Winston Miller Movies
The younger brother of silent screen star Patsy Ruth Miller (Esmeralda in Lon Chaney's Hunchback of Notre Dame), Winston Miller played top juvenile roles in John Ford's The Iron Horse (1924) and the first screen version of the tearjerker Stella Dallas (1925). Leaving screen acting at the dawn of sound in favor of Princeton University, Miller returned to Hollywood in 1935 as a writer for the newly founded Republic Pictures. Working mainly in lightweight fare and Westerns, the now veteran scribe made an easy transition to television in the 1950s and went on to become one of that medium's most successful producer-writers with an impressive list of credits that included such shows as Rawhide, Gunsmoke, The Virginian, Cannon, and Little House on the Prairie. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1974
District Attorney Sam Belden (William Shatner) is accused of murdering his wife and lover. Belden claims it was impossible, because he was 150 miles from the murder scene and he can prove it. It is up to prosecutor Bob Mathews (George Grizzard) to blow holes into Belden's alibi -- a difficult and painful assignment, since Mathews is Belden's best friend. Myrna Loy makes a rare TV appearance as the judge in the case. Indict and Convict made its ABC "Movie of the Week" premiere on January 6, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
The made for TV Female Artillery is a comedy, just in case the title didn't tip you off. Set in the Old West, the film stars Dennis Weaver as Deke Chambers, an outlaw on the lam from his old gang. Joining a wagon train, Deke aligns himself with a group of tough, well-armed pioneer women. When the gang attacks, the gals retaliate in noisy fashion. First telecast January 17, 1973, Female Artillery is elevated by the special effects wizardry of Albert Whitlock. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
The Longest Hundred Miles was among the first feature films produced specifically for television. Doug McClure stars as an American GI, stationed in the Philippines during World War II. Reluctantly, McClure is persuaded by army nurse Katharine Ross and local priest Ricardo Montalban to transport a bus load of native children across enemy lines. Filmed inexpensively on the Universal back lot, the film is distinguished by the musical score of Oscar-winning composer Franz Waxman. The Longest Hundred Miles debuted January 21, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Circumstantial evidence suggests that a murdered cop was supplementing his income as a blackmailer. Chief Ironside (Raymond Burr), an old friend of the dead man, is determined to prove otherwise. In the course of his investigation, Ironside reopens an unsolved homicide case in which the deceased officer's girlfriend Adrienne May (Jan Shepard) was a key player. Featured in the cast is Robert Alda, the father of future M*A*S*H star Alan Alda. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
A rustic drama set in the early 20th century, Hound Dog Man is the simple story of a young man, Spud Kinney (Dennis Holmes) constantly in hot water for disobeying his mother (Betty Field). The lad should be watching the family farm, but he falls in with his older brother, Clint (pop music's teen heartthrob Fabian), and his reckless buddy Blackie Scantling (Stuart Whitman) who take him hunting in hillbilly country. The boy falls in love with a beautiful mountain girl (Carol Lynley), while Blackie has his own fling with another attractive hillbilly maiden, Nita Stringer (Dodie Stevens), and then becomes mixed up with an older, married woman, Sussie Bell (Margo Moore). Not much else happens, but perhaps not much else is needed. This leisurely little film represents the film debut of Fabian, who not unexpectedly sings several songs (some written by another teen idol, Frankie Avalon). Lynley and Whitman would team up again several years later for the much underrated Shock Treatment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fabian, Carol Lynley, (more)
- 1959
While travelling on a stagecoach, Bart Maverick (Jack Kelly) strikes up a conversation with Ann Saunders (Pat Crowley), an Easterner who claims to have come West to meet her cousin. En route, the coach is robbed, and Bart cannot help but notice that Ann seems to be acquainted with one of the masked holdup men. Things get even curiouser when Ann helps the robbers escape from jail, leaving Bart to face the wrath of the authorities. Former cowboy star Don "Red" Barry plays a sheriff in this episode, which was written by western-movie veteran Winston Miller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
A trio of energetic young men try to put on a good show for their Army camp, in this lightweight comedy by Raoul Walsh. Luigi (Sal Mineo just risen to stardom), Jerry (Berry Coe), and Mike (Gary Crosby) are in boot camp when they are presented with a chance to represent their unit in competition on a national television show. The three guys are up to the challenge, which begins a chain of unusual circumstances that not only have them singing and dancing at the proper times, but also running into a trio of alluring young women (Barbara Eden, Terry Moore, and Christine Carere). Then there is that little mix-up when the Assistant Secretary of War mistakenly marries herself off to a doped-up Private Jerry, all for a good cause. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sal Mineo, Christine Carère, (more)
- 1958
The only reason for the existence of the colorful musical 3DMardi Gras3D is the star power of Pat Boone. The plot is set in motion when a group of Virginia Military Institute cadets organize a raffle: the "prize" is French movie star Michelle Marton (Christine Carere), queen of the New Orleans Mardi Gras. On his own, cadet Pat Newell (Pat Boone) meets and falls in love with Michelle, not knowing her true identity. The cause of True Romance is nearly compromised by the raffle and by Hollywood publicity hacks, but by film's end everything works out fine. The film is deftly stolen by supporting actress Sheree North, who also performs the film's best musical number, "That Man." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pat Boone, Christine Carère, (more)
- 1957
April Love is a musicalized remake of 1944's Home in Indiana. Pat Boone stars as a potential juvenile delinquent who is sent to work on a Kentucky farm. When he meets apple-cheeked local girl Shirley Jones, Boone decides that mending his ways might be an option. Before long, he is devoting himself to the task of training a horse to become a winning trotter. Nominated for an Academy Award, the film's title song proved to be one of Pat Boone's most durable hits. April Love benefits from its actual Lexington, Kentucky locations, lovingly photographed in CinemaScope and Deluxe Color by Wilfred Cline. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pat Boone, Shirley Jones, (more)
- 1957
Filmed on location, Escapade in Japan stars child actors Jon Provost and Roger Nakagawa. Separated from their parents, Tony (Provost) and Hiko (Nakagawa) wander through such sites as a Shinto temple, the teeming streets of Kyoto and a geisha house. Believing that they've somehow broken the law, the boys do their best to elude the authorities, who of course only want to reunite the kids with their families. Teresa Wright and Cameron Mitchell co-star as Provost's parents, Kuniko Miyake and Susumu Fujita play Nakagawa's mom and dad, and a young Clint Eastwood shows up as a Marine named "Dumbo." Produced by rapidly fading RKO Radio Pictures, Escapade in Japan was distributed by Universal-International. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Teresa Wright, Cameron Mitchell, (more)
- 1956
In this typical 1950s Western, cowboy Wes Tancred (Richard Egan) is publicly vilified after killing a famous gunslinger who was a public hero. In fact, the hero was a villain, and Tancred killed him in self-defense, but Tancred is so scorned for his act that there is a mean-spirited ballad sung about him wherever he goes. On the run from his infamy, he comes to the small town of Table Rock and finds that it has been taken over by a gang of outlaws. To redeem his name, Tancred comes to the aid of the besieged Sheriff Miller (Cameron Mitchell). He also takes under his wing the son of a stagecoach operator who has been killed by the gang of outlaws. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Egan, Dorothy Malone, (more)
- 1955
An unusually matronly Jane Wyman plays the title character in Lucy Gallant. Adapted from a novel by Margaret Cousins, the story concerns the efforts by Lucy Gallant to make the wide-open spaces of Texas a mecca for High Fashion. Jilted at the altar, Lucy retreats to a booming oil town, where she courageously opens up a gown shop. Rancher Casey Cole (Charlton Heston) is disdainful of "working women", but he never hides the fact that he's madly in love with Lucy. As the film progresses, Lucy nearly loses her business due to financial reverses, but Casey secretly pumps money into her operation, all the while declaring publicly that she's doomed to failure. Lucy's gowns were actually designed by Edith Head, who makes an appearance towards the end of the film, as does the then-governor of Texas, Allan Shivers. Lucy Gallant was the last of the incredibly successful Pine-Thomas productions for Paramount Pictures; there might have been more had not William H. Pine died shortly after completing the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Wyman, Charlton Heston, (more)
- 1955
In his first western since 1939's The Oklahoma Kid, James Cagney is a pillar of integrity in the Pine-Thomas production Run for Cover. Cagney plays Matt Dow, who at the beginning of the film has been released from prison after serving six years for a crime he didn't commit. Heading westward, Matt befriends young Davey Bishop (John Derek), whom he begins to regard as the son (or brother) he never had. When Davey is injured during a train holdup, Matt brings him to the farm of Mr. Swenson (Jean Hersholt) to convalesce. Here Matt falls in love with Swenson's daughter Helga (Viveca Lindfors). When word of Matt's prowess with a gun reaches the local townsfolk, he is offered the job of sheriff. Matt accepts, but on one condition: that the crippled Davey be appointed deputy. Matt's faith in Davey proves to be misplaced when the embittered boy throws in with the dreaded Gentry gang, but an 11th hour regeneration caps this "psychological western." The curiously Freudian relationship between Matt and Davey was par for the course for Nicholas Ray, who directed Run for Cover betwixt and between his more famous endeavors Johnny Guitar and Rebel without a Cause. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Cagney, John Derek, (more)
The Untamed West is the reissue title of the Pine-Thomas production The Far Horizons. This romanticized retelling of the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1803-06 stars Fred MacMurray as Meriwether Lewis and Charlton Heston as Bill Clark. The film doesn't delve much into the real-life animosity between the two, though it's clear that there's little love lost between the cerebral Lewis and the two-fisted Clark. Aiding the men in their expedition is Indian maiden Sacajawea, played with fist-in-the-air defiance by Donna Reed. Since interracial romances were still largely taboo in American films of the early 1950s, Sacajawea can only pine and sigh as Lewis and Clark square off over the affections of white-woman Julia Hancock (Barbara Hale). This Technicolor-and-Vistavision film works best as an outdoor adventure; its dramatic scenes tend to bog down in an excess of verbiage. The Far Horizons was based on Sacajawea of the Shoshones, a novel by Della Gould Edmonds. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred MacMurray, Charlton Heston, (more)
- 1954
In this adventure, four explorers search for a vast treasure in the Amazon jungle. One of the explorers is a woman who got involved after she traveled from California to marry her fiance whom she hasn't seen in two years. Another man tries to convince her that her fiance has become an alcoholic idealist obsessed with finding gold in the jungle. Another takes her into the jungle to find her love. En route he falls in love with her. Later they learn that her fiance has been killed by the Jivaro headhunters. The other man, who went in before them is also attacked, but the woman's guide saves his life. This film did not use stock footage. Much of it was actually filmed in the jungle to provide the backgrounds. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernando Lamas, Rhonda Fleming, (more)
- 1954
Reminiscent of Destry Rides Again, this feature is about peaceable young lawyer Tom Brewster (Will Rogers Jr.), who sets up shop in a rowdy western town. Though perfectly able to wield a six-gun, Brewster refuses to use brawn when brain will do. He is galvanized into action when his old pal Wallace Ford is murdered by the villains. Brewster cleans up the town and wins the heroine (Nancy Olsen) in the bargain. One of two Will Rogers Jr. vehicles produced at Warner Bros. (the other was the life story of Rogers' famous father), The Boy From Oklahoma served as the basis for Warners' later TV series, Sugarfoot. Watch for a supporting appearance by a young and callow Merv Griffin! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Rogers, Jr., Nancy Olson, (more)
- 1954
Randolph Scott once more contributes mightily to Warner Bros.' annual box-office gross in the well-mounted western The Bounty Hunter. Filmed in 3D but released "flat", the film casts Scott as the title character, who is hired by the Pinkertons to bring in three train robbers. Riding into the town of Twin Forks, Scott quickly ascertains that the outlaws are hiding somewhere in the vicinity. He then bides his time, hoping that the crooks will tip their hands, lead him to the stolen money, and let down their guard long enough to allow for a speedy capture. Scott's leading ladies on this trip are Dolores Dorn as the daughter of the town doctor, and Marie Windsor as the postmistress with Something To Hide. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Randolph Scott, Marie Windsor, (more)
- 1953
The Vanquished represented another winner from Paramount's Pine-Thomas unit. John Payne plays Rock Grayson, a Civil War POW who returns to his Southern home to find carpetbagger Roger Hale (Lyle Bettger) in charge of things. An old enemy of Grayson's, Hale has commandeered the Grayson family-mansion as his headquarters. He has also set his sights upon Grayson's girlfriend Jane Colfax (Colleen Gray) as his own. Urged by the townsfolk to spearhead a revolt against the despotic Hale, Grayson surprises everyone by agreeing to become Hale's chief tax collector. What no one knows is that Grayson is secretly planning to gather enough evidence to topple Hale through legal methods. Even so, the film is capped by a cathartic outburst of violent action. The Vanquished is based on a novel by cinematographer/screenwriter/director Karl Brown. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Payne, Coleen Gray, (more)
- 1952
When a final tally is made, it may turn out that Andre De Toth directed as many superior Randolph Scott westerns as the more celebrated Budd Boetticher. In De Toth's Carson City, Scott is cast as a railroad construction engineer known only as Silent Jeff. His plans to build a railroad line between Nevada's Carson City and Virginia City are met with hostility by the locals, who feel that where there are trains, there are bandits. Sure enough, a criminal gang headed by Big Jack Davis (Raymond Massey) and Jim Squires (James Millican) begins drawing up plans to plunder Carson City. When Silent Jeff vows to get rid of the town's criminal element, the villains frame him on a murder charge. The climax is one of the best of its kind, with Silent Jeff forced to contend with both a landslide and a big-scale gold bullion heist. Lucille Norman plays the heroine, whose attentions are torn between Silent Jeff and second lead Richard Webb (later TV' s Captain Midnight). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Randolph Scott, Lucille Norman, (more)
- 1952
Library footage from the 1940 Paramount feature The Forest Rangers is used sparingly but effectively in the 1952 Pine-Thomas production The Blazing Forest. John Payne plays troubleshooting logger Kelly Hanson, who is hired by timber baroness Jessie Crain (Agnes Moorehead). Hanson is promised a huge bonus and percentage if he can deliver his quota of logs ahead of time, so that Jessie can afford to pay for her niece Sharon's (Susan Morrow) education. Along the way, Sharon falls in love with Hanson, only to have her heart broken when it appears that Hanson is carrying on with another woman (Lynne Roberts). All of the film's various subplots come to a head during a climactic forest fire, vividly photographed in Technicolor by Oscar-winning cinematographer Lionel Lindon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Payne, William Demarest, (more)
- 1951
This thriller is set in Asia and follows the exciting exploits of a villainous soldier of fortune (Ronald Reagan) involved in shady shenanigans with the communists who gets caught red-handed by the authorities. He manages to escape and during his flight encounters a charming Chinese orphan who carries with him a priceless old statue. Wanting the sculpture, the mercenary allows the child to travel with him. He next teams up with a beautiful Red Cross volunteer. The three use their considerable con-artist skills to make it into a Hong Kong hotel room. There he finds himself feeling drawn towards the honest life by the woman and the child, but not before he steals the lad's statue and takes it to an art-dealer, who turns out to be a major crook. The mercenary finally goes straight after he nearly causes the boy's death. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Reagan, Rhonda Fleming, (more)
Paramount's immensely successful Pine-Thomas production unit once more struck box-office gold with The Last Outpost. Ronald Reagan stars as devil-may-care Confederate officer Vance Britton, who leads a band of guerillas on a series of sabotage raids. The Northern Army dispatches Vance's brother, Union officer Jeb Britton (Bruce Bennett), to put an end to Vance's activities. Both brothers are forced to work shoulder to shoulder when a Northern attempt to enlist the aid of the Apache tribe backfires, sparking an all-out Indian war. Rhonda Fleming, who seemed to spend her entire career in Technicolor adventure flicks, appears as the romantic bone of contention between the battling Brittons. Halfway down the cast list as Lieutenant Fenton is TV's future "Ward Cleaver," Hugh Beaumont. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Reagan, Rhonda Fleming, (more)
- 1950
The fabled 19th-century clashes between U.S. Marines and the pirates of Tripoli have provided story material for dozens of films. Tripoli stars John Payne as two-fisted marine lieutenant O'Bannon, though top billing is bestowed upon Maureen O'Hara as Countess D'Arneau, who has come to Tripoli hoping to wed a local prince. Also appearing is Howard Da Silva as Captain Demetrios, leader of a band of mercenaries who sell their loyalties to the highest bidder. After a great deal of byplay between the three stars, the action comes thick and fast as the marines and the pirates "have at" each other. Tripoli's strongest selling card is the Technicolor cinematography of James Wong Howe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, (more)
- 1950
Rocky Mountain was planned as a big budget western, but Warner Bros. pared down both its budget and its length to "programmer" dimensions. Errol Flynn plays a Confederate officer trying to recruit troops in California. Unfortunately the only folks interested in the Southern cause are bandits and drifters, so Flynn has to watch his back. The fiancee (Patrice Wymore) of a Union Army officer (Scott Forbes) is rescued from an Indian attack by Flynn's men, but they are reluctant to release her lest she tip off their whereabouts. A Yankee patrol headed by the girl's fiance is captured by Flynn, but he eventually allows the Yanks and the girl safe passage in order to save them from an Indian massacre. Rocky Mountain was no great advance in cinematic art, but it did serve to introduce Errol Flynn to Patrice Wymore, who became his third (and last) wife. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Errol Flynn, Scott Forbes, (more)
- 1948
- NR
Station West may look like a western, but it sure sounds like a contemporary film noir. Dick Powell stars as Haven, a government private investigator assigned to investigate the murders of two cavalrymen. Travelling incognito, Haven arrives in a small frontier outpost, where leggy saloon singer Charlie (Jane Greer) controls all illegal activities. After making short work of Charlie's burly henchman (Guinn Williams), Haven gets a job at her gambling emporium, biding his time and gathering evidence against the gorgeous crime chieftain Cast as a philosophical bartender, Burl Ives is afforded at least one opportunity to sing. Station West was one of a handful of RKO Radio films released to the 8-millimeter home-movie market in the mid-1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Powell, Jane Greer, (more)
