Louis King Movies

In the fourth episode of Walt Disney's eight-part miniseries The Swamp Fox, Continental Army guerilla leader Francis Marion (Leslie Nielsen) feels responsible when his nephew Gabe is killed by the Tories. Letting revenge outweigh his duty to his men, Marion personally sets out to kill Gabe's murderer, Amos Briggs (John Anderson). As a result of Marion's dereliction, the Redcoats seize control of South Carolina's valuable salt supply, necessitating a desperate last-minute raid against British fortifications. "Day of Reckoning" originally aired as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the sixth episode of Walt Disney's eight-part miniseries The Swamp Fox, 18th century American guerilla leader Francis Marion (Leslie Nielsen) has again succeeded in thwarting the plans of Redcoat officer Col. Tarleton (John Sutton). Escaping from Marion's men, Tarleton takes refuge in the home of Mary Videaux (Barbara Eiler), whom he believes is a pro-British Tory. But when Tarleton sees Mary kissing Francis during a secret rendezvous, he puts two and two together and realizes that Mary is working for the Continentals. Capturing Mary and putting her on trial for treason in Charleston, SC, Tarleton hopes to flush out Marion and his men for a final, bloody showdown. "A Case of Treason" originally aired as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The 3D melodrama Dangerous Mission starts off with a bang when innocent Piper Laurie inadvertently witnesses the murder of her gangster boss. Though she doesn't get a particularly good look at the killer, she knows she's dead meat if she remains in town. Thus, Laurie skeedaddles to Montana's Glacier National Park, where most of the film takes place. Following her westward are Victor Mature and Vincent Price. One of these men is a federal agent, bound and determined to bring Laurie back to the East to testify; the other is the murderer, who intends to silence our heroine for keeps. Laurie doesn't know which is which, but the audience does. A bit poky at times (thanks in part to the uninspired editing of Gene Palmer), Dangerous Mission roars into life during a mid-film forest fire and a climactic chase through the glacier fields. Featured in the cast are William Bendix as a Montana ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A climactic donnybrook between hero Allan Lane and ace Republic villain Roy Barcroft is the highlight of this otherwise routine B-Western effort directed by John Ford's nephew Philip Ford. The railroad is coming to El Dorado on the Powder River and a phony agent, Devereaux (Douglas Evans), persuades the citizens that they must come up with $50,000 within three days or the building project may be in trouble. "Rocky" Lane, who is a genuine railroad man, knows that Devereaux is only an actor hired to swindle the good folks of El Dorado and that the real representative, Bob Manning (Bruce Edwards), may be in danger. The plot thickens when Manning's wife, Louise (Gerry Gantzer), arrives in El Dorado and immediately becomes a target of the swindlers. Using a phony telegram, Lane manages to flush out the leader of the gang, local tailor Shears Williams (Francis McDonald), but is then falsely accused of pocketing the $50,000 himself. Managing to prove his innocence, "Rocky" tracks down the villains in the tailor shop where a furious fight between good and evil ensues. Although stabbed in the shoulder, Lane succeeds in disarming his opponents. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Though the title role of Frenchie goes to Shelley Winters, top billing in this period actioner is bestowed upon Joel McCrea as sheriff Tom Banning. Hoping to find her father's murderers, New Orleans gambling-house proprietress Frenchie Fontaine (Shelley Winters) sets up shop in the Wild West. With the help of sheriff Banning, Frenchie is able to locate one of the two killers. But after tracking down the second culprit, Banning finds himself facing a murder charge. Though it isn't readily obvious, Frenchie is actually a reworking of 1939's Destry Rides Again, with Joel McCrea and Shelley Winters playing variations of the characters originally essayed by James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dick Powell stars as Canadian Mountie Sgt. Mike Flannagan. When Boston-bred Kathy O'Fallon (Evelyn Keyes) marries Mike, she is immediately nicknamed "Mrs. Mike" by her new friends and neighbors. Unprepared for the hardships of life in the Great White North, Mrs. Mike nonetheless perseveres through minor inconveniences and major tragedies, including the death of her child during an epidemic. The film lays on the sentiment rather heavily, but stars Dick Powell and Evelyn Keyes manage to cut through the treacle with their first-rate thesping. Based on a true story, Mrs. Mike was adapted from the best-selling novel by Benedict & Nancy Freedman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Often mistakenly identified as a sequel to My Friend Flicka, Thunder in the Valley actually has more in common with the Lassie saga. Lon McAllister plays the son of truculent Scottish sheepherder Edmund Gwenn. Though he has no time for people, Gwenn is quite fond of his collie dog. Partly as a means of defying his intractible father, McAllister raises his own dog and beats Gwenn at an annual contest. Father and son are brought closer together when Gwenn is forced to do away with his collie, who has gone mad. Breathtakingly photographed in Technicolor (those nocturnal Highlands scenes are terrific!), Thunder in the Valley is based on the popular Alfred Ollivant novel Bob, Son of Battle. Lending excellent support to stars Gwenn and McAllister are Peggy Ann Garner and Reginald Owen; reportedly, perennial Laurel and Hardy foil James Finlayson also appears in the role of a judge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This sequel to 1943's My Friend Flicka stars Roddy McDowell, recreating his role in the earlier film. The son of a horse rancher (Preston S. Foster), McDowell takes it upon himself to train Thunderhead, a white colt with the same rebellious streak that distinguished its mother (Flicka). Thunderhead helps McDowell round up several horses that had been stolen from his father, and also attracts the attention of a racing aficionado (Ralph Sanford). Once fully grown, Thunderhead indicates that he'd be happier running wild, so McDowell tearfully but proudly gives the horse his freedom. Like My Friend Flicka, Thunderhead, Son of Flicka was based on a novel by Mary o'Hara. The original film would engender one more sequel, Green Grass of Wyoming (48), and later would inspire a brief TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Subtitled The Fighting Guerillas, Chetniks tells the story of Yugoslavian guerilla fighter General Draja Mihailovitch. Based on the General's own memoirs, the film depicts Mihailovitch (played here by Philip Dorn) as a selfless idealist, leading his resistance troops, known as the Chetniks, on one raid after another against the Germans during WW II. The best scenes involve the deadly clashes between Chetniks and Germans in the treacherous mountain regions of Yugoslavia. Anna Sten, Sam Goldwyn's 1930s "answer" to Greta Garbo, co-stars as Mihailovitch's self-sacrificing spouse. Initially, some dismissed this movie because of the mistaken belief that the Chetniks collaborated with the Nazis during WWII, but as Michael Lees unequivocally proves in his book The Rape of Serbia, this was actually a myth fed to Churchill by the Communist partisans of Josip Broz Tito, to convince the British prime minister to shift Allied aid away from the Chetniks. The events in this film are thus factual. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Previously filmed in 1916 with Mary Pickford's brother Jack in the lead, Booth Tarkington's irresistable coming-of-age novel Seventeen serves as a tailor-made vehicle for 18-year-old Jackie Cooper. The star is cast as William Slyvanus Baxter, a high school boy who is undergoing the pangs of First Romance. The object of his affections is flirtatious debutante Lola Pratt (Betty Field), an "older woman"-at least a whole year older! Losing his head completely, William spends all of his hard-earned money on the fickle Lola, only to learn a valuable (and very expensive) lesson about loving neither wisely nor too well. Norma Nelson is hilariously hateful as William's tattletale kid sister, while Otto Kruger and Ann Shoemaker are quietly effective as the boy's exasperated but understanding parents. Obviously rushed into production to capitalize on the successful teaming of Jackie Cooper and Betty Field in 1939's What a Life!, Seventeen is an excellent effort in its own right. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Typhoon was Paramount's answer to Samuel Goldwyn's The Hurricane, even utilizing the same leading lady, Dorothy Lamour. The film is set in a small island off Dutch Guinea. Two sailors (Robert Preston and Lynne Overman) make the acquaintance of a young white girl (Lamour) who has been living on the island since childhood, the victim of a shipwreck. The Technicolor cameras are given a thorough workout recording not only Lamour's sarong-clad frame and the climactic typhoon, but also an added-attraction forest fire. Incidentally, the working title for Typhoon was The Big Haircut. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Even geniuses have to eat, and when Mark Twain was offered a substantial sum of money to slap together a quickie sequel to his classic novel Tom Sawyer, he responded with the pulpish but entertaining Tom Sawyer, Detective. Billy Cook is sublimely cast as Tom, while Donald O'Connor steals the film in the more colorful role of Huckleberry Finn. When local deacon Uncle Silas (Porter Hall) is accused of murder, Tom and Huck endeavor to prove his innocence by solving the mystery themselves. Complicating matters is the fact that the "dead man" (William Haade) is seen roaming around very much alive. The film's highlight is a spooky episode in a mausoleum, with our intrepid heroes working overtime to convince each other that they ain't really scared. Janet Waldo, later one of the most versatile voiceover actresses in the business, plays Tom's puppy-love interest Ruth Phelps. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide