Alex Nicol Movies
On stage from the age of 19, American actor Alex Nicol toiled away in supporting roles for nearly a decade, his Actors Studio training often serving him well in helping him make something out of nothing. Nicol enjoyed a good run in the 1949 Broadway smash South Pacific, albeit in a role consisting of no more than four lines. Things perked up when he made his first film, The Sleeping City, in 1950, after which Nicol concentrated upon movie parts calling for shifty villainy. He worked in both Hollywood and England, with time out for TV assignments, including an oddly delineated role as a grown-up Mamma's boy on the 1962 Twilight Zone episode "Young Man's Fancy." Nicol had accrued enough capital in the late '50s to begin directing as well as starring in films. Some of his projects were tawdry little items like The Screaming Skull (1958), but at least one Nicol-directed film, And Then There Were Three (1962), proved that a singular talent had been wasted in Hollywood. And Then There Were Three, a no-budget war film, scored on its grittiness and spontaneity; unfortunately the film was not given a general release, and began circulating only when sold to television in 1965. Alex Nicol added to his directing credits by helming a few network TV series in the '60s, often through the auspices of Universal, his home studio as an actor in the '50s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1962
The "WHO" in A Matter of Who isn't a "who" but a "what". The word is an anagram for the World Health Organization, a curious subject for a British comedy--especially one which utilizes a communicable disease as a plot device! WHO operatives Terry-Thomas and Alex Nicol trace the outbreak of a smallpox epidemic to ruthless oil millionaire Guy Deghy. Offsetting the (literal) unhealthiness of the plotline is Terry-Thomas' romance with Sonja Ziemann, the widow of a smallpox victim. A Matter of WHO was picked up for U.S. distribution by MGM. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sonja Ziemann, Alex Nicol, (more)
- 1954
Shirley Booth followed up her Oscar-winning performance in Come Back Little Sheba with the high-gloss soap opera About Mrs. Leslie. Based on a novel by Vina Delmar, the film casts Booth as a philosophical boarding house keeper who recalls her life and loves in a long, long flashback. Born on the wrong side of the tracks, Vivien (Booth) escapes her surroundings by becoming a cabaret singer. She meets and falls in love with handsome, secretive George Leslie (Robert Ryan), then becomes his mistress, assuming his last name in the interests of propriety. Upon Leslie's death, Vivien discovers that her lover was actually a fabulously wealthy industrialist. Her experiences are placed in context with the present-day travails of her boarders, notably young sweethearts Nadine (Marjie Millar) and Ian (Alex Nicol). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shirley Booth, Robert Ryan, (more)
- 1951
Universal's Air Cadet stars Stephen McNally as the obligatory tough topkick, here assigned to whip a bunch of green pilots into shape. McNally's hard-nosed attitude is rooted in his past: he still feels guilty over having lost so many buddies in World War 2. A climactic crash-and-rescue sequence solves many of McNally's problems-and, incidentally provides director Joseph Pevney an opportunity to hide the film's budgetary deficiencies by lensing the sequence at night. Hardworking Universal contractee Rock Hudson is billed seventh, as simply "Upperclassman". Air Cadet is at its best during its aerial sequences, evocatively lensed by Clyde Da Vinna. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen McNally, Gail Russell, (more)
- 1958
Gangster Eddie Slovak (Alex Nicol) is worried that his cowardice during the Korean War will be exposed by his old army buddy Pete (Don Keefer). To prevent this, Eddie offers Pete a huge sum of money to keep his mouth shut. But the gangster overplays his hand when he falls in love with Pete's wife Louise (Nita Talbot). Figuring into the outcome of the story is an elaborate murder scheme involving another woman, named Fay (Carmen Mathews). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This laughable Korean rip-off of King Kong was released the same year as Dino De Laurentis's trumpeted remake to sponge up some free hype from that film's massive publicity machine (in some areas it was retitled The New King Kong). Despite the fact that the poorly-handled big-studio film was considered by many to be a pointless exercise, this movie makes De Laurentis' fiasco seem positively inspired by comparison (although the producers of this film might merit some slack -- they didn't have $20 million to blow). The vaguely familiar story involves a captured 36-foot ape who escapes his offshore prison to rampage through the streets of Seoul, where he falls in love with an American actress (Joanna Kerns) who is shooting a movie there. Jam-packed with laughs, both intentional (the big brute gives Korean defense forces the finger) and unintentional (look for the "Tonka" logo on the trucks he hurls through the air), this might have found a home among fans of truly awful cinema thanks to an effective use of 3-D, but TV and video versions are missing this clunker's sole bonus. Released under several alternate titles, the most appropriate being Attack of the Giant Horny Gorilla! ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Arrants, Joanna Kerns, (more)
- 1952
Fans of Loretta Young were rather taken aback by the early scenes of Because of You, wherein Young is seen as brash, uninhibited bleach-blonde Christine Carroll. On the verge of marrying gangster Mike Monroe (Alex Nicol), Christine is arrested by the cops, and sent to prison on the strength of incriminating evidence slipped into her purse by the duplicitous Monroe. Through the kindness of prison psychiatrist Dr. Breen (Alexander Scourby), Christine turns her life around in prison, becoming a nurse's aid in the infirmary. Upon her release, Christine gets a job at a respectable hospital, where she falls in love with wounded combat pilot Steve Kimberly (Jeff Chandler). Will she ever be able to reveal her sordid past without sending the emotionally fragile Steve off the deep end? And what about that no-good Mike Monroe? The supporting cast of Because of You includes two of Loretta Young's contemporaries of the 1930s, Frances Dee and Mae Clarke, in strongly defined character roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loretta Young, Jeff Chandler, (more)
- 1970
- R
Shelley Winters, who once played the spoofish "Ma Parker" on Batman, brings the same larger-than-life approach to her portrayal of real-life Ma Barker in Bloody Mama. Presiding over her outlaw gang, consisting mainly of her goonish sons, Ma goes on a Depression-era rampage of bank robbery, murder and kidnapping. Obviously filmed in a hurry-watch as the Barker mob drives past modern shopping centers-- Bloody Mama strives for an entertaingly sleazy aura, especially when dealing with the incestuous subtext of Ma's relationship with her boys. And look who plays the Barker brood: Clint Kimbrough, Robert Walden and Robert De Niro! Bloody Mama was scripted by Robert Thom, whose previous collaboration with producer Roger Corman was the cult classic Wild in the Streets (former 1950s ingenue Diane Varsi appears in both films). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shelley Winters, Pat Hingle, (more)
- 1978
- R
In this Spanish language film, an ex-con tries to make up for lost time. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1964
This intriguing spaghetti western was co-directed by Jose Luis Borau and Mario Caiano. The story concerns a group of corrupt Tombstone officials who extort protection money from the town's citizens. When the sheriff attempts to interfere, they hire a hitman named Moody (Robert Hundar) to murder him then install a puppet sheriff in his place. Unfortunately for the villains, they choose the town drunk, Brandy (Alex Nicol), who sobers up enough to take the job seriously. With the aid of an ex-bandit (Antonio Casas) and the people of Tombstone, Sheriff Brandy takes down not only Moody, but the thuggish town bosses as well. Margaret Grayson, Jorge Rigaud, and Giuseppe Addobbati co-star, and prolific composer Riz Ortolani provided the soundtrack. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1953
Based on William Fay's short story The Disappearance of Dolan, Champ for a Day stars Alex Nicol as young pugilist George Wilson. Upon arriving in a small town for a scheduled bout, George discovers that his manager, Dolan, has vanished from sight. Also caught up in the mystery is Dolan's girlfriend Miss Gormley (Audrey Totter). Before long, George finds out that his missing manager was tied up with gangsters--and that George is expected to lose his next fight. How he extricates himself from this dilemma, and also solves his manager's disappearance, consumes the final four reels of this 90-minute Republic "special." The film's topnotch cast includes Harry Morgan as a trainer, Charles Winninger and Hope Emerson as the owners of a roadside hotel, and Joseph Wiseman as a wacko villain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alex Nicol, Audrey Totter, (more)
- 1954
Rory Calhoun stars as veteran gunfighter Brett Wade in Dawn at Socorro. In a lengthy flashback, the audience learns why Wade has hung up his guns and turned to gambling. Upon meeting dance-hall girl Rannah Hayes (Piper Laurie), he vows to take her out of the shady saloon run by Dick Braden (David Brian). He engages Braden in a card game, winner take all, with Rannah as the stakes--only to lose everything. Sorely tempted to strap on his guns again to claim Rannah, Wade is saved from this fateful decision by the timely arrival of another notorious fast gun, Jimmy Rapp (Alex Nicol). Less of a traditional western than a character study, Dawn at Socorro received better-than-usual reviews when it first came out in July of 1954. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Piper Laurie, (more)
- 1960
Once branded himself by the House Un-American Activities Committee, award-winning director Martin Ritt focuses on the cruel branding of five women in this standard wartime drama. Some of his better-known films (The Spy Who Came In from the Cold, Norma Rae) also deal with the question of social and ethical choices in the face of pressure. In this story, the savagery of the Yugoslav partisans as they fight off Nazi occupation forces is also vented on five women accused of Nazi sympathies because of their sexual association with one German officer. The women (played by Silvana Mangano, Vera Miles, Barbara Bel Geddes, Jeanne Moreau, and Carla Gravina) have their heads shaved in order to brand them as traitors. What the partisans did to the German officer (Steve Forrest) in revenge for sleeping with these women was much worse. Intermittently shocking, the film with its excess cruelty and hatreds stands as a good indictment against war and its causes. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Silvana Mangano, Vera Miles, (more)
- 1956
When gold is discovered in the Colorado Territory at the start of the Civil War, Confederate Owen Pentecost (Robert Stack) and Union agent Stephen Kirby (Alex Nicol) battle with each other in a struggle to obtain the most gold to give to their respective armies. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Virginia Mayo, Robert Stack, (more)
- 1965
In this western, a gambler wins a big Mexican ranch and decides to herd all of the cattle upon it into Texas. The crook enlists the aide of a few Mexicans, but they don't realize he plans to cheat them. En route, the cattle drivers are ambushed by banditos. They survive, but during the course of the struggle, the cattle hands learn the truth and ensure that justice gets served. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alex Nicol, Dick Bentley, (more)
- 1970
- PG
Set in a small Wisconsin town (even though it was actually filmed in Canada), this is the story of a young man living in the 60s. He has his own rock band, of course, and is against the war, of course. Despite some good performances, notably by Alex Nicol, the remainder of the movie is somewhat hackneyed and cliched...standard teenage angst, rebel without a cause...trying to deal with the chaotic social situation of the sixties. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Scardino, Alex Nicol, (more)
- 1975
It's still the same old story...but what a story. This umpteenth filmization of the classic Mark Twain novel stars Ron Howard as Huck and Donny Most as Tom Sawyer. After faking his own murder to escape his brutish Pap (played by Howard's real-life father Rance), Huck and fugitive slave Jim (Antonio Fargas) fashion a raft and head off down the Mississippi. The darker elements and sociological commentary of the Twain original are carefully excised from this version, the better to allow more time for the antics of those "royal" rapscallions, the King (Jack Elam) and the Duke (Merle Haggard). Mark Twain himself makes a guest appearance, in the person of Royal Dano. Filmed along the Sacramento River in California (a frequent movie "stand-in" for the Mississippi), Huckleberry Finn was first broadcast March 25, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The first film version of W.R. Burnett's novel Saint Johnson was filmed as Law and Order in 1932. Essentially an all-names-changed retelling of the Wyatt Earp legend, the film scored on its humanity and restraint. The 1953 remake eschewed the shadings and subtleties of the original in favor of a traditional shoot-em-up, replete with gratuitous violence. Ronald Reagan stars as the Earp counterpart this time, who has sworn to bring criminal Preston S. Foster to justice. The original Law and Order had no love interest at all; the Reagan version pairs up the star with beautiful Dorothy Malone, and offers a second leading lady in the form of Ruth Hampton. The original had a hanging sequence which was treated as business as usual; the remake turns this sequence into a brutal lynching. Common to both films was the final showdown between Reagan and Foster, given added melodrama in the later version by the fact that Reagan had previously sworn to give up his guns for the love of his lady. Like most of Ronald Reagan's 1950s vehicles, Law and Order paid its way and was then forgotten. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Reagan, Dorothy Malone, (more)
- 1961
The only film directed by sometime actor and producer William Alland, Look in Any Window is an uninspired melodrama that relied on the star power of teen heartthrob Paul Anka to attract the younger set when it was released in 1961. Anka plays Craig Fowler, a disturbed kid whose main pleasure and pursuit in life is donning a mask and peeking into windows in his neighborhood. Craig's missing pistons are attributed to his dysfunctional family; his mother (Ruth Roman) favors the bottle over him, and his parents' marriage has gone down the tubes. As a host of unsavory characters wanders in and out of his life, it is obvious that Craig has a few reasons for being slightly wacko. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Anka, Ruth Roman, (more)
- 1952
Some observers have suggested that Meet Danny Wilson could just as well have been titled Meet Frank Sinatra. A star vehicle if ever there was one, the film casts Sinatra as Danny, a would-be singer, playing cheap saloons while waiting for the Big Break. Danny and his buddy Mike Ryan (Alex Nicol) find the going rough until they're befriended by nightclub chirp Joy Carroll (Shelley Winters), who gets them a job in a nightspot run by crooked Nick Driscoll (Raymond Burr). Danny scores a hit, whereupon Driscoll demands 50% of his salary in perpetuity, leading to a violent climactic confrontation. Meanwhile, Danny romantically pursues Joy, who seems more interested in Mike. Meet Danny Wilson proves beyond doubt that Frank Sinatra was capable of delivering a solid dramatic performance long before his "breakthrough" role in From Here to Eternity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, Shelley Winters, (more)
- 1971
- R
In this low-budget drama, an aspiring rocker makes bad choices in his desperate bid for stardom. His first mistake is to agree to dump his loyal lover and embark upon a tawdry affair with a music publisher's wife. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1952
Red Ball Express deals with the little-known activities of the U.S. Army Transportation Corps during WW II. It so happened that many of the Corps' most courageous drivers were black men, who otherwise would have been denied an opportunity for combat duty. Sidney Poitier plays Corporal Andrew Robinson, who resents his second-class-citizen status and chafes at the orders issued by his white commanding officer Lt. Chick Campbell (Jeff Chandler). Meanwhile, Campbell has his own cross to bear in the form of relentlessly hostile sergeant Ernest Kalek (Alex Nicol). All differences are conveniently forgotten in the climactic euphoria of providing ammunition for General Patton's tanks during the Allied push to Paris in 1944. Considered just another war picture in 1952, Red Ball Express has since taken on added stature by virtue of the presence of actor Sidney Poitier and director Budd Boetticher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Chandler, Alex Nicol, (more)
- 1963
A group of starving Roman artists provides the focus of this episodic drama that tells the often tragic story of each of them. One commits suicide after learning that his only patron is his homosexual lover. Another, a female singer, is a nymphomaniac. A third member gives up art in favor of marrying a German woman who is two decades older than he. As the original group begins to diminish, it is replenished by new, more idealistic young artists. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1955
At the height of his TV fame, flamboyant pianist Liberace starred in the lavish Warner Bros. production Sincerely Yours. A remake of the old George Arliss vehicle The Man Who Played God, the film casts "Mr. Showmanship" as famed concert pianist Anthony Warren, who at the height of his popularity is stricken with deafness. Learning to lip-read in record time, Warren sits in his luxurious New York penthouse apartment, using high-powered binoculars to spy on the various strollers in Central Park. Warren soon discovers that others have problems worse than his own and sets out to help those less fortunate souls.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liberace, Joanne Dru, (more)
