John R. Sloan Movies

Force 10 From Navarone was a sequel to the 1961 blockbuster The Guns of Navarone and tells the tale of ten widely divergent WW II troubleshooters who attempt to blow up a crucial bridge in Yugoslavia. As in the first Navarone film, one of the guerillas is a traitor: group leader Mallory (Robert Shaw) knows the identity of the turncoat, but can't prove it until it's almost too late. The beautiful female resistance leader is played by Barbara Bach, while Harrison Ford, fresh from his Star Wars success, is the romantic lead. Others in the cast include Edward Fox, Franco Nero and Alan Badel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Odessa File is set in Hamburg in the winter of 1963. Jon Voight plays Peter Miller, a German reporter who is investigating the whereabouts of missing Nazi war criminals. After reading the diary of a Holocaust survivor who has recently committed suicide, Miller goes on the trail of in-hiding SS officer Eduard Roschmann (Maximilian Schell). The reporter finds his investigation blocked by members of a secretive group called Odessa. With the help of Israeli activists, Miller persists in his search. Schell's sister Maria also appears in The Odessa File as Miller's mother, the widow of a German soldier. Based on a nailbiting novel by Frederick Forsyth, The Odessa File is highlighted by the exquisitely Teutonic score of Andrew Lloyd Webber. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This chilling mystery begins when Lucy Dawson (Flora Robson) is found strangled in her apartment. Her nephew Tim (David Hemmings) is the former-drug-addict-turned-successful-author who wrote a book about his experiences. When Tim looks into his aunt's death, people give sketchy answers and the police offer little help. Apparently they think his pleas are simply a drug-addict's ravings. As he investigates he begins to find himself plagued by threatening phone calls, and his own paranoia. The pressure begins mounting until at last he suffers a complete breakdown. As a result, the murder is never solved. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The late Anthony Newley's star was already rising when he shared billing just after Robert Taylor and before Anne Aubrey in this fast-paced adventure story set in Africa. Adamson (Taylor) is an engineer in charge of a project to set up a railroad track through East Africa, the first of its kind -- well, almost. A rival railway gang is around to give him trouble. Aside from that kind of trouble, Adamson has to handle the convicts who are working underneath him, hungry crocodiles, dangerous lions, rhinos, and similar wild beasts, as well as Jane (Aubrey), a woman along for the duration. His sidekick Hooky (Newley) is a stand-out with his high energy brand of whimsy. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Beyond This Place is a tame murder mystery based on a novel by A. J. Cronin. Van Johnson is cast as an American citizen whose British father has supposedly been dead for years. On a visit to London, Johnson discovers that his father is very much alive, serving a life sentence for murder. Johnson inaugurates his own investigation, retraces the trail of circumstantial evidence, and unearths the real culprit. Director Jack Cardiff was not happy with his work on Beyond This Place, possibly because he was obliged for box office purposes to use an American star in an essentially British story. The film was released in the US as Web of Evidence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this supenseful and provocative high-seas drama, the captain of a luxury liner is suddenly faced with life or death decisions when his ship sinks, leaving himself and a few survivors floating at sea in an overcrowded lifeboat that does not contain enough food, water and medical supplies to support them all. The captain, Alec Holmes (Tyrone Power) is a decent fellow, and initially intends to save everyone. But it soon becomes clear to one of the ship's men, Frank Kelly (Lloyd Nolan) that this is impossible. As Kelly sacrifices himself by leaping overboard and into the sea, he shouts out a warning to Holmes that it will be necessary to rid the boat of its ill passengers if the rest are to survive, as not enough food and water exists to provide for everyone. Defying the requests of his sweetheart, Nurse Julie White (director Mai Zetterling), and his buddy and fellow officer, Will McKinley (Stephen Boyd), Holmes disposes of the sick individuals on board. He initially gains the support of the rest of the passengers, but when a rescue ship finally turns up, their support turns to contempt and hostility. In Great Britain the story is titled Seven Waves Away. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Adapted from a novel by Bernard Victor Dyer, Port Afrique offers an unusual screen romantic team in the form of two-fisted Phil Carey and ethereally beautiful Pier Angeli. Carey plays Rip Reardon, a WW2 veteran who returns to his "second home" in Morocco for a reunion with his wife. Upon arrival, Reardon discovers that his wife was murdered, though the police insist that she died by her own hand. Smelling a cover-up, Reardon conducts his own investigation, which leads him through some of the seedier portions of Port Afrique. Along the way, he meets and briefly romances nightclub singer Ynez (Angeli), who may or may not have had something to do with his wife's death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Victor Hugo's Toilers of the Sea was none too faithfully adapted for the screen as Sea Devils. The hero is Guernsey-Island smuggler Gilliat (Rock Hudson); the heroine is glamorous British spy Drouette (Yvonne de Carlo). Set during the Napoleonic wars, the plot finds Gilliat and Drouette trying to outsmart one another for the first few reels. Gilliat even kidnaps Drouette at one point, believing her to be in league with the hated French. Eventually, of course, Gilliat must rescue Drouette from the French, thereby preventing Napoleon's planned invasion of England. Shot on location, Sea Devils was directed with verve by Raoul Walsh. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The popular "William" novels of British author Richmal Crompton were brought to the screen several times in 1930s and 1940s. William Goes to Town one of the better efforts in this off-and-on series. Young William Graham plays the eponymous wise-mouthed little schoolboy who causes all sorts of havoc during a trip to London. He even tries to crash the Prime Minister's headquarters to offer him financial advice! A subplot involving a circus keeps the film on an amiable kiddie-matinee level. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

His Hollywood career a thing of the past, director Herbert Brenon returned to his native England in 1934, where he continued making films until his retirement in 1940. Brenon's first project upon his arrival in London was the feature-length documentary Royal Cavalcade. Covering a 25-year period, the film is an encapsulation of the comings and goings of the British empire since the 1910 coronation of King George V. The highlights, drawn from the newsreel files of several English and European archives, include Captain Scott's arrival at the South Pole (and the tragic aftermath), the First World War, the Roaring 20s, and the Depression. Of special interest to show-biz buffs is the footage of the first Royal Command Performance at the Palace in 1911, featuring such matchless performers as Anna Pavlova and George Robey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide