Edward Small Movies
Befitting his name, the films of American producer Edward Small were scaled-down, economically produced efforts, but the canny Small always made them seem more elaborate than they were. After a brief flirtation with acting, Small went into theatrical production, then set up his own talent agency in the '20s. Small began producing independent feature films in the '20s, attracting name actors by promising them acting and story opportunities they might not get with the more traditional studios. Small's producing career began gathering momentum in 1932 when he formed Reliance Pictures, which released for many years through United Artists. His first hit was I Cover the Waterfront (1933), buoyed by the casting of silent film veterans Ben Lyon and Ernest Torrence and of comparative newcomer Claudette Colbert (in what many observers consider her best and most natural performance to date). He followed this with The Count of Monte Cristo (1934), a modest but handsome-looking costumer starring Robert Donat. Other Reliance titles include Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round (1938), with Jack Benny and The Last of the Mohicans (1936). Small was a staff producer at RKO for a brief period in 1936-37, then reformed his independent operation as Edward Small Productions (with a 20th Century-Fox style sweeping-searchlight logo). In the '40s, Small turned out a successful string of films based on established stage hits: Miss Annie Rooney (1942) (which served as Shirley Temple's comeback picture), Friendly Enemies (1942), Brewster's Millions (1945), Getting Gertie's Garter (1945) and many others. Many of these productions have received extensive latter-day critical attention due to the contributions of Small's most frequent director, the prolific Allan Dwan. Setting up a separate unit at Columbia Pictures in 1947, Small produced one of Red Skelton's best pictures, The Fuller Brush Man; independently again, he hired Orson Welles as actor and (unofficial) co-director of Black Magic (1949). An early speculator in the TV game, Edward Small was chairman of the board of Television Programs of America, a firm responsible for the distribution of such series as Ramar of the Jungle, Count of Monte Cristo and Lassie. Small continued his theatrical release schedule into the '60s, overseeing such moneymakers as Witness for the Prosecution (1957) and Bob Hope's I'll Take Sweden (1965). Unfortunately, the Edward Small saga ended with the execrable The Christine Jorgenson Story in 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1970
- R
Taken from the autobiography of the world's first transsexual, George Jorgensen (John Hansen) is a woman trapped in a man's body who opts for surgery and hormone treatments to make him a woman. Events of his childhood are covered, showing young George preferring dolls over contact sports. Inducted into the Army, the sexually confused George learns to hide his emotions during his military experience. He travels to Denmark where a pioneering team of doctors agree to perform the surgical process for the first time ever. His kindly aunt in Denmark (Joan Tompkins) gives George the name of Christine after her late daughter. Hansen is unconvincing as a woman, and there are several passages in this biographical drama that lead to unintentional hilarity. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Hansen, Joan Tompkins, (more)
- 1967
In this romantic comedy, a rebellious East German athlete forgoes her dowdy uniforms in favor of daring miniskirts. Soon the leggy track star attracts a lustful villain. To escape, she pole vaults over the Berlin Wall. There she is befriended by a broke black marketeer who has secretly agreed to return her to the communists in exchange for badly-needed money. He hides her in the apartment of an old army buddy of his who secretly works for the CIA. The smuggler is preparing to turn the girl over when he realizes that he is in love. The fellow is still busted and so tries to convince his pal to let her work for the CIA. When the athlete learns about this, she is crushed and decides to return to East Germany. Later, to prove he does love her, the smuggler dresses in drag and sneaks into East Berlin to see her. The woman is bowled over and together, they creep back into West Germany. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maureen Arthur, Leon Askin, (more)
- 1966
Usually cited as the absolute nadir of Bob Hope's film career, Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! is by no means a classic, but it isn't nearly as bad as some of his other sixties efforts (take a look a Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell sometime). The plot is set in motion by movie sex bomb Elke Sommer, who flees from the set of her latest picture when she refuses to do yet another bathtub sequence. Sommer hides out in the home of real estate agent Hope, who is forced to keep the buxom starlet under wraps lest his wife Marjorie Lord misunderstand. Phyllis Diller plays Hope's maid, who conspires with her boss to keep Sommer out of sight. The plot lumbers forward to a wild climax wherein Hope, accused of Sommer's murder (she's still very much alive), embarks upon a slapstick car chase, chock full of Sennett-like sight gags. Though cheaply produced and perilously anachronistic, Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! is professionally assembled by director George Marshall, a Hope colleague from way back. The film turned a tidy profit, thanks largely to the popularity of Hope's costar Phyllis Diller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hope, Elke Sommer, (more)
Bob Holcomb (Bob Hope) is a widower who worries about his teenage daughter JoJo (Tuesday Weld) in this light romantic comedy. He doesn't care much for JoJo's boyfriend Kenny (Frankie Avalon) because the smooth operator has a motorcycle and some money. Bob manages to get his company to transfer him to Sweden, which effectively separates Kenny and his daughter. JoJo adapts to her new surroundings and starts to date Erik Carlson (Jeremy Slate), an idle playboy and lothario. All of a sudden, Kenny seems all right by Bob, who tries to convince him to come to Sweden and fight for the woman he loves. Bob's new flame Karin (Dina Merrill) is less-than-sympathetic to Bob's babbling about the double standards he sets for his daughter. Maudie Prickett plays a man-hungry spinster, and the musical group The Vulcanes help out with some of the feature's 12 songs. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hope, Tuesday Weld, (more)
Not a remake of the 1934 Helen Morgan vehicle of the same title, Frankie and Johnny stars Elvis Presley as Johnny, a Mississippi gambler, and Beverly Hillbillies regular Donna Douglas as his girl friend Frankie. In keeping with the old ballad, the romance of Frankie and Johnny is threatened by the intervention of seductress Nellie Bly (Nancy Kovack). Nellie brings Johnny luck at the gaming tables while Frankie sees red. Frankie and Johnny was written by onetime Marx Brothers contributor Nat Perrin and directed by future Tonight Show helmsman Fred de Cordova. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elvis Presley, Donna Douglas, (more)
Nathan Juran, director of The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, tries to make the magic happen again on a much more attenuated budget in Jack the Giant Killer. Torin Thatcher, another Sinbad alumnus, plays a wicked wizard who kidnaps toothsome-princess Judi Meredith. Kerwin Mathews, still another veteran of Sinbad, plays Jack, who rescues Meredith and promises to escort her to safety. Stop-motion animator Jim Danforth creates several fire-breathing perils along the same lines as Ray Harryhausen's special effects in Sinbad; happily, Danforth emulates the Harryhausen style without stooping to imitation. Prominent among the supporting actors is Don Beddoe as an impish genie. In the recently reissued prints of Jack the Giant Killer, most of the original voices have been dubbed over, and incongruous musical numbers added. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kerwin Mathews, Judi Meredith, (more)
- 1961
A young Susannah York had her first lead role in this drama about a teenage girl on the cusp of womanhood. When her mother falls ill during a vacation in the French wine country, 16-year-old Joss Grey (York) is left to her own devices as she and her three younger siblings are left in the reluctant care of Madame Zisi (Danielle Darrieux), the proprietor of the hotel where they were staying. Eliot (Kenneth More), Zisi's strapping boyfriend, offers to show the youngsters some of the sights in the countryside, and Joss finds herself developing a strong infatuation with the older man. However, when she realizes that Eliot and Zisi are lovers, she becomes despondent and ends up getting drunk on wine with Paul (David Saire), a boy who works in the kitchen at Zisi's hotel. When Joss learns that Eliot is actually a jewel thief wanted by the law, she informs the police of his whereabouts. However, that same night, Paul's efforts to seduce Joss degenerate into a violent attempt at rape, but when Eliot hears her screams for help, he comes to Joss' rescue. Having spared her virtue and perhaps her life, Joss confesses to Eliot that she has turned him in to the police, and urges him to flee for his own safety. One of Joss' sisters is played by Jane Asher, a distinguished actress who was most famous in the United States not for her abilities as a performer, but for spending several years as Paul McCartney's girlfriend. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenneth More, Danielle Darrieux, (more)
- 1959
This unexceptional adventure yarn by director Jacques Tourneur is set in the French Sudan during the beginning of World War II, when the French Foreign Legion was doing battle with the Tuaregs. In order to bring a halt to the hostilities, a powerful Muslim religious leader has to make it to Timbuktu, the center of the conflict. In the meantime, an American merchant-adventurer (Victor Mature) is helping out the French commander of the garrison at Timbuktu, and falling in love with the commander's wife (Yvonne De Carlo). Between the forbidden romance, the journey of the Muslim leader, and the angry Tuaregs, there are no dull moments even if the tension is not exactly unbearable. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Mature, Yvonne De Carlo, (more)
- 1959
A low-budget, tawdry police yarn with the world of prostitution and gangsters thrown in, Vice Raid features Mamie Van Doren as Carol Hudson, a Motor City hooker. The bosses of the prostitution racket have Hudson go to New York City to entrap a police officer and get him thrown off the force. She does as she is told and then the gangsters make a mistake -- they abuse her younger sister. Angered to the core, Hudson decides to team up with the cop she helped frame and put the mobsters behind bars. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mamie van Doren, Richard Coogan, (more)
Having just recovered from a heart attack, fabled British barrister Sir Wilfred Robards (Charles Laughton) has been ordered by his doctor to give up everything he holds dear-brandy, cigars and especially courtroom cases. Robards' already shaky resolve to follow doctor's orders flies out the window when he takes up the defense of Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power), a personable young man accused of murdering a rich old widow. The case becomes something of a sticky wicket when Vole's "loving" German wife Christine (Marlene Dietrich) announces that she's not legally married to Robards' client-and she fully intends to appear as a witness for the prosecution! At the close of this film, a narrator implores the audience not to divulge the ending; we will herein honor that request. A delicious Billy Wilder mixture of humor, intrigue and melodrama, Witness for the Prosecution is distinguished by its hand-picked supporting cast: John Williams as the police inspector, Henry Daniell as Robards' law partner, Una O'Connor as the murder victim's stone-deaf maid, Torin Thatcher as the prosecutor, Ruta Lee as a sobbing courtroom spectator, and Charles Laughton's wife Elsa Lanchester as Robards' ever-chipper nurse (a role especially written for the film, so that Lanchester could look after Laughton on the set). And keep an eye out for that uncredited actress playing the vengeful-and pivotal-cockney. Adapted by Wilder, Harry Kurnitz and Larry Marcus from the play by Agatha Christie, Witness for the Prosecution was remade for television in 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, (more)
The painfully true story of welterweight boxing champion Barney Ross is detailed in Monkey on My Back. Cameron Mitchell stars as Ross, whose meteoric ring career is interrupted when he joins the Marines at the outset of WWII. A highly decorated hero, Ross contracts malaria oversees and is given morphine to assuage the pain. By the time he returns to the states, Ross is a confirmed drug addict. Before he can rise to the top again, he must hit rock bottom and his descent into the hell of narcotics dependency is graphically illustrated (so much so that the film was almost denied a Production Code seal). Though a cured Barney Ross served as technical advisor for Monkey on My Back, he ended up suing the producers for defamation of character -- and lost. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Mitchell, Dianne Foster, (more)
- 1955
A ruthless crime lord saves his sister from social embarrassment by working diligently to get the gangster who fathered her unborn baby off death row and out of prison so he can do the decent thing and marry the girl. The freed gangster is not thrilled with his new bride, but stays loyal until the woman miscarries. He then returns to crime and begins messing with other women, something that outrages his wife's nefarious brother and leads him to frame the cocky youth and get him sent back to prison and certain death. Just before he is to die, the youth tells his story to a sympathetic reporter, who decides to go after the real troublemaker. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Quinn, Anne Bancroft, (more)
- 1955
Gunman Sterling Hayden rides into a small frontier town in search of his mother's killer. William Bishop is a wealthy ranch owner who has married Karin Booth, Hayden's former girl friend. Hayden has reason to suspect that Bishop is the man he is gunning for. When the town marshal is shot down, Hayden takes his place, which establishes once and for all who the real hero is in this film. It is superfluous to add that this 1955 Top Gun bears no relationship to the 1985 stud-in-the-skies adventure film of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sterling Hayden, William Bishop, (more)
- 1954
There are few surprises in The Lone Gun--and few lulls, either. Things get under way when ex-marshal George Montgomery rides into a wide-open Texas town. Montgomery intends to bring three cattle-rustling brothers to justice. Since those siblings are played by Neville Brand, Douglas Kennedy and Robert Wilke, one suspects that Our Hero's task will not be accomplished within the film's first twenty minutes. Taking over a cattle ranch run by Dorothy Malone and her brother Skip Homeier, the villains inaugurate a deadly game of cat and mouse with Montgomery. Frank Faylen scores in an uncharacteristic performance as a dude gambler. The Lone Gun was produced by Edward Small for United Artists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Montgomery, Dorothy Malone, (more)
- 1954
In this western, a forward thinking hero joins in on the promotion of camels as the perfect desert pack animals. He embarks upon a journey with a group of others. Among them is a fugitive bankrobber and his girl friend who are trying to outfox a posse. One of the hero's men recognizes the desperado and begins blackmailing him in exchange for silence. During the journey, a band of angry natives attack. Later, the group loses their water and face the prospect of dying of thirst. The picture was originally released in 3-D. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanne Dru, Rod Cameron, (more)
- 1954
This Kiplingesque adventure yarn stars Richard Egan as a captain in the British lancers. Together with his regiment, Egan is assigned to put down an Arab rebellion in Afghanistan, stirred up by rival tribal leaders Raymond Burr and Donald Randolph. When not defending the British Empire from collapsing, Egan vies with fellow officer Patric Knowles for the hand of lovely Dawn Addams. The story comes to a head when Egan pretends to join the rebels, the better to defeat them from within. The rampant jingoism of Khyber Patrol may be a bit hard to swallow; it's best to assess the film on its considerable merits as an outdoor actioner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Egan, Dawn Addams, (more)
- 1953
Technically a "B" western, Gun Belt is a notch or two above the norm. George Montgomery stars as former outlaw Billy Ringo, whose bank-robbing brother Matt (John Dehner) implicates him in a recent holdup. When Matt is killed in a shootout, Matt's son Chip (Tab Hunter) holds Billy responsible. When not trying to clear his name and patch up his family problems, Billy finds time to romance requisite leading lady Helen Westcott. The most tangible asset of Gun Belt is the superb Technicolor photography, courtesy of William Howard Greene. The film was one of several budget-conscious 1950s productions turned out by producer Edward Small for United Artists release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Montgomery, Tab Hunter, (more)
- 1953
Ernie Driscoll (John Payne) is an ex-fighter who came within seconds of winning the world championship. He's now forced to eke out a living driving a cab. A basically decent guy, he has lots of people who care about him, including Linda James (Evelyn Keyes), a slightly ditsy actress friend -- but Ernie also has a short fuse, especially where his wife Pauline (Peggie Castle) is concerned. His rage boils over when he spots her kissing another man, but her unfaithfulness turns out to be the least of his worries. The man she's seeing, Vic Rawlins (Brad Dexter), is a career criminal with both the police and his former partners after him, and he sees Ernie as the perfect fall-guy. The law and Rawlins' criminal associates are soon closing in on Ernie, while he tries desperately -- with Linda's help -- to buy the time he needs to unravel this nightmare. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Payne, Evelyn Keyes, (more)
- 1952
Cripple Creek is an excellent example of Columbia's "A-minus/B-plus" Technicolor westerns of the 1950s. Government agent Bret Ivers (George Montgomery) goes undercover to infiltrate a gang of gold smugglers. Ivers and his two partners (Jerome Courtland and Richard Egan) face exposure and sudden death at every turn; indeed, one of the federal agents meets his demise before the film is a third over. The villains are the erudite-but-deadly Denver Jones (John Dehner) and the just-plain-deadly Silver Kirby (William Bishop). With so much already in its favor, Cripple Creek hardly needs a romantic interest, but Columbia had to keep contract actress Karin Booth busy, thus she shows up briefly as a flashy saloon gal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Montgomery, Karin [Katharine] Booth, (more)
- 1952
The distinctive stamp of action-film director Phil Karlson is very much in evidence in Scandal Sheet. Broderick Crawford plays tabloid editor Mark Chapman, whose burgeoning success is threatened by the arrival of his wife Charlotte (Rosemary DeCamp), whom he deserted 20 years earlier. Hoping to keep Charlotte's mouth shut, Chapman accidentally kills her. He does his best to cover his tracks, but his best is none too good, and another murder follows. Meanwhile, Chapman's star reporter Steve McCleary (John Derek) is busy investigating the still-unsolved murder of Charlotte. Though Steve holds no grudge against his boss, the same cannot be said of feature writer Julie Allison (Donna Reed), who resents Chapman's sensationalist methods. Slowly but surely, the noose tightens around Chapman's neck, thanks to the diligence of McCleary and, indirectly, the inquiries of Julie. Scandal Sheet was based on a novel by former newspaperman Samuel Fuller, an excellent film director in his own right. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donna Reed, Broderick Crawford, (more)
Kansas City Confidential, Phil Karlson's low (low) budget, B-grade film noir, opens on a Kansas City armored-car robbery perpetrated by cynical, corrupt ex-policeman Timothy Foster (Preston S. Foster). Foster devises an outrageous scheme: he will recruit three of the most vicious and unrelenting criminals he can find (screen heavies Lee Van Cleef, Jack Elam and Neville Brand) to undertake a robbery, blackmailing them into the heist with incriminating evidence from other "jobs." As an eccentric and clever conceit, Foster forces each of the perpetrators to wear masks, thus concealing their identities from one another and preventing the old pitfall of the men squealing and backstabbing. The heist comes off without a scratch, but a complication arises when the ignorant cops pick up an unrelated fellow, Joe Rolfe (John Payne) for his ownership of a van similar to the one used in the caper. In time, Rolfe is cleared, but he grows irate over the accusations and sets off to find Foster and co. and teach them a lesson. He finally happens upon one of the perpetrators in Mexico, beats him nearly to death, and assumes the victim's identity - and that's when things really get complicated. Though produced under the Hays Code censorship regulations, Kansas City Confidential constituted one of the most brutal and violent crime pictures made up through that time; as such, it retains historical significance. It also claims a strong cult following. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Payne, Coleen Gray, (more)
- 1951
Lorna Doone is based on the oft-filmed novel by Richard D. Blackmore. Set in 17th century Scotland during the reign of Britain's Charles II, the story concerns young Lorna (Barbara Hale), a member of a much-hated landowning family. Lorna falls in love with a humble villager (Richard Greene), who like the rest of community has suffered under the rule of the despotic Doones. The villagers revolt against their oppressors, but when it is revealed that Lorna is not a genuine Doone, she is able to marry her low-born swain. Star Barbara Hale was pregnant throughout the filming of Lorna Doone; thus it can be said that the film "co-starred" her son, future actor William Katt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Hale, Richard Greene, (more)
- 1951
Billed "Jack Mahoney" for the occasion, former stunt man Jock Mahoney steps up to the plate as a leading man in this average Western originally released in an inexpensive color process. Mahoney plays Ross Granger, a railroad agent masquerading as a telegrapher and looking into a series of Comanche raids on the railroad construction near Oaktown. But as Ross quickly establishes, the raids are sponsored by local businessmen Del Stewart (William Bishop) and Broden (George Eldredge), who want to force the railroad through land they possess. Stewart, an old friend of Granger's, is in love with Ann Dennison (Peggie Castle), the daughter of the railroad surveyor, but not even he can prevent Broden from having old man Dennison (Walter Sande) killed. Jock Mahoney had recently starred on television's Range Rider series when hired by former Columbia Pictures colleague Fred Sears for this independently produced Western. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jock Mahoney, Peggie Castle, (more)
- 1951
One of the most notorious flops in the history of Columbia Pictures, Valentino is actually fairly entertaining -- but only when regarded as a work of fiction. In dramatizing the life of silent-screen Latin lover Rudolph Valentino, screenwriter George Bruce ignored virtually all of the facts, even those in the public domain; in addition, with the exception of Valentino, all the real-life characters' names have been changed to avoid lawsuits. What's left is an amusing fairy tale about a young Neapolitan dancer named Rudolph Valentino (Anthony Dexter), who joins a U.S.-bound dance troupe headed by his lover Marie Torres (Dona Drake). Onboard ship, Valentino makes the acquaintance of famous movie star Joan Carlisle (Eleanor Parker), sparking a brief transatlantic romance. Once in America, Valentino supports himself as a dishwasher and gigolo before Carlisle introduces him to big-time director William King (Richard Carlson), who arranges for the young immigrant to attain a few extra roles in Hollywood. Valentino becomes an overnight star after being selected to play the lead in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. As his fame rises, Valentino reignites his affair with Carlisle, but will not commit himself to marriage. She marries King on the rebound, but the romance starts all over again when Valentino and Carlisle are cast together in The Sheik. At the height of his stardom, Valentino dies of peritonitis. The film ends with the mysterious "Lady in Black" making her annual pilgrimage to Valentino's tomb. It serves no purpose to list the film's many inaccuracies and anachronisms, though it's worth mentioning that his last film was not The Sheik but Son of the Sheik. As a filmed biography, Valentino is worthless. As a movie pure and simple, it's not all that bad. Even the much-maligned Anthony Dexter, an unknown who was cast purely on the basis of physical resemblance, is passable in the title role, though he comes nowhere near the original Valentino's magnetism and charisma. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Dexter, Eleanor Parker, (more)
- 1951
Not a remake of the 1936 film of the same name, The Texas Rangers is an enjoyable second-echelon western from the Columbia Pictures mill. George Montgomery stars as Johnny Carver, a former outlaw serving a life sentence in prison. Carver is given a second chance by the Texas government. Here's the deal: if Carver will deliver his old gang to justice, he'll be set free for good. But Carver is more interested in exacting vengeance against The Sundance Kid (Ian McDonald), the gunslinger responsible for his arrest. When this personal vendetta results in the death of his own brother, Carver vows to "play straight" and complete his original mission. Future TV-favorite Gale Storm co-stars as a feisty female newspaper editor. In addition to the Sundance Kid, other real-life outlaws depicted in The Texas Rangers include Butch Cassidy (John Doucette), Sam Bass (William Bishop) and John Wesley Hardin (John Dehner). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Montgomery, Gale Storm, (more)
