Edward Byrnes Movies

Lt. (jg) Ken Braden (James Garner) is a US Navy frogman and underwater demolitions expert who is assigned to a vital mission, and to a submarine captained by Commander Stevenson Edmond O'Brien. But Stevenson is a CO who may have seen too many men die -- the two immediately come into conflict over Braden's presence on the boat and his mission, a top secret foray into Japanese waters that jeopardizes the boat. The captain, in his strict adherence to regulations, makes it as difficult as possible for Braden to carry out his assignment, and Braden doesn't make matters easier between them by speaking his mind. And the crew's low morale only makes matters worse as the voyage progresses and the dangers around them mount. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

James Garner stars as WWII hero Major William Darby in this characteristically gusty William Wellman combat film. Darby organizes a highly-trained group of rangers, to be deployed in behind-the-lines activities in Italy and Northern Africa. The first portion of the film details the training, with time out for a few comic and romantic interludes; the second part shows Darby's Rangers in full, ferocious action. In addition to Garner, Warner Bros. used Darby's Rangers to spotlight another of its TV stars, Edd "Kookie" Byrnes; Bill Wellman Jr. also shows up in the supporting role of Eli Clatworthy. The film was adapted from the book by Major James Altieri. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Marjorie Morgenstern (Natalie Wood) is an 18-year-old, middle-class, Jewish girl from New York who wants nothing more than to be an actress, despite the hopes and wishes of her parents (Everett Sloane and Claire Trevor) that she graduate from college, marry, and settle down to have a family. At the urging of her more worldly friend Marsha Zelenko (Carolyn Jones), she takes a job at an upstate camp, and, one night when sneaking onto the grounds of a neighboring resort, meets and falls wildly in love with the entertainment director, Noel Airman (Gene Kelly). A Lothario with a gift of song as well as dance, Airman romances Marjorie and tries to teach her something of theater, suggesting that she change her name to Marjorie Morningstar, which she does. He intends to enjoy her company for the summer, until her aging uncle Samson (Ed Wynn), who is also working at the resort, tells him of the family's concerns for the girl. Noel and Marjorie end up linked romantically, despite their best efforts to stay away from each other. Marjorie gives up a potential romance with a slightly older, successful doctor (Martin Balsam) and resists the honest entreaties of Airman's assistant, Wally Wronken (Martin Milner), and tries to get Airman to straighten up and fly right; she can't get her own acting career off the ground, but she owns Airman's heart. Instead of biding his time at writing a musical that he's been working at for four years, and spending his summers working in the Catskills, Noel tries to work in the advertising world -- he also finds himself just as troubled by the stable family life and religious life that Marjorie comes from as he is attracted to her personally. He is also bitterly disturbed by the fact that his one-time assistant Wally Wronken is now a successful Broadway playwright, the darling of critics and audiences, with backers eager to sign checks to produce his work. Unable to pursue a life in business, or remain faithful to Marjorie, he reaches a crisis point from which only she can rescue him -- together they try to build a life and he tries to finish his long-gestating masterpiece, which proves a disaster when it gets to Broadway. Noel abandons Marjorie, and when she goes to find him, Wally warns her off, explaining that Noel has to return to a place where he can feel successful, like the Catskills resort where they met, where he can be the big fish in the tiny pond. Her marriage over and her girlish ideals behind her, she sees Noel back in his element, wowing young acting students with his skills, and finally turns to the one man who has loved her for precisely who she is all along, Wally. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

In this gentle, non-melodramatic drama, an elderly, wealthy widow will not leave her apartment even after her building is slated to be converted into a dormitory by the university that purchased it. She refuses to leave because she is convinced that her son, who disappeared 27 years before after being expelled from the college, will comeback. The university lets her stay and she becomes the house "Nana" for the students that live there. When an ex-Marine moves in, the woman is sure that he is her grandson as he has the same name as her son. She begins helping the young man with his personal and academic life. Just before his father is to arrive for a visit, the woman dies. She never knows that the boy is not her grandson. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Anthony Perkins stars as troubled baseball great Jimmy Piersall in Fear Strikes Out. Based on Piersall's shattering tell-all autobiography, the film traces Jimmy's ascent from the sandlots of Waterbury, CT, to the Boston Red Sox, with his domineering father (Karl Malden) pushing the boy beyond all reasonable limits. Unable to withstand the pressure, Piersall suffers a nervous breakdown and is confined to a mental institution. Through a long period of therapy, Jimmy realizes that he has excelled in baseball not for his own gratification but to please his father. This film was preceded by a 1956 TV version starring Tab Hunter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide