Joel Malone Movies

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Just Across the Street: 1952

Blue-collar gal Henrietta Smith (Anne Sheridan) is mistaken for a woman of wealth by plumber Fred Newcombe (John Lund). Henrietta goes along with Fred's error when the opportunity presents itself to bring in much-needed revenue for herself and her inebriate father (Cecil Kellaway). The comic situations pile up thick and fast, culminating in an imagined romantic quadrangle involving Henrietta, Fred, banker Walter Medford (Robert Keith) and Medford's dizzy wife Gertrude (Natalie Schafer). One would have thought that Anne Sheridan had outgrown this sort of nonsense back in the 1940s, but she gamely attacks the material as though everything in the storyline is happening for the first time. The expert lineup of supporting laughmakers includes Harvey Lembeck, Alan Mowbray and Burt Mustin (playing old men even back then!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Starring:: Ann Sheridan, John Lund, (more)

South Sea Sinner: 1950

South Sea Sinner is a remake of 1940's Seven Sinners, with Shelley Winters in the Marlene Dietrich role and MacDonald Carey as the John Wayne counterpart. Winters plays cabaret singer Coral, who manages to spark a riot wherever she goes. Carey co-stars as Jake Davis, who has been wandering aimlessly throughout the South Seas ever since he was framed on a gun-smuggling charge. These two volatile personalities become embroiled in the crooked schemes concocted by all-around villain Cognac (Luther Adler). Featured in the cast are Frank Lovejoy as Jake's best friend, and Helena Carter as the "right" girl for Our Hero. But the film's main attraction for modern audiences is the one and only Liberace, making his film debut as Coral's sardonic accompanist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Starring:: MacDonald Carey, Shelley Winters, (more)

Illegal Entry: 1949

Long before he became producer/director of The Tonight Show, Fred DeCordova helmed the Universal meller Illegal Entry. Howard Duff, who later worked with DeCordova on the TV series Mr. Adams and Eve, stars as Bert Powers, an undercover agent for the U.S. Department of Immigration. While attempting to bring a vicious gang of alien smugglers to justice, Powers falls in love with Anna Duvak (Marta Toren), a gang member who is Not What She Seems. The film leaves no cliché unturned, not even the familiar scene wherein the airborne smugglers dispose of their human cargo by way of a handy lever which causes the bottom of the plane's passenger section to drop out. Illegal Entry is staged in semi-documentary fashion, maintaining the then-prevalent tradition of such popular films as House on 92nd Street and Call Northside 777. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Starring:: Howard Duff, Märta Torén, (more)

Arctic Manhunt: 1949

Actor/writer Mikel Conrad appeared in several films with an Alaskan setting in the late 1940s--early 1950s, the most famous of which was the 1951 sci-fier The Flying Saucer. In Arctic Manhunt, Conrad portrays an ex-con who heads to Alaska to get his hands on the money from an armored car heist. He is trailed northward by insurance investigators who've been on to him since his prison days. Carol Thurston is the woman with whom Conrad rubs noses while en route to the loot. Arctic Manhunt was written and directed by Ewing Scott, who like Mikel Conrad was an habituee of Alaska-based B pictures (Red Snow). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Starring:: Mikel Conrad, Carol Thurston, (more)

Appointment with Murder: 1948

Appointment with Murder is the second of three "Falcon" mysteries produced by bargain-basement Film Classics Productions in the late 1940s. Professional magician John Calvert assumes the leading role of private eye Michael Lanyard, aka The Falcon. Working for an insurance company, Lanyard travels from Hollywood to Italy in search of a pair of stolen paintings. This brings him in close contact with pretty art curator Lorraine (Catherine Craig), who may be involved in the thefts, and erudite international criminal Norton (Jack Reitzen). The only complaint one can level against Appointment with Murder is that it's a bit too ambitious for its tiny budget. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Starring:: John Calvert, Catherine Craig, (more)

Slightly Scandalous: 1946

Disparate twin brothers find themselves involved in romantic mayhem when their respective girl friends get them confused in this musical comedy. One of the brothers is an aggressive, ambitious and gregarious television producer; the other is an introverted insurance salesman with few long-term goals. The trouble begins when the pushy brother tries to con his quieter twin into providing financial support to a new program. Things really begin to happen after the women get involved. Fortunately it is all straightened out in the end when a third brother suddenly appears and saves the day. Songs include "I Couldn't Love You Anymore," "When I Fall in Love," "Negra Leona" (Sung by Isabelita), "Same Old Routine," "The Mad Hatter," and "Baa Baa to You" (Jack Brooks). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide