Melvin Levy Movies

Based primarily on the "Silver John" tales of Manly Wade Wellman, this enthusiastically silly low-budgeter tells the story of young John (Hedge Capers), a balladeer who returns home to find that his Grandpappy (Denver Pyle) -- also named John -- has decided to do battle with the Devil by playing a special tune (penned by Hoyt Axton, no less!) on a silver-stringed guitar. Unwisely, the elder John chose silver dollars to make his strings, realizing too late that modern-day dollar coins contain no silver at all (due, of course, to an evil government conspiracy), and his soul is lost. The younger John decides to follow the old man's path -- only not quite as stupidly -- and creates his own silver strings (this time genuine). In his travels, he encounters an undertaker who made a deal with a witch (Susan Strasberg) in exchange for gold; an evil gatekeeper named O.J. and his "Big Ugly Bird" (depicted via stop-motion animation); and a cotton plantation run by a voodoo overlord. He eventually reaches Washington, D.C., presumably to do battle with the ultimate evil: the Army Corps of Engineers. Sticking to the essence of the Appalachian ghost stories on which Wellman's stories were based, director John Newland (erstwhile host of One Step Beyond) conjures some delightfully bizarre images despite the painfully low budget, but one wonders exactly where he was going with this. This film is also known as Who Fears the Devil. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

In this high-seas adventure set in the 1600s, a British sea captain must go undercover, join a pirate band, and capture the notorious Captain Henry Morgan. But Morgan is on to the ruse and is well prepared when the sea captain makes his move. As the two engage in mortal combat, they are knocked unconscious and dragged to the governor of Tortuga who prepares to hang them both as pirates. Fortunately, a stowaway aboard the pirate vessel steps forward and reveals the hero's true identity and saves him. Morgan is not so lucky. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This odd drama features Jack Nicholson, then only 21-years old, in his first feature film. He plays a young delinquent who thinks he may have killed one of the two thugs who were pursuing him. He hides out in a local drive-in where he takes three hostages and barricades himself and them in a storeroom. Police surround the place and try to negotiate with the frightened boy but even his friends cannot reach him. Meanwhile, the media has learned of the situation and soon a TV news crew arrives followed by a crowd of spectators. Soon concessions are being sold, and the event becomes a circus. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

For various reasons, the 1949 western Calamity Jane and Sam Bass has a rather poor reputation amongst film buffs. Many observers feel that stars Yvonne de Carlo and Howard Duff merely go through the motions, while others complain that the usually dependable Universal-International production values are largely absent. Recent cable-TV showings of this film have revealed that, while not in the same league as Stagecoach or Winchester 73, Calamity Jane and Sam Bass is a relatively entertaining rehash of a familiar story. Most of the film consists of Bass' rise to notoriety as a colorful outlaw. On the verge of retirement, he agrees to one last holdup, which proves his undoing. According to the film, Calamity Jane remains by Bass' side throughout his various exploits, even though she ultimately loses him to "nice" girl Katharine Egan (Dorothy Hart). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Whenever budget-conscious Columbia laid out good money for Technicolor in the 1940s, it was usually for a musical or an "A" western. Renegades falls into the latter category. Fresh from The Jolson Story, Larry Parks stars as the son of a notorious, Scripture-spouting outlaw (Edgar Buchanan). Parks tries to go straight, but eventually succumbs to expectations and becomes a renegade along with his father and brothers. Willard Parker is the peaceable town doctor who guns down Parks in the climax, while Evelyn Keyes is the leading lady, who insists upon finding Parks fascinating despite of (or maybe because of) his reputation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Charles Winninger plays an old seaman who rules the roost in his family, which resides on a Florida houseboat. His oldest granddaughter (Anne Baxter) draws up plans to invite a serviceman for Sunday dinner, just before the boy will be shipped out. Because of their ramshackle lifestyle, Winninger's brood has trouble getting a soldier to accept their hospitality until lonely, defensive GI John Hodiak comes along. Nothing much happens thereafter that isn't totally expected, including Hodiak's changing his outlook on life and falling in love with the granddaughter. Sunday Dinner for a Soldier is the sort of laid-back, anecdotal film that was indigenous to Hollywood's "feel-good" brand of wartime entertainment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hitler's Madman is based on an all-too-real wartime atrocity. John Carradine portrays Heydrich, the vicious SS officer put in charge of Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. Heydrich is killed by the Czech underground, prompting the Nazis to plan a horrible retaliation. The Gestapo selects the Czech village of Lidice for annihilation: They kill all the male villagers, throw the women and children into concentration camps, and torch Lidice into nonexistence. The victims of Nazi tyranny become martyrs to the underground cause, ending the film on a note of triumph. Based on a narrative poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay, Hitler's Madman was produced by the "poverty row" PRC studio, but was sold to MGM and given a class-A presentation at choice theatres throughout the U.S. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Warner Baxter does a variation of his Oscar-winning "Cisco Kid" characterization in Robin Hood of El Dorado. Baxter plays the real-life Mexican bandit Joaquin Murietta, which the screenplay depicts as a South of the Border Jesse James. Murietta has turned criminal to avenge the death of his wife and brother at the hands of the Federales, and per the title robs the rich to give to the poor. A bit topheavy in its comic context, Robin Hood of El Dorado works on the level of a good program western. Director William Wellman cowrote the script, which was based on a pulp novel that emphasized the sensuality of Murietta's various lady friends. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide