Arthur Lubin Movies

The Mexican Guns of the Revolution alternates between tension and all-out violence. It's a tight contest, but violence finally wins out towards the end. Ernest Borgnine plays a ruthless provincial governor who tyannizes a sizeable piece of Mexican territory. He is challenged by an outwardly mild-mannered priest, played by Padre Humberto Almazan. The cat-and-mouse between good guy and villain is the best thing about the picture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Frank Puglia reprises his 1944 role as Prince Cassim for this remake of the Arabian Nights adventure. Ali Baba (Peter Mann) battles against the Mongol invaders and fights for the woman he loves. Footage from the 1944 feature is used to tie the stories together. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Aimed at the youngsters, this typical Italian fantasy-adventure stars Steve Reeves as Karim, the thief of the title. Karim is not only the strongest, fastest, and smartest of thieves, he also has a magic ring and a cape that makes him invisible. Thus armed, he is well-prepared to face a series of Herculean tests in order to win the hand of the Sultan's beautiful daughter Anima (Georgia Moll). These "tests" purify his past wrongdoings and ultimately lead to a blue rose, the key to winning Anima in marriage. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Bret (James Garner) is determined to foil the never-ending efforts by Big Ed Murphy (John Dehner) to rob the bank owned by Col Dutton (Wendell Holmes). Figuring that the best way to save Big Ed from himself is to remove the temptation, Bret conspires with Foursquare Foley (Gage Clarke) to steal the bank's money themselves, then hide it in a safe place. In fact, Foley has already dug a tunnel under the bank for this purpose...a fact that should have put Bret on guard from the get-go. This final episode of Maverick's third season also marks the next-to-last appearance by James Garner as Bret Maverick (discounting the later TV and movie sequels). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It's Shakespeare in the sagebrush in this Maverick-ized version of "Romeo and Juliet." This time, the blood feud is between the Montgomerys and the Carterets, and the "star-cross'd" lovers are Sonny Montgomery (Steve Terrell) and Julie Carteret (Carole Wells). When he tries to help the sweethearts elope, Bret (James Garner) is captured by the Carteret clan. To save his neck, Bret suggests that the two families resolve their differences in a winner-take-all poker game. What he hasn't counted on is that the man chosen to play cards on behalf of the Montgomerys is his own brother Bart (Jack Kelly). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Among the most popular TV Western series ever, Bonanza starred Lorne Green as Ben Cartwright and Michael Landon, Dan Blocker and Pernell Roberts as his sons Little Joe, Hoss and Adam. In the episode "Bade Without Honor," first aired in 1960, a stranger arrives in town; he says he's a Deputy Marshall and needs Jackson Blaine, a friend of the Cartwrights, to ride with him to San Francisco to testify against the Murdock Gang. Adam, however, insists on going along as he smells a rat. "Badge Without Honor" features guest star Dan Duryea; it's available on DVD in tandem with "Desert Justice," and as part of a five-episode box set. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

David Ladd, the son of movie idol Alan Ladd (and a future film executive in his own right) guest-stars as young Billy Allen, left all alone in the world by the death of his mother. Hoping to snap Billy out of his melancholy, Hoss Cartwright becomes close friends with the boy. Billy's loyalties and emotions are rent asunder when his outlaw father Vance (Logan Field) breaks out of jail and commits cold-blooded murder-forcing Hoss to shoot Vance down. Also appearing is Robert Tetrick as Pike. Written by John Furia Jr., "Feet of Clay" was first seen on April 16, 1960. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Kate Dawson (Doris Packer) hires Bret (James Garner) to bring back her prodigal brother Mark (King Donovan), who is being systematically fleeced by the beautiful Melanie Blake (Kathleen Crowley) in the town of Saratoga. To do this, Bret and Bart show up impersonating men of great wealth. The plan involves beating Melanie at her own game by selling her some worthless property...but the Mavericks haven't taken into consideration the girl's partner-in-crime John Flannery (Tol Avery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mona Freeman makes her first series appearance as Modesty Blaine, whose gorgeous face and figure bely her larcenous nature and near-maniacal temperament. Riding into a mining camp infested with mice and other vermin, Bret (James Garner) gets involved in Modesty's scheme to purchase a pack of cats, then re-sell them to the miners. When it becomes obvious that he's been swindled, Bret tries to figure out a strategy to recoup his money, only to run afoul of a homicidal sheriff (Buddy Ebsen) and a black-clad gunslinger (Lance Fuller) who bears more than a slight resemblance to Have Gun--Will Travel's Paladin. A lively shootout in a graveyard caps this tongue-in-cheek entry, which features an amusing appearance by the ubiquitous Richard Deacon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Created by Roy Huggins and debuting September 22, 1957 on ABC, the weekly, hour-long Maverick started out as a relatively straightforward western series with a slight twist: The main characters were professional gamblers rather than lawmen or gunslingers. James Garner and Jack Kelly starred respectively as Bret and Bart, the Maverick brothers, who traveled throughout the west in search of poker games and other such lucrative pursuits. Though both of the Mavericks were fairly adept at fisticuffs, they tended to avoid violence and confrontation (a good thing too, since neither brother could by any stretch of the imagination be described as a "fast gun"), preferring to use their wits and the words to wriggle out of jams--and, conversely, to win over the pretty girls they met along the way. Originally, the episodes were evenly divided between the two brothers, with Bret or Bart alternately handling the plotlines, sometimes teaming up when the going got rough. By the end of the first season, however, James Garner had emerged as the more popular of the two stars--and as a bonus, Garner was possessed of a deft comic touch that such scriptwriters as Marion Hargrove and such directors as Douglas Heyes were quick to capitalize upon. As a result, the stories became more humorous and satirical in nature, with star, writers and directors unafraid to emphasize the more cowardly and larcenous aspects of Bret Maverick's character. One of the series' most endearing motifs was Bret's habit of relying upon the pearls of wisdom passed down to him by his grey-haired "Pappy"--who, when he finally appeared on camera, was portrayed by a heavily made up James Garner. By season three, the pattern of Maverick was fairly well set, with Jack Kelly handling the more serious and action-oriented episodes (which became fewer and farther between) and Garner doing the funny stuff. In keeping with the tongue-in-cheek nature of the series, the writers had a field day spoofing such rival western shows as Gunsmoke and Bonanza, and even such non-westerns as Dragnet. In addition, there were the occasional westernized adaptations of "the classics", notably Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The Rivals. After James Garner left the series over a contract dispute in 1960, Maverick's home studio Warner Bros. tried out a brace of potential replacements. During season four, future "James Bond" Roger Moore was introduced as Bret and Bart's British cousin Beau Maverick; and later that same season, Robert Colbert showed up as the hitherto unrevealed third Maverick brother, Brent. But by the time the series entered its fifth and final season, the only Maverick on screen was old reliable Bart, who starred in the handful of episodes that were filmed to fill out what had essentially become a portfolio of reruns from the James Garner days. The final episode of Maverick was telecast on July 8, 1962; however, the property would be revived on TV in 1979 as Young Maverick, with Charles Frank playing cousin Ben Maverick, and in 1981 as Bret Maverick, with James Garner reviving his original role. And in 1994, Garner shared billing with Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster in a delightful theatrical-feature version of Maverick, which nostalgically showcased a number of familiar western actors in cameo roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The roguish smile of Cornel Wilde and the impressive cleavage of Jean Wallace (Mrs. Cornel Wilde) are the principal attractions of the costume swashbuckler Star of India. Wilde plays a 17th-century French nobleman who embarks upon a search for a valuable emerald which has been stolen from a Dutch collection. Dogging the nobleman's trail is a Dutch spy (Jean Wallace) posing as a French aristocrat. Both hero and heroine are bedeviled by an epicene villain (Herbert Lom), who stole the gem in the first place but who enjoys the protection of King Louis XIV (Basil Sydney). Not unexpectedly, Star of India wraps things up with an outsized sword duel between the stalwart Wilde and the smirking Lom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Complaining that Francis the Mule was getting more fan mail than he was, Donald O'Connor bade adios to the "Francis" series with this 1955 entry. Once more, O'Connor plays Army lieutenant Peter Sterling, who heads to a navy base when it looks like his old pal Francis is about to be auctioned off as surplus. In short order, Sterling is mistaken for a bos'n's mate whom he resembles, and it's off to sea for both Peter and the mule. Among the able-bodied seamen in this film is a chap named Jonesy, played by a young Clint Eastwood in his second movie appearance. An eleborate slapstick finale brings this one to a rousing conclusion. Director Arthur Lubin likewise left the "Francis" series after Francis in the Navy; the next (and last) entry, Francis in the Haunted House, starred Mickey Rooney and was directed by Charles Lamont. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

To say that Lady Godiva is historically inaccurate is a moot point, since most historians agree that the whole Lady Godiva story never happened. At any rate, Maureen O'Hara stars in the title role, as the rebellious Saxon wife of a Norman nobleman. To show her fidelity to her people, and to protest Norman taxation, Lady Godiva rides naked through the streets of Coventry. All the elements of the original middle-ages legend are in attendance, including the blinding of "Peeping Tom" (about the only effective moment in the whole film). Whatever audience titillation there might have been in the dreary climactic ride was dissipated by tons of studio publicity which insisted that Maureen O'Hara wasn't really naked under her long red tresses. Lady Godiva is interesting only for its supporting cast, including such veterans as Victor McLaglen and a few newcomers like Clint Eastwood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide