Howard W. Koch Movies

Frank Sinatra took over the directors' chair for the first (and only) time in this unusual WWII drama. Lt. Kuroki (Tatsuya Mihashi) is the leader of a Japanese platoon stranded on a remote Pacific island, where with an iron hand he oversees the construction of a rescue ship. An American plane crash-lands on the island, leading to a skirmish between the two rag-tag legions; eventually, both sides call a truce, and medical officer Maloney (Sinatra) treats a Japanese soldier who was seriously wounded in the fighting. American commander Capt. Bourke (Clint Walker) and Lt. Kuroki come to an agreement -- they will work together to bring needed help to the island, but once either side's forces reach them, the fighting will pick up where it left off. None But the Brave was an international co-production of Artanis Productions (Sinatra's production company -- "Artanis" is Sinatra backwards), Warner Brothers, Tokyo Eiga, and Toho. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This filmization of Neil Simon's first Broadway hit was adapted for the screen by Norman Lear. Once we get past the illogical casting of middle-aged Frank Sinatra and twentysomething Tony Bill as brothers, we're home free. Sinatra, a swinger supreme, uses his New York apartment as a harem of sorts for his legion of lady friends. Bill, wishing to break loose from his protective parents (Lee J. Cobb and Molly Picon), moves in with older brother Sinatra, hoping to emulate his sibling in the sex department. Sinatra teaches Bill the tricks of the trade--to his everlasting regret, since Bill soon wins such prizes as Jill St. John and Barbara Rush away from Sinatra. The third act finds Sinatra behaving more like a parent than his parents, steering Bill on the straight and narrow and finally settling down with Rush. Also appearing in Come Blow Your Horn is singer Phyllis McGuire (an offscreen Sinatra vis-a-vis), Dan Blocker, and, in the uncredited role of a wino, Dean Martin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An unusually tense and intelligent political thriller, The Manchurian Candidate was a film far ahead of its time. Its themes of thought control, political assassination, and multinational conspiracy were hardly common currency in 1962, and while its outlook is sometimes informed by Cold War paranoia, the film seemed nearly as timely when it was reissued in 1987 as it did on its original release. It opens with a group of soldiers whooping it up in a bar in Korea as their commander, Sgt. Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey), arrives to inform them that they're back on duty. These men obviously have no fondness for Shaw, and he feels no empathy for them. While on patrol, Shaw and his platoon are ambushed by Korean troops. Months later, Shaw is receiving a hero's welcome as he returns to the United States to accept the Congressional Medal of Honor, and several of the soldiers who served under Shaw repeatedly refer to him as "the bravest, finest, most lovable man I ever met." It soon becomes evident that after their capture by the Koreans, Shaw and his men were subjected to an intense program of brainwashing prior to their release. While several are troubled by bad dreams and inexplicable behavior, it's Capt. Bennett Marco (Frank Sinatra) who seems the most haunted by the experience. In time, Marco is able to piece together what happened; it seems Raymond Shaw was programmed by a shadowy cadre of Russian and Chinese agents into a killing machine who will assassinate anyone, even a close friend, when given the proper commands. On the other side of the coin, Shaw is also used for political gain by his harridan mother (Angela Lansbury), who guides the career of her second husband, John Iselin (James Gregory), a bone-headed congressman hoping to win the vice-presidential nomination through a campaign of anti-Communist hysteria.

The Manchurian Candidate features a host of remarkable performances, several from actors cast cleverly against type. Frank Sinatra's edgy, aggressive turn as Marco may be the finest dramatic work of his career; Laurence Harvey's chilly onscreen demeanor was rarely used to s better advantage than as Raymond Shaw; James Gregory is great as the oft-befuddled Senator Iselin; and Angela Lansbury's ultimate bad mom will be a shock to those who know her as the lovable mystery writer from Murder, She Wrote. George Axelrod's screenplay (based on Richard Condon's novel) is by turns compelling, witty, and horrifying in its implications, and John Frankenheimer's direction milks it for all the tension it can muster. While Frankenheimer's career has had its ups and downs, The Manchurian Candidate and Seconds (1966) suggest that he deserves to be recognized as one of the most brilliantly paranoid American filmmakers of the '60s. Entertaining yet unsettling, both films indicate that things in the '60s were not what they seemed, with a resonance that still echoes uncomfortably in the present. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story, Capone's second-in-command Frank Nitti (Bruce Gordon) steps up his heretofore unsuccessful efforts to eliminate Anton Cermak (Robert Middleton), the incorruptable mayor of Chicago. Scheduled to appear at a public event in Miami with president-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Cermak would seem to be a sitting duck for Nitti's torpedoes, but Elliot Ness and the Untouchables aren't about to let that happen. Meanwhile, a deranged anarchist named Giuseppe Zangara (Joe Mantell) may well succeed where Nitti has failed--assuming that Cermak is Zangara's intended target. Though historically inaccurate in many respects, this episode paints a vibrant picture of the euphoria surrounding the election of the first anti-Prohibition president in 14 years. Parts One and Two of "The Unhired Assassin" were later combined and released theatrically as the feature film Guns of Zangara. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Behind his respectable veneer as owner of the posh Jockey Club, Dink Conway (David Brian) is actually in charge of all organized crime in St. Louis. Backed up by his top gun Whitey Deering (Leo Gordon), Conway forces all the other hoods in town to play ball with him--and systematically bumps off those with whom he can't see eye-to-eye. When a minor mobster pulls off a mail truck heist without permission, Conway has the man killed, then goes to great lengths to get his own grubby hands on the stolen loot. It is up to Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) to put an end to Conway's operation before every potential witness is rubbed out. This episode marks the last appearance of Jerry Paris as "Untouchable" Martin Flaherty, and the first appearance of Anthony George as new team member Cam Allison--who turns out to have a personal reason for putting Conway behind bars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A late '50s upgrade of the 1931 film by the same title, this version of trouble on death row by Howard Koch is more violent than its predecessor -- a hint of the trend toward shock for its own sake that would one day dominate action films and thrillers. The setting is a cell block of nine inmates scheduled for execution and the first half of the drama focuses on the horror of that last walk. A grim death in the electric chair is in no way glossed over. All nine prisoners are more appealing than any single guard, giving rise to the question of whether or not the men should exchange places. Then "Killer" John Mears (Mickey Rooney) comes along. His vicious attitude infects the environment and his plans to break out of prison are the catalyst for tragedy. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this drama, six daring truckers must transport unstable, highly explosive rocket fuel through a dangerously bumpy, rugged country. The film centers on their individual reasons for making the trip. These are presented via flashback. Though most of them need the money, one of the truck drivers is actually the fuel's inventor. During the fuel's development, a freak accident caused the death of his family. All but one of the drivers safely make it to their destination. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

With Andy Hardy Comes Home, Mickey Rooney hoped to revive the character -- and the movie series -- that had brought him fame and fortune back in the 1930s and 1940s. Returning to his home town of Carvel after several years absence, lawyer Andy Hardy (Rooney) brings his wife Jane (Patricia Breslin) and two children Andy Jr. (played by Rooney's real-life son Teddy) and Jimmy (Johnny Weissmuller Jr.) along on his sentimental journey. Andy's dad Judge Hardy is long gone (though the late Lewis Stone appears in flashbacks), but his mom (Fay Holden), sister Marian (Cecilia Parker), and Aunt Milly (Sara Haden) welcome him with open arms. After a while, Andy reveals the real reason for his return: now in the employ of an aircraft company, he hopes to convince his bosses to build a plant in Carvel. The fly in the ointment is crooked businessman Chandler (Frank Ferguson), who, when Andy refuses to purchese Chandler's land at a ridiculously exorbitant price, mounts a campaign to discredit the Hardy family. A pleasant enough diversion, Andy Hardy Comes Home failed to spark interest in a new Hardy Family series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It's called The Dalton Girls because there aren't any Dalton Boys left. After all the members of the notorious Dalton outlaw gang have been killed or arrested, their sisters decide to pick up where the boys left off. Led by Holly Dalton (Merry Anders), who since killing a man in self-defense has been outside the law, the girls terrorize Colorado territory with their criminal raids. The other members of the gang are Rose, Columbine and Marigold Dalton, played by B-picture perennials Lisa Davis, Penny Edwards, Sue George. In true Hollywood Chauvinist fashion, the Dalton girls are trailed by a bunch of matrimony-minded men; refreshingly, however, the ladies remain true to their heritage to the last. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Revolt at Fort Laramie offers the old one about sworn enemies uniting to defeat an even more awesome foe. In this instance. The time is the Civil War: the place is a western cavalry outpost, where Union and Confederate sympathizers are forced to share close quarters. Not surprisingly, tensions erupt in a hurry, despite the honorable intentions of commander (and stalwart Southerner) John Dehner. But when indian chief Eddie Little lays siege upon Fort Laramie, Yanks and Rebels fight side by side. Harry Dean Stanton, then billed simply as Dean Stanton, makes his screen debut as "Rusty". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Untamed Youth is a camp classic, so stupefyingly awful that it's actually festive. The villains are cotton grower Tropp (John Russell) and corrupt female judge Mrs. Steele (Lurene Tuttle), who conspire between them to ship female convicts to work on Tropp's farm for starvation wages. Two of the new arrivals are professional entertainers Penny (Mamie Van Doren) and Janey (Lori Nelson), arrested on trumped-up charges and forced to work off their sentence on the Tropp spread. Salvation arrives in the form of Bob (Don Burnett), Mrs. Steele's son, who intends to expose his mom's eeeevil scheme. Featured in the cast is rock-and-roller Eddie Cochran, who gets to sing one song -- while Mamie Van Doren is permitted four numbers. To repeat examples of the film's howlingly bad dialogue would be to rob the viewer of the perverse pleasure of experiencing Untamed Youth in all its trashy glory. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this western, angry Apaches begin a series of raids on a cavalry outpost. First they steal all the horses from a regiment on maneuvers forcing them to march back to the fort. Upon their return, the soldiers discover that everyone at the fort has been massacred. Now a rookie West Point officer is left in charge, and unfortunately, he is too green to lead. Fortunately, a sergeant is there to take over the reins. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide