Charles R. Marion Movies

Clu Gulager delivers a deliciously over-the-top performance as demented gangster Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll, who spends most of the episode settling scores with mob boss Dutch Schultz (Lawrence Dobkin), in his first series appearance. Kidnapping Schultz' lieutenant Lefty Gallagher (Richard Carlyle), Coll demands a huge ransom, whereupon Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) is alerted to the dropoff point. Unfortunately, everyone loses in this little drama: Lefty is killed in cold blood, Schultz double-crosses Coll, and Ness inadvertently allows "Mad Dog" to slip through his fingers. More determined than ever to get even with Schultz, Coll ends up kidnapping a race horse upon which "The Dutchman" has wagered heavily in the upcoming Kentucky Derby (Incidentally, the "Southern Mansion" seen in the climactic sequence is actually the façade of Gone With the Wind's Tara, which was still standing intact on Desilu's Culver City backlot). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

No relation to the 1973 Burt Reynolds vehicle of the same name, White Lightning is a passable programmer about a champion ice hockey team. Stanley Clements plays Mike, an arrogant young hockey player who immediately alienates his new teammates. Team manager Jack (Steve Brodie) tries to convince Mike to quit grandstanding, but to no avail. The plot rears its ugly head when a group of gangsters try to coerce Mike into fixing a few games. At long last, Mike's responsibility to his fellow players is awakened, and a happy ending is had by all (except the gangsters). White Lightning was the first Monogram "B" picture to be released by Monogram's successor Allied Artists; it would not be the last. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Attractively filmed in Cinecolor, Roar of the Crowd is a better-than-average actioner from Allied Artists. Howard Duff plays Johnny Tracy, scion of a racecar-driving family. Johnny wants a crack at the Indianapolis 500 above all else, but his girl friend Marcy Parker (Helene Stanley) wants him to quit the racetrack. Finally, a compromise is reached: Johnny will retire from racing if Marcy allows him to prepare for the 500. Alas, Johnny is injured in a pre-Indy accident, and it looks like he hasn't a chance. While the outcome is predictable, a few surprises still await the audience in the final reel. A few months before Roar of the Crowd went into release, stock footage from the racing sequences were seen in the Bowery Boys epic Jalopy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Nancy Thorne, 1952's Tournament of Roses queen, makes an extended guest appearances in this Monogram "special." In her first important film role, Vera Miles plays Denny Burke, one of Thorne's attendants, whom stuck-up football hero Steve Davis (Marshall Thompson) mistakes for an heiress. Upon meeting Denny's blue-collar family and learning the truth, Davis is briefly set aback. Eventually it dawns on him that he's been behaving like an insufferable snob -- and he almost instantly turns into a "regular guy" and all-around good fellow. Beyond the promotional value of its Rose Bowl setting and authentic color footage of the Tournament of Roses Parade, The Rose Bowl Story is at base an endearingly old-fashioned college football yarn; all that's missing is Pat O'Brien. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Fabulous Senorita in this frothy musical is Republic's resident Latin bombshell Estelita Rodriguez, here billed simply as Estelita. The story concerns the daughter (Estelita) of a Cuban millionaire who falls in love with a bookish professor (Robert Clarke) rather than the wealthy fiance of her father's choosing. The plot complications require our heroine to pose as twin sisters, with highly contrasting personalities. Meanwhile, a very young Rita Moreno essays one of her fist important screen roles as Estelita's actual sister. Laughs are provided by owl-eyed Marvin Kaplan as a nerdish undergrad. The story and songs are for the birds, but Estelita Rodriguez is always worth watching. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The perfunctorily titled Jet Job is an updated retelling of the old one about the hotshot test pilot who learns the value of being a team player. Stanley Clements stars as Joe Kovak, whose recklessness and refusal to follow orders causes no end of trouble for his superiors. Fired by boss Sam Bentley (John Litel), Joe takes a job with Bentley's competitor Oscar Collins (Tom Powers). After a suspicious jet-plane crash, Joe is grounded on Collins' say-so. In fact, it was Collins' own negligence that caused the crash, but no one will listen to Joe's side of the story. Redemption is at hand, however, and Joe clears his name during a death-defying test flight for the army. Co-starring as Joe's love interest is Elena Verdugo, several years away from her weekly chores as Consuela on TV's Marcus Welby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Bowery Boys once more frolic about in an "old dark house" setting in Ghost Chasers. The story finds Slip Mahoney (Leo Gorcey) and his gang endeavoring to expose a phoney seance racket. Slip's pal Sach is aided and abetted in this endeavor by a genuine ghost, a jovial 17th-century wraith named Edgar (Lloyd Corrigan). Naturally, no one but Sach can see or hear Edgar, leading to any number of delightfully comic complications. Director William "One-Take" Beaudine effectively mixes humor with horror, sustaining audience interest for a full seven reels. Ghost Chasers should not be confused with such previous and future Bowery Boys endeavors as Spook Busters and Spook Chasers, though many of the gags and comic setpieces are pretty much the same. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lucky Losers is an uncharacteristically dramatic entry in Monogram's "Bowery Boys" comedy series. Incredibly enough, Slip Mahoney (Leo Gorcey) and Sach Jones (Huntz Hall) have gotten jobs in the office of Wall Street broker David J. Thurston (Selmer Jackson). Soon afterward, Thurston apparently commits suicide (not because of the boys' ineptitude, as one might suspect). Slip and Sach's TV-reporter pal Gabe Moreno (Gabriel Dell) suspects that Thurston was murdered, prompting the boys to search for clues in the dead man's office. The evidence trail leads to a gambling house, where Slip and Sach secure work as croupiers. Learning that their new boss, Bruce McDermott (Lyle Talbot), was somehow connected to Thurston, the boys report this to Gabe, who makes the information public--and gets beaten up for his troubles. Now it's up to Slip, Sach and the rest of the Bowery Boys to expose the protection racket in which McDermott is involved. There's too much plot and not enough laughs in this "Bowery Boys" entry; Fortunately, Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall are in top form, making the most of their very few comic opportunities. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Blonde Dynamite was the 17th of Monogram/Allied Artists' 48 Bowery Boys entries. This time, the boys have transformed Louie's Sweet Shop into an escort bureau. Louie (Bernard Gorcey) has little to say on the matter, since he's on vacation and knows nothing about this new business enterprise. The boys' steadiest customers are a group of gorgeous ladies who are in the employ of a bank-robbery gang. The girls keep Slip (Leo Gorcey), Sach (Huntz Hall) and the others busy while their confederates dig a tunnel between the sweet shop and a neighboring bank. Gabe Marino (Gabe Dell), a bank employee, manages to alert the police, but it's lame-brained Sach who turns out (inadvertently, of course) to be the hero of the hour. One of the gun molls in Blonde Dynamite is Beverlee Crane, who in the 1930s was teamed with her twin sister Bettie Mae to deliver the "talking credits" for Hal Roach's Laurel & Hardy, Our Gang and Charley Chase comedies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When in doubt, drag out the "old dark house/mad scientist" formula. That's the philosophy of Master Minds, the 16th entry in Monogram's "Bowery Boys" series. It all begins when Sach (Huntz Hall), suffering from a toothache, develops the ability to read minds. Sach's pal Slip (Leo Gorcey), knowing a good thing when he sees one, exploits Sach's talents on the carnival-sideshow circuit. Soon, however, the demented Dr. Druzik (Alan Napier) comes calling, hoping to transplant Sach's brain into the body of ape-man Atlas (Glenn Strange). This film's funniest moments occur when the hulking Glenn Strange imitates Huntz Hall's familiar gestures and body language. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The 15th film in the Bowery Boys series, Angels in Disguise combines lowbrow humor with "film noir" melodramatics. Bowery boys Slip (Leo Gorcey) and Sach (Huntz Hall) are copy boys for a crusading newspaper, whose publisher (Ray Walker) is trying to crush the notorious "Loop Gang". When the boys' policeman pal Gabe (Gabriel Dell) is wounded in a shoot-out with the Loop mob, Slip and Sach take it upon themselves to expose the gang. All the Bowery boys (including sweet-shop proprietor Louie) disguise themselves as gangsters and infiltrate the Loop Gang, which is run by a young, erudite intellectual (Mickey Ryan). The scheme to destroy the Loop mob from the inside is flummoxed by the crusading newspaper's cartoonist, actually a member of the crooked gang who has been sending out coded tips in his comic strip. The Loop Gang gives the Bowery Boys a real "going over", but the cops arrive in time to round up the crooks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Idea Girl in this Universal mini-musical is songplugger Pat O'Rourke (played by Julie Bishop, formerly Jacqueline Wells). Hoping to hit the big time, Pat pitches the notion of an amateur song-writing contest. Her zany publicity-seeking efforts cause nothing but grief for a group of Manhattan-based song publishers, foremost among them handsome but harried Larry Brewster (Jess Barker). As a means of enlivening the proceedings, director Will Jason utilizes a more mobile camera than was usual in quickies of this nature. Featured in the cast as a curvaceous secretary is Joan Fulton, later to metamorphose into the delightful character actress Joan Shawlee. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide