately, been betrothed to another. One day the other man hears a young man bragging about a bank robbery. He tells the sheriff who ends up shooting the robber during a scuffle. This tragedy inspires the Shepherd to admit that he is the grandfather to the clan. He then shares his other deep secret: he has a gold mine that has been steadily producing for many years. He ends up bequeathing the mine to his grandson's family. Later he reminds his grandson and his beloved that a betrothal is only a verbal agreement while love creates a binding contract. This frees the two to marry and share their new-found wealth with the whole community. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1940
Halfway between a documentary and a wartime drama, RKO Radio's The Ramparts We Watch was the first feature-length production from Time Inc., the publishing firm responsible for RKO's March of Time newsreel series. Focusing on a "typical" American small town, the story takes place in the years between 1914 and 1918, just before the United States' intervention in WW1. Producer-director Louis de Rochemont draws several very pointed parallels between the complacency of the "teen" years and the isolationism preceding WW2, showing how a lack of preparedness for global war can lead to disastrous consequences. The film was lensed on location in New London, Connecticut, with several of the town's residents playing major roles. Just to make sure that the audience in 1940 knew what they'd be up against in the event of America's entry into WW2, DeRochemont incorporated several sobering clips from the Nazi-propaganda documentary Baptism of Fire. Based on a cautionary book by Major George Fielding Elliot, The Ramparts we Watch was narrated by March of Time mainstay Westbrook Van Voorhis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Adair, Julie Kent, (more)
- 1936
Two silent film versions preceded this 1936 Hollywood adaptation of the 19th century novel by the writer Ouida Bergere. It is set in Saharan Africa but was filmed in the Arizona desert. Ronald Colman is Corporal Victor, a man who has taken the rap for a crime committed by his younger brother. Victor has joined the French Foreign Legion to escape his past, taking with him his valet Rake (Herbert Mundin). His commander is the ruthless Major Doyle (Victor McLaglen), who becomes jealous when Cigarette (Claudette Colbert), a nightclub singer with a yen for men in uniforms, sets her sights on Victor. Victor, however, lusts after a more refined Englishwoman named Lady Venetia (Rosalind Russell), and he eventually dumps Cigarette for Venetia. McLaglen sends Victor off on a difficult mission from which he hopes that he won't return. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Colman, Claudette Colbert, (more)
