Tom Reed Movies

"You've never SEEN Gregory Peck until you've seen him in CINEMASCOPE." So read the publicity hype for 20th Century-Fox's Night People. Actually, Peck is his usual solid, stoic self as Col. Van Dyke, a CIA officer stationed in West Berlin. When an American soldier is kidnapped by the Soviets in the Eastern sector, Van Dyke is verbally assaulted by the soldier's influential industrialist father Leatherby (Broderick Crawford), who demands that something be done immediately. The Colonel realizes that it's not as simple as that: in return for the soldier, he is expected to turn over an elderly couple, both former anti-Nazi activists, to the East Germans, who will probably execute the couple. Leatherby backs off a bit when he meets the couple, then agrees to let Van Dyke handle the crisis in the most diplomatic manner possible. Things come to a head when the Colonel discovers that one of his trusted aides (Anita Bjork) is in league with the Soviets. Filmed on location in Germany, Night People is capped by a deliciously ironic coda. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Filmed on location in Italy, The Light Touch served as a showcase for MGM's newest female star Pier Angeli. The title refers to the nimble-fingered technique utilized by art thief Sam Conride (Stewart Granger). Sam is a cog in the wheel of the operation controlled by illegal art peddler Felix Guignol (George Sanders). Angeli plays Anna Vasarri, a young painter who'd like to reform Sam but who is unavoidably sucked into the illicit activities orchestrated by Guignol. Sam endangers Anna's life as well as his own when he masterminds a solo theft, intending to leave Guignol in the lurch. An unexpected jolt of religiosity forces Sam to mend his ways, much to Anna's relief. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

No sooner had Columbia called it quits with the "Blondie" series than the studio launched a new group of "B"-pictures, based on the popular radio series David Harding, Counterspy. Third-billed Howard St. John plays Harding, with actor/director Fred Sears co-starring as Harding's assistant Peters. Most of the film is carried by Willard Parker as Jerry Baldwin, a navy commander assigned to root out saboteurs in a torpedo factory. Falling in love with Betty Iverson (Audrey Long), the widow of his murdered predecessor, Baldwin is aghast to learn that Betty may be an enemy agent. There's action aplenty as the film rushes to its pyrotechnic conclusion. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

All cruel jokes aside, actor Sonny Tufts did on occasion deliver something resembling a good screen performance. In the Columbia B-plus western The Untamed Breed, Tufts plays a Texas rancher hoping to improve his breed of cattle. The play is to purchase an expensive Brahma bull and allow the animal to commiserate with Tufts' bovine stock. Unfortunately the bull is not agreeable to this setup; it goes on a rampage, killing off much of the cattle on neighboring ranches. Untamed Breed wavers between some well staged dramatic sequences and the usual all-stops-out gunplay. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This biopic highlights the illustrious careers of "the touchdown twins," Heisman Trophy winners Felix "Doc" Blanchard (Mr. Inside) and Glenn Davis (Mr. Outside) two football heroes from West Point. Featured in the story are actual archival clips of their games. The drama centers around the decision the two must make: should they go pro or should they stay in the Army? They choose the latter. Blanchard and Davis made this film during the 60-day leave they were granted after graduating from the academy. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Too expensive for a "B"-picture, yet not quite an A, Two Tickets to London is an acceptable vehicle for French leading lady Michele Morgan and Universal contract player Alan Curtis. The stars are cast as Jeanne, a café entertainer, and Dan Driscoll, an American naval officer unjustly imprisoned for treason. With Jeanne's help, Dan tries to make his escape -- and, hopefully, clear his name -- in fog-shrouded London. Many of the sets utilized in this film were recycled for Universal's horror epics and Sherlock Holmes films. Two Tickets to London bears a few traces of Warner Bros.' Casablanca, even unto featuring Dooley Wilson ("Play it, Sam") in a key scene. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The fourth of five movie versions of the rugged Rex Beach novel of the same name, 1942's The Spoilers stars Marlene Dietrich, John Wayne, and Randolph Scott. The plot, involving the cheating of Alaskan gold rush prospectors by a crooked gold commissioner, requires that Scott play a villain, Alexander McNamara. Prospector Roy Glennister (Wayne) is continually persecuted by McNamara, who has the law on his side, until the two decide to settle their dispute man-to-man in a spectacular reel-long fistfight. La Dietrich plays saloon-hall gal Cherry Mallote, who becomes the romantic bone of contention between Glennister and McNamara. William Farnum, who played John Wayne's role in the original 1914 filmization of The Spoilers, plays a key supporting role in this remake; also on hand in a cameo is poet Robert W. Service, of The Shooting of Dan McGrew fame. Listen for a cute inside joke at the beginning of the picture, invoking the name of co-producer Lee Marcus. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

John Shepperd, later known as Shepperd Strudwick, stars as the tragic Edgar Allan Poe in this low-budget biopic. Adopted as a child, Poe grows into a directionless adult, disgracing himself and his foster family through his inability (or unwillingness) to conform to the status quo of 19th century Baltimore. Devastated by the loss of his childhood sweetheart, Elmira Royster (Virginia Gilmore), he finds solace in his marriage to his cousin Virginia Clemm (Linda Darnell). Poe's blossoming literary reputation, and the stability of his private life, are ultimately done in by his addiction to alcohol and drugs. Sixty-seven minutes simply isn't enough time to do justice to this fascinating, complex individual, but everyone involved tries hard. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This slightly laundered remake of the 1932 courtroom classic The Mouthpiece stars George Brent as brilliant but unprincipled DA Steve Forbes, a character based on legendary lawyer William Fallon. After railroading an innocent boy into the electric chair, Forbes goes on a bender, then cynically builds up a new practice as a criminal attorney. His underhanded legal tactics cause a rift between Forbes and his idealistic younger brother Johnny (William Lundigan), despite the fact that it was Steve's income that enabled Johnny to finish law school. Angered that his brother has enabled big-time gangster J.B. Roscoe (Richard Barthelmess) to continually elude the law, Johnny turns in damning evidence to the FBI. On Roscoe's orders, Steve frames Johnny on a murder charge, but reforms his ways in the nick of time. Based on a play by Frank J. Collins, The Man Who Talked too Much was remade in 1955 as Illegal, with Edward G. Robinson in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this drama, Pat O'Brien plays James O'Malley, a tough, by-the-book policeman who is so unbending on any minor infraction of the law that he even gives his own mother a ticket for jaywalking. When newspaper reporter Pinky Holden (Hobart Cavanaugh) writes an article making fun of O'Malley's obsession with order, Capt. Cromwell (Donald Crisp), the Chief of Police, demotes the officer to a crossing guard. In his first day on the job, O'Malley, true to form, gives John Phillips (Humphrey Bogart) a ticket for the broken muffler on his rattletrap car. Phillips is in dire financial straits; he's been out of work for some time, and has both a wife (Frieda Inescort) and a handicapped daughter, Barbara (Sybil Jason), to support. O'Malley takes so long writing out his ticket for Phillips that when he finally arrives at work, he's fired. Desperate for cash, Phillips tries to hock his war medals, but a disagreement with the pawnbroker leads to a fight, and after knocking him out, Phillips takes all his money. Phillips is arrested by O'Malley for his faulty muffler around the same time that Barbara wanders into traffic and is seriously injured by a motorist. Eventually, O'Malley puts the pieces together and realizes the terrible toll his unwillingness to compromise has taken on Phillips and his family. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This drama chronicles the fate of two disparate brothers, both of whom work at the same power plant. One of them is incarcerated after killing a gambler. He tries to convince his brother to help him use electricity to blow up the iron bars of his cell so he can escape. The electrifying results of the experiment insure that final justice is done. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Perry Mason (Warren William) actually marries his secretary, the redoubtable Della Street (Claire Dodd) in this, the fourth installment of Warner Bros.' popular series based on the novels by Erle Stanley Garner. The honeymoon, alas, is rudely interrupted when Perry is kidnapped by Eve Belter (Winifred Shaw), who demands that he help her fight a scandal sheet, Spicy Bits, which has threatened to expose an affair involving the lady herself and politician Peter Milnor (Kenneth Harlan). Visiting the newspaper office, the intrepid defense attorney learns that the publisher is none other than Mrs. Belter's millionaire husband (Joseph King), who wished to punish his wife for her infidelity. But when Belter is found murdered, Eve becomes the natural suspect and Mason agrees to defend her much to Della's irritation. Eve's innocence is of course a given -- what with being Mason's client and all -- but Perry must not only catch the real culprit, but also Della before she has their marriage annulled. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Errol Flynn makes his Hollywood screen debut as a corpse in this funny, fast-paced whodunit, the third of six Perry Mason vehicles produced by Warner Bros. from 1934 to 1937. Flynn's murder victim is one Gregory Moxley, the estranged and long-thought dead husband of Perry's client, Rhoda Montaine (Margaret Lindsey), who, in the meantime, has married a millionaire (Donald Woods) and is ripe for blackmail. Perry agrees to meet with Moxley, but finds him very much dead and this time for good. Rhoda naturally becomes the prime suspect, but, with the able assistance of his wisecracking secretary Della Street (Claire Dodd), Perry is able to reveal the identity of the real culprit, not in the courtroom this time, but at an elegant cocktail party. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi