Lee Kresel Movies
- 1962
Credited in some source books to Lee Kresel, the French-made Prisoner of the Iron Mask was actually directed by Francesco DeFeo. This colorful if occasionally empty-headed swashbuckler concerns an evil count, who imprisons the patriot (Michael Lemoine) who bears proof of the count's perfidy. Few of the elements of the Alexandre Dumas novel The Iron Mask surface in this film, chiefly because it is based not on The Iron Mask but on another Dumas work, Ten Years After. Nor do D'Artagnan or the Three Musketeers make their anticipated appearances in this film. Rarely seen today, The Prisoner of the Iron Mask enjoyed its widest American exposure during the Color TV "boom" of the mid-1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1961
Mothra was the third major addition to the Toho Studios' giant-monster stable after Godzilla and Rodan, and the first female beast in the series. The creature begins Ishiro Honda's entertaining film as a giant larva worshipped by island tribesmen and guarded by twin sisters (Emi and Yumi Ito) who stand only a few inches high. Eventually, the larva metamorphoses into a giant female moth and panic ensues as the creature attempts to regain her stolen egg and her tiny protectors. The usual pandemonium and destruction is tempered here by a softer edge which would come to dominate the genre for much of the decade. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jerry Ito, Ken Uehara, (more)
- 1961
In this romantic Italian swashbuckler, a tyrannical 17th-century Spanish governor of a small Carribbean island mercilessly slaughters all who refuse to grovel at his feet. Two brave young men manage to escape the island and take over a ship to become pirates. They name their new vessel the Black Witch and use her to get their revenge upon the cruel island ruler. During the battle, one of the pirates is injured while the other is captured. The injured pirate meets and falls in love with the governor's lovely daughter who helps him recover. Meanwhile, his imprisoned partner joins the governor's army and teams up with the vengeful woman his former buddy spurned to get rid of the pirates. A great final battle ensues until at long last, the village is vanquished. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Don McGowan, Emma Danieli, (more)
- 1956
A free-spirited nun is sent to work as the nanny for an Austrian baron's seven children and helps them to become a renowned singing group. The Baron is a good man, but he runs his family with the discipline of a drill sergeant. The former novitiate feels that children should be allowed to have fun and so teaches them to start enjoying life. She also encourages the talented septet to sing. When the Baron discovers his children acting frivolously, he is enraged. He is just about to fire her when he hears the sweet singing of his children. He keeps her on a little longer and even begins falling in love with her. But then she must return to her convent to renounce her vows. Later they are reunited and the family begins traveling and singing until the Nazis take over and the Trapp family is forced to flee to the U.S. Based on a true story, it was later reworked and remade as the classic musical The Sound of Music. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ruth Leuwerik, Hans Holt, (more)
- 1952
Set in 18th-century South America, The Golden Coach (Le Carrosse D'Or) stars Anna Magnani as an earthy Commedia Del Arte performer. Magnani is lusted after by diplomat Duncan Lamont, who leaves both his job and his mistress to pursue the sexy actress. Also vying for Magnani's favors are a bullfighter and a nobleman. Magnani tries to avert bloodshed by giving away the Golden Coach that had been bestowed upon her by the expansive Lamont. When director Jean Renoir was asked if he intended The Golden Coach to be Pirandellian, what with its linking of reality and theatricality, Renoir responded that his intention was to establish that "life is life and the stage is the stage." Maybe so, but the film's brilliant Technicolor and superb performances easily transcend that mundane entity known as Real Life. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anna Magnani, Duncan Lamont, (more)
- 1949
- NR
Gregory Ratoff is listed as sole director of the 1949 Orson Welles starrer Black Magic, but it is now common knowledge that Welles directed most of this lavish costumer himself. Told in flashback, the film recounts the life and times of notorious 18th-century hypnotist/magician/scam artist Cagliostro (played, but of course, by Welles). Learning the secrets of hypnosis from Dr. Mesmer (Charles Goldner), Cagliostro exploits this skill to gain wealth, prestige and, on occasion, romance. His downward slide begins when Cagliostro enters into an Anastasia-like scheme to substitute a young lass named Lorenza (Nancy Guild) for French queen Marie Antoinette. The charlatan's partners in crime are gypsies Gilbert (Akim Tamiroff, who manages to out-ham Welles in some scenes) and Zoraida (Valentina Cortese). Longer on style than substance, Black Magic is a wickedly delightful cinematic exercise, with Welles at his overbaked best. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Orson Welles, Nancy Guild, (more)
